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Silver Spirit offers its guests one of the most complete cruise experiences available. With one of the highest space-to-guest ratios in the business and eight superlative luxury dining options, she retains our world-famous service standards and home-away-from-home feel. Spacious decks leave plenty of room for relaxation, yet some cozy spots mean there is something for everyone. Meet like-minded friends, enjoy first-class dining, and relax on our original Silversea flagship.
This was our second cruise on SSea and it continues to be excellent. We are long term Celebrity cruisers and find that SSea is a natural upgrade - especially on port intensive cruises Food is the first point onboard. It is excellent. We ate at every restaurant and loved each. La Terrazzo was great but I wouldn't eat here again 3 times as the menu doesn't change enough for a 12 night cruise. Silver Note is worth the Rez. You should order 4 or 5 dishes each as they are small Atlantide was very good, especially as this is the defacto steakhouse. They did have a seafood brunch with stacks of lobsters La Dame is superb and certainly worth the $60 uncharge. Breakfast and lunch in LT is very good. We also ate in the Japanese restaurant and Atlantide but the amount of food is too much for us personally for 3 full meals. Service is exceptional in all areas The ship decor is definitely dated. The hallways look like something out of a castle from the Middle Ages. The brown and beige looks borderline dirty Cabins are spacious but should lose the bathtub. No one is using those with the high step in - especially considering the average age on board.
Silverseas We have just completed a seven-day Silverseas cruise on the Silverseas Spirit from Stockholm to Copenhagen (July 27-Aug 3). The following are my impressions by category. The ship – this is an older ship reminiscent in size and style of the great ocean liners of the 20th century. It is quite large, with eight passenger decks, and only about 600 passengers. The expansiveness of the ship makes it always seem uncrowded. There are no lines, no waiting, no crowds. The ship is in very decent condition. It is easy to enjoy wide halls, many elevators, lovely wooden railed staircases, and many other features of this grand ocean liner. Staterooms – this is an all-suite ship, which means that every stateroom includes at least a sitting area, a bed area, a walk-in closet, and a full bathroom, including a full-size bathtub. Each cabin is at least 300 square feet, and most also include a generous balcony. The layout is easy to maneuver, and user friendly. I found everything to be in good working order and in good condition. Service – each stateroom is serviced by a ‘butler’ as well as a steward or porter. The butler responds to more personal needs, such as providing wine, food, or snacks, while the steward keeps the stateroom tidy, refills depleted items and provides related support. Both were excellent and extremely helpful at all times. They spent a lot of time checking to see if they could do more as we did not use their services to any great degree. Frankly, the idea of two assigned staff for about 13 cabins is a bit of overkill. And the formal tails for the butler could benefit from some updating. Activities on Board – The ship is rich with things to do at all hours of the day and night. The ship publishes a daily chronicle of all the activity’s offered, which always includes 20-25 daily options from bingo, dancing, trivia, nightly musical theater, and lectures. The lectures were offered before each day's visits to provide an entertaining and educational overview and perspective on each city. True to form, our lecturer was a knowledgeable and droll Englishman. It really felt like we were living in a PBS travel documentary. There is a lot of music. There are several talented musicians in cafes and bars throughout the ship, and an excellent entourage in nightly musical reviews. Unlike cruises where the crew become the entertainers, the entourage on this ship were professional performers, and their talent showed in their very entertaining performances. Really, the shows were good. Here my sole criticism is the age of the material and the passengers. The challenge is that the passengers vary in age from 40’s to 80’s and it is hard to create reviews which entertain such a broad spectrum of audience demographics. Some added contemporary material would be appreciated, especially as the performers have the talent to handle it. We did not experience the pool, hot tubs or spa, so we can’t comment on those. But the pool is large, and there are three separate hot tubs. As noted above, none of these were ever crowded. Food and beverage program – the food was the weakest part of the cruise. The ship has several food venues, from causal pizza parlor to formal grand dining room. The staff is attentive and responsive to your every request. Sadly, the food is unimaginative in content and mediocre in execution. Other than one pizza, I cannot say that I experienced a single ‘wow’ moment with any meal. For example, one evening I tried veal saltimbocca, a classic Italian treatment of a flattened piece of veal flavored with slices of prosciutto. And, in this case, it was served with a side of mixed vegetables. Beginning with the vegetables, they were overcooked and under seasoned if they were seasoned at all. The saltimbocca was dry and flavorless. We tried an udon noodle bowl in the Japanese café. The noodles were thin spaghetti types, rather than the thick and chewy typical udon. This overcooking and under seasoning were a recurring theme in several of the venues we tried. While the meals were edible, they just didn’t offer anything special or exceptional befitting the cost of the cruise. The fact that pizza was the best thing we ate, pretty much says it all. The wine offering is a combination of those which are included in the fare (house wines), and the premium wines that you can buy for an added surcharge. We drank only the house wines, which were a mixed bag from mediocre to decent. The Italian restaurant, Atlantitude and the pizza parlor offered fairly decent wines. In other venues we were offered lower level California wines (e.g Wente Central Valley Cabernet Sauvignon) and other nondescript unremarkable pours. While you can survive with the house wines, Silverseas could do a lot better for this level of cruising. After all, this is supposed to be a luxury cruise, not a budget special. Maybe thats their strategy to get you to splurge for the higher end stuff. If I were running this company I would hire a new food and beverage director and insist that they work on producing food options which are equal with what land based restaurants at this price point produce. And it might also be helpful to get serious about the house wines and offer some of the wonderful value wines that are readily available in the current market glut. It is ironic that the cruise has first class entertainment, and very second-class food. Royal Caribbean clearly know what the good stuff looks like – it just feels like they don’t want to invest in what it takes to curate and prepare really outstanding food. Communications – Each room has a TV, which could be a really great added value item. But, instead it is slow, pretty unresponsive and feels very dated with confusing menus. Secondly, the WiFi seems like its just an upsell opportunity. There is a basic service included in the cruise price, which is slow and unable to offer options such as streaming. If you pay an extra $29 a day you get something which works a lot better. I am sure that for many passengers, because they got a credit with their cruise purchase, a good chunk of the credit goes to fund the premium WiFi, better excursions and the laundry. But, for those who bought from the company, like me, you are stuck with 1990s level service or paying a large premium. Does this sound like the wine game? Of course it does. And, sadly, that reflects poorly on Royal Caribbean’s (the cruise line owner) inability to see the difference between offering a truly premium experience and trying to make a few bucks on captive marks, and especially older folks who are often least tech savvy. This is not a Celebrity cruise folks, so why treat the passengers like it is. These people paid a lot, and should be give the best, period. BTW, whenever you are in port your cell coverage usually becomes available, and is often very good. Check with your cell provider to confirm. Excursions – the excursions are a mixed bag. There are two levels of excursions, including those that are included in the fare, and those which require added fees. The quality of tours revolves around the guide. Some guides were amazing with competent explanations of each site which truly animated the experience. One of our guides in Latvia sang us a variety of folks songs as we drove along, entertaining us with a special treat. Another described his families demise under Soviet rule when we toured their wall commemorating those lost in WWII and under the Soviet occupation. Others could be difficult to understand and/or chose to leave the group to explore on their own for a good part of the assigned time. Unfortunately, the quality is a crapshoot. It’s doesn’t appear that anyone screens the guides ahead of time. We had a couple of great guides, and a couple of very weak guides. A surprisingly large number of guests just stay on the boat, passing completely on the excursion option. Several older folks that we met also complained about the rigors of some of the excursions. So, it’s important to check the physical requirements for the excursions ahead of time. Door to door option – we elected not to use the door-to-door option where the cruise line handles all travel arrangements. We spoke with several fellow passengers who used that option and were not happy with their treatment, usually because of much higher costs, and lack of service when problems arose. This is one more upsell opportunity and tends to exploit older folks who are uncomfortable with often complex travel arrangements. Notes – we booked our cruise directly with Silverseas and only a few months before the cruise, so we did not get any special discounts or other perks often available through private travel agents or with more advanced bookings. We booked their least expensive cabins, which were the only lower cost choice available when we booked our trip. The company concierge was helpful during booking and followed up to be sure that our needs, such as excursion and dining reservations, were taken care of. They also sent considerable literature about the trip and preparations. The important thing that we found in booking direct, other than paying retail, was the opportunity to upgrade through an auction conducted by email about 90 days before the trip. In fact, we offered a very modest amount for an upgrade (less than $400) of two levels in cabins, and had our bid accepted. While I can't tell if this is a routine transaction or a rare event, it is worth considering that the least expensive ticket may end being a good deal, but without knowing the outcome of the auction until just before the trip. Check with your provider to see if this option is included in your ticket or only through Silverseas. Summary – the Silverseas Spirit is a great ship, destined to be retired soon, which is too bad given its extremely comfortable size and generous accommodations. Cruising on this ship is remarkably pleasant. Two areas are simply not up to standard, and are unlikely to see improvement before this ship is retired. So, if you plan to cruise on the Spirit, lower your food and communications expectations. I strongly recommend arranging your own travel to and from the ship as most people we talked to complained about the cost and support of the door-to-door service. And, contrary to popular wisdom, it may be best to book directly through Silverseas depending on what price you can find privately, and whether they include the last-minute upgrade auction option. For myself, for a good fare and interesting itinerary, I will be back on a Silverseas ship in the future. I would love to sail Spirit again.
I was concerned how I would find the Silver Spirit after reading some negative reviews. However I have to say, my husband and I feel this cruise, ship and crew exceeded all our expectations. The embarkation process was seamless and fast, the cabin was larger and more spacious than other cruise lines we have travelled with. The service provided by the butler and suite attendant was both discreet and to a very high standard. Having champagne, caviar and cake in the suite made a birthday celebration more special Dining, oh my goodness…the food! We sampled all the restaurants bar the Silver Note as we couldn’t get a reservation. The quality of the food was exceptional…my husband loves steak and he said the ribeye steak in the Grill was one of the best he had ever had and that was before he tasted the Wagyu beef in Seisin, the Japanese restaurant, so he was very, very happy! I prefer fish and again the selection of fish and seafood was outstanding. We were happy with the wine choices although one night I did not want a Reisling that was offered and there was no hesitation about offering me an alternative. The Arts Cafe became a favourite after dinner venue for us, having coffee, chocolates and other treats watching the sunsets. The level of service offered by ALL staff is second to none. They seem genuinely anxious to make sure you are having a good time. There is nothing that they will not do to make sure that happens. They always greet you with a smile and cheery greeting. We did not experience much of the entertainment but what we did see and hear ( the Motown Experience) was very impressive Disembarkation was smooth and easy but happened too quickly! Would have preferred to stay on board. The length of cruise dictates whether there are formal nights or not, 5is cruise suggested elegant rather than formal wear. However I did choose to dress more formally for my birthday and I noticed several other passengers dressing formally on another night. So it is really up to you, if you want to dress up, go for it! The excursions on the whole were informative but can be very tiring, so beware. We can’t wait to book another Silverseas cruise
Silversea’s suites offer one of the highest space-per-guest ratios of any luxury cruise accommodations. All Silversea suites have ocean views, and most include a private teak veranda so that you can breathe in the fresh sea air simply by stepping outside your door. And regardless of the ship or suite category, all guests will be pampered with the personalised services of an attentive butler.
For a truly personal experience, customise your suite with an abundance of thoughtful options and luxurious amenities from Bulgari toiletries and personalised stationery to a bar with your favourite wines and liquors. Settle in with a complimentary movie or choose instead to simply watch the ocean swim by. You can even have dinner in-suite served course by course by your butler. Then, when it’s time to retire, curl up beneath Egyptian cotton linens and a fluffy duvet, with your choice of nine different pillow types. The ultimate in luxury cruise accommodations, Silversea’s suites are your home away from home.
With the importance of food in Italian culture, you would expect dining to be a high priority at Silversea. And it most assuredly is. No matter where you dine, you will experience a great diversity and presentation of culinary selections on board your all inclusive cruise. Silversea offers a wide choice of open-seating dining venues, even aboard their smallest ships, and as many as eight restaurants on Silver Spirit and Silver Muse — remarkable for ships of their size. With the worldly crowd of international guests who sail on Silversea ships, socialising is yet another great advantage of the Silversea experience.
Select voyages go the extra mile with enrichment programmes that will invigorate mind, body and soul, so from the tips of your taste buds to the depths of your soul, be prepared for a sensory rollercoaster of discovery while not only aboard but also ashore. Silversea's travel experience is a second to none and after 23 years in the business, travelling from pole to pole, Silversea has carefully sourced some of the world’s most renowned artists, experts and guest speakers who will travel on select voyages in order to offer culturally immersive experiences from a unique perspective. These carefully curated parties and performances have been designed to engage, enlighten and enrich your voyage, so that whatever your passion, you can indulge it on board.
The ocean views and soothing sound of the surf can be quite intoxicating at sea, so it’s not surprising that daydreaming on deck is one of the most popular pastimes. However, every Silversea all inclusive cruise also includes a considerable number of more active pursuits — some for the body, some for the mind … and some just for fun.
While on your luxury cruise, embark on a personal journey of wellness to complement your global adventures. Work out in the well-equipped Fitness Centre, take a class in circuit training or Pilates in the aerobics room, and let the sauna and steam rooms work their magic to soothe every muscle.
Silversea offers seminars ranging from aromatherapy and nutrition to how to burn fat. A holistic approach to wellness fully integrates exercise, fitness and spa therapies with health lectures and nutritious dining to help you maintain a healthy lifestyle, even while away from home.
Please note: Although Silversea accepts guests over the age of six months, there are no special programmes for children on board, and Silversea does not provide for the care, entertainment and supervision of children.
