Review of Silver Cloud from 1st timer on Silversea

[bobndee]

Another installment of my Cloud review - more on the ship & passengers.

 

I touched before on the condition of the ship. I do need to say that the overall décor, while in good condition, is looking dated. I gather it hasn’t been changed since the ship was launched 16 years ago. The Venetian Lounge is a prime example. There is a lot of brass and glass, rather reminiscent of a Las Vegas casino, but not as garish as the RCCL ship we were on last year. This is one case where the postponed refit of the Cloud shows. The light colored woods keep the spaces from feeling dark, however.

 

We were in Monte Carlo the same day the Silver Spirit was there. Jimmy, the cruise director, made sure everyone knew that tours of the Spirit were available for any guest who wanted one. We took the tour. The Spirit’s décor is much lower key: very little brass or chrome with darker woods than the Cloud. I think I’d prefer a blend of the two with the Cloud’s lighter wood tones and the Spirit’s lack of brass and chrome. Of course, whatever is done today will look dated again 15 years from now. "plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose"

 

Our suite was further forward than we feel is ideal, but that was all that was available when we booked the cruise. Being forward on deck 4 we were awakened by sounds of bow thrusters, mooring gear and anchors as we came into port each morning. Other than that we had no problems with noise in our cabin. We never heard any sounds from adjacent cabins. We didn’t have rowdy neighbors, either.

 

The majority of people we met on board were from the US and the UK. Other nationalities we know were aboard were Canadian, Latin American, Russian and Indian. We saw three children: one boy about 10 traveling with his grandparents and a woman with a girl about 3 years old and a baby. Someone said she may have been the captain’s wife. That would make sense as we were sailing in Italian waters and the captain is Italian. The 10 year old boy exhibited model behavior and was never annoying.

 

Most people on the ship looked to be somewhere between 50 and 80 but there were a number of younger couples, too. At no time did we notice anyone behaving boorishly. No tirades about stale nuts. :eek: We didn’t observe any drunken behavior, either. What we did observe was an almost universal willingness to meet and greet. When the maitre’d sat us at a table with strangers in every case the people were congenial, regardless of nationality. People around the pool mingled freely. We met none of the stereotypical British reserve, although some of the Brits we talked with commented that Americans are more outgoing than British. We had no problems with people being aloof or finding topics to chat about.

 

We attended only two of the evening shows, one in the Venetian Lounge and one on the pool deck during the barbeque. Both shows were well choreographed and performed. They weren’t Broadway review quality but they were well above school play level. It’s hard to do a major production with a cast of 6 or 8 people and a stage smaller than most high schools’. The performers sang and danced well and they were professional grade.

[WesW]

bobndee, thanks for your informative on board posts, enjoyed your comparison of the

Cloud and Spirit public space differences.

[LauraBK]

bobndee - I can't tell you how much I appreciate the time you have taken to give us a trip report on your cruise. I will be a first time Silversea cruiser next year (1st time cruiser period) and you are providing all of the detail I was hoping to get before our trip! Thanks so much - GREAT thread :)

[TLCOhio]

Cloud review - more on the ship & passengers. I do need to say that the overall décor, while in good condition, is looking dated. I gather it hasn’t been changed since the ship was launched 16 years ago. The Venetian Lounge is a prime example. There is a lot of brass and glass, rather reminiscent of a Las Vegas casino, but not as garish as the RCCL ship we were on last year.

Jimmy, the cruise director, made sure everyone knew that tours of the Spirit were available for any guest who wanted one. We took the tour. The Spirit’s décor is much lower key: very little brass or chrome with darker woods than the Cloud. I think I’d prefer a blend of the two with the Cloud’s lighter wood tones and the Spirit’s lack of brass and chrome. Being forward on deck 4 we were awakened by sounds of bow thrusters, mooring gear and anchors as we came into port each morning. Other than that we had no problems with noise in our cabin. We never heard any sounds from adjacent cabins.

At no time did we notice anyone behaving boorishly. No tirades about stale nuts. :eek: We didn’t observe any drunken behavior, either. What we did observe was an almost universal willingness to meet and greet. We had no problems with people being aloof or finding topics to chat about.

 

THANKS, Bob, for the added updates and helpful info! From several of your comments, I wanted to ask a couple of follow-ups.

 

1. You mentioned Jimmy, the Cruise Director. Is that Jimmy Kovel? How did you rate him, his "speciality" for performing talent, any "styles" for how he approached that job? I think he is scheduled to be on our July 1-16 cruise and has been with Silversea for the past year or so after being with NCL. Our July cruise will also have Captain Cosimo Pontillo, Hotel Director Giovanni Dotti, Executive Chef Douglas Hope and Maitre D' Jorge Caeiro. Any of those on for your cruise?

 

2. Deck Four? Which room were you in? We'll be in 427 and our friends along on this cruise will be in 423. Will we be far enough away from the noise in the early am?

 

Glad to hear, as expected, that the rooms were quiet, fellow passengers were good and diverse, no "sense of entitlement" people with attitudes, etc.

 

Keep up the good work. Us "Silversea Virgins" enjoy learning and hearing more! Terry in Ohio

[bobndee]

1. You mentioned Jimmy, the Cruise Director. Is that Jimmy Kovel? How did you rate him, his "speciality" for performing talent, any "styles" for how he approached that job? I think he is scheduled to be on our July 1-16 cruise and has been with Silversea for the past year or so after being with NCL. Our July cruise will also have Captain Cosimo Pontillo, Hotel Director Giovanni Dotti, Executive Chef Douglas Hope and Maitre D' Jorge Caeiro. Any of those on for your cruise?

 

2. Deck Four? Which room were you in? We'll be in 427 and our friends along on this cruise will be in 423. Will we be far enough away from the noise in the early am?

 

 

 

Yes, our cruise director was Jimmy Kovel. I never saw Jimmy perform on stage except as emcee. His style is low key but warm. I did have several one-on-one conversations with him. The Captain was Mino Pontillo, the executive chef was Douglas Hope and I believe the Hotel Director was Giovanni Dotti.

 

We were in 411, which is quite far forward. I would expect you'd hear much less of the mooring noises where you'll be.

 

Bob

[TLCOhio]

Yes, our cruise director was Jimmy Kovel. I never saw Jimmy perform on stage except as emcee. His style is low key but warm. I did have several one-on-one conversations with him. The Captain was Mino Pontillo, the executive chef was Douglas Hope and I believe the Hotel Director was Giovanni Dotti. We were in 411, which is quite far forward. I would expect you'd hear much less of the mooring noises where you'll be. Bob

 

THANKS, Bob, for the added information and confirmation! Appreciate getting the menu info. Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[ging466]

We were in 411, which is quite far forward. I would expect you'd hear much less of the mooring noises where you'll be.

Bob

 

I was in 411 on the Whisper and it's quite noisy but only coming into port. I managed to get used to the noise and it didn't bother me in the end.

 

It's also noisy on deck 4 in bad weather as the waves pound against the window:)

 

The menus were fabulous, I got so hungry reading them:D

 

Cheers

Jennifer

[bobndee]

The menus were fabulous, I got so hungry reading them:D

 

Cheers

Jennifer

 

One of the hardest adjustments we had to make upon returning was realizing that we couldn't just go down to the Restaurant and have a gourmet meal when we felt like it. -sigh- :(

 

Bob

[bobndee]

I’d like to wrap up my review with a few leftover things.

 

Tours

As has been mentioned before on this forum, Silversea has cold bottled water available as you leave the ship in every port. What I hadn’t heard before is that in ports where you have to tender to and from the ship, they have a canopy with cold drinks and some chairs where you wait for the tender to return to the ship.

 

We only took two Silversea excursions: Ancient Pompeii and Rome and the Vatican. We enjoyed both tours; fortunately we had perfect weather for both days (and all week, for that matter). Of course, we had time for only a brief introduction to each city. The guides were knowledgeable and easy to talk to with very good-to-excellent English. The tour buses were almost new and quite comfortable. On both tours the buses were almost full. We had two buses going to Rome to accommodate all of the people on the tour. The Rome tour included lunch at a hotel in Rome. The food was very good, but not quite as good as aboard the Silver Cloud. Both tours made me glad that I wasn’t trying to negotiate the maze of Italian traffic on my own. When we got back to the bus to head back from Rome, the guide provided more bottled water for us. A welcome treat on a sunny day.

 

There was a free shuttle bus from the tender dock to the town in Sorrento. That was nice due to the steep climb up to the town. The drop-off and pick-up location for the shuttle could have been better located as it was away from the main shopping/restaurant area of town. The maps of Sorrento provided by the ship were prominently marked with ads for the only shop near the shuttle bus stop. As our Pompeii tour bus dropped us off at the shuttle bus/shop our guide gave us a pitch for that shop. This was the only time on the cruise that I noticed any overt attempt to guide the passengers to a particular business.

 

After two days of touring, we stayed on board all day at our third port. There was no drop in service aboard while the majority of passengers were ashore. The ship was nicely quiet and restful, due in no small part to the lack of children around the pool.

 

Miscellaneous

One thing I forgot to mention under nice touches: On our last afternoon aboard we came back to our cabin to find that our suitcases had been pulled out of hiding and placed on the bed for us. My wife’s suitcase had been tied up with a Silversea ribbon and note. The note explained that the staff had noticed some soil on her suitcase and had attempted to remove it. Since the soil caused by the airline baggage handlers, not Silversea, we were amazed that they had taken care of it.

[TLCOhio]

One of the hardest adjustments we had to make upon returning was realizing that we couldn't just go down to the Restaurant and have a gourmet meal when we felt like it. -sigh- :( Bob

 

What, we don't get such meals at home when we return from our first cruise with Silversea? I'm shocked and deeply disappointed. Appreciate your added posting, including the item about the "above and beyond" cleaning of your suitcase. Impressive! Hopefully our cruising along Norway Coast will not be too hot as to make the cold water as vital as what you experienced in the warmer Med.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[endosunshine]

One of the hardest adjustments we had to make upon returning was realizing that we couldn't just go down to the Restaurant and have a gourmet meal when we felt like it. -sigh- :(

 

Bob

 

I always say that the very worst part of the trip is going home where no one will prepare my meals and cater to my whims.:(

The cats (and even DH) don't care if I want breakfast delivered.:eek:

[mrsgritoli]

Always sobering when the suitcases make their ugly appearance from their assigned space under the bed.:(

[V8Babe]

Thanks so much for the menus Bob and for taking the time to tell us about your trip.

[umtali]

Always sobering when the suitcases make their ugly appearance from their assigned space under the bed.:(

 

It is the time I get the anti-depressants out!!:):):(

[Goldens4]

I order a bottle of bubbly and sip while I pack. :D It helps!;)

[wripro]

Now that there are butlers for each suite why not order a bottle of bubbly and sip while you watch him/her pack for you?

[chicagogal]

It is the time I get the anti-depressants out!!:):):(

 

Funny! :)

[chicagogal]

I usually do 3 pairs of shoes but in October, I'm travelling for 6 weeks:D

 

I have no idea how I'm going to pack everything into 1 suitcase for this trip. :confused:

 

Cheers

Jennifer

 

Nice dilemma to have, though, isn't it Jennifer? We are all so fortunate ...

 

Patty

[ging466]

Nice dilemma to have, though, isn't it Jennifer? We are all so fortunate ...Patty

 

Hi Patty

 

I absolutely agree. I doubt that I'll ever be able to do 3 x SS cruises in one year again, so I consider myself very lucky indeed.

 

Cheers

Jennifer

[meow!]

Thank you so much for such an interesting and comprehensive report. Having written several similar reports in parts on this forum before, we can really appreciate the amount of work you have put into it. We have been on the Shadow twice (and we love that ship), have not been on the Cloud/Wind, and hope to get on the Spirit this November. Our Shadow voyages were Mexican Riviera and Panama Canal, our Mediterranean voyages were on Oceania Regatta and Nautica.

 

You mentioned choppy ride with swells of 6-8 ft. We think it starts to get choppy when swells are over 10 ft. At over 10 ft., the best will be to lie in bed and try to go to sleep, you won't feel it if you are asleep unless it is so bad as to throw you off bed (which luckily has not happened to us yet). It is nice that room service is readily available under any sea condition, and one doesn't have to leave the cabin!

[bobndee]

Thank you so much for such an interesting and comprehensive report. Having written several similar reports in parts on this forum before, we can really appreciate the amount of work you have put into it. We have been on the Shadow twice (and we love that ship), have not been on the Cloud/Wind, and hope to get on the Spirit this November. Our Shadow voyages were Mexican Riviera and Panama Canal, our Mediterranean voyages were on Oceania Regatta and Nautica.

 

You mentioned choppy ride with swells of 6-8 ft. We think it starts to get choppy when swells are over 10 ft. At over 10 ft., the best will be to lie in bed and try to go to sleep, you won't feel it if you are asleep unless it is so bad as to throw you off bed (which luckily has not happened to us yet). It is nice that room service is readily available under any sea condition, and one doesn't have to leave the cabin!

 

 

meow!: The size of the ship and its hull design have a lot to do with how much the passengers feel the waves. Then there's the individual's personal sensitivity; some people get uneasy while still in port. Plus, in our case, our suite was quite far forward. That makes any motion more noticeable. Fortunately for us, we weren't affected and were able to enjoy the day.

 

I was talking to one of the entertainers the following day. She told me that they had a lot of trouble trying to rehearse that night's performance due to the movement of the ship.

 

BTW: Thanks for the compliment. I've learned so much from the various people who post to this forum that I just wanted to give a little back.