Review From Our Recent Silversea Voyage - Silver Spirit - January 7 2016

[lincslady]

Sorry, Keith,I do not wish to hijack your thread. Perhaps our Host would like to take these last three posts off, so you can get back to the main subject. Interesting to see two opposing views on the topic, though, I did not think I could be the only one.

[Tothesunset]

What an excellent review. If only all reviewers were both as erudite and open as Keith has been. Too often reviews stress the good or the bad and lack balance - this really isn't very helpful - whereas a comprehensive review, such as the subject of this thread, contains so much hard information overlayed with a personal perspective defined at the outset.

 

Bravo!

Edited January 19, 2016 by Tothesunset

[Kilroyshere]

Thanks for the exceedingly detailed report on your cruise.

 

Although there are other aspects of the Silversea experience we do not like a lot, the one outstanding thing which completely puts me off travelling with them is the 'family charity' contribution, obligatory unless you make the effort to cancel it. I find it utterly unacceptable. I wonder if anyone else feels the same?

 

 

Agreed.

[apuleius]

Thank you Keith for such a detailed and lengthy review, which pretty much concurs with our own evaluations of this voyage. For the record, our preferred line is SB.

 

We were pleasantly surprised by the high standard of food and the overall experience on Silver Spirit, having only previously experienced one sailing in the Far East in 2013 on the Silver Shadow which we had found disappointing mainly due to the run down appearance of the ship and the poor quality of the food compared to SB. However we decided to give SS another try and would return again if the itinerary was right for us.

 

We did not, unfortunately, experience La Champagne as we decided to try it too late and all reservations had been taken, but did try Stars Supper Club: the tapas menu was a bit fussy and not to our taste but the entertainment and atmosphere were outstanding, in particular the female singer.

 

We ate at the Pool Grill both at lunch and in the evening and found the service to be rather lacklustre particularly at lunchtime. The lunch menu was limited but one can order off the 'all day' restaurant menu too. It's also the only dining venue open for a late lunch which is sometimes required depending on port activity or personal preference. We enjoyed the evening Grill experience a lot, and were fortunate as we probably chose the warmest evening to dine outside. The steaks were outstanding and the hot rocks cooking, whilst a bit of a gimmick made for a fun evening as a group dining experience.

[Observer]

I share the general displeasure/outrage about the charity contribution. But here I follow Keith's counsel on the Crystal board. Don't sweat the little stuff. This seems to me to have minimal impact on one's cruise experience. One can cancel the charge merely by turning a form in at Reception. It takes a minute or so, total. It's not like something that affects the cruise experience fundamentally like poor food or downgraded wine/spirits or untoilettrained toddlers in the pool or hot tubs or slow service at meals or food consistently served tepid. These are not meant to describe SS. They are random examples of items that consistently degrade the cruise experience and would prompt me to abandon the cruise line. Turning in a simple form once to opt out of an obnoxious charity appeal does not seem to me to be in that category.

[wripro]

Keith,

 

Thanks so much for the comprehensive review. Enjoyed it immensely and as I said previously, you make me look forward to my upcoming Shadow cruise more than I would have otherwise even though I chose it strictly for itinerary.

[TrulyBlonde]

Thank you Keith,

I have enjoyed your review and photos. Our 1st SS cruise will be on Whisper for a B2B starting in Monte Carlo and ending in Southhampton May 2017 on Whisper. We chose it for a few of the ports we have not been to, and the size of the ship seems ideal for Bordeaux and British Isles.

 

We had been scheduled to try Crystal for the Caribbean Apr 2017, but having to Guarantee a cabin and the challenge of the dining experience (due to World Cruise) made us rethink and decided to cancel. SS seems to suit our needs better, especially with cabin size and open dining.

 

Your review helped me feel very comfortable that this will be a better fit for us.

Thank you.

[billcrooz]

No, you are the only person that feels this way.

 

No,they're not!

[vistaman]

Vistaman, thank you for the nice comments. I could be wrong but think when we sailed in 2009 the cost in La Champagne for the wine pairings was $20.00 per person. We passed on it back then but really enjoyed the current version at $40.00 per person.

 

Keith

 

it is history : but there were 2 systems : a fee for the meal and then you could chose your bottle ( but no complimentary wines )

those meals were including some dishes from Relais and Chateaux restaurants

or the variety of wines ( as in Vintage room on C ) + digestive

despite being a great wine lover i cannot drink more as 2 different wines ;)

[oregon50]

No,they're not!

 

All of a sudden you are going to believe something written by me?

It was a joke.

[MarilynA]

On the charity issue, however, I wonder whether your wonderful butler failed you in this matter. I too dislike the opt out nature of the "contribution," and I opt out every time -- using that visit to Reception to make my contribution to the Crew Welfare Fund. On every cruise when this initiative has been in place-- including my most recent one, not long ago -- the butler has put in my room a brochure about the charity, a plastic or rubber bracelet related to the charity, and an announcement of the charge along with a simple opt-out form.

 

I am surprised and disappointed that you received no such notice. I hope this is not the new SS way.....

 

Observer, I was on the Spirit for 17 days in December (Panama Canal cruise) and had the same butler and room attendant as Keith (Probashish and Ester). An opt out notice regarding the charity donation was included in the papers that the attendant left one evening. I believe there was also a brochure about the charity; however, the form and its purpose were easy to miss. In fact, another passenger I spoke to who was aware of the charge and saw the form didn't realize she had to sign and turn it in to her butler.

 

Before my cruise, I had made a request for Evian water, and I was happy to find my refrigerator well stocked daily with Evian as well as the restaurants where I ate. By the end of the cruise, waiters just brought the Evian without my asking.

 

Keith, I ate at Stars twice. I hadn't planned to eat there at all until another passenger recommended it and invited me to join. The dishes served were fun and very good, but best of all was the ambiance, no clanking restaurant noises, no diners shouting over each other, just a pleasant singer and pianist providing background music. The dinner was so nice, I dined there again instead of Le Champagne.

 

My experience on the Spirit pretty much echoes that of Keith's. The only thing I might add, of interest probably only to Crystal devotees, is that we received chocolates every night when the attendant turned down the bed. :)

[apuleius]

MarilynA our butler also obliged daily with our request for San Peligrino, fresh fruit and potato crisps which were regularly replenished.

[Keith1010]

Tothesunset, thank you for your very kind comments. They are very much appreciated.

 

Best to you.

 

Keith

[Keith1010]

apuleius, thank you for sharing your experience as well and glad that some of our experiences were similar.

 

Your comments echo one of my views which is that sometimes the experience can differ between ships and my view is that can happen for a variety of reasons including the staff, the size of the ship, the venues that are available and even experiences can differ within one ship.

 

Little things can make a difference from the butler and room attendant you are assigned to the places each of us choose to dine.

 

Even the chefs on board can make a difference. I sail Crystal Cruises very often and we have taken some very long cruises of 100+ days. I can tell you when there is a new pastry chef on board without knowing the change has been made or a new head chef in the specialty restaurant. This is because just like on land people are human and while they might follow standard recipes they all have their own styles.

 

I do hope you get to experience La Champagne on a future cruise. For us it was a terrific experience. I am one of those who likes venues that are quiet and have attentive service at sea or on land and that can be a challenge these days. It was so very nice that this venue can only accommodate around 24 people and that the tables are not turned over. Just a very nice experience.

 

But like most things some will enjoy it and others might not.

 

The food is fairly rich in ingredients and I am one of those who normally eats things that are not so rich not because I don't like them but because I am health conscious but for us what was nice was the portion size so while the food was rich in ingredients that was offset by not feeling that we ate too much.

 

Best to you.

 

Keith

[Keith1010]

Henry thank you so very much for your comments. I hope that one day we will be on the same voyage with you. I hope that you have a nice experience on the Shadow and I hope you are pleased with the itinerary.

 

Again, for us we enjoyed the Spirit more than the Shadow so in terms of expectations not sure if that is more reflective of the ship or even the staff on board and that we sailed the Shadow in 2009. If La Champagne is like Spirit I would recommend dining there. Not sure why we enjoyed the Italian Specialty Restaurant so much and so much that we dined twice whereas we didn't care for it in 2009. But again for me another reminder why sometimes a first experience anywhere is not always indicative of what the next experience will be like and for us I have seen that play out on land and at sea and on land at restaurants and even hotels.

 

Henry, best to you.

 

Keith

[Keith1010]

Observer, agree with your comments.

 

In the end, each person needs to figure out what is important and not important to them. While I don't like they way the charity thing is handled, speaking for my wife and myself this would not determine whether or not we sail with Silversea. For us there are too many other things that would drive our decision.

 

In our case I don't remember seeing anything about having the charges removed but I clearly knew that all it would take was a phone call down to the desk to have it removed. Do I think it should be placed there in the first place? No, but it is not my company. I do want to note that I am human too. So, it is possible that as Marilyn said that paperwork did come to our room and I just overlooked it or it's possible that we didn't get hard copy information. Again, this is one of 20+ items I mentioned.

 

On a related note, when we sailed Silversea in 2009 as best I know at the time that there was no mention of a foreign transaction fee and I used a credit card in 2009 that had one. These days I think most of my cards no longer have that fee but knowing about what happened in 2009 I knew enough not to use a card with one but I do want to note that unlike 2009 there was written notice about this advising guests that if the card they used had a foreign transaction fee that they could stop by the desk with a different card.

 

Keith

[Keith1010]

portofinoitaly, thank you for your comments. They are most appreciated. I am sorry that you have cancelled your Crystal Cruise and do hope you will give Crystal a try in the future. Their new ship will have open seating so maybe that is the time to try it and I am sure it will be an amazing ship. We shall see as we hear more details.

 

Your ports sound terrific and we have been to this area many times. Love Bordeaux. If you enjoy wine be sure to set up a private tour to visit some of the Chateau's. Also love Bordeaux itself. Also, I enjoy Monte Carlo both the immediate area (some don't care for it but we do) and the nearby towns including Nice. We have been there several times and for the very first time we were there for the Grand Prix (we had been there a couple of times when they were setting it up but never there for the actual race) so we attended the race in May of 2015. A nice experience.

 

I look forward to hearing all about your experience.

 

Best to you.

 

Keith

[Keith1010]

Marilyn, glad to hear that we had the same team of butler and room attendant. They were truly fabulous and just aded to our experience.

 

What I did learn from this voyage is to put in requests ahead of time as I just assumed that there would be some type of non-caffeine soft drink such as Sprit Zero and didn't realize that was not the case. The good news is that the Butler kept checking for us and found some cans of Sprite Zero that would have been left over from other special requests. The good news is that diet soda really is not the best to have anyways and we do drink a lot of water so we just had more water. Nevertheless a good lesson learned.

 

I got a kick out of your comment about chocolate for the bed as you are right that some people really seem to care about this. For me, I don't eat it and while Anne Marie would love to have it she doesn't so not big deal for us and should we want a dessert there are plenty of other options anyway, but for those who like their chocolate they can have it. :D

 

Marilyn, I will be sure to try Stars in the future based on your experience. I do like quiet restaurants so that would be another plus.

 

Marilyn, best to you.

 

Keith

[Tothesunset]

I'd like to just pick up on the Stars thing.

 

We really enjoy Stars and eat there every 4th day (the menu is changed every 4 days). Inevitably with 5 or 6 courses each with three parts, there will be something presented which we might not otherwise have chosen - it is not compulsory, however, to eat everything!

 

The small portions soon add up and a complete meal is quite heavy and needs to be taken s l o w l y.

 

So far we have found the musical accompaniment very engaging and - and this is important to us - subtle. For those that like a bit more oomph the volume and energy cranks up somewhat around 11pm; that is well past my appointment with the land of Nod so we have no personal experience of the later jazzfest.

 

While not to everyone's taste, it's got to be worth trying at least once.

[apuleius]

Keith -

We forgot to preorder drinks but our butler rustled up an ongoing supply of coke zero without any problem.

Best

Joanna

[Keith1010]

Joanna,what we learned is that there are certain drinks that are standard such as Coke and Coke Zero. We did have Coke Zero or Diet Coke (can't remember which).

 

I was just surprised that there was no diet type of soda that is not coca cola and caffeine free such as Spirt Zero or Diet 7 Up or even a Diet Ginger Ale but as they say now we know so next time we will just request something. Thankfully the butler did get us some Sprit Zero but the supply was limited because it is not a standard product they carry.

 

Best to you.

 

Keith

[Mark_K]

On our last Spirit cruise (11/24/15-12/4/15) both Sprite Zero and caffeine-free Diet Coke were available. As was diet ginger beer, I didn't ask about ginger ale.

Edited January 20, 2016 by Mark_K

[Keith1010]

I know I am going to sound like a broken record (do they still make those) but there is a difference to what might be available and what they might have as a standard offering. My only point is that if you desire a particular item, it is wise to pre order it just to be on the safe side. I am sure others will say there was some other soda but again if you want to know for sure my advice based on our recent experience is to have your TA do a request for you. :D

 

Keith

[TrulyBlonde]

portofinoitaly, thank you for your comments. They are most appreciated. I am sorry that you have cancelled your Crystal Cruise and do hope you will give Crystal a try in the future. Their new ship will have open seating so maybe that is the time to try it and I am sure it will be an amazing ship. We shall see as we hear more details.

 

Your ports sound terrific and we have been to this area many times. Love Bordeaux. If you enjoy wine be sure to set up a private tour to visit some of the Chateau's. Also love Bordeaux itself. Also, I enjoy Monte Carlo both the immediate area (some don't care for it but we do) and the nearby towns including Nice. We have been there several times and for the very first time we were there for the Grand Prix (we had been there a couple of times when they were setting it up but never there for the actual race) so we attended the race in May of 2015. A nice experience.

 

I look forward to hearing all about your experience.

 

Best to you.

 

Keith

 

Thank you Keith. I do plan on cruising with Crystal and look forward to the right itinerary and will definitely give them a try.

 

I have been to Monte Carlo numerous times and always enjoy it. I have played golf at MC CC, gone to the Grand Prix races etc., and know MC well. Also, have been to many of these ports but would like to visit Bordeaux, the Guggenheim, and have never been to Scotland or Wales. This allows us to cross a few things off of our bucket list.

 

We are all very lucky to have choices and the health and time to travel.

[Suite Travels]

Diet drinks are not good for you. We don't drink soda but it is funny when someone orders a Diet Coke or Coke Zero with Rum which is all sugar. Read this.

 

http://authoritynutrition.com/why-is-diet-soda-bad-for-you/