I Cruise Silversea To See If Its New Owners Have RUINED It

Four years ago, Royal Caribbean, best known for huge, good value resort ships, surprised many by buying Silversea known for ultra-luxury small ship cruising. Having cruised on it before the takeover, I decided I should return to see if the online reviews from other pre-takeover cruisers saying things like, "Not the same Silversea” and “Before it was sold, we thought Silversea was superb, well run, with delicious food. Not now” were right or not. So, I booked myself on Silver Spirit for a two-week cruise, and this is what I found
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ABOUT TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS: If you want to get cruising right, Tips For Travellers makes it easy to plan and have the incredible cruise experiences you dream of every time. All my Tips For Travellers advice, tips and tricks tips draw on everything that I have learnt on the 101 cruises I have done to date.
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00:00 Start
00:40 What is Silversea?
01:34 What's the same on Silversea?
08:14 What's Better on Silversea?
10:04 What's not as good on Silversea

[@TheCurlyclub]

I could watch Gary talk about the weather, he has the best voice. The excellent cruise reviews are a bonus 😂

[@danielintheantipodes6741]

I like the look of these ships. Very classic. They look like ships, not hotels skyscraper theme parks on water!!! Thank you for the video.

[@iainmelvin6029]

We were on this cruise with you and were impressed by your low key approach. We pretty much agree with everything you say although we did meet some excellent staff especially in Arts Cafe. If you think communication was poor you should have experienced their awful communication ( nil) with Grand Voyage passengers when it was decided we were stopping at the Seychelles and not going towards the Red Sea. It was awful,often incorrect and quite unsettling when they did ultimately gave us information - one day out of the Seychelles.

[@georgecummings4953]

My wife and I have been on two Silversea cruises in the last year and two Regent this year. We definitely prefer Silversea and have booked for next year. The biggest disappointment on Regent was the quality of the food and bar service.

[@brianmcgauley2664]

A very good, and fair, commentary. We have enjoyed SSea three times with a fourth scheduled next year, our second in the “adventure” class. Galapagos on a ship designed for that sole purpose, the Silver Origin, should be on your bucket list. We have found the door-to-door experience seamless and worry-free, although there can be airline hiccups at any time. The butler service is marvelous if you take advantage of it and use it. I could provide example of their beyond expected personal attention, but that’s another video in itself.

[@KateandBree]

I'll be on this ship in 9 days. I'm looking forward to it. Thank you so much for the fair commentary!

[@lancel6948]

Not sure what it was like before, but we did a Greek idle cruise on the Spirit last summer and fell in love with Greece and SilverSea. Can't wait to cruise with them again.

[@well-blazeredman6187]

Good video. I think I would have been happy enough with that line. And how nice to see cruise-ships that don't resemble apartment-blocks.

[@rob_lightbody]

Travelled with them last year on their oldest ship, Whisper, and it was amazing. Compared to Cunard, our usual line, we thought it was surprisingly good value given how dramatically better every aspect was and how absolutely everything was included. Customer service was exceptional (especially compared to Cunard).

[@stephaniejones965]

We travelled on Silversea last August and although we had never travelled with them before, I have to agree with you about the service. For a high quality service ship I was a little disappointed in the service in particularly in La Terrazza and that the waiters were not as attentive as I have had on other ships. The same with the butler service. I was not aware of the things you mentioned that you could ask for but we're not told about. Having said that we did enjoy our cruise and overall felt we had value for money for our cruise.

[@PerplexedCJ]

While I have not had the pleasure of any ultra luxury cruises, I do understand the point about it becoming "corporatized". I find that usually comes when the crew lose autonomy and are now expected to follow orders from a central body that is usually not on the seas with their guests. It may bring some consistency, but you lose the special touches that an autonomous crew could give.

[@sheilapearsonreflections]

Thanks so much for sharing. Your reviews are greatly appreciated.

[@user-yt1ne4uw8q]

We’re taking our first cruise on Spirit next month to celebrate some missed out on big birthdays and anniversary from lockdown so this was a real treat for us to splurge on. Really helpful video Gary, thank you. We’d read such a lot of negative reviews recently which worried us a bit but will keep everything in perspective and some fingers crossed for a great cruising experience! 😊

[@lesleywaghorn1627]

Thanks Gary - really interesting. Important that when there are included excursions they are good value. Liked the range of eateries.

[@lap8329]

I’m really seriously looking at Silversea at the moment. With only a 25% Solo Supplement on some cruises, they wouldn’t cost me much more that Celebrity with their new punitive Solo Supplement (I did a comparison recently of one specific cabin on one specific Celebrity cruise and and found that the all-inclusive price for three in the cabin was less than solo occupancy. In fact, I could have paid for several shore excursion for all three pax with the price difference). So, if I’m going to be forced to pay top dollar, I might as well go for top product.

[@TessaOswin]

The low solo supplement is a big reason why I’m definitely looking these sort of line.

[@patti1044]

Thanks for a review that was thoughtful and made me realize how this level of service looks great but not on my horizon just yet.

[@joannbanks9963]

Poor Communication & interesting port/tendering decisions have been an issue on all 3 of our SSea cruises. Restaurant staff have been less attentive. Excursion offerings are good, but you have to lock them in as soon as you get a booking number, which can even be before a deposit is paid! After 3 cruises, only on our last one did we have a butler that did more than a steward on any other line. She was fabulous and really made us feel like we were getting our money's worth. Too bad the rest of the issues dropped that feeling down!

[@ericballpresents3010]

Great review. I have sailed over 25 times with Silversea (full disclosure as a guest lecturer each time) since 2011 both before and after RCI’s purchase of the line. I think the overall quality has been consistent through the years. Each ship and each voyage has its own unique feel based upon the staff. Originally the first four ships were about 290 and 386 guests. The more recent four ships are about 600, which gives the eight restaurants with the Silver Moon and Silver Dawn with the new SALT restaurant which has been excellent in my experience on cruises in the Caribbean and Norway with regional cuisine. I am booked on the two new builds, the Silver Nova and Silver Ray which are about 700 guests and have an axial deck layout instead of the “wedding cake “ layout of the other ships. Perhaps some of the online opinions have been the result of the line growing and that the newer ships are 600 guests instead of 300 or 400. Have sailed on Regent four times and agree that Silversea is more formal and “European” in feel and Regent perhaps more “American “ in feel

[@sarah10001]

Sounds like they’re creeping up in size … going on first one in June to fjords - disappointed to hear things are not as they once were

[@wannabedal-adx458]

Great review and insight Gary!! I think it is important to distinguish what you expect for a higher class of cruise line from a more main stream of line. I think I will check out Regent or some of the other luxury lines. And compare these to the "ship within a ship" like the haven on NCL. Thanks!

[@ericbrown8106]

Top notch video, as usual! Thank you, Gary!

[@suecooper7021]

I always enjoy and appreciate the quality reviews you provide Gary. You have reassured us that our 1st cruise with the Silver Nova in June to Alaska will be fabulous. Thanks to your previous great advice I booked all our included excursions right at the beginning and was able to secure all our 1st choices. I now know to ask the butler for certain treats, so that is useful too.

[@saranyabiswas2057]

I learn so much from your videos it’s fascinating I am quite well travelled but never cruised until I stumbled upon ur videos

[@tipsfortravellers]

Happy to hear that!

[@Gazza-E]

Great review - we have just returned from our first Silversea cruise on Silver Muse and although it wasn't awful it did not feel 'ultra luxury', lots of small things like cold food, limited choice, poor entertainment - while none were a major issue on their own, the overall experience wasn't that much better than normal cruise lines - definitely not worth the huge leap in price

[@jrosa69]

Hi Gary! I really would love to see your review of a cruise on Evrima from Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection.

[@lawrencewilhelm7095]

I have to add (just to show how different things are now) that the best service 'thing' that ever happened to us was on our first cruise in the 80's on Carnival's original Mardi Gras, the second-hand ship that they started the line with. At that time, you were always served ice tea at dinner rather than water. The first night at dinner my wife asked if she could have iced coffee instead. The waiter offered to make it for her and she said he didn't need to do that. But he insisted he would and in less than 5 minutes, she had her iced coffee. But not only that, he had the iced coffee ready for her every night when we showed up for dinner, this still being when you had the same table at the same time with the same staff every night.

[@slcrozier7987]

Thanks for the information Gary. You had me worried when you started your video, as we have our first Silversea cruise in February next year aboard the new Silver Ray (Lima to Buenos Aires). Thankfully none of your points are deal-breakers for us. One of our biggest fears is the dress code. We are not big dress up people and were told by our TA and Silversea that the dress code is beginning to be somewhat MORE relaxed specially on the newer ships. Whether that is true or not remains to be seen (). But thanks again for this informative post.

[@Tigers529]

Yes I am sailing with them on Dawn soon and don’t own a tux. I hope a suit is enough

[@anitahenriquez2082]

A blazer with tie is acceptable or a suit and tie. For ladies, black dress slacks and a black cashmere sweater gets you through nicely with good jewelry. I did the first Atlantic crossing for the Nova and it was very very nice. BUT Yes, many of Gary’s criticisms are valid. The staff is not as polished nor are the officers not the staff as friendly. The old smaller ships were so friendly and THAT is why Silversea had that amazing reputation!!! The new Arts cafe is very well placed for meeting people. The Trivia game venue on the Nova is MUCH too small for the number of enthusiasts of that activity. And there is a lot of wasted space going too and from the venues in the fore and aft areas. The lectures in SOME cases weren’t top notch as they had been. And there was nothing in the shops worth Looking at, much less buying. Still catering to the extremely thin passenger….. But the main gripe nowadays is the painfully slow communication between our cruise specialist who was well known to the old head office and the new bureaucratic types of the new company. And for what they are claiming to be:a super luxury line, that is inexcusable.

[@RTD3]

I pulled up your channel, saw the title of this video and LOL 'd!

[@mlo8081]

Thank you for the balanced and informative review!

[@Free56Can]

We did Silver Moon about 2 years ago. Butler was useless. Bar service was excellent. Food was usually just satisfactory; La Terrazza: once pasta was very good, twice more complex meals were very unsatisfactory. Much prefer Seabourn.

[@patriciacopling7908]

Loved this report Gary .. I'm a silversea girl since my first cruise with them in 2005 .. have never looked back .. have over 40 plus cruises mostly in the early days royal Caribbean ( 1989).. I have been on dawn & moon & Agree with you on several issues you mentioned since take over but I still enjoyed my last 2 cruises & have 2 more bookings..

We have travelled SS 3 times and have 3 more booked. On our last trip (Silver Cloud Antarctic expedition), I did notice a drop in service at the restaurants, particularly La Terrazza. Failure to provide tea and coffee in anything like a timely manner / slash only received when asked. The head waiter reprimanding staff in hearing distance of guests. Most staff seemed very new and unsure (possibly scared of the boss). As it was a 15 day cruise the staff did get to know us and were lovely. I am not sure whether it was my memory but I felt there was more variation on the nightly menus previously.Our butler service was impeccable especially compared to our Silver Spirit cruise in 2019, however, I wondered if this had anything to do with being in a silver suite this time. Also, never go on SS for entertainment, enrichment seems to be the thing. Like Gary I am in my 60s and thought that maybe my 90 year old parents might have enjoyed the shows more than me, they were dated back in 2019. My 2024 on ship review basically said that SS does the actual cruising well but their communication and land based organisation is a bit of a mess. The last 2 cruises just got all the disembarkation information wrong and also had everyone going to the hotel wrong. I think the lovely reception staff had not been told about amendments made months prior to the cruise. We are on Silver Ray next and very excited about the new ship so hopefully restaurant staff training is successful as we have become a little addicted to SS. I am not writing this to complain but commenting based on the fact that this was a video on SS post Royal Caribbean. BTW I used to be hesitant about asking the butler for something, now i am comfortable with the service and don’t hesitate.

[@ericammons9804]

The fact that most ocean liners or cruise ships are charging extra for specialty dining is yet another reason why I prefer river cruises. All inclusive for 1 price ( drinks, excursions, meals, etc…).

[@gratefultube]

So grateful for your wisdom and observations. Looking forward to our next cruise !

[@lawrencewilhelm7095]

We're avid cruisers & have been on 31 cruises on 11 different cruise lines. In addition, we are at Platinum level on Carnival which gets us a lot of perks. What you had to say about asking for things that they used to offer it even true here. I always check before any cruise, but especially on Carnival, for any perks that are supposed to be available & I take that list with me.

[@michae1601]

I have an upcoming cruise in April. It will be my first with SSsea, I hope they will iron out the rough spots. Although I am not as demanding or want super attentive service.

[@mp8shnt]

Oh my gosh the Silver Spirit looks 49 feet longer than when I cruised on it last!

[@GreaterTorontoTV]

We sailed from Greenland to Montreal and we got leftover food and the same leftover menu. No variety in the menus, good thing I like tomato soup.

[@MsMasondixonline]

Just looking at the photos/videos I will stay with Seabourn.

[@juanitafurtado8805]

Excellent. this review is very helpful.

[@PaprikaLlama]

Very interesting, Gary. I'm a Silversea devotee (although I can't afford to go too often), and I understand the points you made. My most recent experience was Silver Origin in the Galapagos, where the staff were extremely attentive and friendly, learnt my name and were very positive. That may be cultural: all crew on the Origin have to be Ecuadorian, and they are nice people. On the trip before that, a traditional cruise on Silver Moon, I definitely recognised some of the points you made, including the food being all right but not astounding. I suspect a lot depends on the management, as in any hospitality enterprise

[@sharonellis9751]

In my mind, staff remembering your preferences is a hallmark of ultra luxury cruising. We'll be sailing on Silversea in Asia in 2025 and hope all goes well . . . .

[@Tigers529]

Same here the Dawn

[@Bahamut_Mega]

Can't ever see paying over $2,500 per night for me and my wife to cruise. We Pay, on average, $50pp/pn. And like 14+ day sailings.

[@Retiredtraveler1961]

Hi Gary, nice to see your videos again. Just want to let you know Silver seas door-to-door is not Business Class! I priced it out and found that if I did their door-to-door I would be paying about an extra $8000 more than booking it myself Business Class. I’ll be going on Silver Silver Muse January 5, 2025 Auckland to Sydney. When I booked the door-to-door I found they were charging me almost $40,000 for two of us. I was able to book the cruise (port to port) for $14,700 (superior balcony suite), and buy my Business Class airfare from a consolidator for a total of $16,700 far cheaper than their door-to-door “upgrade” to business class. My total is a little over $30,000 compared to their price of $39,000 and change. An Uber to and from the airport is a heck of a lot cheaper, and I was able to get discount hotel rates for the JW Marriott Auckland and the Marriott in Sydney. Also, so you know, they’ve just introduced a budget fair which is absolutely no refunds and does not include shore excursions. Speaking with shore excursions, on my cruise Jan 2025, the choice of short excursions Australia, and New Zealand is very basic & limited! I have only two options for free, the rest cost money that’s a big disappointment to me. I understood before booking the cruise that they were all free. examples of included excursions are a bus ride around town, a tour of a garden sanctuary. The other thing that’s disappointment is there are no excursions included for the departure city, Auckland, or the Arrival city of Sydney, even though we’re docked. Given that we have three overnights on this cruise, I may book my own shore, excursions and pay for them (regrettably) but I’m disappointed to understand that you have to ask for things and they’re not automatically given. I booked this cruise with the understanding that they were absolutely top shelf, and they were very personalized get to know your name get to know your preferences without having to pull that information from them. I’ll let you know how my cruise goes. I’m starting to have regrets about booking this. Silversea Cruises makes it hard, Should you change your mind and canceled there is at minimum 15% cancellation fee. Well, I’ve given up on the mainstream cruise lines like Princess and Holland America due to overcrowding and poor quality, I will research with a fine tooth comb all high and cruise lines to make sure I’m making the best decision possible. All the reviews I read, said Silver seat was the best, we shall see.

[@FrielFamilyFootball]

Fantastic review. Thanks.

[@globalluxurytravel1]

Great review. I agree when it comes to the small details for the pricing so good on you.

[@LMays-cu2hp]

Thank you for sharing.😊😊

[@zippydogthemisanthrope483]

I have been on several since RCCI took over and really haven’t noticed the changes people complain about. The service was always comparable to Seabourn and still is (btw on Seabourn I only found out about the caviar service from another passenger where it is on the Silversea room service menu).

[@howardhdavidson]

In the main I agree with your assessment .We traveled on a 17 day cruise September 2023 Lisbon to Lisbon on the Nova as a full fare paying passenger and there are some very unusual features on this Silversea ship.I’ve been cruising since the 50s and have the following comments.There are many dinning options but the menu choice is similar in each restaurant and is not varied much .Silver-note is the usual Silversea tapas more like canopies than a meal .I found the food not up to the usual Silversea standard I’ve experienced for many years with them . Since the takeover by Royal Caribbean this is my first experience and noticed a big difference in the dining experience and general standard of service. The ship is a big departure from their other ships in the fleet but personally found it a bit large for the amount of passengers and a lot of empty spaces with repeated uninspiring decor throughout .Somehow I found it too much of a departure from the previous privately owned Italian company and certainly could feel and notice the influence of RCCI in the Silver Nova.Personally disappointing.The entertainment was really poor mainly one or two people acts and RCCI in the old days had great entertainment.I prefer their other concept ships , the other ships were more classy.

[@PlumberryPuppet]

It's very interesting that you describe the service as "aloof." Maybe that differs by ship? I was on the Muse not too long ago, and the crew were definitely encouraged to socialize (to the point where I felt awkward, but I could see how others might appreciate it). Like the dancers were made to walk around the pool deck around lunch time for the purpose of having conversations with guests (stopping at every table at The Grill), and crew members at some bars had researched our names, and would greet me by name the very first time I saw them.

[@PlumberryPuppet]

I think it's true that (I assume) the newer crew maybe haven't been trained as well in service, so that's probably the direction the line was going. But almost every restaurant manager and many servers I regularly interacted with remembered me and my preferences, and there were several who were stellar and had the uncanny ability to know what I wanted and offered those things, and only upon hearing it did I realize, yes I do want that.

[@maryswanson9982]

I think I’ll get a t-shirt that says “Socially Awkward” so they don’t hover around when we go. We’re not used to being waited on, and don’t care for it. Maybe I should get another t-shirt that just says “Introvert.”

[@cruisergirl3478]

We were on Silver Nova over Christmas/New year. I did enjoy myself but my biggest concern were the shore excursions. Some were in a very industrialized area and you had to walk over 20 minutes to get to a bus that was not at the port, but outside.

[@WilliamMurphy-uv9pm]

You chose where you went. Silversea doesn't build ports and just docks where they are allowed to park. My troll warning light is flashing. Bye.

[@pinabasu4200]

We were on the Silver Muse in February. We found that the food was not as good as previously experienced on this line’s other ships. And it definitely has not been as good as it was when the Lefevre family was in control.

[@happyinapa]

Silversea screwed me over 3 years ago and have lost my business--not only will never cruise with them but will tell everyone I know to be very careful in dealing with them. They don’t do their research amd have last minute cancellations of cruises-and make it YOUR problem to solve when it comes to costs you’ve incurred. Sure they will reimburse cost of cruise -but no bump up, and no reimbursement of air/hotel costs incurred for embarkation/positioning. They are the worst of the luxury lines. Buyer beware.

[@annezimmerman5533]

A passenger sailing next month said this in a forum, "dress code on May 2nd departure on Dawn will be either elegant casual or formal optional. No more formal"

[@sharonm.2453]

There is NOTHING picky about wanting the free caviar!

[@barryhaley7430]

We have done 4 ocean cruises with what was our favorite line Celebrity and one river cruise with our favorite river line AMA since returning from Covid. All were still good but none were as good as pre Covid. And as he said it is hard to put your finger on just doesn’t seem quite up to the previous standards. It seems everything was cut back just a smidge.

[@tuvia4082]

Thanks Gary, as always, great info.

[@tipsfortravellers]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@athenatheos3678]

Thank you @tipsfortravelers ! Very helpful. The age of the travelers in this Silversea video appear to be 60s 70s . Is this the case for this line generally?

[@mangomd]

Do you realize that at 8:35 the quick video clip shows them grating Parmesan cheese on spaghetti alla Vongole-a real Italian no-no! 8:35

[@cydneystephen2814]

Hey Sir Gary. Great video as usual. Beautiful ship. Dont always need the mega Icon of the seas ships. Do you think you’ll sail Royals new Icon? Thanks for sharing 🤗

[@johnestruch5232]

Would suggest you try the Nova, their newest and biggest ship. The Arts Cafe has been changed dramatically , now it’s $160 pp for La Dame, the Grill and the pizza are on the same level and the same venue and all of us were inconvenienced on the last trip for a photo op with RCL’s two other new ships. Definitely see the influence of a big corporate owner. Still a great 39 day BA to Ft. Lauderdale cruise we were just on. Booked on another, but it’s not the same as the smaller family owned line.

[@johnestruch5232]

Btw, major design flaw in the Grill. Looks beautiful, but no shade in the middle, and since the middle is opened, can’t sit there iwhen it rains!

[@aprilbundy4395]

Gary, you’re in your mid 60s? You are proof age really is just a number, I was honestly surprised to learn that because I figured you were about 15-20 years younger than it turns out you are! Clearly you’re taking care of yourself and your zest for life on your own terms is paying off. Good for you- and that’s an inspiration to the rest of us!

[@GwenParkinson-zj4vn]

brilliant video very informative. Can I ask are all pre hotel stays included in the price for d2d. I ask because we fly from the UK and it looks like we will have to fly out the day before to Barbados.

[@markt9805]

Family members including my Mom were loyal to Silver sea but after their last cruise they were disappointed. They booked a cruise on the new MSC luxury line Explora so it will be interesting to see if they like it.

[@maryalice578]

Surprised to hear about the service slips since I have sailed on Celebrity (also owned by RC and definitely NOT an ultra luxury line) and we even had waiters at the buffet remember our drink preferences.

[@aasmeyer]

I just came off Endeavor. They definitely have communication issues on the front and back end (off ship). I found that most of the crew remembered everything I liked etc - or at least were nice about it - and they all knew my name. I agree I didn't know how to use our Butler, but he did offer to do a special dinner for us and asked what we wanted - we did an Indian dinner one nite and an Asian dinner during the last week - both were the best of all the food we had on board. We are sailing again on Endeavor in 2025 because we loved the ship and the staff. If you ran into the senior staff, they were very nice and would talk with you - but since they were sailing through icebergs and sketchy weather, I get it. Thanks for your video!

[@tipsfortravellers]

Thanks. I am on Endeavour at the end of the year to Antarctica and really looking forward to seeing the ship!

[@aasmeyer]

@@tipsfortravellers I hope you are on the Falkland/SouthGeorgia/Antarctica trip - it was the best! Really enjoy your channel

[@glendawebster8574]

Love your reviews. Where do you place Viking in the cruise line up. We really enjoy but haven’t done these other lines yet!😊

[@kkingktg]

Thank you for this video. Early on you show a visual that says the door to door includes pre cruise hotel, business class air and post cruise hotel. We just had to pay extra for that for a cruise on the Silver Ray in October. Has this changed?

[@travisandrews5207]

This was so helpful. I was going between Silversea as i have been on Royal and Celebrity and Ritz Carlton. Have you been on The Ritz Carlton as of yet? Would you recommend them or Regents or Seabourn?

[@patdempsey9337]

Having to pay for specialty restaurants after paying those kinds of per-person prices is a deal breaker for me.

[@Michele-ot8bh]

I absolutely couldn’t agree with you more. I shall stick to Seabourn

[@san9c1]

I've only been on one Royal Caribbean cruise and was very disappointed, so I was sorry to see they bought Silversea. Nevertheless I went ahead and booked my first Silversea cruise recently, totally blowing our budget (don't tell my wife). So I was horrified to see this video appear in my feed, and almost too afraid to watch it. Phew! I am somewhat reassured now, thank you.

[@mrwonderful7740]

We took a Silversea Cruise in 1923 to Alaska, our first cruise ever, and it was WONDERFUL. Wouldn't know about 4 years ago. What would be your top 3 luxury cruise lines. Need to make a video on your top three and the diffrences between each. Keep up the good work. We have learned a lot from your reviews etc. 😊😊

[@xr6lad]

1923? Wow are you 150 years old? 🤣

[@sleepyJem1982]

😂😂

[@Drchareneadams]

Hoping to experience SS soon thanks great video

[@lisaellis5951]

Thanks for another great video

[@phronsiekeys]

That food looked awfully good! Especially those pancakes.

[@alexanderfeldstein4632]

I enjoyed the same route on board of Silver Spirit in January 2024 and would like to share experience concerning included excursions. In general they were very reasonable. Though by reservation 6 months in advance for quite a few of them only waiting list was available. As far as my next Silver Dawn cruise Mumbai - Singapore in December 2024 is concerned, the list of included excursions turned out to be very disappointing in spite of price hike.

[@user-mu3ws5fj3m]

You did your March 10 Q & A from the Oceania Vista. You mentioned that the sound proofing between your cabin and your neighbours was not very good and you could hear them and their music. Did this persist through the entire cruise? I was thinking about the Panama Cruise on Vista but am pausing taking action until we hear from you on your next Q & A or KZbin show about the noise on Vista. I have been on the Marina (3x; 2 B2Bs) and Insignia (1x). No noise issues. We are on Serena on a B2B Baltic cruise in Aug/Sept. It is an R class ship like Insignia (older) and do not expect cabin noise. I look forward to hearing your comments on your Vista cruise.

[@tipsfortravellers]

Yes, it was really poor. I could hear exact conversations (luckily they dod not play music or watch TV much but others had big issues with that). The video on early release covers this that hopefully you have seen

[@jamesvokral4934]

We chose Silversea a few years ago because Viking did not have the itinerary we wanted. It was more expensive than Viking but for a few extra perks, not that great. We were particularly annoyed over the extra fee specialty restaurants and that smoking was allowed in areas where the smoke would easily pass to the non smoking areas. It is a very good line but we still prefer Viking for its value, consistency, and its beautiful ocean ships which are all of the same design.

[@Giggleypuff1]

I’m booked on an expedition cruise on Silversea in 2025. Hopefully their expedition cruises are still amazing 🥺

[@stephenc6648]

This looks great but I presume anyone who needs to ask the price can't afford it?

[@brjnskjaard7287]

As someone who has only cruised 5 times I don’t really see value for money compared to Viking. Am I missing something or just wrong? Thanks for the advice

[@double_joseph327]

You don’t. Viking is a better value for sure. Fun fact the Italian restaurant on Viking is named ‘Manfredi’ after the previous owner of Silversea Manfredi. The owner of Viking literally took everything he didn’t like about Silversea and made it on his ships. No casinos, no kids, no butlers. Also it’s pretty similar ship just Norwegian themed vs Italian themed.

[@brjnskjaard7287]

Thanks That is what I thought

[@owensmith7530]

Viking also doesn't require you to pack black tie. I was thinking of going on Silversea but the dress code puts me off. Smart casual is fine but jacket and tie is over the top.

[@double_joseph327]

@@owensmith7530 the jacket and tie is only a few nights. Yep Viking knows this. It’s why Viking is so popular now.

[@owensmith7530]

@@double_joseph327 I've been on Viking Ocean twice and have another booked with them. Only a few nights needing a jacket on Silversea means you're packing something that takes a lot of space up and only gets worn a few times, which is madness.

[@jeffy210]

So how would you compare this to Ponant? We did a cruise on Ponant and absolutely love it and want to see if there's anything like it.

[@ging466]

You really can’t compare them, because Ponant is so much smaller and only have two restaurants. But whilst Silversea is my go to, I love Ponant. Ponant cabins are also much smaller than Silversea.

[@origamicrane685]

Would love to see you do a review of Ritz-Carlton Yacht cruises.

[@tipsfortravellers]

I would love to but I keep looking at them and the price is so high I am not sure that I will!

[@albertstepulevage8217]

1200 and day per person and they have a extra fee for specialty restaurants?😮

[@TouristATSea]

Fully agree, though the personal touch may depend on the specific crew on board. In February on the Muse, everything you missed was there (adressed by my name almost instantly, waiters remembered my preferences, butler volunteered all you had to ask for, ...). Communication on board non-existent, though, and "entertainment" just embarrassing. The enrichment speakers were unacceptably bad. So it really is perhaps the growth that redistributes things less evenly. BTW, there are even zero supplement cruises for solo travellers, and this puts this into a much more affordable range in comparison.

[@jctatpa]

Thanks!

[@tipsfortravellers]

Thanks for the super thanks !

[@kens805]

I found it interesting that doing a price comparison I noticed that the fares on Silver Sea are more or less 10 times more expensive than Holland America's fares. Do you think the difference is actually worth it for some extravagance?

[@johnsambo9379]

Those prices are insane.

[@sctexan5392]

The corporate change scares me about the news that Viking is looking to go public.

[@dresadin]

Your cruise must have been a while ago. La Dame is now $160 pp and an additional $90 pp for a premium wine pairing.

[@user-mg3nc6iu8t]

Hey, if people want to waste their money ($1300/pp/pd!) on these types of cruise lines, more power to them. The other 98% will be perfectly content on Celebrity and Princess , thank you very much. I just don't see 5x the value in them. I know value is in the eye of the cruiser.

[@kays749]

Thanks for doing the dirty work for us, Gary. 😉

[@tipsfortravellers]

Pleasure :-) :-)

[@calumshaw]

Always great info Gary! Thanks. But at $2,600 for a standard balcony per night, that's far too much for us as very frequent cruisers but Silversea would most likely be our first choice if we were doing a cruise/holiday of a lifetime based upon your comments.

[@tipsfortravellers]

Yes, this is definitely a huge budget stretcher..........

[@LMFuqua]

I would love all ships to do the food and drinks to be more local. When we go to sail celebrity in Japan I am not planning on eating much of the included food because I want to try local cuisine.

[@tipsfortravellers]

Agree!!!

[@griffith4830]

Is seabourn THE one then ?

[@poorwotan]

There is definitely a big difference between the big ships and the traditional smaller ones. After trying Spirit out, it became very clear that Wind and Shadow are the only ones to cruise. The big ships will show the negatives you mentioned as there are more passengers on board, more tastes to remember, etc. When Silver was smaller, they could pick the best crew; with more ships, the good crew is spread thinner among all the ships. I feel Silver has lost that (relative) value proposition with the bigger ships. Oh, and nobody goes on these ships for their shows - lol.

[@portisleft6483]

Way outside my budget. 💲💲💲💲

[@jorgschwantje1239]

The best Pizza at Sea is definately on MSC. 🙂

[@raymondlyons1160]

I am sailing on Silver Moon in July 2024. Being a solo traveller, very elderly, there has been quite negative criticisms. Have i made the wrong decision?

[@dennish7228]

Constructive criticism that Royal Caribbean should take note of.

[@briansanderson65]

Could it be that the waiter not having your decaf coffee w/skim milk was less about a corporate decision to tell waiters not to remember vs. the waiter not actually remembering? My recent sailing on Celebrity showed that my waiter did remember that I liked had brought it to me without being asked. If it were a corporate mandate or simply something that was removed from their training guide then I would expect that, if it were a 'change' from before, than that level of service would not have been provided to me on Celebrity.