Silver Cloud Review?

[docmsf]

Just returned from SS Cloud #1711 Postcard Harbors. We had a great cruise because of some wonderful new friends we met and enjoyed. Silver Sea although was disappointing.

 

The ship was dated and worn--dirty and tattered curtains, stained carpets, mildew. We had a verrandah suite and was impressed with the size of the accomadations. Very comfortable and plenty of storage.

 

Service must be off -- The housekeepers would "hang out" in the halls just waiting on you to depart the room. I always felt rushed to leave the room. One evening we had dinner plans at 9 pm. We had the "do not disturb" sign on the door. The housekeeper knocked on the door for turndown. When I told her we would be out of the room at 9 -- she stated--she was "off" at 9. The wine bucket and flower vase with the same bud remained on the cabinet the entire cruise. The fruit was never changed out and by the end of the cruise was rotting.

 

Food was ok--average. Some meals were good, some substandard. One afternoon we returned to the ship and wanted a snack/late lunch out by the pool. The grill was closed. I asked the bartender if we could get some lunch by the pool. He stated "no" and that we would need to return to our room and order room service if we wanted food at this time.

 

The tour directors were not accomodating. One of our scheduled tours was cancelled secondary to low registration. We were sent notice the evening before and not given a call or an attempt to schedule another tour which would satisfy our interests.

 

The entertainment was pathetic. Two nights entertainment consisted of movies in the showroom. A piano player and a really bad magician was the other nights events. A put -put course was set up in the hallway with chairs and masking tape one afternoon. The cruise director made very annoying announcements on a regular basis anouncing these events. One afternoon there was a champagne tasting which was no more than an advertisement for the ships contracted champagne.

 

We loved the itenerary. We loved the fellow passengers we met and which I hope we will remain long friends with. Some crew were very pleasant and did try to please.

 

We are very well traveled and really don't expect everything on any trip to be perfect--but--the reputation this line has does not match the experience.

[duct tape]

Oh dear, very sad to hear. I do think that the Cloud is the weak link in the chain and should probably go away. Glad you enjoyed the itinerary and the folks on board! We will be on the Cloud this summer and are concerned but...we will take our chances. Thanx for the heads up.

[DrJW]

It's not only the Silver Cloud..read my review please on our recent most unfortunate experiences on the Whisper.......

 

CLEARLY SS is no longer the line it use to be......so so unfortunate!:(

[scandun]

Dr, you have decided not to return to SS, and here it seems you are still concerned. I can feel you are too annoyed to leave....or you like others not to return either ?

[seagirl2002]

I have to say Silversea can't be as bad as some people complain here on this board.

I've sailed with them about 400 days altogether and there are so many people that keep returning. And we will do the same. Can't wait to be on one of the Silversea ships again. And I will for sure post a review.

 

[Mayflower1]

I have to echo the thoughts of Seagirl2002. We left Cloud in April after 15 glorious days and there was certainly no evidence of the problems recently experienced. I do not agree that Cloud is the weak link as so many regular Silversea guests welcome the intimate atmosphere. The large percentage of repeat guests must prove that Silversea are getting most things right,most of the time. Individuals do have different levels of tolerance and expectations and different ways in which they deal with issues - thats what makes life so interesting.

[DebbieH103]

In late March, when we were on Wind, they had the menu at the pool bar, and it was obvious that it was available for room service ordering.

 

It would not have been too difficult to go to the tour desk would it?

 

I would not have liked having the door banged on when I had the do not disturb sign out. Our maid busted in once when Todd was not even all the way dressed and we had yelled "just a minute". After seeing him in his underwear, she had a friend do the room the next (last) night.

 

We've loved both Whisper and Wind and go back on Whisper in December. I have high hopes for it since I think they are having either a dry dock or something close in October.

 

I saw where Seabourn just put out 50% off w/ $400 per cabin shipboard credit on tons of its 2007 itinerary. They must be struggling to fill some cabins. There are obviously some deals to be had over there. Everytime I look at them, I end up deciding SS is a better value unless you don't care about a balcony.

[docmsf]

A short reply.

 

To address Scandun--I feel this is a board where you can post not only the good, but also the bad experiences on a cruise. If I am going to pay upwards of 15,000$ for a trip--I want to be an informed consumer. Would I return to SS?--probably not. With a new or improved ship and the perfect itinerary--maybe?

 

To address Debbie. Yes it would have been trouble to go to the tour desk. The bartender should have said "Yes sir! Allow me order for you!" Not "Go do it yourself!" which is essentially what was said.

 

We sailed on a Crystal cruise last summer and did not experience any of these kind of shortcomings. I know there are those that are loyal to specific lines. I prefer different "hotel" experiences to go along with the right itinerary.

 

Again this is a "Cruise Critic" board and should be helpful for those folks trying to decide what line is right for them. We had some good experiences on SS as well--but for this price point--things should hve been better.

[DrJW]

Scandun writes:Dr, you have decided not to return to SS, and here it seems you are still concerned. I can feel you are too annoyed to leave....or you like others not to return either ?

 

My reply: The rationale for my continuing to write my personal opinion, which is what this Board is all about, re: our last experience with SS is twofold:

 

A) Cathartic

 

B) Indeed I want to share my thoughts with others in the hope that they make a wise informed decision !

[MuseCruiser]

This site should not be just a 'cheerleading' forum--I remember once posting on the Cunard board about some problems and people jumped down my throat. So, thanks for the info.

 

That said....I have really realized how non-representative this board is for SS pax. Most travelers on SS just don't read or post here. So, what happens is, a very small % of travelers post here and one can get one impression by reading this board and then actually board a ship and think (as I did) "This bears no resemblance to the complaints I've read on the board."

 

Still....let's hear the good, bad and the ugly. Just realize it may not reflect everyone's experiences.

[MrsWaldo]

I am going to post a response but based on our Cloud experience of 2006 (Sept)

 

We had two cabins and both were well maintained and no sign of anything dirty or tattered so something must have gone significantly downhill in a short period..

 

Whilst not everthing was perfect service was excellent and the maids even "decorated" our daughters room especially as a treat (cute folded towels dressed up to make a rabbit and extra chocolates!)....

 

Problems like turn down times can be easily addressed by just letting the maid know you are eating late (then they can organise their time schedule more efficiently)...our second cabin were "early eaters" and the staff made sure they serviced the room as soon as they left so it would be ready on return at bedtime..

 

Something also to consider might be peoples requirements...for us entertaniment was not of high priority..the ease of port movement and quality of service (which was almost always near perfect) were the deciding factors...

 

Food was of a high standard so...

 

I suppose the standard may well vary from cruise to cruise...but we found Cloud to be as good as any hotel we had stayed in!

 

(Oh and we too are well travelled averaging 8 weeks of leisure travel per year at the 5 star standard both cruise and land based)

[DebbieH103]

<To address Debbie. Yes it would have been trouble to go to the tour desk. The bartender should have said "Yes sir! Allow me order for you!" Not "Go do it yourself!" which is essentially what was said.<j

 

I'm not disagreeing with you about the bartender at all. I'm sympathizing, as that isn't what we saw in late March.

 

I'm still not sure what you wanted them to do about the tours, as the tour desk's whole purpose is to assist in these matters. Is there a better suggestion? We were upset on Whisper that they moved the meeting place for one of our shore excursions, so while we looked for everyone, they all left w/o us, and then we missed the departure. A staff member drove us to the tour to join our group.

 

MrsWaldo, I think the OP was expecting what you suggested re. the room attendant but did not get it. I think I would have addressed this with the hotel director. These lapses seem small to me, but things like that can be upsetting.

[MrsWaldo]

Debbie,

 

We actually told the cabin stewardess on first meeting that they would prefer early turn down so she knew in advance and we weren't expecting her to read our minds...the girls often waited in the hallway and pounced as soon as the kids left the cabin...we didn't view it as a "hurry up" merely as maximising the use use of time....

 

The one night they had a late dinner arrangement (yes the kids got an invite to dine with someone)...they let the stewardess know in advance they wouldn't leave the room until about 7.30 (a bit young to hang around the bar;) )