We are regular cruisers and recently took an 11 day cruise with Silversea from Singapore to Hong Kong, taking in ports in Thailand and Vietnam. This is our fourth cruise with Silversea. We have always enjoyed the 6 star style of cruising. On the plus side, everything was very consistent with previous cruises, which starts from the moment you get dropped off at the port, in this case, the new Cruise Terminal in Singapore. The Silversea staff are there to make the checkin process as seamless as possible and you couldn't help contrast the process for the Silversea passengers versus those joining the large cruise liner also docked and going through their boarding process. On board, the staff are amazing and cannot do enough for you. We had a terrific Butler (Heri) and he was very attentive and followed through on any requests we made.

We really love the configuration of Silver Shadow, a ship that we had travelled on previously about three years ago from Anchorage, Alaska to Vancouver, Canada. We had sailed on a Princess Cruise prior to that cruise and you could notice the step up in class, the ship was sparkling and very stylish. The service levels, the quality of the food, the wine selection that never stops coming and the people generally. Everything seems to happen seamlessly under the surface. The cruise director (David) was very personable and seemed to always be around and made a real effort to get to know the passengers and be very informative about all aspects of the cruise.

Now, we are going to contrast that experience, with some aspects of the latest cruise, which to our way of thinking are dragging down the Silversea brand. The first and most striking is the ship. Silver Shadow is looking tired and this is obvious everywhere. The carpets, the furniture throughout the ship, look very much in need of a refurbishment. In our suite, the sofa had threads and fibres coming away from the material, the desk was seriously chipped and scratched, the coffee table the same. The mirrors in the bathroom are degrading around the edges. The tapware had lost it chrome look and really needs replacement. The balcony had splotches of white paint on the ground, timber flooring and chairs and the small coffee table looked like it was ready for firewood. In the Casino bar, the counter tops are chipped and scratched. In the main bar, the chairs look faded, as does the carpet. The gym is adequately equipped, although having only one cross trainer is a big deficiency. They need at least two. The big issue with the gym is the air flow. I assume there is air conditioning, but it is thoroughly inadequate in the warmer temperature, like we experienced during the cruise. If you get a few people in there at the same time, there is no air. They need to install some wall fans to circulate the air. The day we arrived in our suite, there were two towelling robes hanging in the closet. Both robes were quite damp. On two occasions, the clean towels left in our bathroom were also damp (i.e. about the dampness level as if they had been used once). I was in the pool and noticed all this crime on the floor of the pool. I wasn't sure what it was until I moved it with my foot. It was just dirt from one end of the pool to the other. These are not examples of the Silversea standard we are accustomed to. The cruise director was Moss Hill. I understand he is brand new, so we will give him some leeway, but there was not the level of engagement with the passengers as with the previous cruise directors we have travelled with (David on Silver Shadow and Mike on Silver Spirit). What was most concerning to us is that when I talked with the onboard management, they agreed about the condition of the ship, but openly admitted that there was no update in the planning. We think that is unacceptable for a six star luxury cruise product. Read more