Report from Whisper at Sea

I have not been on Silversea since mid-2003; and I was concerned from posts on this board that Silversea is a different line from the one I enjoyed some 15 months ago.

The Whisper is now steaming toward FLL at the end of a 14 day Xmas/New Year's cruise. The cruise is full. And it has been splendid. Of course there have been minor problems (as there are in any human enterprise.) But the "horror" stories of other posts are not confirmed in my experience. In fact, they are contradicted

The crew is quite ample to the challenge of a full holiday cruise. I recall complaints that the pool bar was understaffed. At lunch and other key times there are so many staff behind the bar that they nearly fall over one another. Service has been prompt and friendly. The food has -- with very, very few exceptions -- been first rate. The sail-away party on the pool deck was the finest, most elaborate such party I have seen on any cruise (inc. multiple cruises on Seabourn and RSSC). I see no sign of cutting corners. Any reasonable request is met promptly and cheerfully. But it does help to make the request: The staff are talented but they are not mind-readers!

Some news (which may have been reported earlier):

** Dinner now begins at 7pm in the restaurant (rather than 7:30). It still runs until 9:30. I very much like this development: It means one can eat earlier if one chooses; and the burden on the wait staff is spread out.

** The suite stewardess have new daytime uniforms as of yesterday: I thought the previous uniforms were fine. But these are nice as well -- a bit more informal.

** An "informal" dress option is offered in the Terrace Restaurant on formal nights. I applaud this option.

** Apparently new TVs with DVD players will be installed in all ships during 2005.

** The NY TIMES digest newspaper has been available daily. Very welcome!!!

** There are now binoculars in all suites. I wish I had known this: I wouldn't have brought mine.

There seem to be more Asian waiters than before. I take this to be a VERY good development. Remember, please, that some of the finest hotel service in the world is found in Asian hotels. I found myself with an Asian waiter the first night out. I have remained with him, asking for a table at his station each night. What is interesting to me is that my appreciation is apparently shared by others. Most of the people dining at his station are now people whom he has served before, who appreciate his fine and sensitive service, and who specifically request this station.

There is a new hotel manager on the Whisper (beginning with this cruise). It may be that he is to be thanked for the improvements over what was reported from earlier December Whisper cruises.

This is my 6th Silversea cruise, and I see complete continuity between this cruise and previous ones. In my book, Silversea remains at the top of the ultra-luxury (inc. RSSC and Seabourn) league.

What disappoints?

First of all, some passengers who are unreasonably demanding and treat the staff as though they (i.e. the staff!) are sub-human. I simply cannot accept that one should snap fingers to call the attention of staff. And some people seem to have sich a sense of entitlement that "thank you" or "please" rarely crosses their lips.

Add to that, the chronic complainers (who seem to believe that they can demonstrate their superior taste and sophistication by carping at this and that).

Today we were at anchor and the sea was a bit rough. I heard a couple of people complain that the tender service should not have been offered since it might be dangerous or uncomfortable. (Warning were given over the PA about the risk of motion sickness during the 15 minute tender ride.) Of course, if the service had not been offered, others would have complained that Silversea had denied them a port call they had counted on. In this, and other matters, the ship's crew apparently can't win: They can't please everyone....

The entertainment has been uneven (though I don't care that much). The comedian-magician may be the worst act I have seen on any cruise. This guy (Sam?) seems to have a real sense of entitlement: He complained during his act that he is not in a guest suite but instead is on "z deck." I wish he would stay there and not go into the Restaurant for brunch in jeans or scoop out the remaining caviar in the tin at the (really lovely!!!) New Year's Day buffet as though it was cottage cheese. Some fellow travellers say that he used to be on Seabourn but is no longer. Silversea deserves to follow suit.

The cruise director (Margaret Scoggins -- sp?) is disappointing and doesn't have the charm of the British CDs to whom I am accustomed. She also goes around the ship in an officer's uniform. I have not seen this on any other ship. Is this now common Silversea practice?

I was really very concerned about embarking on this cruise -- both because of past reports and because the staff would be dealing with a full passenger complement. My concerns were apparently without foundation.

Two more (sea) days remain in the cruise. Things may go wildly wrong then. If so, I will report further!

Now, it's off to The Bar for a bit of refreshment.

Thanks for the post - very reassuring.

Good to hear about the informal option in the Terrace. That will make our SS cruising better.

Sympathise entirely about the whingers and those with bad manners. The more you genuinely make friends with the staff the better and more enjoyable the eperience will be and is. Truly "superior" people are modest and sensitive.

Thanks for your trouble.

I have printed the above as well as the complaints and will give them to the SS rep. when the ship docks on Wed. We are going on board for lunch only.

PLEASE TELL ME IF YOU DO NOT WANT ME TO GIVE OUT THE ABOVE OPINION.

Great review on the Silver Whisper. We were just on the previous cruise and have an INCREDIBLE time aboard.

The food, service and entertainment was exceptional. Everyone onboard makes it a point to ensure that all the guest have a great cruising experience.

I must give special "kudos" to many of the wonderful crew members and entertainers I met onboard. Goran was the best bartender I have experienced in any of my 60+ cruises. He always had a special touch in preparing cocktails.

In the restaurants we met great servers including: Libeth (wine stewardess), Veronika (waitress), Morris (wine steward) and many more. Once again, they went a step above our expectations to make our dining experience enjoyable.

As far as entertainment, we had the pleasure of having a performer from England, Andrew Robley, who performed three shows during the cruise. What a voice! He was remarkable and kept us entertained. I will always remember his renditions of "Music of the Night" and "Wind Beneath My Wings". The Jean Ann Ryan production shows were also very good. Great costumes!

This was our first time on a Silversea cruise and will definitely say that I will return many more times. We are thinking of going again aboard the Whisper in March and hopefully next Fall or Winter with the other couples that we met onboard.

Bravo to Silversea! Keep up the great work!

The cruise director... goes around the ship in an officer's uniform. I have not seen this on any other ship. Is this now common Silversea practice?

Nice review. Very happy to hear that your cruise was topnotch........however I do have to take issue with your use of the word "horror" stories as that simply was not the case. I don't recall anyone stating that they had a horrible cruise or a horror story to tell but simply said that the service was spotty and not up to 5 star standards on some of the December cruises. I was on the December 06th cruise and both my cruise mates and I had a fantastic time even though the service was lacking in certain areas. We certainly did not let it effect our enjoyment of the cruise. In fact some of us made an onboard booking. I made an open booking for 2006. I think most of us attributed the problems to several of the crew's contracts was expiring and they were tired after a long time at sea. Yes, the pool bar was definately understaffed during our cruise. That poor bartender was mixing drinks as quickly as he could but could barely keep up. We actually remarked how bad we felt for him as he was going non stop trying to keep on top of the orders. Yes, there were not enough waiters on the pool deck either. They were so busy gathering up dirty dishes and bringing plates of food to the tables that they never got around to the opposite end of the pool to service people that wanted a drink. People had to go to the bar if they wanted to get served. No big deal but not what one would expect from a 5 star line. Even the mass market lines make sure they have enough waiters so that you don't have to leave your lounge chair to order a drink. I could go on with examples of the lack of service but I won't as it seems that the new hotel director and full compliment of crew has brought the service back to normal Silversea standards as per your review. I'm hoping that our cruise was just a patch of bad luck and that my next Silversea cruise will be better service wise. It certainly has not put me off trying Silversea again. Hi Neville, thanks for bringing this to the attention of the SS rep when you board.

Pat

Canadagal, very well said - I agree with it all! There was only one bartender at the pool all day long - it was either Greg (French) or Goran (Italian, now lives in Germany) - Goran was fantastic and did not get rattled when it got busy. But since he also worked the casino nights, he was not at the pool bar very often. Greg was the main bartender there and I think he was brand-new. There was also somewhat of a language barrier with Greg, which made it tougher for him to provide quick service.

No matter, it does sound like they have upped the number of staff on the pool deck now - problem solved!

Goran shared a room with Igor. Now there's a charecter. And neither of them are small. Imagine their cabin when they are both in.

I saw him showing around some photographs to staff mates. Inquisitiveness got the best of me. Was it a stunning picture of a bathing Croat? No it was a whole set of pictures of his beloved dog "Boss" which had been e-mailed out to him. They were pining for each other.

Canadagal, very well said - I agree with it all! There was only one bartender at the pool all day long - it was either Greg (French) or Goran (Italian, now lives in Germany) - Goran was fantastic and did not get rattled when it got busy. But since he also worked the casino nights, he was not at the pool bar very often. Greg was the main bartender there and I think he was brand-new. There was also somewhat of a language barrier with Greg, which made it tougher for him to provide quick service.

I am now back and have been reading responses to my posting. I may write further in the next few days. But the bar situation on the just completed Whisper cruise was totally different from that reported on the earlier cruise. The bartender who opened and closed the Pool Bar was a Filipino. He was very good and hard working. At lunchtime (and other crunch times, e.g. sailaways) the staff was greatly augmented. There must have been three or four "qualified" bartenders then, and lots of servers.

There is a new bartender in Panorama -- an Irish fellow who just joined the Whisper (and Silversea). He was great.

I never did catch the names of the Europeans who worked The Bar (and at lunchtimes could occasionally be found on the Pool Deck).

Sounds like the Filipino you speak of is Oliver. He was in the Panorama bar on our trip. In my experience he was the best and friendliest bartender on the boat.

He told me that he usually worked the pool bar.

I'm sure others on our cruise mentioned the situation at the pool bar on their comments cards and SS reacted immediately. That is good but I'm curious why a good food and beverage director wouldn't have realized it during the cruise and made the needed adjustments right away.

Silversea changed the dress code, specifically for the cruise director, sometime last year.

Does this response imply that Ray Solaire (assuming he is still with Silversea -- I have not encountered him recently) is walking around in an officer's uniform?

I simply cannot picture Ray in an officer's white uniform with braid, etc.

Silversea changed the dress code, specifically for the cruise director, sometime last year.

I think they've gone back to 'civvies'. When we were on the Silver Wind we had dinner with the CD and she mentioned that they had the CD's in uniform for a short time but now they wear appropriate civilian clothing.

We were also on the Holiday cruise and had the same concerns about the Whisper based on prior posts. It didn't take long to see that if there were problems, they were quickly recognized and taken care of. All of the staff were very courteous and helpful. We saw several examples of those individuals who wanted "royal" service, but they always appeared to be unhappy and not really enjoying anything. A waitress was called a "f***ing idiot in the theater one night by one obnoxious guy loud enough to be heard by all because he seemingly was having a spat with his companion and had to take it out on someone. Yes, there were those who put books daily on lounge chairs by the pool to reserve them, but hardly used them through out the day. We got this God awful icy stare one afternoon by a "queen" for having the audacity to scoot the chair she hadn't been using over so my wife could chat with an elderly lady. But for every pouting, miserable unfriendly face we encountered were just so many smiling and friendly individuals and couples who were having fun and enjoying this cruise. They were genuinely enjoying themselves and were very open and friendly to my wife and I. Our wait staff took great care of us and kudos especially to Alves, Charisma and Adina in the Terrace Cafe, Oliver and the guys at the pool bar and of course our Stewardesses Sarah and Elena who kept our beautiful room tidy and our fridge stocked with the proper goodies. Overall, a great trip and an excellent exercise in people watching and observing all types of human behavior. I'm just starting to quit swaying from those days at sea. For those with future trips, take along plenty of Tums, for the food is excellent but quite rich, and bring along some of those little ear plugs for a quiet sleep as the ship creaks noticeably at night.

Fair winds and following seas...

Michael