Silversea Dawn vs Crystal

[jssabs]

After Crystal went out of business, I tried a Seabourn cruise to see if it might be a good replacement but I was underwhelmed.  I am now considering a Silversea Dawn cruise while I wait to see how the new Crystal gets going.  I would appreciate any comments from former Crystal cruisers who have sailed on the Dawn and how it compares to what the experience was on Crystal.

[Stumblefoot]

Do a cursory search of this forum and you’ll find loads of feedback from SS newbies and Crystal old hands.

[Gourmet Gal]

It might be helpful to know which were the specific areas that were underwhelming?  

[jssabs]

Underwhelming: Little to do during daytime.  No real enrichment or other activities other than trivia.  Entertainment was at the level of college productions as opposed to true professional performers   Service on pool deck was poor to spotty    Poor customer service relating to a hotel screwup where hotel was booked through Seabourn.  

[Gourmet Gal]

Other than your hotel issue I would say that’s been my experience on all my SS cruises but then I book mostly for itineraries and select cruises with few if any sea days.  

[saminina]

5 hours ago, jssabs said:

Underwhelming: Little to do during daytime.  No real enrichment or other activities other than trivia.  Entertainment was at the level of college productions as opposed to true professional performers   Service on pool deck was poor to spotty    Poor customer service relating to a hotel screwup where hotel was booked through Seabourn.  

I'm not sure which forum we're on.   Your experience could have been on either SS or SB.   Neither company matches the former Crystal in the areas you find underwhelming.   

[ak1004]

21 hours ago, saminina said:

I'm not sure which forum we're on.   Your experience could have been on either SS or SB.   Neither company matches the former Crystal in the areas you find underwhelming.   

 

I hear those complains a lot. If this is the case, what's the reason to book SS or SB compared to Oceania? Oceania is also pretty weak in terms of enrichment or other activities and entertainment, but we found it excellent in terms of food and service.

[ggo85]

I did an extensive comparison this past summer.  If you search, you will find.   There is a lot less entertainment and enrichment on SS.  They’re more about ports and really nice ships and really great food.  I thought the SS production performers were quite good (and I’m a harsh critic) but the shows were more cabaret style than true production numbers. And none of the guest headliners.  
 

Service on SS was very professional, but less personal.  Our butler was not good.  But there were some real positives as well, as I detail. We’re taking SS twice next year. 
 

Bottom line: the Crystal we knew is gone.  Even when it returns, it will undoubtedly be different in some ways. In the meantime, try Regent or others and see what best fits what’s important to you. 

[jssabs]

GGO85, I have done a search for comparisons but have not been able to locate your post.  Do you have a link or remember how the post was titled.  After 14 crystal cruises, I have been looking for an alternative until the new Crystal starts up.  I have tried Regent and Seabourn and am now thinking of trying Silversea so any info about Silversea Dawn will be helpful. 

[AtA]

On 11/20/2022 at 9:52 AM, jssabs said:

Underwhelming: Little to do during daytime.  No real enrichment or other activities other than trivia.  Entertainment was at the level of college productions as opposed to true professional performers   Service on pool deck was poor to spotty    Poor customer service relating to a hotel screwup where hotel was booked through Seabourn.  

We weren't on Dawn but on Whisper. If you didn't like Seabourn because of those reasons, you'll like SS even less. I'd sooner do Seabourn again versus SS. We are going to try Regent again (we were Regent sailors before discovering Crystal in 2014) in Feb. 

I will say the food on SS was slightly better than on Seabourn, at least at dinnertime.

We posted a review of our Whisper cruise in cruise reviews.

Edited November 22, 2022 by AtA

[AtA]

Here is our review of the Whisper. Like you, we had 14 completed cruises on Crystal.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=691608

Edited November 22, 2022 by AtA

[jssabs]

ATA, thank you for the link.  I'm getting the impression as I read some of the postings on the Silversea board, that there is a problem of consistency among the various ships. Based on your experience on the Whisper, that is not the ship to go on. Other postings that i can find have said good things about the Dawn and I would love to hear from those who have recently sailed on the Dawn to see if some of  the problems you encountered exit on the Dawn.. 

[ggo85]

Oops.  Just realized I'd posted in the Crystal forum, not this one.  Here's a link.  If that doesn't work, go to Page 3 of the Crystal Cruises forum and you'll find the first post.

 

 

[Gourmet Gal]

1 hour ago, ggo85 said:

Oops.  Just realized I'd posted in the Crystal forum, not this one.  Here's a link.  If that doesn't work, go to Page 3 of the Crystal Cruises forum and you'll find the first post.

 

 

Excellent observations and comparison.  SS compared very well or better in many categories.  

[jssabs]

GGO85, thank you for the link and an excellent review.  It was very helpful.  You mention that service was good (other than your butler) but is the crew as friendly as Crystal's was or are they more formal so that it is difficult to establish a relationship with them.  Also can you elaborate a little more on enrichment lectures, if any, and activities available during the day when not in ports.

[A Tucson Guy]

18 hours ago, jssabs said:

ATA, thank you for the link.  I'm getting the impression as I read some of the postings on the Silversea board, that there is a problem of consistency among the various ships. Based on your experience on the Whisper, that is not the ship to go on. Other postings that i can find have said good things about the Dawn and I would love to hear from those who have recently sailed on the Dawn to see if some of  the problems you encountered exit on the Dawn.. 

Currently on the Dawn- I started a new topic. Loving the Dawn!!

[ggo85]

We thought the SS crew was very friendly. We’re not really into “establishing relationships” with anyone. One difference is that, on our cruise, we weren’t typically assigned the same waitstaff as we were on C.  Thus, the waiters didn’t know our preferences. However, service was uniformly excellent.  
 

Another example was at the pool. We are “pool people.”  On C, the pool attendant would see us coming and set up our chairs just as we liked without our asking. He brought our favorite drinks.  On SS, no complaints about their pool service but not as much personal attention. 
 

Please keep in mind that the above is based on one cruise of 8 days.  Repeat cruisers or those on longer cruises might have different experiences. 
 

Not nearly as much enrichment. No computer at sea. No astronauts. No politicians. No deep sea explorers.  (Lots of folks no longer getting feee cruises!). 
 

On sea days . . . First, there aren’t as many on SS. They pride themselves (justifiably) on going into lots of ports. What to do?   We like the pool.  There’s the spa.  there’s the gym and free fitness classes.  There were some daily activities, but I just no longer recall what they were.  
 

We were fine but we also didn’t take advantage of a lot of what C had to offer. 

[Ytsyts]

Hi, I have just booked on SS, ex crystal cruiser as well.  I am looking for SS Venetian members who might be interested to learn about a promotion currently on SS... if you know what I mean.  Basically I have booked the SS cruise without knowing anyone who has sailed with SS before.  

[mysty]

8 minutes ago, Ytsyts said:

Hi, I have just booked on SS, ex crystal cruiser as well.  I am looking for SS Venetian members who might be interested to learn about a promotion currently on SS... if you know what I mean.  Basically I have booked the SS cruise without knowing anyone who has sailed with SS before.  

 

This is not allowed!  Silversea is well aware of attempts to game the system.   From the terms and conditions for this referral promotion..."In the event of suspected fraud or action conducted in bad faith with the aim of manipulating the Referral Promotion, Silversea reserves the right to immediately void any claims, cancel bookings or terminate membership of the Venetian Society."

[mysty]

13 minutes ago, Ytsyts said:

Hi, I have just booked on SS, ex crystal cruiser as well.  I am looking for SS Venetian members who might be interested to learn about a promotion currently on SS... if you know what I mean.  Basically I have booked the SS cruise without knowing anyone who has sailed with SS before.  

 

See post above!  Not a good plan!

[Ytsyts]

Noted.

Thanks.

[Stumblefoot]

39 minutes ago, Ytsyts said:

I am looking for SS Venetian members who might be interested to learn about a promotion currently on SS... if you know what I mean.

Mysty is right.  You’re out of line posting your request here.  Is it really worth incurring potential action from SS for a measly $500?

[RetiredandTravel]

I don't follow these things that closely but:

 

1) Was it SS or SB that fully recognize Crystal frequent cruiser days?  I have to say if we cruised 100 days on a SS or SB  and a brand new Crystal cruiser was given 500 transferred day benefits we'd be pretty steamed.

 

2)  Did Crystal (not cc companies) refund all the money for future cruises and down payments?

 

 

[ak1004]

46 minutes ago, RetiredandTravel said:

I don't follow these things that closely but:

 

1) Was it SS or SB that fully recognize Crystal frequent cruiser days?  I have to say if we cruised 100 days on a SS or SB  and a brand new Crystal cruiser was given 500 transferred day benefits we'd be pretty steamed.

 

2)  Did Crystal (not cc companies) refund all the money for future cruises and down payments?

 

 

1) SB

2) We got all our deposits back, but not from Crystal. One from CC, one from CC insurance and one from TICO.

[saminina]

Not positive, but think the deal with SB was to hand out club benefits based upon sailing history with Crystal.   It's not a deal where you got credit for days sailed with Crystal.   If you were new to SB and did a 14 day cruise, at the end of the trip you had 14 days total in your SB club account.  It was an incentive for Crystal customers to try SB.   Not something a SB loyalist should be steamed over.