Has Silversea Really Changed That Much?

[Host Jazzbeau]

@DavyWavey70 I got an email advertising this private jet trip today.  Too rich for my blood, but it sounds right up your alley:

https://www.noble-caledonia.co.uk/voyages-and-tours/journeys-by-private-train-%26-jet/tour/3489/crossroads-of-cultures/?search_url_id=40

 

It's in April, which I remember you said isn't a good time for you to travel.  Maybe you could get Gordon Ramsey's squatters to run the hotel for you??? 🤪

[commodoredave]

On the Muse, the original hand-made from ground beef, thick and juicy burgers are back at the Pool Grill in place of the pre-processed mass produced cardboard ones… and, they are good as ever!!

Whoever made the terrific decision to dump the cardboard burgers mid-cruise should be the SS employee of the month!!!

 

[drron29]

And we both enjoyed the burgers this afternoon at the Grill. We had given up using it on the last segment. So thanks @commodoredave for first making the fuss that prompted me to also make a complaint.

[Marstan79]

We’re currently on one of their cruises. We feel that their food quality has gone way down. Subpar meals almost every night with the exception of The Grill and Kaiseki. Wine selections much harder to come by. Tours have had between 25 and 32 people and have been just so so. Our suite is very nice and the staff continues to be excellent. However, the price is hard to justify considering the very poor food. We have another cruise booked with them for April of ‘25 but are looking to switch to another line. 

[Lirio]

I hope and pray that SS management will see all these posts before sep. when I will cruise Alaska on the Muse.

 

Will see and take an action!

 

🙏

[DavyWavey70]

9 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

@DavyWavey70 I got an email advertising this private jet trip today.  Too rich for my blood, but it sounds right up your alley:

https://www.noble-caledonia.co.uk/voyages-and-tours/journeys-by-private-train-%26-jet/tour/3489/crossroads-of-cultures/?search_url_id=40

 

It's in April, which I remember you said isn't a good time for you to travel.  Maybe you could get Gordon Ramsey's squatters to run the hotel for you??? 🤪

And less than 10% solo supplement! Shame I can’t make April but thanks for the tip HJB. 

[RetiredOnVacation]

10 hours ago, DavyWavey70 said:

Im hoping to bag a first class suite on emirates on points on my next jaunt. They don't appeared to have drawn in the drawbridge like SS has.

Yes Emirates seem to be one of the few airlines keeping First, guess you should enjoy it if you can, though some of their smaller aircraft only have a small number of First seats, so points redemption might be limited.  It's probs not a mass market product any longer unlike the cruise industry. Good luck though ! 

 

https://skift.com/2023/06/07/emirates-president-says-first-class-is-here-to-stay/

Edited April 14 by RetiredOnVacation

[DavyWavey70]

4 hours ago, commodoredave said:

On the Muse, the original hand-made from ground beef, thick and juicy burgers are back at the Pool Grill in place of the pre-processed mass produced cardboard ones… and, they are good as ever!!

Whoever made the terrific decision to dump the cardboard burgers mid-cruise should be the SS employee of the month!!!

 

Let’s hope they don’t waste the cardboard ones. Could they use them as coasters for a while?

[spinnaker2]

2 hours ago, DavyWavey70 said:

Let’s hope they don’t waste the cardboard ones. Could they use them as coasters for a while?

I think they already did

[RetiredandTravel]

12 hours ago, organizedhome said:

Hello from a fellow traveler, just checking in with folks also here on the Explorer enroute to Vancouver.  First RSSC cruise since the pandemic, as I was booked for the ill-fated 2021 World Cruise—and it’s taken this long to get back onboard.

 

So, this is kind of an AITA question:  is the level of service aboard the “new normal”, or is this a VERY unusual sailing?  I almost don’t recognize the line in certain respects.

 

Simply put, I’m hearing a LOT of “No!” from a line that never knew the meaning of the word before—and it is clear that the old RSSC standards for service are long gone.

 

Specifics?  There have been service errors at every single meal. This morning’s room service breakfast missed about 1/3rd of our order; items we specified were either missing or were substituted.  Husband’s “banana” turned into “banana pancakes”, other items like juice and butter were simply missing. Headed to Compass Rose instead, and while my entree got delivered, the wait was long—in a near-empty restaurant. Never did get the smoothie I ordered.

 

Right now, I’m writing from Coffee Connection, where we were just told we couldn’t have a pastry for another 20 minutes; they were setting up between breakfast and lunch, apparently. 

 

Shore excursions saw us double-booked—one paid tour and one waitlisted tour scheduled for the same time slot.  And we managed to score exactly ONE “free” shore excursion for an 18 day cruise.  Spent a grand making up for it with paid tours.

 

Want to enjoy our balcony?  Nope—it’s deck-washing day, which is cool, but we were told NO deck access because it might be wet.  I’m fine with staying out of their way, but sheesh, can’t I just sit on my recliner and read?

 

Cocktail hour in the Observation Lounge once meant delicious hors d’ouevres, but now it’s peanuts.  After more than an hour, some potato chips showed up—but there was precious little food to buffer the alcohol, and I’m not much of a drinker, so I NEED snacks.

 

I was very careful to book a Prime 7 reservation for the first formal night … except surprise!  The formal night was changed to a different date without notice. 

 

There are many bright spots.  Crew people are hustling, but there just aren’t enough of them.  Friendliness is still there, the entertainers are bright and watchable, and the gym manager was “old Regent” all the way, answering questions and helping me—I’m a dancer—find a place to work out safely.  At least nobody chased me out of the Explorer Lounge at 5am when I was working out.

 

Still, I feel almost like I’m on a different line.  I know, times have been rough and I should be grateful to sail at all.

 

But little things are missing all over the ship and this is not the RSSC service level I remember.  Am I the a**hole?

 

 

 

 

 

Regent comment above.

 

I'm under the impression that SS isn't alone with these reported issues.

 

 

[TLCOhio]

35 minutes ago, spinnaker2 said:

The end of cruise survey is completed via the interactive app. I could never get it to go through. Moreover I couldn’t write in the names of the crew members who deserved special recognition. 

 

Agree 100% with Spins that this "interactive app" is terrible.  Very hard on a silly TV screen to express substantive details compared to a more conventional print version.  

 

In late February 2024 in Singapore at the end of our cruise from Mumbai on the Silver Moon, I wanted to be highly detailed and very specifics.  That was "MISSION IMPOSSIBLE" with this shallow, simplistic technology.  Maybe the "bean-counters" in Miami and Monaco think they are so super smart and savvy with this type of technology.  They can push buttons and get some data, but they are totally missing the opportunity to learn more, fix and fine-tune as needed, let customers know they are being heard, etc.  

 

Silversea management is changing, maybe, but do they really want to listen to customers who expect consistency with a promised "luxury" product at a premium price????   As noted on my live/blog, the Silver Moon is wonderful and the staff on the ship performed, overall, very well.  But, a number of management decisions from the higher levels needs better focus and serious improvement.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

India to Singaore 2024: Live/Blog with many visuals, including “Golden Triangle”, Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2992045-live-terryohio-india-to-signapore-silver-moon-rising-pix’s/

[RetiredOnVacation]

1 hour ago, TLCOhio said:

In late February 2024 in Singapore at the end of our cruise from Mumbai on the Silver Moon, I wanted to be highly detailed and very specifics.  That was "MISSION IMPOSSIBLE" with this shallow, simplistic technology. 

 

1 hour ago, TLCOhio said:

Agree 100% with Spins that this "interactive app" is terrible.  Very hard on a silly TV screen to express substantive details compared to a more conventional print version.  

 

 

2 hours ago, spinnaker2 said:

The end of cruise survey is completed via the interactive app. I could never get it to go through. Moreover I couldn’t write in the names of the crew members who deserved special recognition

Sorry to repeat, but you are mistaken and not limited to the TV interactive or an app for doing these surveys. You can use the MyCruise.com web address on a browser too, much simpler! And iirc you use the text box at the the end to list exemplary staff you want to commend. That's worked for me over last couple of cruises post covid.

Just so you know for the future! 

Edited April 14 by RetiredOnVacation

[yayoye]

I filled in the end of cruise survey by logging in to one of the 2 actual computers by the excursion desk on Silver Nova.  It took me 45 minutes to add in all my comments.  I had to stand while doing it as there are no seats to use these computers.  There is a real keyboard however, which is why I used them to fill in the survey. There was a specific box for crew recognition.

[Tothesunset]

8 hours ago, Lirio said:

I hope and pray that SS management will see all these posts before sep. when I will cruise Alaska on the Muse.

 

Will see and take an action!

 

🙏

I suspect there may be an interested party from SS now contributing to, and therefore reading, this forum. 

 

Pre-virus (ie the RCLvirus) there would be occasional reports by dissatisfied cruisers but most posts were positive. That situation now seems to be reversed. 

 

Whether SS has been eroding its standards or whether people are emboldened to complain because the cheerleaders are conspicuously absent is hard to determine. 

 

I really want our cruise on the Wind next month to be as good as all previous ones but the current tenor of reports on this forum concerns me. 

 

However, sailing SS ain't compulsory. But I hope it's still amazing! 

[irvington]

I've been reading all these concerns and I'm wondering how they will affect me, the cruise I have planned for this fall and the one I'm about to pull the trigger on for next year. I've only been on Silversea once, last fall, but felt I had finally found a good way for me to travel solo and had the best vacation I could remember.

 

I found the ship and crew lovely, the itinerary interesting, and I really liked the other passengers, who seemed positive, curious, and educated. The tours were fairly large but good, and I liked the onboard lectures a lot. 

 

As a solo, it seemed like a decent price, interesting people I could talk to when I wanted to, and time by myself if that was what I preferred, and someone else figuring out how we were going to get from point A to B. All of those are either hard to find traveling truly solo, or if on a tour type trip you have to pray that the other folks won't drive you crazy since you can't escape them.

 

I live in a very "foodie" part of the world, which may make me picky but also means I don't travel primarily to experience food. I thought the food was generally quite good Fall 2023 on the Muse and the few things I didn't care for, I didn't finish. I never went hungry; kind of the opposite problem. Has the food declined a lot since last fall? It sounds like there are fewer items on the menu for sure, so I may have to plan where I eat a bit more. 

 

Curious if there are any thoughts about what I am "there for" that would cause you to skip booking a trip for next year? I realize it is totally my decision. 

[sea bright]

We had a great cruise on the Dawn last fall and thought the food and service were generally good and in line with what we've come to expect from Silversea over the years.

However, our January/February cruise on the Nova felt like we were on a different cruise line. Serious understaffing, poor food (both ingredient quality and preparation/service), crowds and very long waits at the Arts Cafe and all indoor bars and huge tour/excursion groups felt like we were on NCL, not Silversea. We very much hoped the issues were limited to the Nova, but this thread and others on CC make me think they may not be and have me re-considering the cruises we have booked for 2024 and early 2025.

We are boarding the Muse on May 1 and will use the experience on that cruise to decide whether to cancel the other cruises. Hopefully, the Nova was an outlier, but either way I'll post a bit about our experience and am happy to answer questions.

[Gourmet Gal]

1 minute ago, sea bright said:

We are boarding the Muse on May 1 and will use the experience on that cruise to decide whether to cancel the other cruises.

Similar here.  We have a Med cruise next month and will cancel our 2026 Nova Japan booking if we’re not pleased with the experience. We’ll lose 15% but I’m not throwing more good money after bad.  

[Invited On-board]

7 minutes ago, sea bright said:

 and all indoor bars 

Where the Panorama Lounge and The Dusk Bar closed for your voyage on Silver Nova?

[sea bright]

The Dusk bar was useless for most of the cruise as it was too cold/windy. The Panorama (and all of the other indoor bars) didn't open until late afternoon so they could not help with the horde of  coffee seekers in the Arts Cafe. In the evening the SALT Bar and Dolce Vita were so crowded it was difficult to find a seat or get a drink in less than 30-40 minutes.  The Panorama was generally the least crowded bar (except the Shelter, which was barely used as it was limited to champagne). However,  the Panorama was frequently taken over by groups so it wasn't a reliable option.

[Gourmet Gal]

6 minutes ago, sea bright said:

The Dusk bar was useless for most of the cruise as it was too cold/windy. The Panorama (and all of the other indoor bars) didn't open until late afternoon so they could not help with the horde of  coffee seekers in the Arts Cafe. In the evening the SALT Bar and Dolce Vita were so crowded it was difficult to find a seat or get a drink in less than 30-40 minutes.  The Panorama was generally the least crowded bar (except the Shelter, which was barely used as it was limited to champagne). However,  the Panorama was frequently taken over by groups so it wasn't a reliable option.

Hmm.  What about the Observation lounge?  Isn’t there usually coffee all day and limited cocktails in the evening?

[RetiredOnVacation]

10 minutes ago, sea bright said:

In the evening the SALT Bar and Dolce Vita were so crowded it was difficult to find a seat or get a drink in less than 30-40 minutes

I don't get why most people wouldn't be in the restaurants in the evening? Was it a particularly boozy cruise with people wanting to occupy any bar at all times rather than eat? Must admit I've not experienced this on other ships but am yet to cruise the Nova 

[sea bright]

The Observation Lounge hosted the daily Bridge classes in the morning so by 10 or so the self service coffee corner was completely depleted and not replenished until around 11. On the Nova the Observation Lounge  has no bar. At night it is used for overflow seating for the SALT Bar. However, even that was generally full from 7 to 8:15  and that is where we waited 40 minutes for a drink several nights.

[sea bright]

The bars were packed from 6:30 to 8:15 or so and then again from around 9 until the show (or in our case bed time). I think the Nova doesn't have enough indoor bar seats for its capacity when full.

[sea bright]

Yes, unlike the other ships, on the Nova no indoor bars are open in the morning so all coffee seekers are forced to the overwhelmed Arts Cafe. The Observation was overrun by the bridge players and only sporadically replenished. The only other options were room service or outdoors- the Marquee and pool bars -  and even bundled up and with the heaters they were uncomfortable for most of our time in Patagonia. The Panorama does have a large outdoor area, which looks lovely, but was generally unused on our cruise due to cold/wind at night (and being closed during the day).

We will not sail the Nova again.

[RetiredOnVacation]

14 minutes ago, sea bright said:

The bars were packed from 6:30 to 8:15 or so and then again from around 9 until the show (or in our case bed time). I think the Nova doesn't have enough indoor bar seats for its capacity when full.

Sounds like SS has some work to sort out details like this on Nova class. From what I've heard there is spare space that may be where an extra, differently themed (maybe) bar could be located. Who knows, maybe the Ray will surprise us! 

I remember being on the Muse not long after it's inaugural and the Dolce Vita was a huge under-utilised space. Come the Moon & Dawn and they had rethought this area into a decent bar space. 

Let's hope that SS find their way with the new class! 🤞