First Silversea Cruise (Review) and Comparison to Regent

[Carol From California]

We recently sailed on Silversea. We have been on four Regent cruises (2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012) and this was our first Silversea cruise. We were on the Whisper, 11 day cruise from Hong Kong to Singapore. The cruise was a "segment" of the world cruise. For us the plusses were that the size of the ship allowed us to dock in some ports that the larger ships are not able to dock in due to their size. We found the ship very easy to get around due to the size and that was nice. I just read about someone on the Regent board that did not see the amazing light show in Hong Kong when leaving the port. Well, we were docked in an area where we could see it perfectly.

 

We enjoyed having a butler, something you don't get with Regent unless you book a higher category than we usually book. My husband loved that he unpacked his clothes and hung everything up in the closet for him.

 

The overall age group seemed much older than us (we are in our 60's), but I am sure that's because it was a world cruise, and the cruise consultant on the ship told us that was the case with world cruises. Who else but retired people can take off for 2 to 4 months to cruise around the world....LOL! I still work so taking a world cruise is out of the question, although even if I was retired I don't think I could ever go on that long of a cruise!

 

We really enjoyed the "hot rocks" restaurant on the pool deck and thought it was a fun experience. The steaks and prawns were delicious. The service on the ship was truly excellent, and the size of the ship made it feel more intimate. As an example, the activities director knew our names and every time he saw us he addressed us by name. The negatives for us was that we felt the overall experience was a bit too formal. We did not like the dress requirements even though Silversea has relaxed their dress codes somewhat (formerly 3 formal nights on an 11 day cruise, scaled down to 2). We can live without the formal nights. I realize some people like to dress up formally, but it's not for us, and many of the other cruise lines have eliminated the formal nights because that seems to be more popular. Not that we don't like to dress nicely, we just don't like to dress formally. We think the food is much better on Regent. We especially like Sette Mari and Prime 7 on Regent. The food in the main dining room and Italian restaurant on The Whisper was good but not great. There is a restaurant on the Whisper which carries a $30/person supplement. The moment we got onboard we tried to get a reservation for the night of our 35th wedding anniversary and were told that it was not available. This really bothered us...we never dined there. The night of our anniversary we dined in the main dining room. It was good but not great the few nights we ate there. On the other hand, when we went back to our cabin after dinner we found the entire room decorated for our anniversary. There was a cake, bottle of champagne, balloons, towels shaped into swans on the bed, and a hot bubble bath was prepared! This was a very nice touch.

 

The world cruisers were somewhat of a cohesive group...after all they all were together for months and dined together with their group of friends. I suppose this was a bad way to judge Silversea by going on a world cruise, but at times we felt somewhat left out, many of them wearing matching shirts, jackets and hats, and all hanging out together as a group.

 

Another issue for us is that I get terribly seasick and I always use the patch (prescription) to make sure I don't get sick. My husband has NEVER gotten sick. One day we were on the China Sea and the sea was very rough. My husband felt very sick...and he never got sick on any of the Regent cruises. I think you could feel the motion much more on a smaller ship than on Regent.

 

Another thing we felt about Silversea is that the décor of the ship seemed a bit tired and worn. It does not look like they have done any updates recently, whereas Regent has done many, including the restaurant décor and furnishings. I would not rule out going on Silversea again. I think it would depend on the itinerary and cost, and I especially don't want to judge the cruise based on being on this small segment of a world cruise. We did like the itinerary very much and went on many excursions and found them to be quite good. We did recently book our next cruise on Regent for 2014.

[duct tape]

Thanx for your review. Glad you enjoyed the itinerary. We were on that segment also.

[Carol From California]

We did like the itinerary very much....especially that sea days were mixed in with the port days. It was nice to relax on the ship in between the extensive days of touring around. Most of the Regent cruises we have been on had been so port intensive that we had little time to relax and enjoy the cruise!

[Silver Spectre]

Thanks for the review Carol, its interesting to get a comparitive view between the two lines. How much bigger are the Regent ships over the Whisper and have you been through similar rough weather before.

[wripro]

I'm not Carol but the Voyager and Mariner are 50000 tons and carry 700 passengers as compared to the Whisper which is 28000 tons and carries 384. So basically almost twice as large in size.

[NJ Jim]

Thanks for your insights, Carol. Our first cruise was on Regent (Voyager), and our subsequent voyages were on Oceania and Seabourn, respectively. Regent has been our favorite of the three. We thought we'd give Silverseas a try, based primarily on the reputation we perceived it enjoyed. Only after booking the cruise did we begin reading about the many reported shortcomings Silverseas seems to have developed, the food among them.

 

While our primary motivation for booking a cruise is the itinerary, we would like to believe that a premium cruise line (at least by cost) would have an exceptional food and wine program, and it is disheartening to read the many accounts such as yours where Silverseas appears to fall short. I realize there are many loyal Silverseas customers who feel differently, so my hope is that having lowered expectations will increase the prospect of being pleasantly surprised!

[duct tape]

By lowering your expectations you do yourself a disservice. My opinion differs from Carol. I prefer Silversea food to Regent...again, just an OPINION! Enjoy.

[WesW]

Thanks also Carol for your review & comparison.

 

We have about 120 days on Regent near 50 on Silversea with another 55 days booked on Silversea, zero on Regent. We got off the Voyager in late December and will be on the Spirit in nine days (last time on board was Nov 2011) and the Cloud in about 100 days. Our view is Silversea's food (esp in La Terraza) is a small notch above Regent and the service an even smaller notch ahead too--tho we enjoyed sailing on both. As many posters have said and we firmly believe, isn't it grand we have choices on which cruise line to sail. We are exceptionally fortunate to be able to cruise.

[NJ Jim]

Duct Tape, I appreciate your input and can assure you I really do want to travel with an open mind. Certainly, I acknowledge freely that as a relative neophyte to cruising, the views of more experienced cruisers such as you and Col. Wes are both valuable and, in this case, encouraging.

 

I would have been happier had the 2013 CC Awards touted Silverseas, particularly when comparing the fares of some of the winners with those assessed by Silverseas (I do think expectations are tied inextricably with cost). Likely, I'll embark with some skepticism but surely hope to keep it packed away during the cruise.

[Older Party]

Duct Tape, I appreciate your input and can assure you I really do want to travel with an open mind. Certainly, I acknowledge freely that as a relative neophyte to cruising, the views of more experienced cruisers such as you and Col. Wes are both valuable and, in this case, encouraging.

 

I would have been happier had the 2013 CC Awards touted Silverseas, particularly when comparing the fares of some of the winners with those assessed by Silverseas (I do think expectations are tied inextricably with cost). Likely, I'll embark with some skepticism but surely hope to keep it packed away during the cruise.

 

Advertising dollars buy awards. Just sayin' ... but totally agree, expectations are tied to cost. That is why if even one small thing goes wrong, it is exacerbated 100% more.

[NJ Jim]

Perhaps I am naive, Older Party, but my impression is the awards are based on member reviews. I would hope the number of reviews gathered legitimately would offset any ballot stuffing by those having a financial interest in the outcome. I was not surprised by many of the winners, but, again, I did think Silverseas would be included based upon all of the support the cruise line seems to engender among experienced cruise fans.

[Older Party]

Perhaps I am naive, Older Party, but my impression is the awards are based on member reviews. I would hope the number of reviews gathered legitimately would offset any ballot stuffing by those having a financial interest in the outcome. I was not surprised by many of the winners, but, again, I did think Silverseas would be included based upon all of the support the cruise line seems to engender among experienced cruise fans.

 

Call me a cynic. I've been in PR/Marketing for enough years to be suspicious of ANY award. ;) Silversea did get a nod for its entertainment recently on Cruise Critic a few months back. Also I saw Fodor's (I THINK it was Fodor's) name the Silver Wind the 4th best cruise ship. I stopped reading member reviews here on CC because I find those who review are mostly the complainers. Plus, it is amazing to me how two people can be on the same voyage and have completely opposing viewpoints. I've seen that on the member reviews as well.

[gdlamberth]

Plus, it is amazing to me how two people can be on the same voyage and have completely opposing viewpoints. I've seen that on the member reviews as well.

 

You should try working with "horse people!" Get three "horse experts" in a room and ask them what to feed a particular horse and you'll get, at least, 5 very adamant opinions.:o

[Older Party]

You should try working with "horse people!" Get three "horse experts" in a room and ask them what to feed a particular horse and you'll get, at least, 5 very adamant opinions.:o

 

That made me laugh out loud! Many years ago I had business with the Menlo Circus Club in Northern California. That was definitely my experience with the "horse people".

[barefootbeach]

Carol, I was very interested in hearing your comparison between the two lines as I've only been on Regent Seven Seas (Tahiti, Alaska, & Baltic), but I"m booked on the Spirit in May for Venice to Istanbul. I've been very satisfied with Regent but wanted to try either Silversea or Seabourn... and picked the Spirit for it's itinerary and that it's a newer ship....really like those verandas! I too am not thrilled with two formal nights although I do like to dress up...just not that much! If we were only going on a cruise, that's one thing...but when you add a couple of weeks travel afterwards, packing efficiently becomes an issue. I've heard similar comments to yours when people book part of a world voyage that they're made to feel left out or not part of the group...I will avoid doing this in the future.

[CanadianKate]

I too am not thrilled with two formal nights although I do like to dress up...just not that much! If we were only going on a cruise, that's one thing...but when you add a couple of weeks travel afterwards, packing efficiently becomes an issue.

 

Our first SS cruise was a long trip, starting with 2 weeks of work in NYC, 17 days on the Shadow cross to England, 10 days working in Helsinki.

 

We took 3 checked suitcases (1 each plus one for formal wear) and when we got to LHR we left the formal wear suitcase at Left Baggage and picked it up on our way through LHR from Helsinki. That won't work for all itineraries, but it worked well for us. Luckily, our business attire, slightly dressed up, could be used on informal nights and slightly dressed down would work for casual nights.

 

Our second SS cruise was Florida to Vancouver via Panama and Alaska. We managed the two wardrobes (boots & jackets plus tropic wear) and the formal wear, still with three suitcases. The route home had us stopping at our daughter's university graduation. In that case, the airline lost the formal wear suitcase, so we didn't have to travel with it from Toronto to her city, or onwards to home. On the other hand, I was a bit nervous because the formal wear was also to be used at her wedding just 4 weeks later, but the airline had the bag to us within 2 days.

[barefootbeach]

CanadianKate,

Wow, after reading about your itinerary, I'm sure not going to complain about bringing various travel clothes! But, I'm sure glad we don't need to check a third bag...you had to satisfy a lot of different needs on that trip!

[MuseCruiser]

Thanks for your insights, Carol. Our first cruise was on Regent (Voyager), and our subsequent voyages were on Oceania and Seabourn, respectively. Regent has been our favorite of the three. We thought we'd give Silverseas a try, based primarily on the reputation we perceived it enjoyed. Only after booking the cruise did we begin reading about the many reported shortcomings Silverseas seems to have developed, the food among them.

 

While our primary motivation for booking a cruise is the itinerary, we would like to believe that a premium cruise line (at least by cost) would have an exceptional food and wine program, and it is disheartening to read the many accounts such as yours where Silverseas appears to fall short. I realize there are many loyal Silverseas customers who feel differently, so my hope is that having lowered expectations will increase the prospect of being pleasantly surprised!

 

As my friend DuctTape says, you do yourself a MAJOR disservice by adjusting your expectations to anonymous posters personally unknown to you from a board. I've been on cruises and read "live" posts from the same cruise and would never have known we were on the same cruise! Some people love to complain, some people are hard to please, etc. You must go and see for yourself. I've read of people canceling cruises because of posts on a board! To that, I say ridiculous. The real and in person experience is often different from what is portrayed on posts by anonymous persons.

[UKCruiseJeff]

As my friend DuctTape says, you do yourself a MAJOR disservice by adjusting your expectations to anonymous posters personally unknown to you from a board. I've been on cruises and read "live" posts from the same cruise and would never have known we were on the same cruise! Some people love to complain, some people are hard to please, etc. You must go and see for yourself. I've read of people canceling cruises because of posts on a board! To that, I say ridiculous. The real and in person experience is often different from what is portrayed on posts by anonymous persons.

 

I think it would be presumptuous and potentially misdirecting to presume that the approach that suits you is the right one for all others.

 

From what you have said, one might conclude that often when others have experienced the same cruise and situations as you and have found them lacking - you have been happy, contented and satisfied and be puzzled about their dissatisfaction. Neither you nor they are wrong as you hint. You are simply different. That could indicate anything. It might for example mean that you are a really nice person, easy going, tolerant and who rarely complains and makes the best of everything. And me - I might just be more difficult, It then again may not.

 

But for many it makes no sense from their perspective to read many viable and compelling and credible accounts that causes them warning bells. They should follow their instinct - not yours.

 

To state that no one should never be influenced by anything and anybody seems rather extreme. They after all, might know as I do about myself that I can be a grumpy git and be very unforgiving under certain circumstances and it makes sense for everyone involved if I avoid purposefully seeking situations where I'm likely to be dissatisfied. Perhaps, for example the people on the cruise you talk about shouldn't have chosen that one? For people that are rarely dissatisfied they can more safely take the risks you advise. For others they should follow their instincts.

 

:)

[NJ Jim]

Hi MuseCruiser and UKCruiseJeff, thanks for your comments. I am sure that most if not all CC members participate in the forums in order to exchange thoughts and ideas with the hope that there will be a mutual benefit derived from the dialogue. Clearly, it is important to understand that views held and expressed are subjective, and that we all frame our expectations based upon the things that are most important to us. It seems key to gathering and applying the information offered to recognize that members of the CC community very well may weigh different aspects of a cruise experience differently. Certainly, I have read enough posting about formal nights to appreciate how seasoned travelers react differently to the imposition of that requirement. Some may view food quality and service as integral when measuring a line, or ship's, value.

 

I consider user input to be valuable (otherwise why join and post?), and that is true with non-cruise sites, e.g. Trip Advisor, Zagat, wine websites, food blogs, etc. Thus, if a number of people complain about a hotel's walls being too thin to contain noise from adjoining rooms, I very well may steer away, since my wife and I are both light sleepers. If a Zagat food rating for one restaurant is 18 and another is 26 but price and style of cuisine are the same, I might choose the latter, or at least visit each with differing expectations. That is not to say I won't ultimately be pleased with one or disappointed with the other, but simply that I may enter the restaurant with an awareness of the views conveyed by others who've dined there before.

 

As for the anonymity of posting, I suppose that depends to a degree on the public profile provided, the number of postings and the apparent familiarity some posters enjoy with others. Credibility is not the easiest trait to assess, but based on the nature of posts and the interplay with others, or conversely the uncharitable bent of some which I also have seen in other threads, I expect one can evaluate, broadly if not precisely, comments given. While I certainly do not know Carol from California, I felt her observations were sincere and not a lone voice when it comes to Silversea food. Rest assured, however, I look forward to forming my own opinion!