Silver Dawn - live - Bergen to Copenhagen 5th July - 12th July

[calm down dear]

2 hours ago, Atown512 said:

We are going on our first Silverseas cruise next month and are very glad to hear we don’t need to worry too much about the dress code. I’m not so concerned about casual but could someone tell me what women generally wear as informal attire?

Honestly there is so very little difference please do not worry. Tonight was “informal” and women were in blouses plus a skirt, some dresses and also some trousers. Think going to a normal restaurant in town. No one is showy and no one particularly cares either. Tonight we were in la dame, all the men in jackets and no ties. Most took off jackets.

[Lois R]

My informal attire is the same as my casual. I wear slacks and tops every night. 

[calm down dear]

Today arrived in Flam, one interesting nugget on the tour from a guide was cruise ships unless electric will be banned in next couple of years , she pointed out a number of vessels in harbour that had converted.

We did a tour to the Voss gondola, it was poor. 40 on a bus with a guide who talked literally non-stop for an hour. ‘On your right is a church’ ‘on your left is a river with white rocks’. We decided we would not go back on the coach but got the train which was delightful changing at Myrdal to the flam railway. 
Last night dinner at la dame, I’m not sure it’s worth the extra, it was very good - though lamb over cooked, again included wine was an interesting selection and no real attempt to upsell.

[sammyboots]

Thank you for taking the time to post. We will be first time Silversea guests next year after about 30 cruises on several different lines. We have one cruise booked on Silver Dawn and another a few months later on Silver Moon so I'm loving hearing about your experiences!

[calm down dear]

Final reflections. As previously mentioned we have sailed 50 nights plus on each of Silversea, Seabourn and Crystal. Our last Silversea cruise was December 2018 on Muse and our last Seabourn was October 2022 on Encore. I think for us itinerary and price are the determinants - in that we would not overpay for either for similar itinerary. 
I am not sure there is too much difference between SB and SS, and what differences I have noticed between our two most recent cruises may well be destination or even ship specific.

So let’s start the comparison: cabin, we had classic veranda next door to a deluxe  verandah on deck 6 - we see very little point paying extra and I need would avoid cabins under pool or close to lifts. Our cabin very similar to SB and both equally nicely appointed and serviced. I think the “butler” isn’t a value add for us, everyone has one and we are not those who want drinks served in our room etc. Our cabin attendant was more friendly and did what we needed.

Food/drink : I accept is wholly subjective. On SS we didn’t have a bad meal and applaud the variety and more intimate venues. Salt kitchen was really interesting as a venue. The salt bar was hands down best bar, like a 5 star london hotel bar, intimate and with creative cocktails. La dame was not worth the upcharge over the “main” dining room of Atlantide food wise but it was a nice space. The Italian la terraza was an excellent Italian. Atlantide was good food but I found the space a bit dark and cramped. Kaiseki was a major disappointment - absolutely not worth the upcharge at night and lunch was poor. The grill on the pool deck was great and so was the pizza place for an informal meal. We did not do Silver note but many raved. What was also noteworthy was the variety over SB and that this spread the passengers out - especially at breakfast and lunch which had much more choice than SB. Bar snacks and canapés miles better on SS eg cashews, hot vol-au-vents, premium crisps. The included wine on SS was very good, happily poured and a good variety, many times the bottle was left on the table. The difference to SB was noticeable and I think the key was SS sourced some interesting varietals from interesting regions instead of very poor wine from “more famous” areas eg SS had a Portuguese Douro white, a German Pinot Gris, a rose from pays d’oc. These were not “expensive” wines but ones that were true to their regions. There was zero upsell to premium wine list, not once offered unlike at SB where I found the wines poor and thin.

SS had good spirits eg gin mare and fevertree tonic, the water was better on SS too, whilst getting San Pelligrino was a similar chore to SB, the “included” water didn’t have the same off putting smell as we had on SB.

Coffee and snacks with Seabourn Square was much better than SS.

Entertainment - we don’t partake at all aside from lectures and here SB much better. There did not seem much happening on SS - which suited us.

The spa area on Silver Dawn was excellent, comfortable loungers, good sauna and stream plus on tap drinks and snacks. Much better than SB.

What didn’t we like : excursions - on SS the fare is inflated to “include” excursions - it’s an inclusion we do not appreciate or value and I don’t want to be on a tour with 30-40 others that seems rushed to ensure back on board for lunch plus stopping for snacks. I understand some like the idea of mass tours so they don’t have to think or do any planning but it seriously puts us off and we skipped half the days and others we abandoned half way through to do our own stuff - much to the incredulity of the others. This is perhaps the real rub, SS tends to us to be more expensive than SB primarily driven by excursions perhaps which we do not value.

Service - we found SS willing but at times disorganised, many seemed in training but all were friendly and we would say on a par with SB.

So the judgement: for the same cruise at the same price we would choose SS, this though unlikely given SS charging structures and inclusions but if SB £500 less would choose SB.

My hope is that SB upgrade the wine offering and open more venues at breakfast and lunch. SB better at sushi, better at coffee/lounges, we think Keller menus excellent. All in all long may it continue that SS and SB compete and we are happy on either line. Our next cruise is SB in November and SS in 2024.

[highplanesdrifters]

@calm down dear.  Excellent analysis, I concur. I especially dislike the Atlantide venue due to the low ceilings,  dark and cramped feel.  The packed bus tours also turn me off. For traditional Ocean voyages I have found that the pricing between SS & SB is dramatically different, in some cases 30-50%.   Expedition voyages are a completely different story for another time.

Edited July 12, 2023 by highplanesdrifters

[Tudorcruisers]

  Bruno was still CD last week and he is just so good. He really does get to know the passengers as best as he can.   He remembered not only my face from last year but also my name - that’s impressive.  I really just wish that men would have worn a jacket after 6 pm or at least a shirt with a collar.   SS need to either enforce wearing jackets after 6 or go casual.   I don’t think it takes much for a man to wear  a jacket. 

[calm down dear]

1 hour ago, Tudorcruisers said:

  Bruno was still CD last week and he is just so good. He really does get to know the passengers as best as he can.   He remembered not only my face from last year but also my name - that’s impressive.  I really just wish that men would have worn a jacket after 6 pm or at least a shirt with a collar.   SS need to either enforce wearing jackets after 6 or go casual.   I don’t think it takes much for a man to wear  a jacket. 

Well we thought it was much better having 4 casual, 2 informal and 1 “formal optional”, who wants to be on holiday where people “enforce”, it would be the quickest way to lose revenue, my view so long as people are tidily presented that’s all that matters. No one cares if people want to dress up to the nines with blingy jewellery - the ship is plenty big enough. To be clear though I recognise some people want to enforce a strict code - so I agree let them one night per week in Atlantide and say the Observation bar and the rest of us will enjoy our holiday in other venues.

I never saw anyone dressed inappropriately in any venue - I’d say plenty more about people who took tumblers of ice to put in their wine , this alarmed me more than the lack of a jacket !

[Tudorcruisers]

I don’t want a strict dress code - just for men to at least wear a shirt with a collar.  Round neck t-shirts and jeans after 6 pm just wasn’t how SS would have been a few years ago at all.  I just noticed such a difference despite the chronicles mentioning jacket and shirt after 6 pm and this was totally ignored.  Such a difference in dress code in the last five years.  

[Zeery]

Thanks so much for your report!  Do you have any menus from the ship?

Thanks in advance!

[Dolcevita Diva]

@calm down dear - Thanks so much for your report and photos.

 

I've booked a similar itinerary for next year and had a question about the S.A.L.T excursions. 

Although you did not go on any of the S.A.L.T excursions, did you happen to notice the pricing?

For next year, the S.A.L.T excursions are priced at $899pp(!) and I'm wondering if this is a significant increase from this year.   Thanks in advance. 

 

[calm down dear]

46 minutes ago, Dolcevita Diva said:

@calm down dear - Thanks so much for your report and photos.

 

I've booked a similar itinerary for next year and had a question about the S.A.L.T excursions. 

Although you did not go on any of the S.A.L.T excursions, did you happen to notice the pricing?

For next year, the S.A.L.T excursions are priced at $899pp(!) and I'm wondering if this is a significant increase from this year.   Thanks in advance. 

 

Yes I recall there was one at 699 and another 499 but we did not partake.

[Dolcevita Diva]

4 minutes ago, calm down dear said:

Yes I recall there was one at 699 and another 499 but we did not partake.

Thanks for the quick reply!  They are priced at $899 next year, so I was curious if pricing was similar this year or if this is a hefty price increase. Sounds like the latter.