goldengatecruisers

Terrific photos and good to see you both! Thanks for the great thread allowing those of us at home to follow along. We never get bored with the transit and always marvel at the engineering aspect of moving these large ships through the canal.

Why have I never thought of onion rings/French fries and a martini?!?! What a clever idea. I learn new things all the time on Cruise Critic. We usually decline the afternoon canapé tray but occasionally we will order something specific when we fancy a nosh. But I know what we will be ordering on our next cruise.

tvl4life we found plenty of choice from the selections offered. We had some included excursions and some paid excursions in our final booked set of excursions. I would not be surprised if you see more being added so keep checking back on the website. It is possible the excursions for your particular voyage are still in negotiation, ie with local vendors, timing, numbers etc. I am sure you will be pleased with what is offered to you and will provide enough choice for you to select something worthwhile. We are doing a similar Norway cruise next year on Silversea and we plan to do different excursions for the ports we will repeat (not all the ports are identical to the cruise we recently completed).

Here is your nudge! Go and enjoy it and please report back 😀

I noticed the light teal color on the napkins when we visited Serenity recently. I thought at first it was a bad batch from the printer that the ship decided to use as they had them in stock, but seeing comments above it appears Crystal may be playing with colors. I have to say it was not as striking on the napkin as the former version - it looks too faded and almost disappears next to the white. Editing to add: I noticed on multiple napkins the logo was not perfectly aligned with the corner which also made me think it was a bad batch from the printer. I don't recall such inconsistencies with prior napkins. My OCD kicks in when I see logos and other things misaligned 🤪 Sloppy printing mistakes reminds me of some of the dreadful napkins one now gets on U.S. based airline napkins.

I believe Karolina is heading next to the Moon. Slobodan (forgive my spelling) will be Head Sommelier on Dawn as her replacement.

Those Danish caramelized potatoes are something else... Delicious. Potatoes and sugar! Who knew! Watch the menu, they will change every few days and there will be several wonderful local Norwegian dishes offered.

Outstanding itineraries on both ships! I am already searching between sofa cushions for all my loose change...

I must have missed something in the chatter... has Symphony been encountering rough seas??

Try and find Joel, who in my opinion, is one of the best bartenders currently on board Dawn. Most recently he was working in the Observation Lounge - just down the hallway from your gorgeous suite. However, they do rotate. He would create cocktails for me based on ingredients I would suggest. He is so talented and understands what concoctions work well together. We always try different cocktails while on board as it's a great opportunity to get introduced to something new. Definitely consider having pre-dinner drinks at S.A.L.T. bar where the cocktail menu is unique to that venue and region specific. Ashley

Thanks for starting this thread. I know you will have a terrific time on board Silver Dawn.

Thanks Nancy! I am glad it uploaded as it was quite a big file and I was not sure of the limitations of Cruise Critic attachments. So I am pleased the video posted. I have to give video credit to my husband. I had gone on a run toward Fort Point to get a closer look at Serenity as she departed. He found a good vantage point and started to record and take photos. What a great evening for the sailaway for those on board. I hope it's not too long before we see a Crystal ship at the Port of San Francisco again. Ashley

Until next time, Crystal Serenity. We wish you calm seas and safe travels. IMG_6627.mov

Following! We were on board last night for dinner and there is a great team on board waiting for you. You are going to thoroughly spoiled. Enjoy your 18 day segment and have a superb cruise.

Welcome to our beautiful City by the Bay!

Thank you Atlantacruiser72. I will keep trying.

My bookings opened for the holiday Dawn sailing. I have successfully made all my reservations with the exception of La Dame which shows unavailable!!! Frustrating as we would like to dine there on Christmas Day and New Years Eve. Will have to get on the phone with my travel agent to see if something can be done.

Keith, thank you for sharing the news about Slavko. We don't participate in any other site so really appreciate you bringing the news to us here on Cruise Critic. Like Nancy, and so many others, we have known him for many years and we are shocked and saddened to learn of his untimely passing. Glad to have really lovely memories of our interactions with him. Our thoughts are also with his family, both at home and his family at sea.

Thank you for commenting Reunionmama. I am glad I was not imagining the quality issues with the meat and agree with you that it is likely a purchasing issue and not necessarily a chef issue. It is encouraging to hear from PaulaJK who felt the duck and steak on her recent Silver Moon sailing were NYC worthy. This comment was particularly relevant to me as I used to live in Manhattan and Paula and I have discussed NYC restaurants in the past. I return to Silver Dawn in a few months and hope to see an improvement in this area. Your later comments prompted me to realize I completely forgot to address entertainment in my review. I agree that overall it was fairly weak program but I did enjoy the shows featuring the singers and the dance duo. I like to attend them regularly to show support for the cast. They all worked very hard but did most of the heavy lifting throughout the entire entertainment schedule. The night of opera/broadway from the talented Asst Cruise Director, Sachelle was entertaining. The guest comedy duo were indeed excellent and glad they were able to perform twice during our short voyage.

Thanks for the comments, Paula. I looked at your Moon thread and glad to hear you had NYC quality meat. Yes, it has been a long time since we have cruised together. Hope all is well with you, C, C & C 😀.

Jeffbenton561: Thank you for your comments. We will hopefully meet on your first leg. We board in Singapore and will stay on till the end of segment 1 in Hong Kong. Sadly will miss the opportunity to meet JP and Chris in person. Another time… fdnycruiser: Enjoy your month of cruising in March.

Globalia. Dawn is very similar in layout to other Silversea ships so it is easy to instantly feel 'at home'. For the most part, the public rooms, ship layout, suite design is very similar to the sister ships in the Muse class, with some subtle differences. Whereas the Nova (and Ray) both have innovative and refreshing design. There are some features that I absolutely love on Nova such as the pool deck, open deck space with various seating areas, the Dusk bar and the Marquee restaurant. But there are also areas that are not so appealing to me. Personally, I do not care for the position of the Arts Cafe on Nova and as a result I only went a handful of times, whereas I visited every day on Dawn as I really enjoy a coffee sitting out on the back deck enjoying the fresh air. On Nova, I like the intimacy of Dolce Vita for cocktails whereas the Dolce Vita on Dawn is too large so it's not my favorite venue. But you could ask another cruiser and they would tell you the exact opposite of my preferences. I loved the newness of Nova and the accommodations were really top notch. I stayed in a Silver suite on Nova. It is one of the best suites I have ever stayed in on any cruise ship - it truly felt like a mini-apartment. I have not yet stayed in a veranda suite on Nova but I did take a look at one that friends were staying in. I resonated with the decor and color scheme and it was presented beautifully but instantly felt the difference in size from some of the Muse class ships. As you know the Nova veranda suites are slightly smaller than those on Dawn (357 sq ft vs 387 sq ft). I know it's only a small difference but to me it was noticeable especially in the closet design and I much prefer the layout on Dawn. In terms of positives and negatives, I have my preferences over certain public spaces but I would travel on either ship without any hesitation. I would like to return to Nova when they are up and running with a more cohesive team on board. We were on the same cruise as you but did not continue all the way to Lima. Your onboard experience may have been entirely different to mine. We enjoyed every minute of our voyage but were aware of the many 'new to cruising' crew members, not only new to Silversea but new to ever being on a ship. As a result, some areas of the cruise experience did not deliver and it was hit/miss depending on which crew member served you etc. But in saying that we still had a terrific cruise and we typically see the glass as half full so little things that might get under someone else's skin we can usually ignore. They are both great vessels and what you will find Dawn offers a more 'conventionally designed' cruise ship experience. You will enjoy your upcoming 30+ day voyage 🙂 Ashley

Warning - this is a little long winded 🙂 and purposely so to provide detail to those considering booking a Norway itinerary on Silver Dawn. I wasn't planning to write a review thread but my recent Silver Dawn Norway cruise experience was so positive I felt it important to share my observations. After months of reading many negative reports from Cruise Critic members on various Silversea ships I was getting nervous about my most recent cruise. In all honesty, my last few Silversea cruises have not been entirely stellar - we too have experienced inconsistent food quality, warm food on cold plates, poor lounge service, poor dining service, staffing issues (specifically our experience with the early Nova cruises) etc. so I approached this cruise with an open mind and half expected some short falls. I was pleasantly surprised. Spoiler alert: It was exceptional! A guests perception of service, food, accommodations etc. is all subjective, so with that understanding, I offer my personal observations and opinions as a balance to help others contemplating booking a Silversea cruise. For context I have cruised on Wind, Shadow, Spirit, Muse, Nova and Dawn and this past cruise was my 85th in total. The majority of those have been with Crystal followed closely by Silversea. In my signature I have listed other cruise lines I have traveled on. Please feel free to make comments or ask any questions. I will do my best to answer them. We selected this cruise to see the magical Fjords and they did not disappoint. We had wanted to B2B with the 7 nt Baltic itinerary but our schedule would not permit so our cruise was the stand-alone Norway itinerary of 10 nts. Embarkation: We enjoyed a pre-cruise stay of 3 days in Copenhagen to revisit some of our favorite places and restaurants and also to allow us time to get over jet lag prior to the start of the cruise. Nothing worse than being on a shorter cruise and spending the first 2-3 days in a jet lagged state. Arrival at the port was very straightforward and calm. Our taxi dropped us next to Silver Dawn around 1pm and we were sitting on the aft terrace of Panorama sipping champagne by 1:15pm!! Joel, a most wonderful bartender, was the first crew member to interact with us and by the first refill of Duval Leroy he had our names memorized. Accommodation: We traveled in a Superior Veranda on deck 9. I really think the Silversea veranda suite (387 sq ft on Silver Dawn) is the best in class and we feel instantly at home with all of our stuff in the same location. Furniture and furnishings in our room were in good condition which is to be expected for a ship only two years old. Our Butler, Asif and Suite Attendant, Samuel, took great care of us during our cruise. Dining: Breakfast/Lunch: We always have coffee and breakfast in our room so I can't speak to any breakfast services in the restaurants. At lunch time you will find us at La Terrazza usually with salad and some sushi and the occasional visit to the warm dessert station! Dinner: We made our reservations when they became available and managed to get what we wanted at the times we wanted. So very happy with that outcome. For Atlantide and S.A.L.T. we were seated right away with one exception when we had to wait about 15 minutes in the S.A.L.T. bar, which was no hardship 🙂 La Terrazza: Like most regular cruisers we have our routine and that includes the first night in La Terrazza. Over the years we have changed up how we dine on board and no longer have the antipasto platter but observed the beautiful presentation being delivered to tables close to us. Our food at LT was delivered on hot plates (yeah!!!) and food presentation and quality was very good indeed. We dined there twice and on both occasions we had timely service, excellent wine service and consistent experiences. La Dame: We dined at La Dame twice on this cruise, the first formal night and then later in the voyage. I have to admit I am a little bored of the menu but we do enjoy the ambience and overall experience. Our main course beef and lamb were not the best, I have to say, and I was very disappointed. I rarely eat red meat but when I do I want to enjoy a great steak. My beef was ordered medium rare but came to the table overcooked. I contemplated just leaving it but instead asked the waiter to have another prepared. The next one arrived medium and absolutely tasteless. Not the best quality cut of beef and I only ate half of it. My husband had the lamb chops which looked great but had no taste. We love the location on Dawn with the plentiful windows but the 'two tops' are too close together and offer very little privacy for conversation. The restaurant was about 60% full for both of our visits and had a nice atmosphere. Overall the food was well presented, hot where appropriate and served on hot plates (yeah again!!!) and the service was impeccable. On the second visit I was not going to risk ordering meat so I went with my usual go-to, which is the Dover Sole and it was absolutely delicious. Next time I will stick with what they do best and order the fish, unless I see a great steak on the table next to me. S.A.L.T.: What a great concept to have the S.A.L.T. bar and restaurant experience. We really enjoyed the Norwegian menu and dined here three times, making sure to time our visits with the menu cycle. You can check the menu in advance using the Silversea app (for use on board the ship but it is not a conventional app). Having the ability to experience food from the region you are traveling through is really wonderful and we thoroughly enjoyed being able to try local dishes. Food quality, overall service and ambience in S.A.L.T. were all excellent. Atlantide: The menu is shorter than it used to be but still with plenty of choices. Again our food was served at the appropriate temperature and always on hot plates (are you seeing a pattern here?). Timing of the meal, food presentation, wine service, attentive wait staff plus the 'hot plates' all lend to a very enjoyable experience and we dined here twice during our voyage. The lobster was excellent, the sea bass was very good but the meats again were disappointing and lacking flavor. Silver Note: We dined here once only and chose to make a reservation on the second formal night. We have enjoyed Silver Note on other ships but on Dawn I was underwhelmed by the overall experience and the food was lacking. Again the meats for main course, lamb for me and the duck for my husband, were bland and uninspiring. A big disappointment because the menu description and ingredients used should have produced an exceptional meal. The service was rather slow and I am not sure why. We were in no hurry but the whole experience just felt awkward with the poor timing and lack of entertainment to help pass the time. Our reservation was 8pm and the singer and accompanist did not appear till 9pm and instead we had recorded music. It provided for a strange atmosphere and I feel if reservations are offered earlier then the entertainment should be scheduled accordingly. Hot Rocks/Kaiseki: We did not dine at the Hot Rocks (we usually visit once on warmer and longer cruises). We also chose not to dine at Kaiseki on this particular voyage for no particular reason. Spaccanapoli: We went to Spaccanapoli for pizza one afternoon. I think we hit it on a bad day. Service was all over the place and my pizza arrived undercooked, soggy dough in the center and mangled up from the excessive liquid from the tomatoes. It was absolutely awful. I showed it to Harish, Maitre D' of S.A.L.T. who was supervising Spaccanapoli, and he was horrified. Another was duly ordered and came to the table looking and tasting great. It did not mar our experience and I think the reason I want to share this story about the awful pizza is that things happen that are not 100% perfect. The usually delicious pizza missed the mark, no biggie in the scheme of things, but a polite request and a delicious replacement arrived in no time at all. Pool Grill: Service at the pool grill daytime was very good. I enjoy a lunchtime burger but stopped ordering them on Silversea because they use really poor quality burger patties. I remember when they had great beef burgers that were meaty and grilled to perfection. It appears they stopped serving them a couple of years ago (at least from our cruising experience) and the one they use now has lots of filler and 'mystery meat'. My husband still can't resist and ordered the burger thinking it might be different and instantly regretted it. What a shame because who doesn't love a good burger by the pool. Instead, I partake in the other good sandwiches on offer. We feel the pool grill is a great spot to grab something to tide you over in between meals. Arts Cafe: Love the Arts! Every afternoon we would stop for a coffee and slice of cake or some cookies or a scone. Pure decadence and such a fabulous venue for catching up with fellow guests. The staff here were really great and led by Chelsea, who is the Supervisor who always delivers a welcome hello as soon as you enter. We really enjoyed our visits, a little too much actually 🙂 We really appreciate the location with the outdoor seating option which is the one thing you don't get on the new Nova and Ray ships. Excursions: We scheduled something every day and feel that we chose well. Some were the included excursions and some were paid excursions. I will list what we chose and will gladly answer questions if you have any but I won't go into much detail other than tell you what we did. In Stavanger we did the Cruise to Lysefjord which was just gorgeous. In Alesund, we hiked Sugar Lump Mountain which was described as extensive and it was just that. We lost some people early on as the incline and terrain were challenging for some. In Trondheim we did the Nothernmost Tram. In Geiranger we did the Sky to Fjord bike tour which was excellent. We started at 1000m at a lake situated close to the glacier and then biked down the mountain stopping at various spots for photo opportunities and to rest. It is a fast bike ride down the mountain and I think we all used our brakes a lot!!! In Flam we chose the Iconic Flam Railway. In Bergen we did the Bergen on Foot excursion. Due to the rain 29 other guests canceled so we had a private tour with one other guest and the two of us. We had a fabulous guide took us around this lovely city and despite getting absolutely soaked we really enjoyed the excursion. In Kristiansand we had the Archipelago Sailing trip on a sailboat but due to the high winds the tour company utilized a motorized tour boat instead which was far more comfortable, given the conditions, and we experienced a wonderful tour of the islands and surrounding area. In addition to our tours we also used our All Trails app and walked miles and miles exploring these beautiful towns. We tried to eat something local at each spot and to take a few moments to sit with a coffee or a beer and just watch the world go by. Missed Port: We had high winds which prevented a port call at our final stop at Skagen, Denmark and as a result we missed a bike ride excursion that we were looking forward to. Instead we were treated to a wonderful day at sea which we thoroughly enjoyed. The port intense itinerary is tiring especially if you pack it full, as we did, with great excursions and plenty of walking. The sea day was a welcome respite and allowed us to wind down before arrival back to Copenhagen. Silver Dawn Crew: Captain Costa and other officers were always out and about. The Captain made very good clear announcements and we got to meet him at the welcome cocktail reception. The Hotel Director, Alicia Romeo leads an exceptional team on board and the crew worked well together to deliver a solid product that felt like true Silversea service . She was very visible and we interacted multiple times. Zaid was our Cruise Director and he is super friendly, very good at communicating with guests and his entire team were approachable and friendly. Zamira is the onboard cruise consultant that we dealt with. Other notable crew members: Racman, Maitre D' Atlantide, Harish Maitre D' S.A.L.T., Fouad, Maitre D' La Terrazza, Norman Maitre D' La Dame. Head Sommelier is the ever-wonderful and knowledgeable, Karolina Djeric. Summary: For us, this was a very good cruise. Perfect itinerary, great weather for the most part and a great ship. We loved the staff and crew on board who delivered a great consistent product. We were addressed by our names by everyone we regularly interacted with and were made to feel special. Our impressions of Silver Dawn were positive and we will look forward to returning to her in the future. There are some things that we feel Silversea can improve upon such as the quality of the meats in various dining venues but not everything in life can be 100% perfect all the time. Oh... and one final observation. We notice the complimentary caviar is served in smaller jars than in the past but the work around is to politely ask your butler for a second helping 🙂 For anyone considering booking a cruise on Silver Dawn I hope this information has been helpful. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask and I will do my best to provide an answer. Ashley

Wishing you both a wonderful day as you return “home” to Serenity later today. We shall be following along with your blog.

Robisan, I too came to that conclusion for the cruise we were considering.