New dress code

[Northerncheapo]

I found it convenient to directly email Silversea to ask questions. I not only got how many formal nights I have, but the actual dates, (40 days ago )so I could make my hair appointment on line and not worry about no bookings available.

Silversea will answer within a day and it's so easy!

[Scotspea]

Good grief! Was this 2010 or 1910?! My other half says she's a failure: she doesn't own a "pastel sundress". And I haven't been "spiffy" for years.

 

 

Could be worse, could have been 'spivvy'

[CanadianKate]

Just back from the Whisper's NYC - Montreal cruise. There were three formal nights, not two as my TA was told by Silversea. A lot of people were annoyed. Luckily, I had packed a skimpy top and a long sleeved top to go with my formal pants so had enough outfits over-all. My dh's reversible Mandarin collared jacket was a hit and he wore the flamboyant side twice and enjoyed the attention.

 

So, all's well that ends well but it was another irritant on a cruise full of irritants.

[duct tape]

"Irritants"...do tell...

[CruisinPashmina]

Cruise full of irritants?? Please explain.

[lord of the seas]

Cruise full of irritants?? Please explain.

 

Bed bugs,lice,children?

[Mike2131]

They are a pain in the lower neck. We have sailed on other lines that had them (they have since gone to just 2 or even all "casual elegant") and always found them at best a packing challenge. Thank goodness the PA II is much more sensible.

[wripro]

CanadianKate,

 

What was the percentage of dark suits vs. tuxes on men? Thanks.

[BILLP1]

I can start the count for the Oct 14 Whisper. One Dark Suit...

[morneau]

My husband wore a dark suit on the Spirit and felt completely comfortable. That being said, there were an awful lot of classic tuxedos on board and I believe they were in the majority. Either way you will fit in fine......

[Portolan]

We'll be on the Spirit mid-October. Cruise documents say 1 formal, 3 informal and 3 casual nights. Other posts have suggested that which nights are which can be found out in advance, but haven't suggested how/where. Still other posts have said casual 1st, last & "tropical" (?) night. Finally, someone posted that sea days (we have one) are usually formal. Yes, I know we'll have the info awiting us in our cabin, but we like to plan in advance. Knowing the dress code and the day's itineray/excursions (which we obviously know) helps us figure out which restaurants for each night. That, in turn, would allow us to make the reservations as early as possible after we board.

 

So, is there either a way to find out for sure, or a standard pattern for nights on a 7 day cruise? Thanks.

[CanadianKate]

"Irritants"...do tell...

 

My first SilverSea cruise, the first dinner, we sat with long time cruisers who thought service was going downhill. We thought everything was wonderful. I swore I'd never be that kind of passenger pointing out all the flaws to first time SilverSea passengers, but at times it was hard this trip.

 

Here's the list. You'll see that they are all irritants and nothing major at all and anything that was pointed out was fixed if it could be. But by the end of the 10 day trip we were ready to go home. Last time, it took until day 26 before I was ready to leave the ship.

 

Irritants on this cruise:

 

• Told there were 2 formal nights, there were three.
  
• Told pre-cruise my diet Dr. Pepper was unavailable. (It became available the after Boston)
  
• Paint on shirt from an unmarked wet railing (dry cleaned for free)
  
• Poor dinner service first night, had to ask for water glass to be refilled and for coffee to be served. (talked with restaurant manager and the problem was solved, at least for us over the rest of the meals.)
  
• Flickering lights in cabin. (These were dealt with by engineering and weren't an easy fix, after three tries over three days a new light fixture was installed.)
   
  
• Problems getting the mixed nuts which my dh has while I have tea each day (not available for the first 3 days, on the fourth they brought a cereal bowl full of them almost with the attitude "this will shut him up." We took the bowl back to the cabin and brought it ourselves for the next few times until it was empty, after that, the normal small nut container came automatically each day at tea.
   
  
• Told there was no decaf tea at breakfast one morning and I was given regular tea instead.( Follow up with restaurant manager showed that wasn't the case. Decaf tea came. )
  
• Fridge stopped working (spoiling food we took on board)
  
• Shower door wouldn't close on day 5 of the cruise (fixed immediately)
  
• They shifted the hours in Halifax from 8 - 5 to 1 - 11 but didn't move the planned Venetian Society reception and formal night to the following night (which was now a sea-day.) Thus we had to choose between the reception/formal night and spending more time exploring Halifax.
  
• The time change back to EST was, IMHO, on the wrong day. It came the night before our sea day. So we had the galley lunch & formal night with goodbye reception and then had to get up early the next morning for the port tours. Had the time change been after the formal night we'd have had an extra hour's sleep.
  
• A change in stores halfway through the cruise changed the suppliers for things like the onion rings from superb to hohum. They also ran out of shredded wheat cereal.
  
• No pork chop at the hot rocks grill the night we went (we had gone back specifically for the pork chop so were really disappointed.)
  

Disappointments on the ship (beyond the control of staff)

 

• broken tender meant missed lunch at La Terrazza
   
  
• health inspection meant limited menu on pool deck after missed lunch (only burger and hot dogs.)
   
  
• Anchor problems meant late arrival in Halifax changing our plans with family including our car rental.
   
  
• missed port of Sydney (due to anchor and Hurricane Igor) This was almost a plus since it meant an extra sea day and we love sea days.
   
  
• really poor internet connections, worse than before. (This is a common experience everywhere we've been in 2010 due to more people than ever traveling with wifi enabled devices.)
   
  

The health inspection was blamed for a lot of the changes. The galley lunch wasn't as impressive as years past and some of the food changes were blamed on the inspection as well. The day of the inspection we were not cleared in the port until quite late, there was no room service that morning during the inspection, and the kitchen was really slow (3 minute boiled eggs took at least 20 minutes to arrive.) I'm not sure how much of this was beyond the control of the crew.

 

The health inspection, first broken tender and caught anchor all happened on the same day, a Friday. I actually checked to see if it was Friday the 13th since it was such a bad day for the crew.

 

Our butler and cabin steward were excellent. At first they responded promptly to our requests but soon learned to anticipate our needs and wants so we stopped having to ask for anything.

 

The wait-staff at the Hot Rocks Grill were fabulous the whole cruise (as was the pool grill staff.) No complaints there at all.

 

The rest of the wait-staff were uneven with their service compared to the Shadow. Some were excellent and 3/4 of the nights our dinner was flawlessly served. But the first night was difficult (and we were at a table with 2 new Silversea couples and found ourselves defending the line) and there was another night where there were too many mistakes.

[Rally]

I'm curious if Silverseas has a tux rental program like they have on some bigger ships. My guess is that it would be difficult on the smaller ships, but if they did, it would save some much needed suitcase room! I've certainly seen nothing about it on their website.

 

-John

Silversea does not rent tuxedo's on board. Usually, however, the boutique has formal accessories (shirts, cuff links, etc.) for sale.

[conchyjoe]

We'll be on the Spirit mid-October. Cruise documents say 1 formal, 3 informal and 3 casual nights. Other posts have suggested that which nights are which can be found out in advance, but haven't suggested how/where. Still other posts have said casual 1st, last & "tropical" (?) night. Finally, someone posted that sea days (we have one) are usually formal. Yes, I know we'll have the info awiting us in our cabin, but we like to plan in advance. Knowing the dress code and the day's itineray/excursions (which we obviously know) helps us figure out which restaurants for each night. That, in turn, would allow us to make the reservations as early as possible after we board.

 

So, is there either a way to find out for sure, or a standard pattern for nights on a 7 day cruise? Thanks.

 

In the past, when on B2B cruises, I have emailed or phoned the reception desk on board and simply asked them. This is best done about 5-7 days prior to your embarkation date since this is sometimes the earliest that the staff have the info on the next cruise segment.

[Portolan]

In the past, when on B2B cruises, I have emailed or phoned the reception desk on board and simply asked them. This is best done about 5-7 days prior to your embarkation date since this is sometimes the earliest that the staff have the info on the next cruise segment.

 

for the reception desk? Thanks.

[duct tape]

Portolan, if you are already booked on a voyage, sign in under "my Voyage" at the top of the homepage, choose General Info, choose Packing, scroll down the page and the new dress codes are listed.

[Portolan]

Portolan, if you are already booked on a voyage, sign in under "my Voyage" at the top of the homepage, choose General Info, choose Packing, scroll down the page and the new dress codes are listed.

 

Sorry, I may not have been clear. I'm looking for which nights of the cruise are which code. It doesn't seem to appear anywhere on the Silversea site. Calling the ship seems a bit extreme.

[duct tape]

You are correct, you will not know the exact nights until you board. You will have 2F, 3I and 2C. The first and last nights will be casual, probably the 2nd and 6th nights will be formal, esp if at sea, and that leaves you 3 nights. I don't think you will get much more info than that. Bon Voyage!