Aboard the Cloud

[Throast]

Getting a wee bit of movement on the ship, did not feel that so much on the Spirit, but both times we were in the med. generally, things have been very good, already settled in, the cabin is similar to the Spirit, but feels wider and a bit more plush, bathroom, rather shower room is smaller, but hey ho, tv system was far better on the spirit, but we are not here to watch TV, Muster was something you just have to do, especially in the current climate, but quick and informative, sailing away party on pool dec was fine.

First comment on smoking, I love my cigars, BUT if my smoking interferes with one other guest, their gone, We found a quiet corner, ash trays on the table, a few other smokers, NOT BOTHERING OTHER guests, so first cigar, a wee nub, I'm happy, and not interfering with anyone else.

Sorry back to the service A 1 ... Very attentive, canopies were plentiful and delicious.

Further to follow ( as long as someone is interested)

PS.. Internet package was very easy to enlist to, 16$ a day for 11 days, I paid $14.95 in the Hilton (never again and I mean the hotel) for 1 night,,,

[bspill]

I think there are many of us that are looking forward to your future comments.

[WesW]

throast, thanks for the delightful on board reports, looking fwd to more

 

 

Sent from my iPad mini using Tapatalk

[Throast]

Fairly choppy over night, a fair bit of movement.

Last night we went to the main bar for pre dinner drinks, very busy a few guests not being able to find a seat, I notice the whiskey choice on display is more limited than on the Spirit.

Dinner was in the main dining room, we had a great dining companion, a fellow scot, Alan King, (cries director) a first class meal with fabulous company, can't ask for more

[RachelG]

Yes, we are looking forward to hearing all about the cruise as we will be boarding Spirit in Auckland in just a little over a month.

[TLCOhio]

Fairly choppy over night, a fair bit of movement.

Last night we went to the main bar for pre dinner drinks, very busy a few guests not being able to find a seat, I notice the whiskey choice on display is more limited than on the Spirit. Dinner was in the main dining room, we had a great dining companion, a fellow scot, Alan King, (cries director) a first class meal with fabulous company, can't ask for more

 

Great report and update!! Appreciate your postings. Keep up the good "work"!! Below is one picture this morning from my iPhone as I was heading down my driveway to go to a breakfast meeting. It's BOTH cold and snowy here in Central Ohio. Most all of the school districts are closed for the day. Lots of traffic slow-downs. Plus, this gives us more reasons to believe we are smart to be heading south to warmer, sunnier weather in just over two weeks. Saturday, Jan. 24 for Barbados and then getting on a 17-day, Silver Cloud Amazon River cruise.

 

Don't drink the ship dry!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 167,815 views. Appreciate the interest and follow-up questions/comments!!

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

 

From my iPhone, here's a quick item of "photo evidence" for why being in warmer, sunnier locations can be better and more fun!:

 

[Peanutbrittle56]

Thank you for this report; it is so helpful as we will be boarding the Cloud in March for our Caribbean cruise. Still a little hesitant of all the negative comments, but we are going in with a positive attitude. :)

[bspill]

I notice the whiskey choice on display is more limited than on the Spirit.

 

Sure hope the Dewers Scotch is still behind the bar.:)

[Throast]

Still fairly choppy, advised that several guest remained in their cabins yesterday, wife had a wee bi mal de mer in the morning, but after sickness tablets she improved, if anything I had a wee bit Mal de Whiskey, but a spicy Bloody Mary chased it away. Captain informs us that the choppy waters should calm down once we're in the shelter of the islands.

La Terraza lunch buffet is considerably smaller than on the Spirit, but still easy to find what you wanted. Service at the pool grill was a 100 percent better, drinks arrived in seconds,

Formal night and captains welcome party last night, all very nice, I would estimate 70 percent black tie with the remainder suited and ties, (that was in the main dining room anyway) one awfully distinguish guy in a kilt (me) forget the awfully distinguish and substitute portly guy

 

Mrs preferred a table for two last night (still a wee bit wobbly ), we had to wait for about half an hour but they came and got us in a bar. Meal was very tasty.

Bspill, Dewars is there sitting waiting for you, In fact I noticed several more whiskeys on display, tried to help reducing that number, but not succeeded yet,,,, the mission continues.

Any questions welcome

Terry, I'll try and leave some alcohol for you, but no promises

[Peanutbrittle56]

Getting a wee bit of movement on the ship, did not feel that so much on the Spirit, but both times we were in the med. generally, things have been very good, already settled in, the cabin is similar to the Spirit, but feels wider and a bit more plush, bathroom, rather shower room is smaller, but hey ho, tv system was far better on the spirit, but we are not here to watch TV, Muster was something you just have to do, especially in the current climate, but quick and informative, sailing away party on pool dec was fine.

First comment on smoking, I love my cigars, BUT if my smoking interferes with one other guest, their gone, We found a quiet corner, ash trays on the table, a few other smokers, NOT BOTHERING OTHER guests, so first cigar, a wee nub, I'm happy, and not interfering with anyone else.

Sorry back to the service A 1 ... Very attentive, canopies were plentiful and delicious.

Further to follow ( as long as someone is interested)

PS.. Internet package was very easy to enlist to, 16$ a day for 11 days, I paid $14.95 in the Hilton (never again and I mean the hotel) for 1 night,,,

Can you tell me which cruise you are on? Which islands do you mention?

Thanks

[TLCOhio]

Meal was very tasty.

Terry, I'll try and leave some alcohol for you, but no promises

 

Sorry to hear on your wife's being a little under the weather, plus the choppy waters. Smart to do: "spicy Bloody Mary chased it away"! Nice that things are going well for service, food, etc.

 

Leaving alcohol for us? Go ahead and drink, drink, drink. Have fun!! Am feeling good and confident that they will be able to re-stock the ship with plenty of liquor, beer and wine in either Fort Lauderdale and/or Barbados before we get on the Silver Cloud in Barbados on Jan. 25.

 

Appreciate your excellent updates, details, sharing. Keep up the great efforts.

 

For Peanutbrittle56, they are on #1501, Silver Cloud, departing from Fort Lauderdale with two sea days going to San Juan, then Gustavia (St. Barts), Philipsburg, Basseterre, St. Johns (Antigua) and Road Town; finishing with two sea days before returning to Fort Lauderdale. Our Feb. 11-20 cruise segment will have stops in Gustavia and Philipsburg. Look forward to learning what Throast or others experienced there.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. We are now at 191,653 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[billcrooz]

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

 

What's going on,no reports,,Mary Ann,where are you? It's zero here today,should have gone!

[Ravenscroft]

 

When was the last time one of the larger ships went in for drydock? Has the Spirit, e.g., ever been in dry dock?

 

Observer, Spirit was in dry dock in December 2012, in Freeport. However, the work undertaken was "hardware driven" and improvements to interior, ie soft furnishings, decoration, furniture upgrades etc were not planned for that dry dock.

 

Following the thread with interest as we're trying to plan for Christmas 2015 and our preferred cruise line doesn't have an itinerary with dates that work for us, so we may be back to SS. We've been away for approx 3 years and I'm concerned about the changes that have taken place since then.

[Throast]

Visited San Juan today, we did the Bacardi trip, first thoughts were "what a rip off" we had the same tour as everyone else paying maybe a tenth of the price, but it turned out someone had erred, we should have been on a separate tour that included a rum tasting and mixology class, we eventually got the mixology bit, and it was very good, BUT we missed half the tour, ie the tasting,no apology no explanation, So result, we are now hesitant in booking further Silver Spirit excursions.

That's the big neg done, we dined at "le Champagne" tonight, it was excellent, every bit as good as on the Spirit. Great service, outstanding wines and fabulous food, absolutely no complaints.

Rachelle , our butler(ess) we hardly see, but every request is completed, THE perfect butler, not intrusive but gets everything done, I thought we had great butlers previously on SS but Rachelle is a step beyond.

Service in general has been good, looking for negs, one thing I would say is seating in the main bar, there is seating for 60 maybe 70 and every night guest are left standing , no tables, yet there is space for a least half a dozen more tables.

Moans over for now, rest assured service in general has been excellent , over and out for now.

[Emtbsam]

If the tour was not what you expected or paid for, I would definitely complain to the Shore Concierge desk. In the past when a shore excursion has been a failure, they have been amenable to refunding all or a portion of the cost. It does help if you are not the only passenger complaining.

[duct tape]

Greetings, all. Sorry it took me so long to wrap this up but life got in the way! As you can tell I was disappointed with our holiday cruise. The times, crew and management have changed and the golden days of the Cult of the Cloud are over. I shall move on mentally and cherish the memories. It was a pleasure to meet Dusababy and spend a few minutes chatting. We agreed that the time warp we chose to continue to move into and out of on the Cloud has a new reality. The crew and management we "grew up with" has aged out, as have we. The new kids will create their own following as soon as they get more training and polish. Management will stabilize soon. The food has probably improved already. The Exec Sous Chef and the Italian Chef left with us. Good move. In Ft. l. I spoke with the Powers That Be about my experience. The Cloud needs so much attention that the cost will be prohibitive but I was reassured otherwise. There are plans for an extensive dry dock in the fall. Mechanicals, decking (8), climate, etc. will be addressed. The owner wants to save it. Thank you. As for the new Voices of SS, the jury is still out and will be for some time. I am more hopeful about most of them now that I am on the Shadow. That is a new thread to start this afternoon. So, those of you aboard, have a great time and let us know how it is going. Thanx for the updates.

[doubletree07]

Visited San Juan today, we did the Bacardi trip, first thoughts were "what a rip off" we had the same tour as everyone else paying maybe a tenth of the price, but it turned out someone had erred, we should have been on a separate tour that included a rum tasting and mixology class, we eventually got the mixology bit, and it was very good, BUT we missed half the tour, ie the tasting,no apology no explanation, So result, we are now hesitant in booking further Silver Spirit excursions.

That's the big neg done, we dined at "le Champagne" tonight, it was excellent, every bit as good as on the Spirit. Great service, outstanding wines and fabulous food, absolutely no complaints.

Rachelle , our butler(ess) we hardly see, but every request is completed, THE perfect butler, not intrusive but gets everything done, I thought we had great butlers previously on SS but Rachelle is a step beyond.

Service in general has been good, looking for negs, one thing I would say is seating in the main bar, there is seating for 60 maybe 70 and every night guest are left standing , no tables, yet there is space for a least half a dozen more tables.

Moans over for now, rest assured service in general has been excellent , over and out for now.

I have enjoyed reading your posts. I have a friend/next door neighbor who is onboard. She is traveling with her 94 year old sister as well as her daughter and son-in-law. Her name is Marian Mahoney and this is a birthday gift from her daughter. She turned 90 years young and this is her first cruise. I wonder if you have sat close to them for any dinners. Her daughter e-mailed me and said they did see a man in kilts on a formal night. If you happen to see two blonde little ladies would you say Marie says hello? That would be a big surprise. I hope you are enjoying your cruise. We have never been to St. Bart's - it looks beautiful there. Safe travels to you. Regards. Marie

[oregon50]

DT, glad to read your post. Such is life in the world of travel. I have had great times/memories of places and things that no longer exist today. A long list of hits, SS being in the top ten. Right up there with the old Las Vegas casino days and MGM Airline.

[doubletree07]

DT, glad to read your post. Such is life in the world of travel. I have had great times/memories of places and things that no longer exist today. A long list of hits, SS being in the top ten. Right up there with the old Las Vegas casino days and MGM Airline.

 

I so agree. Cruising definitely has changed since our first cruise. I find the quality of food is not what it used to be. Never cruised with Silverseas but in my opinion the staffs on most ships today are overworked. No time to chat with cruisers. :(. But it's still one of our favorite ways to travel. :)

[Observer]

Greetings, all. Sorry it took me so long to wrap this up but life got in the way! As you can tell I was disappointed with our holiday cruise. The times, crew and management have changed and the golden days of the Cult of the Cloud are over. I shall move on mentally and cherish the memories. It was a pleasure to meet Dusababy and spend a few minutes chatting. We agreed that the time warp we chose to continue to move into and out of on the Cloud has a new reality. The crew and management we "grew up with" has aged out, as have we. The new kids will create their own following as soon as they get more training and polish. Management will stabilize soon. The food has probably improved already. The Exec Sous Chef and the Italian Chef left with us. Good move. In Ft. l. I spoke with the Powers That Be about my experience. The Cloud needs so much attention that the cost will be prohibitive but I was reassured otherwise. There are plans for an extensive dry dock in the fall. Mechanicals, decking (8), climate, etc. will be addressed. The owner wants to save it. Thank you. As for the new Voices of SS, the jury is still out and will be for some time. I am more hopeful about most of them now that I am on the Shadow. That is a new thread to start this afternoon. So, those of you aboard, have a great time and let us know how it is going. Thanx for the updates.

 

Yours is a melancholy posting. The bloom would clearly appear to be off the Silversea experience. Not even the addition of a high-priced shoemaker onboard bring back the glory days. You say that there are plans for an extensive dry dock in the fall. Is this reflected in the published 2015 schedule for the Cloud? It I can hardly come as a surprise to management that the ship needs work. It was the Cloud, wasn't it, that lost all air-conditioning for a number of days in the Amazon?

 

Do I understand from your posting that you are now sailing on Shadow? This is the grand cruise around South America, isn't it? I would be interested in your candid report. I think I heard that Silversea would be renovating the boutiques sometime during this cruise.

[duct tape]

No, the bloom is not off the rose, the bloom is off my wishful memory. If, as suggested, by The Powers That Be, that the Cloud will be restored, I am happy. It will be a definitely different experience. Wes, just for you, I forgot to mention that the gym is also high on the list! I will get around to starting a new thread on the Shadow's Grand Voyage soon. Thanx, everyone, for your interest!

[duct tape]

P.S. yes, the boutique is under renovation. After seeing the results on the Cloud, it may not be worth it. No impulse buying, just high end stuff like any mall in any international city. I assume that SS has decided it is cheaper to give out future cruise credits to whomever is the squeaky wheel than to take the ships out of service for the change-over. Luckily for us, we can't hear it except in the MDR at lunchtime.

[Mayflower1]

Hi Duct Tape - Your reflections on our beloved Cloud are I believe merely a realisation that things change and not always to our liking. We got so used to stepping aboard to see the familiar faces of Judi, Gianni, Jorge etc that maybe we tended to gloss over some of the negatives. We appear to have two choices, move on with SS or go elsewhere - You and I know that we tried one of the ' Elsewheres ' and were not impressed.

 

We wish you and J a very happy New Year and good sailing on The Shadow - hope to catch up with you again soon.

[WesW]

duct tape, thanks for that Cloud gym update--we would book the Cloud immediately following the renovation. Fair Winds and Following Seas on the Shadow

[Silver Spectre]

duct tape, thanks for that Cloud gym update--we would book the Cloud immediately following the renovation. Fair Winds and Following Seas on the Shadow

 

We would too. Lets hope that TPTB are true to their word.