We wanted to go to Dubai and are experienced cruisers world wide. This is our 12 th cruise and it started in Mumbai. Mumbai should never be visited unless you like crazy traffic with shanties everywhere. Way way worse than the poorest town in Mexico. The next 3 ports were literally gravel pits with commercial cranes and little access to leave the ship. At one port my wife and I barely made it back through port security. The 3 rd & 4 th port of Furjariah and Abu Dhabi were better with the last actually having easy on and off the ship access. Finally one UAE country figured how to cater to guests . Then we find out at 2 pm they cancelled our Qatar stop and have to spend another full day here. Not that much to do that one day doesn’t suffice, so we will sit by the very small pool and eat the fly invested food I guess! The staff were friendly but the food is a disaster , they don’t have .orange juice now two days in a row for breakfast! I am serious about the flies! We have a suite and have been awoken each night except last night with the cleaning crew on deck 8 around midnight. The ship is outdated and we heard is scheduled for a referb soon, can’t be soon enough. The captain has made 4 announcements and I didn’t understand a single word he said. He should not be allowed to use the PA. Besides the 4 out of 5 ports that literally are a shit hole, we paid $22,000 US and I cannot see any value. I would recommend Oceana or another line. I will not sail with these guys again. Read Less

We boarded Silver Shadow on 17th April 2019 in Mumbai for a 9 day cruise visiting ports in India, Oman and UAE. We chose Silver Shadow as we had sailed on her in 2016 in Alaska. In 2016 the ship truly lived up to its 6 star rating in all respects. Comparing the latest trip with the 2016 trip I am sorry to say that Silversea has lost much of its reputation. The only standards that haven't changed since 2016 are the quality of the cabin staff, waiters, reception and shore concierge staff. They were all charming , helpful and a credit to the ship. The variety of the A La Carte Menus was not as extensive and mostly repetitive. Some areas ran out of selected wines and on one occasion there was no orange juice anywhere on the ship. Wine selection was limited and the cheapest of everything was offered as the main choices. The ship is tired and in need of attention as were the management on board. The Italian Captain made one announcement per day which was sailing information we think. I say ‘we think’ as it was impossible to understand what he was saying. There was a general air of disinterest at officer level. Apparently on 2 occasions some passengers reported seeing schools of dolphins bow riding for 20 or so minutes. A sight no-one should miss. No announcement was made by the ships staff to alert passengers to this so that all passengers could see this amazing sight. The 'entertainment' was amateurish and awful to watch and listen to. We left within 10 minutes of arriving on each performance , hoping in vain that it would improve. One port of call was Fujairah. The stop here seemed to be more for the convenience of Silversea than the experience for the passengers. The ship was refuelled there which took most of the day. Even some of the guides/experts stated that it was a mystery why we had stopped there as there was nothing of interest for tourists. Refuelling would seem to be the primary reason for stopping. On leaving Fujairah we sailed to Abu Dhabi. The wind was about force 5 , sometimes gusting but with stabilisers the ship was gently rolling and nothing to concern most of the passengers. Everything carried on as normal with restaurants full etc. no restrctions about going onto deck , just wind warning notices on doors. We arrived in Abu Dhabi, went off for day excursions and returned to be told that the ship was staying there an extra day as the Captain had decided not to sail on to Doha for the comfort and safety of passengers. All passengers we spoke to were at best very disappointed, and some extremely angry with this decision as we had sailed from Fujairah in similar conditions which were not exceptional - just a mild rolling. It was exacerbated by a much smaller passenger vessel leaving the port. The weather did not seem to be of concern to their Captain. So one port and a different country was missed out on the trip.. It seems that since being taken over by Royal Caribbean, corners are being cut to the detriment of the all round experience. We and many of our fellow passenger were very disappointed with the drop in standards. In a competitive world where the choice in cruising is extensive, if I was asked by a anyone whether Silversea was a shipping line of choice I would say "not any more....overpriced and now over-rated. there are far better cruising companies to sail with. Sad but true.' Look elsewhere. Read Less

This is our 5th Silversea cruise and we are currently on the ship. Service and food are no where like it used to be. Obviously it’s purchase by Royal Caribbean last year has affected the elegance, food quality and top tier service we’ve experienced in the past. We are going to be on the hunt for more luxe cruise line! The service in La Terrazzo is SLOW and the food was cold and subpar to previous Silversea cruise .Same at Hot Rocks last night. The gym has not been updated and one of the two ellipticals is an awkward ride Technogym early model. They do to a great job of getting you on and off the ship for excursions, but when you book what you think will be a luxe cruise, you want fabulous food and service. The food is so mediocre and skimpy. We won’t be cruising again with Silversea. We so expected more. Read Less

I was very displeased with the cruise we boarded on April 2 from Singapore to Mumbai. To our dismay upon boarding the ship was old and tired as many of the staff were. When we checked into our room I had to summon housekeeping to change the bathmat as it was frayed and extremely tired as some of the towels.The only saving grace was that the room was a decent size. The food was not first class as its reputation. La Dame was supposed to be their top of the line restaurant which charged $60. pp extra. Definitely not worth it. Stated in their literature is that premium wines are included. This is false as the Chardonnay served was the cheapest reserve of Wente, Morning Fog, when Riva Ranch is only a few dollars more. On several occasions the raspberries at the morning buffet were moldy. The avocado was shockingly served to us when it was overripe and black. Regular yogurt was at the buffet when Greek style was available but we had to ask for it. Why are there items available but not on the menu? This is not what I expected for the money spent. I have sailed on many other high-end ships and this did not measure up. Furthermore, I have received no email regarding my negative comments that I painstakingly wrote before leaving the ship. 4 of our group were so dissatisfied they left the ship after only a few days on board. And to add insult to injury, my travel partner and I had jewelry stolen from our room. When I reported this to the customer relations dept. (Dionel Castillo), the answer was very unsatisfactory. Needless to say, I am not left with a fond memory and doubt that I will return on Silversea as there are many other cruise ships that are a dream like Oceania, Crystal, Viking and Regent who offer much superior service. Read Less

I wish I had read the Cruise Citic Reviews for this ship before I booked. I would not have gone ahead. Many of the reviews do not have nice things to say about this ship and they are accurate. Silversea claim that this is a 6 star ship. I have done 27 Cruises and it is 4 - 4.5 stars at best. So in summary I paid a six star price for a 4 star ship. Everything on board is the cheapest of the Cheap. Even the bottled water in the cheapest they could buy. No Evian here - cheap water from somewhere in China. Ship - Tired and Run Down. Staff - poor levels of english and you have to ask for everything 4 times Management - Don't care - we told them of our dissappointment only to be ignored - One manager organised one special meal for us and that was it. Special Requests - At first they tell they can't do special things for you hoping you will stop asking then after a while the reluctantly give in and get it for you - not what was expected on a "6 star" ship. Don't expect any pampering on this ship. They claim to have daily yoga, pilates and fitness classes - they had nobody on board to do them. Out of 27 cruises Silversea are in my bottom 5. Read Less

Silversea advertised a series of Asia cruises with their "Far More in the Far East" special, and wow, did it deliver. I chose this Singapore-to-Hong Kong voyage for several reasons: the timing worked for me, I liked the balance of ports and sea days, the itinerary would take me to so many places I've never been but have longed to visit, and the Silversea specials put this all-inclusive luxury voyage comfortably in my price range ($1000 air credit, $1000 onboard credit, most excursions included, 5% discount for previous SS travelers, 5% discount for booking onboard a previous cruise, and then a surprise 3-category upgrade just a few days before sailing -- it all added up to a reasonable price). The Shadow is one of the older ships in the fleet, but she is graceful and well maintained. After previously sailing on her smaller sibling, the Wind, the Shadow at first seemed so much larger. Within a day, that feeling diminished and she seemed perfect to me. My suite seemed bigger than I expected, although the pool seemed smaller than expected. On this particular voyage, we had spectacular weather until the final few days, and the pool deck was filled to capacity. There were short waits (under 5 minutes) for the morning buffet at popular times on port days, but generally passengers were well distributed throughout the ship. It was easy to find quiet places to sit, or more active places for company. Embarkation in Singapore is odd simply because you have to walk through a mall to reach the desk. Once in Silversea's hands, however, the process was easy and pleasant -- under 10 minutes from starting the process to sitting in the Panorama Lounge enjoying my 2nd glass of welcome bubbly. I dined at every possible venue, preferring La Terrazza for breakfast (waiters will bring you eggs to order and cappuccino, but everything else comes from the vast buffet). My meal in the upcharge La Dame was as extraordinary as advertised, while two dinners at the casual Hot Rocks were good fun with good company. The Restaurant does include a small selection of regional selections every night, and I found they were nicely done -- especially the lemongrass beef. Over the 2 weeks, I dined in La Tarrazza for dinner on 4 occasions, always enjoying the upscale Italian cuisine and handmade pastas. As others have said, luxury trappings are nice, but it is the warmth and professionalism of the crew that make Silversea so special. Without exception, every staff member on board was at the top of their game, remembering names and orders, anticipating wants or needs, offering a compliment or a steady arm, making conversation with real connections, sharing insights from their homelands. I found this to be true throughout the ranks: from the captain to the room attendant, from the wait staff to the officers, from the earnest care of the butlers to the often invisible work of the maintenance crew and accountants. Of everything on this near-perfect voyage, I think I will miss the crew the most. Would I go again? Yes. And I would enthusiastically recommend it to others. Read Less

We chose the sailing because the timing and itinerary were just what we were looking for. The issues started just after we booked the cruise through the Silversea Florida Office. The thing to bear in mind is that this is supposed to be a luxury cruise and you are paying top dollar. The booking/ administration was awful and had no idea of life outside Florida. Questions went unanswered for weeks, escalation to management helped, but slowly, promises were not kept. Flights routings were stupid - the first plan was to fly us 4 hours East to Toronto, to fly us 5 hours West to Vancouver (rather than just the one hour to Vancouver), before flying to the Far East. Then they rescheduled our early February flight at the last minute giving us a very tight transfer in the middle of a deep freeze/ snow storm. We were told they wanted to cut down on our wait time in Vancouver - a better plan would have been to ask us! In my opinion, they had just no idea. The Shipboard credit was not provided and had to be requested from the ship. In all fairness, we travelled with a friend from England who did not have any issues with their admiistartion. Planning the ports looked odd. We stayed 2 days in Sianoukville, described as a cross between a rubbish dump and a building site, but only a few hours in Ha Long Bay, an area of outstanding natural beauty. Once we were on the ship, the ship's company could not have been better, service was excellent from top to bottom - particularly all the bar staff. We could not fault the cabin staff, just excellent. The line is Italian, so food was slanted to haute cuisine, which was fine, we had some beautiful dishes. The lunch on the Pool deck delivered a really, really good burger, just light on the salads, though I suppose I could have asked for double portions. The evening entertainment was not as good as we have previously enjoyed. There was a lot of opera/ American songbook shows, some of the arrangements were not my cup of tea The bar and pool staff plus the waiters were a joy. I doubt we will cruise with Silversea again - Regent provide a much better administrative experience and a nicer ship Read Less

After cruising with 6 other cruise companies, we were excited to have gone supposedly upmarket to Silversea. We were very disappointed.The whole ship is urgently in need of refurbishment, which apparently will happen later this year. The cabins are not that big, the balcony was tiny. The flat screen TV was out of the ark, was tiny and couldn't easily be seen from the bed. For 3 days the a/c didn't work properly, the fridge had to be changed as it also wasn't cold! The food in La Terraze was excellent at breakfast and lunch, but awful at dinner. The main restaurant food was usually lukewarm, sometimes not cooked. The service was poor with little response to any complaints. The complimentary wines were good, but bizarrely it is company policy to not have a list of complimentary wines. Instead you are presented with a white and a red as choice for the day. It is not made clear that there are other alternatives, and we spoke to several people who had no idea even late in the cruise.They do, however, have a long list of wines at extra cost! Incredibly, there was no complimentary NZ Sauv Blanc available for the entire cruise due to a procurement error. You have to play 20 questions with the sommelier to find what choice there is.This was incredibly annoying. The staff were generally very friendly and helpful, the room attendant and butler were very efficient. Room service was efficient but again the food was usually cold. The other guests made the cruise for us, together with a great itinerary and good weather. There was general agreement that Silversea were overpriced, very disappointing and to be avoided in future. Read Less

This was our 59 cruise and second experience with Silver Seas. We always travel during January and February to get away from the cold of the Northeast of the USA. And we always, always, look at the itinerary first with any cruise line. We picked the Silver Shadow for our third trip to Asia and all but one port was new for us. The Philippines added to our booking as we always wanted to see that country. Our suite was nice but dated and sure could use modernization. Public rooms were nice but also dated. We were told repeatedly, by the crew, that the ship was going into dry dock at the end of the year, but not soon enough for us. For the cost of the trip you would think the company would keep the ships up to date. All suites, all butlers. - What does a butler really do? Our suite attendant maintained our room beautifully and also quickly. We would go for breakfast and if we went back after breakfast our suite was serviced and perfect every time. Our butler even came to our table in the dining room one night asking us why we never asked him to do anything and if he had done something wrong???!!!! Rather odd. So why does Silver Seas even have butlers. Oh we got a card from the butler on the night before leaving offered to pack our luggage for us! Nice guy but oh so unnecessary. The dining room was always wonderful. We prefer the same table and the same waiter. Alex was outstanding and after just one night remembered our names and on day day 2 remembered out likes and dislikes. Fantastic guy for our 20 day cruise. They have 'La Dame" for $60 per person, why? Never went as the dining room offers, at no extra charge, was wonderful. Entertainment: Forget it. We did not book this cruise looking for any entertainment. Silverseas along with so many others, offers mediocre to non-existent shows. The 3 piece band was great in the bars but the Lounge shows were beyond amateurish. High school productions are more entertaining, (sad but really)! As stated above, we booked this cruise for the itinerary. We started in Singapore on our own for 4 days. Borneo and other Malaysia ports were fascinating. The Phillippines were great and the Sanya in China was a surprise beautiful port. Then the second cruise to ports in Viet Nam we fun too. The free tours hosted by SilverSeas was fine. And they made sure that none of the tour buses and/tour boats had more than 22 folks. Finally the crew: Way over the top great, wonderful and they make the cruise oh so special even with the hiccups along the way. Yes, we would cruise with Silverseas again. But only because of the itinerary. And hopefully ports that we have not seen yet. Read Less

This was a special holiday and very expensive chosen as a one-off treat never again The cabin looked lovely but we had problems with the carpet being wet from the balcony to the middle of the lounge area as did a lot of the same side of our deck . The Butler was visible sometimes and not others . Tried twice to phone room service and was cut off . The patio door was not sealed properly and difficult to open/close . The weather was appalling on 90 % of the journey and was too near the front of the ship despite being described as midship and the rolling and banging was awful . Many of our group were sea sick . No kettle or tea coffee in room at all , water was provided in mini bar from a unsealed bottle that was refilled by the butler . The ship needs a refurb and is tired and tatty in some areas The food was not as good as I expected from this high end cruise line . The breakfast was bland and most of it congealed warm at best and the choice was limited .Hot plates available on request ?? Eggs available on request which took 10 minutes hardly anyone serving behind the station , burnt ( every day ) pastries. The only thing the staff insisted on in the terraze is carrying your plate from the buffet where you had chosen your food to the table ( could be as near as 5 steps ) which is the most ridiculous thing ( unless you needed help of course ) and I tried to avoid this with no success most days . Lunch wasn’t much better except on deck ( when it was open due to extreme weather ) where the food was really tasty and hot . Dinner in the restaurant was ok , the portions were a joke , with a steak one night there was three tiny pieces of warm pepper , a sliver of cooked onion and nothing else . The choice of puddings were sparse except ice cream and much too much chocolate . You could have three praline sweets and that was a choice ! On New Year’s Eve there was a gala dinner which was ok a few tiny courses and a main. There was very little to do during the day , the chronicles which advised the activities included picking up your crossword and daily puzzle from the library and the fact that there was someone to help with language for foreign speaking guests . The daily quiz with Moss was a highlight but the singers were mediocre and on in the theatre far too many times. We sailed from Bangkok into a tropical storm and had to miss ho chi minn city completely and spent 5 days anchored in Ha Long bay where after having done trips the only activity was being taken by shuttle to a large shopping centre half an hour away . Setting off from there eventually more high seas until arriving in Hong Kong where once again the shuttle bus dropped people at a shopping centre about half an hour away . At night was looking forward to the light show I had heard so much about only to be told we were in the wrong harbour and wouldn’t see it where we were . At dinner that night all we could view from the windows in the restaurant was the side of the boat refuelling for the next trip . I have never paid so much for a cruise and been so dissapointed. The weather could not be helped but everything else was such a let down . The only thing I will say is if you are a budding alcoholic this is the cruise line for you . Far too much alcohol with nothing else to do , many guests took full advantage and were loud , brash and inconsiderate despite being very upper class. I would never recommend this ship or company to anyone and I have read dreadful reports about p and o on cruise critic as well as good ones but for me there is no comparison . This is definately Not 5 star or and higher and its back to p and o for me and reasonable priced drinks and excellent itinerary . Read Less