Live from silver cloud mid-atlantic

[UKCruiseJeff]

It is slightly worst in my view than that.

 

As I'm sure you know from your own experience - at the top end - their is a common feature and that is an omnipresence of an almost unsatisfiable boss. There is a regular timed round with the chiefs of departments running behind in the state of stark terror for any discovered imperfection. In the SS case it would be a random selection of suites spot checked each day for perfection, a walk around each restaurant at EVERY service to look personally at every table etc etc.

 

Service recovery is no substitute for a tight "get it right first time - get it right every time". It isn't rocket science.

 

My inspiration for this approach was observing at close quarters over many years a legend called Harry Murray. A true legend.

[Mr Luxury]

I remember him. I had many a good stay at Lucknam park hotel.and if I did not stay there when in the area I stayed at The Manor at Castle Combe.

[UKCruiseJeff]

I remember him. I had many a good stay at Lucknam park hotel.and if I did not stay there when in the area I stayed at The Manor at Castle Combe.

 

 

You may be interested to read of his management philisophies and leadership stye .... lessons to be learned .....;)

 

http://www.pmsr.com/leader-ezine/november-2009/a-leader-and-a-gentleman

[Mr Luxury]

Lovely article Jeff.

 

Shame his standards are not really seen on a ship nor a good few Hotels that are supposed to be five star.

[UKCruiseJeff]

!..... spelling edits on the ipad appear to have deleted ... stubby fingers.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Managed to delete my own note whilst correcting it. Yes - he is a special leader .. shame SS couldn't bring him in.

[RachelG]

Dusababy, you are so right about the sleep deprivation associated with a west to east TA. Hated the "set the clock forward" every day or two. But the up side is that you don't have jet lag when you fly home.

 

Hope the seas settle for you.

 

And I don't think your requests and observations are petty. They are always asking how they can do better.

[drron29]

Thanks dusababy for the report.I agree with you that it is how someone responds to mistakes that is important.If they are honest and genuinely show remorse I am happy.Even better when a few extra treats are thrown in but that is not essential.

 

As to seas it really is pot luck.We cruised the Galapagos in August when the seas are meant to be the worst-dead calm.Then the Bering sea and the Aleutians in May when the worst storms are expected-dead calm.

Then 5 days from New Zealand to Antarctica and 5 days back-oh well didn't get 3 out of 3.

[Scott1sh]

We have just returned from a quick 3 night trip on The Spirit and had similar issues to Dusababy. Whilst we really enjoyed our trip, there were definitely some areas for improvement. I dropped a line to the HD (Paolo Percivale) who has since asked me for more details. Please find below a copy of my reply to him.

 

Dear Paolo,

 

Thanks very much for your e-mail. We got back home safely, thank you.

This short trip on The Spirit was our third Silversea Cruise, and I must emphasise that we really did enjoy our weekend aboard. We do not have much vacation time, so these trips work very well for us.

That said, we identified some areas of the ship’s operation that we considered unsatisfactory for a premium product such as Silversea:

 

1. Suite XXX

a. Upon arrival, our cabin was not spotless. The balcony furniture was so dirty that when my partner sat on the chair, the back of his jumper was completely filthy, and had to be sent for dry cleaning (more on that later).

b. The net curtains were dirty

c. The TV in our living area was no working and had to be repaired

d. The clock was set at the wrong time

e. We requested drinks for our minibar at around 3.30pm. These did not arrive until after 7.30pm, and only after chasing up our butler. This would not be as much of a problem if you hadn’t discontinued your policy of placing a bottle of champagne in each suite prior to arrival: at least then we could have enjoyed an aperitif in our suite before dinner.

f. We encountered a similar problem on Sunday evening. Having requested a bottle of champagne at around 5pm, we left for dinner at 8.15 and it had still not arrived. By the time we returned to our suite at midnight, it was duly waiting for us. However this was of little consequence as we would have enjoyed a glass of champagne before dining.

g. We ordered breakfast in our suite and were surprised that the table cloth had a large rip down the side of it!

 

2. Toilets

a. The toilet in our suite broke down twice in two days (before use!)

b. I personally encountered another two inoperative toilets in public areas (again, before use!)

 

3. The Restaurant

a. Breakfast service in The Restaurant on Saturday 27th April was pretty hopeless. The waiting staff seemed disinterested and rather unwilling to help. Our orders were wrong, and the food itself was not of an acceptable standard (particularly the English bacon). We left breakfast feeling underwhelmed, unsatisfied, and overheard other tables complaining about similar issues. Interestingly, breakfast on Sunday morning was a much improved experience.

b. Dinners in The Restaurant were largely perfect. However, sometimes presentation was lacking and in my opinion, should not have ‘made the pass’. For example, soups had spilled over the bowl onto the saucer, and there had been no attempt to rectify this before serving to us. Attention to detail seemed to be slightly lacking which took the shine off of an otherwise wonderful venue.

 

4. Spa

a. I spent two afternoons in the thermal suite and not once was I offered refreshment of any sort. This service is available poolside, and I see no reason why it shouldn’t be offered in a venue where I am actually paying an additional fee to use it.

 

5. Reception

a. The staff on reception were always very welcoming and seem to try their best, but it strikes me that they are perhaps lacking either initiative or authority to make decisions. Referring back to the issue with the balcony furniture, my partner took his (now dirty) jumper to reception, showed them the damage, and asked them to arrange for the balcony to be cleaned. This was duly noted, but reception seemed unsure what to do with the dirty jumper, until my partner suggested that they might like to arrange for it to be dry-cleaned. This was duly agreed to be a good idea, and the jumper was taken into their care. It was never seen again! On Sunday evening, we reverted back to reception asking as to the whereabouts of the jumper. It transpired it had been lost and a financial credit was offered by means of compensation. We agreed on the sum of $79 which was duly credited to our account. As we checked-out on Monday morning, it transpired that our account was slightly in credit, and therefore Silversea owed us a small amount of money. However, nobody at reception seemed to know how to handle this, and it took quite a while to resolve. Whilst this kind of situation may be exceptional, I would have hoped that the reception team would have had the capacity (and authority) to deal with this swiftly and efficiently. Sadly this was not the case.

 

I must reiterate that we really did enjoy our time onboard, and as per my previous note, some members of your time are truly exceptional. However, your product’s marketing, branding (and indeed pricing) means that we have exceedingly high expectations when spending our limited holiday time aboard any Silversea ship. The points above may seem minor in themselves, but, for us, it seemed a shame that each one could have been so easily avoided. And it is in that spirit that I am highlighting them to you. We thoroughly enjoy travelling with Silversea, and if you could avoid minor issues such as those listed above, it really would be our idea of a perfect vacation.

 

With best regards,

 

Scott1sh

 

 

ps - one of the exeptional team members was Myra - she was just great! She may indeed end up back on The Cloud as she told me that it was her favourite ship and she's trying to get back onboard when her next contract starts (in about 3 months).

[Mr Luxury]

Thank you Scott for your review and letter sent to Paolo.

 

This is just not acceptable from a luxury line,I do suspect that the smaller ships might offer a better experience and attention to detail.

I am surprised that you still enjoyed your cruise but that might have been because you were on for only three days.Imagine if you had to suffer this for two weeks.

Did you talk to the Hotel director at all?

[UKCruiseJeff]

Scottish,

 

Having read your account of a 3 nighter, I think your note is lovely and you are clearly a very easy going person but perhaps too lovely and I would have asked Paulo what on earth he was actually doing during your cruise. The devil is in the detail of every line of your note. I think your account shows to any SS exec who might glance at your note to him that he needs to have an urgent performance review. Every single line of it is unacceptable, and warrants someone asking Paulo what value did he bring to your cruise and all of the other passengers.

[Scott1sh]

Mr Luxury - I think you have hit it on the head. It's all about the attention to detail, and regardless of the size of ship, it needs to be tightened up.

 

As it was such a short trip we focused on the positives (of which were there many). If we had really wanted to, I'm sure we could have spent a lot of time picking holes in every aspect of our voyage, but we chose to enjoy ourselves instead ;-)

 

Jeff - I hope my letter wasn't too nice. I do try to give a balanced view, and am a big believer that you catch more flies with honey. I will of course let you know if I receive a response from the HD.

 

This was our first time on The Spirit. Our previous trips have always been on The Cloud (pre-refurb). Whilst we enjoyed the additional amenities on the larger ship (Seishin, Stars, etc), I didn't really like the 'flow' of the ship. It almost felt that the ship was split into two, and getting access to The Observation lounge, upper decks, etc seemed like a trek. Aesthetically, I found the ship quite top heavy, and indeed a bit ugly!

 

The layout and looks of The Cloud were more logical and graceful. Silly as this may sound, The Cloud felt more "ship-like". Being able to walk round the entirety of the upper deck is something that I really missed on The Spirit.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Hi Scott,

 

The interesting thing about your post is that the tasters are in part (we thought) intended to attract people to take a longer cruise.

 

Doesn't seem to be working!

 

Jeff

 

:confused:

[Scott1sh]

You make a good point.We spoke to a few other guests on board who were Seabourn die-hards and thought they would give SS a try. None of them were convinced to make the jump. Indeed they were urging us to try SB as they felt it was head and shoulders above their experience on The Spirit.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Kerching! :D

 

Paulo works for Sb! :)

[Scott1sh]

So, I have a reply already:

[I]Dear Scott1sh

Thank you very much for your detailed feedback and interesting suggestion as bar service in the Thermal suite.

I am very happy to know and understand that you still are a good “fan” of Silversea.

I am very sorry for what happened during your stay and I will take all the action needed to improve our service.

All the various Depts. will be instructed about.

We want to serve an excellent product and everything has to be “perfect”.

I hope to see you again on board the Spirit or another Silversea ship.


All the best

paolo[/I]

[Mr Luxury]

[quote name='Scott1sh']You make a good point.We spoke to a few other guests on board who were Seabourn die-hards and thought they would give SS a try. None of them were convinced to make the jump. Indeed they were urging us to try SB as they felt it was head and shoulders above their experience on The Spirit.[/quote]

Scott,I have been looking at a trip on the Spirit but I can see that it is not a patch on my favourite Shadow/Whisper size on SS.

I have spent a lot of time on Seabourn and from what I am hearing also from others that do not post on these boards,I think it might be wise not to try the Spirit.I do think that the extra dining venues are a good thing except the cook your own food and get covered in grease restaurant.
You are right that it is an ugly design of ship and looks top heavy.
the shorter cruises do not interest me and the only one of interest is a TA crossing of about sixteen days.

[Mr Luxury]

[quote name='Scott1sh']So, I have a reply already:

[I]Dear Scott1sh

Thank you very much for your detailed feedback and interesting suggestion as bar service in the Thermal suite.

I am very happy to know and understand that you still are a good “fan” of Silversea.

I am very sorry for what happened during your stay and I will take all the action needed to improve our service.

All the various Depts. will be instructed about.

We want to serve an excellent product and everything has to be “perfect”.

I hope to see you again on board the Spirit or another Silversea ship.


All the best

paolo[/I][/quote]

Perhaps a little light on content?

Dear Sir,
Thank you for your letter
we aim to please and will try harder next time.
hope to see you onboard again
Goodbye

Next complaint.

[UKCruiseJeff]

It's interesting how companies deal with complaints. I see it as a core differentiator.

I have had a need to recently complain a couple of times to BA.

What they have done each time is deal with every single line, line by line and investigate each and provide a detailed response. They then - when necessary compensate me - as it happens generously.

I think that patronising content and detail free replies when a customer has taken so much trouble with reporting problems makes the situation worst.

Jeff

[RachelG]

looks like a generic reply to me. I too found the furniture on the balconies dirty, though very comfortable. I took to spreading one of the big bath towels over before sitting down. But i did mention this on the survey which we did at the end of the cruise. Too bad it wasn't addressed!

[UKCruiseJeff]

[quote name='RachelG']looks like a generic reply to me. I too found the furniture on the balconies dirty, though very comfortable. I took to spreading one of the big bath towels over before sitting down. But i did mention this on the survey which we did at the end of the cruise. Too bad it wasn't addressed![/QUOTE]

Hi Rachel,

did you receive any reply?

Jeff

[Mr Luxury]

[quote name='UKCruiseJeff']Hi Rachel,

did you receive any reply?

Jeff[/quote]

No just some wet wipes for next time Rachel is onboard.:rolleyes:

[Scott1sh]

[quote name='RachelG']looks like a generic reply to me. I too found the furniture on the balconies dirty, though very comfortable. I took to spreading one of the big bath towels over before sitting down. But i did mention this on the survey which we did at the end of the cruise. Too bad it wasn't addressed![/QUOTE]

RachelG - you are lucky you were given a survey! We weren't issued with one, hence I contacted the HD directly. I know that it was only a short cruise, but this would have been a perfect opportunity for SS to get some candid feedback from newbies who look at their product with a fresh pair of eyes.

[UKCruiseJeff]

[quote name='Scott1sh']RachelG - you are lucky you were given a survey! We weren't issued with one, hence I contacted the HD directly. I know that it was only a short cruise, but this would have been a perfect opportunity for SS to get some candid feedback from newbies who look at their product with a fresh pair of eyes.[/QUOTE]

I am surprised you didn't get a survey.

You may recall I asked in an earlier thread a few weeks ago about the current format of the end of cruise survey ie whether it the format was performance v expectations or superficial 1 - 10 satisfaction scale. I was interested. Now customers aren't receiving it. All I will say ( ;) ) is that they spent a lot of cash learning about feedback processes - instigated personally by the owner. Now you're saying there is nothing at all.

They do not appear to be interested.:(

[RachelG]

[quote name='UKCruiseJeff']Hi Rachel,

did you receive any reply?

Jeff[/quote]

not to that.

Now I did mention in the mid cruise survey that we were very disappointed with the quality of canapes in the panorama lounge prior to dinner. Cold fried calamari, a few chips, nasty fish balls which were also cold. In response to that, they sent the guy who is head butler to talk to us and sent us a selection of canapes to the room that evening. And the quality of the offerings in panorama lounge did seem to improve somewhat.