Travelling alone for the first time I found the staff very helpful,friendly and accomodating. The choice of meals in the Main Dining Room was very limited and was very salty overall including the Terrace Grill.Overall I enjoyed it. The Ship was on it's last voyage before dry dock where it was getting a complete overall,so a lot of the other things will not apply. I loved the itinerary of this cruise because it was one of the few that included Bermuda, but because of the time of year we encountered some bad weather and could not get into one Port but nonetheless I still enjoyed the Cruise. The entertainment at night was varied,but wasn't of the caliber of some of the other cruise lines. The Dining Room staff were accomodating in trying to seat me with another couple most of the time. I met a lot of many wonderful people on the cruise which is why I love travelling on a smaller ship. Read Less

We were a little nervous booking this particular cruise due to the ship going into dry dock immediately after. We figured the weather would be iffy due to the time of year (11/2-11/18) and did have a few chilly, rainy days. We missed only 1 port, Bar Harbor, due to tender issues. For the most part, the ship was in good repair and other than some slightly worn upholstery it was well kept and all areas very clean. Our stateroom, 8000, is considered a suite and was lovely and included a 3 cushion full sized sofa, 2 club chairs and a glass table in addition to a very comfy bed. There was plenty of storage and the bathroom must be larger than other levels as it was plenty big. Oh, and the live orchid in the room was a lovely touch. A slight disappointment was the main dining room with their menu of sameness. Oh, there’d be a special few items thrown in daily but it wasn’t exceptional. What WAS fabulous was The Polo Grill and the grilled lobster tails and grilled shrimp every evening in the buffet. We found the Italian restaurant, Toscana, to be just okay. Husband returned one entree, a veal dish. I tasted it and agreed it wasn’t good either in texture or taste. I will say staff immediately swooped in and expedited his new order. The buffet is handled very well. No cruiser touches the food. You indicate what you want and staff prepare your plate THEN, more often than not, another staff member steps in and carries your plate to your table. There’s no self serve of food or drink. Another true highlight is tea time which is a lovely event served with a background of a string quartet. The house band was good with one member being exceptional. Staff was fabulous. The cruise director, Shawn Carter, was one of the more engaging CD’s we’ve met. All service staff were quick with their greetings and generous in their thank you’s. The only flaw we encountered was a rather disengaged front desk staff but that blip was more than made up by the butler who couldn’t do enough for us. He was so well trained and seemed sincerely vested in our enjoyment. I wasn’t expecting much in the way of entertainment but was surprised—pleasantly. In addition to several enrichment talks (on the ports of call, on the history of where we were traveling, to an marine biologist giving talks on various sea life) the evening show included a comedian, a magician, several singers, a fabulous guitarist, a pianist. True, there’s no production numbers like you find on larger ships but the shows are more like lounge acts. Very intimate and entertaining. There was the usual bingo, trivia, karaoke, bracket making. WiFi was usually good—not speedy but adequate save one day the satellite wasn’t functioning well as some streamed newscasts on the TV were not working either. So would I sail Oceania again? Yes!!! I enjoyed the quietness of the ship, the lack of rowdy games, loud music or intrusive photographer. Fellow passengers were a mature, well traveled group which made for interesting conversation. Read Less

My wife and I are retired hoteliers/ restaurateurs from the UK so are not always the easiest to please as we tend to have too many opinions regarding hospitality! But having read some other very negative reviews from earlier recent cruisers on Silver Wind we were concerned that we could be embarking on a nightmare experience. However having cruised the same ship previously a few years ago in South Africa we couldn’t readily equate these to our own positive memories . So we feel obliged to try to convey our own feelings regarding our voyage which bore little resemblance to some of these previously negative rantings. Yes that previous cruise was a warm weather one four years ago, but in a notoriously rough Indian Ocean (even in Summer) and this was to be mainly in November in northern Canada and the North Atlantic so we always knew it was going to be a cold and potentially rough trip, but you know that before you book and we couldn’t really understand how others had clearly failed to factor that into their own planning and were then blaming Silversea and expressing surprise at rough seas and missing ports. Surely these were always situations likely to happen so please don’t moan about the elements and blame the cruise line as there is clearly nothing that Silversea or indeed any other cruise lines can do about the weather! On boarding in Montreal all went as smoothly and seamlessly as normal with Silversea, and of course, no queues. We were pleased to be greeted in reception by a number of familiar personnel including Bar Manager, Newton, who we had met on previous cruises. Also Cruise Director, Colin Brown, who as someone else stated should be cloned, as he really is one of the best that we have encountered and this was our third cruise with him in charge. He looks after all the entertainment and enrichment programmes. These included two enrichment lecturers and a superb group of Voices of Silversea who were basically six professional singers, two operatic and four more general but all with their own individual talents. Additionally there was an onboard pianist and a Silversea trio who provided background entertainment throughout the ship. Two guest entertainers, a magician and a guitarist also came on board for a few days at different times to bolster the offering as this was a 16 day cruise. We felt they were both a bit underwhelming but that is probably because the Voices on this voyage were so good. Additionally Colin, who is a classically trained concert pianist, arranged a number of piano concerts in conjunction with the two opera singers and also performed some amazing classical duets with the onboard pianist, Olga, who was also outstanding. The crew in general were of the usual high Silversea standards. As ever mostly smiling and welcoming. Though I have to say that some of the restaurant staff (only a few to be fair) were not quite as friendly as we have experienced on other Silversea Cruises where they normally get your name quickly and address you by it from very early on, which is always impressive. Ever since the introduction of their iPad booking system a few years ago this standard seems to have fallen away somewhat unless they remind themselves by looking at your picture and name which they now get by entering your suite number into the iPad system. Maybe they were a bit tired after some seven weeks of cruising since they left London, most of which had been under some pretty appalling weather conditions! Our Suite Butler, Parveen from India, however, did an excellent job of looking after us throughout the voyage and was always on hand to attend to our every need, and our suite attendant Christine, from the Philippines, kept our suite immaculate throughout the voyage. Reception and Shore concierge staff were also very friendly and helpful and a great improvement on some we have experienced on other voyages. The hotel manager however was rarely seen by us out and about the ship and maybe that reflected on some of the staff performance? Captain Arma and the navigation bridge officers did a great job. They were all frequently seen around the ship and also kept us extremely well informed about weather conditions etc and, most memorably, carefully plotted a safe way around a huge storm that brewed up over the Gulf of St Lawrence by hugging the coast of Prince Edward Island and going very slowly for a couple of days to avoid the worst of the weather and keeping the ship as stable as possible. He kept all the passengers and crew fully informed at all times and despite a bit of rocking and rolling one evening the ship remained amazingly smooth, despite the gale blowing outside, and we never noticed any passengers confining themselves to their cabins with all the restaurants operating as busily as ever! He only once had to come onto the tannoy at 11pm on one evening to suggest that it was not a good idea to still be walking around the ship anymore! But it was reassuring that he was still on the bridge so late in the evening and in fact most everyone had gone to bed anyway and we actually had probably our best nights sleep so far being gently (or not) rocked into slumber. By the morning everything had calmed down and in the end that was really the only properly bumpy bit of this cruise. The storm did indeed mean us missing two ports of call but the first only for safety reasons as we had arrived and anchored, but it was a tender port and the Captain wasn’t convinced he could get everyone safely back to the ship, and the second because the local coastguard had closed the fairly narrow access channel…so the Captain had no option anyway. Talking to some of the crew it appeared that the ship had endured some pretty appalling weather all the way from London across to Iceland and then over to Canada for approx 7 weeks on the previous four or five cruises so, despite us being the last cruise out of the north for the winter, we actually probably had the best weather....so who knows? Just guess anyone should bear this more in mind if you choose such an itinerary in any year! Yes apparently the ship had had some sort of mechanical issue in Montreal a couple of cruises before our one that delayed departure by two or three days but to be fair to Silversea everyone on that one was reimbursed a third of their fare for that incident. Yes the ship is twenty three years old now and showing a bit of age externally but that will be sorted out when it dry docks shortly. The interior however was as clean and smart as ever with the public areas having been spruced up last year. Apparently the staterooms will be getting a “Muse-ification” refurbishment update during the upcoming dry dock in December. The suite bedrooms (or at least our one) actually seemed in pretty decent shape decor wise despite previous critical comments made on other CC Silver Wind reviews, though the TV system could certainly do with an update which is apparently happening with a more modern system being installed. For some reason it appears the update will not include the bathrooms which doesn’t make a lot of sense as the bathrooms are probably the weakest thing on Wind being rather on the small side with a rather small in length bath (not great if you are reasonably tall). However it does have an excellent power shower in addition to a hand shower, but it is one that you have to climb into the bath to use so not the easiest perhaps for some less mobile guests. We have also travelled twice on Silver Spirit in the past couple of years and have always particularly enjoyed that ship but mainly due to its larger size and thus the greater choice of dining options. Having said that Wind is half the size of Spirit and you benefit from a very cosy clubby atmosphere on board. We were on Wind for 16 days this time and didn’t really get bored with the Menus as they changed pretty much daily (every few days for La Terrazza) and the pool deck hot rocks grill, which we also love, was pretty much out as an option (even though it was still available with rugs and heat lamps) given the very cold weather in Canada and the northeast US. We actually got the chance to do a shipboard visit to see the newly stretched version of Silver Spirit when it came into Montreal a few days prior to our cruise on Wind and we really liked the updated decor and new restaurants that have now brought Spirit very much up to Muse standards. Anyway all in all it was an enjoyable and interesting cruise on Silver Wind and I would suggest others should quite simply ignore some of the earlier terrible reviews posted on cruise critic which in our mind really seem to have stemmed from experiencing some dreadfully bad weather rather than the ship itself! We would certainly be very happy to cruise on this ship again and can reassure others to go for it if they might be having any doubts. Read Less

We chose this cruise to visit ports that we had not been to and to see the fall colors. Because we live in Florida, we had forgotten how cold and rainy it gets this time of year. Of course the cruise company does NOT have control of those elements. This is our first cruise since I joined cruise Critics. I did not know how to contact the other members for the meet and mingle events, therefore we did not participate. We have another Regent cruise beginningin January and hope to understand the process better. The service and food were both excellent. Compass Rose has such a diverse menu with excellent selections. The talent that I watched, the Regent Production team put on excellent shows. We played trivia most days and had fun meeting other guests and trying to come up with the correct answers. We really liked the size of the ship and the easy of getting around. Our butler and room steward were both 5 star. We believe the excursions that Regent includes are every bit as good or many times better that we pay extra for on other cruise lines. We had a great trip. Read Less

Silver Spirit, Montreal to NYC. Have sailed too many cruises to list but over the past 12 months have been on Crystal and Queens Grill in Cunard. This Silver Spirit cruise was a return to Silversea having sailed on Cloud, Wind, Shadow and Whisper in the past (and had all very nice cruise on those other Silversea ships) Ship: Looks brand new, loved the cabin and and cabin bathroom. I found the ceilings too low on some decks and the ship really chopped up (a bit claustrophobic here and there). Some public rooms were too small to handle the ships passengers (Panorama) and some too large (Dolci Vida - which looks like an airport business class lounge). I'm still unsure about the new decor direction, it was really repetitive and kinda boring/cheap looking in some areas. Lighting was awful, in the dining rooms and la Terrazza were all lit like shopping malls. Also on the smaller ships La Terrazza was a beautiful space, on the Spirit, it looked like a mass market ships buffet restaurant. Cabins: Great, they were nicely updated, loved the bathrooms and our butler and cabin steward were tops. No complaints! Food: This is where Spirit falls and falls hard vs her competition. The non changing menus coupled with the new ipad ordering is a mess and will prevent me from sailing Silversea again. You are asked prior to every meal for your room number and name; super mass market. The ipads are slow and not flexible resulting in missed courses, incorrect orders, etc. The first night I never got my entree, was told kitchen was now closed and to order from Room Service, really? Second morning never got my breakfast, only or it to show up on day 7. Want your steak medium, order it rare was the given direction. I also hated the new slate type dishes in Atlantide, it felt like those dishes were all preprepared just waiting for your meat and sauce selection. All veal chops on the ship were inedible (even our waited guided away from ordering them). So in 10 nights, I had the same soup 5 times, same salad and three different steaks that all tasted about the same. Sad for a luxury line. Lunch in Atlantide was great, great daily menus and diverse food selection. We tried LaTerrazza, it was ok, I had the veal - bad choice. Silver Note was fun, but a one and done place. We cancelled LeDame as we didn't want to risk paying $240 for four of us to have the same dreary dinner food we had been having all week. Ports: We missed two and weather was awful, but thats not the ships fault. Its still a beautiful part of the world Service: Overall fine, but really a sense that there are rules to be followed, want a dish from next door? No. Would a bar server ever remember my room number or drink, Nope. Other passengers would let others know alternative menus were available, but never from the staff. 45 minutes between courses, yup...The whole experience felt too mass market compared to Seabourn or Crystal. We had fun thanks to the DJ and other passengers we met, always great meeting others. Since this seems to be the new direction for Silversea, I hope that they get guidance from Royal Caribbean or at least the cash they need to bring their experience levels back up to prior cruises. Read Less

We just returned from a ten day trip on the Silver Spirit, Montreal to New York City. Out of 25+ cruises this was hands down the worst because of the weather. It was 29 degrees F in Montreal, we got stuck in Quebec City because of a blizzard, Saguenay port was closed because of the weather, Baie-Comeau was closed because the dock was wrecked by the storm and it was rain, snow, sleet and fog in all but Newport RI. So I must give this trip two marks, overall trip a 2 while just the Silver Spirit a 8. I blame the weather 50%, myself 25% for booking a trip to Canada this late in the season and Silver Sea 25% for selling a trip this late. The attitude aboard the ship from Captain on down was it was too late in the season. The Ship: The Spirit looks like a new ship and just like the Muse in many places. She was very clean and organized with no problems that I encounter. The crew was great, service top notch. The unlimited internet and the interactive TV worked great. We were in cabin 1117, a new Silver Suite added when she was stretched. Great cabin in a great location. Very quite and right by the elevator and midships enough motion wasn’t a issue. Food: The Spirit now has the same restaurant arraignment as the Muse and the same room service. I really do not like the fact that the menus do not change at all in the evening in any restaurant, it gets very boring. Some will say they do change however after 23 days on both ships I have never seen a change, I also find the room service menu boring, almost like a Diner. I tried to get a lobster dinner, which is a special order, and just got the run around. I am really not impressed by the food. I never got a bad meal however there is no wow factor in any of it. I can not recommend SS to a foodie. Accitivies: For a ship with a very small stage their group did a great job. There were six singers who put on various shows, all very good. There was a three piece band which was OK along with a male and female singer who worked the lounge, also OK. I was surprised they didn’t bring in any guest acts. There was a lecturer onboard also. Overall I like SS but after trying them twice I just can’t get excited about their restaurant concept. I would sail them again however at their price point there are better options I believe. Read Less

Awesome service, accommodations and great culinary options! My husband and I boarded this cruise too celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary and had a wonderful experience. Despite the bad weather, and missed ports, we enjoyed all the ports we did get to visit! The staff on board accommodated our every whim and the dinning options were fabulous. The rooms are very spacious and serviced twice a day which was very nice. We loved all the common areas and the numerous activities that were offered. We especially enjoyed trivia play each day at 4:45pm. Who doesn't like drinks, friends, and some trivia! We made some wonderful friends on board as well! The ports were beautiful and full of fun and exciting excursions suiting every level of activity. Because of our ship's size we could get into most ports without having to tender to shore. I would definitely recommend this cruise and especially Silversea cruise line. We can't wait to book our next cruise. Read Less

We have cruised on Regent, Crystal, Viking, Celebrity, Princess and Cunard and although our experience with Seabourn was very good, there was something about Seabourn that did not live up to all the hype. The plus points are excellent cabin sizes, good food, good service and staff (most of the time), excellent safety and security procedures and the all inclusive nature of the cruise. Seabourn Quest is a very stable and capable vessel and is well designed with lots of outdoor and indoor space, which meant that although the ship was full, it never felt crowded. The atmosphere was relaxed and fellow passengers were a pleasure to travel with. The Antarctic experience was amazing and well organised with an excellent expedition team, who were knowledgeable and experienced. The negatives were the inclusive wines for the first half of our 60 day cruise were awful. The premium wines were expensive and we felt disinclined to spend even more money on wine, when we had paid a small fortune for the cruise in the first place. The Seabourn shore excursions were overpriced and underwhelming. We cancelled most of them once we realized that we could do the excursions ourselves at a greatly reduced priced. The overland adventures to Macchu Pichu and Torres del Piene were excellent but very expensive. A handful of the staff were rude and unhelpful. The service was not always 5 star because there seemed to be insufficient staff in certain bar areas. Charging $189 for a 2 hour zodiac or kayak trip in Antarctica was outrageous considering the price of the cruise. They should be included in the cruise price. The Thomas Keller Grill restaurant was rather ordinary and the entertainment options on board rather limited. Crystal and Regent offer better value for money and better food and wine. We disembarked in Buenos Aires after 60 days onboard and were abandoned to total chaos, where we waited 2 hours in sweltering temperatures trying to find a taxi. We had 5 suitcases, limited luggage trolleys and were trying to queue with 10,000 other cruise passengers who had arrived at the terminal at the same time. Seabourn should have warned us about this situation as they knew that 4 other cruise ships were due to dock at the same time. A word of warning - book a car in advance through Seabourn (at an outrageous price of $100 for a 20 min journey into the town centre, which would cost $15 by taxi. Or book a car privately as BA cruise terminal can be a complete nightmare!!!! I would sail with Seabourn again but only if the itinerary was a good one. They are a good cruise line but not that good and you are paying top dollar! Read Less

I was interested in a cruise that either left from New York or came back to that port which meant I would be home in and hour or so. I flew to Montreal and spent the first night and second day onboard, unpacked and being pampered. Crystal met me at the airport and escorted me to a waiting bus. That was a lovely touch since it was raining and the hostess carried the umbrella. The line has buses waiting for all arriving customers throughout the day leaving every half hour for the ship. Your luggage is taken at the airport and to your room within hours while you can start eating and drinking on your ship. My room was quite nice with a more than comfortable bathroom. SInce I had twin sinks, I used one in the AM and one in the PM. There is a tub shower that I really enjoyed, bathing most of the time with the luxurious ETRO products supplied by Crystal. There was more than enough space for all my things and plenty of hangers. I toured the ship and found lots of nooks to hang out in, some of which served coffee and nibbles. There is a lovely library, well stocked and just 3 shops which are open when at sea. There are 4 specialty restaurants including Silk, a wonderful Chinese restaurant that served the best hot and sour soup I've ever tasted and I eat a LOT of Chinese food! You are able to eat in the specialty restaurants 3 times during the cruise and I found Prego, the Italian, to be my favorite. There is also Umi Uma Nobu's Japanese restaurant and a lovely main dining room which serves 2 different menus at each meal. Breakfast is also served in the Market as a buffet. Fun can be had in Churrascaria, a Brazilian style restaurant where you get your salad at the bar and then after sitting down, waiters come around with skewers of meat, chicken, shrimp, pork and the tenderest lamb chops you can find anywhere. Most of the trip was fine with 2 nights of rockin' and rollin' on rough seas but that's to be expected in the north Atlantic. I saved my real raves for the entertainment which was the BEST of any I've ever had on a cruise. From the singers and dancers to the special guest stars, it was First Rate and memorable. Too many to name but needless to say, every night was a joy! Another standout for me was the lectures by General Nick Halley. He was fascinating and informative. Kudos to Crystal on that aspect of the trip. About the leaves, not the greatest but not the fault of the cruise line either. Read Less

Booked this cruise to see the fall leaves...weather was crappy...Not Crystal's fault. The ship and crew were great. The food and service were excellent. Smaller ship and passenger list meant not as much waiting for shore excursions..etc. The entertainment was very nice since it was a smaller ship. We enjoyed the bistro and the hamburgers. They were the best. The speciality restarunts are a plus with no extra charge. The shore excursion were arragned well. There was always a Crystal person on the tours. Service was always spot on. Every time you sat down, there was someone available to get you a drink. When the ship docs, the attrium becomes very cold..this was an October cruise and have the ship open all day made the attrium very uncomfortable. The embarkation and disembarktation process was very smooth. When we disembarked, it seemed as if we were the only ones on the ship. Imigration was smootn. Read Less