Doolz

Are there any updates on the Silver Nova? I’m quite surprised that the last update was on the 11th May, considering the maiden voyage is relatively close!

23 hours ago, Lois R said:

Hi Wayne, it is on the website but here is the link.......click on the picture. It should give you 3 separate videos, the longest one is  2minutes/13seconds.

https://www.silversea.com/lp-silver-nova.html?cid_email=em_USA_EM2301195612_VS_CLASSIC_CON_DEM_LINK&IndividualId=18168223&utm_campaign=USA_EM2301195612_VS&utm_source=USA&utm_medium=Email&cid=131427&mid=335700172

 

Many thanks Lois, very excited to board this beautiful new SS ship.

On 5/4/2023 at 5:40 PM, Lois R said:

Good morning, did any of you get an email with a "Float Out" VIdeo?  I got one this morning and I think the inside of the ship is going to be beautiful😀 There are 3 sets of videos......one is a little over 2 minutes and shows the restaurant/bar venues, etc..........I am sailing her in November and as much as I love Moon and Dawn, I can't wait to sail Nova!😀oh, the Dusk Bar looks good to me!

Please share the video links Lois, as we are sailing on the Nova in Oct and would love to see the videos of the interior.

Thanks in advance, Wayne

We prefer the new classification of ships, if I recall correctly as we have been on the Muse, Moon and Spirit, the Kaiseki on the Muse was a teppanyaki style dining experience in the middle of the restaurant with the chef preparing food directly in front of you, which we found fun and more interactive (they also had some tables away from the teppanyaki counter). Also preferred the new larger La Dame on the Moon than the Muse, as well as the Salt restaurant over Indochine.

The central bar area in Dolce Vita on the Moon balances the area/room much better than the Muse, however we would still gladly sail again on the Muse but in my opinion they have made some subtle improvements on the Moon and Dawn design.We sail on the Dawn on the 16 Dec, from what I can see it is very similar to the Moon.

We were looking forward to sailing on the Nova on the inaugural trip, but I have been informed by our TA that it’s been delayed for one month which is very disappointing!

On 11/14/2022 at 9:54 PM, A Tucson Guy said:

I emailed Barbara Muckerman at SS asking  about when Starlink was coming to the Dawn since we board 11-21-22 in Lisbon. She said it was being done in December in Ft. Lauderdale. Also she confirmed that the Nova would have Starlink. Great news for those of us that need to stay in touch with the rest of the world.

The Dawn is scheduled to arrive into FLL at 07:00 on the 16th Dec and we depart at 19:00, so hopefully they can complete the upgrade in 12 hours! I assume it’s a hardware and software modification, so quite a tight timeframe, I’ll just keep my fingers crossed that all goes smoothly🙏

Just curious in regards to the 7 day complimentary voucher that you earn (we are not that close to qualifying yet!), but if you booked a Silver Suite then could the voucher be used to extend your stay in a Silver Suite or is it limited to a Veranda Suite? 

1 hour ago, Accessor said:

 

Paired to your food? NO! A server comes to your table with "today's" recommended wine before anything is even ordered, so how is it paired?  These are the least expensive wines pushed to pax that have limited experience or don't know to ask for something better. Then when you want something better, it DOES become a "guessing game" b/c their is no complimentary wine list! Typically pushing cheap stuff from Chile...never came to our table with anything worth over $8 for the selection of the day. Sure, you can find a good drinkable wine...but that's the guessing game part as the wine stewards are trained to not recommend the higher end pours (aka more expensive).

From our experience you generally know the type of wine you prefer, ask to taste some of them on your first couple of days, you then decide which one you like. When they come around at lunch/dinner and offer you the wine they are serving,  you can always taste what they are offering as it may be a pleasant surprise as you wouldn’t normally order/buy that wine, if it doesn’t suit your preference then simply ask for the one you have enjoyed on the earlier tasting session-they’re very accommodating!

On 8/15/2022 at 12:25 AM, goletans said:

Back from our cruise. The Zoot Suit with hat was a great hit! DH got many compliments. 

I thought you might of included a photo after all the witty comments, you’re leaving us all intrigued!

I’m keen to explore the South Pacific with SS, have they announced any cruises on the Muse or newer ships, as I’m not a fan of the older ships (personal preference)? 

6 hours ago, zqtchas said:

Had tests. 1 deep nostril & 1 deep throat. Lots of blurry eyes leaving the scene.

Hope your nostril has recovered from the earlier invasion! Have you received any further update on the crew member? Hopefully this won’t affect your schedule for tomorrow.

We are due to board tomorrow in Guayaquil around 2pm so any information would be gratefully received so we can plan accordingly-thanks in advance.

2 hours ago, les37b said:

 

Damn. That's sad news. Hopefully crew member is ok .. and turns out to be a false positive. 

 

Good luck with the wire brush. I believe you are correct that it will be necessary to disembark in Guayaquil to have this, regardless of yours being B2B. According to the UK government website, entry to Ecuador is meant to be though a PCR so SS must have some sort of dispensation by the sound of it?

I was reading this sad and concerning news earlier ref the positive crew member, I then noticed another post stating that it was a false-positive result, but the post has now disappeared! Can someone please advise the latest situation.

On 12/5/2021 at 1:50 AM, mofrances said:

Is this a thing?! Should I be bringing ornaments to hang on the suite number when we embark on Dec 18?! We want to do our part as well!! Especially for Deck 7...😇

It certainly helps with the festive spirit when you are walking down the corridors for those that are celebrating the festive period, and greatly appreciated by those who participate.

We’re currently departing out of Guayaquil on the 18th Dec, certainly challenging rearranging flights as we decided to stick with our Machu Picchu trip, we managed to get a direct flight to Guayaquil from Lima as the major worry is losing your baggage and not allowing enough time to recover the situation. Glad to see the email from SS offering to cover the costs (up to $500 per/pax) incurred for airfares if you booked independently though.

We all understand that its a logistical nightmare dealing with the constant changes to each and every country, a bit surprised to see that they stated that Peru was closed to international travellers and this was the reason for the re-routing, I believe it’s closed to cruise ships but not to international travellers from what I have seen on Peruvian government websites, otherwise we've got another challenge to re-route our pre-arranged flight and tours in Peru!

II don’t understand why they cancelled Manta in Ecuador as we didn’t receive an explanation, as we are obviously embarking from Ecuador.

I suppose if you can’t handle the pressure and probable changes then don’t book a cruise in these uncertain times, for us it’s still worth the challenge as the feeling, experience and treatment when you finally get on board makes it all worthwhile.

On 6/2/2021 at 4:07 AM, A Tucson Guy said:

I have owned 7 Rolls Royce's over the years and I did not pick up on ship names and some of my old cars- humm. Asleep at the switch again!!

I presume naming the latest as the Silver Ghost, was not deemed appropriate by SS management then!

I asked our SS TA why the summer cruises around Northern Europe are around 20/25% more expensive than those in the Mediterranean, he couldn’t answer my question which I understand as he’s not involved in the pricing.

I tend to look at the situation logically and wonder for instance if the cruise spends a few days in Saint Petersburg then does that influence the cost due to the mooring fees, but some of the Northern European cruises don’t visit Saint Petersburg, so I’m trying to understand the reasoning behind the differences!

6 hours ago, CruisinPashmina said:

I am on The Moon right now..posting from a very squishy comfortable lounge chair…by the pool while my daughters have gone off to go mountain Biking in Corfu.

 

The ship is SO beautiful. Everything I thought was missing in the design of The Muse has been modified…..much more color…still subtle but making the decor warmer. They have moved the small corner bar into the center of The Dolce Vita…it is round and can probably seat about 20. The chandelier over it is modern and spectacular. Instead of all brown and gray, there are a lot of teal and aqua accents. The room is truly beautiful.

 

We had dinner in The SALT restaurant last night…delicious and a bit adventurous….great fun, and better than ever SS service. The Crew seems so happy to be back and this adds to every aspect of this cruise.

 

The Arts Cafe feels expanded and the AWFUL Art has been replaced by less “Avant-garde” pieces. There’s also a full bar which may have been on The Muse, but I don’t remember it. We had wonderful coffee and cookies there yesterday afternoon. 
 

One of the very best improvements is the new decor in La Terrasse. There is carpeting, and the dinky chairs have been replaced with more substantial ones. The room no longer looks like a cavernous cafeteria…it is now a very pretty restaurant……with wonderful food served by warm attentive people. Lunch, without the usual serve yourself buffet, is awkward, but we all know this is Covid related and I am hopeful things will normalize soon.

 

The Panorama looks pretty much the same. The improvement here is a much bigger semi circular bar instead of the service like bar at which almost no one ever sat. The new design here, as on all of The Moon, is much more thought out from the Passenger perspective than on the Muse.

 

I LOVE THIS SHIP!

 

Thanks for taking the time away from your cruise to post this update, having sailed on the Muse a couple of times and after seeing the recent photos of the Moon as well as your comments, I agree that they have tweaked certain areas which appears to have enhanced the ship. 

Are you now able to sit around the bar in Dolce Vita? It looks like a very sociable setting to meet other passengers and a tremendous improvement on the corner bar on the Muse. I would also be interested to know if they retained the bar in Silver Note and whether you can sit around and either have a pre or post dinner aperitif, this was a popular area on the Muse.

La Dame also looks incredible in the new location and increased size, we are so looking forward to multiple reservations and wonderful evenings in that restaurant.

We are sailing on the Moon from LIM-FLL on the 18 Dec, we are now starting to get excited after the recent confirmation and reading all the amazing reviews makes the anticipation grow even more.

Curious to know how many passengers are on the current Silver Moon sailing, I would assume that it has gradually increased from the initial 50% occupancy rate.

We’re on the LIM-FLL (18 Dec), I would imagine it will be in the region of 80%-90% due to popularity of sailing over the Xmas/NY period, all adds to an even better atmosphere with a nearly full cruise!

22 hours ago, sea bright said:

We were on the Moon Nov 1 Athens to Dubai and switched to the Jan 3rd FLL Lima Dawn (now Moon). Our TA checked w SS end of last week and was told it would go even if some other South American cruises are canceled. At that point SS provided some business class air flights, confirmed Macchu Picchu post cruise trip and confirmed pre-cruise FLL hotel. I am hopeful this means the FLL Lima route won't be canceled, but I guess we will have to see. I will pass along anything I hear.

Many thanks, I’ve been arranging an independent tour to Machu Picchu this week and we are so looking forward to what would be an amazing experience-keeping everything crossed this cruise goes ahead, we appreciate that they may be forced to cancel some of the destinations en route and we completely understand the situation is out of SS control.

We were originally booked on The Moon from HKG-SIN over this Xmas/NY but after the recent cancellation we switched to The Moon from LIM-FLL over the same period. I sent an email to my SS agent asking for some clarification on a couple of tours etc., as we want to schedule some flight reservations this weekend, he advised to hold off as he wasn’t 100% sure if the cruise will proceed but he’s not received any official notification! 

I don’t like to speculate and understand the situation is very fluid due to the countries that are potentially visited on this itinerary, but would appreciate if anyone else has any other reliable information on this cruise, we’re so looking forward to getting away so hope this is an internal misunderstanding at SS.

14 minutes ago, bitob said:

See my post  Moon substituted for Dawn -- letter to my TA from Silversea

Apologies bitob, finger trouble as I was referring to the below posted previous message;

Asia is canceled, although not officially yet.  The Moon is going to South America taking over the Dawn itinerary. 

Have you been officially informed of the above ref the Moon taking over the Dawn routes?

We are looking for an alternate option now that it appears our HKG-SIN choice has been cancelled over Xmas/NY.

On 8/5/2021 at 12:31 AM, Mr Luxury said:

The music is generally good but I am afraid that the production singers are not up to much.

Seabourn do the shows and production much better but I think Belinda King has got a lot to do with the attention to detail.

There is a great singer pianist duo that perform in Silver Note which is a super club.

The venue is a wonderful addition to a ship.

You can go for dinner and last orders are 10.30pm.

You can dine and dance which I really like.

There is a DJ that plays good music for all tastes in the Panorama lounge and also a trio who play modern classics.

All of this I know is subject to taste.

But that said it is generally good 

There is a pianist and a guitarist who have also been good.

They play solo in different venues or as a duo.

All good except the production shows.

Magician was rubbish and based his act around a white and a red handkerchief.

Disastrous 🙄

When we sailed on the Muse we enjoyed sitting around the bar in Silver Note for post-dinner drinks and listening to the excellent duet followed by a few dances, are you allowed to sit at the bar on the current sailing?

What is your feedback on the new central bar in Dolce Vita? Looking at the official photos it looks like a well needed improvement and if you are allowed to sit at the bar then a sociable option.

22 hours ago, WesW said:

Here is what Jorge Bras of Premier Tours, a life long six decade plus resident of Lisbon just told me regarding the Covid situation in Portugal.  Good summary, but it is still clear as mud whether our cruise will go or not.

 

According to the Portuguese health authority the country is facing the 4th wave of the pandemic due to the Delta variant and it's reaching its peak next week.

 

Also according to them Portugal will reach the group immunity by the 3rd week of August, meaning that 70% of the total population will have the 2 vaccine shots.

 

Regarding tourism admissions we are always revising and updating the pandemic developments in the other countries and acting accordingly.

 

I know this is a bit vague but it's all that I can tell you at the moment.  

Apologies for hijacking the post but a quick message to Wes, as I’m unable to message him privately through the forum.

Hi Wes, you recently kindly responded to a legitimate question I raised ref the potential benefits of using a reputable TA for future cruises, strangely it seems to have disappeared. 

I appreciate your response and wanted to seek further details, but unfortunately I’m unable to send you a message directly as this is option is not available when I try to select sending you a message.

Thanks, Wayne (doolz2000@yahoo.com)

I would not want to be working for SS planning and logistics team, what a nightmare trying to plan routes with all the current restrictions in so many different countries. 

The choice of locations may be quite limited if they are not allowed to visit the various Asian countries from November 2021 to March 2022, also Australia and New Zealand are unlikely to open so maybe the Caribbean will be even busier than usual!

On 7/19/2021 at 11:32 AM, les37b said:

 

I'm on the second FLL to LIM on 3 Jan and whilst excited about the prospect of that itinerary and new ship, I just can't see there is a hope in hell it will sail.

 

I see that Lisbon is now showing as the first sailing as Wes has said and hopefully that will still happen. I just feel certain (unfortunately) that South America wont happen and the Dawns maiden season will be in the Caribbean. It'll be the 3rd cancellation by SS for this booking "when" it happens. An announcement is due soon allegedly.

We had a reservation from LIM to FLL over Christmas/NY on the Dawn and I got rather anxious that it would be cancelled due to the rise in COVID cases in Peru, so switched to the Moon from HKG to SIN which is now looking very doubtful due to the restrictions on incoming passengers. I’m therefore trying to second guess the alternative option that we can travel to over the same period on either the Dawn or the Moon, as we are keen to try one of the new ships after spending a couple of wonderful cruises on the Muse. 

I do understand that there is no definitive answer, but we are so looking forward to getting away and I know that so many of you are probably facing similar dilemmas.