Just Returned From Silver Whisper-FABULOUS!!

[cechase]

We have booked a grand suite for our cruise next year. I am curious as to why you think the silver suite is better laid out than the grand suite. They both look very nice. Just interested in your opinion as this will be our first SS cruise.

Jane

 

The Silver Suite is very well furnished for the space, and no real dead spaces. The closet runs the full length of the suite between the bedroom and the bathroom. The bathroom is large and spacious, and has a door closing off the toilet. The toilet are has a third sink, and a door to the foyer, so it can be used as a guest bath, with the other door closed to the rest of the bathroom.

 

We met a wonderful couple from Palm Desert, the Ottos. They had a grand suite and we were able to see it while having cocktails before dinner. Our impression of the living room and the bedroom, that it was under furnished, with lots of "dead" space". It did have a bar. We then had the Ottos over to our Silver Suite for cocktails before dinner, and they said that they much more preferred our suite. Our feelings entirely!

 

Besides the greater cost, the grand suite seemed to be much darker than our Silver Suite, the bedroom having a sloping ceiling with small windows. Our Silver Suite was always bright and airy.

[ltsally]

Really enjoyed reading your report. Your super-positive experience mirrored ours on the Whisper ('05) and Wind ('06). Sure wish there were an 07 on our agenda!!!:(

[duct tape]

It is also dependent on the seas...we know a couple who also rents a Vista suite, just for sleeping if it is rough!

[oregon50]

Rough seas, rough times, whatever.....it's always nice to carry a spare cabin.

[DebbieH103]

An extra cabin could come in handy if a spouse snores, lol!

[lord of the seas]

I normally book a seperate ship for my wife :D

[duct tape]

Glad to see some laughter and chuckles on the Board! Beats complaining.

[thedog]

Have not had time to post my opinions, but in almost all cases I totally agree with the main post of this thread. We were on the same cruise and just loved it. Have taken many cruises on a lot of lines but this one was the best ever. So much fun, and the best part was the service of everyone on the Whisper.

[deerhouse]

Thanks for the great feedback on the Whisper, I board her July 13th ad can't wait!

 

we do too. we are staying at the cipriani for two days and then boarding the whisper. this will make about 160 days on silverseas....a drop in the bucket for many.

 

if we are lucky, ron will still be the cruise director.

 

we got off of the shadow on may 22 in nyc. the food and folks were great. we have never had a bad cruise on either silversea or seabourn.

[duct tape]

Deerhouse, how long were you on before you disembarked? Hope you enjoyed it.

[deerhouse]

Deerhouse, how long were you on before you disembarked? Hope you enjoyed it.

 

we were on for 14 days...from lisbon to nyc. in 2005 we were on the shadow for 32 days and the cloud for 31 days. both trips were great, although the first cruise, which was a 16 day in norway and then two eights in france norway and ending in london showed us the difference between longer and shorter cruises. the longer one had better service and no kids.

 

as to the poster's comment on the silver suite...they are great. more midships and thus better sailing than the grand suite and more efficient. we have not been able to get one for either our upcoming cruise from venice to istanbul or for the lisbon to nyc leg of the world cruise. they go fast.

[TravelMac]

Dafne I agree with most of your posts. Would have wanted the food to be a little better, more like older Silversea trips but all in all I agree with your posts. Especially, when you refer to the crew and service which was rather amazing on this cruise. Service, at times, depends on the cruisers and group aboard and this cruise had some very amazing people. I do think I remember you and hope that you will cruise with us again.

[wripro]

TravelMac,

 

Can you tell us what you mean by wishing the food had been more like the older Silversea trips?

[Globehopper]

Thanks for the great feedback on the Whisper, I board her July 13th ad can't wait!

 

 

Nice to read this review... I too shall be aboard departing Venice on Friday the 13th!

 

Originally we were contemplating a Black Sea cruise on HAL in October, but after reading the poor reviews of the "Princendamn" we decided to go again with SS based upon our enjoyment of the Silver Cloud last December Dubai to Mumbai.

 

Now I'll have to figure out who avalon1025 and Deerhouse are. ;)

[avalon1025]

I sailed the Prinsendam in December, I found her to be a lovely ship for HAL. I had a fabulous cabin with the crows nest just a few doors down. I would not hesitate to sail on her again. My first loves though are Silversea and Seabourn...no comparison!

 

I'll be easy to find, I'll be the 30-something solo sailor...

 

See you aboard!

 

JT

[cruzadict]

Globehopper - I note that you sailed on the Cloud last year. We are booked on a B2B in November, Seychelles to Mauritius. Haven't seen many reviews about the Cloud, what condition was she in and was the service good. Have only sailed SS once and that was on the Shadow. Service and food were excellent.

Marilyn

[deerhouse]

Now I'll have to figure out who avalon1025 and Deerhouse are. ;)

 

 

i will be easy to find. just look for the tall stunning guy with the silver hair and pretty young wife. we'll be on til istanbul.

[Globehopper]

I sailed the Prinsendam in December, I found her to be a lovely ship for HAL. I had a fabulous cabin with the crows nest just a few doors down. I would not hesitate to sail on her again. My first loves though are Silversea and Seabourn...no comparison!

 

I'll be easy to find, I'll be the 30-something solo sailor...

 

See you aboard!

 

JT

 

 

On my December Silver Cloud cruise I think I saw only 2 or 3 persons < 30 years old! Yes, you should be easy to spot. :)

 

I can be identified by the person with the Nikon D200 camera with 18-200 lens. Not sure what a D200 is? No matter... it's written on the yellow camera strap!

[Globehopper]

Globehopper - I note that you sailed on the Cloud last year. We are booked on a B2B in November, Seychelles to Mauritius. Haven't seen many reviews about the Cloud, what condition was she in and was the service good. Have only sailed SS once and that was on the Shadow. Service and food were excellent.

Marilyn

 

Marilyn (Cruzadict),

 

We were thinking about the November cruise in those waters as well before deciding upon the cruise in a few days time from Venice to Athens.

 

Would you believe that the December Dubai to Mumbai cruise was our 4th choice SS cruise?

 

First choice to Lebanon, Libya and Syria vanished due to world events.

 

Second choice Black Sea was sold out.

 

Third choice was the Cloud a week earlier, and that voyage was also fully booked. But they got to see Kish Island which was cancelled for some reason from our trip.

 

Fourth choice was fine, and we were happy.

 

My comments...

 

The Good

 

Good service started at the nice, but compact Dubai terminal where ship staff escorted each passenger aboard. Checkin was quick. On board photo/ID processing quick with a mini party going on to pass the time.

 

Cabin cleaning staff were very good throughout the trip. I did hear one complaint from another pax regarding their inattentive cabin staff.

 

Room service was gennerally good, but took a bit of training to ask them to hold the mayo on the sandwiches, etc. But that is a very minor detail.

 

But the best for us was Jorge, one of the most pleasant maître d' that I've come across was far better than his assistant. Other dining room staff were very nice to excellent. We were well pampered by the staff, and we enjoyed the food, presentation and service.

 

Conditions in public spaces (dining room, theater, library, bar, etc.) were generally good and tastefully appointed, but now a tad dated. But the ship is showing signs of wear despite maintenance--just as a suit eventually does wear out from use.

 

 

The bad

 

Our cabin featured clanging pipes in the ceiling and this was an intermittent problem. It was most noticable during sleeping hours, when it would sometimes wake us from a sound sleep. Not good. It took several attempts before the problem was semi-corrected; muffled but the root cause of the problem never solved.

 

Cabin was well maintained, but looking a bit worn. Could use a larger TV as the TV screen size was small. May as well convert to a flat screen TV.

 

Some evening lounge entertainment was lackluster-- an English (or was she Scottish?) singer belting out Mary Poppins show tunes and on a later night a banjo player. Others were better. I heard that once upon a time there were flashier, more elaborate productions that involved more than one person on stage.

 

On the other hand, the history professor was quite compelling and we all wonder why we didn't have such professors like that in school! (actually I did).

 

There was one poolside lunch which was a bit slow for some seated at the same table. But nothing is perfect so this was a minor detail.

 

The ugly

 

Along the window edge (seals) in both our cabin and in the dining room there was a crusty rim--think of salt on a Margarita glass rim. Minor detail, but SS should pay more attention to this detail as people do look out windows.

 

One note: the shore excursion in Goa managed to skip the most important cathedral in favor of an unscheduled shopping trip. This would be akin to visiting Rome for a church tour and skipping St Peters in favor for a nearby shopping stall.

 

My on the spot comment to the local tour guide quickly produced a mini taxi and a very rushed 30 second tour of the cathederal. Later that night, when we dined with the hotel director we mentioned this (after he asked us for comments) and later they adjusted the shore excursion charge.

 

Summary

 

Good service on board, very much a pampering experience. We boarded the ship as strangers and when we disembarked, we felt as if we were leaving behind friends.

 

Silver Cloud could use a refit to freshen up the interiors, but is still quite passable--but not as pristine and immaculate as suggested in the brochures.

 

 

Would we sail with her again?

 

Absolutely!

[duct tape]

Globehopper, it would be really helpful if you would copy this to a new thread. Folks are always looking for specific ship info and this valuable review will be lost on a "Whisper" thread. Thank you.

[Globehopper]

Globehopper, it would be really helpful if you would copy this to a new thread. Folks are always looking for specific ship info and this valuable review will be lost on a "Whisper" thread. Thank you.

 

 

Done!

 

Typos and a few more comments added in new thread.

[TravelMac]

Most of the older ships need some corrections and maintenance. This is also true of the newest ones. Saw some problems, last time on Regent, both ships and on even Crystal. If you look, and pick and pick, you will find something.

[dafne]

It seems that on same Silversea ship - on different cruise dates some people are having totally different experiences. There was nothing we would have changed. It was an amazing cruise!

 

Everyone on our cruise- raved! All we heard was isn't this wonderful!

Spoke to many passengers that were booking future Silversea cruises.

 

 

As I said in another thread- have a friend who went on Regent this summer- and it wasn't perfect- but they still enjoyed it.

However, no one seems to post negative comments on Regent Boards- but do post it on Silversea boards.

 

Why do you think that is?

[Signor John]

>>However, no one seems to post negative comments on Regent Boards- but do post it on Silversea boards.

 

Why do you think that is?<<

 

Here's a hypothesis: On a forum like this one (or the Regent forum, for that matter), the statistical sample is so small that one or two unhappy or euphoric people can skew perceptions.

 

Also, like-minded people tend to draw attract other like-minded people, so a couple of passengers who are extremely unhappy (or happy, for that matter) will bring people with similar attitudes out of the woodwork.

[cechase]

My impression is that people who are very recent or very few posts seem to be either negative or very positive.

 

We had a very positive experience on Shadow last December. Our cruise, service, staff, food, etc. was exquisite, exactly what we expected on Silver Seas.

 

We spend a lot of time on the Celebrity forum, and it is interesting that HAL, RCCL, and other posters love to come on and bash Celebrity. The truth of the fact is that we have never never had a bad cruise on Celebrity. I always look at the posters statistics, check out their postings, the number of postings, and the date on when they joined Cruise Critic. Interesting enough, the lower the number of postings and the date of their postings seem to confirm their negative postings.