QueSeraSera

2 hours ago, HilsTas said:

experiences as passengers on an individual leg of a world cruise on Silverseas?

We just completed our first SS cruise in September.  It was 7 days, the first leg of what we learned was a trans-pacific cruise to Tokyo.  We loved it.  Food was superb, fellow cruisers were friendly, included wines were enjoyable, and the staff exceeded in so many respects I won't list them for fear of understating our experience.

You may come across one or two posts here (and on other lines as we found during researching for our cruise) that seem to disparage 7 day cruisers, but I can assure you that once on board, you won't feel anything but welcome.  Pampered was our experience.  Those of us new have to start somewhere after all!  

There are many folks on this board that can knowledgably (spelling?) answer any other questions you might have, but let my wife and I be the first to say "welcome aboard" and that we wish you have the best cruise ever!

Thank you nowornever, so good to hear from you.  It was certainly our pleasure to meet you and your husband!  I'm so glad the rest of the cruise went well, we both wished we could stay aboard.  But it is on the bright side for all of us to have another SS cruise coming up pretty soon 😉

Jimmyke, thanks for bringing these videos back to the first page.  We very much enjoyed watching!

11 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

This sums it up pretty well:

 It does!  Thank you.

This all seems so complicated!

15 hours ago, Crusue said:

Will be sailing on the Shadow December 3

As are we Crusue!  FLL to San Juan.  I started a roll call for our cruise...

On 9/23/2019 at 1:58 PM, JsJourneys said:

Hello again!  I just wish to thank everyone who provided insight on the Silversea vibe!  All the information was helpful.  Looking forward to our 2020 Greek Islands cruise.  

I think you will have a great cruise!  Our first Silversea cruise was super, almost everyone was friendly and having a good time (actually everyone but one person - a man was rude to a server one night which unfortunately can happen anywhere).  Best wishes!  

On 5/15/2019 at 9:36 AM, Observer said:

Also scheduled for comprehensive renovation are The Restaurant, La Terrazza, Panorama Lounge, The Bar, The Show Lounge and Card/Conference Rooms.

After our first SS cruise on the Muse, so happy to see La Terrazza & Panorama will also be on the Shadow for our next sailing!  Is it correct to think of The Restaurant as sort of a predecessor of Atlantide and Indochine?

Responding to an earlier discussion in this thread, the menu in Indochine changed significantly midway through our 7 night cruise.  Atlantide may also have changed, just didn't get a chance to check.  Enjoyed both of these restaurants tremendously. 

On 9/9/2019 at 11:33 PM, Observer said:

Is it possible that the hurricane will have this indirect effect on Silversea (as it has on so many people in the area)? 

So far, there has been no word from SS regarding any change to our 12/3 FLL departure on the Shadow.

9 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

Look forward to seeing more, including any pictures from on the Silver Muse.

Happy to oblige!  All pictures below were taken by my wife Karen.  I am going to try to apply the advice of the good folks above in posting.

First, a sail away picture with La Terrazza (many good meals, including frequent breakfasts, here during the cruise) with beautiful Vancouver in the background. 

Then a different kind of selfie, a picture of us reflected in an elevator on board.  Kind of fun, clothes already shrinking a bit due to sea salt air as explained earlier in this thread 😀

We were fortunate it was sunny when we sailed by Hubbard, which promoted the blue color of the glacier.  This shows part of our balcony, which we enjoyed.

The pool and jogging track against beautiful AK background.  We got some steps walking using this track, very pleasant.

Going over our photos, I realize I'm no photographer.  Terry, @jpalbny @Daveywavey70 & others have posted such fantastic photos.  But here we go, with 2 photos from Vancouver's University of British Columbia's Museum of Anthropology (excursion offered due to extra day in Vancouver) and a photo of whales (mother and baby) blowing their spray into the cool clean air near Juneau - an exciting prelude to their surfacing, which was simply amazing.  If these photos are not uploaded properly, or I've done something else wrong here, please let me know!

We just completed our first cruise, and we had a truly wonderful experience.  I thank the people who posted above and elsewhere on the SS boards.  Their posts were truly helpful.  We have no regrets about booking with Silversea.  A few thoughts I'd like to share for any others who might be in the same position we were "pre-cruise" before letting this thread fade away:

1.  Advice from experienced SS cruisers is well worth heeding, we found no experience that contradicted it.  The advice can be found among many threads on this board.

2.  Get ready for some spectacular food!  Every day, every meal!

3.  We used the self-serve laundry twice on our cruise, on one occasion we had to wait a bit.  We found it effective and the laundry room clean.  We also sent a few things "out", this was reasonable in cost and 100% satisfactory.

4.  We did overpack a bit (my example: too many t-shirts).  Men, do bring a sport coat.

5.  Our butler was a delight, very helpful but not at all obtrusive (thank you Rodolfo!).  As others point out above, if unsure, just ask, the butler is there to enhance your cruise.

6.  Included wines are quite good. 

7.  Do some on-board activities.  DW and I enjoyed our beginning Italian class, and the on-board lecturer's classes were interesting and helpful as he interpreted the lands we were visiting. 

A theme in the comments above: relax and enjoy.  So true.

Yes back in Richmond as of this morning, thanks Terry.  Tried but could not see Stumblefoot waving from mountains but felt happy to be waved to all the same.  Mostly unpacked and partially rested up. 

Having our cruise booked in December on the Shadow helping me deal with returning to normal life without the Muse, and the great people we met on board.  Going to make a comfort casserole for dinner tonight...

Just adding another voice that our experience booking with Silversea direct was positive.

No extension to Denali this time, enjoyed our stay at Hotel Captain Cook booked through SS last night & walking around Anchorage yesterday afternoon.  Disembarked smoothly, all transfers were prompt & courteous.  Silversea handled all details flawlessly, including airport this morning. It's going to be a long night though, first stop Denver.

Thank for confirming this observation Stumblefoot and hopefully Richmond's humidity can reduce that restoration time to just a month or two worldtraveller 😊.  With just a day to go on this cruise, I will continue with this assumption.  Hubbard glacier was stunning this morning, and we loved Sitka yesterday. Time on cruise has flown by.

Just arriving in Sitka.  Trail hike and raft float in Skagway were fun, a bit challenging but tour description was accurate.  Food on board is excellent.  I've a weakness for Danishes & think I will have tried them all by cruise end.  I also think salt water air may be shrinking my clothes a bit....

Docked at Skagway and our good luck with the weather continues.  Great time yesterday in Juneau, whale watching was great with majestic scenery all around.  The Muse is spotless in spite of us 300 or so first time cruisers aboard. Trail hike with river float on schedule for today.  Had a very pleasant meet with @noworneverin Panorama yesterday. We are enjoying this cruise tremendously!

Just now close to docking in Juneau, beautiful water falls cascading down spruce covered mountains on the way in, blue skies and cool but comfortable weather. Excited to go on whale watching excursion in about an hour!

Makes sense to me @philw1776 , the only other thing I recall from the announcement was that divers were needed to make the repairs.  Since we are well underway & on schedule (as revised in Vancouver) I'm thinking the repairs were successful, knock on wood.  Unable to judge the stabilizer effectiveness with no frame of reference.

Approaching Prince Rupert BC sail by at this time.

I believe so worldtraveller and you're welcome!

Hi Terry,

We are indeed on the Muse, and it is correct that departure was delayed by a day due to a malfunctioning stabilizer.  While DW & I, and the majority of folks on board, are fine with it I think, we have heard some complaints.  An understandable complaint was from someone who had already spent several days in Vancouver and was ready to go elsewhere.  SilverSea offered some free excursions to Vancouver and 15% credit on a future cruise as compensation to all passengers.

So, I heard myself say out loud today that I am having a great cruise and the ship hasn't even moved yet!  Maybe goofy, but a fair summary of my present status.  Living the good life.  Sailing out of Vancouver this afternoon was beautiful.  The ship is clean and very comfortable. Food is outstanding!

Thank you Terry.  Your posts have provided a wonderful window into what cruising on SS will be like.  As have the posting of others who have posted blogs and made useful comments (too many to mention all, so forgive my failure to be complete but here's looking at you @jpalbny @rich48100 @Daveywavey70 @Rachel G @Observer @Stumblefoot @Lois R phil + many others)  Our flight to Vancouver is 2 days away, boarding the Muse 3 days from now.  I'm feeling a lot of excitement with maybe a tinge of nervousness still hanging around that is not anyone's fault but my own.  It may be more related to the flight delays I'm seeing out of Richmond today, I suppose due to Dorian.  Anyway, thank you all, about to get busy packing and checking flights.  And if the vibe on board is anything like the vibe on this board, @JsJourneys I think you ought to go with Silversea (I'll let you know after the cruise)

@drron29 well described, and I respect the differentiation you made between the 2 experiences.

6 minutes ago, nowornever said:

that's pandemonium

Agreed.

Our 6 children, all grown and (finally) self-sufficient, we begin cruising in a few days.  Ready for good food, good company, seeing the world beyond what business trips involved, and some serious relaxation.  I still believe SS to be the right choice for us, not liking everything I see about Viking.

4 minutes ago, Observer said:

But where were they to take the kids?

I have no answer, but Silversea, I really hope you are listening to the people posting here.

oh no.  😖

We really appreciate the advice from all of you, as @tutuwahineLV also expressed.  Wife and I have enjoyed touring Ontario and Quebec on land trips, but I feel British Columbia will be a fantastic province, and worth a return trip with more time.

I am quite certain DW and I are going to overpack for this first cruise, currently it looks like 2 carry ons, a new 26" check in suitcase, and a garment bag full of winter coats, etc, to shield us from the cold, while we enjoy visiting.  Our hotel is Hilton Vancouver Airport.   I don't mean to push my luck here @martincath but given this hotel information, which station should we go for?