Aboard the Cloud

[duct tape]

Hi Ho, I don't know about limits on shows. The stage set stays put, the light colors change. i just know things are a-kilter here. Beckaboo, Look for the white boa tonight! Rainy, gray day in Puerto Limon until about 3 PM when the sun came out. Crew busy around the ship with decorations. For me, I have realized that the Cult of the Cloud is no more. Not necessarily a bad thing, maybe. Will elaborate later. Dusababy, don't panic!

Edited December 31, 2014 by duct tape

[dusababy]

Thanks Duct Tape - I won't panic but I'll be pretty apprehensive until I hear more from you. Of course will make the best of whatever presents. :o

[Wellseasoned]

Duct tape and dusababy, I bet things will settle down when you begin the post-holiday Cloud cruise next Monday. We will arrive in FLL that day to board the Spirit Tuesday. Wish we could see you for a toast before you sail, but the time is tight and they probably wouldn't allow us aboard to visit anyway. So have a great cruise, and we'll try to report from the Spirit!

[Josette03]

I don’t ever recall reading this many negative comments about the Cloud from someone that I perceive to be a glass half full type of person. And if some have seen Duct Tape as a bit of a cheerleader for Silversea i’d say the poms poms are now floating in the waters off the coast of Grand Cayman. I anxiously await a detailed report on what went wrong on this cruise.

[Observer]

I don’t ever recall reading this many negative comments about the Cloud from someone that I perceive to be a glass half full type of person. And if some have seen Duct Tape as a bit of a cheerleader for Silversea i’d say the poms poms are now floating in the waters off the coast of Grand Cayman. I anxiously await a detailed report on what went wrong on this cruise.

 

I too am a glass half full type of person and a bit of a cheerleader for Silversea. But I think/fear that the issues go well beyond the Cloud. I have hundreds of nights on SS, but I have seen a steady decline in the quality of the food (not so much preparation as raw materials made available in the galley) and the condition of the ships. (I have not traveled on the expedition ships and know little about them. However, the investment there may well have drained resources from the Big Five.) When was the last time one of the larger ships went in for drydock? Has the Spirit, e.g., ever been in dry dock? For me, the final straw was the corporate decision to renovate boutiques while the ships were underway -- thus showing that additional revenue from a new concessionaire was more important than the guest experience. And the result -- in addition to lots of noise and dust -- seems to be boutiques with such expensive inventory that few people want to shop there.

 

Sad. Very sad. I feel as if I am losing an old friend.

[oregon50]

It's just a matter of how hard, or many times one has to be kicked in the head. I'm about to board Discoverer. The ship that recently scored a 75 on their CDC exam. Even with the Shadow debacle last year, the score was 83. These are not subjective concerns to be debated.

 

Remember, if you book elsewhere, you are not leaving Silversea. Silversea has left you. By reading my posts, you can tell that I am not all that bright. But even I had it figured out by 2007. Still, kept going back for more until the new SB ships began floating. There is a whole other world out there. It's a small world, but you will happen upon many former SS passengers/crew.

Edited January 2, 2015 by oregon50

[harbormaster]

Oregon50 we look forward to your review on the Discoverer.

 

Duct Tape thank you so much for your candid review of your Cloud sailing. We enjoy your posts and anticipate more details in the coming days. Your past posts have been very positive and interesting reading with the glass half full position.

 

We also loved, (I hate to have to use past tense), Silversea. In fact, we sailed them 4 cruises in 2010. But, after our Shadow cruise in July and our Wind cruise two weeks ago, there is just something going on that is discouraging. We are having trouble putting our fingers on just exactly what it is. Unfortunately, it seems to be a slow decrease in a lot of small things that add up: freshness of food, lack of certain foods like berries and fruit, service especially at reception and the pool, ship condition, entertainment and enrichments, having to fight for rightful s/b credit, and just that welcoming friendliness from known crew and staff. On the Wind, our 4th on her, we knew no crew (our favorites were all elsewhere), and only Helmut, Colin and Sergio on staff.

 

It is not enough to make us say, "no more", but just enough to make us look elsewhere and stray, particularly to Seabourn where we have not had these issues. It saddens us, but these factors, and the new sanitation score on Discoverer, after we were on the Shadow a year ago during the "issue," are just tipping the scales.

 

Staying optimistic, and it is certainly not life or death, but also looking for that "special experience" that eludes us at this point.

[dusababy]

Doesn't anyone in Fort Lauderdale or Monte Carlo read Cruise Critic? Long time cheerleaders are becoming uneasy -- and the "slippage" looks like an easy fix. I'll find out soon.:(

[bspill]

With all the marketing dollars SS spends, it's difficult to imagine them not paying attention to the very people that have supported them over the years.

[wripro]

It's very sad to read these posts.

[Peanutbrittle56]

This has me very concerned as my husband and I are scheduled to sail aboard Cloud in March to Caribbean. We are spending quite a bit of money to sail aboard what I thought was a 5 star line, however, after reading messages for quite some time it looks like we may have to look to Seabourn after all.

Peanutbrittle56

[bspill]

We're committed to a 24 day cruise on the cloud in April. Hopefully SS will get their act together before then. The real question is whether SS is aware of these issues. If they are, and don't respond to long time customer's complaints, they won't be able to survive in a very competitive market. Let's hope they put an effort in to retain their 100 plus day customers.

[harbormaster]

We are hoping they will read and respond too. Unfortunately, two situations make us believe that it may not happen.

The first is the charge for the Foundation on the bill which continues to be an opt-out situation rather than an opt-in as requested by many cruisers. We were surprised that it still existed and that so many of the people on the recent Wind cruise were unaware it was on their bill. Many were first time Silversea cruisers and from Australia and England.

 

Secondly, two of the cruises we have taken with Silversea have been with Military Rates that THEY offered to those who qualified. We were pleased that Silversea was acknowledging veterans in this way and booked two cruises. However, we found out after final payment that Silversea would not give sailing days credit for those cruises done with Military Rates (these are NOT interline rates - just a rate reduction). This was not communicated before booking in any paperwork. Despite letters to Silversea top executives and even intervention by our TA and Col. Wes, the sailing days credit was never given. We would be more than 100 days now had it been. We felt lack of disclosure was unfair. They got a lot of feedback, but the policy has never changed.

Hoping someone has an ear to comments in the future.

[bspill]

It may be helpful if someone with a lot of days on Silversea forwarded this thread to one of the execs with clout at SS Someone over there has to be concerned about loosing business.

[USAFSS4Ever]

My wife and I are aboard the Silver Cloud for this voyage as well. I’m a regular reader of Cruise Critic postings, especially regarding Silversea, but an infrequent poster. We’ve sailed frequently with Silversea and, to a lesser extent, Seabourn. We like them both but, over time, have enjoyed the accrued benefits of a continuing relationship with Silversea.

To wit: We like Silversea and have future cruises booked; still, we agree, there are issues.

As far as the degradation of performance of the wait staff, we think this has always been somewhat problematic. The largely Filipino staff seems, for the most part, to be cheerful and energetic, but, in our opinion, there is something needed to bring this group together into a cohesive and effective staff. This, clearly, is a restaurant management issue.

There was a mention of a lack of berries for breakfast and we noticed this as well. As an aside, I find the corn beef hash to be unworthy of consumption. Also, the scrambled eggs are more than a bit watery, but, perhaps, that’s just me.

We’ve stayed away of the main dining room for dinner and opted for other venues, so we don’t know about any problems that exist there. On previous voyages on various Silversea ships the service was often slow and the room temperature uncomfortable.

Some have mentioned cutbacks by Silversea in other areas as well, generally small, but, over time, they do add up. I have a list at home and, after this cruise, I will be adding to it. In fairness, however, we suspect that cutbacks on other cruise lines are taking place as well.

So, what are my wife and I going to do with respect to future cruises? Difficult to say. We have an urge to return to Seabourn, but don’t like some of the things we hear about the smoking policy.

Just another point of view.

[KaraokeQueen]

Not to hijack the thread but, I am currently on Shadow, completing week 2. I have to say the food has been exceptional, creative and interesting. I have yet to have a meal that I would consider ordinary. The staff consists of many familiar faces to me and all are accommodating. The attitude on board is one of very content crew members. It's been my pleasure to be here.

 

If I were to pick a negative, it would be my dislike of the new onboard entertainment. Last night's Cabaret performance was a disgrace. Forgotten lyrics (in 4 songs), timing off with band and then explaining to the audience that "we all make mistakes". This group is far from professional and obviously lack experience. Thank Goodness we have the talented duo of Rolando and Belinda in the bar nightly.

[TLCOhio]

Not to hijack the thread but, I am currently on Shadow, completing week 2. I have to say the food has been exceptional, creative and interesting. I have yet to have a meal that I would consider ordinary. The staff consists of many familiar faces to me and all are accommodating. The attitude on board is one of very content crew members. It's been my pleasure to be here.

 

Glad you had great success on the Silver Shadow. Yes, the food quality is very important for us. Below is the "Silver Box" that arrived in the mail yesterday! BUT, it was without the fancy red leather luggage tags that we got in June 2010. Will report on my live/blog for how things "work" during our Silver Cloud Amazon-Caribbean adventure starting Jan. 24, 2015. Lots of good questions have come up on these boards recently from experienced, solid, respected SS long-time customers.

 

I am sure some "things" have changed since July 2010 when we did our last Silversea sailing. But, how much and does "it" make that much of a realistic, practical difference? Other top lines, such as Crystal, have had serious questions come up about whether their "adjustments" are being made to save money and maybe impact the historic, luxury experience.

 

Inquiring minds are interested in knowing more. Based on the comments from duct tape, if things are professional and helpful with a friendly staff, that's the most important qualities for us. Plus, excellent food and wine!! We are looking at doing a Silver Cloud, early 2016, ten-day South Africa, Cape Town to Cape Town sailing. BUT, we did not want to book until getting a more current sampling of the Silversea experience from this early 2015 sailing.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 90,940 views for this posting.

 

 

On this and other Silversea threads, many have kicked around lots of questions on this cruise line and its future. Our update is that here is the "Silver Box" that arrived yesterday. No luxury red leather luggage tags as we got in 2010 and as shown in this picture. This current booklet is nice, but, overall, I do not recall this 2015 package being as "fancy" as the earlier one. What's more important for us, however, is the quality of the food, staff, service, etc., while on the ship.:

 

[wripro]

We're committed to a 24 day cruise on the cloud in April. Hopefully SS will get their act together before then. The real question is whether SS is aware of these issues. If they are, and don't respond to long time customer's complaints, they won't be able to survive in a very competitive market. Let's hope they put an effort in to retain their 100 plus day customers.

 

If they are not aware of these situations it is even worse. it shows that they have no idea of what's going on on their ships.

[Throast]

Just boarded for eleven day cruise, 15 mins and three requests to get a beer at the pool bar/grill can't remember waiting for anything on the Spirit.

Check in was spot on, reception could not be better, very early days.

[bspill]

Just boarded for eleven day cruise, 15 mins and three requests to get a beer at the pool bar/grill can't remember waiting for anything on the Spirit.

Check in was spot on, reception could not be better, very early days.

 

Would appreciate further updates on service.

[billcrooz]

Just boarded for eleven day cruise, 15 mins and three requests to get a beer at the pool bar/grill can't remember waiting for anything on the Spirit.

Check in was spot on, reception could not be better, very early days.

Where's Duct Tape,3 days no reports...?

[Throast]

Back on an even keel, beer arrived, maybe 20 mins, they seeming had run out of Coors, I'm Scottish so when it comes to alcohol, ambidextrous ... Fraid to say it wasn't Coors I got, but from the first blipp, everything seems back to normal, room ready for 2pm. Luggage delivered, butler is Rachelle, very nice and seems ultra efficient, I swear the wife asked for bubbly, Rachelle picked up the phone and before the hand set was back in the cradle, the CORRECT bubbly had arrived, (Rose) offer to in pack declined, ready for the safety demonstration ,,,

If anyone is interested, I'm happy to keep you enforced ship side, but shore time is for the Mrs

[Throast]

Was trying to watch out for Duct tape, but no luck, my loss

[Throast]

Sorry, that should be informed, not enforced...

[Observer]

If anyone is interested, I'm happy to keep you informed ship side, but shore time is for the Mrs

 

I am very interested. Please carry on reporting.