Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Four

[UKCruiseJeff]

Initial post cruise thoughts.

 

I am now asking myself would I take another SS cruise?

Was it worth it and was it ‘over-hyped’?

 

I was trying to work out what - for me -was included that I would otherwise have to pay for, and it is quite difficult.

 

What was ‘over and above’ mainstream? What was good and what was not so good. Most of it is personal opinion.

 

The dreaded dress code. I can’t see a problem with the dress code ... it is explained in the brochure. To me, it wasn’t enforced as firmly as it could have been. Even on the three ‘casual’ nights I saw tee shirts and shorts going into the dining room. I always made the effort and wore a jacket and tie, but that is me.

 

Feedback given on the anonymous form. Do they read them? Generally speaking no ship staff to be seen.

 

Was it worth it? Probably. The biggest point, for me, was the fact that it was all paid for over a year before we sailed, so we could relax knowing we were always within budget. It was nice to be able to just chill with a glass of wine and not have to think about remembering to make a note of how much was being spent and was the accounting ‘creative’?

The extra money ensured it was totally relaxing and stress free, which is how it should be.

 

Would I do it again? Well I am looking at a Med cruise for 2019. I wouldn’t entertain the Caribbean again as it is so difficult to get to. I certainly won’t fly via Miami again, so for me it is the Med. Easy to get to and easier on the pocket[emoji846] No thoughts of feeling obliged to extend the trip being that you have paid mega-bucks to get there.

 

Let’s see what the TA comes back with next week. The cruise we are looking at is ‘Venetian’ one as well.

 

Mike

 

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Hi Mike,

 

Excuse me chatting with you about your post here, but it is so as not to disrupt your main thread and upset others. What mixed feelings you seem to have. Summarised as sort of good but could be much better without spending anything or much.

 

FWIW, the owner certainly use to read the feedback forms. As I mentioned some years ago we worked with him and a senior VP in SS and it was after he had spent several days with his team in the Monaco office reading through the forms that we were asked to help. We redesigned the form and the way they should be analysed, cascaded and used. Whether they are still read and what they do with them I do not know.

 

The level of lack of eye for detail I think is striking. For example in the journal we have for our Med cruise it tells us to expect to have one formal night. But on the web site it says that Med cruises have no formal night. Our TA confirms that there are no formal nights on our cruise and it doesn't show a formal night on "my cruise". But the TA thought it was for cruises of "7 days or less", but a 7 night cruise is an 8 day cruise. So does a 7 night Med cruise have a formal night or not? So why have a journal specifically for a single unique cruise telling passengers wrongly to pack for a formal night? This level of avoidable and amateurish confusion is perfectly avoidable and it is bewildering that the journal welcomes us and tells us to enjoy destinations the ship isn't and has never been scheduled to visit and warns us of formal nights and what to pack for them whereas elsewhere it says there isn't any. It also says in two places that you can choose what beverages you want for your mini-bar set up without any charge and elsewhere in the same document it says there might be a charge. Is whatever you request and they provide complimentary or is there a charge? And what constitutes a reasonable item to charge for. I can understand an expensive premium champagne or expensive voddy, or armagnac but what if it is a fairly standard item and is something that is the same cost of stuff they normally have but if it is simply something they wdon't normally have but have to order? I think I know what the answer is but why can't they express it clearly to avoid confusion. After all these years I'd expect them to have not just sorted these things out but to have someone read each journal before it is published for the cruise. And why not an online form for mini-bar and other small requests or preferences eg pillows? Not rocket science. Each cruise is a unique and discrete multi-million pound revenue product. How long would it take to check the journal? The fact that these silly errors are replicated year in and year out isn't what one should expect from a reasonably well organised organisation. The customised journal for each cruise should be definitive and clear and not increase confusion.

 

I also don't like to hear about the wine issue. I know they can't be bothered to take wine orders, and if they can't and if the buffets are shambolic then don't pretend this is haute cuisine when it is simply industrial catering. And have good grace if someone wants a different wine! Not having a wine list offered automatically will always seem weird to me.

 

I think your decision to take med cruises is sound but as they have just deleted a slightly longer Greek Island cruise from their schedule and there isn't any others that look comparable then we might have a look at SB who seem to have a few meaty 14 nighters taking in the Croatian coast and Greek Islands. What they now have seems to be the same old places with mostly 7 nighters.

Edited March 23, 2018 by UKCruiseJeff

[MBP&O2/O]

Well at least we didn’t have Mrs. Two Soups to contend with [emoji846]

 

Yes, the attention to detail needs tweaking.

Just the little things like e.g.

La Dame ... I asked for a dessert together with a dessert wine .. and they arrived separately?

The odd chipped wine glass (base!)

Once a dirty plate in the buffet.

Nothing serious, (apart from the late dessert wine [emoji846]) and sorted instantly ... without an apology though.

Overall a good trip ... I enjoyed it and would go again which is - at the end of the day - what it is all about.

The one we are looking at is on the Spirit, which looks a different kettle of fish.

 

 

 

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[Camillus112]

Jeff, you are looking at Seabourn, our last cruise was Seabourn in the Caribbean last January. Some comments:

 

First, cons:

 

* I missed having a butler...not to pack nor unpack, etc., but to make sure your preferences are met and kinks sorted out. In our case, we needed to continually call Guest Services to fix the TV which would not work.

 

* BTW, the TV's have a small screen and face a wall, making sure you cannot see comfortably neither from the couch nor the bed. My suite was a V6.

 

* If you use the pool, be aware that there will not be any clean towels after 4pm. Many complaints about this, but no resolution.

 

Pluses:

 

* The lunch at the Colonnade was much better than in Silversea's Terraza. There is usually a themed lunch, very well prepared and tasty.

 

* The entertainment's more varied than in SS. Very good comedians and magicians. The dancers were excellent.

 

* You may like the Thomas Keller Grill. We had mixed opinions, as some things we found very, very good and others not. For me, the salads were wonderful.

 

* The always accesible MDR is a great plus. The food, at times, better than SS.

 

Anyway, these are off-the-cuff comments and you can ask anything specific you would want information on. Depending on itinerary and dates, I would cruise with them again.

[spinnaker2]

Hello all.

29 days and counting until we are amused.

 

Luncheon menu tomorrow is crab cakes with baby greens.

Warm bread will be served with a soft garlicky cheese spread with champagne for hors d'oeuvres...

And then a white chocolate cake with white chocolate buttercream frosting, layered with fresh raspberries.

It's for the birthday girl and her request.

 

Stock market is taking a beating as is our retirement funds.

May need to find a job at this rate, or win the lottery.

 

Enjoy the weekend all.

[Camillus112]

Dear Spins, good to see you are posting after your surgery. Great all went well. We are all suffering the impact of tariffs on Wall Street. Our funds have also dived!! And, should you be going to Europe as we are soon enough, the dollar has also dived against the Euro. It is a good time for Jeff and our other European friends to visit us in the USA! Really afraid of Bolton in the White House...

[mysty]

Spins...your menu sounds scrumptious! Markets around the world are reacting to the "trade wars". Our retirement savings are affected here in Canada as well. Madness seems to reign supreme!

 

Time for blinders and feeble attempts to ignore the crazy! Happy weekend all!

[MLeh]

“What is a weekend?”

(Thought I’d throw a random Downton Abbey quote out, just for giggles)

Good to see everyone is recovering from various surgeries, enjoying travels, enduring weather!

I’m insulated from the current stock market meltdown, but remember, it’s only a loss if you sell. I spent a couple of hours earlier this week with a financial advisor who was trying to convince me to switch some money into their particular program with the intention of saving some taxes. When I crunched the numbers (I’m a numbers geek) I realized that the tax savings would be minuscule (around $4k a year) while the main beneficiary would be the financial advisor, making about $10k a year in ‘fees’. I sent him an email saying ‘thanks but no thanks’, and then spent the $10k I’d just ‘saved’ (?) on a cruise in December. We need to justify our cruises somehow!

 

 

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[mysty]

Brilliant MLeh! Your justification works for me! I'm a numbers geek too! :) It helps in so many ways!

[MLeh]

I thought it made perfect sense, mysty!

 

 

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[UKCruiseJeff]

Thanks Cams, very much appreciate the ideas.

 

A med cruise for us basically sees the ship as a dormitory and a place to get us from place to place and as I don't eat breakfast (- but might a bit on a ship -) and don't eat dinner - we just snack - it is all about lunch which would be somewhere in port each day. We enjoy a couple of prawn and salmon sandwiches with some crisps and a bottle of champagne on the balcony for supper. So food wouldn't really be much of an interest and I always have low expectations. And if I want something done I prefer to get it done directly so a butler isn't a concern. When we use IC's our preferences follow us around the different properties so for example whether we are in Singapore or Vienna or Cannes or Paris they know we like our suite and minibar serviced each day between 11am and 2pm and not to be disturbed after that until turn-down as we might like a doze in the afternoon - so that may be the same on the boat! We have never bothered with the entertainment.

 

We just need a comfortable functional suite and a place to sit at the back of the ship in the evenings for a drink by ourselves, We don't use a pool and I'm hoping if the high speed wifi speed permits we'll be using the ipad on the bed to watch home TV although I'll be downloading some programmes as backup just in case. There is only so much BBC World you can take as it repeats all day.

 

Spins sorry to hear of the cash woes. I've not been anywhere near any equities for so long and I just prefer forgoing the growth and risks and the stress that goes with it and I prefer to simply see our store of acorns as a sinking fund.

[jillyf]

Our stock market down too.

One bit of very good luck we had this week was a lottery win of 1.3 million at the local men’s shed my husband belongs to. 33 men belonged to the winning ticket syndicate so we have had a lovely windfall.

 

The bad news is that my husband has been in hospital and is having a cholecystectomy on Monday. Lucky it didn’t happen later in the year when we are in Paris or Venice.

Jill

[MLeh]

Seems life is always a little bit good and a little bit bad. Hope the surgery goes well and he recovers quickly and fully.

 

 

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[UKCruiseJeff]

Our stock market down too.

One bit of very good luck we had this week was a lottery win of 1.3 million at the local men’s shed my husband belongs to. 33 men belonged to the winning ticket syndicate so we have had a lovely windfall.

 

The bad news is that my husband has been in hospital and is having a cholecystectomy on Monday. Lucky it didn’t happen later in the year when we are in Paris or Venice.

Jill

 

 

Hi Jill,

 

Sad news about hubby ..... a couple of us here have had that done. My one the old fashioned non-keyhole way. My first meal after was a large bucket of curry. He will be fine don't fret.:)

 

Congrats on the windfall. Being nosey I converted it ..... around £21k for you both to spend on the best recuperation you can find!

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers! We're inching toward spring. Still cold but the sun is shining.

 

Jill...best wishes that his surgery goes smoothly and his recovery goes quickly! And congrats on the lotto win!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[Lois R]

Good morning........I think I may have mentioned my previous boss passed away.......if not, he did, and was my boss for about 20 years. His Memorial is today so I, along with a lot of other people will be attending. He worked for the company for almost 30 years so he knew ALOT of people. The service is about 45 minutes from here up in an area called Fernandina Beach.......nice place. It is supposed to be about 80 today and sunny.

 

Jill, good luck to your husband with the procedure.

 

Have a good weekend everyone. Today is "The March for our lives" around the country.........should be pretty

amazing.

[spinnaker2]

Good to get rid of the nasty gallbladder. It just gets blocked and makes stones and causes pain.

Any surgery is stressful, but I hope DH can look to the result. No more pain! A cute little, very little scar.

 

Wonderful to hear of financial win! I have always wanted to know someone who won, now I do!

 

Forge on all.

[jpalbny]

Good luck with the ccky. I had mine out in 2004. Don't miss it at all. It only acted up while we were on vacation. Being the astute physician that I am, I didn't recognize it as biliary colic until the third episode...

 

Settling in here in Melbourne after a long drive from Adelaide over the past three days. Lots of great sights along the way.

 

We just met Drron29 and Rojaan19 for drinks after dinner. Was great fun, and a lovely way to spend the evening. Now time to get some sleep.

 

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[rosepark]

Good luck with the ccky. I had mine out in 2004. Don't miss it at all. It only acted up while we were on vacation. Being the astute physician that I am, I didn't recognize it as biliary colic until the third episode...

 

Settling in here in Melbourne after a long drive from Adelaide over the past three days. Lots of great sights along the way.

 

We just met Drron29 and Rojaan19 for drinks after dinner. Was great fun, and a lovely way to spend the evening. Now time to get some sleep.

 

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My OH didn’t recognise mine either and you have the excuse of not being female fat and forty. Much better out than in, though. Not sure why we need a gallbladder anyway.

What fun to have a meet up on holiday and to hear of an actual real life lottery win.

A baking disaster means I am having to remake a birthday cake in a very great hurry -headless chicken syndrome is setting in.

Rp

[MissSophia]

Ooh, lots to catch up on!

 

Spins, your menu sounds delish, hope you enjoy the birthday and so pleased you’re recovering well and on the countdown....think I’m around 56 days out now!

 

Congrats to Jill and hubby on the windfall and well wishes for the op.

 

Good to hear JP and Chris are having such fun......

 

Mysty....loving your daily ditties.....

 

Jeffers, your cruise regime is very similar to mine as l much prefer a long lunch followed by a nap then snack in the evenings....I’m not keen on the rigmarole of dinner every night mainly because l find it too much and sometimes too late and also too long when I’m with a group of friends.....I’m not at all unsociable but like doing my own thing at times.... but l hasten to add that l do like dressing up every night so work that one out! 🤨

 

It’s been another busy week so I’m having a ‘me’ day today with some much needed beautifying et al....

 

Leftover slow cooker casserole for lunch today....tomorrow is Sunday lunch out with the kids....

Our clocks go forward an hour tonight so lighter evenings to enjoy....

 

Happy Weekend All 😊

[UKCruiseJeff]

Good Afternoon Coolers ...

 

Keralan chicken with pilau and aloo bhindi for lunch ..... with grüner veltliner.

 

 

 

 

 

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[UKCruiseJeff]

John Bolton and Donald Trump.

 

What could possibly go wrong .......

[Lois R]

John Bolton and Donald Trump.

 

What could possibly go wrong .......

 

I know:mad::eek:..........unbelievable........the one who thinks "Military Action" is the first option:(

[UKCruiseJeff]

Fingers crossed for Cambridge! :)

[jollyjones]

I'm currently in Cambridge, just about to attend College 50th reunion - what a good day for a double Light Blues win (i.e. both women's and men's).

[UKCruiseJeff]

Not including yesterday it was a triple.

 

Blondie, goldie and the main race all to Cambridge.