Silver Spirit maiden

[WesW]

Doug, am sure Lynn and you will have a fabulous time at the Lapa...good recruiting work...did u take advantage of the friends of Silversea program (pls see below) bet

Julie could hook u up, if she has not already:

 

Friends of the Society® Programme

Introduce your friends to Silversea and they will also enjoy special privileges and savings. When your friends sail with you, as a sponsoring Venetian Society member, you will receive bonus rewards including a USD $250 per suite Onboard Spending Credit on designated Venetian Society voyages and the opportunity to earn double days on all voyages.

 

Only 207 days to go before we board the Spirit!

 

r/wes

[gnld]

I emailed Silversea last month for an update on the Silver Spirit build status. They responded she is still "on schedule". But they have no "being built" photos to share. However, I did find this website that has an article and photos of the ship in the shipyard.

Gary

 

http://www.ship-technology.com/projects/silver-spirit/

[WesW]

Gnld, good catch, nice photos too..bet Steve Tucker has some more recent

Spirit build photos...please Steve?

[meow!]

Now that it is barely five months before the newbuild Spirit takes on its first paying passengers, isn't it time for Silversea to publish DETAILS on the cabins, the restaurants, the theatre and lounges, etc. for all to see, just as they did at the turn of 2000 for the Shadow/Whisper?

[Host Dan]

Now that it is barely five months before the newbuild Spirit takes on its first paying passengers, isn't it time for Silversea to publish DETAILS on the cabins, the restaurants, the theatre and lounges, etc. for all to see, just as they did at the turn of 2000 for the Shadow/Whisper?

Hopefully they will SOON!! Come on Steve! :)

 

Host Dan

[dusababy]

Don't know why -- that's just how I am.

HOWEVER .....

Dougburns, Colonelwes, others who are booked on 1-3-10 sail out of Lisbon - from your posts on CC I'm certain I must have seen you on other trips..... I too was there even though we did not meet.

This long awaited TA will provide many opportunities, but rather than a "roll call" perhaps someone will suggest an imaginative alternative.

I'd like to meet and put a face to those posters I've enjoyed reading.

Dusababy from California

P.S. I could wear a red carnation.....?;)

[Emtbsam]

Meow, the Grand Voyage Spirit brochure is online at the Silversea web site. Click on "E-brochures" on the main home page.

Has anyone else noticed that the photo of Portofino on page 26 & 27 of the new brochure appears to be reversed?

[ging466]

Don't know why -- that's just how I am.

HOWEVER .....

Dougburns, Colonelwes, others who are booked on 1-3-10 sail out of Lisbon - from your posts on CC I'm certain I must have seen you on other trips..... I too was there even though we did not meet.

This long awaited TA will provide many opportunities, but rather than a "roll call" perhaps someone will suggest an imaginative alternative.

I'd like to meet and put a face to those posters I've enjoyed reading.

Dusababy from California

P.S. I could wear a red carnation.....?;)

 

On a recent cruise, all the ladies in the meet & greet wore a feather boa - it was so much fun and we looked very glam!!

 

Cheers

ging466

[meow!]

Now we can see the first floor plans of the newbuild Spirit's cabins on the web, in Silversea's 2010 e-brochure

 

http://www.travinfo.net/ebrochures/Silversea/atlas2010.html?rfx_res=high

 

together with the updated deck plans

 

http://www.travinfo.net/ebrochures/Silversea/atlas2010.html?rfx_res=high

 

Notice the double deck "pool area" design (see deck 10). Then they can have poolside barbeques in one sitting. I am still curious whether they can take all passengers in the main restaurant (perhaps by "opening" the partitions to the adjoining Japanese and Le Champagne restaurants) in one sitting, and the theatre in one sitting (including for the safety drill).

[meow!]

P.S. When you look at them closely, there are some changes compared to what was published before for the newbuild Spirit. The "royal suite" category has been re-introduced, though this category is practically the same as the "grand suite" (perhaps due to their being on different decks).

 

The so called "double vanity" in the larger suites (from silver suite up) does not seem to be a side-by-side pair (unlike on the Shadow/Whisper). It seems to be two separate vanities, one on the bath side and another on the toilet side.

 

It is our feline guess that unlike those regular hemispherical bowls underneath the counter as on the Shadow/Whisper, all vanities will be the "wash basin" type sitting above the counter as in many newer European hotels. This may appear more fashionable, but whether it will function better is questionable. It may also be the reason why those vista/verandah cabins have gone back from double sinks as on the Shadow/Whisper to single sinks, as there will not be enough space for such larger sinks.

 

The general design (other than the sinks) for the regular cabins looks very similar to the Shadow/Whisper, which is good. The layout of the sleeping and sitting areas also looks similar. The verandah suite is 31 sq.ft. more than on the Shadow/Whisper, which probably means the length of the rectangular overall cabin is increased by 2.5 ft (the beam of the newbuild with single aisle and one cabin on each side is increased by 5 ft from 81 to 86 ft). The width will therefore increase only by a couple of inches (slightly more clearance between the end of the bed and the wall), allowing for a full width make-up module instead of a partial, curved one.

 

We would like to see whether the elegant curved furnishings and patterned veneer of the Shadow/Whisper would be retained. That will be one measure of the newbuild's level of luxury. It will be a step down if the newbuild has straight carpentry, unless there is other redeeming grace.

 

As we have said before, a move to a large ship is a step down unless there is some other redeeming grace. The newbuild has more variety of restaurants, and this is better for longer voyages, as passengers will like more choices of food if they stay for a longer time, and not the same things over and over, nomatter how good they are. Presumably, it will be more suitable to assign this newbuild to longer journeys.

 

There is one worry though, the newbuild's beam is only 5 ft (6%) wider than the Shadow/Whisper, while its height is one deck (10%) more. A taller ship is not conducive to stability, though hopefully the stabilzers will compensate for this.

 

Any comments? We hope those lucky enough to sail on the newbuild soon will observe the details and share with us all on this board.

[WesW]

Meow, excellent due dilligence, thanks for finding and posting the new E brochure...wonderful to lap up the details on the Spirit (altho that pesky

restaurant reservation fee is still listed for Seishin)...know DebbieH103 and

CASHIPMAN will be on the maiden voyage; when debbie cruises she composes

an outstanding blog:

 

http://www.luxurycruiseandland.com/blogs/index.php/ssasiaembark/?blog=10

 

Like you will anxiously look forward to reading reports/posts on the Spirt maiden Voyage,

we will post occassionally from the Spirit's maiden crossing 3-19 Jan.

[Wellseasoned]

Oh, well, with all of you posting from the crossing, I guess I'll have to fire up my computer while on board, to make sure you're telling it as it is! It would be nice if everyone on these boards who is doing the Spirit crossing would chime in, so we all know who is there and how many. I'm sure that we all have lots of stories to exchange!

[meow!]

That will be so nice for us "land based spectators" (unable to join the fun soon) to read descriptions from so many on board the newbuild at the turn of the year.

[dougburns]

I also add my thanks to Meow for locating the e-brochure and posting it. Hope the soon to be published hard copy brochure gives a bit more definition to the pictures. That click and drag zoom feature with the e-brochure is really neat. I don't normally post from the ship, but I'm sure we'll all give our comments to someone aboard who does. I'm not too concerned with the beam and superstructure issue relative to open ocean cruising since the keel is also probably deeper, but we'll see. Less than 6 months to go! WOOO HOO!

[DebbieH103]

There is a Spirit preview brochure out, but I don't know if it is newer than anything out there. I had a few sent to the office. Ask your travel agent. I can tell you what it looks like when we get them if they are anything anyone hasn't seen.

[DebbieH103]

It has been a while, but we have been told that for the first time, the main restaurant will NOT seat all guests.

[meow!]

the main restaurant will NOT seat all guests.

That should be considered a step down, because the new ship can no longer hold shipwide "functions" altogether "in camera", as a small ship should. Hopefully, having a larger variety of restaurants will be good.

[wripro]

Considering the popularity of La Terrazza, plus the new Supper club, I think they assume a fair share of passengers will dine in those venues every night so they won't need to accommodate all guests in the main restaurant. Le Champagne will probably continue to be a sparsely populated venue and my guess is, with a surcharge, Sesihin will not be overly booked either.

[DebbieH103]

Right, and they have the Asian restaurant, too. I am most anxious to see just how the Asian restaurant turns out, along with the supper club. Regarding Le Champagne, I wish they had revisited this. They could have used the supper club one night a week for a wine pairing dinner and made a larger Asian restaurant that was free.

[wripro]

Seishin is the Asian restaurant. And I agree, it should be included. (nothing on SS is free.)

[DebbieH103]

I know the name of the restaurant, and I knew as soon as I said free someone would chastise me for it. Whatever.

[wripro]

Sorry, did not mean to chastise, Debbie. It was directed at SS, not you.

[meow!]

When you look at them closely, there are some changes compared to what was published before for the newbuild Spirit. The "royal suite" category has been re-introduced, though this category is practically the same as the "grand suite" (perhaps due to their being on different decks).

This change has now been reversed on the e-brochure, and the two categories are now recombined. I guess it is easy to modify contents on an e-brochure. I don't know what is printed on the hard copies.

[dougburns]

The 2010 voyage atlas is available now. You can order one on the SS website. It has much the same info as the e-brochure. I ordered one yesterday.

[DebbieH103]

Wripro, I was way too sensitive. Off day that day, I guess.

 

Has anyone compared the SS Spirit online brochure to the printed Spirit brochure?

 

What does anyone think about the location of The Bar?