Things that Silversea does RIGHT, and things that COULD BE BETTER

[descartes1]

I am encourage by the recent revelation that Silversea representatives are reading this Board. Therefore, in the interest of being constructive, I thought it would be good if people could list one thing that Silversea gets right, and one thing that could be improved upon.

 

I will start:

 

WHAT IS RIGHT-- I love that Silversea has significantly increased the number of OVERNIGHT stays and LATE NIGHT (11pm) departures. This affords the traveler much more time to enjoy the port visit at a more relaxed pace, have dinner locally etc. In ports like St. Tropez, Ibiza, Livorno, Monaco, Hvar, Kotor and others where there is good nightlife (which is indeed an integral part of the destination) ... it truly enhances the experience.

 

WHAT COULD BE BETTER-- Silversea should definitely resume caviar service. This is a big attraction for us to Seabourn. I creates an atmosphere of old world luxury and decadence, which actually aligns perfectly with Silversea's branding and atmosphere. It feels low rent, and is disappointing not to have it, when competitors do.

Edited January 25, 2017 by descartes1

[Tothesunset]

1. What is right: The willing and helpful front-of-house staff. I really cannot fault the levels of service we have received on our 135 days aboard.

 

2. Could do better: Enforce the rule about not reserving sunbeds. Really, this can be an issue on sea days on a full ship. There are a hardcore of selfish, thoughtless pasengers who seem to think that leaving a book and sunhat on a seat gives them tenure on that seat in perpetuity.

[duct tape]

I am not crazy about those who need 2 sun beds...one in the sun, one in the shade!

[Emtbsam]

The Good: 1. Certainly, the on-board staff makes this a luxury experience for us. 2. The food by Chef Jerome Foussier - superb.

 

The less than good: 1. Failure to enforce the dress code not just in the dining rooms but at the pool buffet where 15-month "pregnant" men are not encouraged to put on a shirt and shoes before approaching the buffet! Yes, it is a pool area, but it is also a restaurant. 2. The excessive air conditioning in the theater and main bar. 3. The sometimes jumbled service for breakfast outside on La Terrazza.

[kloreece]

Totally agree about the lack of caviar. I was cruising with Seabourn next to enjoy the decadence of caviar. For the price, it should be freely available.

 

I watch a chair for hour and then I just move the book. It's selfish and unfair. I once Solent a vacation waking up at 5 am to watch people slink out and put books on chairs before the sun comes up. Then they eat, leave the property and show up at 3 pm. Ridiculous. I paid for my vacation as well and refuse to get up before dawn to comets fir a chair you are saving until late afternoon. No. And I dare you to say anything to me.

 

 

 

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[les37b]

Good: The service and staff on board is the attraction. There has been very little if anything that has caused a slight irritation let along moan or complaint.

 

Preference: Would prefer pricing to drop this "super all inclusive" packaging of including flights and excursions. Generally I prefer to do my own thing and usually very much cheaper than SS are selling this for making them uneconomical and overly expensive. I will not be booking a "super all inclusive" unless of course it was on offer and more affordable.

 

Bad: I put on weight while on board! :D

[Hotel CA]

The Good: 1. Certainly, the on-board staff makes this a luxury experience for us. 2. The food by Chef Jerome Foussier - superb.

 

The less than good: 1. Failure to enforce the dress code not just in the dining rooms but at the pool buffet where 15-month "pregnant" men are not encouraged to put on a shirt and shoes before approaching the buffet! Yes, it is a pool area, but it is also a restaurant. 2. The excessive air conditioning in the theater and main bar. 3. The sometimes jumbled service for breakfast outside on La Terrazza.

 

Change of heart

Edited January 26, 2017 by Hotel CA

[TLCOhio]

I am not crazy about those who need 2 sun beds...one in the sun, one in the shade!

 

les37b: Preference: Would prefer pricing to drop this "super all inclusive" packaging of including flights and excursions. Generally I prefer to do my own thing and usually very much cheaper than SS are selling this for making them uneconomical and overly expensive. I will not be booking a "super all inclusive" unless of course it was on offer and more affordable.

 

descartes1: WHAT IS RIGHT-- I love that Silversea has significantly increased the number of OVERNIGHT stays and LATE NIGHT (11pm) departures.

 

Appreciate the starting of this excellent thread and the very good questions/comments. Wonderful sharing!! Super love the above, fun comment by duct tape about the deck chair/bed hogs. Are those types of selfish folks driven by just greed and/or entitlement?

 

Among our biggest likes are: Creative/varied itineraries/ports, decent value/pricing options, responsive/helpful staff, good food variety and option in portions that are not too large, decent to very good entertainment options, excellent ship speakers who can be very helpful for us in learning more about these exciting places that we visit, slow-cooked dining in La Terrazza, smaller/more personal ship size, etc.

 

Needs for improvement/attention?: more creativity for better excursion options in some areas of the world, main office folks paying closer attention to customer suggestions/requests, more varied and creative food options, special event/themes for dining nights and lunches, more people from Australia on these cruises bringing their charm and special fun, etc.

 

Do not get too carried away on "all-inclusive" that drives up prices too high for being able to do cruising with Silversea. Agree strongly with Les as quoted above. With Les' comment of "I put on weight while on board!", is that bragging or complaining??? Also, agree highly with descartes1 about having more overnight and late-night port stops.

 

Personally for us, caviar and dress code police actions are not high priorities for our interests and style. Sorry!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo sailing over 26 days that started in Barbados, here is the link below to that live/blog. Lots of great visuals from this amazing Brazil river and these various Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.) that we experienced. Check it out at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 47,171 views for these postings.

[mdpa]

Good: I was on (1) Silversea Cruise back in 2008 with a company sponsored incentive and enjoyed it so much that we chose them to celebrate our 25th anniversary. Service, Food, and the overall experience was fantastic.

 

Could do Better:

 

1. The search dialog for the Silversea cruises doesn't work in Chrome on silversea.com (latest version), I always need to open Safari instead. This hasn't worked for about 2-weeks and it will just keep trying to bring up results in an open loop.

 

2. I made my initial purchase on January 7th. I am still trying to get my flights nailed down so I can plan the hotels (for an extended trip). The coordination between Silversea's reservation specialists and their travel department needs to be greatly improved. No reason that every request/change should take a week. Especially, when I keep getting ads in my inbox for other options and have only a $200 penalty to back out. Getting close to just doing something different.

Edited January 27, 2017 by mdpa

[les37b]

With Les' comment of "I put on weight while on board!", is that bragging or complaining???

 

Neither.... Just the reality there are penalties to pay for enjoying the food and wine offerings. Its not a good thing, so I figured that was the best grading to place that particular observation! :p

[Travelcat2]

I enjoy most things about Silversea -- the food and service is on the top of the list.

 

I do wish that the interior of the ships were completely refurbished more often - not waiting until they begin to look shabby.

 

Agree about not becoming super-inclusive but do like flights to be included (with people having the ability to opt out for a credit).

[TLCOhio]

Neither.... Just the reality there are penalties to pay for enjoying the food and wine offerings. Its not a good thing, so I figured that was the best grading to place that particular observation! :p

 

Appreciate Les' savvy follow-up. As you know, I was kidding a bit and having a little fun at your expense. Clearly, if the Silversea food was not fairly good and enjoyable, we would not eat as much. That's why I cited their smaller food portions that helps us "behave" a little better. Fortunately, I am 6' 2" in height and that gives me a slight added amount of "flexibility" to hide some of tell-tale signs from enjoying the food too much.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 168,214 views for this posting.

[TLCOhio]

Still no added posts on Cruise Critic by "SilverseaCruises" that is billed as a "Verified Account". Don't be shy!! Come out and play, share more insights and helpful info, etc. We promise not to "bit' too much and behaving properly.

 

Forgot to post earlier a couple of complaints/suggestions. First, hate it as to the snacks offered in the bar/lounge settings on the ships. About the "best" they have to offer has only been plain, regular peanuts. OK, maybe, kind of, but not as good as having a better quality of mixed nuts and/or a good-quality snack mix. Hint! Hint!! It's a small detail, but plain peanuts are not exactly what you expect from a true luxury cruise line.

 

Second, the toilet paper is very, very thin on the ship. I would like to have better. I assume, however, that the the ship's systems do better "processing" the thin TP, but I would like to know that officially to be the reasons for the cheap stuff in the SS toilets.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 220,431 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[oregon50]

It's a small detail, but plain peanuts are not exactly what you expect from a true luxury cruise line.

 

Second, the toilet paper is very, very thin on the ship. I would like to have better. I assume, however, that the the ship's systems do better "processing" the thin TP, but I would like to know that officially to be the reasons for the cheap stuff in the SS toilets.

 

A small detail? Multiply x 25 and you can figure out that you are not sailing on a true luxury cruise line. Hardly a recent development.

 

You sail with other cruise lines, so you know the toilet paper story doesn't hold. I have the same problem with Hampton Inn or any hotel charging over $100/night. Same with facial tissue.

[jollyjones]

I really don't care what snacks they serve, as someone who tries to avoid eating such unhealthy junk if the snacks aren't appealing it's much easier to pass them by. Although there's nothing wrong with peanuts, they're probably less unhealthy than some of the mixes.

 

And anyone who has cruised a lot knows perfectly well that if the toilet paper doesn't disintegrate easily in the macerator, the whole system will block. The paper on SS is no different from that on every other ship of which I have experience.

 

 

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[pf778c]

For those that are interested, mixed nuts were served on the Wind this past December. When my young man made a comment regarding the macademias, the attendent "hand selected" a small dish for him of just macademias. I believe pretzels and chips were served in the bars as well, along with the usual pre-dinner canapes.

[Emtbsam]

To save on calories, we have asked our Butler to bring us carrot and celery sticks every evening for cocktail time. We then carry them to the bar and have exactly what we want. It's a small thing, but it does make a difference.

[MarilynA]

Could do Better:

 

1. The search dialog for the Silversea cruises doesn't work in Chrome on silversea.com (latest version), I always need to open Safari instead. This hasn't worked for about 2-weeks and it will just keep trying to bring up results in an open loop.

 

2. I made my initial purchase on January 7th. I am still trying to get my flights nailed down so I can plan the hotels (for an extended trip). The coordination between Silversea's reservation specialists and their travel department needs to be greatly improved. No reason that every request/change should take a week. Especially, when I keep getting ads in my inbox for other options and have only a $200 penalty to back out. Getting close to just doing something different.

 

I've not had any problems doing searches on the Silversea website using Chrome, and I've done quite a few recently looking for future cruises. Try re-installing Chrome.

 

If you're not using a travel agent, you need to get one and have your reservation assigned to the agent. The times I've had to call Silversea directly have been frustrating. I believe the company reps who monitor the phones have to forward questions etc. to Italy, then wait for a response. A good travel agent can usually short circuit this problem by knowing the right person to call directly.

[mdpa]

I've not had any problems doing searches on the Silversea website using Chrome, and I've done quite a few recently looking for future cruises. Try re-installing Chrome.

 

If you're not using a travel agent, you need to get one and have your reservation assigned to the agent. The times I've had to call Silversea directly have been frustrating. I believe the company reps who monitor the phones have to forward questions etc. to Italy, then wait for a response. A good travel agent can usually short circuit this problem by knowing the right person to call directly.

 

Thanks...it actually doesn't work with Chrome on (2) different computers, one with Windows 10 and the other with MacOS Sierra. It is Chrome beta, but I don't have issues with other sites. Maybe it will break when this version is released.

 

I assigned my reservation to an agent about two weeks ago, for some reason I thought I would get better support by calling direct.

[friendlyfifer]

To save on calories, we have asked our Butler to bring us carrot and celery sticks every evening for cocktail time. We then carry them to the bar and have exactly what we want. It's a small thing, but it does make a difference.

 

How sad! You're on a luxury cruise. If you must have celery and carrot sticks, ask for some when you get to the bar but don't carry them from your cabin.

[duct tape]

People who cruise frequently do eat smartly. If the (frequent floaters) FFers ate it all and drank it all, cruising would not be as pleasant! You can also have your butler deliver your snacks to bar![emoji4]

[Emtbsam]

How sad! You're on a luxury cruise. If you must have celery and carrot sticks, ask for some when you get to the bar but don't carry them from your cabin.

 

Sometimes they get eaten before we leave the cabin, so we prefer to have them here.

[zigtraveller]

RIGHT - wonderful staff and personalized service. Great food. Small ships. Reasonable single supplement.

 

COULD BE BETTER- butler service should be more consistent. I have had good and very bad, but there shouldn't be this variation in service. Training and service expectations for butlers should be standardized.

 

 

 

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