November 22 Shadow-Disappointing

This was our third cruise in two years with Silversea. Without a doubt the standards on this cruise have declined. The first two cruises were exceptional-on par or better than Seabourn. This cruise was not. It all started with embarkation (yes, we had major problems too.) We departed from Costa Rica and the port is between 1.5 and 3 hours from San Jose depending on the traffic. The embarkation time was slated at 3pm and we arrived at 1:30pm due to light traffic. It was an extremely hot day and Silversea had no Marquee set up dock side as they normally do. We boarded and were immediately told by a very rude Concierge named Anna, that we would have to stand on shore until 2:30 unless we wanted to pay $300 early embarkation. As we had a 4year old who was quite car sick, we refused both the fee and to stand in the heat. After a heated (literally) discussion, we were rudely told that we could sit in one of the lounges until the official time, but that they reserved the right to charge us early boarding. At 2:30 they opened official boarding and then had the gaul to try and charge us US $100 for sitting in their lounge for less than 60minutes! We again refused, but the PR damage had been done. Apart from this awful start to the cruise, the food was a major let down. I once posted a review of a Radisson ship and complained how mediocre the food was compared to Silversea. This time around I cannot say that I was impressed at all. Very few shellfish dishes, an attempt to slip cheaper cuts of beef onto the menu, and way too many repetitive cold appetisers. I think that I must have ate an entire 200lb Tuna by the end of the cruise! Also, I think the complimentary Sevruga is no longer Sevruga Caviar. I cannot be sure, but it did not look the same as previous cruises. It looked like the American Farm Bred stuff-still tasted quite good though! Finally, no real interesting desserts to speak of-no Flambes, no Souffles, etc.

Apart from the embarkation and the food (Wine was Very Good however), the service was excellent as usual. The Captain was also very friendly as were the bulk of the staff. We won't write off Silversea yet, but we'll probably go back to Seabourn for our next cruise.

There is certainly no excuse for rudeness.

As for the quality of the food it is my understanding that it is centrally sourced so either the supplier is at fault for inferior quality,or Silversea is actively ordering inferior ingredients.

In the UK,Silversea does not appear to be discounting as deeply as other premium lines,so this cannot be cited as a reason for lowered standards.

I echo that there's no excuse whatsoever for rudeness.

However, SS make an all inclusive charge and do not charge extra for drinks etc. They are entitled to make a living based on what they offer and are obligated to provide what they advertise. The times are advertised and set out in your contract. The price includes everything you want between set times from when you embark to when you disembark. They have to set the time in concrete and it isn't fair to others to make exceptions. They were right on insisting on making a charge if you wanted to board early but were wrong (if) they were rude.

And therein lies one of the problems with Silversea (and Seabourn) for that matter. You are treated like a third-class citizen should you dare to have contact with them either 5 minutes before or 5 minutes after the declared contract time. A 5 or 6 star experience should start the moment you pay your deposit. Why was there no Marquee or other suitable waiting area prior to departure? Business and First Airline passengers get suitable lounges, Four Seasons and the like will usually allow you to check in early with no charge or allow the use of a courtesy room. Silversea is happy to let passengers who arrive 1 hour early stand on the dock with no shade in the sweltering sun! I understand the all-inclusive aspect, but we're paying $1000 USD per day! We did not intend to arrive outside the allotted time, it was simply due to the uncertaintly of the length of drive from San Jose. I guarantee Silverseas would not have waited for us had we been late...

Silversea is happy to let passengers who arrive 1 hour early stand on the dock with no shade in the sweltering sun! ... I guarantee Silverseas would not have waited for us had we been late...

It is very common for the Captain of a cruise ship to make a decision about delaying a maneuver because passengers (or crew members) are not aboard. Particularly if the company arranged all travel. It is never an easy decision to deviate from a schedule, it is always a balance between serving "one" or a "few" vs. "many."

It must have been awful to wait in the sun. I'm surprised there wasn't a greeting station (I recall they typically had them.) Silversea representatives should have handled your situation more kindly. But... the transition days for these cruises are highly scheduled... and everybody is VERY busy trying to get things done in time for 3pm embarkation.

Have you ever given a party which was supposed to start at 8:00 pm, and a few guests showed up at 6:30 pm? I doubt very much you would be ready for them. You would be polite (I think) but inside you'd be thinking "what the xxxx are they doing here so early?????" In contrast, if you'd known those particular guests were coming early, you'd already have been dressed and ready for them...

I'd be a bad cruise ship employee because I have been known to react when I'm angry/annoyed. These people aren't allowed to, even when provoked. I'm not saying you provoked them, but perhaps someone earlier in the day did? Maybe they're missing their husband or wife or child they haven't seen in the past two months, and it's their birthday?

Yesterday I was traveling home and my flight was delayed three hours, which would cause me to miss my connection. All later flights were full. This was US Air, which as you likely know has had problems the past couple weeks. To make a long story short, I was polite and sympathetic, and the agent went out of his way to help -- my group of 4 was upgraded to First Class, and he called the connecting airport to alert them of our arrival (we had 10 minutes to go from one terminal to another and catch our original connection.) We ended up making the flight.

Gretting Stations/Marquees were available at all the ports we visited with the exception of Costa Rica which is where they really needed it. The staff acknowledged the deficiency at this port but the concierge was rude and indifferent to our needs at the time. This was simply one person with an attitude problem that let Silversea down at a critical point.

Contrast this with our experience with another cruise line.. We arrived in Monte Carlo in April after a long and tiring flight. Being S.Floridians we had sparse outerwear to combat the unusual cold weather at 8 a.m. We taxied from Nice directly to the ship to dump our luggage and go sightseeing. It was unbearably cold and windy. Passengers were disembarking, yet following my pleas, the concierge led us to a lounge and told us to keep quiet . When the passengers were all out of the lounge, a steward we had met on a previous cruise brought us hot coffee - without our asking !!

The point is that most staff people will 'go the extra mile' whereas a very very few will not. And it all depends on the approach, doesn't it ?

I find that the best approach is to go to the Silversea hotel and book the ship transfer from there. The hotel is sure to have plenty of food and beverage venues and the ship is sure to be ready for you when you arrive on the transfer bus.