thebigcruiseguy

Does anyone know the largest group res Explora can accommodate for dining? Are there tables for 12?

We too are younger cruisers and while we haven’t yet sailed EJ- we are booked for next month. We have sailed with X, SS and Seabourn. Our experience was that SS while upscale and nice, was not for us- the physical spaces were well designed however the ship had very little energy / vibe, and the food was some of the worst we’ve ever had. Seabourn was a lovely experience, service was great, food was mostly good and the experience while not ever rowdy was fun filled, casual but elegant and service was fantastic. We think we’re going to love EJ!

Does anyone know the latest bar is on the ship, and what time is last call? Assume they have at least one bar that closes at 1 or 2am (0100 or 0200) Thanks.

Does anyone have more information on the Rolex store, specifically what models have been available on sailings? It's widely known that Rolex has extremely limited inventory at retails shops (generally none), but I have heard that Rolex does stock inventory on sailings. If so, which models have you all seen?? Thanks!

Having tried Ovation in May 2022, we were quite pleased with the overall experience. We did encounter some minor disappointment with the food, namely in The Restaurant. We happened to like TK Grill quite a bit. We chalked up the food challenges to being so soon after cruising re opened post covid. We decided to give SS (Moon) a try earlier this year, and I can confidently say (unless we want to try Nova or purely itin driven) we likely will not be returning to SS. The entertainment was AWFUL and makes SB entertainment look incredible. No comparison. Food on SS was a major letdown- probably some of the worst food at sea. We were shocked by this on so many levels. Yes the venues on Moon are gorgeous, and the mixology was fantastic (amazing cocktails etc) but the food, except in Le Dame was consistently just bad. There’s very little “vibe” or “life” at all on SS- it’s just dead after 10pm. SB for roughly the same size ship felt much more alive! The only thing I hope SB does is improve their cocktail / mixology program. I remember not having high end mixers (such as Fever Tree tonics)- that IMO would elevate the bar experience for this caliber cruise line.

We wanted to share a brief review of our experience aboard Silversea Dawn in early March, 2023 from San Juan to Bridgetown. Context: This was our very first SS cruise. We have sailed on Crystal Serenity, Seabourn Ovation and a few Celebrity ships as well. Getting to the point: SS Dawn is a gorgeous ship, definitely the most elegant we have sailed, although there were some shortcomings which may give us pause on booking another. Overall Impressions: Silversea has done a remarkable job on the design on SS Dawn, this ship is an elegant beauty from top to bottom. Of all the cruises we have taken in the past, Dawn takes first place in terms of the physical appearance of the ship. She feels like what you would expect from a newer Four Seasons Hotel. The venues are gorgeous, the ship is comfortable, and the pretentiousness we might have expected was not felt by fellow guests or the crew. We had very high expectations for SS overall, knowing it’s the pinnacle of cruising brands. Overall, we would rate the experience as a 7.5/10. The primarily reason for a less than excellent score: The Food and The Entertainment. The latter you could possibility be more forgiving as SS is known for more low key luxury, but the entertainment was just down right bad. That said, the quality and experience of the ship’s physical appearance was stellar, as was the service throughout. The Food: Wow, we were shocked at how “bad” the food really was for the highest end cruising brand in the industry. We’re not talking one or two meals bad, but I would say nearly 60% of our meal experiences left much to be desired. Could this really be, on SS? Food is highly subjective as we all know, and perhaps they were having a bad week, but we felt the overall quality and variety of food was just sub par for the brand. By comparison, Crystal (when we sailed in 2019) was leaps and bounds ahead of SS, Seabourn was also ahead in terms of food, and so were our Celebrity experiences. Where SS did do well in terms of food: Caviar on demand (a nice touch of course), Spaccanapoli and La Dame. La Terraza also deserves recognition as we thought it was much better and “restaurant like” compared to the other “cruise food” tasting venues. The buffet options at La Terraza were also quality oriented. Where did SS do poorly in terms of food: Kaiseki, Atlantide and the absolute worst: Hot Rocks. We tried our very best not to be critical, and in fact it was a consensus in our group that these venues were just down right disappointing. Flavorless, poor quality cuts of steak, seafood that did not taste fresh were among the comments we had for these venues. We tried hard to identify the source of the issues- was it staffing? Was it quality of the raw ingredients? Perhaps a combination of things, but SS really does need to assess things on the food front. Drink Offerings: this is where we thought SS really outdid themselves! Compared to other luxury lines, SS nailed the drink offerings. Mixology was stellar, the best example of course being Salt Bar. Presentation of drinks (love the linen napkins!) was stellar, as was the selection of spirits. Wine offers were also quite nice, although our only complaint was that the staff was pushing 1 selection of each type of wine in the venues, and if you didn’t ask- you would never get to try other types of wines on the included lists. Entertainment: Again, setting expectations here is key. Of course luxury lines will not have the level of entertainment options by virtue of the audience and number of guests on board. SS is intended to be subtle luxury- yes we get that, but the quality of the entertainment (with the exception of one venue, Silver Note), was the worst we’ve experienced on a cruise. Very few deck band appearances (Seabourn by comparison did a great job!), and the bands throughout were literally playing synthesized pre selected songs on keyboards. Come on SS- step things up! The acts in the theatre were also average at best. SS could easily maintain the subtle entertainment approach they have by also adding in a few more options, by the pool for example and in the main venue areas. Conclusion: This is not intended to be an exhaustive review, yet just a quick perspective on our experience. Overall, we would love an excuse to give SS another try, but based on the food and entertainment alone, we would be reluctant do to so. Highlights however did include, fantastic service throughout (The suite butlers as an example were lovely), beautiful ship with modern “hotel like” venues and of course a small initiate ship environment you would expect from a luxury line. At this point, we’re more inclined to give Seabourn or Crystal another try for our next luxury cruise experience.