Mayflower1

Good Morning Brimary & Beaujolais - So glad to hear that you are both now moving towards accepting The Muse - as you both know we were sceptical as well but were very pleasantly surprised with both Muse & ' Stretched ' Spirit.

We agree with the comments made by sail 658 but have to say that in our opinion The Atlantide Restaurant probably only works if Dining early - anything after 7.30 pm is likely to produce a very busy experience.

We still love The Wind and look forward to sailing on her again in June, but have 4 Cruises booked on The Spirit which I know we will enjoy.

Good Afternoon Brimary

Hope you are both well - we are looking forward to seeing you next Year aboard The Wind - lets hope you are not going to be forced to move onto something larger with its obvious downsides in terms of Service levels - it will be interesting to get more perspective on the New Builds beyond The Moon. With a larger Fleet of whatever size,  the likelihood of meeting ' Known ' Staff must regretfully diminish. Meanwhile continue to have Fun.

Thank you Avalon for sharing your views on your recent Spirit Cruise - we cruised on The Spirit in July and fortunately had none of the problems you experienced.

We found the new Decor relaxing and whilst the Dolce Vita is certainly large it is an attractive space and well used for Trivia etc - We never found Panorama over used and the Service in both was very efficient. We shared your view as to the Menu in Atlantide for Dinner and were not attracted to its very busy atmosphere leading to overworked Staff and chaotic Service. We liked La Terazza in its new Form and would certainly disagree that it feels like a Buffet Restaurant at Dinner ( It is of course just that at Lunch ).

The need to ask for Guest Names & Suite Numbers is I agree a retrograde step but as mentioned above is probably due to the mas of Information contained on the ' Pads ' - we have recently sailed for 3 weeks on The Muse and found that after a few days most Bars/Restaurants knew us well enough not to request this information every time.

The Temperature changes you experienced going from 30 Degrees to the need to wear Parkas would have tested many Ships and it is a pity you were not able to enjoy Hot Rocks, which with the enhanced Menu and the new ' Protective Side Panels ' does truly offer a Dining option in most conditions.

It is a pity that your experiences will now detract you from Silversea but I hope you continue to enjoy your Cruises - we will be returning to The Spirit for 4 Cruises in 2019 and are much looking forward to being on her again.

Well done Mr & Mrs Silver on your 7NT Bid & Make - rather a rare scenario in my world but so good when it comes off. So Pleased you have been having a great time on the Muse - Beaujolais also seems to be enjoying the experience.

Good morning Silver Sceptre - BA Lounge not a place to linger too long when crowded. We hope that both you and our Friend Beaujolais have a wonderful Cruise and look forward to your Reports.

Good Afternoon Silver Spectre - We wish you both a very happy Cruise and look forward to your Feedback. Unfortunately on our Cruise Bridge was a non starter !!!

Good Morning Brimary - we have just returned from 17 days on The Muse and had a fantastic time. In our opinion the Ship is excellent with the wonderful Crew we have come to love on Silversea - nothing is too much trouble.

The specific aspect of changing Menus did surface on The Muse and after some Guest Feedback an attempt was made in Terrazza to change a couple of the Main Courses but these soon changed back ?? - we only dined in Atlantide once ( Officers Table ) and found it noisy, chaotic and the Menu less than inspiring ( Other Guests indicated the Menu did not change throughout the 2 Cruises ). There are clearly numerous Dining options on The Muse and I personally feel that the present Set Up only caters for short Cruises - the Back to Back Cruiser is in the minority and will I fear face Menu boredom !!!!

Looking forward to meeting up next Year.

On our numerous visits to Mykonos, like Beaujolais, we have usually Docked ( Wind conditions permitting ) - our experience is that Silversea have always organised a Shuttle to the Old Town so the long walk is not mandatory.

Good afternoon Mudhen - There was meant to be a degree of humour attached to my reply !!!! - but you are right to look forward to the ' Fluffy White ' Slippers - I hope you have a wonderful time and doubt that ' Slippers ' will figure too highly in spoiling your Fun.

These Yellow monsters were provided several years ago and were almost universally hated - they quickly disintegrated and became dangerous to walk in ( The Butlers hated them as they had to keep on supplying replacements ) - hopefully they have now been consigned to the Bin of history.

Good Morning Brimary - We join on 9th June so you should have got everyone sorted prior to our arrival !!!!!

Your experience of the new HD is somewhat worrying if his attitude and approach to Guests & Crew is indicative of a RC standard - however I am sure you will agree that we have seen some ' Individuals ' on Silversea in the past and they may not represent an ' across the board ' approach.

The Pool situation is an example of not considering what Guests want, against what is easier to provide - however at least I hope that the Pool was not a ' Boiling Cauldron ' as we had to suffer on a number of occasions when too much attention was given to the wishes of one Guest ???

Good Afternoon Brimary - great to hear your thoughts on The Wind - gives us hope to go on ahead of June 2019. The latest ' News ' regarding the Takeover and Ship ' Enhancements ' is interesting - what do you feel it means regarding the future of The Wind ? - it seems that Zodiacs are to be added to The Whisper ?

We were much relieved to experience a superb Cruise on The Spirit after all the Downbeat Reports - now await The Muse in Sept with some anticipation !!!!

Continue to have Fun and look forward to seeing you next year.

Having just returned from the ' New ' Spirit I asked our Butler the specific question of what was possible should we wish to Dine in our Suite. He indicated that it is usual to Order from the In- Suite Menu but given Notice '' Most things are possible '' - also he said that it would be no problem to serve Course by Course and a table could be set up on the Veranda if preferred. We did not use the Service but clearly most sensible requests can be accommodated if tackled correctly.

I hope this helps but maybe its all down to the Butler and how he/she interacts with a specific Guest ?

Good Afternoon Mudhen - you may be assured that The Sandal Salesman is alive & well on board Silver Spirit - he told me he is doing a fair amount of business by Guests spending any On Board Credit ?

Good morning Boblerm - On our 10 day Cruise the Shows were at 10.00 pm apart from 2 Pre Dinner Shows at 6.30 pm - as others have said they are not Big Production Shows but the Group of Singers we experienced were extremely talented and very enthusiastic - they wre also very nice people and were very visible around the ship during the day.

Good Morning Brimary - Thanks for the note and so pleased that all is well on The Wind - The weather sounds to be perfect and long may it continue. I feel we must all ' Watch this Space ' regarding the impact of the takeover ( We were also given reassurances as to there being no change to the Silversea Product ??? ).

Continue to have Fun - looking forward to June 2019

Good afternoon Neilio - Yes to all questions and we were happy with each - the included Wines were well known to us and we had no difficulty in choosing some favourites.

Happy Cruising.

My wife and I have just returned from Copenhagen having spent 10 days on the ' New ' Spirit in the Baltic. We had some reservations having read about the early Cruises following the Refit and wondered if this Cruise would in any way compare with our numerous other Silversea Cruises.

As an overall ' Personal ' Comment we would say that it is one of the best Cruises we have ever taken with Silversea ( since 1999 ) and we were most impressed with the most aspects of the Ship and the unfailing Service provided by another Great Crew. I will attempt to provide a more detailed response of various aspects below:

The Suite - We were in one of the new ' Shower Only ' Suites on Deck 7 and found it delightful, spacious and decorated to our taste. The Large Walk In Shower was great and seemed to make the whole Bathroom quite spacious.

Dining: We tried a number of The Restaurants on this short Cruise and will respond on our thoughts:

Atlantide - The least favourite of the Venues in our opinion. The Restaurant looks superb with lovely decor, but it was on our visit extremely crowded, noisy and the whole atmosphere was frenetic and in no way relaxing. The Staff appeared stressed throughout the entire Dinner Session and we noticed a number of Guests turned away when wanting a Table for 2. The Menu is quite long but does not change and our Food was at best Luke Warm. We did have a Lunch in this Venue and found it completely different, a better Menu, quiet and calm. I guess that a lot of Guests do not make Forward Reservations and end up in Atlantide ?

La Terrazza - Our Favourite Venue and a transformed space since the Refit - For Lunch it seemed to cope well and we seldom saw any significant Lines for Food - we never had a problem getting a Table and the Service was superb and friendly. At Dinner it is transformed into an elegant Italian Restaurant with an extensive Menu ( it too does not change ) with plenty of choice. The Food was very well presented, Hot and both Food and Wine Service excellent. This is certainly one of the best Terrazza experiences across the Fleet for us.

La Dame - We greatly enjoyed the experience and would say that it is very similar to the others we have visited across the Fleet - The Menu again does not change and has been slightly tweaked to past visits but remains very Rich but excellent. The Room is small and quite dark but an experience.

Silver Note - this was our first time in trying this Venue and we were initially very taken aback at the Food Offerings - but we thoroughly enjoyed the experience - it was certainly different. Our only slight criticism is that Non Dining Guests are permitted to come into the Venue to listen to the Singer/Pianist and the distinction between Restaurant & Bar is rather confusing ( There is no separate Bar as on the Muse so Guests merely occupy any Tables that early Diners have vacated ). As is often the case the Drinkers do overtalk the Performers and this can be irritating.

The Pool Grill - This Venue is very similar to that previously experienced, but the Menu is much enhanced now ( some items the Staff suggest should be cooked and served by them which does seem to negate from the purpose of the Venue ). There are many more Tables down the sides of the Pool area and these are now protected from the Weather by See Through Screens that can be wound down - this does make those Tables a tad strange but much appreciated in windy weather ). We found the basic Steak/Fish items very good quality. The Venue is extremely popular ( even in the Baltics ).

The Arts Cafe - a superb Venue throughout the day, with a wide range of Deli Fayre offered, changing for Breakfast/Lunch/Tea/Evening. A really great addition and heavily used.

Public Spaces - The whole ship seems so spacious and welcoming. The Dolce Vita Lounge/Bar is very large but not cavernous - it is used for The Welcome Reception, Bingo, Trivia etc and is a nice place to relax. The Panorama Bar remains our favourite spot and is now, in our opinion, very elegant with comfortable chairs & sofas and the usual superb Service. A Trio plays here in the Evenings and it is very well utilised ( unlike similar Venues across the Fleet ). The Tors Lounge/Library/Evening Bar is good but very cut off at the Top/Front of the ship - unfortunately the Library element has been reduced and is no longer much to write about.

The Pool area is large but with very few Loungers available in the shade - however we found no difficulty in having Loungers positioned down the Side of the ship - this aspect may have different results on a really Hot weather Cruise.

All in all we were very impressed and will be keen to return in 2019. We hope this will help others but would stress the comments are ours alone and others may have differing opinions.

Good Morning Jeff ( I hope it proves to be good ),

We are sitting in the UK anticipating our forthcoming Spirit Cruise and are shocked but not surprised at the debacle that you and your wife are having to put up with. Like Brimary we too were on the dreadful Cruise with over 150 US Car Component Workers who for the most part were exactly as you are experiencing. Apart from Morning to Night heavy drinking at The Pool, the Dining Room resembled a badly supervised Kids Party - Bread Rolls were used as Missiles across the Room and any attempt at enforcing a Dress Code was met with derision and foul language.

We experienced the same failure to regain control from the Officers on board ( we believe on the explicit instructions from Monte Carlo ) and the whole Cruise was a disaster. On returning to the UK we began a lengthy process with SS UK Office and eventually, like Brimary managed to negotiate a suitable outcome.

It is very worrying that Silversea sem to learn nothing from such incidents and one can only conclude that they really do not care. We are sure that they balance any Guest Claims against the Up Front Revenue and judge the risk to be worth taking.

We feel very sorry that you are having your holiday spoilt by this Corporate attitude which runs completely contrary to their lavish Advertising.

Good Morning Brimary - We wish you a great upcoming Wind Cruise and look forward to your Report. We too are looking forward to The Spirit in the Baltic and will Report back on our return.

We too are hopeful that we can be together next June on The Wind, and trust that the transformation to an Expedition Ship willpermit this Sailing ?

Good Morning TotheSunset - You are so right that it is refreshing to have a Positive Topic to share on these Boards, and well done again to Les37b for his great contribution.

Great job Les - many thanks.

The initial impression is very positive - we are sailing in 3 weeks so will Report then - did you manage to get a sight of the new Suites ( i.e. those with just a Walk In Shower ) ? - will be having one of those so are particularly interested.

Well said Les 37b - Off Topic I know, but those of us who are soon to experience the ' New Spirit ' are eagerly awaiting your Walk Through Video - whilst appreciating you probably have many things to do, can you say when you are likely to release it ? Silversea seem reluctant to Post any Pictures ?

Many thanks in anticipation

Good Morning Daveywavey70 & eastwoodboy - its good to know that some Cruise Critic Posters will be on board at an early stage. We are in one of the ' New ' Cabins on 7 Deck in early July so would be very grateful for some Reporting of these Suites, as well as an overall picture of the Public Spaces and Restaurants.

Many thanks in anticipation.

Thank you Silver Spectre for your diligence - the number of 350+ Day Venetians is indeed very impressive - In any Scenario they must be regarded as true ' Repeaters '.

It has been a pleasure to ' Travel ' with you on this Crossing and to share your various Observations. Hopefully the Maintenance Work has not impinged too much on your enjoyment - hopefully the Bridge Sessions have continued in the same vein as when you last Reported.

We hope that Mrs Silver and your good self will enjoy many more Cruises and hopefully we will meet up again sometime somewhere.

Thank you Unibok - there is too much angst in the world for a ' Falling Out ' on these Boards over a ' Luxury Vacation' !!!!

As far as a True ' Repeater ' is concerned Stumblefoot its a difficult one to put a number on ( The offending 100 days was probably, on reflection, a silly figure to pick in my previous Post ). One is granted ' Venetian ' status after 1 Cruise ( or the first segment of a longer combined Cruise ) so in Silversea Terms one can theoretically be a Venetian and never return to Silversea. I was merely trying to relate this to the Advertising which to some who have cruised with Silversea for many years can appear rather over hyped against the reality.