Hi from the Whisper Mar 28 cruise

[VegasGreen]

Note on WiFi on this ship... Go to the Computer Center it works there. I have tried the card room and it comes and goes. And today I tried the Observation Lounge did not show up on my WiFi... That is too bad that would have been the perfect place to WiFi from.

 

The Observation Lounge is not a hotspot; The Panorama Lounge, however, is, and worked flawlessly for me.

[simonv]

I hope SS won't do those 4-day sampler cruises again. It must be hell on the staff, and it doesn't surpise me if the service isn't up to the usual standard. They are getting people who normally wouldn't or can't cruise on SS, and their expectations are unrealistic. The original idea for the 4-day cruise I'm sure is to induce the new passengers to book their regular cruises, but I doubt if they are going to find the conversion rate not as good as expected. Losing situation all around.

[joannapvb]

I was interested in SS until BB posted about how awful it is.....sounds horrid - think I will pass -

[texanaust]

I was interested in SS until BB posted about how awful it is.....sounds horrid - think I will pass -

 

SS IS horrid. Best to run back to RSSC with tail between legs:rolleyes:

[CASHIPman]

I was interested in SS until BB posted about how awful it is.....sounds horrid - think I will pass -

 

Joanna

I certainly hope you won't let one poster's impression sway you that easily. Blackbird's perceptions of his voyage are certainly valid because that's how he feels...however, they can't be definitive because they're his perception, his subjective opinion. You, or someone else in the same exact situation may have a different slant on it.

 

Blackbird...I don't like reading your postings on Silversea simply because:

• Vacations are few and far between and no one should have an unpleasant one
  
• I've traveled Silversea and have very positive feelings of my trips

Having said that I don't like reading them doesn't mean I won't. We can all learn from eachother.

 

Lastly, Blackbird, I had the opportunity to see your namesake while the Smithsonian was building the Air & Space annex at Dulles Airport. It sat in a hangar with the Space Shuttle "Enterprise" and other amazing aircraft.

[DebbieH103]

I'm really looking forward to Virgin Gorda, so I hope we get to go.

 

Are you able to get any menus to take back with you?

 

I had mixed berries at a friend's birthday lunch today in case I can't get any, lol! Raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries.

[Shift Colors]

:) That SS could also mean a "steady sea" of positive comments from seasoned sailors like LORD OF THE SEAS, SIMONV, MDMOURGES, and many others. There have been too many very positive comments to discourage Cathy and me from shouting "Shift Colors -- Underway" on cruise 3636. Still counting down to December!

[Winner]

Texanaust--SS IS horrid? Your past posts seem very positive.

 

Debbie--you will receive printed menus daily in your suite.

[English Voyager]

Blackbird's postings remind me of the (alleged) Russian philosophy:How miserable it is to be happy,how happy it is to be miserable!

As a first timer on SS,and with only four days on board,one should be enjoying the on board amenities,and savouring the experience.

[MrsWaldo]

I can't imagine going away at all without my swimwear:D ...pack for all possibilities...

 

I suppose Blackbird can test the reaction to SS to more adventurous forms of bathing!

[blackbird71]

BINGO we have a Winner and it was the Bean Counters. :( Silverseas is doing the no in suite bar setup on purpose on this 4 day cruise..... I have dinner with two new to Silverseas cruises couples this evening. One of the couple from Md said "What's up with the in-suite bar they talk about in their brochures, nobody asked us if we wanted anything". I told them they had to tell their room stewardess what they wanted.

 

I was in the 10% on formal evening with a Tux. While the ladies dressed well, 90% of the men were just in suites or sports coats. One man had a sports coat and pants, shoes but no socks.

 

One couple I sat with were from Ga, and the man said he was on this cruise as a gift from an insurance company.

 

IMHO probably the only guests that got full Silverseas service was members of their Venetian Society. :(

 

First the good news, they are going to have a Bridge Tour, unlike RSSC that puts Bridge Tours under the secrets of RSSC cruising and only open to people that know to ask for it at the front desk. Silverseas did list it in todays Chronicles. Now the bad news, tours of Antigua start at 9:00 am and the bridge tour is at 10:00 am after most ppl have left for their morning tour.

 

DebbieH103 the Lobster "Thermidor" was not that good. First when they say Baby they mean baby, and it was cooked in shell and dry. One of the three people that had it said "That wasn't very good" and the other two agreed.

 

I ordered a special meal of wild boar and was told if they have it onboard I would get it the last evening. I had a Pina Colada at the pool bar and it was good.

[blackbird71]

I'm really looking forward to Virgin Gorda, so I hope we get to go.

 

Are you able to get any menus to take back with you?

 

I had mixed berries at a friend's birthday lunch today in case I can't get any, lol! Raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries.

 

I have a good berry app at dinner last night so you should be fine.

 

The original idea for the 4-day cruise I'm sure is to induce the new passengers to book their regular cruises, but I doubt if they are going to find the conversion rate not as good as expected. Losing situation all around.

 

Or in my case, I cancelled my 9 day Dec cruise over this cruise. My TA told SS why and she is trying to get in touch with her marketing rep from SS.

 

I can't imagine going away at all without my swimwear ...pack for all possibilities...

 

I suppose Blackbird can test the reaction to SS to more adventurous forms of bathing!

 

Blackbird was trying to be good :D But you brought up the subject:

 

Think Italian Captains

 

Think Italian male swimwear

 

Think Polar Bear Club......

[unfathomable]

As a connoisseur of subtle irony, I was hoping that BB's ever-increasing list of minor irritants and sub-expectation experiences was actually sophisticated satire. But it seems that he is in earnest: we're joining Whisper in two weeks' time and find the BB stream of consciousness strangely reassuring: if that's all he can find to complain about, Whisper is probably still the best ship in the world! :)

[DebbieH103]

For those flaming BB--remember, Kristin's rreport from her last cruise talked about lots of things slipping but said they'd be back. Lots of people have talked about slipping. I'd think they would bust their tail on these 4 dayers to get longer term people. The only reason I picked the 4 night was because I am afraid of seasickness since I never cruised. I bought all the right clothes for both of us to wear the right thing, and we are planning on tux and nice long dress and wrap with the right shoes, etc. for formal. Now if people don't get the service and think everyone is casual, some may book longer and you have this casual influx of people, etc. or maybe next time, even my husband will demand to wear a suit. This 4 day is still pricey by the day. I booked on 40% off, and it was still $850 a night. It almost sold out at the 50% off, so many paid less.

 

Regarding golf, that is the outing Todd signed up for, along w/ 12 others. Sounds pricey for what I've heard is the quality of the course, but I want us to experience everything we can in this short time so we see all we can that is offered.

 

Blackbird--have you done the course by course lunch or the buffet? Any shellfish on the lunch buffet? Thanks for continuing to post.

[jim in cleveland]

Blackbird ---- I read somewhere on CC that you worked in the travel industry. Is that true?

[CarlandAndrea]

We are on the 4 day cruise leaving April 5th and chose that cruise because I wanted to try Silver Seas. We will be on a nearby island earlier in the week and the timing worked out. We did not select this cruise based on price and are in a Silver Suite that is a little more than $1,000 per day.

 

Maybe these "taster cruises" will work as SS intended because I have already been looking at their Northern Europe cruises for next year, specifically one that includes St. Petersburg.

 

Regarding the apparent lack of formal attire on the 4 day cruise - my husband is bringing his tux for formal night and I am bringing an evening gown. He is bringing a suit and 2 sports coats as well. It may only be for 4 nights, but we intend to dress according to the evening's suggested attire.

(Just in case any of you were worried... LOL!)

 

I appreciate BlackBird's posts because, like someone else said, that is his experience. And, just so you all know, I intend to forget about my computer the entire time I am on vacation.

 

I approach vacation a little differently perhaps and always arrive with a cautiously optimistic view of how things will turn out. I have traveled extensively and have never had a perfect vacation but I have had many excellent ones.

[lord of the seas]

The four day taster cruises that are offered by many lines are never the same as longer cruises and will always attract a different clientele from the usual types.I do not think that you can really get a feel for the line or judge it fairly.

What a shame to hear about the standard of dress code from the men,so often the ladies make a wonderful effort,only to be let down by their partners.

[mdmourges]

I have been reading BB posts with much interest. I must say he reminds me of my ex father-in-law. The man could not say a nice thing about anything. Wasn't his fault cuz that was how he viewed the world. I learned to just nod and say "Sure, whatever you say" and I would continue to make my own educated observations of the world, trying not to be influence by people who either didn't know what they were talking about or had an agenda. Again, having just been on a 10 day on Whisper, I can tell you that our experience was 180 degrees opposite compared to BB. I must say, however, that my wife and I are fairly easy going (ie. we really liked the burgers by the pool) and don't spend the majority of our vacation time looking for reasons not to like it. Go ahead, call us crazy. It is true SS is expensive and they are not perfect, but our cruise with them was very, very nice and we are booked on a 7 day next Spring which will set us back even more. We'd like to think we are fairly well educated travelers, so we didn't make this decision in a vacuum. I also would like to have BB list, in order of fun, his most favorite vacations. This would help me better understand his position. Anyway.....

 

Mark

[Iamseasick]

BB--What is the age mix of the passengers? Thanks.

[ORV]

Sorry to hear it isn't living up to your expectations, or maybe it is. :confused:

[Sparticus]

I hope SS won't do those 4-day sampler cruises again. It must be hell on the staff, and it doesn't surpise me if the service isn't up to the usual standard. They are getting people who normally wouldn't or can't cruise on SS, and their expectations are unrealistic. The original idea for the 4-day cruise I'm sure is to induce the new passengers to book their regular cruises, but I doubt if they are going to find the conversion rate not as good as expected. Losing situation all around.

 

I would hope that SS could execute on a 4-day cruise. If they can't, then they shouldn't be selling it.

 

Do I expect a short cruise to be as enjoyable as a long one? No. But I also don't think that a cruise line needs a week or more to get its groove on.

 

That's akin to saying that "Restaurant X is great, except on Saturdays when they're busy. Oh, and I would avoid the holidays as well."

 

We're staying at the Ritz-Carlton pre-cruise and I expect that to be a good experience even though we're only there for a short stay.

 

Are you trying to tell me that booking a Silver Suite on a short SS cruise was a mistake because SS can't perform unless they have a week or more to fine tune things? I hope not.

[blackbird71]

St. Barths' Tendering Zoo:

 

I have always assumed that on this class of cruiseline you would not have lines, but that was before I was on the Whisper :( When we were planning to go into Virgin Gorda, they had the tours meet in different rooms on the ship and per the letter on my tour from the tour office we would be taken down in group for tendering. Sounds organized. Then the plans changed and we went to St. Barths. They told everybody that wanted to go ashore to go down to the tendering area on deck 3, and they did. About 1/2 hour after tendering started I went to go to the puter center and rode an elevator down to deck 3, when the doors opened it was wall to wall ppl standing around. As I got to puter center the tour office got on the PA and said they were sorry about the problems on deck 3 but the ship's two tenders were ashore and would be back soon... Organized they were NOT..

 

Terrace Cafe

 

Good for breakfast but not so for lunch. Service is poor at lunch and they are only carving bird things for lunch - two lunches to birds being carved. While at breakfast they know to ask you if you want coffee with your breakfast, at lunch all they offer you is ships water as they seat you. Today after a hot morning in Antigua I had on my mind a nice tall ice tea. The server that carried my plate just dropped it and ran with no offer of did I want something to drink. This is the second lunch this has happened.

 

Norovirus protection NONE

Most cruiselines have gone to hand saniitzer things in their buffets and for boarding the ship. I waited to post on this until my time reboarding which was today in Antigua. The buffet place "Terrace Cafe" has never had a hand sanitizer globe out. When I board in San Juan they did not have one. Today as I walked back to the ship, I saw they had one out. Good I thought until I tried to use it. Empty......

 

WiFi.. to the poster that said the Observation Lounge is not a WiFi area, it is listed on the paper in the puter center as one. It just does not work.

 

BB--What is the age mix of the passengers? Thanks.

 

Younger than say on my RSSC Mariner cruise. A lot in their 40s.

 

 

Blackbird ---- I read somewhere on CC that you worked in the travel industry. Is that true?

 

No I am a computer programer mainly Linux/Unix....

 

Note to all 4 April cruisers, they changed the dress code to two casual nights one formal and one informal..

[cporter]

Seriously, this has to be a joke. I have done two previous SS cruises and enjoyed every experience. Was it perfect? No, but so darn close who in the world cares. I sure didn't.

 

In terms of anyone else worrying about booking a cruise 4 day or otherwise, don't. Unless of course you expect everything to be perfect. Then worry.

 

I have always had what I asked for in my bar. However, if I didn't, I would ask and I would receive it. Would I be upset that a mistake was made? Only if I never made mistakes...

 

In terms of needing to take a tender (which doesn't hold the entire ship at once) when the captain diverted, what in the world do you expect?

 

Seriously, people, enjoy your future cruise. Some people just to complain. Since we are getting no response but a litany of more complaints, I would assume that perhaps this is a person from another line.

[oregon50]

Blackbird, how 'bout a complete trip report when you return home? And keep the posts coming from the ship.

You are providing more entertainement than you will ever know. You have topped Seinfeld as our main source for laughter.

 

Thanks again!!

[Iamseasick]

Thanks, BB. Keep'm coming.