Silver Whisper June 7-14 Civitavecchia-Piraeus: A Very, Very Weird Cruise

As long as this demographic is populous, the hard and soft product deterioration will likely escalate, rather than improve.

Don’t worry, there will always be a new provider waiting to take their place in order to provide product and experience you expect.

 

 

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Silversea advertised one thing (elegance, culture, sophistication) and delivered another.

 

Devil's advocate here...

Where exactly has SS used the words "elegance", "culture" and "sophistication" in an advertising context? I believe these are implied, not stated.

 

Edit:

Ooops!... I posted too soon.

 

From -

https://www.silversea.com/life-onboard.html

"It is a world of European elegance and casual sophistication."

Edited July 7, 2018 by Bill B
Lack of research.

Bill B, and then there is this: " And the atmosphere is delightfully convivial thanks to like-minded guests with a common bond: the love of travel."

Bill, I'm not convinced that the Utility Warehouse "charter" provided us and others with this .........

 

“ ........of an ultra-luxury elegant and relaxing cruise with a delightfully convivial atmosphere with casual sophistication with like minded guests”

 

Jeff, we passed a Utility Warehouse van on the motorway yesterday evening. I scowled at it, on your behalf.

Rp

Jeff, we passed a Utility Warehouse van on the motorway yesterday evening. I scowled at it, on your behalf.

Rp

 

 

Thanks - quite right! :D I hope you heard them singing "Income For Life" to the refrains of "Sweet Caroline" ......

Why? You’re satisfied with Viking, so why are you still searching for a unicorn? You know unicorns aren’t real, right? [emoji4]. Viking is doing great things, has 5 ships with 11 more on order over the next 8-years, and is clearly satisfying you.

 

We’re obviously as different as night and day because I am a loyalist as I don’t have the time to search for something better than my current satisfaction. If a company earns my loyalty my personality is like, “why bother”? Now, don’t get me wrong, if a company fails to satisfy or whose actions lose my trust, I’ll switch in a heart beat. Just ask United Airlines.

 

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Sorry, you misunderstood my unicorn comment. I was referring to the definition of the word “luxury.” Not a unicorn “luxury” cruise.

 

Clearly we are different from your description. I’m a Gemini, so I’m curious. I always want to know if there is something I’m missing. I also like variety.

 

Yes, we are quite happy with Viking, but we are booked on an Azamara cruise because it filled a slot we had - namely a cruise next spring from a port we didn’t have to fly to with an interesting itinerary on a small ship.

 

I have never had a loyalty to any corporation. Seriously, no matter what they would have one think, they aren’t loyal to me. In the overall scheme of things, one is just a number. If I like the product and it suits my needs/wants, l will look to them first, but not exclusively.

 

We have recently been looking at Oceania and Regent, but I’m keeping an eye out for other lines that might suit us as well. Choice is a good thing. [emoji7]

 

We look to Viking first, and will undoubtably be booking with them again. Still I’d like to try one of the lines deemed “luxury” to see if it’s really that different. We aren’t particularly price conscious, but we do like to get the value we are paying for.

 

I do know that we don’t need a butler. I consider that just a bit of pretension. We also are over and done with formal nights. It just doesn’t suit our style. How the various lines handle the whole dress code issue is important. Smart casual works for us. I don’t mind a bit of sparkle, but my husband is not wild about wearing a jacket, and forget about a tie.

 

And so my search continues.

That's the great thing about Seabourn Cyber Kat. If your husband really wants nothing to do with formal, there are other options on formal night. You can dine at Earth and Ocean or at the Colonnade or even at Sushi. I think the issue would arise if you met a compatible couple or two and you enjoyed their company and they asked you to join them in the MDR on formal night. It would be a shame if you couldn't join them because you had not brought appropriate attire.

 

But, I do understand the issue. I have to admit that I take clothing that can pass for formal night--mainly because it is a black dress with a bit of glitz with a scarf. I felt comfortable wearing this. While there were women decked out in truly lovely gowns, I also saw women in black slack and a slightly dressy jacket. Everyone was fine and we all dined in the same room with suitable decorum.

 

My husband only wants to sail with Seabourn. We have loved the line and have had two great cruises. I am the more adventurous one wondering if some other line would suit me just as well. Of course I am now spoiled by the service on SB!

Sorry, you misunderstood my unicorn comment. I was referring to the definition of the word “luxury.” Not a unicorn “luxury” cruise.

Oops! I thought you were using it as a metaphor for the definition of the word “luxury”. So, since unicorns aren’t real, then I figured you thought there was no such thing as a luxury cruise. Oh well, no biggie. My bad.

 

 

I also like variety.

Ooooohhh... me too! I love variety. It’s probably why I enjoy Silver Muse so much as the dining and wine options feel like they are endless.

 

If I like the product and it suits my needs/wants, l will look to them first, but not exclusively.

I get it. Nothing wrong that.

 

Choice is a good thing. [emoji7]

Amen!

 

I do know that we don’t need a butler. I consider that just a bit of pretension.

Well, of course. Very few people “need” a Butler. I just happen to want a Butler and not because I’m pretentious. Who the heck do I have to impress? No one. We have been so fortunate to sail with such fine Butlers and Cabin Stewards as they have added so much to the enjoyment of our cruising.

 

We also are over and done with formal nights. It just doesn’t suit our style.

Not us! We love, love, love formal nights. Our style at home and at work are so casual that we thoroughly enjoying getting the chance to dress formally. And, of course, we totally respect those who abhor formal night.

 

How the various lines handle the whole dress code issue is important. Smart casual works for us. I don’t mind a bit of sparkle, but my husband is not wild about wearing a jacket, and forget about a tie.

This is but one reason why we like SS so much, because we think they do a good job at providing so many different dining options for those who wish to dine as formally or as casually as they wish. Aren’t we’re lucky to live in a day and age where how one dresses doesn’t matter? I certainly think so.

 

And so my search continues.

Enjoy the hunt!

 

 

 

 

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Hi, thanks.

That is compounded by Silversea not recognising that an appropriate response would be to do exactly as they promised ie to treat each individual complaint on an individual basis. This is an important difference. For Beeminor for example this trip was a part of a bigger European trip. For us, it was the entire trip and for personal reasons I wanted my wife to simply have a quiet week on Whisper which we know well. It was the ship that was the destination and we planned simply to leave the ship in each port for lunch.

 

Jeff, I am beyond glad that the cruise was for us the middle segment of what was essentially a three-part trip, so we were buffered by good land-based experiences on both sides. We also got a huge amount of added value from the business class air packaged with the cruise--paying for those tickets independently would have cost us 75%-80% as the full cruise/air combo. If we had been sailing on a "let's take naps and enjoy the ship" cruise and not a "let's go see all these places from a floating hotel" cruise, Silversea would have gotten more than an annoyed email from me, that's for sure.

 

Still I don't know if we'd sail Silversea again, apologetic incentive offers or no. I have a milestone birthday (21 at last! ;)) coming up in 2020, and one reason we took this cruise was to see if we'd want to do a longer small ship cruise for my birthday trip. I also have a food allergy that makes it very challenging for me to travel independently in east and southeast Asia, so we're in the market for a protected way to experience that part of the world. We should be an easy sell on a future cruise. But after our experience on the Whisper we are hanging onto the two Celebrity bookings we have for later this year and early 2019, and then we'll see. We may be cruised out.

 

On the "what is luxury?" question--for me luxury is someone anticipating what I will like. It's the "surprise and delight" factor. Our SS butler was trying to talk up Silversea as a "six star" line because of factors like the mostly-balcony suites and nicer tableware in the restaurants. Those things are nice but trappings are not luxury.