I have always heard positive reviews of Spirit from other passengers and given it's recent transformation I wanted to experience her renovation and crew. I have enjoyed the Wind twice in the past and last year I sailed on the Muse shortly after its maiden voyage. The primary driver for this trip was the itinerary. The diversity of passenger nationalities on Spirit was excellent which made for interesting conversations. There were groups of friends and multi-generational families traveling together, a few same-sex couples and several handicapped passengers. The Spirit feels very much like the Muse in decor and layout. Overall, this was a very smooth voyage both literally and in terms of service, on-board venues, food, excursions, etc. The exterior of the ship looks brand new; the deck crews on all Silversea ships does an amazing job washing and sometimes even touching up portions of the ship with new paint. As a result, Silversea ships always look crisp and clean. This is noticeable when docked next to other passenger ships. The only interior space I saw that appears original are the public restrooms on various decks. The gym and fitness areas are nicely equipped and were never crowded. The steam and dry sauna areas are co-ed and very small. Both appeared to get little use on this voyage. Silversea, to their credit, has made all of the multiple dining venues much easier to experience than on the Muse which required reservations during my sailing. Most all of the crew are smiling and friendly and I even recognized a few faces from other ships. iPads have made it easy for waiters to address passengers by name and even confirm noted food preferences even before you order. The current Voices of Silversea quartet on Spirit were good but the talent on our Muse sailing was better. I was in an 8th deck deluxe veranda cabin which is nearly identical to the Muse except the TVs are wall- mounted flat screens vs the in-mirror TVs on Muse. The butler explained that passengers complained about noise from adjacent cabins with the in-mirror style. It's a shame because the wall-mounted TV is obtrusive and clunky in an otherwise streamlined cabin. Silversea no longer provides self-serve coffee station in any of the lounges for early risers. The only way to enjoy early hour solitude with coffee is to order room service delivered to a public space. Fresh fruit is no longer stocked in each room which is a shame. We bookended our voyage with two days in Copenhagen and two days in Stockholm. Both of these cities are unique and glorious. The premium hotel choices (D'Angleterre in Copenhagen and The Grand in Stockholm) were both excellent. If you are sailing the Baltic itinerary, do not miss the arrival in Stockholm through the archipelago. We also visited Helsinki Finland and Tallin, Estonia both of which were just okay comparatively speaking. Embarkation and debarkation were smooth and well organized. Silversea does a good job getting luggage reunited with their owners. There was a PhD guest lecturer on this sailing who did an excellent job highlighting what to expect and see at each port. She was concise, knowledgeable and humorous. To sum it up, I highly recommend this itinerary and the Silver Spirit ship. Read Less

Years ago when I was a university faculty member, I had a reputation as a tough grader who didn't award many "A's." So with that in mind, here are my thoughts about what, overall, was a first-rate cruise experience. We chose Silversea for our Baltic cruise in large part because we wanted to enjoy a true "first-boat" experience. Which is what we enjoyed during our days onboard along with another couple who have been friends for over 50 years. Our trip began with a long, but unavoidable, business class flight on SAS to Copenhagen, which Silversea arranged at a price well below the standard prevailing rate. Prior to embarkation, we enjoyed two full days in very sunny Copenhagen, burning "points" at the Marriott, walking extensively and doing a very "touristy" but delightful canal boat ride. The Glyptotech museum's collection of impressionist painters was especially impressive. Check-in at boarding time couldn't have been run any better. We were whisked to our cabin in a blink without ever having to endure the long lines that are so common with cruises on mega-ships. And miracle of miracles, Silversea provided two luggage racks, an amenity that even many top-flight hotels fail to provide. Our butler from Nepal provided a thorough and efficient introduction to shipboard services and we headed quickly to the LaTerraza restaurant for our first taste of Silversea's fine and diverse dining experiences. During our stay on board, we ate at LaTarraza, Atlantide, Silver Note, The Grille, the Arts Cafe, and the pizza shop, the name of which escapes me. We especially enjoyed the first-two, always receiving both top-notch food and attentive service. I especially enjoyed the soups that were included on the multi-course menus. Unfortunately, we had scheduled our visit to The Grille on an evening that was cloudy and cold, but the overhead heaters and blankets kept us very snug. The white and red white wines that were offered during dinner were quite adequate, but it was a bit disappointing that the offerings changed little from night-to-night. As a beer drinker, I was disappointed that Silversea's offerings failed to include even a single IPA. As "morning people," my wife and I especially appreciated the ship's breakfast offerings. It is difficult to imagine that someone would be unable to find something at breakfast that failed to whet their appetite. For me, it was the mounds of smoked salmon, and the always hot, buttery, scrambled eggs. The Silver Spirit's lounges provided comfortable settings for a before-or-after dinner libation. The piano music in the main lounge could not have been better, both in terms of tunes selected and volume. The vista and intimacy provided by Tor's high and at the front of the ship were perfect. From beginning-to-end of the cruise, however, the main lounge was in serious need of another bartender. While the "mixologist" worked at a rapid pace, she plainly was overwhelmed. As a result, table service was unacceptably slow. The only downside in the ship's food service occurred in the Silver Note. Food quality was very high, but the portions were unreasonably small as if they had designed for a tasting menu than the regular course menu we were provided. Our cabin plainly met our expectations. We especially liked the fact that it included a walk-in shower and not the ungainly tub-shower combination that seems to be the order of the day in so many European hotels. Silversea should offer better pre-cruise information about bed size. At the time we made our reservations, we were left with the impression that the room's two-person bed option was the width of an old-fashioned "double" bed. We discovered once onboard, however, that this option was, in fact, pretty much the size of an American "queen" bed, which we would have very much preferred instead of the twin beds we selected. One of the greatest problems with the twins is the placement of overhead lighting on the bed closest to the bathroom wall -- it can give you a good whack in the head if you're not careful. Our excursions overall fully met our expectations. We especially appreciated the fact that our ship was able to dock so close to the center of St. Petersburg -- something that allowed us to avoid the one-hour bus ride to town that comes with the large cruise ships that must dock so far away. Our guides all were well-informed, and all were readily understandable. Indeed all but one was engaging and truly enjoyable. The extra-cost side trip to Moscow was worth every penny and a real trip highlight. We would recommend it to anyone who can deal with arising at 4:30A and not hitting a bed until almost 1A. My wife and I, however, would like to offer a few suggestions for making the shore excursions even more enjoyable. First, in St. Petersburg, structure the tours to places like Catherine's Palace and the Hermitage so that there is less emphasis on "seeing everything," and greater emphasis on leisurely, selective viewing. Second, we both were struck by the absence of any tour offering that focused on the Russians' efforts to save St. Petersburg from the Nazis and the terrible conditions that so many city residents endured during the Second World War. Similarly, it would have been interesting to have some exposure to the city's booming neighborhoods of post-Glasnost Russia. The weakest of our tours occurred in Helsinki. While we were under the impression that we would have a good opportunity to experience the city on shanks mere, we spent an undue amount of time in an undistinguished building listing to performances of Sibelius' music, something we could have done just as easily at home. Additionally, it became immediately evident that we could have seen a great deal of the city by exploiting Helsinki's trams. This proved impossible, however, even during our free time as it is impossible to purchase tickets on the trams or without Finnish currency. Perhaps Silversea could consider pre-purchasing tram tickets for those interested in exploring on their own. Our guide and our experience in Tallinn were most enjoyable. Indeed, we both wish we had had substantially more time to explore the city, especially the newer sections that have been developed in recent years. While on-board, we took advantage of the ship's evening entertainment only twice, once when we were dead-tired and really have headed to bed. We all thought the farewell performance was most enjoyable, with the 60's-70's pop music well-suited to the age of most in the audience. Overall, the debarkation process was handled as smoothly as the boarding process, very professional and well-thought-through. We had decided, however, to stay in Stockholm for two days after the cruise, and received absolutely incorrect and unduly costly advice as to how to reach our hotel. We were advised that it would be difficult to secure a cab, as almost all accepted only Swedish currency; that we would do best to permit Silversea to arrange a private car for a charge in excess of $150. Nonsense! As we discovered subsequently, it is rare cab in Stockholm that doesn't accept credit cards. Indeed, the 10 minute ride to our fine At Six Hotel should have cost us well under $20. Read Less

We spent a few days in Quito before the cruise. Quito was a great city. Lots to explore and see and eat! There was a bit of an issue with embarkation, but that didn't matter because that was the first chance we got to see the tortoise! That was an incredible experience; being able to see those giant animals. Once we got on the ship the staff was super friendly. The food on the ship was outstanding. There were a lot of Ecuadorian dishes such as the local fish which tasted great! The chefs created wonderful dishes for every single meal of the day. The room was nice. It was nice that the tv had so many movie selections. The shower was alright, it had half a door, so the floor got pretty wet sometimes. I liked how it had a separate shower head; makes it easier to wash long hair. There could have been another mirror in the room. When the bathroom was being occupied there was no other mirror in the room to get ready. Lots of good closet space. The service was absolutely outstanding. Whatever you needed, no matter what time of day, someone was always available to help. We had gotten room service one morning and had it brought up to the piano bar. The waiters were outstanding. Whenever I would request a specialty drink, they would make it and it tasted delicious! The activities that were planned were great. I really liked how it was an early start to the day and then you had time to relax in the afternoon and then another activity in the late afternoon. I thought the planning for that was great. It was nice to have options, hard/long walk or easy/short walk and snorkeling off the beach/deep sea snorkeling. I traveled with my parents and they agreed that it was one of the best trips we ever took together. We are currently planning our next Silver Seas cruise! This was everyone's first expedition cruise and we really enjoyed it. There's no other way to see the islands, and we enjoyed every excursion! The disembarkation was good, we were told to be out of our rooms at 7am, but didn't really leave the ship until 7:45. At one night the ship was really rocky, but I guess that's expected when you sail across the ocean. Read Less

We loved the couple of days in Quito before the cruise began. The JW Marriott is a beautiful hotel and we got to see the city and the Equator with the help of our Silverseas Cruise Consultant in the hotel who arranged small tours for us. Even the day room in Guayaquil at the end of the cruise was a great touch for weary travelers having to wait until midnight to catch a flight home. The cruise guides were very knowledgeable and were available to answer all our questions. The zodiac drivers were wonderful at getting everybody on the zodiacs making us all feel safe in their hands. The food was delicious. Having a 6 course meal every night for dinner! Specialties of the Ecuadorian people were just terrific. We loved seeing all the wildlife and being able to be so up close to the tortoises and the boobies! Even though I do not snorkel, and the rest of my family did, I didn't feel like I was left out of things. Time on the beach with the sea lions was wonderful. This trip was everything I wanted it to be. Read Less

Grand daughter wanted to go to alaska. It was a last minute decision and this fit our schedule. Could not get the type of room we wanted, but the veranda room was ok. Checking in was not handled very well and room did not have a roll-away bed as we were told it would have. The butler and waiters were excellent. Staff at the reception desk were poor. Not very friendly and twice gave me the wrong information, once on the on board credits i had and then on disembarkation transportation. Neither issued has been resolved to my satisfaction. We have been on 21 cruises, mostly on seaborne, twice on around the world cruises. I would rate our experience on silversea shadow as not nearly as good as seaborne. Also was not able to book a reservation at la terraza during the whole trip. Started trying to make reservation right after we made the trip reservation. Again reception desk said they would try to find a way to get us in, but never heard back from them. Food and service were excellent, but the reception staff personal were terrible. Shore excursions were great. Read Less

Save your money & do not book a Silversea Whisper cruise! My family and I just disembarked from a 9 day Greek Islands cruise (Athens to Venice) and it had to be the worst luxury cruise we have ever taken (previously on Crystal & Oceania). To summarize: 1. Food - Not at luxury quality not service. Silverseas must be saving it’s $$$ portion sizes were tiny and we were often hungry after a meal. Service slow (lunch on pool deck often 1-1 1/2 hours). 2. Ship - ship is 17 years old and needs to be scrapped. Paint chipped, old carpets, etc. Felt like I was on a cruise in the last century. Silversea should be ashamed for charging what they charged us and put us on a ship like this. 3. Excursions- the cruise business of continuing to rip off its passengers continues. We were charged $180 to sit on a bus for 40 minutes then dumped on a remote beach for 2 hours. One highlight was the Sea Safari on. RIB boat in Split, Croatia but even then on a 6 hour trip we were only provided a “snack” of tuna fish salad and anchovies. 4. Staff - Our Butler was always in a rush and nervous. Compared to our Oberoi-trained butler on Oceania Rivierawas a stark contrast. Reception staff inexperienced often could not answer questions. Wait staff slow and forgetful. Maitre d in one restaurant yelled at a staff member and a passenger. 5. Entertainment - awful. 6. Fitness Center - Pilates classes were NOT Pilates (I know I’m an instructor). Save your money, do your research and don’t book on Silversea. Read Less

I've done silver seas cruise before and had a really good experience. The ports of calls are spectacular. We had to divert from Santorini which was the most anticipated port for us. This was a bummer but the captain decided to re-route to a different port and substitute rather than spend another day at sea. We ended up going to Corfu which was such a great experience and so beautiful. This was really nice. So everything worked out well and we still saw a lovely place. The staff were all so friendly and helpful with such amazing attitudes. They made it a point to remember us by name and great us like they knew us already--impressive. The cruise director was great. We loved the idea of being in a different port every day. Cruising over night and arriving the next morning. The schedule was great. I only have one query as I booked a private gondola ride in Venice. I got a call from the activities director I guess early that day saying that they had booked us on a shared ride 4 guests. He proceeded to tell me that it's the same as a private ride and really no big difference blah blah. So I went with it. At the activity we were with another 8 individuals. we ended up two boats of four and one couple had a private gondola ride with music serenade. We were sitting with the other couple staring at them the whole time and really being forced to have conversation...... This couple was also dealt the same hand and were not too happy about sharing a gondola. If I booked a private tour obviously I wanted this experience to be very special with just my wife on her first trip to Venice. That took away from that. We still enjoyed it but the intimacy was taken away from us. Read Less

We have been on more than 15 cruises and fur this one we chose Silversea as we heard how nice it was and wanted a smaller ship. From start to finish including embarkation and disembatcation were flawless. The cabins were luxurious and the butler service was outstanding. All excursions met or exceeded expectations and the food and open dining experience was nice. You do have to make reservations for restaurants early as the do fill up but no matter where you ate the gods was great and service was above and beyond. Everyone had a smile and would customize as necessary. Took 6 Adults and they all were in awe of how nice it was. Highly recommend. Entrertainment was very good but don't expect the big production as on large ships. We made aloe of new friends as the small shop experience made it easy to meet people. Will definitely cruise Silversea again. Read Less

*Warning Do not book Silver Suite Cabin 932*. This suite is located directly under the only pool bar and the bar storage and dish washing operations. They start up at 8 am and end at 11:30 PM and you hear clanking banging, door slamming, things that are dropped and basically every noise from a very busy bar and back bar reverberate through suite 932. This is the only suite on the ship that is effected by a very busy operation directly above your suite and you will be very unhappy if you book this suite. We complained within one hour of moving in about the constant noise in our expensive suite and after a few days the cruise line gave us a $3,000 credit if we booked a new cruise. Appreciate the offer from them but Silversea really needs to disclose this suite defect to all future people who will be unfortunately booked into this suite. Its not cool to charge an expensive suite rate and then get the worst cabin on the ship. After a few days on board Silversea admitted this cabin was a real problem with noise. Two hours after moving into the suite I went online and Googled Silver Muse suite 932 and to my horror I saw the previous review by some passenger who had the same experience that we did. Note to self, always Google search the cabin you are assigned to. We could have avoided this unpleasant situation if we did. Having said all the bad things about cabin 932, I must say that everything else on the cruise was excellent. The ship is new, the food is amazing and the staff was all very nice. These things helped but it did not overcome the fact that my wife and I would leave our suite before we wanted to and were hesitant to come back to our suite until after 11:30 PM and when you were in the room it was very aggravating. Very unfortunate and frustrating experience when you book an expensive suite and are on a nice Med cruise with your family. The purpose of my review is to hopefully get the word out that the Silver Muse is a great ship but NEVER EVER book suite 932..... Read Less

We heard that Silversea was a top notch ship and it definitely met our expectations. We have taken other cruise lines in the past and felt that we were 'nickel and dimed' and this was not the case with Silversea. We chose an itinerary that went from Rome to Barcelona and was port intensive because we like to cover the most territory we can while on a cruise. The stateroom is well laid out with a walk in closet and plenty of storage. Dining venues were all fantastic and we never had a problem getting a reservation. Navigating the ship was extremely easy as there was always someone around to ask directions. Embarkation and port visits were extremely smooth and we never had to wait in a line with only 600 passengers on the ship. The ship sponsored shore excursions were wonderful and a good value for the price, and the shore orientation seminars were excellent. Read Less