Is it this bad?

[Scotspea]

Having cruised with Silversea three times on Shadow and having two cruises booked, there seems to be a lot of negativity concerning Silversea at the moment.

Is the cost cutting bad enough to cause the staff to leave as one poster claimed?

[ging466]

Having cruised with Silversea three times on Shadow and having two cruises booked, there seems to be a lot of negativity concerning Silversea at the moment. Is the cost cutting bad enough to cause the staff to leave as one poster claimed?

 

Certainly the title of your post is going to get hits.:)

 

Generally speaking, there are very few bad reviews of SS and those that r really bad r usually quite ridiculous in their claims. You need to take into consideration the reviews, either good or bad, that u see here on Cruise Critic, reflect such a tiny proportion of SS patrons.

 

From my experience, very few people cruising on SS have ever heard of Cruise Critic, let alone are willing to post a review or comments about their experiences.

 

I have 3 cruises booked for the end of this year and I'm certainly not worried about any of the recent negativity.

 

After cruising 3 times on SS, presumably u enjoyed it enough to book another 2 cruises...right?

 

That says it all.

 

Cheers

Jennifer (ging466)

[canadagal]

I have to agree with ging466 in that most cruise pax have never heard of CruiseCritic and if they have they don't always feel the need to post a review. My husband and I just returned from the Cloud last week and have been regular Regent cruisers for the past several years. Decided to give Silversea another try after a long hiatus and we were extremely pleased with our cruise experience. The food was superb, the ship was in great shape but what made the experience terrific was the friendly, smiling, can do attitude of the crew. The service onboard was top notch! We had such a fun time and it far exceeded anything we have experienced on Regent since their new ownership and constant change so I'm sure we will be looking to Silversea more in the future. All cruise lines have taken a hit with the recession so we weren't quite sure what to expect coming back to Silversea after such a long absence. Our concerns quickly dissolved soon after embarkation and Silversea is still top drawer in our opinion if not even better then before.

Take every review with a grain of salt as sometimes people just have an agenda and reviews only represent such a tiny portion of the segment that do cruise.

Pat

[billcrooz]

I have to agree with ging466 in that most cruise pax have never heard of CruiseCritic and if they have they don't always feel the need to post a review. My husband and I just returned from the Cloud last week and have been regular Regent cruisers for the past several years. Decided to give Silversea another try after a long hiatus and we were extremely pleased with our cruise experience. The food was superb, the ship was in great shape but what made the experience terrific was the friendly, smiling, can do attitude of the crew. The service onboard was top notch! We had such a fun time and it far exceeded anything we have experienced on Regent since their new ownership and constant change so I'm sure we will be looking to Silversea more in the future. All cruise lines have taken a hit with the recession so we weren't quite sure what to expect coming back to Silversea after such a long absence. Our concerns quickly dissolved soon after embarkation and Silversea is still top drawer in our opinion if not even better then before.

Take every review with a grain of salt as sometimes people just have an agenda and reviews only represent such a tiny portion of the segment that do cruise.

Pat

:)couldn't agree more with you canadagirl; we also just back from Cloud and had maybe the best time ever(our 7th Silversea sojourn).. it's the people you meet,the crew,and the experience that makes it the best at sea !!

[Tillylovesseabourn]

Nice to hear of your excellent experiences on the Cloud, I'm really looking forward to my cruise next year!

 

Thanks

[oregon50]

Very good lounge entertainers have jumped ship for more $$. SS has successfully discouraged quality guest lecturers from returning. Quality staff have gone to other companies. It sticks out when a David Lawton type replaces a kind like Ray Solarie. Just like life on land. A competitor

hires a good guy at the top and brings along some key staff. Doesn't always happen overnight, but two years later you notice a real difference.

[unfathomable]

Is it this bad? Is the cost cutting bad enough to cause the staff to leave as one poster claimed?

Nope.

[MuseCruiser]

Not only is it "not this bad" its actually great!

[Scotspea]

Thanks for the reassurance. Only one bad experience, 2008 HK to Singapore when two containers went adrift and Whisper ran out of butter! (among other disasters).

We hope Spirit in the Carribean and Shadow in 2011 will be as good as usual.:)

[Silver Spectre]

Very good lounge entertainers have jumped ship for more $$. SS has successfully discouraged quality guest lecturers from returning. Quality staff have gone to other companies. It sticks out when a David Lawton type replaces a kind like Ray Solarie. Just like life on land. A competitor

hires a good guy at the top and brings along some key staff. Doesn't always happen overnight, but two years later you notice a real difference.

 

Somewhat confused here, but just what is a 'David Lawton type' and a 'kind like Ray Solarie'.

[Emtbsam]

We have cruised with both David Lawton and Ray Solaire. They each have a unique talent, and we were quite pleased with the way each one handled the job. Do I have a preference, yes. Is it a big deal, no! Is it nice that one of them knows my name - certainly!

 

By far the best CD I ever traveled with was Danny Leone on the SS Argentina in 1967. Additionally, the band on that cruise, led by trumpeter Bill Mavity, was simply the best at sea. I have not found a band, quartet or duo to compare to them since!

[meow!]

We have cruised with both David Lawton and Ray Solaire. !

 

By far the best CD I ever traveled with was Danny Leone on the SS Argentina in 1967.

We haven't come across those mentioned in this thread, we think Des King and his wife were really nice. Any comment?

[chicagogal]

Very good lounge entertainers have jumped ship for more $$. SS has successfully discouraged quality guest lecturers from returning. Quality staff have gone to other companies. It sticks out when a David Lawton type replaces a kind like Ray Solarie. Just like life on land. A competitor

hires a good guy at the top and brings along some key staff. Doesn't always happen overnight, but two years later you notice a real difference.

 

Have you thought of following all the "quality staff" to another cruise line? Maybe you would be happier there? I'll gladly take Silversea any day!

 

We sailed with David Lawton last fall, and had dinner with him, and enjoyed his company. I take it from your tone he is not up to your standards?

[unfathomable]

Very good lounge entertainers have jumped ship for more $$.

It may not be the $$. The production shows were reintroduced recently: that means fewer individual entertainers, if only because there are only so many nights in any cruise, and three or four of those are now occupied by production shows.

[lincslady]

We haven't come across those mentioned in this thread, we think Des King and his wife were really nice. Any comment?

 

Strange how we all have different taste - and a good thing too. We remember Danny Leone from ages ago, and found him a bit odd; Ray Solaire is a lovely chap, ditto Des and Cherry King. We haven't cruised SS for a while, but also liked Judi very much, and the Scottish chap Colin.

 

I wonder if Des and Cherry still do their magic? On Seabourn we love Jan Stearman, who rarely gets a mention, and also like Erik and David E very much.

[wripro]

Actually, I think Silversea has the best CDs of any luxury line. I especially love Judi Abbott and Fernando. This is one area where Seabourn can take a lesson from Silversea.

[oregon50]

Actually, I think Silversea has the best CDs of any luxury line. I especially love Judi Abbott and Fernando. This is one area where Seabourn can take a lesson from Silversea.

 

What's not to like? A lady from SB replaced Fernando as CD on Sprit in Los Angeles. It will be interesting to hear comments on her performance as the beginning seemed a bit on the rocky side.

 

I like David Lawton, but SS had him way overworked last summer on Shadow and it showed. It was not until my third SS cruise, that I met a CD and partially figured out their job description. The position has little impact on me until some of my favorites disappear and have been replaced with a lesser product. Referring to lounge entertainmet, not showroom.

[brimary]

Delighted to hear of the positive comments on the Cloud as we join the ship in London on 3 August.We spent two months on the Shadow Oct/Dec 2009 the CD was David Lawton who was a first class entertainer who cared about his staff and interacted with all passengers in a warm and kind manner. Who are the key officers on the Cloud who will be still around in August? Looking forward to our 35th cruise on the line with the best staff on the high sea--- in our opinion.

[Rally]

Delighted to hear of the positive comments on the Cloud as we join the ship in London on 3 August.We spent two months on the Shadow Oct/Dec 2009 the CD was David Lawton who was a first class entertainer who cared about his staff and interacted with all passengers in a warm and kind manner. Who are the key officers on the Cloud who will be still around in August? Looking forward to our 35th cruise on the line with the best staff on the high sea--- in our opinion.

 

So much of the negative stuff we all read needs to be taken with a grain of salt (and probably much of the positive stuff, too =) This David Lawton comment is a good example. Everyone has preferences, which is fine. But some people expect too much. On our recent cruise everyone (exept those disembarking) were prohibited from leaving the ship by TSA (security) in Honolulu. This was the day the tsunami was expected to hit. Late in the afternoon I personally witnessed an irate passenger screaming at David Lawton that this was unacceptable to him and then he jabbed his finger into David's chest (to make his point, I guess.) David told me later that several passengers had decided the Cruise Director was the one responsible for them missing a day in Honolulu. Kind of like blaming the captain for a storm at sea (and yes, I have heard that, too =(

[billcrooz]

So much of the negative stuff we all read needs to be taken with a grain of salt (and probably much of the positive stuff, too =) This David Lawton comment is a good example. Everyone has preferences, which is fine. But some people expect too much. On our recent cruise everyone (exept those disembarking) were prohibited from leaving the ship by TSA (security) in Honolulu. This was the day the tsunami was expected to hit. Late in the afternoon I personally witnessed an irate passenger screaming at David Lawton that this was unacceptable to him and then he jabbed his finger into David's chest (to make his point, I guess.) David told me later that several passengers had decided the Cruise Director was the one responsible for them missing a day in Honolulu. Kind of like blaming the captain for a storm at sea (and yes, I have heard that, too =(

on every cruise you alwAYS FIND A COUPLE OF A.......S!!!!

[LaComtesse75017]

From what I understand Ray Solaire retired/left Silversea to spend more time at home & that he only does occasional contracts with Regent/Oceania "to top up the pension"......maybe someone can give us an update??

 

Ray is even a legend amogst fellow Cruise Directors - his counterpart on Fred. Olsen's Black Watch (the former Royal Viking Star) Ronnie Finch acknowledged him as one of the best & one of the "old school". Incidentally, Mr Finch would do very well on SS...

 

Marie-Alice

[RosseauGirl]

Does anyone know who the current CD is on the Wind?

 

Only one more week!!! :D

 

Michele

[jerblu]

I was deeply disappointed by the Silver Wind, as you can see if you read my review:http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=66189

 

 

For those who would prefer not to click the link, here is an excerpt regarding the food:

------------------------------

 

Dining. Both in the dining room and in the Terrazza buffet the choices were more limited than on the ships I have sailed in the past. The quality of the food was generally ok, although the special ordered steak was tough and occasionally the food was overcooked. I ordered a pasta appetizer, as did the ladies to my left. When it came, all of to stuck together and one of the ladies said to the other that it was obviously microwaved; I agreed silently. In no way would I consider the food up to the quality of a superior restaurant in a major city. One time, though, bears special (egregious) mention.

My wife was served some fish that was so salty it was inedible. She sent it back and they brought another serving of the same fish; again it was far too salty. The waiter returned to the table, and seeing our distress, he explained that all of that fish was too salty, and that they knew it in the kitchen. I can not understand why they would have served it, knowing that it was bad, and why on earth they would have served a second portion, again knowing that the first had been rejected. It makes no sense; was noone paying attention?

 

---------------------------------

My point is that just because someone has a negative experience, that does not mean he is a jerk. I strongly wish I could have written a more positive review; I was looking forward to having difficulty deciding whether to go on SS or on another of the luxury lines.

 

 

 

JerBlu

[endosunshine]

Of course someone can have a negative experience and not be a jerk!!

I think the original title and feel of this thread referred to people who make a scene over something inconsequential - such as cashews in the bar not being warm from freshly roasting.

I would agree that the fish was certainly a bad experience. If you had shouted at the waiters and made a scene that the entire dining room witnessed, THAT would make you a jerk.:)

[billcrooz]

Of course someone can have a negative experience and not be a jerk!!

I think the original title and feel of this thread referred to people who make a scene over something inconsequential - such as cashews in the bar not being warm from freshly roasting.

I would agree that the fish was certainly a bad experience. If you had shouted at the waiters and made a scene that the entire dining room witnessed, THAT would make you a jerk.:)

you are correct; good to see you posting again;just back from the Cloud ! fab time,many martinis :)