machotspur

We have only cruised O a couple of times - we are usually Regent, Silversea & Seabourn folk.

As some others will know the 'chair hog' issue applies to every cruise line and resort in the world.  

Can it be solved ? - well yes, I think it can be, with just a little bit of desire from the cruise company.

Well one action that we haven't seen taken that may just work is for the Captain to arrive at the end of the safety drill on Day 1, and deliver an assertive message to those assembled that he thinks that chair hogs are absolute ar*eholes ! 

Then maybe repeat it ocassionally at the midday Captain's update, and also for the Hotel Director to remind everyone when they do their 'good morning campers' spiel at 08:00 or whatever.

I wonder how many 'chair hogs' would ignore the words of the Captain, particularly if he threatened some 'plank walking' for offenders. 😂 😉       

On 5/4/2024 at 7:04 PM, Harters said:

The beef rendang was actively unpleasant and we complained about it to the restaurant manager. He said it was prepared and spiced exactly as it should be. Utter bollocks!

Well done to the OP for starting this thread - we are relative newbies with Oceania having taken just 2 cruises (Usually Silversea/Seabourn/Regent) but have just booked another O cruise on Regatta.

And Harters - it is excellent to encounter a phrase that I certainly understand (see above in bold) although those in the historically colonial lands may need some translation 😉

Hi - only cruised with Oceania a couple of times and trying to work out the pro's & con's for the Premium Beverage Package.

I understand that the Premium Package - as with the included basic package, includes the gratuity charge.

However - the cruise I am booking today states that the rate includes Free Gratuities.

Is that likely to include the gratuity for drinks ordered on 'pay as you go' basis ?  

4 hours ago, highplanesdrifters said:

 

Along with new cruisers there are also the upgraders.  Will folks find the upgrade from Oceania, Viking, etc. worth it?

 

An excellent point in my humble opinion.

I recognise that our experience on Silver Dawn last month is hardly a statistically robust sample.

Having said this the cruise we were on (Barbados round trip) had an unusually high number of 'first time on Silversea' guests - all looking to experience this 'ultra luxury' thing. 

We chatted with quite a number of (Brit) first timers whose previous experiences were with the likes of Oceania, Azamara, Viking, Saga (and others that I can't recall). Without exception they failed to see why they should spend £000's more with Silversea versus their usual preferred operator, as the Silversea product was no better - and at times inferior.

Like some others on here we have been in 'cancellation mode' following that cruise. I can certainly understand how these 'first timers' were feeling.  

BTW - less than 2 years ago we had experienced both Silver Dawn (maiden voyage) and Silver Moon and were thinking that this group of ships would suit us for years to come. How wrong we were.

10 hours ago, drron29 said:

We donated libraries to schools in Laos as our way of giving back. We hope that by encouraging education lasting benefits can occur to those communities.

+1 drron29 - and what a rewarding and insightful country Laos is to visit.

Like you we toured IndoChina quite extensively a few years back. It was quite forceably suggested to us by local guides etc that the best thing we could do to help was to give things to the local community that would have a lasting affect e.g. education materials.

To this end there is (was ?) an NGO in Luang Prabang that supports the development of communities, including selling bundles of educational books to tourists, for them to donate to local schools as they tour around.(Hello cruise companies - are you missing a trick here ?). 

They emphasised that the very worst thing one could do was to give cash to kids that are begging, as this encourages parents to keep their kids away from school - to enable them to earn money, at the expense of their education. They suggested that the only postive (?) effect this is creating is to make the donor feel better - not the recipient !!!

There are examples like this all around Asia.

One is that a while back we visited Dharivi in Mumbai (of Slumdog Millionaire infamy). Our fee for the private visit was 100% given to Dharavi neighbourhood projects.

Dharivi, whilst being challenging to Western eyes, was an incredibly dynamic place, with a whole range of tiny industries supporting many 000's of local residents.We were truly astounded by what was being achieved in the face of apparent adversity.  

We visited one of the primary schools in the Dharavi slum which was - IMHO - equal to many schools in the West, in terms of the learning environment, disclipline of the children, their immaculate appearance etc. More beaming smiling faces than you would find in many London schools i'm sure ! All that was missing was more materials with which to educate with (see above).   

At the time of our visit the greatest fear of many of the locals we met was that their neighbourhood and community could be destroyed by the encroachment of the development of one of the wealthiest areas in Asia - Bandra. They didn't want pity, or charity - just a bit of respect and support as a community. Despite the challenging appearances to western eyes, they appeared to value their community and didn't wish to be displaced.      

So - like many of us I do not claim to understand in depth the real lives of people who live in environments we visit that are challenging to our sensitivities. I guess I rely on one thing when embarking on this kind of tourism - treat people with respect, whatever their circumstances.

This ethos will no doubt be tested later this year as we undertake a cruise down the west coast of Africa with Regent. 

My apologies to Fletcher for perhaps hijacking your really brilliant thread, particularly as my style is - unlike yours - not at all humurous 😉. Please keep up the absolutely brilliant postings sir. 

10 hours ago, drron29 said:

So I added a 3 page letter with the current mid voyage paper based survey. I will be using the web based version again tomorrow. If it crashes head office will get an email with all the details. 

We were on Silver Dawn last month and like you added a 1 page simple letter to the mid cruise questionaire, clearly stating that it was in lieu of the small mid cruise card. 

Usually one is contacted one or two days after submitting the mid cruise comments. On this occasion we heard nothing so I pointed this out to the Hotel Director. She advised that onboard management wouldn't be responding as it is a 'rule' that any letters handed in are referred to 'shore side' for response - a response that we never forthcoming.  Sad, but predictable.

On 4/4/2024 at 2:10 PM, crusinbanjo said:

Mrs Banjo and I have similar feelings.  We have not deserted SS, (or other lines), but we find ourselves doing less cruising.  We have noted the declining experience and rising fares and feel the value per cruise is not always where we expect it to be anymore. We are now mostly planning land tours with small group operators that are providing what we perceive to be better value.  That is not to say we won’t be cruising, just that we exploring and finding alternate options  that fulfill our desire to travel in the manor we are accustomed to.

Thank you cruisinbanjo and turtlemichael before you, for posts that very much capture the feelings of Mrs machotspur and I.

We've been on 26 cruises, of which 12 or so have been with Silversea, and much of the remainder with Seabourn & Regent. 

Our most recent cruise on Silver Dawn last month was poor in so many ways and our feelings about the experience are accurately reflected in bold in your post above.

The reality is that the quality of the product of all of the cruise companies we have previously travelled with has declined significantly (IMHO), with the fares going through the roof. We do not believe that any of them are now (ultra) luxury. To us the term 'luxury' is now a misnomer when applied to Silversea et al.    

Like you we are not entirely 'throwing our toys out of the pram' and saying that we are done with cruising. However - there is no doubt going forward our travel plans will more likely be 75/25 land to sea, compared to recent years (COVID excluded) of 25/75.

Whilst we understand - albeit not fully support - the reason for travel companies 'balancing the books', our experience is that - worldwide - the quality of premium land based travel has not been reduced as dramatically as the 'luxury' cruise companies.

As always - "you pays your money and makes your choice" !

6 hours ago, Silver Spectre said:

At the moment SS is charging for a 6* product and struggling to provide much over 4.5*s. Understaffed by new, undertrained or uninterested crew, huge supply issues and a complete lack of interest or understanding from shoreside. And a tin ear from senior management.

Mr Silver - I can't help but think that you were on our recent cruise, as oyu have captured perfectly our feelings. 😉

Mrs Machotspur & I sailed on Silver Dawn a couple of weeks back (Barbados to Barbados), preceding the TA reported by spinnaker2. Prior to this cruise we had very much enjoyed the ‘Muse class’ ships – they had become our favourite of any cruise company. This latter cruise on Dawn could not have been more different – or less enjoyable.

In short we found a whole range of shortcomings, across F&B, service, shore excursions – and managment/shoreside attitudes – far too much to detail here. This cruise was for us the least satisfactory - and least enjoyable – of the significant number of cruises we have taken on SS/SB/Regent/O.  Of course others onboard may have disembarked with more positive feelings.

Whilst we avoided discussing the situation with many Silversea regulars, there were apparently some 160 Silversea ‘newbies’ onboard. We spoke to quite a few of these, all of which were incredulous that what they were experiencing was a supposed ‘ultra luxury’ product, compared to the mid market product that they usually purchase.

There has been various comments made on here about the decline of the Silversea product and how an ever increasing price is being asked for something that is further and further from ‘ultra luxury’. As far as I can see the same sentiments are being voiced about the competitors of Silversea.

It is my belief that sadly what we are now experiencing is the future of SS/SB/Regent.  In my humble opinion RCI, Carnival, NCL all know that they have a large number of repeat mature guests that are willing to accept/excuse/ignore the decline in standards. I suspect that they also believe that the majority of these same guests – despite the ‘huffing & puffing’ – would be horrified at the thought of ‘divorcing’ their favourite cruise company.

Just take a look at the postings on ‘the other place’ to witness the overwhelming positivity shown !! (One will have their own opinion as to why this could be !).

At the end of the day it's all about personal opinions - "we pays our money and makes our choice" ! 

Mrs Machospur and I have - for now at least - filed for that 'SS divorce'.

On 3/20/2024 at 1:21 PM, sea bright said:

We had the same abbreviated Atlantide menu on the Nova in January /February as well as a much more abbreviated La Terrazza menu, (which we really hated). We were told the menus were specific to the Nova, but I guess they are rolling them out on the other ships. Is the La Terrazza menu on the Muse similarly reduced?

Most certainly not unique to the Nova. We were on Dawn earlier this month and the menus on both restaurants you refer to have been significantly reduced. In addition we have noted a material reduction in the quality of some/many of the raw ingredients. Only this afternoon I have been going through this with my TA.

IMHO there is a very significant cost cutting drive taking place within Silversea/RCI. Not a good sign.  

18 hours ago, irvington said:

I think you have probably answered this question, but I really enjoyed Silver Note on the Muse and it is probably the main place I want to reserve on the Nova. (some nights I want to play by ear) I was wondering about the time to reserve to be there when the music is happening. But if reservations don't open until 8, then I guess that's the time to reserve.

We also very much enjoy Silver Note. We were on Silver Dawn earlier this month and dined at 'Note' twice.

The booking tends to be a one hour window ie our reservations were for 8pm-9pm on both occasions. You can arrive any time in that window. Once we were there bang on 8pm, the other around 20:30.

From memory the pianist played until 9pm, then the singer arrived and performed for around 45 minutes IIRC, so we enjoyed the full 'show' on both occasions, despite arriving 30 minutes later than the other.    

On 3/26/2024 at 11:08 AM, spinnaker2 said:

I must mention our butler and suite attendant, who are splendid and caring. Anu and Mark are special. Kudos.

 

We have noticed many changes in the Silversea product. But the crew, many of whom are new to the line, are efficient and attentive. 

 

 

 

Hello spinnaker2

My wife and I were on the cruise preceding yours - Bridgetown to Bridgetown. We were in 1009 and were looked after by the same butler & suite attendant as yourselves. 

Please pass on our best regards to Mark, who is an oustanding suite attendant and a really lovely guy. (We are Mr & Mrs Mac..... from England).

We've been enjoying following you on your TA cruise and are pleased that our recollections of our cruise are not dissimilar to yours - good and not so good.

We'd be really interested to learn if the very controversial 'gratuities letter' lands on your bed one evening towards the end of your cruise !! 

Best wishes for the rest of your cruise.

15 hours ago, elmaexec said:

New Silversea cruiser here.  I'm a big fan of stouts and I'm wondering if Silversea carries any.  I'm hoping they have Guinness at least?  What other beers are offered?

Last week on Silver Dawn the range of beer was even worse than ever.

They do half a dozen mainsteam 'lager' beers ie Stella. Apart from that they only had Guiness and Newcastle Brown (!!). They used to have Old Speckled Hen, which is an OK ale, but that seems to have disappeared. 

23 minutes ago, caviargal said:

Apparently the HD on Dawn is being replaced.  I hope they did not hang her out to dry if this letter was another experiment by their home office that back fired.

The HD only came onboard at the beginning of this cruise - the end of last week. What information do you have please to suggest she is being replaced ? She was still here this morning !

OK - lots of speculation & opinions here. My attempt to introduce some factual insight below …

My wife and I are currently onboard Silver Dawn and had the dubious honour of receiving this letter on our bed last night - three days before the end of the cruise !!!

We were horrified by the content and this morning sought out some insight into this disgraceful communication. 
From speaking with ‘those in the know’ onboard I can confirm that I’ve been advised that :-

- this is a corporate message, so ‘don’t shoot the messenger’ ie the Hotel Director.

- Silver Dawn is the first ship on which this communication has been distributed.

- there is no insight as to this being rolled out across the fleet, although I suspect, when considering Silversea’s usual attitude that this new policy will stand.

- admittedly based on a limited sample there appears to be significant discontent onboard regarding this cynical announcement.

- as has already been stated comments on ‘the other place’ are mostly extremely negative, although comments have now been turned off !!

The primary reason we have travelled on Silversea/Seabourn/Regent for so many years is for the fully inclusive nature of the product. I know that there are a range of opinions on the subject of gratuities but we personally do not wish to be compelled to cough up a gratuity - we much prefer an all inclusive cost upfront (which is what we thought the deal had been for the past x number of years).
 

For Silversea to now be encouraging/ embarrassing me to pay a set gratuity, in addition to the ever increasing fully inclusive cruise cost that I have already paid is IMHO shockingly cynical and a complete degradation of the core elements of the product.

mlk58 -  thank you so much for you very helpful comments on Suite 737 - we thank you for taking time out of your cruise to help another Seabourn cruiser 👍.

One other quick question if I may - you mention that you took an upgrade for a reasonable cost.  Was this offered to you in advance of you departing from home, or once you had embarked the ship ? 

Thank so much again for your kind assistance.

7 hours ago, bubbulz said:

Endeavour’s expedition team was amazing. After each excursion, I just had to stand on the steps and raise my foot for them to spray the bottoms of my boots and then walk through a pan with sanitizing solution and bristles at the bottom. It helps if you do the ‘twist’ as you’re standing in the solution. 😉 The team also ensured everything was spotless prior to inspection. 

On 2/22/2024 at 7:47 PM, wyocruiser said:

The Endeavour didn’t have that machine last fall (which looks great). However, they have devised a system that cleans your boots as you return, and the expedition team examines the bottoms of your boots and removes any unwelcome contaminants. (No fingernails required.)

Absolutely concur with the two accounts on Silver Endeavour.

We were on the ship last November for a Falklands/South Georgia/Antarctica itinerary and the hygiene protocols, whilst being throrough they were a breeze - and little inconvenience to guests.

To support the reports already posted - once we'd been through the initial inspection of the outer gear we brought with us, the expedition team members took care of everything. They inspected & sprayed our footwear down on exit & reentry to the ship. They also ensured that we went through the sanitation troughs each way.

It really was a well organised, professional but hassle free process. We certainly didnt get involved in any boot scrubbing etc.

A really good example of reconciling luxury expedition cruising to essential safety & environmental requirements.

We are booked on a South Pacific itinerary on Pursuit in April 2025, in a Veranda suite.

Ideally we would have liked a Penthouse Suite but these are sold out. We are able to book one of these but with a ‘We Choose’ booking.

On a different ship, with a larger ‘category size’ to be allocated from, we may have taken a gamble with this, but with Pursuit & Venture the Penthouse Suites are a little more complex.

There is an odd suite – 739 – that is semi isolated - directly opposite the Spa (the suite was previously categorised as Penthouse Spa) – that is not of interest to us. Of the remaining 11 Penthouse Suites, 5 of them are ‘Accessible Suites’.

So – my (delicate) question to anyone that has cruised on Venture/Pursuit in an ‘Accessible Penthouse’ - with utmost respect to those that very much value these adapted suites - is what is different in these to standard Penthouse, and to what degree did it feel ‘unusual’ to be in.

Clearly if we went for the 'We Choose' booking we could end up with the isolated 739 or one of the 'Accessible' suites. We need to understand if these are as enjoyable as a standard suite.

Thank you so much to anyone who can share inisight on this. 

5 hours ago, markham said:

Never say never.

 

After cruising on the tired old Whisper and Cloud a few years ago we tried Muse, then Moon and Dawn- newer ships with far better facilities albeit a bit larger (which we like). We will never go back to their old ships no matter what the itinerary, so we simply select these 3 plus Nova now when searching for cruises. The line is what you make it, and there’s no blanket Silversea product as far as we are concerned.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

Very much 'ditto'. 

The experiences on the 'old' fleet led to us deserting Silversea for 8 years. Whilst aware of certain shortcomings the 'Muse Class' ships meet much of our needs. 

We cruise with Silversea, Seabourn and Regent and in our experience the downturn in standards that some note is apparent across all three. We went back to Oceania a year or so back and found the food & service standards to be very disappointing.

None of the cruise lines mentioned fully meet our needs, but we would consider any of them if the itinerary was of interest. 

21 hours ago, loboherb said:

What is worn in the evening on the Silversea Endeavor to Antarctica?

We were on Silver Endeavour for 18 nights in November - Falklands, S.Georgia, Antarctica.

No formality at all -  generally 'country casual', and in the Grill casual. I understand that the nationality of guests on Antarctica trips is changing significantly and this may well affect how casually people dress. For example on our cruise there were 49 Chinese guests, a fair proportion of which dressed very casually. Nobody seemed to worry about it. 

One thing to rememeber - assuming you will be taking the charter flight down to Antarctica or Puerto Williams - the baggage allowance is only 23kg.   I certainly didn't take anything resembling Formal.

23 hours ago, RachelG said:

But if migratory birds introduce the flu, I don't think preventing tourists is going to solve the problem.  It might slow the spread down a bit, but eventually it is going to spread. 

When we were there on Silver Endeavour last month this was the reasoning given - migratory birds introduce the flu, but there is a high chance of humans speading it - if not controlled.(although of course there are other ways it will be spread).

I understand that the expedition cruise ship folk will always defer to the people who are on South Georgia, who are charged with the primary objective of protecting the wildlife on South Georgia.

I would add that the decision not to land in a couple of places was made by the Silversea 'advance zodiac party' who themselves identified evidence of Avian flu.

Having said this the reports indicated up thread are far more positive than I had expected when we were there last month. Fingers crossed for everyone due to go there in the next couple of months !!

15 hours ago, tulok said:

@Tothesunset Thank you very much for the information. I think that is a great plan and we enjoy walking so it will be much nicer to stretch our legs then sit in a bus for hours. 

An addition to your Edinburgh route if you have time. Once you are done in Holyrood maybe a not too strenuous walk up to Calton Hill (around 0.5 miles). Superb 360 degree views across Edfinburgh, Leith, the Forth etc.  

I apologise to the OP for going slightly off topic, however I’d like to make two points that I believe contribute to this subject.

My wife & I disembarked Silver Endeavour last Saturday having completed the 18 night Falklands/South Georgia/Antarctica itinerary.  It was a very memorable cruise – for all the right reasons.

I very much respect that – as shown in this thread – there is much variance in individual views of a particular ship. I for one do not like the Cloud/Wind, hence we switched to Endeavour when it became available (and cancelled the Wind booking we had).

We did not regret this decision one bit, in fact whilst there are a few unfamiliar aspects to Endeavour we found the ship itself – and elements such as service, expedition personnel, suites & décor etc to be outstanding. The only thing that missed the mark for us was (at times) the dining, but again, F&B is highly subjective and I’m sure there are other guests that were very satisfied with the dining.

With regard to the situation in South Georgia. We were fortunate in being able to complete our first two days on the North side before this section of the island effectively became a ‘no go’ zone.

Our third day was spent on zodiacs in the beautiful King Haaken Bay on the South Side. A different experience, which to me was an unexpected bonus as we got to see the exact site(s) where Shackleton and his other 5 crew members landed after the gruelling journey from Elephant Island.  

It is unclear how the whole Avian Bird Flu will develop in the coming weeks and months. As has already been noted the disease is carried and predominantly spread by migratory birds. There is of course no control over these and it is clear that it has spread rapidly on the North Side, before the cruise season had even got going. 

I have no specialist knowledge of this subject but reflecting on what happened to us I am thinking that at best South Georgia may now consist of ‘zodiac only’ visits – at worst a total lockdown. Time will tell.      

7 hours ago, highplanesdrifters said:

@machotspur. Thanks for the heads up.

 

Something from the Polar Journal.

 

https://polarjournal.ch/en/2023/10/24/avian-influenza-reaches-south-georgia/

Thank you for posting this helpful article.

It appears that there is little that can be done to halt the disease entering South Georgia as it is brought there by migratory birds.

Stringent controls on visitors - which are predominantly on smaller cruise ships - should go some way to restricting the spread around the island. I do believe that cruise ships will ‘do their bit’ backed up by the South Georgia authorities who appear to be very diligent.

However - as reported in the past couple of days around 50% of landing sites are already infected.

It appears to be a question of ‘wait & see’.

5 hours ago, jjs217 said:

I was hoping the original poster would let us know what is going on.

 
Maybe a ‘thank you or like button’ on the original post may have been more appropriate than a post such as this.

On 11/8/2023 at 8:42 AM, machotspur said:

Some sad news has reached us on Silver Endeavour last night . Avian Bird Flu has reached South Georgia - one of the most remote and environmentally protected locations on the planet. 

It has been found on around 40% of landing sites on the north side of the island. Our planned landings for our final day have therefore been pulled. 
 

We have just received some bad news regarding our substitute landing - Peggoty Bay - Shackleton’s landing site on the south side. The crew advanced landing has identified presence of Avian Bird Flu, with dead birds evident. The landing has therefore been cancelled. The plan is for us now to view the sites from zodiacs.

 

I’m no expert but it’s not looking good in South Georgia, both for the bird population and cruise visits. Those familiar with the island will be aware of the huge populations of various species existing here.

 

Not wishing to be alarmist but I suspect a full lockdown will not be far away.

 

 

Update

We were given permission to carry out zodiac cruises around the bay. During this we viewed the glaciers, icebergs and Shackleton’s landing site with the James Caird. We were also able to view from the zodiacs the initial ascent Shackleton/Worsley/Crean took across South Georgia to Stromness.

There is no suggestion that zodiacs will/ will not continue to be permissible.

My understanding is that the species most vulnerable are birds of flight and certain seals. At the second level some, but not all Penguins are vulnerable. There is no other information being shared by expedition crew on the ship. 
 

We have now been at sea for two days heading for Elephant Island so do not expect any further reliable information. I’m sure more will emerge from cruise companies & TA’s in due course.