1. Has anyone ever used their low-cost business class upgrades? What did you end up with?
2. Third person... Anyone ever had three in a Vista/Verandah Suite? What is the third-person arrangement like?
3. The computer center doesn't seem to be on the Silver Cloud/Silver Wind deck plan... I am assuming there is one (it doesn't say "Silver Shadow/Whisper only" in the brochure)?
4. Why is the price never shown for the Owner's Suite (not that there's a half - no, make that a sixteeneth - of a chance I'd be in one ) never shown? Is it literally an owner's suite, reserved for the owner? And for that matter who qualifies as an owner? Shame they aren't a public company, I could buy a few shares of stock so that I would be an owner .

Thanks for fulfilling my curiosity ... Some of the rates on selected (very selected ) cruises don't look that bad when you consider that tips, drinks, pre-cruise one-night hotel, air (with possibility of low-cost business-class even), etc. are all included... It is curious that equivalent cruises are now considerably cheaper on Silver Cloud/Wind than on Shadow/Whisper but I assume other than the somewhat larger cabins and a couple of extra facilities the food, service, etc. are all the same... Anyway Ernie and Bart were both on the older ships ...

PS: Just realized that the cruises in question are on Silver Wind... Somehow I got Silver Cloud into my head. Now, I know that Silver Cloud recently had a big refurbishment... Has Silver Wind had similar or will it have by the time next summer rolls around?

PPS: Hotel program question - for adding a post-cruise hotel, the "first night" price is plain ridiculous... Does the included pre-cruise night mean you automatically jump to "second or more nights" prices for post-cruise?

[ 10-25-2002: Message edited by: Cruiseny ]

I'm off on MSC's Melody in 2 weeks (talk about a contrast!) and am using a limo service for our airport transfers who also do transfers to Citavecchia so will use them next year as well.
Perhaps you could look at booking cruise-only too and making your own air, hotel and transfer arrangements?

Bart's glowing review is here... Ernie's is somewhere, not sure just where though.

quote:

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Originally posted by Cruiseny:

1. Has anyone ever used their low-cost business class upgrades? What did you end up with?
2. Third person... Anyone ever had three in a Vista/Verandah Suite? What is the third-person arrangement like?
3. The computer center doesn't seem to be on the Silver Cloud/Silver Wind deck plan... I am assuming there is one (it doesn't say "Silver Shadow/Whisper only" in the brochure)?
4. Why is the price never shown for the Owner's Suite (not that there's a half - no, make that a sixteeneth - of a chance I'd be in one ) never shown? Is it literally an owner's suite, reserved for the owner? And for that matter who qualifies as an owner? Shame they aren't a public company, I could buy a few shares of stock so that I would be an owner .
[ 10-25-2002: Message edited by: Cruiseny ]

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Doug,
I'll try to answer some of your questions.

1. I booked cruise only, so I can't comment on the air. Regarding which airline will be used, that will depend on the port of embarkation and debarkation and the airlift available. Silversea uses all the major carriers, so a good bet is that the dominant carrier to that port would be used.

2. The third person uses the sofa, which in some suites is convertible to a bed. I'm sure it's quite comfortable and private. There is a full length curtain that divides the suite in two.

3. The WIND/CLOUD are identical. The one discernable difference from the exterior is that the WIND has a covered walkway from the forward stair tower to the observation lounge on the top deck. The CLOUD does not have the cover . The CLOUD went through an extensive refurbishment about a year ago, and the WIND will do the same prior to re-entry into service. One of the major aspects of the refurbishment was the upgrading of all suites. They now look much more like the SHADOW/WHISPER, with the same bed spreads, curtains, and furniture. All the chairs and tables were replaced with the same design as on SHADOW/WHISPER. I find it interesting that the brochure suite photos for WIND and CLOUD use pictures that were taken almost 10 years ago, rather than pictures with the new color/furniture scheme.

4. Good question, and I don't know why. I do know the Owner's Suite is not reserved for the actual Owner or guest, as we made friends with the passengers in that suite. Also, it is by no means the largest suite on the ship, so I'm not sure why the rates are not published.

I must comment on whether you would enjoy a Silversea cruise at this stage in your life. There is not much for a 14 year old traveling with his parents to do. Unlike large ships, there is not a lot to explore, very little entertainment, and virtually no kids. Now I'm sure you would enjoy the food, service, and the suite...... not to mention the ports (the cruises tend to be very port intensive), but I can't help but think you might get bored onboard. Of course Doug I can't speak for you, but I'm just thinking of myself as a 14 year old. While I loved ships (and being left on my own to explore), the SILVER CLOUD was probably not big enough or interesting enough to entertain me at that age.

Just a thought.

quote:

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Originally posted by eroller:
I must comment on whether you would enjoy a Silversea cruise at this stage in your life. There is not much for a 14 year old traveling with his parents to do. Unlike large ships, there is not a lot to explore, very little entertainment, and virtually no kids. Now I'm sure you would enjoy the food, service, and the suite...... not to mention the ports (the cruises tend to be very port intensive), but I can't help but think you might get bored onboard. Of course Doug I can't speak for you, but I'm just thinking of myself as a 14 year old. While I loved ships (and being left on my own to explore), the SILVER CLOUD was probably not big enough or interesting enough to entertain me at that age.

Just a thought.

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It's a perfectly welcome thought too. It's an interesting point of view and certainly you should know having been on them.

The key thing you mention is the destination intensive bit. On many of their itineraries I imagine that the destination indeed takes center stage. The primary reason for travelling is after all the destination.

The entertainment bit is interesting, I was under the impression that they have "normal" entertainment in the showroom? Certainly it must be there for some reason... This is an interesting point, as while I have thought a good deal about whether Silversea would be right for us lack of entertainment wasn't even something that crossed my mind.

That said I'm now thinking about land vacations we take where we do little after dinner and I've never missed it... So I don't know. Certainly something I'll think about though.

On size of ship - that I'm pretty sure would be no bother. She'd be somewhere on the smaller end of my limit but 16,000 tons isn't all that small.

That said there are a few things that concern me about Silversea:

- On high-end cruises there is always the niggling worry of being stuck on a ship with several hundred rich snobs, and nowhere to run away from them.
- Open seating... It would be a new experience, and I don't know how it would work.

Aside from that the only worry really is price, which for this particular discussion (albiet certainly not in real life) remains completely inconsequential.