New to Silversea - 2 questions

Hi Everyone,

We're looking to travel on Silver Cloud out of Singapore in November and I have a couple questions.

On a small ship like this, is there a big advantage of having a mid-ship veranda over a regular veranada that justifies the extra cost? I wouldn't think so because this is no where near as long as the mega-ships where it does make a huge difference.

How do most of you get your air travel - through Silversea or do you get your own?

Thanks very much -

John

I don't think there would be too much difference as far as motion is concerned. However, the closer to mid-ship, the closer you are to events and activities such as food, drink, and other services.

On my last trip Silversea bought air took me through Philadelphia on the way back from Rome to Atlanta. I had to walk right past a direct Rome to Atlanta flight and board one to Philly (where we were stuck for 8 hours).

>>On my last trip Silversea bought air took me through Philadelphia on the way back from Rome to Atlanta. I had to walk right past a direct Rome to Atlanta flight and board one to Philly (where we were stuck for 8 hours).<<

You could have avoided the change of planes by making your own flight arrangements, but you might have paid more. (Sometimes you can get nonstop flights on your preferred airline for no more than a cruise line's bulk fare. It's a bit of a gamble. Next time, ask your travel agent to advise you on flight options or consult with Silversea about flight deviations.)

I kept asking my TA for the flight arrangements, but did not receive them until the cruise documents came in. By then it was too late to book my own.

We were lucky, though. Of the nine staterooms that showed up for the cruise at Nice airport with us, 4 of them had their luggage lost. Luckily, the wayward bags were returned the next day, but not before some of the ladies had patronized some of the boutiques in Cannes.

I hope not - nobody should patronise! Even in Cannes!

I'm now getting even more worrried about my luggage and those sequins!

uk2.3

We always book our own air fare and hotels. We use Frequent Flyer miles to up-grade to Business Class on every flight. We never have to worry about middle- of the- night or very early flights, plane changes, or long stop-overs. As far as hotels, we also book those ourselves. We find most of the time we can secure reservations in the same hotel at a better rate if we do it ourselves. Again, we have more control. For those of you with Platinum, Gold or Centurion American Express cards, you have access to a travel agent who can get just as good a rate or even better through American Express...plus many times you will be up-graded at no extra cost. If you don't have a Platinum, Gold or Centurion American Express Card, I suggest you look into it. We make up the annual fee usually within the first three months!! This is advice only for frequent travellers!!!

My goodness, LibLively, you must be a frequent traveler on lots of airlines. To do the same as you, we would have had to be able to do the business class upgrade within a few weeks of travel on Lufthansa one way and U.S. Airways the other on full flights in high season. Then we would have had to book a room in Cannes at the Carlton Hotel during the film festival, the Carlton being the main headquarters of the festival.

BDMarine

We put most of our charges on AMEX (thus lots of miles) and usually up-grade on a ticket purchased well in advance.(We seldom use free tickets therefore accrue miles on each flight too.) None of my suggestions work on last minute arrangements...especially in high season. If you wait until the last minute, definitely use SilverSea....that may indeed be the only avenue open to you. Many flights will be unavailable if you wait until a couple of weeks before a trip to book them. ( We tend to plan our cruises way ahead. ) As far as the Carlton...there are many very nice hotels in Cannes (we've been there many times during the Festival) that are not booked as far in advance as the Carlton (which is indeed the headquarters for all the film stars, but is not the only nice place in town. In fact, it tends to be a zoo during the Festival and we avoid it in favor of a quieter location). I was simply offering another option for people to explore.Seems I pushed some of your "hot buttons"! Didn't mean to offend.

Sorry, Liblively; perhaps I responded too vehemently. We booked way in advance, but our TA said she was unable to get the air info until a few weeks before sailing. We asked the TA every week, and she responded by saying that SilverSea did not have that information yet. I've know the TA for 20 years and she is a close personal friend (but she could be lying to me, who knows?).

I try to book my own tickets and use miles to upgrade to business. Usually the fares I have gotten were less than those offered by the cruiseline. But I do have to plan way in advance to get the flight I want if I want to upgrade.

As far as the hotels go, I would (almost) never book through Silversea. You can almost always get a better rate booking them yourself (or your travel agent). The markup when you book with Silversea are unreal.

I'm reviving kind of an old thread here - hope I can generate some replies. We're also SS newbies - and new to cruising, period - and some of the comments in this thread were pertinent to the questions that are foremost in my mind right now. :confused:

We will need to get to London (S'hampton) from either Chicago or Boston next year and I'm in a quandary about flight booking. It seems like prices are always quoted r/t, so how do you play it when you are only flying one/way? Do you buy a r/t ticket and just not use the return? We have booked SS through (a Virtuoso) TA, but otherwise I never use one - too much of a control freak, I guess. We still have the option of using the TA to book our flight (even independent of the offered SS add-on, which is astoundingly expensive) - but maybe I want to make the arrangements myself.

Also, can anyone tell me how difficult/complicated it will be (if we're not using SS's transfer services) to get ourselves to S'hampton from either a London airport or hotel?

Will appreciate any insights. I am so enjoying this forum and learning from so many other experiences posted here. Been trying to wade through all the posts here and with oh-so-slow dial-up, it's becoming quite the career!

Southhampton is far. I understand there's train from London, but with all the luggage, I don't think it's worth it. I'd just get myself to the ship's hotel in London, and take their transfer. The Silversea's price for transfer is usually reasonable. In Singapore it's easy and cheap enough just take a taxi to the passenger terminal.

I usually arrange my own air because I want to get an upgrade to business class using my frequent flyer miles. We charge everything from groceries to business expenses on United Visa cards, living in a United hub city, and as soon as I have enough miles to upgrade, and before all the upgradable seats are gone, we book, usually months ahead. Otherwise arranging business class through SS is very expensive, and I'm not willing to fly such long distance in economy. I book my own hotels also because it's cheaper.

I go to Travelocity and click onto Multiple Destinations.When it comes on you enter when and where you are leaving from.That way you get the airlines you want and the times they leave.When we cruise we never leave from the same city we started from.We book our own air or if we book the cruise lines air we always opt for the deveastion.Cause they can send you around the world and take the longest route.Hope this helps.

We have used Silversea air once. We requested departure from Phoenix on BA to London--the on to Rome. We bought the Business Class upgrade--we recieved the confirmation by fax the same day--the flights both ways were perfect. You might want to check prices of Business Class--some of the airlines are begining to give some good deals. We found a round trip to Istanbul--return from Athens from Tucson AZ. on Delta for $2800 and change. The upgradeable Ecomomy was $2000 and change. Not a bad deal!

This is a UK perspective so your mileage may vary. I have found it impossible to get a good price for one-way or open-jaw air tickets without using a TA. By all means compare the online prices but I have never found them cheaper online for one-way or open-jaw. In many cases online, return is cheaper than one-way!

Heathrow to Southampton is a tedious journey if you do it independently by rail, involving multiple changes, or an expensive one (about GBP 75) if you do it by taxi. The Silversea transfer might be your best bet.

Just curious, how much will it be by taxi from Heathrow to Canterbury and Dover? Thank you.

Thanks for the helpful info. I guess I'm still wondering though - since we only need to get to London (from the US), and will be sailing back...is there any downside to buying a R/T ticket and only using the first half of it? Seems like that might be our most cost-effective way - esp since this isn't til late next summer and we can always hope for a fare sale....Comments?

We'd love to be able to take SS's business class upgrade...but the air/hotel pkg is $1840 pp from Chicago - probably a little too steep.

Just curious, how much will it be by taxi from Heathrow to Canterbury and Dover? Thank you.

It will be substantial. You might want to rent a car. You can also check with Silversea about using their transfers, which might actually be your best solution.

Denyse

This is likely to be in the region of £75. Its a difficult journey by rail involving mchanges of terminuses(i) in London.

Thank you for your replies. We are thinking of spending a week or two in the country side of south eastern England some time next year. Since it will be difficult to haul luggage around, we are wondering whether it will be practical to use taxis for such a tour!

Sounds like you may want to rent a car for that part of your trip. BTW, the earlier you book it, the better the rates.

Denyse