eastwoodboy

Therein lies the problem. I agree night and day but Whisper and Shadow better with the exception of Indochine having been added to Muse.

At least in the MDR on Whisper and Shadow there is a different menu each night.

Well, now we have moved into the second half of our trip which has changed from long days in port to shorter stays and a few sea days coming up. This is the first sea day and there appears to be enough room for all in the open deck spaces.

As regards the question on wine I am not the best person to ask but I find them adequate if not special. Having had 4 dinners in La Terrazza the emphasis has of course been on Italian wines. A couple of excellent meals in Indochine have been with beers as I can not imagine any wine I would enjoy with the their food. I enjoy spicy food and find that the level of spice is just below the top of my range but some people would consider it overdone. In most cases some adjustment can be made if you discuss with the waiter. Our one meal in Atlantide was like the wine just alright nothing memorable. I am sure other people would have different perceptions and it is just a case of finding what works for you. Should you wish to try a specific wine in any location you only have to ask, it no problem.

So how do I view things now that I have have had time to consider most things?

First the good points which go without saying are the crew who make SS what it is.

Secondly the addition of the arts cafe which we have put to good use at various times of the day.

Thirdly Indochine which may not be to everyones taste but if the sweet and sour king prawns are on make sure you have room for them. Sheer bliss.

Lastly my impression of the food in general is that it has taken a slight step up and there are little improvements that have been made in a number of areas that have just made a slight difference.

On the down side our main bone of contention is Atlantide. We have had 3 interactions with this restaurant and all unsatisfactory. Firstly being unceremoniously barred on the first night which of course was the worst possible start. When we did get in for a meal it was alright but our least favourite meal to date. A morning at sea seemed to be a chance for it to redeem itself but sadly only made things worse. The service was appalling and when food did eventually arrive after 50 minutes it was lukewarm. We might give it another shot before the end as I am sure it must be better than we have found to date. However with the palaver to get in there I am not sure if we will bother. When Muse first sailed I seem to recall bookings were required for Atlantide and vociferous complaints were made to get things opened up. I am sorry but I would prefer to book rather than turn up and be barred to be left walking the decks in search of a decent meal. Has any consideration been given to allowing advance booking for say half the restaurant and first come first served for the rest?

The other downer is the outside space for Terrazza which is far too small and cluttered. The tables are all on top of each other and the other ships are so much better in this regard. Why were 2 serving stations situated either side of the main exit to the deck space as the combination of staff working from here and customers deciding where they are going is an accident waiting to happen. I do hope there is no change to the Spirit outside Terrazza when that is stretched.

So the adventure continues and tonight is the second formal night which did not show on Mysilversea and may have caught a few people out. No such problem for us as Terrazza is our sanctuary on formal nights.

Well, we got into Atlantide at about 8-30 and had the choice of the last 2 tables. Usually we would eat at about 8-00 but left it later in case it was necessary to reuse an earlier table. The whole idea of dining on SS is where, when and with whom you like and the games that have to be played re Atlantide seem to conflict with this. Having viewed the restaurant back in June we had high hopes as we do like a proper restaurant feel and the chairs looked very comfortable. The chairs were probably the best bit of it as we found the food rather inconsistent in terms of quantity. I had the tomato soup as an intermediate and I am a big eater but found this to be far too large a portion. Mrs E is a very small eater and has the king prawns as a main. Well even she felt that it was a good job she was not too hungry as having removed the heads and tails she was not left with much at all. All in all very disappointing but will give it one more try in a few days time.

Interesting to see the views of JJ as food in particular is a very personal matter and we all have differing priorities. We are massive fans of La Terrazza and have booked that for 7 of the 12 nights. O.K so the menu may not change that much but we are happy to go there anytime. The only other SS dining concept that we like is Champagne as was but we do not use that on either Spirit or Muse as sitting on a bench to dine is not our idea of fun. I am not sure what JJ did not like about Indochine but our only criticism is the use of benches. The food we found to be excellent but would not want to visit every night as the spicing may prove to be a bit much. If there was not room in Atlantide then Indochine would be our only option. I know there is the option of room service but this does not appeal in the slightest.

Again I agree with JJ that given the option of Spirit or Muse I would take Spirit if making the decision today. That is despite a few things that we really like about Muse. The addition of Indochine is a great plus as far as we are concerned together with the Cafe even allowing for the loss of a proper afternoon tea. Another good point is the quietness of the cabins. Whichever ship we are on we go for the Terrazza deck midships between the main and rear staircases. There has always been a constant hum of either the engines or aircon but this time there is nothing at all and it is quiet as we are at home. Only very slight noises from the TV next door but nothing to worry about although they may be being considerate and keeping the volume down.

So the adventure continues and as people say it may grow on us and I hope this is the case. Given that my rugby team had the game called off today due to a frozen pitch I will accept being here most gratefully.

HD is Lester Woodfall.

The only visitor I have seen was this afternoon from Shadow but no problem. Anyway I can not complain as I visited back in June when on Spirit in Naples.

Embarkation was without any queue at all and we were able to go straight to our cabin on deck 7 midships. Everything was much as expected and we liked the lighter wood and decor compared to the other ships. You reach a time in life when a few less mirrors in the bathroom is appreciated and that is certainly the case here. Rather unnecessary to view oneself from so many angles and reflections everywhere.

For the first night we thought we would try either Atlantide or Indochine after a drink in the bar. It was lovely to be greeted by Egbert who seems to be everyones favourite bar waiter as many others in there has clearly sailed with him before as well. At 8.15 we went down for dinner and tried for Atlantide but found that the spectacularly charmless maitre d had no room and no intention of suggesting a way any more people darkening his door. So we went to Indochine and were warmly greeted by Eileen who had moved over from when we last saw her on Spirit in June. She appeared to have brought her own staff with her and a number of them came out of their way to say hallo at our table. Always nice to see familiar faces. We had a most excellent meal so the evening turned out fine. Last night was La Terrazza which was also a most excellent meal but the restaraunt is let down by the seating arrangements outside where everyone is on top of each other. If only they had made the space larger as on Spirit but I hope this will be addressed with Moon. Just taking a couple of feet off the indoor space would create much more outside and not to the detriment of the inside space.

One oddity of this voyage is that we have had company from other Silver ships all 3 days. Whisper was also in Bridgetown and yesterday we met Wind in St Lucia and today we are back with Whisper in Bequia.

In general still forming an opinion as we were ashore all day yesterday so today is the first chance to really explore in depth and see how things work in practice. An early thumbs up from Mrs E for the cafe but she still regrets the passing of a proper afternoon tea. Tonight another attempt at Atlantide.

Have a good time Chris and look forward to your views.

Interested to know the senior crew on board and also if there are any plans to reinstate the proper afternoon tea service rather than just use the cafe.

Your post reminded me of your Istanbul BA ticketing challenges a year or two back. I think we managed to find details of your tickets via the Finnair site at the time ... was it a security issue that gave you the lack of seat reservations? How did it resolve?

Your memory is far better than mine but I do recall that it was nothing to do with security at Istanbul. This was the one occasion in about 20 something SS sailings that I had taken advantage of their transport arrangements. An was only because I was nervous about the cancellation of the Istanbul call. As it turned out I was quite right and the switch to Athens had to be sorted out by SS rather than myself.

The problem to which you refer was the inability to be able to book the BA seats and it turned out to be because SS only confirm the tickets about 60 days prior to sailing. I assume I must have had a locator number as I did find my reservation on Finn Air which was a surprise but was unable to reserve a seat.

I forget how far out the switch to Athens was made but all worked out well in the end. Having said that I found the SS travel arrangements a real pain on the return when they insisted I had to be on a later flight back about 1800hrs rather than the usual Athens LHR which goes about 1300hrs. Despite me showing SS that there were seats on the earlier flight they would not switch. Accordingly I will carry on making my own arrangements and only use SS if I feel there may be a problem with either the arrival or departure.

Any of you UK coolers know about when we receive the famed Silver Box for the next cruise. We are 40 days from sailing now and I unsure if I should chase up our TA or not.

 

Peter

Got mine about 10 days ago for 6th December sailing.

Many thanks for the comments, rather as I thought a road trip is the way to go and then the ship for relaxation afterwards.

I would happily spend a couple of months on the road but Mrs E tires after a couple of days. Let the negotiations begin!

As Silver Spirit is our Silver ship of choice and a significant birthday is looming next October It seems a good time to make the effort to combine our favourite ship with an area we have always wanted to visit. However I do wonder if a road trip would really be a better option as the time for exploring is so limited when cruising.

The main ports are Newport, Portland, Bar Harbour, Halifax and Sydney so how much would we realistically be able to see with the trips offered by SS? Obviously we could take a week or two on a road trip and really cover some ground. Would quick day trips from these ports really cut it for us or are the ports too far away from the main "leaf peepers" areas.

Also would the begining or end of October give us the best conditions which I know vary from year to year but on average would do.

If booking a cruise sailing after the "refit" how do you know where your cabin will be located?

That is if we are talking cut and shunt.

Oh dear, I have now to think of a way to break the news of no afternoon tea as we know it to be to Mrs E. It may be a small thing to many but to her it is the highlight of the day. There is a rival cruise line she will not use just because their afternoon tea is not up to standard.

Is there still proper service or do you have to go and queue up at a buffet table?

We were fortunate enough to have the chance to visit Silver Muse when in Naples the other day when her visit coincided with Silver Spirit also being in port. Just as background we have done 25 Silversea cruises with the majority being 13 on Spirit so yes we like Silversea and we prefer Spirit. That does not mean there is anything wrong with the other ships but just that for us the Spirit works best.

First impressions were very good and having been on Spirit 5 minutes earlier it made the difference in decor all the more striking. We liked the light wood and the whole ship appeared much lighter bordering on too glitsy in places. Compared to the dull decor of The other ships this is a big improvement.

We started from the bottom and worked our way up the decks. Indochine and Atlantide are 2 of the restaurants that are of interest to us. The decor of Atlantide looked very good and probably the best on the ship. Both venues had plenty of tables for 2 which we like but why have tables for 2 that are so close to other tables that they should not be considered as such.

It is only the decor that is difference between the ships when it comes to passageways and staircases and the lighting on the aft staircase is a big improvement. The bar is vast and we recalled evenings when we had been the only people in the bars so one could feel very lonely in here at times.

La Dame is Champagne elsewhere and just like Spirit we shall not be using it as the seating is all wrong. A top restaraunt should not provide a padded bench to perch on. The same goes for some of the seating in Indochine and Atlantide.

La Terrazza is our favourite venue on all ships and the inside appears to be a good improvement and the layout should help with traffic flow once you learn what is displayed where. There being no carpet on the floor we do wonder about the ambience in the evening as we feel Terrazza is usually a comfortable restaurant and the MDR on other ships exactly that, a functional place to eat. Certainly the lack of carpet helps with hygiene but we do wonder about the atmosphere in the evenings. The big dissappointment was the outside area which is smaller than that on Spirit and again the table layout is a case of pack in as many as we can. The double row of tables along the rail were all 2s but could clearly be made 4 very easily. If left as 2s and you are sitting on the rail just hope the people on the inside are slimline otherwise your waiter could well be a stranger or you could catch the food as it is thrown over the other table. The outside of Spirit is ideal as tables are well apart and there is plenty of space.

The Art Cafe is a very welcome addition but at the time we passed through (about 11.00) music was playing far too loudly. Was this usual?

The pool area is clearly different and much bigger although the total space for lunch appears smaller than Spirit as the upstairs area has the Pizza restaraunt rather than pool dining tables. The Pizza restaurant is idealy situated for any joggers to grab a slice as they pass on the gaudy red track which spoils the look of the whole of the top deck. Fortunatly very few people ever use the track on other ships so it should not impinge too much on those enjoying Pizza. Further round this top deck there are numerous loungers which looks like a good idea. However their layout is such that they must stay in their position of 45 degrees to the rail and their feet just off the running track. Talking of feet this means that your face is a couple of feet away from the feet of the person to your right. This may lead to people changing the angle of the chairs (and some need no second invitation) which will impinge on the jogging track/walkway.

Overall the whole ship is very impressive and we very much look forward to properly roadtesting everything in December. It looks like we have a thing about seating and as far as we are concerned comfortable dining is a big thing for our cruises. Even the best food falls down if one does not feel comfortable in the surroundings. Everyone has different priorities but it would be interesting to have the views of others who have sailed as to how things work in reality.

I have only done the transfer from a hotel but the fare includes pickup of you and luggage that you will have with you on the quayside and transfer to heliport. Access to the quayside by cars is restricted so check with Heli Air who should be able to advise on best way to proceed. We only travel with one medium suitcase each and not sure what problem there may be if you have a lot of luggage.

Given the cost of SS transfers you will not pay much more for the helicopter rather than a coach!

Welcome to Silversea,

1. You are encouraged to attend each muster drill but if you are ashore at the time then no problem.

2. Charge is per item but it is some while since I have had to worry about the amount so others may help on that one.

3. Never heard of prepaying for tours.

4. Your account will be presented at disembarkation.

Trust this some help.

Last December on Spirit we were advised by the butler that they had been removed. However some were still on board as he managed to produce a very familiar looking pair very quickly.

I got the impression this had only just happened so they may or may not still be available if requested.

Shops, shore trips, wine, spa, speciality dining fees all ok.

Casino no.

Thanks for your reports Master Echo and hope things carry on well for you.

Last December we were told that the binoculars had been removed but our butler could offer no explanationas to why. He did however find a pair when I asked about them and they were to usual type so still onboard somewhere.

According to the UK website only voyage 5722 9th August has been reinstated and reads as it did in the 2017 brochure. Still missing are voyages 5270 for 26 July, 5271 for 2nd August and 5273 for 18th August.

An interesting discrepancy in pricing also shows up as the reinstated 5722 is priced at from £3,825 after early booking bonus for the 9 days. The voyage just before the blackout period is 5719 also for 9 days yet is from £5,625 and the voyage prior to that for 10 days is from £3,555. Guess who is on the expensive one!

 

I have a question for the SilverSea travelers .... my wife had scheduled dinner reservations weeks ago at both Stars Supper Club and Seishin. When logging into our account for those restaurants it says to please see the maitre D. I am having flashbacks to our days on RCCL and HAL. Is this standard protocol? Is this a task our butler can manage?

Just back home after being onboard for the last 2 cruises but I have to say have never been referred to Maitre d after having made a reservation on Mysilversea. Having said that I have never used Stars or Seishin either it may be something to do with those specific locations. Upon boarding you should be given a printed confirmation of your reservations which I find works well for Champagne and La Terrazza which we do use. The only thing to watch is the time allocated which usually defaults to 7.00 and you may need to change these if you prefer.

We found that we had been given 8.00 for Champagne and asked the manager of that restaurant to change to 7.00. To cut a long story short we ended up cancelling the booking in view of the attitude shown over our request. The problem is that the Mysilversea website defaults to 7.00 and the manager then tries to balance the bookings over the evening. It could be that whilst you are in the restaurants you require you may have to negotiate with the manager to get the time you want. I have never before had a problem as the various managers have always been most helpful but this one time was the exception.

Your butler could certainly sort things out for you but if various options are provided you may wish to deal with it yourself. I know I would. If the excellent Francesco is still on board in charge of Terrazza then he is the man I would always go to as he is the best.

Hope you have as good a time as we did.

It appears SS are a bit inconsistent as I am 63 days out from my next cruise and all trips are available.

Seems to be widespread as my December cruise is 120 days from today and I can book dining but no trips. The message comes up requesting my patience so looks like they are a bit behind in putting trips on the system across the board.

As you say you have paid SS for the flights I presume you have booked their whole package.

My trip on Spirit last month was switched from Istanbul to Athens at the start. I would never normally take the SS package but as I expected this switch when I booked as it was suspected that the situation in Istanbul was doubtful so I took that option. This transfered the risk from myself to SS so they had to rearrange hotels and flights for me at no extra cost to myself.

So rest assured if you have any problem having bought the travel from SS there is nothing to worry about. Having said that I much prefer my own arrangements and will continue to do so having taken a view on the port of departure/arrival.

I can quite imagine that a storm can add to the atmosphere especially if accompanied by lightening at sea.

On the other hand we had the pleasure of dining at Terrazza a couple of nights ago whilst at anchor off Naphlion and it was the most sublime experience. Weather, food, wine, location and company all fell into place for a magical evening.

Arrived at the cruise terminal Athens to find that the porters were on strike so everyone had to move their own luggage from taxi to the security clearance when Silversea took over. This was a better result than Seabourn who had been sent to a port about 90 minutes away and had to be bussed in. As both Oosterdam and a big Princess and Celebrity ship were also in I feared chaos but in fact walk straight up to SS desk to check in, had no delay at security and found the reception desk onboard to also be devoid of people except for the 3 staff awaiting. This was at about 1.40 so went straight upto pool deck for lunch and could not believe the choice of tables. What is going on?

It transpires that there are only 247 pax for this voyage. For the Med in June this is extraordinary but unexpected luxury. We were settled in by a butler that we have had before and happy to have again and so went in seach of other pax. Found a few but had to look hard.

Time for dinner and upon entering the main dining room spotted one of our favorite waiter back for his fifteenth tour of duty and had no problem in finding a table in his area.

General condition of the ship appears very good and our first diner was considered by both of us to be well up to standard.

Dikili today is not to some peoples taste but for a long walk along neverending shoreline is unbeatable and even in the 80 degree heat most enjoyable.

Just departed Dikili so now off the Captains reception and dinner in La Terrazza and hope we are not too lonely. Having done 3 xmas cruises on Spirit with all the bedlam that entails it feels very strange being so quite but getting very attached to the idea of such occupancy rates.