On board Dec. 5 th - Spirit

[MARIANH]

deck party was a rain out. Too bad it is so much fun. y!

 

Actually the deck party was cancelled at midday because it might rain. The weather later in the day was good enough for a deck party. Yes, too bad. Yet another disappointment on a cruise that failed to deliver a six star experience for us. More details in my review when I post on return to the UK.

 

Suffice to say from mediocre, cold food on occasions and rushed impatient service at times to warm, relaxed service with food of the same ambience, Silversea failed to deliver consistency.

 

And don't even think about trying to find out what wines are on the included wine list. Yes with persistence one can find acceptable wines through a process of elimination but my it is hard work. And be sure when you are given champagne that it is the real thing and not prosecco-unless you don't care of course.

 

Back to Seabourn, I am afraid.

 

PS the highlight of the cruise was our fellow passengers. We made friends with some great folk.

[MARIANH]

Actually the deck party was cancelled at midday because it might rain. The weather later in the day was good enough for a deck party. Yes, too bad. Yet another disappointment on a cruise that failed to deliver a six star experience for us. More details in my review when I post on return to the UK.

 

Suffice to say from mediocre, cold food on occasions and rushed impatient service at times to warm, relaxed service with food of the same ambience, Silversea failed to deliver consistency.

 

And don't even think about trying to find out what wines are on the included wine list. Yes with persistence one can find acceptable wines through a process of elimination but my it is hard work. And be sure when you are given champagne that it is the real thing and not prosecco-unless you don't care of course.

 

Back to Seabourn, I am afraid.

 

PS the highlight of the cruise was our fellow passengers. We made friends with some great folk.[/quote

 

Surprising that no Silversea sybarites have rushed to disagree with my comments.

 

So just a couple more points in advance of my review for the purposes of balance.

 

First, to us Silversea has got just the right balance between the desire of some to smoke and others to avoid inhaling secondary smoke. Smokers seemed to be mostly well disciplined and complied with the rules to the benefit and comfort of other passengers. Please follow the example Seabourn.

 

And second, although decent included wines were difficult to run to ground because of the difficulty in extracting information about them, the connoisseur list contained some splendid wines at surprisingly ( relatively) low cost.

 

Anyone wish to agree/ disagree with any of this and my previous post?

[Observer]

Surprising that no Silversea sybarites have rushed to disagree with my comments. Anyone wish to agree/ disagree with any of this and my previous post?

 

Actually, it appears from her posts on this thread that KaraokeQueen, who is on the very same cruise as you, has a very different perspective on the cruise and Spirit. For example, while you are critical of the food and service, she writes "Dining has again been a high scorer on this segment. We've had great tables and super service. I am hard pressed to find a single negative when it comes to food and service." It just goes to show that tastes are different and individual experiences and perceptions of the same experience can be very different. All of this underlines my hesitation to attach too much significance to any review -- whether positive or negative.

[MARIANH]

Actually, it appears from her posts on this thread that KaraokeQueen, who is on the very same cruise as you, has a very different perspective on the cruise and Spirit. For example, while you are critical of the food and service, she writes "Dining has again been a high scorer on this segment. We've had great tables and super service. I am hard pressed to find a single negative when it comes to food and service." It just goes to show that tastes are different and individual experiences and perceptions of the same experience can be very different. All of this underlines my hesitation to attach too much significance to any review -- whether positive or negative.

 

Yes,you are very wise to treat reviews with circumspection.

 

There are some reviewers who are in thrall to Silversea and will not brook any suggestion that they can do wrong. Whereas there are others who delight in finding fault. I fit neither description. Rather I try to report the facts as I find them without bias or agenda.

 

So, on this cruise I found Silversea inconsistent in delivering a six star product. For example to have cold food delivered to the table is inexcusable. To have to send food back because it is inedible is inexcusible. To have an impatient server snatch the menu from my hand when I took A while to make a choice is unbelievable. Not all of these things all the time; but enough inter alia to convince me to return to Seabourn.

[dusababy]

Perhaps I am one of those Silversea sybarites to whom you refer. And I would refer you to my posts from the previous cruise on Spirit -- November 25 -- where I met Karaoka Queen. I too had quite a different experience than she describes.

It was a most disappointing Silversea cruise. I take all the blame for my personal disappointment, in that I knew Spirit was not my favorite ship but I was hoping things had improved since the inaugural crossing in 2010. I consider the ship not user friendly, in many ways, compared to the original ships. I had two outstanding meals during a ten day cruise. Subjective of course -- but that's my experience.

I will not sail Spirit again. I am looking forward to getting back on board one of the original wonderful 4.

Mary Ann