Has Silversea lost its luster?

[FlyerTalker]

2 hours ago, Silver Spectre said:

We have tried but she only listens to multi WCers and guests with at least 1000 days.

 

"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others"

[bobolz]

It’s interesting in regards to the number of comments regarding D2D  and noticeable decline in overall service in quality, especially since Covid. I have been satisfied with the SS product and the pricing , so far. We have taken 2 cruises since Covid, but both have been with the P2P pricing since we were traveling in the states and did not need the air and thought the risk was minimal that we would have to cancel and potentially lose a 15% deposit. Of course the P2P pricing  was more economical than the D2D  pricing without air, so it’s a choice and you have to weigh the risk. 
 

I used to be in the camp that always took the air credit and booked the BC on our own because we want to control the flights and preferred to do our own excursions, so having them included was not desirable. However, since Covid , there is no way I can find BC seats for any overseas itinerary that can come close to what SS offers. I have checked Oceania and Viking and as soon as you add BC  air to their price w/o air, I would be paying more than the D2D w BC upgrade i could get from SS. So there is no comparison and now with Covid uncertainty, the last thing I want to do is purchase a non refundable BC air ticket and something happens with the cruise ( Covid restrictions or significant  itinerary change, or other) and can’t take the cruise, I’m now stuck  with a non refundable ticket, unsure of when I will next travel. Luckily I live near a gateway airport, so every cruise we had scheduled, but cancelled prior to the 30 day non refundable period, we not only had good flights scheduled using SS air, but did not have to worry about getting stuck with paying for them  after we cancelled and moved our reservation to a new itinerary. 
 

so as much as people do not like the D2D offering there are some of us that do. I’m surprised  we are the only ones that would pay more to book BC flights on their own. Possibly people are using points, so they do in fact save. 
 

also we have been on 2 of the older ships Shadow and Whisper b4 the refurb and I was very satisfied, I thought they were clean , comfortable and food was good, although sometimes service or food ( some served cold ) could have been better, but overall no real complaints. I would have to say I preferred the newer Muse to these older ships, so most likely will try to take the newer ships in the future. 
 

I would not mind  going back to Viking  and Oceania because overall they have much better interior design and public spaces and more restaurant offerings, but if I can’t get better pricing w BC upgrades, I will stick with SS. They still have a very good product and I’m satisfied with the service receive in their Florida  office. 
 

 Happy planning and safe travels. I hope everyone finds what the are looking for! 

 

Edited October 30, 2022 by bobolz

[AtA]

7 hours ago, markham said:

Would someone/anyone please take up the torch with her before more reputational damage leading to people cancelling future bookings gets outta hand. This is all commercial and that’s her job, right?

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

We wrote her after our cruise and sent our cruise review. Her response was basically a non committal non response.

[boccenana]

2 hours ago, bobolz said:

It’s interesting in regards to the number of comments regarding D2D  and noticeable decline in overall service in quality, especially since Covid. I have been satisfied with the SS product and the pricing , so far. We have taken 2 cruises since Covid, but both have been with the P2P pricing since we were traveling in the states and did not need the air and thought the risk was minimal that we would have to cancel and potentially lose a 15% deposit. Of course the P2P pricing  was more economical than the D2D  pricing without air, so it’s a choice and you have to weigh the risk. 
 

I used to be in the camp that always took the air credit and booked the BC on our own because we want to control the flights and preferred to do our own excursions, so having them included was not desirable. However, since Covid , there is no way I can find BC seats for any overseas itinerary that can come close to what SS offers. I have checked Oceania and Viking and as soon as you add BC  air to their price w/o air, I would be paying more than the D2D w BC upgrade i could get from SS. So there is no comparison and now with Covid uncertainty, the last thing I want to do is purchase a non refundable BC air ticket and something happens with the cruise ( Covid restrictions or significant  itinerary change, or other) and can’t take the cruise, I’m now stuck  with a non refundable ticket, unsure of when I will next travel. Luckily I live near a gateway airport, so every cruise we had scheduled, but cancelled prior to the 30 day non refundable period, we not only had good flights scheduled using SS air, but did not have to worry about getting stuck with paying for them  after we cancelled and moved our reservation to a new itinerary. 
 

so as much as people do not like the D2D offering there are some of us that do. I’m surprised  we are the only ones that would pay more to book BC flights on their own. Possibly people are using points, so they do in fact save. 
 

also we have been on 2 of the older ships Shadow and Whisper b4 the refurb and I was very satisfied, I thought they were clean , comfortable and food was good, although sometimes service or food ( some served cold ) could have been better, but overall no real complaints. I would have to say I preferred the newer Muse to these older ships, so most likely will try to take the newer ships in the future. 
 

I would not mind  going back to Viking  and Oceania because overall they have much better interior design and public spaces and more restaurant offerings, but if I can’t get better pricing w BC upgrades, I will stick with SS. They still have a very good product and I’m satisfied with the service receive in their Florida  office. 
 

 Happy planning and safe travels. I hope everyone finds what the are looking for! 

 

I totally agree with you. I haven't checked the fares but knowing how crazy flights have been, we also opted for D2D with BC upgrade. Wish they would offer a first class upgrade. That might be interesting.

 

We want to be taken care of at this point in our lives. There is enough to arrange  before a 28 day cruise without having to deal with airlines.

 

Silversea has not let us down so far. 100% perfection is a lot to ask.  Shite happens. (Been watching a lot of European mysteries) 🤭.

 

Reading this post was making me crazy with all the negative. We leave in a little over a week for a long awaited cruise we booked over 3 years ago. 

 

It was refreshing to read yours. Thanks for putting things in perspective.

 

Elaine 😎 

[bobolz]

32 minutes ago, boccenana said:

I totally agree with you. I haven't checked the fares but knowing how crazy flights have been, we also opted for D2D with BC upgrade. Wish they would offer a first class upgrade. That might be interesting.

 

We want to be taken care of at this point in our lives. There is enough to arrange  before a 28 day cruise without having to deal with airlines.

 

Silversea has not let us down so far. 100% perfection is a lot to ask.  Shite happens. (Been watching a lot of European mysteries) 🤭.

 

Reading this post was making me crazy with all the negative. We leave in a little over a week for a long awaited cruise we booked over 3 years ago. 

 

It was refreshing to read yours. Thanks for putting things in perspective.

 

Elaine 😎 

Thanks Elaine . I hope you have a wonderful cruise and all goes well. Safe journeys! 

[FlyerTalker]

30 minutes ago, boccenana said:

I totally agree with you. I haven't checked the fares but knowing how crazy flights have been, we also opted for D2D with BC upgrade. Wish they would offer a first class upgrade. That might be interesting.

 

There are few international/intercontinental routes that offer a genuine first class.  And only a few airlines still offer it.  For example, AA is dropping its international first class product.  Etihad has eliminated it on all but a few routes.  UA and DL have not offered it for many many years.

 

In light of the scarcity of F seats, few airlines make them available for awards or upgrades - and I would highly suspect that they would not be included in bulk contracts.

[FlyerTalker]

2 hours ago, AtA said:

We wrote her after our cruise and sent our cruise review. Her response was basically a non committal non response.

 

I find it an interesting situation.  A high level executive making themselves available to top customers can have a very positive effect on retaining those customers.  OTOH, if it becomes widely known that only those few have access and the rest of the customer base just gets form-letter type response, well, I think that turns it into an overall negative.

 

The first rule of fight club is that you don't talk about fight club.  But somehow, those top level cruisers are sure to talk about how THEY get the attention of the boss.

[Lauranne]

21 hours ago, Silver Spectre said:

We have tried but she only listens to multi WCers and guests with at least 1000 days.

We have only seven days on SS. I contacted Ms Muckermann regarding an ongoing situation. I calmly wrote my concerns with facts not emotion. I received a reply within the hour. The situation was rectified by the end of the day. I call this fabulous service and it certainly has me looking at future bookings. 
 

[markham]

Lauranne,

 

Please tell me if you were obliged to use Facebook to reach Barbara Muckermann?

And if not how did you reach her.

 

Thank you.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[Lauranne]

38 minutes ago, markham said:

Lauranne,

 

Please tell me if you were obliged to use Facebook to reach Barbara Muckermann?

And if not how did you reach her.

 

Thank you.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

I emailed her. I did get the email address through the Facebook group. Not sure I should put the email address here but easy to figure out. First name, last initial and of course at silversea. 😄 Hope this helps. 

[Silver Spectre]

35 minutes ago, Lauranne said:

I emailed her. I did get the email address through the Facebook group. Not sure I should put the email address here but easy to figure out. First name, last initial and of course at silversea. 😄 Hope this helps. 

Good for you. I emailed her last year about an ongoing issue and although I got a reply she was unwilling to do anything about it.

[commodoredave]

21 hours ago, bobolz said:

It’s interesting in regards to the number of comments regarding D2D  and noticeable decline in overall service in quality, especially since Covid. I have been satisfied with the SS product and the pricing , so far. We have taken 2 cruises since Covid, but both have been with the P2P pricing since we were traveling in the states and did not need the air and thought the risk was minimal that we would have to cancel and potentially lose a 15% deposit. Of course the P2P pricing  was more economical than the D2D  pricing without air, so it’s a choice and you have to weigh the risk. 
 

I used to be in the camp that always took the air credit and booked the BC on our own because we want to control the flights and preferred to do our own excursions, so having them included was not desirable. However, since Covid , there is no way I can find BC seats for any overseas itinerary that can come close to what SS offers. I have checked Oceania and Viking and as soon as you add BC  air to their price w/o air, I would be paying more than the D2D w BC upgrade i could get from SS. So there is no comparison and now with Covid uncertainty, the last thing I want to do is purchase a non refundable BC air ticket and something happens with the cruise ( Covid restrictions or significant  itinerary change, or other) and can’t take the cruise, I’m now stuck  with a non refundable ticket, unsure of when I will next travel. Luckily I live near a gateway airport, so every cruise we had scheduled, but cancelled prior to the 30 day non refundable period, we not only had good flights scheduled using SS air, but did not have to worry about getting stuck with paying for them  after we cancelled and moved our reservation to a new itinerary. 
 

so as much as people do not like the D2D offering there are some of us that do. I’m surprised  we are the only ones that would pay more to book BC flights on their own. Possibly people are using points, so they do in fact save. 
 

also we have been on 2 of the older ships Shadow and Whisper b4 the refurb and I was very satisfied, I thought they were clean , comfortable and food was good, although sometimes service or food ( some served cold ) could have been better, but overall no real complaints. I would have to say I preferred the newer Muse to these older ships, so most likely will try to take the newer ships in the future. 
 

I would not mind  going back to Viking  and Oceania because overall they have much better interior design and public spaces and more restaurant offerings, but if I can’t get better pricing w BC upgrades, I will stick with SS. They still have a very good product and I’m satisfied with the service receive in their Florida  office. 
 

 Happy planning and safe travels. I hope everyone finds what the are looking for! 

 

I can only speak for myself, but I have no issues with Silversea offering D2D pricing to customers.  After all, many cruise lines offer air and hotel packages, and it works for some. However, what I do have an issue with is being financially disadvantaged if I choose not to take the D2D. Why can't we all be treated the same regardless of whether we choose D2D?

[Mr Luxury]

10 minutes ago, commodoredave said:

I can only speak for myself, but I have no issues with Silversea offering D2D pricing to customers.  After all, many cruise lines offer air and hotel packages, and it works for some. However, what I do have an issue with is being financially disadvantaged if I choose not to take the D2D. Why can't we all be treated the same regardless of whether we choose D2D?

Perhaps the reason is that Silversea make money one way and not the other way.

We all know that cruise lines charge the earth for add ons.

I like to book my own air and own tours but I'm not the most profitable client for a cruise line until that is when I get on board as I only buy wines from the list and never have an included wine.

I'm fine with that. 

[markham]

Dave,

 

What stuck in my craw in particular was that the D2D service is poorly supported. You have seen above the ridiculous air connections, failure to respond for days on end to customer requests of many sorts, and dogmatic adherence to whatever dates and times some administrator deems D2D. You apparently cannot deviate in order to arrive a couple of days pre cruise or post cruise. Who needs or wants to be so disadvantaged when it’s your dosh?!

 

You ask about fair and equal treatment. You are right. It’s high time and it would appear that Silversea has underinvested in this D2D concept, to emphasize the obvious.

Some foreswear booking direct with Silversea in favor a specialist and hopefully influential-with-Silversea TA. Makes sense; I would never book direct since the sales staff seem helpless in the face of the product design. Now if only Silversea customer service types would hear us.

Happy and healthy sailing!

[Desperate to Sail]

I truthfully don't understand this supposed issue regarding extra pre- and post-cruise stays and D2D bookings. On a recent Rome to Venice cruise on the Dawn, we arrived in Rome 2 days early and stayed an extra 3 nights in Venice. We booked the hotels through Silversea and they handled all the transfers between airport, hotel and pier. Same situation with an upcoming Lisbon to Barcelona cruise on the Moon. 3 nights pre-cruise in Lisbon and 2-nights post-cruise in Barcelona. What am I failing to appreciate? 

 

Now, whether it's a fair value to book the trip in this manner is another discussion. For us, it's a convenience for which we're willing to pay. Smooth seas everyone. 

[commodoredave]

25 minutes ago, Desperate to Sail said:

I truthfully don't understand this supposed issue regarding extra pre- and post-cruise stays and D2D bookings. On a recent Rome to Venice cruise on the Dawn, we arrived in Rome 2 days early and stayed an extra 3 nights in Venice. We booked the hotels through Silversea and they handled all the transfers between airport, hotel and pier. Same situation with an upcoming Lisbon to Barcelona cruise on the Moon. 3 nights pre-cruise in Lisbon and 2-nights post-cruise in Barcelona. What am I failing to appreciate? 

 

Now, whether it's a fair value to book the trip in this manner is another discussion. For us, it's a convenience for which we're willing to pay. Smooth seas everyone. 

I don't know about others, but my pre and post cruise stays tend to be longer than most people. For example, we will be spending a month in Europe following our Ft. Lauderdale to Lisbon voyage on the Moon next March. This could not be accommodated in the D2D package, so as has been the case for many years, we simply booked our own hotels and air. 

[commodoredave]

3 hours ago, markham said:

Dave,

 

What stuck in my craw in particular was that the D2D service is poorly supported. You have seen above the ridiculous air connections, failure to respond for days on end to customer requests of many sorts, and dogmatic adherence to whatever dates and times some administrator deems D2D. You apparently cannot deviate in order to arrive a couple of days pre cruise or post cruise. Who needs or wants to be so disadvantaged when it’s your dosh?!

 

You ask about fair and equal treatment. You are right. It’s high time and it would appear that Silversea has underinvested in this D2D concept, to emphasize the obvious.

Some foreswear booking direct with Silversea in favor a specialist and hopefully influential-with-Silversea TA. Makes sense; I would never book direct since the sales staff seem helpless in the face of the product design. Now if only Silversea customer service types would hear us.

Happy and healthy sailing!

I agree with you. Let me provide a recent example. Another couple sailed with us on our recent SS  Iceland to Norway cruise (back to back voyages) this summer. We booked our own air to Reykjavik and back home from Oslo. We chose our own airlines, our own routing and our own seats in BC and had lovely flights. Our friends used the D2D air, and had an unpleasant routing from Tampa to Reykjavik, and on the way back home from Oslo, were given seats in different rows from each other. They still have no explanation or apology. Not exactly the type of outcome that will encourage them, or us, to use D2D.

[AtA]

5 hours ago, commodoredave said:

I agree with you. Let me provide a recent example. Another couple sailed with us on our recent SS  Iceland to Norway cruise (back to back voyages) this summer. We booked our own air to Reykjavik and back home from Oslo. We chose our own airlines, our own routing and our own seats in BC and had lovely flights. Our friends used the D2D air, and had an unpleasant routing from Tampa to Reykjavik, and on the way back home from Oslo, were given seats in different rows from each other. They still have no explanation or apology. Not exactly the type of outcome that will encourage them, or us, to use D2D.

We looked into using their D2D service when flying from Sarasota to NY to do our B2B NY/Quebec City/NY cruise.

First they wanted us to take the car service from our house in Sarasota to Tampa which was 4 miles outside the free car service and 1 hour from our house. The Sarasota Airport is less than 15 minutes from our house and has 3 (or 4) flights a day that are direct to NY. 

[fudgbug]

17 hours ago, commodoredave said:

I don't know about others, but my pre and post cruise stays tend to be longer than most people. For example, we will be spending a month in Europe following our Ft. Lauderdale to Lisbon voyage on the Moon next March. This could not be accommodated in the D2D package, so as has been the case for many years, we simply booked our own hotels and air. 

One might not want SS choice of hotel.

[commodoredave]

4 hours ago, fudgbug said:

One might not want SS choice of hotel.

That is also true. For example, at the end of our recent Norway cruise in Tromso, the D2D folks flew to Oslo and stayed at a hotel airport for the night. We flew to Bergen, stayed overnight, took the train from Bergen to Oslo through the beautiful mountains, lakes and valleys, spent 4 nights in the old downtown of Oslo, and then flew home. Would I trade that for what SS delivered to the D2D folks? Not on your life!!

[commodoredave]

On 10/31/2022 at 12:42 PM, Mr Luxury said:

Perhaps the reason is that Silversea make money one way and not the other way.

We all know that cruise lines charge the earth for add ons.

I like to book my own air and own tours but I'm not the most profitable client for a cruise line until that is when I get on board as I only buy wines from the list and never have an included wine.

I'm fine with that. 

The only exception I would make to your never having the included wine is breakfast!

[les37b]

4 hours ago, fudgbug said:

One might not want SS choice of hotel.

 

Or inconvenient flight times or impossible connections putting the arrival for your cruise at risk.

 

There’s no doubt they can get it right. Not sure why its being challenged that’s always the case. My own plight for Japan and Alaska with poor flight details. Whilst eventually I did get a semi acceptable outcome with a 6 hour Seattle connection, it wasn’t ideal and to get to that stage often 10 weeks of trying, wasn’t impressive either.

[CruzinFeraBruzin]

18 hours ago, les37b said:

Whilst eventually I did get a semi acceptable outcome with a 6 hour Seattle connection, it wasn’t ideal and to get to that stage often 10 weeks of trying, wasn’t impressive either.

This is exactly the same situation we are experiencing right now.  Weeks and weeks of back and forth and still no acceptable resolution with flights, except the promise of "we're going to do everything we can to make you happy".  Why not book our own flights?  Because in our situation, it will be much more expensive. Business Class flights are running $10,000 per person one way between London and the US.  If you don't have frequent flyer miles, it makes the p2p less attractive. 

[FlyerTalker]

2 hours ago, CruzinFeraBruzin said:

Business Class flights are running $10,000 per person one way between London and the US.  If you don't have frequent flyer miles, it makes the p2p less attractive. 

 

I'm gonna call BS on this.  One can easily get business class from Texas to LHR for under $3000 one-way, and often significantly less than that.  And this includes non-stops from DFW and IAH.

 

Give me some dates and cities and I'll find you options.

[CruzinFeraBruzin]

8 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

I'm gonna call BS on this.  One can easily get business class from Texas to LHR for under $3000 one-way, and often significantly less than that.  And this includes non-stops from DFW and IAH.

 

Give me some dates and cities and I'll find you options.

No BS here.  United and American are both quoting between $9k - $10k on their websites right now for one way business class in June 2023 from LHR to SAT.  Delta is a bit lower at $7,230.  If we can easily get a cheap refundable business class ticket for less than $3k, we might say goodbye to d2d with Silversea.