descartes1

For those who are interested, the Moon inaugural has the kids promotion still advertised, and that will not change.

Going forward the rule seems to be that any sailings over summer and holidays will have the kids promotion, unless it is a voyage that is not port intensive.

Regent also promotes a family savings promotion, BUT Seabourn does not. (That is, a family savings promotion does not seem to be advertised on its Website like on Silversea and Regent ).  Sea Dream also does not have a kids promotion.

There are other options....

46 minutes ago, Observer said:

 

Could you clarify your concern?  The promotion covers people up to age 18.  The conduct of a 14 year old is likely to be quite different from that of a 4 year old.  Are you concerned about the presence of any children under 18?  Or a subset of that large group?

Please see my other posts in this thread.  I believe I have been quite clear about this.

49 minutes ago, beaujolais said:

 

I have been in correspondence with Mark Conroy who informed me  a couple of days ago that it was a web design issue and that there was a misunderstanding with the web team who, in error,  included all sailings for the "Family Cruise savings"

The intention was that only holiday cruises were to be included for the offer

I have just looked at the website and it appear that this has been done so we can breathe easily once again

I disagree.  I was told specifically that our sailing would not have the kids/babies promotion, and it still does.

Ours is a summer cruise, but also an inaugural sailing, and maximizing the number of kids/babies for that event is incomprehensible to me and not what we "signed up" for.

And, if the policy is to always have kids/babies promotion on the summer cruises it is highly problematic for us because we like to sail in the Med in the summer.

50 minutes ago, Observer said:

Yours will not be the only losses.

 

I exchanged messages last night with another couple I had met on SS.  They shared my dismay regarding the very young (crying, pounding, etc.) children on a cruise we shared last fall and they say they have moved to Viking.  They are the third couple I know moving to Viking because of the child policy.  They say they took their pre-teen grandchildren a couple of years ago on a port intensive SS cruise and it worked well.  What they can't stand -- and SS will apparently not address -- are very young kids (sub 6 or 7, they say) disrupting meals with their acting out (age appropriate conduct for which they are not precisely "responsible." )  Beginning dinners at 7 pm is a recipe for such kids, they say.  

 

Please note:  Removal of the "promotion" from the website does not imply the removal of the discount.  It's simply not being advertised.

 

It would be good to imagine that the delay is a product of serious reconsider at SS and adoption of a policy saying that no new bookings will be taken for kids below, say, 6 or 7.

I would be completely fine with the sort of policy you suggest.  It makes sense.  I'm even ok with kids on board, so long as it is not promoted, because in the past it seems only a limited number of kids are on board.  (I have always felt like kids on board is tacitly discouraged because there is nothing oriented towards kids on these voyages or on the ships themselves).

I fear, however, that Royal Caribbean has done focus groups on this and figures they can make more $ if they promote these cruises to families.  The focus groups/consultants/bean-counters usually win when it comes to corporate decision making.

The kids and babies discount promotion remains up for the inaugural Moon sailing, and 282 other voyages.

I suspect Mark Conroy has zero control over this if Royal Caribbean corporate wants it, which seems to be the case.

I'm pretty sick of the BS and aggravation with this (and on the last Silversea voyage we took) and there are many other options on sea and land which "get" what we are looking for in a vacation.

If it's not addressed there's a high probability we and the others we are sailing with will cancel.  They'll need to book 32 babies on board at 75% discounted fares to replace that revenue.

Disappointingly, I write to update the group that the inaugural Moon sail leaving Trieste on August 6th is still being offered as a family discount cruise.  

Perhaps M. Conroy was not able to persuade Royal Caribbean management that it is a bad idea for Silversea to be doing this. 

Going to have to rethink our plans...  We've booked an alternative as a back-up just in case.

I am also thinking the cancellation fee should be waived by Silver Sea because there has been a material change in the product being offered.  It is now a cruise being promoted for kids and babies, which is not what we signed up for.

Incidentally, history is repeating itself.

Silversea tried a similar kids promotion 10 years ago, and it caused a similar furor.

The kids promotion was then abandoned.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=3185

21 minutes ago, Observer said:

 

I understand that management committed to remove from the website any notice of special rates for children on this cruise.

 

Did you get the idea from Mr. Conroy that no bookings for children/infants would be accepted for this sailing?  

 

If parents could still book children, what would be the fares for those children?

 

Thanks.

We did not discuss that.

I have no issue with Silver Sea doing what they have always done-- namely, accepting kids on board, but not promoting it. My sense is that travel agents and internet forums have discouraged it because everyone knows these high-end, small ship cruises are designed for adults.

What I do have a problem with is what Silver Sea has done-- advertise in order to attract MORE children and babies, whether it be by offering discounts on the website or otherwise.  By offering these significant discounts you can be sure that the number of children/babies will be increased. (Indeed, I am not sure how long Silver Sea has been running these promotions on the web or through travel agents, but it is very possible that lots of bookings for kids could have already been made).

If there are materially more children/babies on the voyage(s) than there have been in the past, I simply will be forced to take my business elsewhere.

17 hours ago, Silver Spectre said:

Quoting whom?

Mark Conroy. 

He said it will take a day or so for the website to reflect this change regarding the Moon's inaugural sail.

29 minutes ago, Silver Spectre said:

So the WC segments are now removed from the offer, however there are still 284 cruises showing, including the maiden Moon t/a. It appears that SS will listen to long term World Cruisers but are still happy to upset all their other long term clients.

I have it on good authority that the kids and baby promotion will be removed from the Moon's inaugural sale on August 6th. 

I, and those in the group which have booked with us, are very happy this is being addressed.  

I agree with Silver Spectre.

Addressing this issue for only the World Cruises is unsatisfactory. 

There is a larger point here and there are too many other land and sea options that offer the upscale, adult only, relaxing atmosphere that we are looking for.  We have no interest in spending our summer vacation in the midst of babies and toddlers who have been incentivized to come onboard at a discount.

We took a break from Silver Sea for the last couple of years because of an absolutely terrible, down-market experience on our last cruise. It was such a bad experience, in fact, that Silver Sea provided us with a substantial discount on a future cruise which we have been ambivalent about using because our last experience was so bad.   

After much thought, we figured we would return to Silver Sea for the inaugural sail on the Moon for next summer, which we expect to be a special, sophisticated and upscale experience. 

Now this cruise has been designated as one of the "family discount" cruises.  It is hard to believe that they would do this for a special event like an inaugural sail, and we are again rethinking our plans.  We've had great experiences the last two summers trying alternatives to Silver Sea.  

Is Silversea worth returning to as currently managed?  Are they really focused on the customer experience?

I think 13 would be an appropriate age cut-off for a the product Silversea purports to be.

19 minutes ago, Observer said:

 

This is, unfortunately, not new.  Children (including babies/toddlers) have been welcome on Silversea for a long time.  And I understand they have received discounts if staying in same suite as adults.  

 

Do you mean "permitted"?  As opposed to being "welcome"?  There's a big difference.

This is the first time I have ever seen Silversea actually promoting to this demographic by offering discounts side-by-side with the airfare supplement and early booking discount on its website and in promotional materials. 

It makes total sense for Silversea from an economic standpoint-- It's basically free money to collect another 25% for a baby who won't eat much if anything, or 50% for a kid who will consume food having a cost of far less than that.  The additional revenue dollars outweigh the passenger experience.

Let's face it, Silversea is not what it used to be....

14 minutes ago, Wellseasoned said:

 

 At least our  maiden Moon crossing does not mention the 75% baby discount - yet.

If you look carefully, you will see that the 75% off for babies does apply to the Moon's maiden crossing.  They don't show it on the long voyage, but if you look at the segments you will see it: Barcelona > San Juan and Barcelona > fort Lauderdale.

1 hour ago, TLCOhio said:

 

During our recent Silver Muse sailing from Vancouver to Seward, there was a decent mix of younger and older passengers on this seven-day cruise.  This included a fair number of children and teens.  Silversea had a staffer focused on some programs and options for those younger.  Overall, this mix of passengers, including those children, did not create any problems or challenges for us.  All worked well.  Given it was a summer cruise of a shorter nature, I kind of expected this wider mix of passengers compared to being on longer cruises during the school year.  Not sure it is an "influence" that can be blamed on RCCL.  It's just Business 101!!  For Silversea to grow and fund their newer, nicer ships, they need to be attracting and building future cruising audiences.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Just completed Calgary, Jasper/Banff National Parks, Western Canada Rocky Mountaineer rail adventure, Vancouver, sailing up to Alaska on the Silver Muse, post-cruise excursion to Denali, etc.  Lots of visuals and details!!  That live/blog is at: 

www.boards.cruiseccritic.com/topic/2682584-live-terryohio-silver-muse-alaska-canadarockies-pix’s/

Well, I view this to be a pretty significant  "sea change" (no pun intended) in what Silver Sea is all about.

I really have no interest in being in a restaurant on board seated next to a crying two year old who has been brought on board at a 75% discount.  Also, if you check out the recent reviews, it's pretty evident that there are people unhappy about the pool/pool deck being monopolized by kids.

This reminds me of the family chain restaurants that advertise "kids eat free", or at a discount.  I avoid those now that my kids are in their early 20-s, and I'll avoid Silversea if this is how its going to be.

I noticed a "special offer" being advertised on the Silversea website for the cruise on the Moon we have booked for next summer--  50% off for KIDS under 18 years old. 75% off for kids under 2 years old.  It is billed as a "Family Cruise Savings" offer.

What the hell is up with this?  I just can't believe it! SIlversea is now trying to attract kids on what has historically been an adults vacation experience.

This could be the end of the line for us with Silversea.  And, clearly this smacks of RC's influence.

PS- If you want to see if this offer applies to your cruise simply scroll through the special offers on the link to your cruise's page.  It applies to many of them as far as I can tell, and I suspect it's par for the course going forward.

Based on the Muse launch, I would assume the inaugural voyage you reference will most likely not be the actual inaugural. Below are a couple of links from the Muse launch you might find helpful;

(1) http://www.cruisereport.com/crBlogDetail.aspx?id=4645

(2) https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2481911

Thanks... If so, Silversea shouldn't really be calling it "inaugural" in their promotional materials...

Hi everyone:

A few questions about the "inaugural voyage" of the Silver Moon.

The Silversea website is indeed referring to the August 6th voyage (Trieste to Rome) as the "inaugural" voyage of the Moon. It is an 11 day trip.

1. Does this mean it will really be the first sailing of this new vessel, or will there be a "maiden" voyage of some type first, perhaps for special VIPs. (Note that Trieste is, I believe, where the ship was built)

2. What can one expect on an inaugural voyage? Will there be any type of special event(s) or hoopla?

3. What can one expect in terms of service? Better (because they want to please all the VIPs), or worse (because everything/everyone is new.

4. I've read many stay away from these "inaugural" voyages. It would be great to have input from some who have actually done one regarding what to expect.

Thanks.

When trying to book a cruise on the new ship today, the obvious omission soon became evident, in that there are no loaded deck plans on the website. This was queried with the London office and I was told that these have yet to be finalised!!

 

Apparently it is the location of the restaurants that remains uncertain at present, and bookings were being taken on the basis that the passenger accommodation, rather than the public areas, would be the same as those for the Muse.

 

Kindest regards

 

Master Echo

I noticed this too. The suite plan is supposed to be the same as the Muse, except be aware that SS has made a decision to re-characterize about 1/3 of the "classic" veranda suites as superior category for a higher price.

I've looked at the summer 2020 itineraries.

Honestly, I don't understand what SS is thinking. Only the older boats are in the Med over the summer (except the Moon, which has its first sailing in August).

I don't like how they've put a tarp over the open air back deck off the panorama lounge. I suppose this was to create more covered space in the event of rain since there are more passengers on the ship now. But, that open air deck in the evenings and on sail away was really nice. Too bad.

descartes1

If you were on the 2016 South America cruise on the Whisper, that waitress was fired!

No, this was a different voyage. The waitress on ours was also fired.

So, that makes 2 drunk waitresses. :rolleyes:

Yes we were offered a 25% discount against a future cruise. The same 25% as the people that were not inconvenienced in any way at all.

 

Considering that this was my first holiday in over 10 years and we wern't told when we booked about the stretch.

 

Considering that as soon as I found out about the stretch and called Silversea and we were reassured that the ship wouldn't sail if she wasn't perfect.

 

Considering that we had no lights in our bathroom, closet or passageway for the first 3 days.

 

Considering that it took 2 days to even get a flashlight in order to use our bathroom (The batteries ran out after 5 minutes).

 

Considering that we had no phone to report problems, no tv and no safe.

 

Considering that it took 18 hours each time to send an electrician.

 

Considering that we were given 2 led tealights to shave by.

 

Considering that our 4th day was completely messed up due to incompetence with the tenders.

 

Considering that our 2 spa appointments were completely messed up and we were then overcharged for both, one by over $100.

 

Considering we couldn't get any answers to when our problems would be solved.

 

Considering that Guest Relations Shoreside is even worse than onboard.

 

Do you really believe that I'll be using that voucher any time soon?

My God, this is outrageous.

After being loyal patrons and defenders of Silversea for years (see my other posts on this forum), we had a disastrous experience which included being served by an intoxicated waitress at dinner, then separately, a female in our party being the object of a sexual comment by a staff member, and many, many other issues (mostly all service related).

We were offered a credit on a future voyage which roughly amounted to the same 25% being offered in this instance. We did not use this credit. (There are too many other great alternatives in the luxury cruise space that are truly committed to a luxury experience and their customers' satisfaction). Being offered a few thousand dollars on a future voyage does not make up for a ruined cruise during a summer vacation costing something like $25,000+, all in.

I never thought I'd say this, but I think your experience was worse than ours.

The Ritz product interests me very much.

Personally, I would not sail on the Shadow or Whisper at this point because of many, many reviews (some with detailed photos) complaining about (and showing) the condition of the ships. I can't speak to the Explorer ships.