This will be as hard for me to write as it will for Silversea fans to read and I will try to be as objective and fair as possible in my comments. But when you've had an unhappy experience the devil is in the detail so while some of you may think I'm being too harsh or unreasonable and many more will disagree with me I'm going to give my honest opinion from the perspective of a Silversea first timer writing as an experienced cruiser with Crystal, Regent and Seabourn.

Our first criteria when choosing a cruise is the itinerary so when I saw this Silversea Auckland-Melbourne trip it seemed ideal and the perfect opportunity to sample Silversea for the first time. These "top four" companies all aim to provide more or less the same product so while they offer a similar overall experience, their differences can make or break our enjoyment. I'm afraid ours was broken.

Put simply, this was not a happy ship. That elusive atmosphere of people relaxing, socialising, making new friends and generally having a great time was missing and, apart from a few notable exceptions, too many were aloof, unfriendly, unapproachable and sometimes downright rude. There were impenetrable "cliques" who clearly regarded even a friendly "good morning" as intrusive. The uneasy mood applied to some of the staff and crew too and service seemed slow and disorganised, even chaotic at times. One got the sense they sometimes lacked proper training or supervision so that cheerful "spark" was missing and morale seemed low. Read more