Alumni group, canal transit, fairly good destinations. However, we purposefully left behind our personal computers and electrical outlet adaptors because the ADVERTISEMENT said 120 outlets and a personal computer would be provided, along with FREE internet. The actuality of the situation was that this boat was built in ITALY, and half the outlets were the standard Italian recessed oval double plug outlets!! The "free" internet service was the ABSOLUTE WORST I've ever had on a cruise, but, of course, there was an 'upgrade' provided for a cost, of course, of course, of course!! The 'provided' laptop was an old one with the speed of a 2088 operating system, and even the internet guy on board said he never advises anyone to use the provided computers!!! Although the suite was very nice, It was small compared to others I've had at the same level of service and price. Most of the staff were friendly, but some were very rude, especially those at the Waves grill taking orders!!! An occasional guest was rude, and when I reported one or two, I got nowhere with the staff. Most of the staff spoke good English, but there was the occasional staff who could basically understand nothing I asked. Overall, an OK cruise, but overstated or frankly false claims about the quality of service provided!! Read Less

We choose this cruise sailing from Singapore via Vietnam to Hong Kong because Silversea was fully inclusive ( no nasty bill surprises) and drinks included where not limited in anyway to cheap brands, great chocolate martini in bar area. Our butler was very good, what a luxury wish I could of taking him home. We where getting a little worried when I saw other reviews saying that the Silver Shadow was old and in poor condition, I have to say that we had a very good experience, our cabin was very clean and no sign of wear and tear as other reviews had suggested, the staff were very attentive and the food was very good apart from La Dame which was disappointing ( maybe because the food was so good elsewhere). The shore excursions where a little dull (Vietnam) but I guess they is only so much you can see near the coastline. Entertainment was good, Disembarkation was well organised. Have already booked another cruise for next year. Read Less

I have only great things to say about my 1st experience with Island Windjammers and I will certainly be back! I have not stopped smiling since I have been home. I have been to many different places and on many vacations and I can safely say this vacation has been my favorite of all. We cruised on the Vela from Saint Lucia (Marigot Bay) to Dominica to Isle De Saintes to Marie Galante to Martinique to Saint Lucia (Rodney Bay and then to Marigot Bay). The food is absolutely amazing and it is included. All meals were made with fresh ingredients from the island. I have never eaten so well for a week straight in my life. Lenny the chef a.k.a. Big Sexy made healthy food taste delicious! At 5pm everyday a snack and velacoladas are served. When we went to Isle De Saintes, we had wine, cheese, and meat as the snack to go with the French flair. There was a very diverse group of 12 passengers on the boat ranging from kids to seniors. One of my favorite parts of this adventure was getting to know all of the other passengers and also the crew members. Everyone was so nice, helpful, and interesting. It was really neat to learn about everyone's lives. By the end of the trip, I almost felt like crying leaving everyone! You really become close very quickly throughout the duration of the trip! There was something for everyone on this vacation and there were always a lot of options for things to do at each stop. We hiked, snorkeled, sunbathed, relaxed, went on excursions, checked out the nightlife on the different islands, visited stores/boutiques, swam, jumped off the rope swing of the boat, watched fish at night swim through the fish light off the boat, visited a rum factory, danced on the deck at night, told stories, listened to stories, used the paddleboard, learned how to tie sailing knots and relaxed in paradise. I felt very safe and knew that the crew was very knowledgeable about sailing and safety. Unlike other cruises that I have been on, I never felt crunched for time or on a schedule. PLENTY of time was given at each island and Andrew, our operations manager, knew the best things to do on each island. He really helped make sure we hit all the best things on the island. The dingy brought you back and forth between the boat and island. If you wanted to stay on the island instead of going back for a meal, that was perfectly fine and they would come back and get you whenever you wanted! Everything on the boat was spic and span and very clean. I was worried about getting seasick so before I went, I got a prescription for the seasickness patch that goes behind your ear and I did not feel sick at all the whole cruise. It was very casual and there was no need for any fancy clothes. I wore a bathing suit and comfy clothes the entire trip! The bed was comfortable and the cabins had a shower and toilet in them. We spent most of our time on the upper part of the boat. We saw a lot of cool fish, dolphins, turtles, birds, iguanas, and lizards. If you are a food and nature lover, you will love this trip. My only complaint is that the cruise ended. :( I left with wonderful memories and new friends that I will never forget. This was the trip of a lifetime and the passengers needs are put first from beginning to end. Read Less

The ship is as advertised. Clean, great shows, plenty to do. Surprisingly, the boat did not feel crowded with over 6500 guests on board. Truly special. However, the service leaves a lot to be desired. The food was average at best. The wait staff was not very attentive in any of the restaurants we ate. The worst part was the lack of direction or support given at the ports of call. In short, once you were off the boat you were on your own, even if you were on a Royal Caribbean sponsored excursion. Many times we were left to wander (with 3 young kids) trying to find the right van, bus, etc with no RC employee in sight. Beware- RC (unlike other cruise lines) will give their employee name badges to employees of local vendor companies. This leaves you with false impression you are dealing with someone who is vested to help you. For those that enjoy the service touches of a Disney, Princess, etc note that this is a big step down. Read Less

We are retired and have only been on two cruises prior to this. A Norwegian (2 Star) from NYC to Bermuda and an Alaskian UnCruise, on the120 ft Safari Endeavour (10 Star), so we really wanted to experience a 10 star cruise on a larger ship and we certainly found it on the Silver Wind. WoW, I read a lot of reviews on a lot of different ships, before we selected the Silver Wind and after being on the ship, I honestly have to wonder if some of the negative reviews that I had read on this ship were by other cruise companies, (haha, funny but possible) So lets's establish that we are not cruise experts, but we do enjoy a lot of the finers points in life, including lodging, drink, travel, automobiles (I drive a Bentayga), etc. We enjoy life from a tux to a pair of cut offs and the finest white glove dining to a BBQ joint, so while we do not claim to be cruise experts, we have been down a few dirt roads and Inter-state highways. So here is our scoop on the Silver Wind. I get up at 5 AM and saw how the cleaning crew were working each morning and this is the cleanest ship that you will ever be on. While it was built in 1995, You cannot tell that it wasn't a couple of years old, based on it's public areas and rooms. The staff were outstanding, so professional, so helpful and so attentive. The food and drink were excellent and we can say nothing negative except it took a couple of days to get our suite door lock to work every time, but they really tried. I highly recommend the Silver Wind as a Top Of The Line Small Ship Luxury Cruise and when we take another cruise it will be with the Silver Seas Company. Read Less

This cruise line, as well as this ship and itinerary, were recommended by friends. It did not disappoint. The accommodations were excellent. The food was extraordinary and service was outstanding. The wait staff in the restaurants as well as bartenders were impressive in their knowledge of languages as well as their ability to remember not only our names but our favorite things to order. They truly appeared to be having fun while at work. Our favorite part, however, was the excursion options. They were exciting, professionally conducted, and kept us active the entire cruise (think snorkeling with power, driving ATV's along the beach, watching sea creatures from a submarine). However, if one were looking for a more subdued vacation, that was certainly available (lots of folks enjoying the sun and the pool). Overall, it was a great trip for seniors who are looking for small ship attentive service with as much or as little activity as you wish. This was our first cruise with SILVERSEA but it will not be our last. We're already looking into the Silver Galapagos! Read Less

We chosed this cruise because we got a very good offer from our travel agency in Copenhagen and the timing fitted into our plans. Also, it means that we could get away from the poor and cold weather in Denmark. It was our third cruise with Silversea. We have been on Silver Cloud and Silver Spirit. We liked the idea of getting on a small ship again and were definitely not disappointed with Silver Wind even though it is an order ship. The embarkation went smoothly and it was wonderful to get a table on the outside terrace and have lunch. Then you really get a feeling of relaxation. During the cruise we tried all restaurants and the food was delicious. The mail restaurant was in particular very good both with regard to service and food. La Dame was of course exceptional and we thoroughly enjoyed our evening there. We were on excursions almost every day. They were all very good and well arranged. Bathing and swimming with the stingrays at Grand Turk was a marvellous experience. Also, the entertainment on board exceeded our expectations and we found the young artists very skilled. It added to the succes that in some instances the Cruise Director himself played the piano. In order to summarise how very satisfied we were, we took advantage of the offer on board to book our next cruise in the Caribbean for beginning of 2019. We are already looking forward to it. We were in a Vista Suite which was fine, but we will prefer to have a balcony. Read Less

Why? Brand name. Convenient timing. Confidence in performance based on priorSilversea cruise. Itinerary. Travelled at our own expense from FL to San Juan for convenience. Silversea lived up to its reputation. The ship is lovely, comfortable, and well maintained for an older ship. We had a wonderful time. The dining was excellent, providing many delicious options served efficiently and carefully by a very well trained, polite and pleasant staff in The Restaurant and Terrazza. We did feel occasionally rushed at Terrazza lunch when we had to eat close to closing time based on a late land excursion. Our experience at La Dame was disappointing. The service was fine, but our dinners were average. The land excursions were well done and managed. Some more interesting and fun of course. We knew about the hurricane damage, but were saddened to see the actual destruction of homes, buildings and landscape. However,we wanted too see the islands, especially having visited Tortola many times prior. Read Less

We wanted to go to Cuba, and chose the Cuba Intensive sailing. For us, 2-days in Havana would have been ideal. Cienfuegos was nice enough but not much to see; Santiago was horrible. The Cubans we saw tended to swarm us looking for money, and we found it quite unpleasant. We were scammed by several taxi drivers. Air quality is poor and the poverty is ever present. Not Azamara’s failure by any means but I question why ships are going to Santiago at all, or why they’d spend more than a day or two in Havana. We found Cuba very overrated. The Quest seemed like an older ship and we saw ongoing maintenance like painting railings and other areas. We received a note that they planned to paint our state room during the trip and we’d have to store all personal belongings. This was not ok for such a small cabin and such a pricy vacation so we called to ‘opt out’. Is this common? If so, customers should be offered something in return for the inconvenience. We found the food options plentiful and good; we didn’t feel the need to try the 2 upscale restaurants. The staff was unfailingly nice. We never felt crowded, even on sailing days. There are plentiful common areas in which to relax. We enjoyed 4-5 nights of the onboard entertainment which was just right. Overall, this tone of the ship compared favorably to the other 2 cruises I’ve done on Regent and Royal Carribean: it was low key, fun, and our fellow passengers were generally friendly. My only complaint about Azamara is that it’s not all-inclusive - they have several packages they try to up sell, and it was annoying. I prefer Regent in that respect, which includes everything and isn’t constantly trying to sell you upgrades. Regent also includes excursions which Azamara does not - and they were expensive. Read Less

I have been smitten with the Viking ship design since the first brochure arrived in my maibox a number of years ago. Picked this 15 day Transatlantic crusie for its sea days and ports of call. Frist TA and first Vking cruise. I am amazed by the attention to detail in the design and furnishings of the ship: I lost count of the different style of chairs in the various public spaces. My favorite are the deep brown leather chairs next to the Living Room Bar. The railings in the hallways and even the door handles to cabins are wrapped in smooth leather. The lichen garden below the stairs rising to the full story sceen showing the most brillinat pictures throughout the day and evening. The views of sky, sea through every window above deck 1. The windows are floor to ceiling. In the World Cafe these were open on sunny days in port for more alfresco dining. Stunning spa with heated tile loungers, stream room , sauna, and snow grotto and small pool open to evyerone. Fees are only for massages. Food in all venues is very good, lots of variety, creative, and the" success cake "in Mamsen is the best dessert at sea. The crew from officers to the young man who was in charge of keeping the elevators clean were always friendly, going out of their way to answer a question or help in any way. The included excursions were basicly bus tours with stops or walking tours of areas of the port towns . All the guides were very knowlegable . The resident historian program is outstanding. Our historian Mark gave lectures on art, pirates, explorers, also had round table discussions and open office hours for small group discussion. The Deluxe veranda cabin was fine, with large shower, and heated bathroom floor. Could have had more drawers in the main cabin. We did find places for all of our stuff. Loved our balcony and table height for having breakfast while looking out at the morning sea or sailing into port. Met so many intersting passengers who were all having a good time while we crossed the Atlantic Ocean. The only negative is that they ran of three of the white wines on the wine list during the cruise. Many of us had the Silver Beverage Package and they miscalculated the number of wine drinkers with this package. They did not run out of the incudled wine, however. LOL This minor detail was the only negative I experienced. Read Less