Silversea Newbie (maybe)

[JusttheTwoofUs]

Hi, my husband and I are considering an Alaska cruise next May for our 50th anniversary.  It will be the first time on Silversea (Silver Nova).  We are long-time Crystal cruisers (since our 25th anniversary), but they have no cruises in our time frame that we are interested in.  We have (through our TA) been trying to get some answers from Silversea, but so far we have been unsuccessful.  I am hoping this board can help.  I have been going through the Silversea website, but can't seem to find the answers.

 

First, we have been trying to confirm if spa facilities (sauna, steam room, showers) are available for use at no extra charge and without needing an appointment.  We are not talking about spa services, like massages, just the actual facilities themselves.

 

Second, if we were to book the cruise, at what point can we book excursions (after booking, after final payment, some number of days before embarking)?  When do you pay for any excursions that are not included in the cruise fare (when you make the excursion booking, before embarkation, or is it just added to your on board bill)?

 

Third, when can we book for the specialty dining?  I understand several (LaDame, etc.) are extra cost and sometimes difficult to get a booking in.  How much is the upcharge?  I think some other restaurants do not have an upcharge but must be reserved.  If so, which ones, and when can they be reserved?

 

Thanks for any help you can give me on this or hints on other features of Silversea (and Silver Nova in particular) that might be helpful to us.  After 25 years on Crystal, and almost as many cruises, we're a little nervous about a new line and new ship.

 

Phyllis

[Gourmet Gal]

Happy 50th.  How wonderful!

 

As for your questions someone else can chime in on the spa question.  
 

Excursions can be booked as soon as you make final payment and they are charged to your ship account.  Be aware of any cancellation windows for penalties.

 

Restaurants can be booked 120 days out from sail date at 12:01 AM EST.  Sometimes even slightly before.  So you can go online at 9:00 PM 121 days in advance.  Only 2 restaurants have an upcharge and most can be reserved in advance.

 

There are several threads in this SS forum with details about Nova and there are some reviews in the CC review section.

Edited May 12 by Gourmet Gal

[gcornell]

Excursions can now be booked as soon as you make a deposit which can be years in advance.  Keep in mind they may change so keep an eye out.  

[gnome12]

2 hours ago, Gourmet Gal said:

Restaurants can be booked 120 days out from sail date at 12:01 AM EST

I believe that is London time (or maybe GMT). It is definitely not Eastern time.

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, gcornell said:

Excursions can now be booked as soon as you make a deposit which can be years in advance.  Keep in mind they may change so keep an eye out.  

And formerly included excursions can become extra charge excursions, and you may or may not be grandfathered.

[late2cruisin]

I might be able to help with some of your questions, since we were on the Nova a few months ago (it was also our first Silversea cruise; we had done several cruises on Crystal before that).

 

The spa facilities are free (other than the treatments you pay for). We used the sauna and steam room (separate for men and women) as well as a small pool between the men's and women's changing rooms.

 

As others have said, you can book the excursions as soon as your deposit is paid. They will be added to your onboard account (if not included) and will be charged when you take them.

As others have said, the restaurants can be booked 120 days in advance at midnight GMT. So figure it out and get online ASAP if you want to be sure of getting your choice. The restaurants you can reserve are La Dame ($160pp; we didn't try it), Kaiseki ($80pp for dinner, which we didn't try but free for lunch, mainly sushi/sashimi). The included restaurants that you need to reserve are La Terrazza (Italian for dinner), the Grill ("Hot Rocks") and Silver Note (very hard to get into, so if you're interested book early!) We only managed to get one reservation for Silver Note and we loved it. It's like a supper club with a unique menu (small plates) and piano and a singer. You don't need reservations for Atlantide (sort of the main restaurant), Salt Kitchen (cuisine local to where you're cruising) and Spaccanapoli (pizza made to order, open for lunch and dinner). There's also room service, of course (we tried it once after a late excursions and enjoyed it.)

Let me know if I can answer any other questions! BTW, we are sailing on the Dawn next month for our 50th. Can't wait!

[JusttheTwoofUs]

late2cruisin, thank you for the information.  Would it be possible for us to go off-line (e-mail) so I can "pick your brain" a little bit more?  My e-mail is "waphylz (at) cox(dot)net" Substitute for parentheses.  Thanks.

 

Phyllis

[agape01]

43 minutes ago, late2cruisin said:

There's also room service, of course (we tried it once after a late excursions and enjoyed it.)

 

I'll be on the Nova in September and was wondering whether is there anyway to have a look at the room service menu?

[BBGrace273]

7 hours ago, gnome12 said:

I believe that is London time (or maybe GMT). It is definitely not Eastern time.

Soooooo, I thought it was London GMT too, but my, My Silversea keeps changing the "days to sail" at midnight EST. I'm Central, so it's at 11pm for me. It's not updating at 6pm, which is what I thought would happen. And it's on 2 different devices, so it's not my clock setting either. 

 

[late2cruisin]

3 hours ago, agape01 said:

I'll be on the Nova in September and was wondering whether is there anyway to have a look at the room service menu?

I don't have a copy of it and I'm not sure if it is available on the SS website. You can't order whatever you want from the restaurants (which apparently is possible on the other ships). There is a limited menu and also an Otium Spa menu. I remember we had pate de fois gras, lobster ravioli, butter chicken (Indian style) and a nice dessert. Also chardonnay, served by our butler. You can also get other things on the Otium Spa menu, like truffle popcorn (highly recommended!)

[agape01]

57 minutes ago, late2cruisin said:

I don't have a copy of it and I'm not sure if it is available on the SS website. You can't order whatever you want from the restaurants (which apparently is possible on the other ships). There is a limited menu and also an Otium Spa menu. I remember we had pate de fois gras, lobster ravioli, butter chicken (Indian style) and a nice dessert. Also chardonnay, served by our butler. You can also get other things on the Otium Spa menu, like truffle popcorn (highly recommended!)

 

Thanks for sharing your experience.

I guess if anyone is going to be on the Nova before September, I'll have to ask the Nova cruiser to take some photos of the room service menu.

Having said that, I have not seen any sample restaurant menus on the SS website.

[vistaman]

1 hour ago, late2cruisin said:

I don't have a copy of it and I'm not sure if it is available on the SS website. You can't order whatever you want from the restaurants (which apparently is possible on the other ships). There is a limited menu and also an Otium Spa menu. I remember we had pate de fois gras, lobster ravioli, butter chicken (Indian style) and a nice dessert. Also chardonnay, served by our butler. You can also get other things on the Otium Spa menu, like truffle popcorn (highly recommended!)

the foie gras by Rougié is removed from the menu in Atlantide ! 

[drron29]

Well we had the Foie gras occasionally in the month we were on the Muse in both Atlantide and Indochine. Though it wasn't called rougie but very nice,

 

 

Terrine of foie gras was much more frequently on the menu.

However I never saw a Room service menu. I always looked at it on the TV. I really don't know if there is a physical copy of that menu for esteemed guests.

[elmaexec]

On 5/12/2024 at 11:26 PM, BBGrace273 said:

Soooooo, I thought it was London GMT too, but my, My Silversea keeps changing the "days to sail" at midnight EST. I'm Central, so it's at 11pm for me. It's not updating at 6pm, which is what I thought would happen. And it's on 2 different devices, so it's not my clock setting either. 

 

I can clarify the time confusion because I just successfully made dinner reservations for my September cruise. The day before my eligibility I went on sight to watch when it showed the change from 122 to 121 days and you are correct that it changed at midnight Eastern time. However, after being assured by experienced cruisers that I could select dining at midnight GMT, I went right to the dining selection menu at 7pm CDT (midnight GMT) the following day and the “RESERVE” button became active as soon as the time turned over. So, your reservation may still say 121 days between midnight GMT and midnight Eastern time, but you WILL be able to select restaurants at exactly midnight GMT. 

[BBGrace273]

1 hour ago, elmaexec said:

I can clarify the time confusion because I just successfully made dinner reservations for my September cruise. The day before my eligibility I went on sight to watch when it showed the change from 122 to 121 days and you are correct that it changed at midnight Eastern time. However, after being assured by experienced cruisers that I could select dining at midnight GMT, I went right to the dining selection menu at 7pm CDT (midnight GMT) the following day and the “RESERVE” button became active as soon as the time turned over. So, your reservation may still say 121 days between midnight GMT and midnight Eastern time, but you WILL be able to select restaurants at exactly midnight GMT. 

Must be a daylight savings time thing, because the reserve buttons became live for me at 7pm... which world clock told me was 1am GMT. And believe me, I was doing the same in practice, hitting refresh over and over right before and after each hour a few days in advance to check. But I also saw a post on here with someone saying they had confirmed with Silversea that it would be at 8pm EST... and that's what it ended up being yesterday. Plus, I got all the reservations I wanted. A few La Terrazas, a few Grills, a few Silver Notes, and 1 Kaiseki and 1 La Dame each. Still leaving g plenty of time for non-reservation venues too. And if any are disappointing the first time, I can always cancel. Now I just have to deal with my anxiety of getting a Salt Lab, and a Chef's Table once onboard! Oh, and that they'll actually have my two favorite liquors (Green Chartreuse and Fernet Branca) stocked on the ship. 🍸😁 

[agape01]

5 hours ago, BBGrace273 said:

But I also saw a post on here with someone saying they had confirmed with Silversea that it would be at 8pm EST... and that's what it ended up being yesterday. Plus, I got all the reservations I wanted. A few La Terrazas, a few Grills, a few Silver Notes, and 1 Kaiseki and 1 La Dame each. 

 

That's why we're in a cruise community.

Happy that I could be of assistance because I called Silversea USA from my country through skype, put on hold for some time with the cruise rep trying to get confirmation for my question on the exact time of when dining reservations would be open which was a excruciating pulling tooth experience.

[BBGrace273]

4 minutes ago, agape01 said:

 

That's why we're in a cruise community.

Happy that I could be of assistance because I called Silversea USA from my country through skype, put on hold for some time with the cruise rep trying to get confirmation for my question on the exact time of when dining reservations would be open which was a excruciating pulling tooth experience.

It was YOU!!! Thank you SO MUCH @agape01!