chrism23

Hi, this is my second obnoxious post of the day. We are leaving for 2 legs of the South American Grand Voyage at the end of January, from Lima to Rio. While on board, after a week or so, we pass the magic 100 day barrier, that entitles us to free laundry. Since we are on board for 31 days could be an issue. Has anyone encountered this situation before? And if so did SS (do the right thing) and provide free laundry. Naturally my CC says, of course, no problem, sure, you got it. This is just to double check. Things have gotten a little confused some times at SS's home base. Thanks.

Hi, I have a cruise coming up and have a bunch of questions, I will try to limit them to save myself from becoming a pain in the butt. I have 2 questions today. First, is I have a place holder in for the 2024 World Cruise. This version focuses primarily to far east-Japan, Vietnam, Singpore etc. This is the itinerary I was looking for. It solves my total aversion to 18 hour plane rides. The question is this. This particular world cruise is slated to happen on the Silver Shadow. The next year, 2025, focuses on Europe and the Mediterranean which I have done to death. That sailing is on the Silver Moon. SS took out a full, really fancy, 6 page insert in the NY Times a couple of weeks ago promoting the 2025 cruise and the Moon. When SS is launching all these higher end new ships, why use the Shadow which has got to be as tired as any ship in the Silver Sea fleet. Now I am assuming, and correct me if I am wrong, the reason they are using the smaller ship is they want top go places that won't accommodate the new larger ships. Am I missing something? TIA.

Hi, See you on the Moon in January, we are doing back to back segments from Lima to Rio. The black tie logo has appeared on two days in the first segment, Tuesday January 24 and Friday the 27th, and none yet on the second leg. I watch for these because I tend to do La Dame on Formal nights. This outing I don't know, after the last few meals at La Dame, I have come to the conclusion that they basically serve the same fare the the MDR but more of it, i.e 4 chops on a rack of lamb instead of 2 in the MDR. It all comes out from the same kitchen.

I have to give credit to where credit is due. Cotto 22 above say he was 'pleasantly;' surprised '. I was floored. My CC took care of all of my flight problems, and it seems like I am good to go. (knock wood). In this post-COVID (world (not really), Murphy's law applies. There is still ample time for all to screw up. But my experience underscores a point I alway make in my posts whee relevant. There is nothing more important SS than to develop a relationship with you cruise consultant, if he or she is any good. A good CC will, most importantly go to bat for you with SS air, throw in an extra night a hotel pre or post cruise if your time is too tight, throw out deviation fees, all sorts of little things that makes your experience more seemless and thus more pleasurable. I thought I had hit a wall with mine, but I was wrong and he didn't disappoint. The problems I was having with SS air was all SS air. It seems, adding insult to injury, that SS air is having problems with its software which they are trying to correct on the fly. Which may experience the chaos they are leaving in their wake. Anyhow, good luck to all.

Hi WES. Thank you. If Ms. Muckerman does check this out I want to make one think perfectly clear. The problem was not with my cruise consultant (MN) The delays, the phone calls the emails were caused by him trying to address our issues with SS Air. He too was pulling his hair out. As I said he has been very good to us and I really don't want this to reflect badly on him. I will send, with no hesitation all our business to him in the future. The reason I am doing this is for new cruisers and people who have not been through this before. It is a shame that people are getting angry at SS, because of the incompetence of just one part of their operation. For these folks, calling their general number or emailing them, is not going to get your concerns addressed. You absolutely need a CC that will strongly go to bat for you with the AIR division. This is a shame because after sailing around, I feel the SS is the best cruise line in the world. Selfishly I don't want to see them lose business, both new and repeat, by having just one of their divisions ruining the experience for so many people. Thanks again.

OK. A couple of things. Heard from ny CC consultant last night and it seems that they have finally gotten it right. Let me stress how important it is to have a good CC at SS. My last two were great at working out issues with SS air. Probably by picking up the phone and threatening them with bodily harm. But this begs the bigger and more important question. Given the avalanche and horror stories above in response to my original post SS undeniably has as a major problem with its AIR division. If as many people that responded to this thread are any indication, figure that the real number is at least 10x the number of people with problems, maybe even 100X. This had been going on for some time, pre-COVID, so that is not an excuse, it just makes it more difficult. So I think the solution here is self-evident. SS needs to fire, immediately, the Director/Manager of their AIR division and bring or promote someone who can fix it and get it right. If this person worked for me back in the day, I would have had him/her clean their desk and be shown the door a while ago. Thanks to everyone that responded. The problem was much more widespread and serious than I thought. cheers all chris

Bolllocks. After leaving 4 emails and three voice messages, they still have my wife and I booked on separate flights. This can be fixed with one quick phone call to the Air Division. I hope Barbara Muckerman is reading this thread, she used to, or someone else at SS to pick up the phone and get it done. All I need is for the air for me under VS 3139334 to match the air for my wife inner V 3130193. Or send my the number of your AIR division, you will have my particulars from the VS numbers, and I will do it myself. Unfortunately I can't cancel because I would be out 25% of $54,000 which is real money these days. I will also cancel my booking for the 2023 world cruise which is $144,000, which is significant real money. This sailing is in January, part of the Grand Voyage promotion,, we are doing 2 legs, the whole cruise sails in December so its is not 11 months away. I don not want to get my CC in hot water, he has been really very very good to us on out 5 previous cruises, which may happen because I included the VS numbers. And I look forward, hopefully in working with him in the future. I started this thread and I can't believe how many people have piled. on. Glad to know its not just me.

Fort Myers. I hope you guys are ok. If there Ian must have been hell.

Hi. I don't have a TA. He died. I used to book everything myself when I traveled, once upon a time. Now SS takes the hassle out of it. I prefer to have someone do the work for me, even it it means staying at a hotel I wouldn't normally stay at. I only have had one horrible hotel when booking their simply hotel which was the Costa in Barcelona. Staying at their hotels also includes portage, which is very convenient as well as having staff in the lobby to answer questions and smooth out any problems. Yes, I have become lazy.

I am posting this in hopes that someone from Silversea actually reads this forum. By far, the worst part of the Silversea experience, is dealing with its Air department, albeit through your Cruise Consultant. My last two trips serve as case studies on how bad they are. Last July we were on on Scots Isles expedition cruise which ended in Dublin. SS air had our return tickets routed through Frankfurt. Huh? A 1000 miles in the wrong direction, we were trying to go to Boston. That got fixed. Then this time, down to Lima and home from Rio. They have my wife and I booked on different flights which we have tried to correct twice. Still trying. Now why do I subject myself to this incompetence. By using them they provide transfers to and from hotels. By using their hotels for transfers you get more information, luggage tags, and other perks that makes the whole process easier. We also always fly business class, and once we are booked on the right flights, they can help with seat selection, cancellations and other stuff. I have had 2 cruise consultants at SS. Each of whom have been good at ultimately straightening out problems with SS air. I have done 8 cruises and have 2 more booked including the round the world cruise in 2024 (more on that in another thread). I would say out of the 8, SS air has screwed up the first pass at booking 7 of 8 times. There have been continuing complaints about SS air in this forum. The obvious question is why in the hell don't the fix it. Feel free to pile on please. Maybe a lot of comments will get their attention.

Mr. Foot-We finally completely agree on something. 2.75.2 is the newest of Omnicron's grandchildren identified just last month. Glad to see you are on top of things. Thus far in testing it has evaded 12 of the 13 monoclonal antibodies. No real data yet on severity or how it responds to bivalent boosters. Coming soon to a theater near you.

I will be on the moon in January-February. I have had 8 SS cruises, 2 expeditions with no real dress code, 6 with the standard dress code and Formal nights. I am trying to find out what nights will be Formal Nights on the Moon. I like to go to La Dame in a tux, just a thing. I am making restaurant reservations on the activities page now and I can't find a place where Formal nights are identified. Anyone know where? Or should I just wait and see whether it pops up or not. Thanks

I absolutely agree. The omicron sub variants, I believe there are five with BA-5 now being dominant, popped up and achieve dominance in a couple of months and is now responsible for 85% of all COVID cases in the US. Granted all could change again in the next few months. I did say above that more variants will definitely arise over time Granted that COVID boosters do not absolutely stop you from getting infected. But they definitely mitigate transmission and severity. Right now there are just two omicron specific bilvalent boosters, one from Pfizer the other from Moderna. It seems to me that since there is or was a a vaccine required by SS for embarkation that requirement should extend to omnicron specific boosters since omnicron and its variants are by far the dominant iteration of the virus in circulation. Granted come January that might not be the case. Again, what concerns me it is the lack of clarity, that you addressed by posting the entirety of the SS vaccination policies above in response to a couple of comments that were made. Thank you this was helpful. Lord knows what these policies will be after the new year, Also of concern were the comments of Nuka and Gourmet Gal and others above that seemed to be saying that on the Moon, which is why I jumped into this thread, there seemed to be profligate disregard of basic safety guidelines, Based on their comments I don't think I will set foot in the S.A.L.T. bar for example. Yes, I realize the last thing anyone needs is more stress and confusion when returning to the sea. I got back in July with a Scots island expedition cruise. All the embarking issues were handled very smoothly. We did the pre-cruise thing and before embarking our group,, there were perhaps 15 of us, after presenting our vax cards were then give the BinX rapid test and then allowed to board. There were no reports of anyone, pax and crew, on board becoming sick. Being back to sea, I felt an enormous weight lift from my shoulders. I cannot wait to return. Thanks for your patience.

I will be on the Moon for 31 days in January and February. The comments above create some concern. I am sorry that people got sick. I need to know whether those infected are vaxed and to what extent. I just received my third booster which targets the omicron variant of SARS coV-2, the original virus There are now at least 5 branches of the original Omicron virus, all are more infectious but less deadly than the original. There will be more variants to come, sorry to say. It would be wise for Silversea to require being vaxed with the Omicron specific booster as well as the two previous boosters. If the people here who commented above were vaxed with the omnicron specific booster, my concern would go through the roof. Thanks in advance for any response.

I was on this cruise.. I suggested to Martin the Cruise Director (strongly) that they include a scotch tasting as a scheduled activity. I had read up on Scotches before the cruise to prepare my self to taste a number of wee drams and I was disappointed that they didn't do one. Perhaps if more people suggest this they might do it on future cruises.

Some of the comments above address this question but provide no answers. After 8 cruises on SS you would think I know all the nuances of the dress code. But here is a question I can't answer. Are jackets, in fact, required after 6pm in the Main Dining Room on Expedition class ships? We are leaving on the Cloud next week. The only other Expedition class ship I have been on was in the Galapagos, where a couple of times we would show up in the MDR still shaking sand from out clothes. No dress code. I don't have a clue as to what will be required on the Cloud. Tony Hanks has a good FAQ on the SS facebook page but there is no answer there. I am packing. So if anyone has an answer to this I would greatly appreciate a timely response. BTW I love formal nights. Its the only chance I have know to wear all the tuxedos I have accumulated over the years. Cheers Chris.

We are leaving next Wednesday from Reykjavik to Dublin. In the pre-cruise info sent by SS it discusses the requirement for verified COOVID testing. But both 48 hours and 72 hours are mentioned as the prior to embarkation requirement. Does anyone know which one is accurate? Thanks.

We are sailing on the Silver Cloud August 15 out of Reyjavik. In the material sent by SS regarding pre- cruise testing they say the test results must be verified. Does anyone know what they mean by this. We have home test kits and have no idea how to get the results verified. Thanks

Thanks for all the insight. Right now I have decided this is too damn complicated. This cruise is not scheduled until January 2023. 6 months away. 6 months ago Omicron BA-5 now the dominant strain of the virus did not exist. God knows what 2023 will bring. I noticed this morning that Biden was reinfected, tested positive again and must be back in isolation. BA-5 in addition to being the most virulent of all the strains so far also has the remarkable ability to bounce back. I leave in 10 days for Iceland for the Silver Cloud Reykjavik to Dublin cruise. In just 10 days I have no idea what the situations will be in both Iceland, Scotland and Ireland. For me, that is a stark indictor of where we are, where the cruise industry, hell, where the world is right now. We are in a state of constant change and flux. I am vaxxed and boosted twice. There supposedly is a third booster coming out in September that specifically targets Omicron. But until then that is the best I can do. I have no idea what the masking policy is going to be on the Silver Cloud. The same with excursions nearly all of which, this is an expedition cruise, require outdoor physical activity, some of which will be demanding. I don't see taking a 4 mile hike up a steep grade with a mask on. Usually when I cruise, this is my 8th with SS, I do a lot of research before hand. But with this, since I don't know what the hell is going to go on, I'll just show up and see what happens. This is perhaps not prudent but I haven't been to sea and I have gotta to dive back in at some point.

Hi We are on the Silver Moon from Lima to Rio for 31 days departing 1/22/23. Its 2 segments of what they first called a Grand Voyage. No stops for more than 1 day. But it stops in too many countries to mention. Will there be any required showing of health records or visas as of this moment knowing that its far away. thanks chris m

I agree with cruiseej. You cannot call Silversea air directly. Your SS cruise consultant has to do it. From my experience, if possible, develop a relationship with your CC. They will work with their air department in accommodating your needs. This is essential. It also matters what kind of relationship your CC has with the air department. Some are better than others. We have been fortunate to have two CC's over the years who have done just that. In almost every case we have used them (8) the initial flight selection offered by the air department has been unacceptable for one reason or the other. What we have to do nearly every time is to receive their initial routing, then do our own research, come up with the best flights for us, then call up our CC and tell him this is what we want. This has invariably worked.

Right. I was suppose to be on Aer Lingus from Reykjavik to Boston, non stop, in late August. I booked through SS. I always fly Business class. SS usually offers a significant discount, a couple of thousand bucks, for B-Class. I am not stranded, perhaps a poor choice of words. I will start searching today for another carrier. No doubt I will easily find one. This is sort of funny, when SS cancelled they rerouted me through Paris as an alternative for the same price. My response was naturally " you have got to be kidding me". So, with SS out of the picture, no discounts, and a lot more money I will easily find a way home. A cautionary warning for folks booking air, probably anywhere. I went on the Aer Lingus site to see what I could do. A B-Class ticket was $3000 more ($5k versus 2k) than what I was going to pay with SS. And here is the rub, there were only 2 seats left. From this I deduce that it is very important, if you are flying this summer, to book your tickets as early as possible. Non stop if at all possible. Of course, one will have to expect cancellations, delays, rerouting and all things that makes flying in the time of Covid so much fun.

I just heard from my Cruise Consultant that Aer Lingus has cancelled its contract with Silver Sea. This makes me really happy because for the moment I am stranded in Iceland. From prior experience they will straighten it out. I have a great CC. But if you are flying Aer Lingus you might want to get on the phone.