Review of Silver Shadow, Singapore to Hong Kong, March 2013

[NattilyAttired]

As promised, I wanted to file a trip report of our recent cruise from Singapore to Hong Kong on the Silver Shadow from March 22nd through April 2nd (cruise #3308).

 

About us: We are an active and fun-loving 55-year-old couple from Napa, California. This was our third Silversea cruise, having sailed on the Shadow in 2008, on the Wind in 2009, and this cruise again on the Shadow. While our SS experiences are limited (we also sail on HAL), my parents had over 1000 days on Silversea before they passed away, so we have quite a bit of history with the line and a good understanding of how things have changed over the years.

 

Pre-cruise: We flew from SFO-Singapore (via HK) and arrived the day before embarkation, allowing us a little time to adjust to the time change. We stayed at the Mandarin Oriental in the Marina Bay area, which was a fantastic experience. It was an outstanding hotel in a great location, our room was upgraded to a corner room, we had Club floor access, and we thoroughly enjoyed the pool and gym twice before leaving for the ship. Highly recommended if visiting Singapore.

 

Embarkation: We arrived at the ship about 1:30pm and only had to wait about 20 minutes in line to turn in our paperwork and have our photos taken and receive our keycards. We were quickly onboard. We went to reception and were told our rooms would be ready at 2pm. We then went to the restaurant to make our reservations for alternate dining. There was a line, so it took a few minutes, but we used that opportunity to get acquainted with some fellow passengers, which was fortuitous. When finished, we headed to our room, which was ready. Within 2-3 minutes our butler, Marlon, presented himself to us and we made the proper introductions. As many have noted, Silversea no longer automatically supplies sparkling wine or fresh flowers in each cabin upon arrival. While many long-time customers complain about this, the truth is that many passengers do not WANT the sparkling wine, so many bottles went to waste. Instead, it is now offered to those who request it. Marlon asked straight away if we wanted a bottle of Prosecco, and we said yes. He made a call from our phone and it was delivered within 60 seconds. Marlon explained a few things to us (most of which we already knew) and offered to make dining reservations for us, bring us any beverages we wanted for our fridge, and offered to unpack for us once we received our luggage (which took about 30 more minutes to arrive.) We declined his offer to unpack, preferring to do our own unpacking so we would know where everything was placed. We specifically requested that Marlon refer to us by our first names, and he dutifully complied for the next 12 days. We then gave Marlon a gift of some candy from our hometown which we had brought with us for crew gifts. He was touched and surprised by our thoughtfulness. We have found that this is a great way to establish a nice relationship with our room stewards and paves the way for a very pleasant cruising experience. Yes, we tipped him at the end as well, but the candy was an unexpected joy for him.

 

Our room: We had cabin #712 (a Veranda 2 in Silversea parlance) on the port side of the ship, and since we were sailing from the south to the north, we enjoyed having the land often visible out our windows. Being upfront, as opposed to midship, our room was more susceptible to rough seas, but we were fortunate to have an unusually calm sailing except for the very last night. While narrow, the room was very comfortable, and the bedding was excellent. We never spend too much time in our room, anyway, so we did not feel like we needed a bigger suite. We had plenty of storage and everything worked well for us. Having sailed on the Shadow before, we knew what to expect, so were not disappointed. We noted that there was no wall clock in the room, something every room on a HAL ship has, which is very convenient for telling the time. There was a small cube clock with an iPod adapter on it which had the time, but you had to walk over to it to see it. Our refrigerator had a few Stella Artois beers, some water and sodas already in it, and we asked Marlon for a bottle of Chardonnay, which was promptly delivered. Whenever we consumed anything, it was replaced. If we had asked for anything, it would have been delivered without delay. The room showed a little bit of wear and tear on the carpets, but nothing horrible. We had a flat screen TV and a DVD player, and a wifi router mounted behind the TV. I bought a package of 250 minutes of internet time for $85, and never had any problem getting a clear signal. Other passengers told me they had periods of slow coverage, but I did not experience that issue (although admittedly all I did was access email and upload a couple of photos occasionally.)

 

The Ship: Compared to other ships at sea, the Shadow is a little boring. To some extent, that is good. (Personally, I would never be able to tolerate the visual chaos of a ship like Allure of the Seas or one of the other behemoths.) However, the Shadow could use a little more "zip" visually onboard. The Panorama lounge, for example, could very well be the most boring room at sea. It needs a makeover. The bar on deck 5, however, is wonderful, and seems to have had a more recent makeover. The hallways are pretty plain, and just sort of unappealing. Some work could be done here.

 

Itinerary: We chose this cruise for the itinerary. Although my wife and I had been to Hong Kong before, and I had been to Singapore, neither of us had been to Thailand or Viet Nam, so that was the allure. This cruise was 12 days and 11 nights, and included 3 sea days. Of the 7 port days, we had overnight stops (allowing two days of touring) in Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon.) The other stops included Ko Samui Thailand, Nha Trang Viet Nam, and Chan May Viet Nam (close to Hue, Denang and Hoi An). Of all the stops, we far and away enjoyed Bangkok the most, and would go back. HCMC was interesting, but not as amazing a city as Bangkok by any stretch, and the “sights” were not anywhere as interesting. However, being Americans who lived through the Viet Nam war, it was interesting to see the city, even if the US is not held in high regard there. Ko Samui was an interesting vacation destination (beaches, primarily) as was Nha Trang. Chan May was an interesting stop, although we headed to Hoi An.

 

Excursions: We only took one Silversea-planned excursion, in Ko Samui. (More on that in a minute). In Nha Trang, we took the free shuttle provided by the ship to the downtown area and just hung out on the beach all day. In all other cases, we planned our own excursions with private guides. It is our experience and opinion that the ship-based excursions are expensive and often have other drawbacks (forced shopping stops, crowded buses, lack of flexibility in where you go or how long you stay, and having to always wait for everyone to get on or off the bus.) By using private tours, you can plan your own itinerary, get in and go, and make changes on the fly. While the ship offers private guides/cars, those are also very expensive. Before a cruise, we read the destination boards here on CruiseCritic and see what private tour guides other cruisers (from ALL the cruise lines) have used. These reviews are priceless. We then contact the guides that interest us ahead of time and make arrangements. The cost is usually HALF of what the ship offers, plus we gain all the benefits mentioned above. On this voyage, I met three people in advance (through CC Roll Calls) who would be on our cruise, and we got acquainted through emails and a phone call. We decided to share private guides on three days of our trip (two days in Bangkok and one day in HCMC). We had phenomenal experiences every time and on a per-person basis we paid less than half what the ship would have charged us. Not only that, but we got to visit places that the ship did not offer, like the train market, the floating market and a unique fishing village, all in Bangkok. In Bangkok we used TourWithTong, and in HCMC we used Zoom. They are easy to find online. My wife and I used Vietland Denang tour agency for a private tour in Chan May, where we visited the streets of Hoi An and went to Marble Mountain. Our one ship-based excursion in Ko Samui was a small disappointment, although others had a stronger reaction. The stop in Ko Samui was only six hours, and our excursion to a beach resort was listed as 5.5 hours. This was our only tender port. We were told to be in the auditorium at 9:15 to leave the ship, but in fact we were kept waiting in the lounge until 10am. By the time we were at the bus it was 10:20. Silversea was forced to work with local tender boats rather than using their own lifeboats, and the locals were slow to get groups to shore and return for the next group. Hence, we missed an hour of time onshore. We had 45 minutes travel time to the resort and another 45 back, so we only had 3 hours to enjoy the beach. The food provided at the resort (included) was not great either, but that was not a big deal to us. The beach was nice (although busy) and I had a great massage for $10. But we did not get all the time we had been promised.

 

Food: This is an area of much debate on CruiseCritic as it pertains to Silversea cruises. After a recent spate of negative reviews, I was anxious to experience the food for myself and form my own opinion. I can honestly say that I gave our voyage mixed reviews on the overall food. As far as dinners go, we ate six times in the MDR, had two dinners in La Terrazza, and two on the pool deck (Hot Rocks). We also ate on the pool deck in HCMC for the on-deck BBQ, which was outstanding. In the MDR, we had three meals that I thought were great, but those were on the very first night and the two formal nights. The other times we ate there the food was uninspired. Not BAD, but the menus were not appetizing, and the food was not anything to exclaim about. In several cases the nightly menu was dedicated to local cuisine (Thai food or Vietnamese food). Having eaten lunch ashore and having great local food, it was disappointing to have mediocre Asian cuisine back on board. Again, it was not bad food, but it wasn’t as good as the real thing. I had hoped to have more MDR menu options like lamb or duck, but those were only available on formal nights. I found myself falling back on the “always available” menu too often, which was disappointing. La Terrazza’s food was quite good, and I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t that unique compared to food we eat in Napa regularly. The Hot Rocks option is fun in that you can sit outside and dress down and laugh without annoying your neighbors, but personally I dislike the “cook your own” deal and would prefer they just cook my steak for me (which I had them do the second time we ate there.) But at the end of the day, having a steak or veal chop and a Caesar salad and a baked potato just isn’t all that interesting. The breakfasts were wonderful (either in our room, or in La Terrazza), and we enjoyed lunch on the pool deck on sea days. The galley lunch on the last full day was very good, with a huge selection of very good food. So overall, I thought the food was just okay, and that’s what I wrote on my on-board ship review which I turned in before disembarking.

 

Service: This is what sets Silversea apart from the other cruise lines, in my opinion, and I know many others feel the same way. Every single crew member we came in contact with provided us with amazing, joyful service. Crew members go out of their way to learn not only your name but your drink order, and it is always fun to walk into a bar in the evening and hear your martini already being shaken. Anticipating needs is an art that many crew members have learned. One morning, my wife went upstairs to get two cups of coffee and bring them back to our room. When she got to our floor, she passed a butler (not ours, but one from down the hall). They said good morning. When my wife got to our door, just as she was wondering how she was going to open the door, a hand reached out from behind her and slid a passkey in our door to open it. The butler had foreseen the challenge that was about to confront my wife, and went out of his way to assist her. If that doesn’t summarize our view of Silversea service, nothing does. We almost bought a new suitcase in Saigon so we could smuggle Marlon home with us. He was very helpful, provided us with restaurant recommendations without asking, shined my shoes several times without asking, and put ice-cold lemonade and cold towels in our room just before we returned from a scorching day in Bangkok. It does not get better than that.

 

Fellow passengers: One of the other great things about sailing with Silversea is the people you share the experience with. Our ship was not full (I heard there were 309 passengers, while the Shadow’s capacity is listed as 382) so it was never crowded. But the smaller size allowed ample opportunity to get to know the people that you wanted to meet. The greatest number of passengers were from the United States, the UK, Germany, Canada and Australia. Oh, and Florida. (Little joke there.) As you would expect on Silversea, the clientele is a little older, with most people seemingly in their 60’s and 70s, but also many in their 40’s, 50’s, and 80’s. Most are wealthy (duh), but not all. As you would suspect, most are well-traveled and have great stories to tell. We made quite a number of friends with whom we hope to maintain contact and perhaps sail with again. Every cruise we have been on also has its share of boorish or obnoxious people, and this cruise was no exception. However, one learns to identify and avoid those people and focus on the positives. Silversea is not a cruise line for children, but you usually see 3-4 on a cruise. This is usually not a problem, unless the parents don’t pay attention to what the kids are up to. We had some unattentive parents on our cruise, and a couple of kids almost spoiled a performance by the cast, but that was resolved without incident.

 

Entertainment: I submitted a separate entry about the Artists of Silversea because I thought their performances merited special mention. Also on our cruise were two other entertainment groups: The Silver Shadow Quartet, and “Resident Duo Enrico and Michelle.” I thought both of these groups were mediocre and could have been much better. Specifically, the vocalists in both groups were challenged to sing the lyrics to the (mostly American) standards that you expect to hear in a lounge type-setting. A good piano player would have been better than either of these groups, in my opinion.

 

On-board activities: Although we really did not partake in any on-board activity, there was quite a list of things going on each day, whether at sea or in port. While in port most people were off the ship, so it was really the three sea days where a full slate of events was on tap, from trivia contests to bingo games to ballroom dance classes, port lectures, bridge lessons, casino tournaments, etc. We preferred to work out in the gym, sit by the pool and read, or “get friendly” back in our room, rather than attend a drink-mixing demonstration. But there is always something to do if you are so inclined, and it’s all inclusive.

 

Dress code: We had two formal nights on our 11-day cruise, down from three. We weren’t sure if the reduced number was because we had two overnight stays in port, or the hot weather (it was between 90-100 degrees Fahrenheit with 90+-% humidity in most places we were) or just kowtowing to the people who say they don’t want to dress up. We love dressing up, and actually sail with Silversea because they still require people to do so. We strongly believe that if people don’t like it, they should sail with someone else, rather than try to convince Silversea to change their policy. Almost everyone complied with the dress code, at least in the MDR. Some people did not dress up to the required level, but they seemed to eat elsewhere. A few still flaunted short pants in public areas after 6pm, but it wasn’t a huge annoyance. We hope the dress code stays in effect.

 

Overall: I rated the cruise a solid 10 out of 10 on our questionnaire, even though the food was just okay. That may seem wrong to some people, but I don’t place that much weight on the food. To us, it’s more about the overall experience, the service, the people we meet, and the great times we have. We would absolutely sail with Silversea again, and we definitely recommend it to friends. We in fact put down a deposit while on board for a future cruise. We enjoy the small ships and the intimacy they afford. We get to dock close to town, rather than far away (which was a big advantage in Bangkok and HCMC.) We never have to wait to get off the ship. If we want something different, all we have to do is ask. We feel special on Silversea, even though they have made cutbacks over the years. More on that below.

 

General: Yes, Silversea has made cutbacks over time, as all cruise lines have. That’s a factor of the economy. I can tell you that we paid less per cruise-day on this cruise then we did back in 2008 or 2009 with Silversea. They have had to decrease their prices to be competitive and fill the rooms (which they did not do on this cruise), and have had to eliminate or decrease the quality of certain amenities (champagne, caviar, included wines, flowers, entertainment) in order to keep pace. We don’t have a problem with that, because we can still afford to sail with Silversea. I do have a suggestion for Silversea which might appease the folks who long for the old days of luxury, and I will submit that as a separate entry. But bottom-line: we can live with the cutbacks, and we will return.

 

I apologize that this is long, but I wanted it to be thorough. Happy to answer any questions.

 

Kort and Laurie van Bronkhorst

[Island Cruiser]

Wonderful balanced review. Thanks so much. We used Zoom too in a private tour a couple of years ago. He was highly touted. And knew it. One of the weakest tour guides we've encountered. Lacked flexibility. And his wife jokes were funny the first time. Embarrassing when he repeated them over and over again. But we have had mostly wonderful experiences in using private guides. The way to go!

[Stumblefoot]

Thank you for taking the time to share your review of your recent voyage aboard the Shadow. I really appreciated your perspective and the time you invested on our behalf. Best wishes to you!

[ging466]

Great review NattilyAttired.

 

Thankx for taking the time to post your thoughts.

 

Cheers

Jennifer

[UKCruiseJeff]

Great write-up Kort, good to see you had an enjoyable cruise.

[Keith1010]

I enjoyed reading your very balanced review.

 

Thanks for taking the time to write and share this review.

 

Keith

[WesW]

Thanks for sharing a superbly written & balanced review. Sincerely appreciate u sharing the unique,thougtful & generous attention u give (candy from home) your deserving SS crew members.

[Mr Luxury]

Thank you for your excellent review.

I tend to agree with you over the Hot rocks cooking your own food experience.

 

Will you try other luxury lines to get a feel for the whole picture of luxury cruising?

 

I feel that everyone should try all of the lines so that they know what it's all about and can then comment on them and find out which line suits them.

[wripro]

I too thank you for the balanced and comprehensive review.

[Goldens4]

Thank you for the review. Intersting and fair and balanced.

[RachelG]

Thanks for your review. I too agree about Hot Rocks. Don't like cooking my own meat on vacation, though the steak was quite good. And a baked potato just doesn't do much for me though my husband liked it.

[NJ Jim]

What an excellent report, Kort, many thanks. My wife and I will be taking our first SS cruise next month, so I am gathering as much information as possible with the hope of enhancing the trip. Certainly, your food observations seem consistent with many other posts. While I would not expect Kelleresque dining experiences, it is unfortunate given the relatively small ship population that the chefs are unable to maintain a higher level of consistency. The offer of Prosecco, as opposed to Champagne, seems to underscore the reduced level of luxury you note. On our last cruise (Seabourn), Champagne flowed freely. Were there better wine options available for the asking? I don't want to assume from your Napa roots you are wine fans, but I would like to hear your thoughts about the complimentary sparkling and still wine offerings. I plan on bringing aboard 3 or 4 nice bottles from home, but cannot pack enough for the entire cruise, so knowing the standard wine fare certainly is of interest.

 

From our limited cruising experience, the one advantage we enjoyed with ship excursions is VIP access, e.g. private performances at the Hermitage or after hours museum visits. Were any such excursions available on your cruise?

 

Again, your report provides a real sense of your SS experience, and certainly serves to set the stage (albeit on a different SS ship) for our upcoming cruise.

 

Jim

[Stumblefoot]

NJ Jim,

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic and your first voyage aboard Silversea! I hope you and your wife have a wonderful trip.

The offer of Prosecco, as opposed to Champagne, seems to underscore the reduced level of luxury you note.

Although you may be offered Prosecco, Champagne is readily available for the asking, whenever you would like it. On our voyage this past November we enjoyed Heidsieck Monopole Brut Blue Top. It's a consistent producer and their NV Champagne usually scores in the 86 - 91 range. Typical retail price for this bottling runs in the $30 - $35 range.

 

Were there better wine options available for the asking? I plan on bringing aboard 3 or 4 nice bottles from home, but cannot pack enough for the entire cruise, so knowing the standard wine fare certainly is of interest.

The short answer is yes... if you do not like the wines offered, ask to speak with the sommelier and explain what grape types, styles, regions you enjoy best. They will happily find an offering that better meets your needs. We experienced this first hand one evening when they were pouring a Shiraz that we didn't enjoy and they returned with a lovely Malbec from Argentina that we found very tasty.

 

Lastly, if you are bringing fine wine with you that is unfined or unfiltered, I'd encourage you to let it lie where you have it today. I've found that the shaking/vibrating my wine has experienced in luggage causes the natural sediment in the bottles to come loose and become suspended. While it doesn't ruin the wine, it sure changes the taste profile dramatically. Silversea has a really nice wine list called the Connoisseur Wine List and the vast majority are priced at or below actual retail. Attached is a sampling of the wines available on our November voyage. Those that are shaded we consumed on-board. Green I would recommend, while those in red I would not.

 

Have a great trip!

Silversea - Silver Whisper, 2012-Nov.xls

[Seafairer]

Thank you for such a comprehensive report, NattilyAttired. I'm glad you found that service was up to its usual high standards. We've always, always felt that Silversea's staff knows how to go the extra mile to make passengers feel comfortable and cared for. Their warm, polished service certainly creates one of the great memories of any cruise. Thank you again for your balanced, thorough review.

[NJ Jim]

Thanks on all counts, Stumblefoot. The Blue Top is a nice choice in affordable bubbly. I anticipate using SBC for some of our wine needs, and greatly appreciate your sharing the sampling from your November voyage. It is nice to see Duband among the more widely distributed labels - the NSG is a nicely priced option. I also am pleased to see the Beringer PR Cabernet on the list given its relative affordability these days.

 

We brought wine from home for two of our three prior cruises, and only one bottle disappointed (a Beaucastel Blanc VV), although I cannot say it necessarily was from its journey. I hope to address the issue of sediment by standing the bottles up as soon as we board, although I concede that the peril of transporting wine can involve more than sediment. We will be arriving four days prior to embarking, so I am hoping that, along with us, the wines will recover sufficiently from the travel to have made it worthwhile packing them.

 

Again, thank you for the good wishes and suggestions!

 

Jim

[NattilyAttired]

NJ Jim: Stumblefoot has done a good job of answering the questions you posed, so no huge need for me to repeat. I will add that early on in our voyage the Sommelier held a wine tasting where all of the "included" wines were made available to see and sample. Each night a red and a white were offered at the table, but if you did not like that evening's choices you could request any of the other wines in the "included" category. It may behoove you to find out the full supply of wines as early as you can.

 

We also made use of the Connoisseurs (sp?) list several times, and the list we had was similar (but not identical) to the one Stumblefoot attached. You can imagine that the list varies over time and by ship. Our list included an obscure Chardonnay from Napa (Hyde de Villaine) for $60 that we know and love, at a very good price. We had that several times. The Sommelier told us that if we had three bottles (any bottles) from that list during the cruise that he would give us a discount. I think we got 12-15% off. So look for that kind of an arrangement.

 

As for special tours, there really weren't many offered on our sailing, save for one very special Thai dinner in a private villa, which went for $329 per person. We thought that was steep and did not go, and later heard it was not worth the money. I know from past experience that SS does offer some unique adventures such as you have described, but not on this voyage.

 

Happy to answer any other questions!

 

Kort/NattilyAttired

[Stumblefoot]

Our list included an obscure Chardonnay from Napa (Hyde de Villaine) for $60 that we know and love, at a very good price. We had that several times. The Sommelier told us that if we had three bottles (any bottles) from that list during the cruise that he would give us a discount. I think we got 12-15% off. So look for that kind of an arrangement.

Good call on the discount! I totally forgot about that generous offer off of what is typically very fair pricing to begin with.

 

And, I'm floored they had HDV wines onboard. Very, very cool indeed! I bet HDV doesn't make more than 2,000 cases/annually. It's fun hunting and finding gems like those.

[RachelG]

George got three bottles of a very nice super Tuscan for a great price. We drank 2 but brought the 3rd home with us.

[WesW]

We enjoyed sharing those super tuscans at our dinner together on board last week, thanks Rachel/George. Thanks to the wonderful head sommelier, Darwin on the Spirit for our Spring crossing we took advantage of the packages offered. SS has a brochure of packages from exceptional Champagne (Krug, Dom, et. al) four different Italy packagees, Bordeaux packages, California Reds, and about ten others. However as Darwin pointed out when I selected (did this 3 times) three wines, we got 30% off--very nice deal. (Enjoyed Caymus, Shafer's relentlesss, domaine de Chevalier, also Tignanello, Amarone)

[NJ Jim]

Thanks for the wine alerts - some interesting wines at nice prices. On our Oceania cruise, they had a big wine sale, with stacks of wine displayed in the lobby. There were some very nice prices, and the added incentive to bring what you bought to dinner without corkage (which they otherwise assessed). We took advantage of that to complement the wines we brought on board.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[NJ Jim]

Kort,

 

I like the idea of the wine tasting preview since I am sure there will be good wines available with which I won't be familiar. I appreciate the tip! We are avoiding taking excursions on our SS cruise, preferring to rent cars and heading out on our own from most ports. We are pleased the ship docks downtown in Bordeaux, which, speaking of wine, facilitates driving out to some chateaux visits I've arranged.

 

Thanks again,

 

Jim

[mpjt]

Than you for a such a detailed review.

I wanted to know if you have any suggestions for us. We are a young mexican couple (28 and 31) that have chosen SS voyage Hong Kong to Singapore (Ports: Halong Bay, Chan may, Nha Trang, HCMC) for our honeymoon in November. We are attracted to travel and food, and enjoy learning about other cultures and would really appreciate any reccomendations we can get regarding the cruise or the ports (let me say this is our first cruise for both of us).

 

Before our cruise we will be 1 night in Tokyo, 3 in Bangkok, 1 in Hong Kong (I have been here before, but my boyfriend hasn´t) and after the cruise we have 2 nights in Singapore. The only hotel that we have already book is the Fullerton Bay in Singapore.

 

Thanks!

[wripro]

I'm sure you'll have a great cruise.

 

Here are some hotel suggestions for your other stops.

 

Tokyo - Peninsula or Mandarin Oriental

Hong Kong - Four Seasons

Bangkok - Peninsula

 

Also I highly recommend a private car/driver for your Viet Nam ports as that will allow you to set your own agenda and avoid the hassle of riding on a bus with 30 or 40 other people.

[Keith1010]

I would also consider The Peninsula in Hong Kong.

 

In Bangkok I also think the Peninsula is terrific and also take a look at the Oriental.

 

Keith