Silver Wind ... as we speak

Norcalman, our TA said the same thing as you, but couldn’t confirm a black tie night on our cruise, which he thought was odd. My husband has decided to bring the tux jacket. We aren’t checking any luggage, so he’s planning on leaving the tux pants, cummerbund, bow tie, etc. at home. I gently questioned this, but it seems that he’s happy with his decision.

Ten days to go! I’m getting excited. Looking forward to meeting you and your partner, and the others from here who are on our cruise. Hopefully our Meet and Mingle will be scheduled on a different time/day than our (I guess I can’t say the name of our Travel Agent)’s cocktail party. :D

Jeff

Yes.... odd unidentifiable objects appear on the plate!

A guy I knew owned a restaurant and he once said that many places fail because the menu is not designed for the customer but more to bolster the chefs ego!

I can see where he was coming from.

I often think it would be nice if they left a menu on the table just so you could refer back to it.

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Hi Mike,

It is what I call “with-a-twist”-itis! :)

Norcalman, our TA said the same thing as you, but couldn’t confirm a black tie night on our cruise, which he thought was odd. My husband has decided to bring the tux jacket. We aren’t checking any luggage, so he’s planning on leaving the tux pants, cummerbund, bow tie, etc. at home. I gently questioned this, but it seems that he’s happy with his decision.

 

Ten days to go! I’m getting excited. Looking forward to meeting you and your partner, and the others from here who are on our cruise. Hopefully our Meet and Mingle will be scheduled on a different time/day than our (I guess I can’t say the name of our Travel Agent)’s cocktail party. :D

Napria looking forward to meeting you, as well. Tell your hubby I picked up a non traditional shirt to go with my tux jacket and bringing a pair of black slacks. No more full tux regalia for this guy. I may pack a tie for one informal night. Getting very excited on this end!

Mysilversea should show the (anticipated) dress codes in the reservations area. Dress code should be just below the date.

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Mysilversea should show the (anticipated) dress codes in the reservations area. Dress code should be just below the date.

 

 

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Nope. My reservation area has nothing below, next to or anywhere around the dates. :(

Odd! Ours was the 2nd night, early on in the voyage. It was noted on the left column in Mysilversea where you sign up for excursions and such. I’d be shocked if you don’t have a formal night.

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Norcalman, does your “My Silversea” show any formal nights for our cruise?

And I’ll tell John (hubby) your suggestion. I think that’s where he was going with his tux jacket idea. Are you wearing a regular tie or bow tie with your tux jacket?

Norcalman, does your “My Silversea” show any formal nights for our cruise?

 

And I’ll tell John (hubby) your suggestion. I think that’s where he was going with his tux jacket idea. Are you wearing a regular tie or bow tie with your tux jacket?

Napria,

I think something may be going on with My Silversea. I'm on the transatlantic voyage right after yours and it only shows 1 formal night out of 14. That just isn't normal.

For those on the Wind now, can you advise if it has interactive TV or just dvds from the library? I was hoping to enjoy some lazy movie time on my cruise and am curious about what is offered.

Thank you all for the information and tidbits.. excitedly counting down to sailing.

For those on the Wind now, can you advise if it has interactive TV or just dvds from the library? I was hoping to enjoy some lazy movie time on my cruise and am curious about what is offered.

 

Thank you all for the information and tidbits.. excitedly counting down to sailing.

vikielynne,

Silver Wind is chartered this week, but I sure would love to run back on board and check for you! Our itinerary was port-intensive, with a different stop every day, so the only time I interacted with the tv was to turn it off when the butler showed me how to use it on the first day. I'm pretty sure it is not interactive. There are dvds in the library, and one channel plays a different movie all day long.

Have fun! She is such a lovely ship.

I’m curious about the dress code. Is there a black tie night? Our trip in a week and a half doesn’t seem to have one. To bring the tux or not to bring the tux. That is the question :confused:[/q

 

Napria, My Silversea does not always show the dress code options so don't put too much emphasis on what you see there. It tends to be finicky at times with excursions and dining also. I am actually sailing this Friday on the Wind for the second time. Having done the Caribbean cruise before, I can tell you that the formal night is typically the second night of the voyage along with the captain's welcome reception, depending on whether you are in port late or not. Nights that you are late in port are usually casual since a lot of people are not on board or are coming and going. I do remember that most people were dressed up quite a bit and it was a lovely atmosphere in the dining room. Since it was mentioned...for future reference, a formal night was offered on the Shadow in Alaska last time I went also but it is more of a suggestion than a dress code since the entire trip is more casual. Having sailed on the Muse during the summer, we are excited to revisit the Wind with her charming and intimate atmosphere. Enjoy your trip!

Initial post cruise thoughts.

I am now asking myself would I take another SS cruise?

Was it worth it and was it ‘over-hyped’?

I was trying to work out what - for me -was included that I would otherwise have to pay for, and it is quite difficult.

What was ‘over and above’ mainstream? What was good and what was not so good. Most of it is personal opinion.

Butler? For me, a waste of time. I only saw him four times and what services he offered I was quite capable of doing my self. Surprisingly I never saw him on disembarkation day.

Food? The food was very good, but goodness me the buffet breakfasts and buffet lunch services were disorganised, as was - to my disappointment - the standard of service in La Dame. Food-wise and given a degree in hindsight, I probably wouldn’t have bothered booking La Dame. My fault, I misread the blurb and thought it was a wine pairing meal but it wasn’t, it was a case of standard wine issue or buy from the select listings.

Speaking of wine, I was offered a wine in the MDR, tasted it and said it wasn’t to my taste and asked for a named bottle of something else. Talk about looks could kill!

We always had a table for two and never had a problem getting one.

The dreaded dress code. I can’t see a problem with the dress code ... it is explained in the brochure. To me, it wasn’t enforced as firmly as it could have been. Even on the three ‘casual’ nights I saw tee shirts and shorts going into the dining room. I always made the effort and wore a jacket and tie, but that is me.

Accommodation. As mentioned earlier, smaller than I expected, and suffering from ‘faded elegance’. Always clean and tidy. Everything worked.

Staff. Always pleasant and happy to help. The senior officers, that I saw, were approachable and polite. I never disclosed my sordid past [emoji41] it was a really pleasant environment. I was concerned it would be ostentatious but not so.

Embark / Disembark. Usually a breeze ... biggest queue was five people, and that includes the main embarkation and disembarkation in San Juan.

Excursions. Good and bad. Some badly misrepresented and some generally poor and some very good. That would be the responsibility of the tour company though. Feedback given on the anonymous form. Do they read them? Generally speaking no ship staff to be seen.

Fellow pax. No issues, although one couple really need to buy a watch ... late for excursions, late back after a comfort break.

Was it worth it? Probably. The biggest point, for me, was the fact that it was all paid for over a year before we sailed, so we could relax knowing we were always within budget. It was nice to be able to just chill with a glass of wine and not have to think about remembering to make a note of how much was being spent and was the accounting ‘creative’?

The extra money ensured it was totally relaxing and stress free, which is how it should be.

Would I do it again? Well I am looking at a Med cruise for 2019. I wouldn’t entertain the Caribbean again as it is so difficult to get to. I certainly won’t fly via Miami again, so for me it is the Med. Easy to get to and easier on the pocket[emoji846] No thoughts of feeling obliged to extend the trip being that you have paid mega-bucks to get there.

Let’s see what the TA comes back with next week. The cruise we are looking at is ‘Venetian’ one as well.

Mike

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The dreaded dress code. I can’t see a problem with the dress code ... it is explained in the brochure. To me, it wasn’t enforced as firmly as it could have been. Even on the three ‘casual’ nights I saw tee shirts and shorts going into the dining room.

 

 

 

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Really, shorts in the MDR for dinner, that is appalling!

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Unacceptable!

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Should have been turned away from the MDR!!:rolleyes:

MBP&O2O I don’t know if it is of interest, but we are cruising Silversea next winter and their package offers a return flight from Fort Lauderdale. We too were keen to avoid Miami.

Could I just ask why Miami airport should be avoided? It's 3 years since we last went though there but I seem to remember that, other than a bit of a wait at immigration, it was OK. Have things changed?

Entering the US at any airport is very stressful unless one has Global Entry, which is why I went through the hoops to get it.

As one who has flown in through both MIA and JFK frequently, I'd take MIA any day - folk who say they hate MIA probably haven't tried JFK.

I don't do FLL but I do know it's a small (compared to MIA) airport and if things go wrong, they can go very wrong. The one time I used it, the check in machines went down and I had to stand in a queue four hours to get checked in.

The cruise I most fancied was a 2017 one from FLL but the timing was wrong. We had to wait until 2018 and there wasn’t one we fancied.

The plan was to fly to Dublin, clear CBP and then fly ‘internal’ from JFK to FLL - alas not to be.

MIA? I just find the ‘help’ staff to be incredibly ignorant and rude. Why speak when you can shout at someone? It was the same scenario last time there.

We used the new automatic passport machines, had problems but couldn’t find anyone around to assist. When we had been printed and customed etc we were then directed to go to CBP to have a repeat session. Tried to ask a member of staff what was happening and was told to just join the queue and she walked off. When I asked the CBP chap he was quite good. As I understand it the initial APM is a local thing, whilst CBP is ‘federal’ so the two are non compatible.

My swiftest and most pleasant entry to the USA was via JFK. Less than 45mins from gate arrival to the Holiday Inn!

MIA was over 90mins from gate arrival to bag recheck ... had we booked flights with a connection time of less than two hours we would have missed the flights.