Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Four

[Lois R]

Thanks Lois! Really does feel like things are getting nasty. I don't understand how they can think it's OK for DT to throw his weight around but it is not OK for JT to stand firm against it.

 

Mysty, this guy has the biggest EGO of anyone who has ever held the office...….he thinks he is perfect, he thinks he can do no wrong, he thinks, omg...…..what he thinks is just unimaginable...…..he thinks he is the best we have ever had...…..:mad:...when actually it is the opposite. Nasty is his middle name.

[Daveywavey70]

What a shame Jeff. On our recent fiasco there was no effective management either. Reception staff had the constant expression of a rabbit in the headlights and management was nowhere to be seen. I Got the impression that the staff were fine with the day to day stuff but when new or unusual situations came up they had no guidance or anyone to turn to.

 

Sounds like SS aren’t too bothered about their regulars having to endure this behaviour. If they were, perhaps they’d do something about it.

 

With regard to Mainstream, we have cruised a couple of times with Thomson in the past and, whilst being entirely different to SS we had a fantastic time. The ship was a similar size to Spirit but with around 1200 passengers. We were treated extremely well from start to finish and couldn’t fault it. The whole experience was far superior to our recent one with SS and at less than 1/2 the price. I’m not sure about ships much bigger than that though. The better half quite likes ships with “ a bit more life” but I really don’t fancy trying the MSCs and Celebrity etc that he enjoys, along with 6000 other passengers.

[Daveywavey70]

The impression that we get over here is that he’s (DT) not very intelligent and throws his weight around like any other intellectually challenged playground bully.

Is it true that if he had invested his inheritance rather than being in business all of these years he would actually be worth more money now?

[Lois R]

Hi Davey, if it makes any difference...….the largest ships Celebrity has holds about 3,000 passengers.

Royal Caribbean's "Floating Cities" do have ships that have nearly 6,000...…...I definitely have no desire to ever sail them. From what I am told, you don't even feel like you are on a ship:eek:

[Daveywavey70]

Too big for my liking. But I ain’t tried it so I won’t knock it Lois.

If anything on the Spirit I felt their was a bit too much space for my taste. The restaurants, with the exception of Seishin and la dame, always felt quite empty. I’m quite a chatty soul and enjoy making new friends. There were only ever a handful of people in the Dolce Vita for the excellent after dinner duo (who did an amazing job of playing to an empty room) and very few in the “disco” afterwards.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Hiya All,

 

Soapy, no I haven’t spoken to anyone on board because what would hack me off is someone trying to placate me and making soothing meaningless noises when there is in fact nothing they can do to cure the issue. They are not about to kick-off 270 people because jeff after all this time of scratching his bits and being basic has discovered he is in fact a snob because there is in fact (much to my/his suprise) people with even lower standards being allowed to enjoy his space.

 

So I am currently shrugging an awful lot and trying to work out how to distil out of what we have the best we can extract. To that end we have had a lovely evening together in the grill where I had a plate of fries and a few onion rings, some ketchup and some Sauvignon, some grappa on ice (they have a special bottle for me) and bottled water and a cigar. Wifey shared my cigar this evening and it was lovely. A lady played Burt Bacharach and Carole King on her keyboard and sung well, and I said thanks and we are happy. Food I can get back home and the stuff that others seem to enjoy on this cruise I will leave for them with pleasure. I have contacted our joint TA and explained what is happening and we’ll see what she comes up with, but to be fair I think the degree of this experience is out of most of our experiences.

 

Linda - thanks for the thoughts. :)

 

Davey, the facts are realy simple to understand for those who have been around. A long time ago a man inherited an embryo cruise line from his father who had a distinguished history in crusies and shipping. That person then declared an aspiration to his father to have a fleet of a certain number of ships. I can’t remember what it is or was but I think it was eleven.

 

So when the line started it was ground - or should I say - sea-breaking. Two and then four ultra luxury ships with balconies (new on small ships) and a product that was unbeatable.

 

However, when you decide on rapid expansion, then what is king is not profit or loyalty it is simply a positive cash-flow at all other costs to fund the monthly payments. And so the initial brand is still promised but there is no genuine intention to provide it. With one exception. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and there are many many punters who think they understand quality and think that SS provides it. They probably think people like me are just whingers that can’t be satisfied which isn’t true, because I once was and I’m easy to satisfy. They think they are clever and discerning. As long as they continue to grow in numbers then there is no downside for SS and they need never do any better. But in my view there is CURRENTLY no provider satisfying that demand at an ultra-high quality and much higher diem. There are no 6* lines from what I can tell.

 

My starting point was a decision to buy a boat I couldn’t really afford to run. So wifey said try a really expensive cruise, so we took a big suite on Whisper and then - it sort of worked. I could eat and drink in my own suite to a high quality - and even on one or two occaisions use it for work inviting people on board. Then is then and now is now.

Edited June 10, 2018 by UKCruiseJeff

[UKCruiseJeff]

Hi All,

 

Well to be honest I am trying hard with the stoic bit but I am beginning to find the bonhomie draining away.

 

If I wanted to spend seven nights with around 220 lager louts then I would have spent a couple of hundred quid on a cheap caravan in Blackpool. You just do not see many of them wandering anywhere without a drink in their hands. Everwhere. A couple of women with pints of lager started shouting at the captain when he was on the outside bridge but he just went back ‘indoors’. There is nowhere to escape from them. And we have a sea day in two days time. What bleedin’ joy.

 

My wife was accosted yet again by one babyish looking sales person who had to tell her that he hadn't paid anything for his cruise and everything was free and that we must find the noise irritating and she said ‘yes. We have paid for ours and we do find all the noise and bad behaviour irritating’.

[philw1776]

Sounds like a nightmare cruise with all those obstreperous colonials.

Fortunately, our worst Silversea experience was just on tours. I'll call them Mr & Mrs Clueless. Anyhow, at Crete at the Minoan Palace our tour guide warned us all after the tour not to sit down at the restaurant and order because the bus had to be back to the ship to make late lunch for all. Of course, Mr & Mrs C sat down and had lunch. Refused to move when the tour guide found them. Bus waited half an hour with all minus two onboard. We missed the La Terazza buffet lunch.

Couple days later on Santorini Mr & Mrs C are again on our bus. Uh-oh! Sure enough comes time to leave, everyone is onboard except, you guessed it, Mr & Mrs C. Santorini tour guide searched. Became frantic. Again after 20 minutes sitting on the bus she gets a phone call from another Silversea bus that they have 2 extra passengers. You know who they were.

Not knowing international law I eschewed justifiable homicide.

 

Hope they're not on our 2019 Silversea Alaska cruise.

[Isklaar]

Hi All,

 

Well to be honest I am trying hard with the stoic bit but I am beginning to find the bonhomie draining away.

 

If I wanted to spend seven nights with around 220 lager louts then I would have spent a couple of hundred quid on a cheap caravan in Blackpool. You just do not see many of them wandering anywhere without a drink in their hands. Everwhere. A couple of women with pints of lager started shouting at the captain when he was on the outside bridge but he just went back ‘indoors’. There is nowhere to escape from them. And we have a sea day in two days time. What bleedin’ joy.

 

My wife was accosted yet again by one babyish looking sales person who had to tell her that he hadn't paid anything for his cruise and everything was free and that we must find the noise irritating and she said ‘yes. We have paid for ours and we do find all the noise and bad behaviour irritating’.

 

 

 

It sounds like a 3*All Inclusive in Marmaris.

Have discussed with my partner this evening and we're both horrified that this is going on.

[Bill B]

Fortunately, our worst Silversea experience was just on tours. I'll call them Mr & Mrs Clueless. Anyhow, at Crete at the Minoan Palace our tour guide warned us all after the tour not to sit down at the restaurant and order because the bus had to be back to the ship to make late lunch for all. Of course, Mr & Mrs C sat down and had lunch. Refused to move when the tour guide found them. Bus waited half an hour with all minus two onboard. We missed the La Terazza buffet lunch.

Couple days later on Santorini Mr & Mrs C are again on our bus. Uh-oh! Sure enough comes time to leave, everyone is onboard except, you guessed it, Mr & Mrs C. Santorini tour guide searched. Became frantic. Again after 20 minutes sitting on the bus she gets a phone call from another Silversea bus that they have 2 extra passengers. You know who they were.

 

People like that are why I will never again go on a line-booked shore excursion.

:rolleyes:

[Mr Luxury]

Jeff,you've pulled

 

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[mjnvoyager]

Just horrified at what is going on Jeff. We have a Cruise booked for August and are contacting our TA to find out if possible if there are any “groups “ booked. Our worst experience in the past was with a group of 60 from a north west American city. They were a religious group, the congregation having paid for the Archbishop to join them. They were “following the footsteps of St Paul” round the Med ending in Rome with an audience with the Pope. They were noisy and rowdy and drank the ship dry. This we had confirmed by a member of staff. They may have been Christian but hypocritical in my eyes.

 

SS is definitely not helping itself especially by taking bookings that enable large numbers of people who are on the cruise as a reward incentive. If that makes me a snob then I will happily accept the name. DH was at one time in the brewing business and when the pubs started to advertise for “coach parties” it was the death knell for the regular and personal customers. SS have completely forgotten that they are the purveyor of a luxury and exclusive brand. We have been customers for 20 years but possibly not much longer. Jeff you have our utmost sympathy.

 

 

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[UKCruiseJeff]

Hi All,

 

Thanks MJN ... to be clear, I feel that SS is perfectly within their rights to sell suites to groups or charters as they feel fit. But equally they do have a legal obligation (in the EU and UK) to ensure that customers are informed of any material factors that are not in the brochures that they might need to make an informed decision as to whether a cruise (or product generally) is right for them. It is not for SS to presume that being locked into a ship for seven days with a group of this size behaving this way will be OK - it is for the customer to make an informed choice. In a hotel I can book out or just escape but I cannot do that on a ship so SS should and are obligated to take appropriate and prudent care which they have failed to do.

 

What they have done is to take a commerical decision that is in their best commercial interests to take an extremely large group that they would have known would impact the enjoyment of the small minoirty of ordinary SS customers, instead of insisisting on a full charter and at the same time take cash from full fare paying passengers who they have decided not to inform of this and withold the information. Basically they want their cake and to eat it.

 

Sadly I have little confidence that SS will receive my complaint sensibly and appropriately and I guess I’ll have to take the appropriate route.

 

SS have changed our return flights on Thursday for flights two hours later. They currently propose to boot us off the ship on a tour at 08:30 and we will be wearing our travel home clothes and carrying heavy carry-ons with ipads and stuff you should never pack in to hold luggage. Some of the group are infirm and many are pensioners . They are taking us to The Acropolis where they say we must be preared to climb up there in extremely high current temperatures presumably with our carry-ons and in our travel home gear unless one is happy to leave one’s valuables on the coach. The only other option we have been offered is to leave on an earlier transfer which will mean that we must wait landside for checkins to open at around 13:30 for the 15:30 flight a wait of around 4 hours before the checkins open so we can then wait in the lounge for another two hours. The alternative they offer is we sit on the coach for a couple of hours whilst others walk the Acropolis.

 

Would it have been so difficult to arrange for a transfer at say 12:30 and letting us stay on the ship before the embarkation time of the next group of passengers as we have requested?

[mjnvoyager]

Yes of course SS have a right to sell it’s cruises to anyone. My money is as good as anyone else’s. But why do I choose SS? Why select this brand when I can choose Regent or Seabourn or Crystal? Those are the questions more customers will be asking themselves after reading your reports.

Jane

 

 

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[rosepark]

Jeff, I know we have been teasing you but you do have my utmost sympathy for having to suffer such a miserable experience on board and with, frankly bonkers, proposals for the airport transfer. You have the ability to pursue remedies but many others suffering with you will not be as able as you. I hope any onshore contacts you have are made aware of your disappointment and the very, very poor impression which Silversea is projecting.

Good luck with the next few days .

Rp

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

So sorry to hear that your cruise is going from bad to worse J! The disembarkation plan is monstrous! Maybe they will think better of it and offer something more reasonable. All digits crossed for a better plan!

 

I have a driver's license and I have not actually driven a car for over 20 years. I was never a brilliant driver. I just determined that at one point I was a danger to others (and myself). If I was still driving today's funny would be me.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[UKCruiseJeff]

Thanks Rp andM!

 

Today’s lunch ....

 

 

 

 

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[MBP&O2/O]

I must admit that I am ‘concerned’ . When I was working ashore our press office warned us as to ‘public perception’ when it came to operational matters. Summed up it was a case of ‘it’s not what you do but the way that your actions are interpreted by the public’. Perhaps SS should be invited to publicly explain their view on such matters?

My personal perception is that SS are bordering on unreliability and dropping their standards. Was it last year when several cruises on the Wind were cancelled? No reason given but as I understand it the ship was then chartered out .... to the detriment and expense of the customers who had booked and paid up front? A South American cruise that was altered to accommodate a charter - again to the detriment of the passengers who had booked early.

Now we have the issue of the large groups causing mayhem.

I am losing confidence and am seriously considering cancelling my cruise. It is towards the end of next year so I can get a full refund - less as ‘admin fee’ of $200. It could be worth it.

A cursory check shows a very similar cruise with Crystal, it is slightly longer and slightly cheaper. Very much swings and roundabouts. We shall see. A serious discussion with Mrs B is required.

 

 

Sent from the magic box!

[Daveywavey70]

At least lunch looks good Jeff!

 

Mysty, I think that pic relates to 3/4 of my lunchtime regulars.

 

I’m in disbelief at the arrogance of SS thinking that they can treat their loyal customers in such a way and they’ll just keep coming back for more. I Understand completely if the company has chosen to go in a different direction, that’s a commercial decision, but your marketing needs to reflect that and be relevant. If you brand yourselves as “ultra luxury” but then fail to provide what your advertising that’s dishonest and is going to do them a lot of damage.

 

I’m a big believer in things “doing what it says on the tin”

If I buy a tin that says Stewed Steak on the label then I expect Stewed Steak in the tin, not dog food. When I take the tin back to the shop to show them that they’ve actually given me dog food I don’t expect them to tell me that I have to buy another tin at 25% off hoping that this time it will be Stewed Steak.

 

Are there any signs of your travelling comrades slowing down Jeff? Surely they can’t keep partying that hard all week!

[UKCruiseJeff]

Hi all.

 

Well the transfer to the airport 7 hours before departure still seems to be the position. No information to the contrary.

 

Dave, I seem to be eating pretty much the same each day because it can’t be messed up. You cannot describe the food in any way as being fine dining. The Terraza at lunch time is really just the sort of fayre you would get in a staff self-service buffet canteen. Because they have combined so many tables in the MDR to cover lots of requests for groups to sit together the number of two-seater tables left for ordinary customers wishing to simply eat a deux are left only in very small number and in the dead area around the kitchen doors. You will be extremely lucky to get a window table for two something many enjoy. I think there was just two tables for two by windows last night - one each side.

 

Many of these people have become overly interested in the normal customers because they have realised that as they have paid (they have been told in their competition bumph ‘up to £12,000’ ) then they become overly inquisitive and demanding with the real SS passengers, with them plonking themselves down next to you demanding to know what you do for a living. I cannot tell you how many times we’ve and others had to get up and move to get away from them, something that with 220 of them it is impossible to do. They are also sort of messianic with respect to Utilities Warehouse bombarding non-UW passengers with stuff about them and seeming to be trying to convert other passengers to become customers.

 

Several of the group seem to have discovered that they can order champagne on room service for breakfast and so that seems to be on the increase. There is a lot of communication by shouting at each other from the balconies. And tomorrow is a sea day. We obviously have to plan to be somewhat confined to barracks. What can possibly go wrong. [emoji20]

 

 

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Edited June 11, 2018 by UKCruiseJeff

[Daveywavey70]

I Feel so sorry for you Jeff. It’s such a shame that SS has allowed this to happen. Has your TA had any luck relaying the problems? They really should have closed off one restaurant and one bar as a haven for the “normal” cruisers telling the group that they were reserved for a private party. It seems like they’ve taken no action whatsoever to limit the disruption.

 

The messianic comment did tickle me though. If you play your cards right maybe your new friends could help you save 10% off your gas and electricity bills and you could put that towards another cruise?

[rosepark]

Although I really should be working, I found this

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jul/08/get-rich-quick-utility-warehouse-energy-scheme-joanna-lumley

 

Maybe you could print a few copies out and leave them in conspicuous places, Jeff?

Rp

[UKCruiseJeff]

Dave,

 

I’m in contact with my TA. My fear for the chances of a non-litigated resolution is that so much stuff seems to be passed back to the states who seem clueless about UK consumer rights. So it feels that (as in your case) what should be a relativley easy resolution is stubbornly refused and takes much more effort and expense etc.

 

What we know is if SS simply acknowledges the problem, makes a genuine apology and offers acceptable resolution they prove that at least they have a genuine desire to resolve genuine problems of their own making. And in the end customers will at least have some confidence in their integrity as an organisation. At the moment there seems a persitant impression of not really caring that much but doing everything they can to grab and keep every oprtunistic dollar irrespective of the consequences.

 

We like our pasta but it is clear that in the interests of culinary effiiciency Cannelloni Bolognese (I think they mean ragout) is both the main hot dish at lunch in Terrazza and a course in the MDR this evening. They have obviously made a big vat of the stuff. :)

[UKCruiseJeff]

Although I really should be working, I found this

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jul/08/get-rich-quick-utility-warehouse-energy-scheme-joanna-lumley

 

Maybe you could print a few copies out and leave them in conspicuous places, Jeff?

Rp

 

RP

 

Gosh that is an eye-opner and explains a lot to us.

 

An update and perhaps a seam of light. We shall see. Firstly on the transfer front firstly there has been a lot of humming and harghing and we are still discussing not being kicked off the ship 7 hours before the flight so that is ‘work in progress’

 

We have also been told that our complaint via the TA earlier today and over the last few days has been received by te UK office and they have contacted the ship to say they will be dealing with us ‘on a case by case basis’. I asked directly whether SS understands and acknowledges it has a serious problem and I was told they understand this clearly and accept it. So what I hope is that acknowledgement results in a sensible and adult discussion about resolution.

[Tothesunset]

That sounds promising, J. Though I expect you'd rather have deeds than words!