We have been sailing on Silversea since 1995 and have over 240 days on board all of its ships. While the line is not what it once was--the food is nowhere near as good and the amenities of caviar, decent champagne upon arrival, and access to a full range of call brand liquor, and special Silversea adventures on each cruise are no longer available at no charge to all--we still enjoy the line. From time to time, we have had problems, most of which have been equitably resolved, sometimes without our even asking for help.

On the positive side, I never have traveled on a ship with better butler or housekeeping services than we experienced on this occasion. The wait staff was extraordinarily competent. When we complained on our passenger survey and asked to speak to the Hotel Manager about the matters mentioned below, he visited us in our suite, listened to us with respect, offered us a complementary dinner at the fanciest restaurant on board, and promised to let "Fort Lauderdale" know about all of our input, both positive and negative, via the form. I thanked him for his courtesy and told him that I would wait for a response from Fort Lauderdale before complaining on the record on line. We debarked on March 13, and as of today, April 24, we have heard nothing from Fort Lauderdale except advertisements for additional cruises.

And so it was with absolute shock that we emerged from the Valparaiso-Ft. Lauderdale trip with a very bad feeling about the line's devotion to its customers. In our years with Silversea, we have taken trips of several segments in length, and we have had accommodations ranging from the Grand Suite to the Silver Suite to the Veranda Suite. We always have been nicely treated, regardless of how long we sailed or what type of room we rented. Read more