Small Whisper Review with Photos!

Well we haven’t JUST got of the ship, but this is the first chance to write you all about my first SilverSea Whisper November 20-29 Ft Lauderdale to Colon, Panama cruise. It was wonderful – 10 day of PURE bliss.

We met two wonderful couples on the first night and were with them the whole cruise. One of them even had the Owner’s suite on board – AMAZING – I was glad to help them enjoy it!

Food was excellent. I have a seafood and shellfish allergy and before I could even inform my table staff they knew! Even while eating in Le Champaign or the Terrace at night, they would make special food for me if I couldn’t eat a course. I felt truly special! We – the six of us – ate in Le Champaign twice and had a fabulous time. It was only $50 a couple for the wines. But I have to admit that we could have been eating dirt in a closet and it would have been fabulous with the company!

The staff was good and at other times GREAT. One day I asked Oscar at the pool bar for a milkshake. He ran all over the ship getting all the ingredients that he needed! Then the next day, while I was in the hot tub, there is Oscar bringing me ANOTHER milkshake without even being asked. I called him my “Milkshake King”.

We did have a ‘situation’ while on board – some items of value were missing from our room! The security staff did not live up to the Silversea standards with resolving this situation. On disembarking day, we go the brush off again from the security officer, and then spoke with the Concierge, who said that he would take care if things. We still haven’t heard from anyone! Now this is a problem, but we did not let it effect our cruise! I believe that things are replaceable, but memories last forever!

The ports were great. I was especially worried about going to Columbia! Our first stop in Santa Marta was ok. We went on a ship tour and felt that we were the tour to all the locals. I heard that we were the first ship in over 6 months! Now Cartagena was unbelievable! The architecture and history added with the politeness of the street sellers and the locals was great. I don’t know if I would walk down all the streets alone, but the ship tour was excellent!

Well not to run on, there is so much to say! But instead I would like you all to see the pictures! There is quite a lot, but not the whole 1200 that we took!

http://www.zaxie.com/cruise

I would be happy to answer any questions!

Now to work on my scrapbook. . . . . . . .

Dena

P.s. We did spend an extra day in Panama so there are many photos from there also!

Thanks for the POSITIVE review of your trip. It was great reading it after all the negative posts from the last couple of days. We're on the 14 day holiday cruise and will no doubt pick up from where you all left off. The pictures looked fun! Again, thanks!

Michael

On my flight to Auckland (purchased as part of the cruise), I had a digital camera and stereo walkman stolen from my luggage. I submitted a claim to Quantas - and they gave me only $100 for the lost items, based on their weight... I submitted this claim, along with what had happened with my correspondence with Quantas, to the Silversea insurance program, and had the entire remaining replacement value of the items returned to me from the insurance company - about $350 if I remember correctly. It wasn't a large loss, and it took months to resolve, but it was resolved. I did the legwork myself though - no help from the concierge as resolution happened so much later than the cruise itself (and of course was unrelated to shipboard issues.)

I always left my laptop out on my desk when going in and out of my suite, along with other electronic devices including camera and MP3 player, and souvenirs, and even on occasion jewelry I hadn't put back in the safe. I never had any issues, though admit I should not have been so careless either.

Thank you for the wonderful review, and for the tip on safety. We will be on the Whisper on January 5th, and I will be careful with my jewelry. I sometimes leave it in a drawer, rather than in the safe. Not that any of it is that vaulable, but it is valuable to me. I hope that things work out for you, and that Silversea is cooperative in resolving your issues.

First, thanks so much for the great pictures and review. You both remind me of my husband and me. It looks like you had such a great time! We leave Wednesday for a 14 day holiday cruise. We will also be enjoying our anniversary during the cruise. Needless to say, we are very excited!

I have several questions particularly after reading various posts on this board. Any info is greatly appreciated.

1. How were the amenities in the suite? Are the shampoos, soaps, etc. strong, just right, smell great?

2. Did you have any issues with the ship running out of champagne, beer, etc.?

3. How was the Philipponnat champagne?

4. From your review, it appeared the service was great. Did you notice any issues around the pool? It sounds like we need to locate Oscar! What a guy!

5. Another pool question … was there any problem finding a lounge chair? That is one of the things I just hate to deal with, particularly on days at sea. Our last cruise had about 600 passengers and the pool was a nightmare. From one of your pictures, it looked as if everyone was spread out and comfortable.

6. Which specialty nights did you select for the Terrace? Would you recommend it or did you prefer the food in the dining room?

We are also going to Grand Cayman, Aruba, Santa Marta and Cartagena.

7. What did you do in Aruba? Did anyone talk about or visit DePalm Island or Palm Beach? Any recommendations?

8. What is your opinion of getting off the ship in Santa Marta and Cartagena and just walking around? We really don’t plan on venturing too far, but would like to check out the local artisans, but do not want to risk being kidnapped:) The US State Department warnings are a bit scary. What is your recommendation? Sounds like the Cartagena tour was fun.

Have fun with the scrapbooks. Thank so much for answering any or all of the above questions.

Linda and Michael

Hi,

I was on the Dec. 6-13 sailing that got some negative reviews. That was my second Silversea cruise. First, let me answer your questions as our first trip stopped in Cartagena.

1. The amenities were still Bulgari. I heard two stories- one was that ran out of the Aqua de Parma, the other was that people disliked the Aqua and they decided to go back to the Bulgari. I was happy to have the Bulgari because I really like it. A friend I met on the cruise seemed to believe that since they've signed a contract with Acqua that they more than likely just ran out and will start using it again when they get more. Who knows??

2 and 3. They did run out of champagne (Philliponnat) about the fourth day. They did not tell you they were pouring something else, but just by looking at it you knew it was different. The color was much lighter with the substitute wines which was more of a sparkling wine. Philliponnat is not the best champagne in the world. It is very yeasty and has a bit of an aftertaste, but that said, it's also not the worst and I thought much better than the replacement stuff. They did get more in and room service brought it to your room, and unlike what other people have said I found it the rest of the cruise in the other bars, but I asked for it specifically.

4. OLIVER is the bartender you want, not Oscar, and he works in the Panorama lounge. It's inside,down the hall, on the pool deck. Tell him the Iced Cappucino sisters sent you and he'll laugh!!

I have to agree the pool bar needs more staff.

5. It depends, it can be hard to find a chair. If your cruise is full get out early, if it's not you shouldn't have a problem.

6. Specialty nights in the Terrace Cafe hmm- I would say- Chef's signature and Paris -Nice. Also, you can never go wrong in Le Champagne. The main dining room is excellent and I had some great filet mignons when I didn't see anything on the menu.

7. Aruba has great shopping. The Screamer is fun, too.

8. In Cartagena I would NOT go alone. I would take the tour with the ship, it is very good. We did the one with shopping, it was a lot of fun. Take a private guide if you want to go alone, and don't wear any expensive jewelry.

We left stuff out in our room and never had a problem. I always leave the Privacy Please hanging when I leave the room. But, make sure your room is cleaned before you do it, or they won't want to bother you and not come in to clean.

I noticed from my first cruise a gentle slide down. For instance, last April they served hot appetizers in a silver trolley wheeled around to the tables. Cold ones were served on trays with shot glasses of chilled soups. I thought this was very elegant. We hardly saw any hors d'oeuvres being passed anywhere. Also, in the smoking sections they put these big ugly white matchbooks in the ashstrays instead of Silversea ones. They didn't even put the nut tray down except one time. Stuff first timers wouldn't notice, but repeat customers see right away.

If you have any more questions just ask.

You should have a great time. The holiday cruises don't usually sell out, so maybe the staff will be in a better mood.

Oscar sounds great! I wish he'd have been there on our cruise. His contract must have just ended.

Linda and Michael-

Please be forewarned that I am not a picky person. As an example I will eat a steak from bloody to charred. Now I do have preferences but I am really a person that goes with the flow!

How were the amenities in the suite?

The towels and robes are great in the suite. We did not get our second robe till two day into the ship because they said they didn’t have any clean ones – go figure! I really think that the suite has most everything that you need. My boyfriend and I used the binoculars every day. The only thing that we brought is a speaker system for our Ipod. It was great to listen to music different than they have on the TV.

Are the shampoos, soaps, etc. strong, just right, smell great?

Well, I am a girl with curly hair so I ALWAYS bring my own shampoo and conditioner because you never know what some stuff is going to do, so I really never used the shampoo. The soap for washing hands was great. I even brought one home as a souvenir. My boyfriend did start using the body wash that was provided because he said that mine was too fruity and girly!

Did you have any issues with the ship running out of champagne, beer, etc.?

I did not have any experience with this. I know that I overheard many times that they did not have any apple liquor for appletinis, but this was from the start. We would usually meet in ‘The Bar’ before dinner and have a cocktail and finger foods. My boyfriend did not like the head bartender much; he just really had a chip on his shoulder. We would usually use the wait staff to order drinks. The men in our group wanted some port – and a vintage port they got – even a bottle of their own delivered to the room.

How was the Philipponnat champagne?

We enjoyed the champagne on board very much. Especially the Dom Perignon that we got with booking with Amex. We shared it with our new friends. I actually got to open it and it exploded on me, I thought Bob - the connoisseur - was going to cry!

From your review, it appeared the service was great. Did you notice any issues around the pool? It sounds like we need to locate Oscar! What a guy!

After reading the review above – it is Oliver – I knew it was a O name. He was working in the pool when I was on board. I would assume that they move them around. Pool service was OK – there were 3 bartenders at most times, but not that many wait staff. I did order a drink and never get it one or two times. Oh well, my legs worked so I just got up and got my own. Luca – a waiter around the pool during the day and in ‘Le Champagne’ at night was wonderful. I really just wanted to take him home with me! I found that when you maid a point in getting to know staff they would make sure you had what you needed. When Luca or Oliver were around, I never had to ask for anything. But I am young and in a bikini so that could have been it too . . . . .

Another pool question … was there any problem finding a lounge chair? From one of your pictures, it looked as if everyone was spread out and comfortable.

I found out the first day that there are those kind of people that are up at the crack of dawn putting a book on a chair so they have one in the afternoon. Really I found no reason for that. You just need to know that NO ONE clean up after themselves when they leave, so you never know if the chair is taken because there is a towel or not. I found that if there was a towel with no stuff to remove the dirty persons towel and grab myself a new one and have a seat. Overall I had no problem finding a seat – in the sun, shade or half shade.

Which specialty nights did you select for the Terrace?

We did the terrace only once and they had a special chef in from the east coast. Now from my review before – I didn’t get to eat all the course. But everyone else at the table enjoyed it!

Would you recommend it or did you prefer the food in the dining room?

The first night in ‘The Restaurant’ we had a waitress that was not having a good day. So the next night we just sat in a different section. We loved the new staff. So we just asked to be seated in their section. I enjoyed the food! Just remember that they will do anything for you if you ask, BUT you HAVE to ask! As an example – we wanted some dessert wine after dinner – they on the dessert menu it doesn’t say that they have any – but we asked and had a bottle every night! JUST ASK!

We are also going to Grand Cayman, Aruba, Santa Marta and Cartagena.

If you are looking for something to do in Grand Cayman – Do the snorkeling and stingray tour with Captain Marvin’s http://www.captainmarvins.com/ There were only six of us on board. Great deal and an experience!

What did you do in Aruba?

We went on the submarine with the ships tour. It was pricey but 150 ft down was a great time. I saw that you probably plan it on your own – there may have been a price difference, but I don’t know. After the boyfriend and I walked through town. Not just the tourist shops we WALKED down all the many side streets – we had a great time.

Did anyone talk about or visit DePalm Island or Palm Beach? Any recommendations?

It wasn’t the best beach day when we were there. They actually had to cancel the golf tour for that day.

What is your opinion of getting off the ship in Santa Marta and Cartagena and just walking around?

Both these ports are in an industrial area. Not like most ports that you visit. We had a great time watching them load and unload the tankers because it is RIGHT THERE. The shopping the immediate port area isn’t that great in Santa Marta – but heard good things about the store in Cartagena – it is a walk away. I would not recommend walking Santa Marta alone. Some did the cab tour – but I felt safer on the ships tour. In Cartagena there really isn’t much to see right outside the gates of the port. Take a cab on a tour or take the ships tour – we enjoyed them both VERY much and felt very safe with our armed guards – see my pictures!

Now that a LONG post - Enjoy the trip and dont sweat the small stuff!

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions. As I mentioned before, I suspect we are a lot alike. We are not very picky and have learned to adapt. It doesn't matter where we go, we ALWAYS have a good time.

So if they run out of apple liquor for appletinis ... we switch to Cosmos or try something new. Life is good!

Thanks again and I can only hope our pictures come out half as good as yours.

Linda ad Michael

Thanks for the info and taking the time tor respond. That was really nice!

We'll search out Oliver, wherever he may be! Since we are on the holiday cruise, I believe it has been sold out for quite a while.

We know one thing for sure ... we'll have a great time.