My >>last<< Silversea cruise

[frickwg]

I have been waiting to get an online evaluation form fromSilversea, but after almost 3 weeks none has come. They did suggest that I go onto cruise critic and express my opinions there, so I am. The emphasis on thetitle of this post should be on the word to "last". I won't be back.

 

This was a cruise on the Silver Cloud from Oslo to Oslo fromJune 20 this year to July 7.

 

First the good news:

 

The cruise ports were very different and interesting. Norway is a gorgeous country, clean,organized, wisely spending its oil income on infrastructure. Lots of things tosee and go to shore excursions the ports in Norway. The two ports in Russiawere old, rundown and dirty but with interesting things to see in both-- A finemuseum in Archaangel and the nuclear powered icebreaker Lenin in Murmansk. Nocomplaints about the cruise itinerary or the selection of shore excursions.Likewise shore excursion arrangements were flawless.

 

Check-in quick, quick and easy. No long lines, no longwalks, lunch waiting! Service was good,but not great. The main problem I saw was limited understanding of English,particularly by the Butler. He wanted to help, he was around, but his commandof English just wasn't good enough. Likewise, with some of the dining room staff. There seem to be enoughstaff but not good enough and adequately experienced staff.

 

And now the rest:

 

The ship, which is scheduled to go into drydock to beconverted into an expedition ship later this summer, is old rundown, and out ofdate. The conversion should've been done some years ago.

 

 

What was wrong?

 

 

·The exterior of the ship, particularly the hull,showed a lot of rust marks and scars, and a fouled waterline.

·The rooms and furnishings are old and dated.Old-fashioned colors predominated. Maroon and brown colors were everywhere. Material conditions of the roomwas poor and we had one ceiling panel hanging down for a day or so until theycame by to fix it.

·The room arrangements were dated with very fewplaces to plug things in and no USB ports.

·Most seriously, particularly for a cruise abovethe Arctic Circle, was that the heat didn't work very well. You know somethingis wrong when people come for an enrichment lecture in the Ventian lounge in theiroutside clothing, including gloves, and then the crew comes along anddistributes two blankets to anyone who wants them. This was finally fixed about 12 days into thecruise and from that point things were okay, but up until then you had to dresswarmly to go inside the ship. The cabin temperatures were hard to control forone reason that the cabin windows were old-fashioned single pane. Hence when the sun would shine on your side ofthe ship (mostly 24 hours a day) it got hot, and couldn't be kept cool, andwhen it was cold outside (this was above the Arctic Circle) it tended to becold inside. I can’t imagine this ship being suitable for the Antarctic!

·The food was okay but unexciting. I know thathot rocks is a "cool" thing to do but that's not really much of adinner. You don't have much choice in sides or salads so once is about enough.

 

 

So, that's it for me and Silversea. You can find my reviewof the Silver Discoverer here, which had much the same kind of problems – oldand well overdue for maintenance.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Sad reading. Sympathies.

 

Have I understood you correctly? SS advised you to post adverse comments about them on CC?

[frickwg]

Sad reading. Sympathies.

 

Have I understood you correctly? SS advised you to post adverse comments about them on CC?

 

 

Yes, SS advised me to post (no limitations. My on\board survey was pretty bad also!) comments about them on CC?

[UKCruiseJeff]

Yes, SS advised me to post (no limitations. My on\board survey was pretty bad also!) comments about them on CC?

 

I don't know where you are based ... but I know you've posted about BA and wondered whether you are based in the UK or EU ..... or even Oz?

 

if you had known before you booked the cruise what you now know, would you have booked it? I think you have made it clear. If you are a brit (or EU or Oz) then I'd write and request a partial refund outlining why what you received didn't meet your perfectly reasonable expectations. You are entitled to a part refund imho.

 

Worth a try?

[frickwg]

Based in USA. My try for a refund or future credit from the Silver Discover cruise did not even get a reply.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Sorry to hear of it. Your chances of successfully pursuing this legally in the US is probably close to zero.

 

If you google this board for email addresses on some of the key executives you will find that some are regularly posted. Perhaps a personal email to one might help. Obviously a short, balanced précis with a request for a partial refund might work. It would be only fair for you to receive this and if you give up now it is they who have won, and you have lost, and that is simply not right.

 

The very best of luck.

[Solo mi!]

I had an issue onboard three years ago. I Googled Silversea and found the senior executive, in my case the Director of Guests Relations. I wrote to him and explained my issue and complaint. I received an almost immediate reply acknowledging my letter and shortly thereafter, I received an email from him telling me that I would soon receive a letter from SS. I received the letter within three weeks (AND I live in Mexico) apologizing for what had occurred and the obstacles that I encountered and giving me a generous credit for a future cruise. I would suggest that you investigate further as to who to direct your complaint to. Having the name of a specific person would probably help tremendously, rather than just issuing a general complaint. Good luck

[onetravelbug]

I'm sorry you had these issues on your cruise. No one would happy with what you described. Saying that we also had a poor experience on the Silverseas Galagos cruise a few years back. However, I did write a letter to Silverseas explaining our disappointment and came out with a different ending. I won't go into the cruise issues (it was one of the first after Silverseas took over a new ship), so there were several issues.

 

After two months Silverseas finally replied to my letter and offered a very nice partial voucher for another Silverseas cruise. If we had not received this voucher, we would have never tried Silverseas again. That would have been a shame, because the next Silverseas cruise on the Whisper in 2016 was one of our best ever cruises. Now we are looking forward to the Muse in September 2017. So my suggestion to you would be to continue to follow up with a written explanation of your disappointment sent to their corporate offices. Also have your TA support you in this effort. I think all of us forget that any cruise line has thousands of clients each month, and there are various issues that need corporates attention. Unfortunately the squeaky wheel gets the grease (as we say in America), so squeak nicely but be persistent. You should get no less than an apology, but hopefully more. I am guessing you were not the only travelers on this cruise that complained. Good luck, and let us know how things turn out.

[Solo mi!]

I'm sorry you had these issues on your cruise. No one would happy with what you described. Saying that we also had a poor experience on the Silverseas Galagos cruise a few years back. However, I did write a letter to Silverseas explaining our disappointment and came out with a different ending. I won't go into the cruise issues (it was one of the first after Silverseas took over a new ship), so there were several issues.

 

After two months Silverseas finally replied to my letter and offered a very nice partial voucher for another Silverseas cruise. If we had not received this voucher, we would have never tried Silverseas again. That would have been a shame, because the next Silverseas cruise on the Whisper in 2016 was one of our best ever cruises. Now we are looking forward to the Muse in September 2017. So my suggestion to you would be to continue to follow up with a written explanation of your disappointment sent to their corporate offices. Also have your TA support you in this effort. I think all of us forget that any cruise line has thousands of clients each month, and there are various issues that need corporates attention. Unfortunately the squeaky wheel gets the grease (as we say in America), so squeak nicely but be persistent. You should get no less than an apology, but hopefully more. I am guessing you were not the only travelers on this cruise that complained. Good luck, and let us know how things turn out.

 

Like you, I did not give up on Silversea and will be going on my fourth this Fall. My subsequent cruises have been delightful!

Penny

[Lois R]

And I sail on my first one in just over a week:D,

[Solo mi!]

I think you will have a wonderful cruise Lois! I have found, as a solo, that everyone is friendly. Your butler should prove to be especially helpful! I have never had language issues with anyone on my cruises. I can't wait for my next one!

Buen viaje!

Penny

[Lois R]

Hi Penny:).........thanks:D I am planning to have a wonderful time. I am sorry the OP had a poor experience but I have read so many

reviews over the years (example) 2 people going on the same cruise with 2 totally different experiences.......I am very much looking

forward to mine.......new line, new ship, new itinerary, all new to me:) I am quite excited!

Edited July 29, 2017 by Lois R

[zqvol]

OP said the same things in his last SS cruise on one of the other ships.