Just Back From Whisper

Too busy to spend much time here today. Just wanted to say those girls on Team 1 Trivia were tuff!

A good time was had by all.

ORV, sorry we didn't get to meet you! We had a great time, but the service was so spotty. Met a few crew who couldn't wait until their contracts were up, and they talked about it a little TOO much. Not appropriate to discuss with guests at all, IMHO.

The cardinal sin was, they ran out of Philliponnat by mid-cruise, and never did get it replenished. Oh, they had plenty for your suite, but NONE at the 3 main bars. Even worse, they just poured you whatever alternative sparkling wine they had but didn't tell you beforehand that's what you'd be getting. Not very Silversea-like. Also, there was no effort made by these bartenders to make sure your favorite beer(s) were brought on board. On the Wind, as soon as you asked for a certain brand, if they didn't have it one day, they certainly did the next (gotten from the next port). I guess we were just spoiled by that kind of service.

There was a nasty virus going around - beware, those who are sailing the Whisper soon. My husband & I got violently ill - doctor ruled out food poisoning, no worries there.

I don't want to sound too negative - we really had a wonderful time. We had Suite 730, a Silver Suite, and it was to DIE for. We met lots of great people, including several of the ladies group who posted here beforehand.

Now...back to reality! :)

You never know, you might have met me.

I was on deck 8 and heard that 15 people on that deck got virus/food poisoning. There was one person that passed out in the casino and I heard that it was food poisoning. My stomach was a little queasy but I wrote that up to too much rich food and drink.

I don't want to sound like a complainer, let me preface anything I might say about the cruise with the comment that we had a great time and we do plan on sailing on Silversea again in the future but I kept wondering where the great service was I'd heard so much about.

The pool bar and grill was totally understaffed and the bartender was overwhelmed. On 5(count them 5) occasions we asked for a Pina Colada and was told that they were out of their daily ration of the mixer. I was thinking, what the hell is wrong with this picture, you get on the phone and call your supervisor and tell them you need more mixer, AND SOME HELP!

I started going to the Panorama bar all the time to get my drinks. Oliver was the best bartender on the ship and makes a much better foo foo drink. And it was never busy there.

They did run out of lite beer the 2nd day. One of our dinner mates was a beer drinker and was quite unhappy that he couldn't get lite beer.

As far as excellent dining service goes----perhaps some people think putting your napkin in your lap when you sit down and shuffling the right knife and fork around for the correct course is great service, I think it takes a little more than that.

A couple of folks that we shared dinner with mentioned that they thought the staff appeared unhappy and mentioned problems with service.

Just a couple of observations from things I heard. 70% of the guests were first time customers. This cruise had more people under 50 than the norm for Silversea. Most of the people that we talked to at dinner that had sailed on Radisson and Silversea told us that they preferred Radisson.

The food was good but not great. I can go to a number of local restaurants that have better food at reasonable prices. The desserts and pastries leave a bit to be desired.

The room steward staff was great and the accommodations were great. It is a beautiful ship.

Wow, am I disappointed. We are sailing on the Whisper January 5th, and this is not good news. Quite honestly, I won't know the difference between one sparkling wine or another, but the virus/food poisoning issue is SCARY.

As one of the 8 ladies (although not a trivia playing kind, that I left to my wonderful travelling companions) I too have to say the service was spotty. Each of us had complaints of either non-existant service, or service with an aloof attitude. Not what one would expect from a line like Silversea. I have never cruised on Radisson but will compare it to Seabourn, which I have cruised on. Sorry to say, the service on Seabourn was heads and tails above SS, but the Whisper and my cabin in particular was absolutely stunning and much better compared to the Seabourn Pride.

We had dinner with Fernando the last night and he was telling us that this was the largest crowd they had on board for a long while. That still does not excuse the lack of service around the pool, and in various dining rooms. Orv, I will disagree with you on the quality of the desserts and such. We all thought they were wonderful. We did eat one night in the Terrace Cafe - for provence night. I dont think anyone at our table was overly impressed.

I will write a review in a day or so. Dont get me wrong, this was a wonderful cruise, with the best cruisemates I could have asked for. It was also nice meeting you Kristin, along with Melb and her sister. Now Orv, you must have seen us on board - yet you didnt say hello :(

Sorry about that, I didn't seem to find the appropriate time to introduce myself. I didn't want to intrude on a party. :o

These reports are worrying. I have found a significant decline in Silversea service when the ship is full. How full was your cruise?

Observer,

Fernando the cruise director said that our cruise was at full capacity, meaning every cabin was booked. Although he did say that many were in single cabins (such as those in my group) so there weren't as many passengers as there could have been.

A couple of things that I thought should have been handled a bit better -

They were changing out the furniture, varnishing it and cleaning it and such. I came back to the cabin with no note, and had not a piece of furniture in the room other than the couch and the bed. I would have preferred a note letting me know that this was being done (as we all know, maintenance has to be done on a daily basis, cruise or otherwise). They finally returned the furniture later in the day. When I came back to the cabin there was a noticeable smell of varnish in the room when I came in. I opened the door to the verandah to air out the cabin. Then I noticed that one chair in particular had a tackiness about it. I came to realize that it was still full of varnish. Rather than call someone, I aired out the cabin, wiped down the chair and left a note and the washcloth for the stewardess. I also told Fernando the cruise director. Not once did anyone contact me with an apology, or anything.

Also one of my travelling companions asked her stewardess to remove all the soda and such from the fridge and just fill it with water. She actually told her no, she will bring more water but is leaving the soda in. After repeated requests on the 4th day everything was finally removed. This too wasn't handled in a correct way.

I am just hoping that this particular cruise had its glitches so to speak. Unfortunately every line does get them now and again. I feel bad about those who came down with that virus and such. This is the first I had heard of that. I do hope that everyone affected is finally feeling better.

Don't get me wrong, there were many things I enjoyed about the Whisper. My cabin was wonderful (cabin 621) and I spent many an hour sitting on my verandah. It was the perfect size. The ship was gorgeous and you never felt it was crowded anywhere. Room service was always prompt, and anything ordered was always at the correct temperature. Although small, the casino was fun and had wonderful bar service. Although I made my normal donations to the slot machines, a video poker machine was awfully kind and I came away a couple of hundred ahead :) There were many quiet places to sit on the ship, very nice to relax in.

Would I travel on Silversea again? If a great deal came along to a place I would want to go I would consider it, and would hope that our cruise on the Whisper was just an off one.

We are leaving on the 14 day holiday cruise on the Whisper next week and the comments made here are very disturbing. They are the first that I've read anywhere regarding a seemingly aloof and unprofessional attitude and the lack of service quality by the ship's staff. With the polished reputation that Silversea has worked so hard to maintain in the cruise industry, I'm hoping that this is an isolated incident and will be soon corrected.

Michael

I agree that this post is very disturbing as we have two cruises booked in 2005 with Silversea.

Also an overseas friend of ours has just returned from a Silver Cloud cruise and says she will never book another cruise on the Cloud. She says it has big problems....and this is from a lady who adores Silverseas and has cruised for over 250 days with them!!!

lets just hope this was a crew that was due to end its contracts after this cruise. sometimes they get very tired after six months aboard, not that that's any excuse for the transgressions mentioned. Someone in a senior position aboard should have noticed the same things the passengers did and taken measures to correct them.

lets just hope this was a crew that was due to end its contracts after this cruise. sometimes they get very tired after six months aboard, not that that's any excuse for the transgressions mentioned. Someone in a senior position aboard should have noticed the same things the passengers did and taken measures to correct them.

I agree! Who was the captain on this ship??? The Skipper??? LOL We sailed on the Whisper this past April and it was a full ship except for the cabin that someone died in on a back to back. I can't imagine Captain Casaro letting these things happen on his ship. He ran a very tight ship. Also what happened to Judy? She was the cruise director when we sailed and was excellent. Who is Fernando and does he know Abba??? LOL

Don

Also what happened to Judy? She was the cruise director when we sailed and was excellent.

Don

If you mean Judie Abbott, she's on the Wind now. She's a gem!

The captain on the Whisper for this voyage was Gennaro Arma, and the Cruise Director was Fernando de Oliveria. Fernando was leaving the Whisper and after he returns from vacation he was going on the Cloud. He did mention the name of the CD that was replacing him, but the name escapes me. It was a woman however, who used to be an entertainer. Perhaps this is the Judy that you are talking about?

Captain Arma is a good guy; he was the captain on our last SILVER WHISPER voyage, on which the service was impeccable. Here's a photograph of Captain Arma:

http://europeforvisitors.com/europe/galleries/silver-whisper-2003/silver-whisper-bridge-tour-signal-flags.htm

For what it's worth, I should think that the hotel director would be the person most involved with (and responsible for) overseeing the passenger-service aspects of the cruise. Which isn't to say that the Captain isn't expected to schmooze with the passengers. :-)

Captain Arma is a good guy; he was the captain on our last SILVER WHISPER voyage, on which the service was impeccable. Here's a photograph of Captain Arma:

 

http://europeforvisitors.com/europe/galleries/silver-whisper-2003/silver-whisper-bridge-tour-signal-flags.htm

 

For what it's worth, I should think that the hotel director would be the person most involved with (and responsible for) overseeing the passenger-service aspects of the cruise. Which isn't to say that the Captain isn't expected to schmooze with the passengers. :-)

Durant, I know what you mean but Captain Casaro was very congenial and we spent a fair amount of time with him. Our hotel director, Ken Fella, was very nice and did a great job, but other than seeing him at embarkation, we really didn't see much of him.

I hope that Judy Abbott does come back to the Whisper. We are hoping to sail again on the Whisper in May and would love to see her again.

Don

Don:

May huh????:D :D :D

Don:

 

May huh????:D :D :D

Always have to have a backup plan. Since I can't sail between now and the end of April, that may be as long as I can go without a cruise!!! LOL. I'm hoping that by Mid May, I could get away. I may still have to wait until July to sail, but I can always hope, can't I???

Besides they have a great deal on this one at 2 for 1 and you know how we love deals! Sure you don't want to join us??? I'll even smuggle French's onboard for you!!! :D

Don

Don:

Actually checked out on the website the cruise you are referring to, and would love to go but have some problems........we obviously can't do a cruise in April and in May........now that Mom has stabilized we feel we should keep our committments to people that we have already commited to on this April cruise. I think that is important. Plus, the cruise you mention is more expensive since we have that coupon (thank you) on Celebrity that has to be used......and if you remember, we have that $300 airfare roundtrip and don't have air miles like you guys.........I doubt we could get round trip air to the Med for $300pp LOL!;)

I appreciate the offer but Silver Sea will have to wait for another time.....just can't do April and May back to back.

Jim

I knew you couldn't do this one since you guys were already committed to the Celebrity in April. With as many people as you have joining you it would have been impossible for you not to go, barring something with your mom. However, we were just thinking you could call it B2B cruise with a really long port of call in between in Edmond!!! LOL

If we do end up getting to go, we probably won't use airmiles either on this one if the airfares continue to be low. Been checking and have found $593 air on American.

For us a lot will depend on what happens over the next few months, otherwise we may have to opt for that mini cruise on Lake Texoma! :D

Don

Almost forgot to post the link to my review, in case anyone is interested - be warned - it's long, but you can skip over the info you don't care to read.

http://www.tropictravelonline.com/azgkrudi_silverseas_silverwhisper_122004.htm

and photos (from both our SS cruises):

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/azgkrudi/my_photos

Our lunch & dinner menus on the Whisper:

http://www.tropictravelonline.com/cgi-bin/gallery/gallery.cgi?Category=100642

We will sail SS again, but have decided to hold off until a (hopefully perfect) summer 2006 Mediterranean voyage, and will spend our 2005 vacation in "landlubber" spots.

I enjoyed your review/diary of the trip. A couple of observations, we never received any champagne in the room.(of course I certainly didn't lack in the alcohol department) Perhaps this also is part of the service for upgraded suites. The book you mentioned is also apparently just for the upgraded suites.

Overall I enjoyed the lack of announcements on the PA system. I think I read here a while back that this is a conscious decision on their part. We heard nothing in our room either although you could hear it out in the hall.

It was a shame that you missed Barbados, it was actually one of our favorite stops on the trip. We took the Jeep Safari and had a great guide. I would definitely go back to Barbados if the opportunity arises.

Thanks again for the review.

Orv, several of our ladies had champagne waiting in the fridge upon embarkation and some did not. Another lady had one bottle of the SS champagne and also the Amex Platinum bottle of Dom Perignon. I had the Dom in my cabin from Amex but no SS champagne. Why some people received the SS champagne and some did not is a mystery to me. P.S., I chose a SS coaster when handing in my trivia coupons. I, too was in Group one. Next time introduce yourself. We all enjoyed meeting up with other CC friends and we never would have thought that you were intruding on a party. Great review and pics Kristin! Thanks for sharing.

Pat

I'm puzzled. I thought you could simply ask for as much champagne as you want.

We were also on the past holiday cruise and had no problems whatsoever with anything other than some snotty guests who wanted to be treated like royalty. We got champagne placed in our room fridge nightly and got ice for it promptly on request. We ate those teriffic meals in the Terrace Cafe most every night and the staff there was fabulous-they knew the wines we liked and if there was no chocolate for dessert, provided it for us without asking. We met really nice and warm people and had an overall lovely cruise. I think the change to Captain Tatulli did well for the whole staff on this cruise and everyone did their jobs with charm and grace (well, most!)

All of our requests were taken care of promptly and it was our opinion that if you treat the wait staff with respect, you got a doubling of a return investment in service. Some others didn't get that. One OBNOXIOUS guest even had the audacity to call a young waitress an IDIOT loud enough for everyone to hear in the theater prior to a show. We met with her later and told her not to take it personal-just consider the source...

We heard all the whiny complaints before we left, but it appears SS did a bang up job in fixing them. We'll write more later, but I'm actually enjoying being on dry land today finally though I can feel the boat sway as I type!!!

Michael