New to Silversea/Expectations?

[mdmourges]

My wife and I are 43 and 49 respectively, like to have fun but have trouble staying up much past 11:30 these days (lolo). We have taken a number of cruises on RC and Celebrity, primarily because we take my children along (college kids) and we typically stay in larger suites. We have decided to try something different and have booked the 4 day San Juan to San Juan on Whisper on 3/28/06. We are booked in a silver suite. A couple of questions:

 

1) First, recommendations on some place to stay in San Juan. We are thinking about the Ritz. We like the idea of it being on the beach and having a casino.

 

2) What is embarking and disembarking like? When can you board for an 11:00pm sailing?

 

3) There are no sea days, so we are not too concerned about the pool area but for future reference, does the pool area get crowded on sea days?

 

4) Is there any charge for top shelf liquor or is that part of the all-inclusive arrangement?

 

5) What type of wines are included? If it makes a difference, we are cab people.

 

6) What is the casino like? What games are available?

 

7) What is the entertainment like and when is it? We generally like to go to dinner at around 7:30 - 8:00.

 

8) And finally, any suggestions on excursions? We go to Tortola, Virgin Gorda and Antigua.

 

Your feedback is appreciated. Thanks.

 

Mark & Janet

[ltsally]

Can't address all of your questions, but maybe I can help with a few. Ours was a transatlantic voyage, but I'm assuming that these elements would apply to all...Typically, the bar starts filling up around 630 or so and folks start going to dinner anywhere from 7:00 - 7:30; some dawdled til it was going on towards 8 p.m. (Terrace dining (reservation/theme) was at 7:45 each nite). Service seemed sort of slow (not a complaint), and I wondered if it wasn't so that there was very little time between finishing dinner and the start of the show (typically at 10, I think).

 

Among the 'standard' bar brands were the Bombay Sapphire "Perfect" Martini (or Grey Goose for vodka); JW Red or Black Scotch; Glenlivet Single Malt. Hope that will give you an idea. The bar menu lists a handful of premium liquors (in single malt, for instance, they go for $20/pour), but I'm afraid I don't remember what they were.

 

For our 7 p.m. sail, embarkation began at 3 p.m., but many arrived a fair bit earlier, I think. We arrived about 3:20 and thought it went wonderfully quick and smooth. Apparently because of the earlier crush, there were a few who thought it hadn't been handled too well. I would think that for your 11 p.m. sailing, embarkation would begin by 7 p.m. - tho that's just a guess. As a newbie to SS, my one little complaint would be that after being shown to our stateroom, we were not told where to find any refreshment. We finally explored a bit and found quite a reception, with champagne and canapes, going on in one of the bars.

 

Disembarkation went smoothly - the documents listed it at 10 a.m., but they were getting people off by 730 or so (many were trying to make connecting flights, of course), and we were bidding adieu (reluctantly) to our great adventure before 9.

 

Are you leaving the young adults at home this trip? Hope so, because you and your wife will have the most outstanding time! Our expectations were way high....and totally exceeded. Have a great trip!:cool:

[flsuecruise]

Itsally, I see you were on a transalantic cruise. My husband and I are on the Lisbon to Barbados in a couple weeks. We are not new to SS, but have not yet done a transatlantic. Couple questions....1) do they have a pool side buffet one night (they had one on our last cruise)..or is there any special nights given the time at sea

2) are there any different daytime activities, once again, given the days at sea. Not that we are not perfectly content by the pool reading.

 

Also, if anyone has done this crossing in the past, how was the weather experience. thanks!

[mdmourges]

Itsally,

 

Thank you for you comments. We are leaving the kids at home this time. lolo. We hope that the add'l time will provide us with the opportunity to make new friends.

 

Mark & Janet

[unfathomable]

Responses to some of your questions, mdmourges.

 

2) Embarking and disembarking varies. It can be a bit more hectic if everybody flies in at once and there is no pre-cruise hotel. But normally, most people are in the hotel and SS can bus them in in batches so there are no or hardly any lines to stand in. You might get an on-shore check-in at some very large ports, but in most places expect an on-shore security check administered by the local port staff, hand over your main baggage then immediate boarding. Hand over cruise ticket and passport and get room keys in exchange. Somebody from the ship's staff will take your hand luggage and somebody will hand you a glass of champagne. Your escort takes you (one couple at a time) to reception to have your security photos taken and then straight to your suite. Bags usually arrive within 15-30 minutes. In most ports, you can pay $100 per person for early boarding from about 10:00am. Disembarking is not much more civilised than lesser lines: bags outside cabins by late the previous night and vacate cabins by early the morning of departure, then called by tag colour.

 

3) The pool area does get full on sea days, but you should always be able to find two sun beds together, especially if you don't insist on shade or on being right by the pool -- about three-quarters of the sun beds are in the sun.

 

4) The all-inclusive arrangement includes lots of brand-name alcohol. Only the most exclusive spirits are extra.

 

5) The inclusive wine list is also extensive with about 30 wines to choose from. You can always get something else if you don't happen to like what they're pouring -- just ask -- and the bar always has a choice if you drink wine there. You should have a good choice of cabernet, but why not explore some unfamiliar wines? They will always bring you your favourite if you don't like what you tried as an experiment.

 

6) I'm no expert, but I'm told the casino is on the small side, smaller still on the smaller ships. It can sometimes be very quiet, depending on who is on the ship.

 

7) The entertainment is often after dinner, sometimes before dinner and occasionally both. Some nights, there may be a "film on the big screen", which is sometimes perceived as a cop-out. Your preferred dinner time should get you to see both shows, on the rare occasions that there are two. There's a resident production company accompanied by the same band that plays for dancing, sail-away parties and pretty much anything that needs music. But we're talking five to eight performers -- generally one male and one female singer, a competition-standard dancing couple and several dancers -- plus a four- or five-piece band and they have a repertoire of three or four shows so they have to work very hard to fill the stage. It's not Broadway, but it's widely appreciated. The entertainers double up as cruise staff accompanying excursions and organising sea-day activities. Plus there are "guest" entertainers who join the ship for a week or so at a time. What you get varies a lot, but expect a singer -- maybe grand opera, maybe much more "popular" -- and an instrumentalist, often a classical pianist. There may be a comedian or a speciality act like a magician. The guests mingle with passengers when off duty. And the cruise director usually has a show of his/her own. These shows usually last about 50 minutes. The entertainment is highly dependent on the cruise director and how much you get and how much you like it will probably vary from cruise to cruise.

 

In answer to flsuecruise, they do usually schedule a poolside barbecue one evening during transatlantic cruises for a night when the ship is tied up in port or at least has a late departure, often with a floor show on the deck. However, since transatlantics operate in spring and autumn (fall), there is always a risk of bad weather causing this to be cancelled. It's a shame when this happens, because the staff go to great lengths to decorate and prepare the food.

 

Extra daytime activities are scheduled on days at sea, as much so during transatlantics as other cruises. However, manage your expectations, beacuse they may seem a bit tame and repetitive if compared to larger ships.

[quepaquete]

How exiting!! My partner and I just booked the same cruise since we want to give SS a try. We are looking forward to it even though it's a very short cruise.

The Ritz Carlton Puerto Rico is our favority Ritz. We have stayed at other Ritzs were the service was not quite as expected. For this trip we are staying at the hotel El Convento in the center of Old Town Puerto Rico. It was highly recommended by our TA. There is not beach though!! By the way, I'm glad you asked the questions I had.

[luxlady]

Hi there. I took the Whisper last Dec on a 6 day cruise round trip Aruba, so conditions were probably about the same as your upcoming cruise. First, I did take early embarkation. We were leaving at 5:00, which is far earlier than you, but I found it very helpful to board early. There were only a few people who boarded early, so it was a breeze to board. We proceeded to have lunch on board, and enjoyed exploring the ship. Our bags were delivered later, of course. It made it a much more restful day and we enjoyed having the ship to ourselves to explore for awhile!

 

The pool area will be crowded, no doubt about it! Shade is hard to come by. There are a few out of the way areas with chaises in the shade, especially on the upper deck. People do place items on the chairs to save them, so you will have to deal with that. But staff is very helpful and will move chairs wherever you want, or set up new ones for you. No one swims in the pool much (which is very small), but people sure like to lay in the sun! Looked to me like many people have still not heard the word about skin cancer....

 

The casino is small. No crap table, but as I recall there are blackjack tables, a small roulette, and of course the slots. It was always crowded!

 

I believe entertainment in the show room begins about 9-9:30. There is the piano bar as well, which has the piano entertainer both before dinner, and then again around 10 I believe (could be later). I think there is dancing in the showroom as well for an hour before dinner.

 

WE stopped at some of the same ports. I actually don't remember what we did on that trip, but in my previous trips there we took an excursion to the Baths in Virgin Gorda (also offered from Tortola I think), which was well worth it to see the unusual rock formations. I always like to sail and snorkle, so you may want to take one of the excursions offered - the currents could act up, however, so keep in mind that snorkling is always iffy, depending on the weather. Antigua has lovely beaches - you could rent a taxi and just have the driver take you around to various beaches......nothing is cheap, believe me. Your American dollars should do just fine. There are always craft markets around the piers where the cruise ships dock, so you may want to shop for souvineers there.

 

Have a lovely, relaxing time!

 

 

 

.iehlpfulBuytto d vesl to board early and begin to and guseful to take untilour up

[cruiseluv]

Hi!

 

My parents, sister and friends( a group of 10) just booked this cruise. I'm going as my sister roomate and leaving DH at home with the kids (shhh!! he still doesn't know anything). My family and their friends live in San Juan and I'm flying from Newark.

 

I'm really excited about trying Silversea. My husband and I have been in some of the bigger lines and Radisson, so I'm very curious to see how this compares.

 

Somebody mentioned that for a 11PM departure the boarding would probably be 7PM???!!! Yikes! I guess I'll have to cool my heels at my parent's house since I'll probably fly in that day and arrive PR in the early afternoon.

 

Does anybody that has done a Caribbean Silversea cruise can comment about dress code? Luxlady, do you remember if you had any formal nights? Frankly, for a cruise this short I rather not have any.

 

Thanks for any info,

 

María