Slipping?

Have just returned from Silver Whisper cruise and I must say that overall, I do feel a little disappointed. I spent about a month on this ship (two trips) about 18 months ago, and I feel sure that standards have slipped slightly. Mostly the staff are really helpful 'most of the time', but certain members do let the whole thing down. The Bvlgari toiletries were supplied 'sparingly' and we had to ask for further supplies. The food served in the terrace cafe was noticeably less in quantity than previously, I found the desserts in the main restaurant quite disappointing, and on our cruise there was no deck barbecue or SilverSea experience so I suppose this didn't help on the 'wow' factor. Certain requests in the dining room were met with a definite 'not available' rather than previously being resolved, which was quite sad, in that the effort that was put in before was a little lacking on this cruise. Our suite had a large stain in the carpet and generally the decor looked a little tired in more than one place on the ship. The jacuzzi's were not heated to a sufficient temperature and were too cold to use most of the time. Whilst I believe it is still the best line to cruise with, I think SS will have to be careful that things remain constant or improve, rather than decline.

On the 'up' side, we had no real problems and still had a great time. We also met some lovely people on our trip.

Hi there Gail. Sorry to see your dissapointment - particularly as we're on Whisper from Monday.

I can see Whisper is out of service between the 12th (when you disembarked?) and the 24th - I assume this was for a bit of attention?

........... also - with the benefit of hinsight - did you need the private transfer in Rome or would have SS's sufficed?

We have also just returned from 23 days on the Silver Whisper. I don't agree that Silversea is "slipping." Our toiletries were replaced before we needed new ones. The food at the Terrace Cafe was well prepared and in ample selection/supply. There was no barbeque schedule over the crossing and the deck barbeque was cancelled due to poor weather during the Barcelona to Rome segment. We will agree that the jacuzzis were not heated to a sufficient temperature. This was our third Silversea cruise. Our last Silversea cruise was on the Inaugural for the Whisper. We do feel that the veranda chairs they currently use did not fit the space available comfortably.

With the concerns mentioned on this board over that past several months,we felt that Silversea continues to provide their high level of service. We observed a number of guests making special requests and they were accommodated. I hope that folks don't make sweeping generalizations because of one or two room steward/stewardess or staff members.

I also would agree with Gail5863 that we met some fine people on this trip.

Silver Whisper was chartered for the two weeks following our May 12th disembarkation in Rome.

Thanks for the post - I guess understandably every person's experience will be different.

I'll keep the optimism up!

Did you enjoy in particular any of the evening themes in the terrace - and where was your favourite spot for lunch which is our favourite meal of the day!

I'm not saying that it isn't still very good - because I believe it is an excellent line, and without doubt I will cruise with SilverSea again, however, personal experiences will inevitably vary from person to person. My slight disappointment was my 'overall impression' on my return - taking all into account - compared to my cruises 18 months ago. I also know that several other people on this cruise were feeling the same as me. I would still cruise SilverSea again, no doubt, as it is still the best, but I just feel that the gap between the lux lines is closing. I had a particular instance in the dining room that I was very unhappy with, on the last night, and that really didn't help with my overall impression.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by uk1:

........... also - with the benefit of hinsight - did you need the private transfer in Rome or would have SS's sufficed?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Re transfer in Rome -

We took advice from this forum - to get in touch with Bob's Limousines in Rome - and they were just great. The price from the port to Rome Airport was 125 Euros total for a smart black Mercedes Sedan and friendly English speaking driver, who turned up on time. The ship's transfer on the motorcoach was 125 dollars per person, which I thought was really quite expensive. The private transfer was half the price and much nicer than a motorcoach. Yes Bob's Limo's were the right choice.

.......... thanks Gail. I think the transfer is included when SS book the flights - so I assume you made your own arrangements?

In our case their price for business class jaw tickets was better than I could do - and they take the pain and blame!

We used Silversea's transfer to the airport. It was incredibly efficient. While we worried that it was taking such a long time to identify, collect and load our luggage on to the bus we found that our fears were unneccessary. When we arrived at airport additional Silversea staff were there to help organize luggage, provide cards and guide us to the airline checkin. We made it through check in and security in about 20 minutes. We used Silversea's air and upgraded to business class and were able to use the lounge provided by the airlines. It was a very pleasant way to wait for our flight.

Just purchased Silverseas transfer from ship to Airport in Rome. My flight is at 1:30pm, do you think it would be a problem making such a flight (i know its a bit of a ways to the airport)

Thanks!

That shouldn't be a problem at all. The port is an hour from the airport at most, and Silversea assigns passengers to buses according to their departure times.

--

Durant Imboden

Europeforvisitors.com

Our flight out of Rome was at 11:30 AM and as I mentioned before we had time to spare.

I will only add, as a regular RSSC cruiser, that I enjoyed very much my experience on the Shadow in Asia! Food, service, and entertainment I would equate to Radisson (after 10 cruises). Okay, maybe the entertainment was better on Silversea for my particular cruise. I loved the passenger mix (the whole world), a bit better than on Radisson..but on the whole, I would take either of these lines without hesitation! Just pick the itinerary and the price!

We to arrived on the may sailing into rome on the 12th. We also are previous cruisers on the Whisper. The arrival onto the ship seemed to not be as smooth as b4, the suite was the same and very clean. We noticed the staff was less european and more from the philippines, all though they are courteous, they do not go above and beyond.The food was execellent and the wait staff in the Resturant all though were nice,it seemed a bit lacks.The poerts were Fantastic!For the anenities, yes we felt the soap was a bit small but it was replaced every other day as well was the champagne every day!We met more younger people on this cruise and it made us feel more included. Overall, we had a great and will be on SS again real soon!!

ss IS NO LONGER A PRIME CRUISE LINE, BASED ON OUR RECENT EXPERIENCES, AND THAT OF OUR BRITISH FRIENDS.

GIVEN SIGNIFCANT DEPRARTURE OF KEY EXECUTIVES, HEAVILY DISCOUNTED CRUISES TO ACCUMULATE MUCH NEEDED CASH, AND CONTINUED DETERIORATING SERVICE OVER THE LAST 2 YEARS, SILVERSEAS IS NO LONGER A DEPENDABLE AND CONSISTENT CRUISE LINE..... TAKE YOUR CHANCES WITH YOUR BOOKING.. OR CONSIDER THE MANY FINE ALTERNATIVES LIKE RSSC, ORIENT,. CELEBRITY.

THE LINE IS IN SERIOUS TROUBLE...WATCH CLOSELY OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS!!...IMPORTANT NEWS TO FOLLOW....

You make a lot of unsupported allegations here--as you've done in at least one other thread. If you have a specific complaint, why not share it instead of posting what would appear to be malicious slander? (And by the way, please turn off your CAPS LOCK key--typing messages in capital letters is considered "shouting" unless you're communicating by teletype!)

ss IS NO LONGER A PRIME CRUISE LINE, BASED ON OUR RECENT EXPERIENCES, AND THAT OF OUR BRITISH FRIENDS.

GIVEN SIGNIFCANT DEPRARTURE OF KEY EXECUTIVES, HEAVILY DISCOUNTED CRUISES TO ACCUMULATE MUCH NEEDED CASH, AND CONTINUED DETERIORATING SERVICE OVER THE LAST 2 YEARS, SILVERSEAS IS NO LONGER A DEPENDABLE AND CONSISTENT CRUISE LINE..... TAKE YOUR CHANCES WITH YOUR BOOKING.. OR CONSIDER THE MANY FINE ALTERNATIVES LIKE RSSC, ORIENT,. CELEBRITY.

 

THE LINE IS IN SERIOUS TROUBLE...WATCH CLOSELY OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS!!...IMPORTANT NEWS TO FOLLOW....

Greta, you seem to be "at it again" looking for any opportunity to trash Silversea - however old the posts are that you're responding to! Is this a profession? Are you an upset previous employee perhaps?

In thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com./showthread.php?t=33572

I asked you the following - but received no reply - how about a reply now? I asked you:

>>"Just checking .... did you decide not to use Silversea as a result of this advice? Also was the advice from your ta that it was just Silversea out of Athen's that was a "BIG target" or Silverse in total? Surely a BIG boat is a BIGGER target? Strange advice. A travel agent advising it's customers NOT to travel at a time when most others I don't think would offer quite that advice?!

I ask because in another thread ("Silversea in trouble ...... again??") you were suggesting that the cruiseline was in financial trouble and complaining that Silversea wouldn't honour a credit? I haven't seen any evidence at all that they are "in trouble" and that there has been "lots of executive moves" I find the treatment you claim difficult to reconcile to my experience of them.

In another "Silver Wind is the poorest of the fleet-- not..." you said "Silver Wind is the poorest of the fleet-- not worth the time nor experience. We believe it's SS' training and economy-focused ship-- understaffed, poor service at times, inconsistent cuisine,..."

These threads might seem to some cynics (perhaps unfairly and wrongly) that this was a part of a negative PR campaign for a company for some reason you were trying to damage - perhaps a competitor?

It does seem very strange that someone who has such a negative impression of them and who fears traveling with them SO much would want to cruise with them and chat to a ta about re-booking with them.

Just wanted to offer the opportunity to you to clarify what seems to be puzzling inconsistencies."<<

Answer Greta - or please stop posting.

For others who may be concerned by the post - and want to judge for themselves Greta's other undeleted posts are:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com./search.php?searchid=63414

Also - with respect to the moderators desire to delete - I'm puzzled as to why you will allow yourselves to be exposed to possible charges of publishing defamatory / slanderous remarks which might have a considerable financial outcome for the boards owners.

>>Also - with respect to the moderators desire to delete - I'm puzzled as to why you will allow yourselves to be exposed to possible charges of publishing defamatory / slanderous remarks which might have a considerable financial outcome for the boards owners.<<

Cruise Critic is based in the States, and the U.S. government's Communications Decency Act (which became law in 1996) holds that online service providers are "common carriers" and are not considered to be the "publisher or speaker" of defamatory posts by users. So there's less incentive for moderators to demand responsible behavior by forum members than there was before 1996, when (for example) Prodigy was sued over a defamatory post about a company on one of its financial message boards.

ss IS NO LONGER A PRIME CRUISE LINE, BASED ON OUR RECENT EXPERIENCES, AND THAT OF OUR BRITISH FRIENDS.

GIVEN SIGNIFCANT DEPRARTURE OF KEY EXECUTIVES, HEAVILY DISCOUNTED CRUISES TO ACCUMULATE MUCH NEEDED CASH, AND CONTINUED DETERIORATING SERVICE OVER THE LAST 2 YEARS, SILVERSEAS IS NO LONGER A DEPENDABLE AND CONSISTENT CRUISE LINE..... TAKE YOUR CHANCES WITH YOUR BOOKING.. OR CONSIDER THE MANY FINE ALTERNATIVES LIKE RSSC, ORIENT,. CELEBRITY.

 

THE LINE IS IN SERIOUS TROUBLE...WATCH CLOSELY OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS!!...IMPORTANT NEWS TO FOLLOW....

Several of us are booked on Silversea for our first cruise, after sailing Seabourn exclusively for several years, and we're looking forward to trying the line.

I am curious, Greta, why you have posted such a negative and inflammatory warning? If you believe the line is in trouble, or that the overall product has declined, could you please state specifically what this is predicated on? If your goal is to cause some concern, you have succeeded, however, I am suspicious of your motives. Are you a travel agent?

I have no intention of canceling our cruise, nor am I interested in sailing Celebrity or Orient, however, I would appreciate it if you would elaborate and not just rant.

bldsld

Well, our most recent SS cruise negative explanation went to the highest level of SS Guest Relations regarding our dissatisfaction. She assured us SS would reconcile our poor experience. And now,that Director of SS Guest Relations has just quit...wonder why?... just ask her how SS is handling it's customers with problems...

We have in hand numerous letters of apology from the Hotel Director of the Silver Wind, and promises of 'complete satisfaction" for the poor service and noise problems we experienced. Of course, now that's changed as well... management turnover, we're told.

SS is heavliy discounting many cruises to reinforce much needed cash flow- this is obvious to anyone who tracks their pricing and policies. What's frustrated us the most is their inconsistent 'promises' to fulfill customer satisfaction when there's a problem. There's no sense of confidence nor trust that a problem will be addressed, resolved, or at least adequately explained.

And, we're not alone. Too many long term SS loyal cruise passengers have been complaining of deteiorating service, inept management responsiveness, and overall dissapointing cruise experiences. Just check in with your fellow passengers.. too many will cite "less than expected" compared to prior SS cruises.

For those SS loyalists who will defend the SS approach no matter what the facts are... well, you are certainly welcome to your opinion, and I'll rspect your opinion. Can you at least have the courtesy to respect mine?

I AM NOT a travel agent, nor former or current employee-- perhaps if I was I would be much more tolerant and understanding-- but because of the the top level SS prices, and promoted top tier deliverables, my expectaions are that the SS line be what it professes and promises to be... unfortunately it does not care to deliver consistently nor responsibly. How sad.

After 29 previous cruises we now know there are very acceptable and much more reliable alternatives to SS... and of course, we understand - "to each his own".

We have in hand numerous letters of apology from the Hotel Director of the Silver Wind, and promises of 'complete satisfaction" for the poor service and noise problems we experienced. Of course, now that's changed as well... management turnover, we're told.

So if this is true .... after "NUMEROUS" bad experiences - why did you keep going bacK?! I can't reconcile this - you are either being untruthful, grossly exagerating or you genuinely keep going back after NUMEROUS bad experiences.

Which one is it?

Having just returned from the Wind (June 28th Barcelona to Rome), I have to say it was one of my best cruises out of the 40 or so I have taken. The staff, cabins, food, ship all perfect. Its funny, I sat with a woman one night at dinner that was complaining she would not return to Silversea for two reasons:

1. as she was approaching the ship by tender that day, she noticed scratches on the side of the ship

2. Her ice bucket was not filled to the top the day before (not, not filled, but not to the top).

Not kidding! I am a frequent guest with Four Seasons, and Penninsula and I could not find many faults with the Wind.

The CD did say they had been working on the Wind since she emerged from Dry Dock to make sure the staff was up to Silversea standards.

I've booked the Cloud for 2005.

Its funny, I sat with a woman one night at dinner that was complaining she would not return to Silversea for two reasons:

1. as she was approaching the ship by tender that day, she noticed scratches on the side of the ship

2. Her ice bucket was not filled to the top the day before (not, not filled, but not to the top).

QUOTE]

 

Avalon 1025,

 

Ah, life is tough when an ice bucket isn't refilled to the top! Oh, well, lucky for all of us that she will never return to Silversea again!!! That's a relief!

 

bldsld (Denyse)

>>>bldsldAh, life is tough when an ice bucket isn't refilled to the top! Oh, well, lucky for all of us that she will never return to Silversea again!!! That's a relief! bldsld (Denyse)<<<<<

Denyse, when a company sets such high standards, you will always get the odd person who isn't intelligent enough to realise that the standards rely entirely on humans trying to beat the unpredictable, and sometimes they are only 99% rather than 101%. If I'd been avalon there'd have been a great danger of me telling the table guest exactly what I thought. Why is it people feel that they have the right to whinge to a politely captive dinner audience? What abysmal manners! Doesn't happen with the causal brigade ......

I'm pleased that there appears to be a self-selction process by which the whingers go elsewhere. We've just booked for the end of August on Whisper. A great bargain - just keep the whingers away and Mrs uk1 and I will be very happy!

Well, our most recent SS cruise negative explanation went to the highest level of SS Guest Relations regarding our dissatisfaction. She assured us SS would reconcile our poor experience. And now,that Director of SS Guest Relations has just quit...wonder why?... just ask her how SS is handling it's customers with problems...

 

We have in hand numerous letters of apology from the Hotel Director of the Silver Wind, and promises of 'complete satisfaction" for the poor service and noise problems we experienced. Of course, now that's changed as well... management turnover, we're told.

 

 

Greta, can I ask, exactly what happened?