MsCrystalina

it is not on the site.

I have had a suite on 5 and I was not aware of any obstructions while on the balcony. I did not spend a whole lot of time on it but was able to sun and take pictures of the sea and ports. Of course, the higher one is the wider and further the view.

Amazing that thousands of people have given sums of money for what is an unknown entity! No updates as to the progress on the "refurbishment" (has it even started?), size and costs of the staterooms, and long delay in itineraries. I was a Crystal cruiser who must see and study a product before throwing money at it. With thousands wanting to be on the very first sailing, I suppose there will be drawings, a lottery or more costs! Unbelievable and comical situation to me.

I received an email regarding the new NOVA yesterday. Very beautiful lounges, dining venues and staterooms. Walls of glass including elevators! Hope is on schedule as will board in mid -October!

I recently had my first Silversea cruise and wrote a summary for the Crystal site- as a newcomer unaware of past: 144 July 15, 2014 North Carolina #60 Posted October 14 I just completed a 9-night cruise on Silversea Silver Spirit from Istanbul to Athens with pre- and post-cruise stays independently booked. It felt like I had 3 wonderful vacations! I found the veranda suite to be better than my 17 trips on Crystal. The separate shower plus a tub was much better than standing in the tub. The walk-in closet held all my clothing with a 6-drawer chest so my things were in one place and not all over the room! I am not a light packer and there was spare room . The room included a comfortable bed with Italian linens, a wall of granite covered console/desk/mini-fridge, and make up area with nice bench and even more shelves. There was a full-size comfortable sofa and a larger table for dining. Multiposition chairs on the balcony and a butler is standard for all cabins. I would have had to pay much more than I did for a penthouse suite on the past Crystal. The first evening a cocktail gathering was held for solo passengers and was a great success - with dining companions for the duration established from the large population of solos on board. On Crystal these rarely occurred and were never on first night or early in the cruise. The Crystal 6pm solo tables in the restaurants were found very insulting to me. Silversea definitely has the expertise to treat solo travelers special and the 25 percent supplement is reasonable. The diversity of dining venues was enjoyed- especially the jazz supper-club venue Silver Notes and the French - La Dame. IMHO the $60 charge was worth it. The main dining room Atlantide had many choices and one could have caviar and fois gras with every meal if so inclined. My one concern was the steaks- one overcooked and one perfect but not as tender as expected. Breakfast was in Terrazza which had multiple stations and not the long lines of CC. It was never as crowded or loud as the Lido. Russ Grieve was the cruise director and he was extraordinary- he can sing, dance and run Trivia. Such a nice, welcoming, happy talent! He got crowds dancing with the on-board entertainers during a show in the Panorama lounge. The onboard 6 singers and musical trio were very good. There were no big production shows as on CC but what I did attend were entertaining and I found the singers to be on par with CC. Best of all the duo in Silver Notes from Capetown- a female singer and male pianist are the best act on the sea. She sung plenty of jazz from all the greats and also some pop. They did 2 sets during my leisurely dinner there. It is a smaller place and that makes it better. Excursions were included and were of the quality of what I paid for with CC. There was only one that was basically a trip to shop at a tourist trap on Santorini. The butler was nice and had my requested wines and champagne stocked promptly and restocked . He did help me with necklaces. I did not want any between meal snacks but one of my "group" asked once for champagne and caviar one afternoon and it showed up daily. I found all except the front desk people to be very friendly. The 2 times I asked them anything I got the impression I was bothering them, and they never smiled. The cleaning and wait staff knew my name and delivered excellent service with a smile. No complaints., In summary I had a wonderful time with a new cruise line which was a totally different experience than Crystal. I found the differences to be better- or at least to me. I do plan to sail with Silversea in the future.

I agree- I have and do want to make all my arrangements and have no use for the door-to-door plans! As a solo can do much better with hotel rates than the cruise lines offer me!

Just off the Spirit and all restaurants open. I ate in most and no staffing issues were present.

I agree with you- more of the "older" did not dress up- no SS yet for 2 weeks but on Crystal, Cunard HAL and Princess "younger" more dressed up!

On a recent Uniworld Nile cruise, we had police escort car for the 2 tour buses along with one behind the buses. A well-dressed security guard was on each bus and with us during the tours. My transport car to/from the airport in Cairo had a driver and a security guard who met me before baggage claim. There was one couple who chose to have a private car guide in Luxor, Aswan and Abu Simbel and included driver plus a guard. Would expect same from Safaga to Luxor- is at least 3 hour drive with guard outposts along the road.

Thanks so much!

No response from SS. Does anyone know address of the embarkation port in Istanbul? thanks

In regards to the physically demanding aspects here is a summary: There were early wake-up calls such as 5 to 6 am so as to get out before the midday sun and heat . Even with starting early most days went into the afternoon. Walking was strenuous- lots of irregular steps, very high steep steps combined with very low steps at same venue kept one's eyes on the ground. Surfaces uneven at most sights- stones on sand. A few higher than comfortable jumps into small boats on some of the tours. Recommend very good walking shoes, wide-brimmed hats, loose cotton or linen light colored clothing. Make your totes as light as possible. Water was offered freely on the buses and there was a cold water system which was great for refilling bottles. All buses had a toilet. This is probably worse example- on last day of trip in Cairo- wake up was at 5:30am for me to embark on the tour of Pyramids and Memphis with return to hotel by 4pm. I was picked up for drive to airport at 9:15pm for a flight that left at 1:15am. Due to the traffic and multiple checkpoints at the airport, was left with one hour before boarding. This was worse timing I was aware of and unfortunately did not sleep on the 4 hour plus flight to Paris! was it worth it- ABSOLUTELY YES ! i AM RECOMMENDING THE 12 DAY BE EXTENDED INTO 14-15 so to enjoy the amenities of the Four Seasons and the Sphinx .

I just returned from the Sphinx and had one of my best cruises ever- even including many years of ocean cruising. I travel solo and enjoy it. In addition to me, there was another female traveling solo also. I received lots of exceptional service and met many people. The itinerary was demanding physically but was so much fun and very educational. have now done 3 solo cruises with Uniworld. The other 2 waived the single supplement but do not see that happening with the Sphinx due to the popularity of it.