Early Embarkation

[oregon50]

This is good news for some but not for guests with 250+ days who could previously board at 10.30am and disembark late, both without charge.

This is another example showing how Silversea is starting to erode the "perks" earned by guests who have sailed longer!!!!!

First it was the 10% discount which is now worth considerably less under the new pricing structure, now removing the early and late disembarkation.........what next???

 

It's not just the 250+ day passengers they are messing up. They are screwing with long time contractors, changing provisions within the contract so much that you will see these faces on Oceanic/Regent.

The current lounge pianist on Shadow is so bad that he cannot perform the duties of "Name that Tune." They bring on the pianist from the Polish band to do the job. Now, if you're just a cruising passenger it is easy to say "who cares?" The underlying issue is that they are hiring no talent slugs to entertain in The Bar that have other duties and they are not qualified to do the job. BUT....they got'em cheap.

[Emtbsam]

The one real complaint we had with the B2B cruises we took last December on the Shadow was that the live music was sub-par. There was a duet and a quartet. The singer in the duet was okay if slightly off key, but she sang such melancholy songs that it became depressing to listen to her. I believe her husband played back-up, and he was not at all good. The quartet took no requests and were quite unfriendly. It was impossible to dance to either group so we only danced when they had canned disco music. This was quite disappointing since we had danced the night away in the lounge on the Cloud. The pianist, who was from Poland, was charming and had a wide repertoire.

 

SS really needs to do something about the live music. I hope they are listening.

[wripro]

A word to the cruise director while aboard might have helped to change the repertoire of the singer.

[Emtbsam]

A word to the cruise director while aboard might have helped to change the repertoire of the singer.

Alas, that didn't help. A significant number of passengers on the first of the two cruises wrote comments to that effect on the comments form and spoke to the CD as well. There were no perceptible changes during the second cruise, so we made the same comments again. Unfortunately, the performers are hired on contracts of several months or more, and I was led to believe that nothing can be done until the contracts are ended. I certainly hope that the entertainment will be better in two weeks than it was last December.

[wripro]

I was not suggesting that they duo's contract be terminated. But a good cruise director, who is in charge of all entertainment aboard, can have some influence on the direction of that entertainment. I'm certain if he/she told them that there were complaints and they needed to do something different they should oblige. It shouldn't be too hard. They have these computers with thousands of songs and arrangements on them. But it takes a CD who is willing to do this.

[wripro]

I was not suggesting that the duo's contract be terminated. But a good cruise director, who is in charge of all entertainment aboard, can have some influence on the direction of that entertainment. I'm certain if he/she told them that there were complaints and they needed to do something different they should oblige. It shouldn't be too hard. They have these computers with thousands of songs and arrangements on them. But it takes a CD who is willing to do this.

[Goldens4]

Oh, yes. We are discussing the Joy Duo. I also wrote comments on the first comment card mid-cruise. Didn't do a thing. I hope they are gone by Thanksgiving. If I have to hear "I Didn't Promise You A Rose Garden", or whatever that song is by Lynn Anderson one more time, I will scream. They did this song 2X every night they were on. :(

[Wellseasoned]

This is interesting, but this thread is supposedly about early embarkation, not shipboard entertainment. Can we refocus?

[WesW]

Heard from My TA, yes we will now board the Spirit for the Maiden cross as early as

noon. She told me, "We had the Silver Sea VP’s, including Ken Watson (COO of SS) in the office a few weeks ago, and their explanation was that they were charging guests to board early, and then if there was a problem letting them on early, it was causing bigger problems. We have been after them to put make the restaurants available on line. They are working on it.

 

r/wes

[Keith1010]

Colonel Wes thank so very much for sharing what you learned about the changes in early embarkation and the items related to being able to book specialty restaurants on line. Both answers make perfect sense.

 

Thanks again.

 

Keith

[WesW]

Keith, very welcome.

 

Well seasoned..sorry no grandfathering..sure hope they adopt online reservations before our maiden cross..my bet is over a hundred++ (maybe even more) SS Spirit cross sailors (many Venetian members) confirmed early embarkation due to the attractiveness of the new SS ship, plus it was a wonderful benefit for those of us who previously enjoyed early embarkation. IMO, it will be a very crowded at noon (3 Jan) for the Spirit embark/boarding. Suspect many more folks than on a normal voyage will be there at noon (vs the new normal boarding hours 12-3pm) since they have already done their air/hotel to arrive at 10:30 old embarkation process. We can only hope they adopt online specialty reservations 30-60 days prior to embarking the Spirit for the maiden cross. The second order effect (I believe) of this new embark process will be long lines at the Mairtre D's desk to book special restaurant reservations. Also, for us anyway, instead of enjoying a relaxing embark process (old system or new sytem coupled with online specialty restaurant rsvns) with my bride, now as soon as I clear registration (instead of touring the ship together with my wife and having a leisurelly lunch) I will make a be line for the Mairtre D's station (current system used

to book speciality restaurant rsvns; La Terraza and Le Champagne), as my bride goes (by herself) to lunch until I catch up with her later.

r/wes

[dusababy]

This has been said before but I too reiterate --

 

Just one more perk taken from loyal SS Venetian members with lots of days.

 

Big deal !! -- and I really haven't been notified of anything special to replace.

 

Dusababy

from California

[Maineac]

Wes, thank you for passing along the new EE information.... I'm a bit

disappointed, as SS confirmed our 10:30 embarkation just last week.

 

As newbies with SS, we were looking forward to the more relaxed embarkation process and leisurely lunch.....And, didn't mind paying for it.

 

Cheers,

Judy

[loulani]

Hello everyone....I am the one who started this post. Still learning a lot as I read. I can relate with Maineac, never sailed on SS before and was very much looking forward to boarding the ship at 10:30. Guess we will just have to sit around till noon because we will have a couple of carry on pieces and don't want to lug them around Venice. Maybe by the time our cruise gets closer, June, 2010, we will be able to make reservations for the specialty restaurants. Thank you everyone!

 

Linda

[swindy]

Since the Spirit crossing is sold out and because of the increased interest in the new ship, I think Silversea should honour all the early embarkations confirmed at this time. This would reduce congestion and stagger embarktion.

[dwelsh]

I just checked on line my 2010 cruise conformation; the "Early Booking Request " form is still there. Is SS always slow in updating their web pages?

[DebbieH103]

I just spoke with SS, and I was told they won't be doing the early embarkation for 12/23 on Spirit but would start on January 3 with allowances for people to board after 12, as others posted. Cabins would be ready at 2, also as others have stated.

 

I was told Seishin prices are not yet determined but may not be as cost-effective as we all hope, at least for dinner.

 

We will have the old way of boarding at 3 p.m., and we are not going to do early embarkation since we are staying near the ship.

[wripro]

Debbie,

 

I don't understand what it means when they say Seishin prices might not be as cost effective as we hope. Does that mean the place won't be cheap? As far as I'm concerned 50 cents is too much to charge for an alternative restaurant on an all inclusive ship. We forgave Le Champagne because of the high quality of the wine but I certainly wouldn't pay for frozen kobe beef and chicken chow mein. (okay, I know they won't be serving chicken chow mein.) Charge nothing or use the space for something else.

[DebbieH103]

That is exactly what it means, and I don't want to post what I was told since it is not "decided" or confirmed. Let's just say I hope what I heard was untrue.

 

Nobody I know wants a pay restaurant, and Le Champagne sits there empty or nearly empty. They did a "non" open house on our May cruise where they did not even serve food from there but rather the lounge appetizers, did not give a pitch and just had guests sitting around gabbing wondering what the heck.

 

This is off topic on early embarkation, at least the above.

 

Regarding early embarkation, people, including us have been clamoring for noon embarkation for years. People might on these early voyages still want to pay for 10:30, but in the long run when this is ironed out, few would want to pay $200 for 90 minutes.

 

I hope people are making a mountain of this and that it will be a non-issue after one or two cruises.

[swindy]

DebbieH103

 

You state "I hope people are making a mountain of this and that it will be a non-issue after one or two cruises."

I presume you meant NOT making a mountain....

 

Those guests with 250 days are losing another "perk". Not only early embarkation from 10.30am but also, more importantly, late disembarkation which is a real benefit if you have a flight later in the day. It saves you having to book a day room to store your luggage etc. and allows a leisurely lunch onboard, both of which mean a less stressful last day.

Unfortunately it seems to be another example of Silversea devaluing its more regular guests

[riobound]

We were so happy to get the message from Scott regarding EE and being able to board the ship around noon. Previously we were planning on paying the fee and hoping to get confirmation we could arrive at 10:30 for the Oct. 23, 2010 sailing.Yesterday I told my TA the news, she checked with SS and said that isn't true. She said they are still charging $100 per person for EE at 10:30. Is there any way of confirming this? I believe Scott said he got the information from his TA so I don't know what everyone is to think.:confused: Thanks so much for all the help and info!

[DebbieH103]

Yes, I meant "not"

[Wellseasoned]

Riobound, the information I received is that the 10:30 paid early embark is over and finished as of 2010. Official embark is still 3 P.M., but anyone can board at noon. However, you cannot go to your suite until 3 P.M.

 

For us, using early embark to make reservations at specialty restaurants is not a major issue. For us, getting settled in the suite early is more important, and that is what is disappearing. Boarding at noon is fine with respect to hotel check out times, but you are still denied suite access until official boarding time. And if you arrive on an overnight flight and plan to board early and catch a nap, too bad. Hope we won't have to drag our carry-ons from public room to public room.

[wripro]

Debbie,

 

I know it's OP but I'll be brief. As you say Le Champagne sits mostly empty. I predict they will now have two empty venues, especially as Stars is not an extra charge.

[Goldens4]

swindy, have you contacted SS directly to express your opinion about losing the perks for your 250 day status? If so, what was their response and what are they going to do for the 250+ crowd in the future? Even though I do not have the proverbial "horse in this race", I totally understand your disappointment. You have been a loyal guest, put in the time, and have spent the $$$. This concerns me because if they are cutting perks for the premium members, what is in store for the rest of us?:confused: