Silversea Host Dan comments on his first Silversea cruise! (It's about time!)

[Host Dan]

Silversea Host Dan comments on his first Silversea cruise!

(It's about time!)

 

Having had the privilege of Hosting the luxury cruise line forums, (Silversea, Seabourn, Regent, Crystal and SeaDream) for the last 21 years, it was time to finally experience, first hand, what Silversea was all about!

 

I boarded the Silver Spirit December 9, 2021 in Ft. Lauderdale Florida for a 12 day Caribbean cruise.

 

EMBARKATION

 

The pre-cruise documents stated that the time for embarkation, at the pier was between 2PM and 4PM. I arrived promptly at 2PM to find that most of the 300 plus passengers had arrived, and were being processed. Before the primary check-in, each passenger was tested for COVID, waited approximately 15 minutes for the (negative) results, then summoned to the check-in desk for embarkation processing. If it hadn't been for the COVID test requirement, embarkation would have taken a mere 10 to 15 minutes!

 

THE SHIP

 

The ship is very well maintained. Spotless, I should say! The layout of the ship was a bit confusing. It took me a few days to figure out what elevators led to what venue, how to get from one end of the ship to the other without getting wind blown (my suite was on deck 9, adjacent to the pool area.) One of the most dis-functional aspect of the ship was the 2 doors on deck 9, leading to the center interior stairwell. The exterior door opened in, wheras the interior adjacent door opened out, creating a cramped vestibule. The worst functional obsolescence I've ever experienced on a ship.

 

THE RESTAURANTS

 

There are 8 restaurants to choose from, in the evening. For your dining pleasure. I tried all but 2, and was blown away, (mostly) by the taste and quality of the food. Atlantide is the “main” dining room. No reservations required, and the offerings were delicious, and consistently excellent. The sushi restaurant, Seishin, had the very best sushi and sashimi I had ever had in my life! (that's saying a lot!) It is complementary for lunch (when I went) and a $40 sur-charge in the evening. I only at there for lunch, so I can't comment on the dinner experience. Indochine, the Indian inspired restaurant was a great choice, as I love Indian cuisine. Hearty curry dishes, and Nann bread punctuated the Indochine experience. The first night, and a few nights later, I experienced the outdoor grill “Hot Rocks”. An individual hot plate is given to each diner. Fresh steaks, veal, pork, etc. are delivered to the table, and each passenger cooks their own entree. By far, the best filet mignon I'd ever had, on land or sea! La Terazza is a popular indoor / outdoor venue, (much like the Seabourn Collonade.) A great spot for breakfast and lunch. In the evening it offers Italian inspired offerings. I very much enjoyed this venue as well. If pizza is your thing, Spaccanapoli is the place to go! Made to order pizzas, outdoor on deck 10, with an impressive pizza oven. Very enjoyable. I didn't have a chance to try Silver Note, a jazz inspired restaurant. Not my thing. Finally, La Dame. This is a French inspired restaurant that has a sur-charge of $60 per guest. Being of french descent, I was so looking forward to trying this venue out. Unfortunately the many comments from other guests were not positive, so I decided to cancel the reservation.

 

Overall, I was extremely impressed with the quality and taste of the food on board!

 

THE BARS

 

There is no shortage of bars on Spirit! From the outdoor Pool Bar, the Observation / Library Bar, Le Dolce Vita Bar (trivia venue, my favorite!), and The Panorama Lounge (great nightlife venue), just to name a few. It seemd like all the bar staff (actually most all staff) knew my name, and what I preferred to drink, by day 3. Fun is not an issue!

 

CRUISECRITIC.COM - MEET AND MINGLE

 

Before the pandemic, cruisecritic.com and Silversea partnered to offer a special Meet and Mingle celebration to its cruisecritic.com members. For the time being, this has been paused, but hopefully back in full swing soon. This, however, didn't stop me! I posted on the Silversea roll call on the cruisecritic.com site, and arranged for a grass roots mingle! The turn out was terrific, and I had the opportunity to meet some terrific cruisecritic members. SWAG gifts were auctioned, great conversation, and a grand time was had by all!

 

SERVICE

 

As I stated before, service through out the ships venues were outstanding! It was special that so many service members, called me by name within the first 3 days of arrival. The bartenders were mind readers, (although no Tito's or Clamato juice were available?) The Cruise Director Aimee Lake, was one of the best I've ever encountered. She was extremely approachable and made each guest feel like they were the only guest on the ship! Her singing was also quite a treat! This young woman is going far, in my book!

The only glitch, service wise, was my Butler. A very nice woman, happy to offer a nod and a smile, and always searching for me to take my daily temperature. (a COVID daily requirement.) Towards the end of the cruise, there was a mist-step that I couldn't ignore.

After dancing under the stars, my suite mate returned to the suite to take a much needed shower. The suite had been turned down, but there wasn't a towel to be had. No bath sheets, hand towels, or face cloths. Not only would this affect my mates shower, but our morning clean-ups as well. The Butler was contacted twice through the special butler telephone button, with no response. After a half hour, reception was called, and fresh towels were delivered. The next morning, the suite stewardess apologized for her error. This should not have happened. I feel the Butler is responsible for the stewardess' work, and should have caught this error before we arrived back that evening, or at least responded to the 2 direct calls. All was forgiven, but sadly we had another issue. We did not receive a final cruise survey. The Butler was asked once, then twice for a survey to be delivered to the suite. I never got one. I know I should have gone to the reception desk, but it was the last day, and reception was very busy. The Butler should be available to contact reception, make reservations. These are things that take time from having a pleasant vacation. It almost seemed like the Butler didn't want to get me a survey, in fear of getting a marginal rating.

 

DISEMBARKATION

 

This was the easiest by far. 5 minutes to collect my passport, gather luggage and leave the terminal. There was no immigration on this voyage.

 

RANDOM, PARTING THOUGHTS

 

I could go on and on about other experiences I had on this voyage, but believe I've hit the important notes. (my experience only, of course). I loved playing trivia, although there wasn't an apparent winning team. On the last day you could turn in points, for Silversea merchandise. We received a Silversea hat, visor, bag(s), t-shirt and coveted apron! With all that swag, I declare my team the winners! The music by the pool, at lunch, was too loud. The premium wine list was lacking, and the WiFi was not at all on par.

 

I did not partake in any shore excursions, and did not leave the ship. After 70 or more cruises under my belt, the ship is my vacation destination!

 

A cruise line can only do so much to make your vacation a special one. I believe the most important part of my cruise vacation is the people that I met / traveled with. The people aspect is what makes the difference from a good cruise and a great cruise.

 

This was a great cruise!

 

HOST DAN

Host / Moderator of the luxury lines at Cruisecritic.com

 

 

 

[Camillus112]

Thank you so much for your honest assessment of your cruise!  Silversea is dear to my heart since it was my first ever cruise in 2009, and around five or more cruises after that one.  Since then I found Seabourn (happy passenger vibe), Crystal (professional butlers, great shows, including magic, and dancing ambassador pre -Covid) and Regent (also great butlers and great shows).   I certainly do not rule out Silversea in the future, but their butlers will need more effective training if Silversea wants to attract PH clientele from Crystal and Regent.  This is only a constructive statement...please do not take it as an outright criticism.

[Host Dan]

No criticism taken!  I have over 350 days on Seabourn!  Love them as well!

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, Host Dan said:

The only glitch, service wise, was my Butler.

 

Butler service can be "hit or miss" I have decided.  My Yacht Club Butler on MSC Meraviglia was satisfactory, but did not provide as much service as what I expected in certain areas.  (Part of my experience probably was me:  how do I use a Butler?)  The Stateroom Stewardess, on the other hand, was as good as any Stateroom Stewardess/Steward that I have experienced.  

 

Thank you for an interesting report.  It encourages me to sail on Silverseas.  

[Lois R]

Hi Dan, thanks for the review and glad you had a good cruise😀. Sorry about the Butler issues!

[Observer]

Thanks for the interesting and comprehensive review. If you have not done so already, it would be nice if you would post it on the review section of Cruise Critic.  You had announced that you were working on a review, and I had looked for it there. Thanks again.

[Host Dan]

1 hour ago, Observer said:

Thanks for the interesting and comprehensive review. If you have not done so already, it would be nice if you would post it on the review section of Cruise Critic.  You had announced that you were working on a review, and I had looked for it there. Thanks again.

Done!

[Catlover54]

Your cruise left 12/9 (Omicron was not yet in full swing).

 

You said nothing at all about masking in this review, but elsewhere you non-specifically said "there were no issues."  I understand masking rules are "not an issue"  to you, as you stated, but regardless of whether they are an "issue" to you or not, 

 

1. Did you use the gym at all? 

2. If yes to #1,  was there a requirement to use a mask while exercising?

3.  If yes to #2, was there such a requirement even if there were either no people in the gym, or people who were 6 or more feet away?

 

4.  Did you go to shows?

5.  If yes to #4, were the SS instructions that guests seated >6 feet apart had to be masked at shows, or were the instructions that people be masked regardless of distance at shows (indoor shows)?

6.  If yes to #5, was  having a drink propped up in front of you at shows an exclusion for having a mask, even if pax were sitting <6 feet from you?

7.  If pax walked around in fresh air outside, was the expectation that they wear a mask regardless of distancing?

[Host Dan]

Glad to answer!  I did not go to the gym or spa.  I did not go to the shows.  No mask was required if outdoors.  If I had gone to the gym or to the shows, I would have expressed my opinion in my review!   Happy holiday!

[molemaui]

We were on same cruise. We were in the Panorama Lounge (on 9) for the meet and greet but never saw anything going on. Were we in the wrong place? 

 

In any event, I thought your review was spot on. Loved the sushi at lunch. Did the dinner. Not so good. Have done La Dame on my last Silversea cruise and thought it was excellent. Did not disappoint on this trip. 

 

Like you, we enjoy the ship and only got off at St. Barth's because I really like Gustava. 

Trying to detox before our next cruise in early January (Oceania) 

 

Edited December 24, 2021 by molemaui
misspelled words, auto correct

[Emtbsam]

Host Dan -  It was great meeting you on board.  I had to chuckle when I read your comments about Deck 9 since it does seem awkward especially if your suite is on that deck.  We generally avoid walking on deck 9 unless we need to be there.  It is a shame you had such a poor experience with your butler.  Our butler and suite attendant were excellent.  We had a very different opinion of the cruise director.  Given that she is new, I am sure she will improve, but it was disappointing to not see her out and about during the day.  Maybe we weren’t in the right venues.

 

Molemaui - Were we on your trivia team?  If so, I hope your toe is better by now.

[Daveywavey70]

 

 

Host Dan. I’ve tried 6 times now to post a reply to you and finally given up. ***** is wrong with this site these days? It logs you in and logs you out, you submit reply and it doesn’t submit. CC recently is so frustratingly glitchy. Anyway what I wanted to say was…  you missed the best 2. Seishin of an evening is sublime, as is the silver note. Please put a word in because there’s only/ a certain amount of time between an unusable site becoming an unused site.

[les37b]

48 minutes ago, Daveywavey70 said:

 

 

Host Dan. I’ve tried 6 times now to post a reply to you and finally given up. ***** is wrong with this site these days? It logs you in and logs you out, you submit reply and it doesn’t submit. CC recently is so frustratingly glitchy. Anyway what I wanted to say was…  you missed the best 2. Seishin of an evening is sublime, as is the silver note. Please put a word in because there’s only/ a certain amount of time between an unusable site becoming an unused site.

 

Funnily enough, I thought it must be my phone, or PC browsers playing up as I've seen these issues time and time again. Many times, I've written a reply to something,, post and just get logged out instead. More bugs than a Covid party!

 

Of the review, on my last sailing, we too had a female butler, who was absolutely useless. We had near zero interaction. The ladies in the next suite to ours (who we are still in contact with) said the gay couple in the owner's suite next door, were probably the cause of her absence and (in their words) were hard word. They were forever shouting and rowing.... And got put in the suite after complaining about something. TTS was the next guest in our suite.... And showered with nibbles daily by the same Butler... We never once got this, so I come to the conclusion other more demanding suites took her time. It didn't effect our enjoyment as frankly we never make use of them and I certainly can state we are very low maintenance for their time and services. Come the end of the cruise, for the first time ever, our butler was not left a tip. Maybe I should have left feedback... But strangely we never had the form to fill in either. Maybe it's deliberate when they know they haven't performed and want to avoid criticism.  Easy to draw that conclusion from what you'd said.

 

 

[Tothesunset]

3 hours ago, les37b said:

 

 

Of the review, on my last sailing, we too had a female butler, who was absolutely useless. We had near zero interaction. The ladies in the next suite to ours (who we are still in contact with) said the gay couple in the owner's suite next door, were probably the cause of her absence and (in their words) were hard word. They were forever shouting and rowing.... And got put in the suite after complaining about something. TTS was the next guest in our suite.... And showered with nibbles daily by the same Butler... We never once got this, so I come to the conclusion other more demanding suites took her time. 

 

 

It's only because we are such wonderful people.... 😱😊

[les37b]

1 hour ago, Tothesunset said:

It's only because we are such wonderful people.... 😱😊

 

You ate all our M&Ms! 🤣 (Or maybe she treated herself for having to put up with the pesky guests put in the owners suite!)

 

I can remember being gobsmacked when you posted the photo of the pouches of goodies.... Maybe it was to keep you on her good side for your wonderful Atlantic crossing!

Edited December 24, 2021 by les37b

[Observer]

I was discussing this review with a longtime Silversea friend, and she suggested that I post again with two points that I made in our conversation.

 

First, it doubtless goes without saying but is perhaps worth repeating that service on cruise ships is performed by human beings and not robots.  I would have shared your frustration had I returned to my suite and found no bath towels, etc.   But I would imagine this happens at least once every night on some luxury cruise ship.  The lack of a prompt recovery is more disturbing.

 

Second, the butler issue has long been vexed, eliciting very different reactions.  I think that the availability of butler for all guests, no matter the level of suite in which they are staying, is a distinctive plus for Silversea.  However, it presents challenges of expectations. Few of us have full-time butlers at home!  Some guests relish having a butler during the cruise. Others may consider it an intrusion on their privacy and independence. Butlers are not mind readers, and they need some guidance from guests as to what they would like.

 

This doubtless presents challenges for newbies on Silversea. They do not know what it is reasonable to ask for.  Perhaps Silversea could offer a page with some suggestions. 

 

As a Silversea veteran I have found what seems to be a very satisfactory solution to this issue.  At the beginning of every cruise, I’ll give the butler a page, printed from my computer, listing what I believe are my reasonable requests — e.g., Lots of this fruit, none of that; please do not attempt to clean eyeglasses (I do not want to have a lens fall out and be tempted to blame the butler); please keep the fridge stocked with these items and don’t worry about those; please return laundry when I am at dinner and not in the late afternoon as it’s customary; etc.

 

The butlers seemed genuinely grateful to receive these clear instructions at the beginning of the cruise.  And expectations can be clarified early on. 

[Stumblefoot]

1 hour ago, Observer said:

Few of us have full-time butlers at home!

Really?  Surely you jest. 😉

[rkacruiser]

3 hours ago, Observer said:

This doubtless presents challenges for newbies on Silversea. They do not know what it is reasonable to ask for.  Perhaps Silversea could offer a page with some suggestions. 

 

An excellent suggestion!  

[turtlemichael]

2 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

Really?  Surely you jest. 😉

I'm just the butler at home tagging along with the boss on cruises!

[Dolcevita Diva]

2 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

Really?  Surely you jest. 😉

At home, my cat believes that I am the butler.  And when I think about it…hmmm- breakfast and beverage of choice, catnip and canapés in the afternoon, dinner served on the porch if that is his preference, tidying up after him, “surprise and delight” - it rather sounds like I am his butler! 😂

Edited December 25, 2021 by Dolcevita Diva

[Host Jazzbeau]

20 minutes ago, Dolcevita Diva said:

At home, my cat believes that I am the butler.  And when I think about it…hmmm- breakfast and beverage of choice, catnip and canapés in the afternoon, dinner served on the porch if that is his preference, tidying up after him, “surprise and delight” - it rather sounds like I am his butler! 😂

Does he tip well?  If not, ask for a transfer to a different deck!!!

[silkismom]

I get "tipped" with stomach kneeds, leg rugs and a warm body next to me at night.

[Host Dan]

My cat Butler makes sure he opens every closet door in my condo, just in case. (In case of what, I have no clue!).  I call him MacGyver, an orange tabby cat!

[Dolcevita Diva]

3 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Does he tip well?  If not, ask for a transfer to a different deck!!!

There is no price on unconditional love!  And I have to say - he’s handsome, smart, charming and funny - clearly it is my pleasure to be of service. 😂

 

 

 

 

Edited December 26, 2021 by Dolcevita Diva

[Dolcevita Diva]

13 minutes ago, Host Dan said:

My cat Butler makes sure he opens every closet door in my condo, just in case. (In case of what, I have no clue!).  I call him MacGyver, an orange tabby cat!

Your cat’s name is Butler?  So fitting for the host/moderator of luxury lines on CruiseCritic! 😹