Merriem

I must say how sorry am hear to hear about your unpleasant experience. We were on the Celebrity Xpedition in 2008, and it was delightful. No I am not hijacking this thread, but must say that Silversea is a major disappointment. They are unpleasant to deal with.

Please do not find fault with the crew! They are just an example of poor management. The Ecuadorian people are pleasant, friendly, and as nice as you can expect. It certainly sounds like this is the Silversea attitude,, and not the fault of the employees.remember good service starts at the top. I commend you for contacting the company, but doubt if you will receive any satisfaction.

No ship should sail if it is not ready and is unable to provide what you paid for. We all work hard for our money, and expect in return satisfaction.

Just because Silversea has a 6 star rating...where that came from I do not know. Yes, the islands are amazing, but you could see the same thing and not have paid for a "luxury" cruise on many other ships.

Again, your review was on spot, and I would be furious to have spend my time and money for something that sounds like a 2 star ship! Yes, we were on the Shadow, and it was pathetic. Yes, I have a hard time understanding why this company is the way they are..so sorry your trip was totally unsatisfactory. It kind of reminds me of my meeting with the hotel manager on the Shadow...nothing accomplished, just lip service.

We look forward to our next Xpedition next year!

At this point it is difficult to compare the various Galapagos options as the Silver Galapagos is so new. I thank Carefreecruise for his/her honesty with one of the first comprehensive reviews. I have researched many Galapagos options and I am willing to put some faith in the Silver Galapagos. I'm not sure why Merriem is commenting on this thread as any intelligent traveller on this forum will have explored all the options including celebrity and obviously has chosen Silversea instead. As Merriem must know all food in the Galapagos must be obtained locally (a celebrity ship lost it's license for a period of time due to ignoring this rule in June of this year) so comparing food to the Silver Shadow is not valid. I am not a cheerleader of any cruise line. I look at itinerary and sail with the company that fits my needs. Thanks for your recommendation Merriem but I have chosen the April 19/14 cruise on Silver Galapagos.

I hope you have a great time. It sounds like the ship was not ready to sail per the original poster. However, I know that Silversea customers are loyal. We were not pleased, but do love the Galapagos .

Well, for what they charge, you sure should expect that. Yes, the animals are amazing, but you are paying a lot!

Also, the food we had on the Silver Shadow was horrible. If you like it..that is great. However, you cannot live on a reputation that you cannot live up to,

Yes your paying a lot. This person that hijacked the thread does not understand you get what you pay for. Have been talking to other guest on other ships and yes they are seeing the same animals but not having the same after or before excursion experiences. This thread is about Silversea not who has the cheapest cruise or who sleeps in a closet to save money. Just like fine dining some get it and others are happy with a big Mac and can't figure out why anyone would spend so much money on a meal. So for the people that care about this ship, I will finish the review on Sunday and post it up on Silversea section on Cruise Critics.

Excuse me, I did not hijack the thread..I simple stated a fact. You are paying a lot. If below satisfactory is your thing..then great! Having been to the Galapagos and going again, I have some experience on what you should get for your money. Yes, have been on Silversea..and not impressed!

Thanks, Carefree Cruise, for the informative reviews. I am going on Dec. 14 cruise and will try to keep an open mind but plan an inspection as you did. I think I have been spoiled by Le Ponant's Le Boreal, a luxury expedition ship that I took to Antarctica and the Arctic. I recognize that Silver Galapagos is still adjusting but had expected all the interior would be new and spiffy. I am sure the whole experience will be fine, and the Galapagos wildlife spectacular, which, after all, is the objective.:) Enjoy your final night onboard.

Well, for what they charge, you sure should expect that. Yes, the animals are amazing, but you are paying a lot!

I would recommend Celebrity. You really get what you pay for! We will be going for the second time next year. It is a fine tuned operation!

Drron is correct about the $100 park fee. Celebrity just includes it in the fare. I specifically inquired about this when we went.

Of course it is included in the price, but Celebrity has proven itself over many years there. Few trips do we take twice, but that is one to do again.

I vote for Celebrity! We have been on this trip once already, and are booked again in Jan 2014. The food was much better than on the Whisper a year ago. They have fresh fish everyday and everything is prepared well. Not being big meat eaters, we were very happy with pastas, great salads, it was excellent. Remember Celebrity Xpedition is all inclusive, also. The staff is very friendly, and I don't think you would be at all disappointed in this trip. I might add we wish Celebrity had other small ships like this, because they know how to do it right!

Additionally I like the fact that Celebrity gets you there from Quito and you do not get hit with that $100 park fee!

Jeff, I am not worrying. I am mad..........

Jeff, I do not work that way.......they are wrong, and I am right. Actually they most likely knew the results way before the report came out. Airline tickets have change fees, it is up to $250 for international, so that adds another $500 to the 15%. Not going to cancel,but that is what they hope we will do.

Jeff, I know your thoughts are in the right place. However, I am not going to give them a penny of my money. Most of us all work hard for our money and if that is the way they want to be, then two can play their game. It was two days, not two months, and originally they told my TA they would give me a full refund. We were in Tahiti last week, and that is why there was a one day delay in getting back to them. When my TA called the next day, they said NO..........nice people.

Besides I have two first class airline tickets to Barbados.

Phew! At least yo got your bandy .....:D

 

i am puzzled. Why did you rebook?:confused:

We rebooked because we thought we would give them "one more chance". That was pretty stupid. Again, we were TWO DAYS after final payment, and they want to charge me 15% to cancel. I said last night I would not let them upset me anymore, but I spend a lot of money, and yes, I am upset.

We were on the same trip just a month later. The food was so horrible. I kept notes on my ipad from then and they are still there.

This was cut and pasted exactly as written then April 10, 2012

Greetings

Just a little feedback. I have to say that I do not think that silversea is very customer orientated. They need to work on their people skills.

The food in la terrazza is okay. the main dining room last night had one waiter for a table for 8. No assistant waiter. Need I say more and please pardon the typos

Our room is fine, and the terrace works out fine. The guests for the most part are pleasant and friendly . Lots of English and Aussies.

I am not booking another cruise with them as the whole package just is not worth the money. We are in Ha long bay and I was going on the junk and Richard kayaking. The water is so nasty, feces, garbage, etc....he ask to change to the junk. They said no. So they can keep our tickets and we may take a nap.

Vietnam is a very interesting country, as I would have thought the people would be better off being communist, however they have nothing. Apparently the money is all in the north and the south got nothing. I would have thought they would have medical care and education, but they have to pay for it all.

No trip is perfect, but interesting. I think we prefer south America .

Butler

Told here I wanted a bottle of cognac, red wine, and Chardonnay 4pm

Also water pic plug

She never ask if we needed any thing else. Used to having some appetizers delivered about 5

6pm went to have a drink at the panorama lounge. Ask for some appetizers and was brought some nuts. Said there would be none until 630

Went to dinner at 7

Menu was very confusing, and dinner was very poor.

Husband had salmon, no sauce Veggies, skin still on salmon. Poor

I had vn food, and it also was poor

Had to ask for butter for the bread After about 30 minutes

Came back to room at Bout 9pm, very tired After long international flight, no brandy, no wine, no cord for my water pic . Called butler and she made excuses as to why nothing had been taken care of

Left room and tried to find a bar for a cognac. Went into the dark one, to get one to take to the room, and the guy behind the bar knew who we were, And he started laughing At me. I told him he was being rude and he kept on laughing. Husband took brandy and we left.

Came back to room at Midnight, and cognac was here

I want

A different butler

A lightweight cotton blanked, not the down duvet. Very hot and room is not cool enough to to warrant such heavy bedding

Good service"

This morning my husband went to exercise, and then get two cups of coffee and could not find anywhere. Another guy was on the pool deck and ask some employee for coffee, and he was told that not until 8

Finally he found the coffee and ask for it to go, to bring back to the room. They did not understand what to go meant...finally someone found some cups with lids. My husband was not happy at all.

Butler came in at 730 rang the door bell, basically to make excuses. I don't want excuses, just what I paid for.

Na beer. Odouls. Cheap and bad

Again, these are random comments made to myself that sure say a lot about what is going on.

Your pictures are amazing. Thank you for sharing.

Georgeous, thanks for posting

I read a really great idea. Pack your clean clothing, but do not iron it. Send it out to be pressed when you get on the ship.

We take some clothes pins to hang some items on the line in the shower. However the prices for laundry are reasonable, so just take advantage of this service.

I like the package. We ate in Muranos every night on the Century. The MDR was just too noisy. I cannot speak for any other restaurants as that was the only speciality one, but we enjoyed the food and the relaxed pace.

We just booked 1123 from chile to Florida in March 2014. Glad to hear all the great feedback

I admired the pearls when we were there about 15 years ago, but ended up getting a large strand in the US some years later and they were very nice pearls and the price was much better.

The Murano is excellent and soo peaceful after the din of the MDR. If you are hard of hearing, good luck!!! Try and get a table away from the servery areas if you can. Enjoy!!!

The MDR was so noisy that it spoiled the good food. They have the select dining tables jammed so close together that you just cannot have a conversation. It was worth the price to go to Muranos for the peace. They really need to do something about the noise in there. Too many people, too close together.

Sailing on the Century shortly and was wondering if we should go to the expense of booking a meal in the Murano Restaurant one night. I realize it is $30 extra so do you get quite a bit extra in this restaurant or should we use the money towards a spa treatment or similar. Also are the drinks more expensive in the Murano than the main dining room, New to cruising so was just wondering if we should include this in our experiences. If the answer is yes should I book it before we sail. Thanks

We had originally booked the open seating dining on the Century. The food was quite good, but the noise in the dining room was just horrible. We bought a package for Muranos for every remaining night. It saved our sanity and the food was excellent. You should go at least once.

There are a lot of opinions and personal bias in this thread. Reading back I still think I presented the most accurate set of facts in my post (#3 in this thread) which included the following:

 

• Unfortunately Celebrity has been inconsistent in their enforcement of the formal night dress code.
  
• The bottom line is that your husband may or may not be allowed in without a jacket.
  

Those are the facts.

 

If I were to include my own personal bias I'd tell you that you MUST wear a proper tux, that virtually every other man does so, and that if you attempt to dine without one you'll be humiliated, fined a gazillion dollars and forced to walk the plank. But instead of making up things based on my formal night bias I've present the basic facts. These are based on both my own observations in recent years and on reading a lot of threads and member reports here on cruise critic.

TUX NO. My husband doesn't own one, but he has a very expensive Italian suit that looks fantastic. Wish the masses looked that good

Hi Everyone,

 

My husband and I will be cruising the Mediterranean on the Equinox on July 2nd. We are trying to pack as minimalistic as possible since its a 2 week vacation.

 

Can my husband wear a dress shirt,tie and dress pants to the Main Dining Room on formal night? Will he be turned away for not wearing a jacket??

 

thanks!

 

Samantha

Please dress appropriately. I am so annoyed at the people on our Alaska cruise, I may just not cruise on Celebrity anymore.

If you can afford to go on a vacation, take a jacket. It isn't that big of a deal.