Article today on Silversea--Value & Ritz

[WesW]

fyi:

 

http://ow.ly/152qW

[TLCOhio]

fyi:

http://ow.ly/152qW

 

THANKS, Colonel! Interesting story from the Miami Herald. A key aspect in this story seemed to be: "The top end of the industry is facing a double-barreled challenge of a weak global economy and a sudden spurt in fancy cruise capacity. And cruise cabins -- like airplane seats and hotel rooms -- are better off filled at discounts than not at all." Then, the story noted: "That's a lot of luxury cabins to fill -- particularly since mainstream cruise operators such as Celebrity Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line are ratcheting up the competition by carving out elite sections on their newest, largest ships to cater to premium-paying VIP customers. The luxury digs are walled off from the main ship and provide many of the amenities of a luxury cruise vessel."

 

Clearly "value" is being pushed, with discounts (kind of) at 60% for inflated sticker prices. It's a crazy marketing game, but consumer are smart and will compare to see who offers the best fit for where they want to go and the most reasonable pricing. I was interested in this quote "There isn't anything they won't do for you" that was included in the article. Is that really the philosophy with Silversea? We are getting ready for our first cruise on Silversea for July 1-16 along the Norway Coast on the Silver Cloud. Our first two cruises were Seabourn in June 2006 for the Greek Isles and Turkish Coast and Crystal in late July 2008 for the Baltics and Russia. Both Seabourn and Crystal seem to enjoy special request and challenges. I have read other comments for those experienced with all three lines that Silversea is not quite as able and interested in dealing with special needs and interest by passengers. How welcoming is Silversea to any and all special requests? How does Silversea handle those passenger interests?

 

Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[WesW]

Terry, your welcome..will answer your question on how willing SS is to deal with special requests based on our Spirit cruise last month. We asked for and received four different special meals in Restaurant (Indian dinner, Steak Diane w/Crepe Suzettes for desert, Dover sole x2 (at lunch and at dinner)). Further, our English friends invited us for a very special traditional English lunch for six (the Restaurant then executed with the best service, presentation, taste of any lunch we have had at sea). The most memorable special request we have experienced at sea was done by the SS Spirit crew last month. Another cruise friend on board arranged via the Hotel Director a Vow renewal ceremony for another couple and my bride and I that was an absolute grand slam (done on the bridge at sunset, hosted by the Captain, CD and HD; with champagne and canapes; followed by a reception on outside of Panorama loung deck for 30-40 of our Spirit cruise friends; Captain then hosted us for vow renewal Dinner in the Restaurant. Every reservation (Le Champagne x2, Seishin, Pool Grill x4, La Terraza x4) was handled timelessly, politely and perfectly executed. On our Spirit cruise SS excelled in flawless delivery for all of our special requests; "no" was not in the Spirit crew's vocabulary.

[TLCOhio]

Terry, your welcome..will answer your question on how willing SS is to deal with special requests based on our Spirit cruise last month. We asked for and received four different special meals in Restaurant (Indian dinner, Steak Diane, Dover sole x2 (at lunch and at dinner)). Further, our English friends invited us for a very special traditional English lunch for six (the Restaurant then executed with the best service, presentation, taste of any lunch we have had at sea). The most memorable special request we have experienced at sea was done by the SS Spirit crew last month. Another cruise friend on board arranged via the Hotel Director a Vow renewal ceremony for another couple and my bride and I that was an absolute grand slam (done on the bridge at sunset, hosted by the Captain, CD and HD; with champagne and canapes; followed by a reception on outside of Panorama loung deck for 30-40 of our Spirit cruise friends; Captain then hosted us for vow renewal Dinner in the Restaurant. Every reservation (Le Champagne x2, Seishin, Pool Grill x4, La Terraza x4) was handled timelessly, politely and perfectly executed. On our Spirit cruise SS excelled in flawless delivery for all of our special requests; "no" was not in the Spirit crew's vocabulary.

 

THANKS, Colonel! Super great info, ideas and success report. Appreciate all of the details. Do you think your great responsiveness and service were normal and happens on all of their Silversea ships . . . OR . . . were they being super great because it is a new ship with the best personnel pulled onto the Spirit to get it early buzz? Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[Ste. Michelle]

If I have no special needs, why is it so important that I make "special requests"? My requirements are simple: I request only what is promised, and if staff/crew provide something above and beyond, that makes me feel special. Our one and only cruise on Seabourn was very off-putting for us, as so many were trying to "out special request" everyone else. At times, we felt like the only way to get what was promised was to pretend that it was a "special request". (The crew seemed so busy with the "special requests" that there didn't seem to be enough attention to those of us who wanted nothing "extra".) We have chosen to scratch Seabourn off of our list of cruise lines. We are about to embark on our first Silversea cruise and truly hope that the advertised luxury product is for all of us.....even if we have no "special requests".

[breckpatty]

Colonel Wes,

Surley there were extra charges for some of your special requests?

 

Love the new photo of you & Ida on your CC identity!!!

I did check out all the photos on facebook and followed your posts on the crossing.

Clearly a wonderful time.Thank you

[WesW]

breckpatty, you very welcome. Pls call me Wes...no charges for any of our special requests...must thank Cashipman (Craig) (for the SS special requests idea). Craig mentioned to me late last year, when Craig and Muse Cruiser (Wil) were onboard the Wind--that Silversea chefs generally love the challenge of special requests. Our new Avatar photo was taken by one of the Spirit crew on the Spirit's flying bridge (open part of the bridge) right after our vow renewal ceremony a very special "lifetime" cruise memory we shared with Doug/Lynn Burns and special CC friends.

[sea bright]

If I have no special needs, why is it so important that I make "special requests"? My requirements are simple: I request only what is promised, and if staff/crew provide something above and beyond, that makes me feel special. Our one and only cruise on Seabourn was very off-putting for us, as so many were trying to "out special request" everyone else. At times, we felt like the only way to get what was promised was to pretend that it was a "special request". (The crew seemed so busy with the "special requests" that there didn't seem to be enough attention to those of us who wanted nothing "extra".) We have chosen to scratch Seabourn off of our list of cruise lines. We are about to embark on our first Silversea cruise and truly hope that the advertised luxury product is for all of us.....even if we have no "special requests".

We're not big on special requests either and loved our 2 cruises on the Silver Shadow. The service was uniformly excellent. While I'm sure some people on board were challenging the chefs with their requests we saw no need and found far less discussion of special requests than when in the Queen's Grill on QM2. It is one of the reasons we are so looking forward to our first cruise on the Silver Cloud in April.

[ppiew]

I too am interested about the 'escort' to dinner. Is this often offered to women traveling alone? At what level stateroom will SS be offering the butler service?