Silversea, expecting too much?

[Host Jazzbeau]

44 minutes ago, commodoredave said:

I agree that reviews are imperfect inputs and have to be read with a grain of salt. However, who out there hasn't looked at a Google Review, a Trip Advisor review, or a cruise review on some occasion as part of their research? They serve a purpose. But they are just one input.

And scratched their head?  Someone loved everything about a product but gave it a 3 out of 5.  Someone else has lots of complaints but gives a 5.  And every single product on Amazon – even those with 4.9 average rating – have at least one review that claims it's the worst thing since stale bread.  I agree with @bitob that the only reviews that are helpful to me are from people whose judgment I already trust (or conversely, those whose judgment I already know I never agree with...)

[Gourmet Gal]

I read reviews here and on some other sites along with trip reports on CC and no matter where I try to read between the lines.  I appreciate reviews that are prefaced with the traveler’s usual style of accommodation, travel and dining which really helps me to understand their perspective.  If there are a large number of reviews then I think the average ranking carries more weight.

[drron29]

I experienced the classic skewing of TA reviews nearly 20 years ago. We had booked at a small boutique hotel in the Lakes district in England whose restaurant had a Michelin star. I the read the Trip Advisor reviews. 50% said it was wonderful and 50% said it was terrible,

It became obvious why when we got there, The Manager was a 6ft 9inch thin Englishman. One of the waiters in the restaurant was a fairly short Portugese fellow whose name badge read Manuel. Every night the 2 of them did a Fawlty Towers skit in the restaurant. It basically was so good that instead of eating there one night on our stay we ate there every night.

So back to the reviews. Virtually all of the positive reviews were from people in the UK whereas the negative reviews were from those living in the USA who basically were unaware of English humour.

 

So I only take notice of those opinions that make sense. Many of the negative SS reviews on here have statements that are just not true or relevant for me.

Edited June 12, 2023 by drron29

[QueSeraSera]

1 hour ago, drron29 said:

the 2 of them did a Fawlty Towers skit in the restaurant.

I'm overdue for a Fawlty Towers episode.  Bye CC, let's see what you tube has to offer 🙂

 

[Sunny429]

9 hours ago, commodoredave said:

I have been on 6 cruises with Silversea and loved every one of them. Having said that, there has been a troubling negative trend in the passenger reviews on Cruise Critic https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/silversea-cruises/cl/

that has pulled the overall rating down to 3.8 out of 5 -- which is not good. I don't know whether it's the rapid expansion, the lack of detail on some ships, or whatever, but too many people say they are not getting the luxury experience they expected. I'm hoping that Silversea management is paying attention and will take the necessary steps to bring their rating back to where it should be.

I haven’t posted a review on CC, but totally agree that SS is not what it was pre COVID. Most every dinner lasted 3 hours, the much touted “chocolate extravaganza” one evening looked neat, but wasn’t tasty, one of our excursions left 20 minutes late, then 10 minutes in to the bus ride, the bus turned around to return to pick up two guests who were late to arrive and upon return to the ship, our lunch options were limited as La Terrazza closes early to prepare for dinner (and lunch at the pool Grill is not good). Also, we used to enjoy having a cocktail in La Doce Vita before dinner, but the three times we tried this past time, we’re not pleasant.  The music -piano and singer - was lovely but way too loud thereby difficult to have a conversation. I did ask if the volume could be lowered and it was. 
A highlight was the staff in the Panorama Lounge.

[Sunny429]

28 minutes ago, Sunny429 said:

I haven’t posted a review on CC, but totally agree that SS is not what it was pre COVID. Most every dinner lasted 3 hours, the much touted “chocolate extravaganza” one evening looked neat, but wasn’t tasty, one of our excursions left 20 minutes late, then 10 minutes in to the bus ride, the bus turned around to return to pick up two guests who were late to arrive and upon return to the ship, our lunch options were limited as La Terrazza closes early to prepare for dinner (and lunch at the pool Grill is not good). Also, we used to enjoy having a cocktail in La Doce Vita before dinner, but the three times we tried this past time, we’re not pleasant.  The music -piano and singer - was lovely but way too loud thereby difficult to have a conversation. I did ask if the volume could be lowered and it was. 
A highlight was the staff in the Panorama Lounge.

And the pizza is still wonderful! 

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 hours ago, QueSeraSera said:

I'm overdue for a Fawlty Towers episode.  Bye CC, let's see what you tube has to offer 🙂

 

"Don't mention the War."

[TomTN]

12 hours ago, drron29 said:

I experienced the classic skewing of TA reviews nearly 20 years ago. We had booked at a small boutique hotel in the Lakes district in England whose restaurant had a Michelin star. I the read the Trip Advisor reviews. 50% said it was wonderful and 50% said it was terrible,

It became obvious why when we got there, The Manager was a 6ft 9inch thin Englishman. One of the waiters in the restaurant was a fairly short Portugese fellow whose name badge read Manuel. Every night the 2 of them did a Fawlty Towers skit in the restaurant. It basically was so good that instead of eating there one night on our stay we ate there every night.

So back to the reviews. Virtually all of the positive reviews were from people in the UK whereas the negative reviews were from those living in the USA who basically were unaware of English humour.

 

So I only take notice of those opinions that make sense. Many of the negative SS reviews on here have statements that are just not true or relevant for me.

Ha,have to agree. We are US citizens, and we have visited England several times. I describe them as like Americans, but with a sense of humor.

[commodoredave]

15 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

And scratched their head?  Someone loved everything about a product but gave it a 3 out of 5.  Someone else has lots of complaints but gives a 5.  And every single product on Amazon – even those with 4.9 average rating – have at least one review that claims it's the worst thing since stale bread.  I agree with @bitob that the only reviews that are helpful to me are from people whose judgment I already trust (or conversely, those whose judgment I already know I never agree with...)

I beg to differ. I don't think CC would waste so much valuable online real estate on cruise reviews if they thought they were useless. Same for other companies with reviews on their websites.Of course some reviews make little sense and should be discounted. But there are nuggets of good information in some reviews that make them worth the effort to find.

[commodoredave]

11 hours ago, Sunny429 said:

I haven’t posted a review on CC, but totally agree that SS is not what it was pre COVID. Most every dinner lasted 3 hours, the much touted “chocolate extravaganza” one evening looked neat, but wasn’t tasty, one of our excursions left 20 minutes late, then 10 minutes in to the bus ride, the bus turned around to return to pick up two guests who were late to arrive and upon return to the ship, our lunch options were limited as La Terrazza closes early to prepare for dinner (and lunch at the pool Grill is not good). Also, we used to enjoy having a cocktail in La Doce Vita before dinner, but the three times we tried this past time, we’re not pleasant.  The music -piano and singer - was lovely but way too loud thereby difficult to have a conversation. I did ask if the volume could be lowered and it was. 
A highlight was the staff in the Panorama Lounge.

I don't think there is a major cruise line out there that hasn't seen some deterioration in their onboard product post-Covid. When talking with some staff on recent cruises, they have mentioned the challenges to the onboard experience in the immediate aftermath of the Covid shutdown. This is surely reflected in the lower ratings that some cruise ships are getting. As to the claim that only unhappy people write reviews, it takes a lot more happy people writing them to get a score close to 4.

[erikzen]

Reviews need to be judged individually. What I like to do is look at the negative reviews and see what people are complaining about, then ask myself is that something that's going to impact my enjoyment? Complaints about poor service, cleanliness, and the general function of the boat are things that are more of a concern. The heaters on the pool deck aren't working and we're going to be in Northern Europe? A bit of a concern. Someone complaining about not having Coke Zero or their favorite scotch? Not a concern. Only you know what's important to you.