Mayflower1

It is so good to have you on these Boards Barbara so that there can be a sensible dialogue between some longstanding Venetians and The Company.

Having attended the Webinar, which I found most useful, it is disappointing to see that the much anticipated release of the 2022/23 Itineraries makes no reference to Costings. This makes effective Planning somewhat difficult as I suspect that not all Venetians are so wealthy as to have no need to consider the cost. Furthermore it is not helpful when ones National Office indicates that it has no idea when Pricing is to be released. Please be good enough to see what can be done ahead of 1st December.

Good Morning Tothesunset - Just a quick ' Heads Up ' on the use of a Large Credit Balance on your Credit Card Account - it is not recommended as The Card Companies believe its a Fraud Risk - They suggest getting such a balance removed immediately to another Account. Just be careful.

Good Morning Brimary - Hope you are both well and managing to survive without Cruising !!! - its very difficult from our perspective but there are many worse off than us.

We started Cruising on Cunard on the great Ships Vistafjord & Sagafjord in the 1990s and found Silversea in 2000 when we travelled with Capt Arma ( his first Sailing as Staff Capt ) from Singapore to Dubai - it was magical with many Sea Days and a great Guest/Crew complement. This started our love affair with Silversea and we are still great Fans albeit we do not always agree with some of their Marketing decisions !!!.

We hope that we can return to our ' Home at Sea ' before too long to meet more great Crew & Guests - Lets also hope that we can also revive the ' Early (ish for me ) Pool Swims which we enjoyed so much.

Thank you Stumblefoot for your kind reply to what was our Personal viewpoint, which we quite understand will not be shared by many others.

You are so right about The Arts Cafe being a great innovation on the larger ships - it is interesting that having sailed a number of times on The Spirit Post Stretch, she is now our favourite ship ( given that the Wind/Cloud are both heading for the Expedition Fleet which is not for us ) and The Arts Cafe on board is in our opinion even finer than that on the Muse. Also the new ' Shower only ' Suites are a  fantastic addition.

Good Morning Stumblefoot. You are right to seek opinions as to how things MAY have changed throughout the Years and much of our original experience was based on the Cloud & Wind, which with often no more than 250 Guests offered an even more Personalised Service than today. The Dining venues were less but The Main Dining Room offered to our recollection a larger, daily changing Menu and Special Requests were much more prevalent than today,

We did not have the Butler concept but Suite Service was always excellent with every request seemingly noted down and this would become the norm for future Cruises. Today is still excellent but The Butler has more Suites to Service and cannot be everywhere at once.

The overall ambience seemed more Social with many Guests meeting in the Main Bar and then forming Dinner Tables - with the greater choice of Venues and the need to Pre Book, this aspect has to our mind diminished somewhat.

Our recollection is also of longer Cruises ( typically 15 Day minimum ) and this, in contrast to the many 7 Day Cruises now offered, did create a different atmosphere. This is still probably available on Grand & world Cruises but again there are many Segments offered.

In no way are we complaining about the current offerings, or we would not be still Cruising, but just reflecting on past experience. Personally we do like the concept of having Dining Options but they do seem to create a different atmosphere, which I am sure many appreciate.

My original comment was to reflect on whether Silversea would consider returning to the Cloud/Wind size of Ship to offer a really customised Product, but as indicated I doubt that this will happen as the trend is to offer more Facilities and Dining Options, thus requiring a larger Vessel. 

I hope this helps Stumblefoot and I do not feel you have missed any ' Magic ' - The ' Magic ' was just a little different and certainly I do not criticise Silversea in their Corporate Plan. However In the Post Virus Cruise World maybe Companies will need to consider Options as they have never done before.

Thank you for the update spinnaker2, which we know to be right as we had an E mail from one of the Crew quarantining in Manila - for her at least she was expecting to be reunited with Family on 1st May, travel facilities permitting.

We wish them all safe journeys to their respective Families.

We wish you and Mary every good wish for the future and especially stay safe at this strange time - you are right that we are in the vulnerable category but it would appear that no one is that safe.

No virus, or anything else can erase the memories that we have shared over the years and as far as Silversea is concerned, they have provided us with a great manner of travelling with like minded people. Lets hope that matters will settle over time and we will be strong enough to walk up that GangPlank again !!!

We feel that there may be a chance that Silversea will be minded to try and recapture some of the magic that we experienced in the 90s by truly offering a classic luxury experience. However we must accept that this will come at a cost and maybe will not fit with the Corporate Plan going forward.

We look forward to meeting again before too long and for now keep smiling and remember those 8.00/8.30 Swims !!!

It brings home in such a powerful way  that it is the Crew that makes Silversea such a fantastic Line. We thank them for their Service, wish them well with their Family & friends and hope to meet up again in the near future.

We owe all of the Crew across the Fleet so much for making our Cruise experience so much more than a Holiday.

I suspect that BM has 'Dropped the Ball ' yet again and now Silversea are trying to retrieve a very embarrassing situation.

One wonders what her latest ' Shopping ' Survey recently sent to Venetians is meant to achieve as the general consensus seems to be that the On Board Shops leave a lot to be desired ???

Interesting thought Randyk47 but surely Silversea were cooperating all along the line as they clearly gave Jane McDonald a substantial Suite and they were promoting the Broadcast to Venetians well ahead of the date. It smacks of poor Management at some level not to ensure that The Line got some benefit, even if it was only to the UK Potential Guests.

Jane McDonald has subsequently aired a Christmas Cruise Edition on the Norwegian Hurtigruten and they received substantially more coverage.

Perhaps The Chief Marketing Officer should have been more thorough in checking exactly what was to be broadcast prior to the event ? - This was not a ' Secret ' visit to the ship and surely any sensible Company would have exercised some Editorial control ?

Best wishes to you both Brimary - lets hope we get no more Rain for a few days - most of the local Lanes are flooded here and only passable with great care.

Good Afternoon Brimary - I was not aware that Jane McDonald has such VIP Neighbours !! - What you say about her Charitable Works is not surprising and very praiseworthy - she comes over as a genuine and friendly Person.

I feel any lack of worthwhile Publicity for Silversea must lie with them as surely they would have insisted on Viewing the Piece before Broadcast ? - Perhaps Barbara Muckerman was involved following her success with recent Venetian Surveys ??

I would echo all that is said above and am surprised that Silversea wishes to be a Partner in such a Broadcast for which they would seem to get nothing in return. There was nothing to attract one to the Ship as so little of it was shown and it was ironic that the Advert between the two halves majored on the luxuries to be found on a Regent Cruise !!!!!!

The reference to her Mother sailing on The Shadow in the past was somewhat odd as the Picture shown was to my mind displaying a Funnel that was not a Silversea Ship ?? - all in all a very strange Programme.

Be aware that things change - Our June Cruise on The Whisper is already allowing Excursions to be booked on ' My Silversea ' - When queried with the London Office I was advised that the 120 Day Booking Window is changing ???

I hope this may help but dont be surprised if your particular Cruise is not affected.

Perhaps Silversea are are expecting The Recipients to remember the old phrase ' Its the thought that counts ' ???

Good Morning Brimary - Thank you for your good wishes which we reciprocate.

We hope that we will be meeting up again before too long on a Silversea Ship - it wont be the same without you.

Good Morning Beaujolais - So pleased to hear that you were invited to Dinner with Peter - no doubt you were able to quietly put forward some of your views regarding various ' Issues ' - hopefully Peter and his Colleagues will garner some useful information from long standing Venetians.

The Champagne Issue is interesting - albeit that we do not drink Champagne I could never understand why continuing Segments did not result in Replacement Bottles.

Hope The Cruise continues to go well and you are now more settled in your Relationship with Silversea.

Good Morning Observer - You are quite correct concerning the Zodiac Issue now available on The Whisper which will certainly make her more appropriate for The World Cruise. Maybe She will receive some more refurbishment in due course. 

We will be on board for a month in 2020 and will no doubt be supremely comfortable in her present Format.

Thank you so much Beaujolais and Others for providing us with a clear sense of how the Shadow now looks following the Refurbishment - in my opinion it looks great and now largely conforms to the Musified Palette . Certainly the Ship seems to have been modernised well and the results should give her a new Spring in her Step.

I am somewhat surprised that she is not being used for the forthcoming World Cruise as The Whisper in comparison is now showing her age in the Style Stakes. The Picture that was posted elsewhere showing the Codged Up Pool Steps merely indicates that she is outdated and needs attention. I know The Ship has a substantial following and has received some Museification but The Shadow must now be regarded as a more attractive option.

Good Afternoon Jollyjones - You may well be right concerning the exact dimensions of the new ' Shower Only ' Bathrooms but as I did not have a Tape measure with me, my remarks relate to my ' Impression ' of the size which I agree is probably created by the removal of the Bath.

I would however say that the new Shower Cubicle is very capacious and contains a Seat/Wide Ledge at one end which many would find useful.

We were not able to secure one of these Suites for our next Spirit Cruise but will be entirely comfortable in one of the original Suites which does have an adequate separate Shower Unit as well as a Bath.

Good Morning seaquay - we have had one of the Rain Shower Suites a number of times on The Spirit and they are fantastic - the configuration makes the Bathroom appear bigger and the Shower itself is large and very efficient ( an adjustable Hand Shower as well as a Fixed Rain Unit ). We were lucky to get one of the 2 Non Connecting Suites but cannot see that a Connecting One would be too much of a problem from a noise perspective ( The Sound Insulation is not great anyway !!! ).

I am a little lost as to the relevance of the cost of changing Shower Heads in ones own Home as described by SWFLAOK ???

Good Morning Brimary - Thank you so much for your analysis of Saga. It seems that there are some pluses and minuses and the Guest Numbers can only add to the variance of standards. The Pool area sounds very disappointing but the Main Dining Room was at least a success. What happens now ????

We wish you both a splendid Christmas and New Year and hopefully we may meet up again before too long ??? .

Good Morning Brimary - We agree entirely with the plaudits for Sivi - she knows how to run a good Restaurant.

Hope you are both fit and well.

Have you yet tried ' The Other Line ' ? - If so what are your thoughts ? - We are waiting with bated breath !!!

You are quite right Jollyjones concerning the need to board The Whisper via a tender from Greenwich - we did likewise in June boarding The Spirit. It was an easy exercise in that we dropped off Large Luggage onto a Lorry at the entrance to The Cutty Sark Site and then walked to the Greenwich Ferry Dock and boarded a Tender, which only took a matter of minutes to reach The Ship. It all worked well with a minimum of fuss. It may be a little more frustrating should one encounter good old British rain !!!!