We chose the Muse because we have liked SilverSea based on our previous experiences and we like long transoceanic voyages. So we chose the 16 day UK to Montreal. We were extremely disappointed. Our disappointments went well beyond the expected teething issues with a new ship and transplanted crew. SILVER SEA has obviously worked hard to CUT COSTS in the RESTAURANTS and the ACCOMMODATIONS. 1) All the restaurants REQUIRE RESERVATIONS FOR DINNER. It is nearly impossible to get a restaurant you want when you want it, even if you book months in advance. You are stuck with your advance bookings for the duration of your voyage. The preferable restaurants are fully booked all the time. 2) There is NO WALK IN DINNER RESTAURANT on the ship. Every restaurant is a reservation only "theme restaurant," a concept by some "restaurant consultant" who obviously knows little about high end cruising and what high end customers want and expect. 3) The RESTAURANT MENUS ARE FIXED and are VERY LIMITED. Each restaurant has a fixed menu of few items and the menu DOES NOT VARRY day to day. For 16 days we looked at the same food choices. UGH. And if you do not enjoy Asian or "pay extra" you are stuck with Italian or the limited Atlantide menu. 4) The lack of RESERVATION FLEXIBILITY means you cannot change your reservations mid-cruise to include new fiends or acquaintances. 5) The food was often POORLY PREPARED. I had a tuna steak, ordered MR, it was served brown on the outside and still frozen in the middle. The lettuce at the La Terrace buffet for lunch was freshly showered every single day, but not dried. 6) We had to accept a dinner reservation twice at the outdoor GRILL. Outdoor on the pool deck is fine in the Caribbean, but the North Atlantic in September? No. Windy and so cold we needed two hot stone cookers to cook our meal. Yes, they did serve blankets, but most guests gave up for room service. 7) ROOM SERVICE was slow and cold. We quickly gave up on that option. 8) STORAGE SPACE IS ABYSMAL. In the Silver Suite on the older ships we were used to storage space and shelves galore. Muse has NO storage to speak of. The refrigerator cabinet top is completely occupied with the coffee maker etc. There are two small sofa tables and a desk. The desk has two small drawers and the top is largely occupied by the various cruise materials. The vanity is small and without real storage. The hair dryer was stored in the trash can. The "dinning table" and chairs are fine. 9) Our Silver Suite had a big closet, but NO BUREAU, anywhere. The large closet had some closely spaced shelves located below counter level. The only way to access them was to bend way over and struggle to see what was on them. Accessing therm was nearly impossible. There were NO clothing drawers. 10) The furnishings were sparse and not suited to purpose. The big "comfy chairs" for relaxing and reading had no arms and were so uncomfortable that they were useless. Sitting and reading in them was impossible. The sofa (a pull out for a 3rd guest) was so deep that throw pillows were necessary to sit back, uncomfortably. 11) While I cannot point to any specific complaint my sense was that the ship is understaffed. Service in the restaurants was often slow and usually sparse in the lounge areas. 12) The overall operational attitude of the ship is illustrated by this example. The forward 11th deck lounge was teeming with people as we sailed from one port. I went to the bar and asked for a drink. The bar tender told me "no, it is not six o'clock yet." The clock above the bar displayed 5:58. The concept for the design and use of the restaurants and public spaces is poor for the purpose of the ship. The staff is well intentioned, if sparse. I was particularly impressed by the Sommelier and his team. Silver Sea can solve some of the problems with this ship over time, but her basic design will limit resolving most of them absent a total rework. She looks good but does not live up to the hyped brochures or the SS reputation. Silver Sea fumbled with this ship and the concepts supporting it. Read Less

A brand new ship. Cost cutting everywhere, from the plastic decor and "modern" drawerless cabin (really? there's no storage!) to the half a pattypan squash and two potato balls accompanying your dinner every single night from the same menu. They put it on fancy plates and call it luxury or nouvelle cuisine, but we can't help but call it cutting corners. Flawed concepts ruin your experience, like reservation-only specialty restaurants with no main dining room that leaves hundreds of people to eat at 9:30 or eat outside, covered in blankets, eating pizza or DIY grill while crossing the Atlantic ocean in October. Either that or room service since you can't get a reservation anywhere else. Did they even talk to guests before making this catastrophic change? They did not encourage us to give feedback. Surprisingly, they asked us to leave a review here, on CruiseCritic. Service is still in training, so it's a real mixed bag. While they've taken management off other ships, many others are new to their jobs. Cruise the fjord for a few hours beginning at 9am and not offer coffee and biscuits in the observation lounge? Leave port into the sunset at 5:45 and don't serve drinks at 5:55 because it's not 6:00 yet? No lunch buffets on deck on at-sea days? No regional cuisine? Onions and peppers the only vegetables in many dishes? These examples show the complete lack of flexibility from the set rules, which give the impression of cost-cutting at every opportunity. You can't expect guests on a 2-week+ cruise, even if they do plan months ahead and get reservations, to eat from the same menu every single night and every single day, 3 meals a day. And yet, the Silver Muse tries to make you happy about it. We met others who had booked back-to-back legs and were still eating from the same exact menus a month later. Silversea says they're planning on fixing the food and restaurant issues, but until we hear that actually happen, there's no way we'd cruise this ship again. We just got an email this week that said they were planning to do the same thing on the other ships. On the positive side, the Silver Muse is stable and the basic food quality is good. But give us the old Shadow, the Wind and the Whisper any day. Even the expedition ships are a better value. But maybe Silversea is moving away from the grand days of luxury cruising now, trying to be "modern." There are plenty of low- and mid-market "modern" cruise ships that offer better value. Silversea should be careful not to lose their loyal passengers. Read Less

We chose this particular cruise for several reasons. Firstly the Excitement of travel on a new ship. The route was of special interest since we have always wanted to do a transatlantic sail. Finally visiting Ireland was a top priority It had been a number of years since we had sailed with Silversea and we wanted to try there service again. This cruise was our fourth with the company. The average rating is almost completely because of the restaurant and food service. The 8 venue dining concept sounds intriguing but does not work well. The restaurant reservation system precludes the ability to meet and dine with new friends you may make aboard. The menus are static and do not jot change. In general the food was well prepared but ordinary. Two exceptions, the up scale La Dame, for which a Preimum charge is required, was a disaster. Poorly thought out and execution was not good at all. Service was good however. The other exception was La Terraza the Italian restaurant. This was excellent. Food very well prepared and the venue on deck 7 aft was perfect. Public space is no nice but the color scheme a bit on the gray side. Cabin are large and nicely appointed. Butler service was outstanding. We had sailed earlier this year on the new Seaborne Encore and found it to be a better overall design. The vibrant Seaborne Square concept was in stark contrast to the ordinary La Dolce Vita of the Muse. Read Less

Loved the itinary. Saw many places I never been before. Service was great. The quality of service is amazing. Staff knew our names quickly and everyone greeted us when we were walking around the ship. Entertainment was great. The quality of the singers was outstanding and the magician was top notch. Onboard activities were fun. Disliked the need to make reservations for every meal. Prefer open dining to meet people. Also menus did not change and became boring after 16 days on the ship. The quality of good was very good with the exception of one entree which was Luke warm when served. The variety of shore excursions was extensive and expensive. Preferred just walking around the villages as they were charming. The itinary was great. I have sailed Asilversea wide before and it is my favorite cruise line. It is good value for the money and provided a wonderful experience and way to travel. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of: 1) the itinerary; and 2) the fact that it was a "bridge cruise." The itinerary was wonderful, but we felt some frustration at having only a "taste" of some of these wonderful places! We could have used 2 days in Waterford, Galway, Quebec, Charlottetown, Sydney, and a few other places. Unlike other cruises, the excursion guides did NOT have headset systems so they could be clearly heard while walking through attractions/towns. This was our first Silversea cruise. The ship was just beautiful. The stringent dress code and reservation system is going to be changed, I know -- everyone complained. On other cruise ships, we have requested to dine with others -- with the Muse's reservation system, it was difficult to do this. Even when we asked to dine with others, we were placed on our own because that's the way the reservation system worked. We struck up conversations with others who were seated at adjoining tables, and that was fine, even though they were seated when we were already having our main course, etc. We felt that repeat customers were favored (we get why) and that there was an "in-group" of regulars. Even the get-together for first-timers turned out to be just a champagne toast -- they didn't help make connections among the group. The "bridge" part of the cruise turned out to be one daily duplicate game, only on sea days. The directors were helpful, but they told us they were constrained by the ship's other activities. SO -- it wasn't really a "bridge cruise" and the details I had been given over the phone about frequency of games, etc. turned out not to be accurate. (I had been told that there would be two duplicate games per day on sea days.) While the ship was beautiful, we aren't sure we will go on Silversea again. Read Less

This was our 26th Silversea Cruise, over 300 days, first time on the Muse. Since it was the Muse's maiden crossing, we considered it part of the "shakedown" process. Spent two nights in Southampton before sailing. Chilly, windy, rainy. Found a good pub/restaurant, the Duke of Wellington, best fishn'n'chips I've had. Visited Stonehenge, but it was very crowded, windy and rainy, so elected to go to the ubiquitous gift shop. Plus, admission is up there in price. Boarding was easy on sailing day. Since suites were not available until 2pm, we were able to have lunch in Atlantide or Terrazza. There were a couple of friends on board whom we had met on an earlier cruise, so that helped pass the time. Found our Silver suite easily, two of 3 suitcases arrived quickly, and we had a sense of how to unpack, i.e. whose stuff went where, etc. It seemed that there were fewer drawers in the closet area. more shelves. The entire suite was larger than on the Spirit, but seemed to have less drawer space. It will be interesting figuring out where a third person's stuff is going to go, since we will be on the Muse again in December, with one of our sons accompanying...he gets the couch. Suite bathroom was adequate. Loved the large shower. "Rainfall" shower head was stationary, i.e. we couldn't position it to direct the water flow. First two nights was difficult getting hot water, took a long time to get it even warm, if at all. After that there was plenty of hot. The shower leaked water under the shower door frame if the movement of the ship made the water in the pan flow away from the drain. That got fixed quickly, the gaps beneath the shower door frame were sealed. I had an iPod with me, so playing our own music on the Bose player in the suite was easy. The rest was as expected; we would have liked to use the verandah more, but the weather was not conducive, except for a day or two in Canadian/St. Pierre waters. The ship color scheme is lighter than on the Spirit, including the carpeting. The carpeting could be problematic in that it will show stains more easily. Plus, it was starting to "pill" in our suite, and it looked like a couple of seams were about to give way. The lighter colors give more of a sense of spaciousness. We felt there was an overabundance of plastic, not a lot of wood trim. Dining: food was overall excellent, service inconsistent at times (almost seemed like we were forgotten, depending on the restaurant). Bar service was the usual. We were victims of the restaurant-dictated dress code (which I understand is reverting back to a ship-wide dress code: much better!). Atlantide was formal, as was La Dame. The rest of the restaurants' attire were informal or casual. Quite a mix of attire in the evenings. We did see some shorts in the evening as well. Not many tuxes in Atlantide that we could see, although I had my own, La Dame seemed more formal than Atlantide, as did the service. Spaccanapoli (pizza restaurant) had very good pizza. You could get a "custom-made" one, there were lots of ingredients. The pool grille at lunch was overall so-so. The Reuben sandwich on the menu was undercooked and not all that tasty OR attractive: the cheese wasn't even melted, even after I sent mine back. Hot Rocks, which we usually visited on embarkation night, was good, more menu selections. But cold and rainy, and no infrared heaters (luckily they provided blankets, but still....). We went to Silver Note once. The menu was confusing, service spotty. Entertainment so-so. One night we had a "campfire" dinner with our friends in our suite. Dinner order was confined to the room service menu, which was adequate, but not what any of us expected. On other ships, dinner is available in your suite course by course via the main restaurant menu, but not so on Muse, since there was no main restaurant. The forward observation lounge on Deck 11 was underused most of the time. No coffee in the morning, had to go to the Arts Cafe on deck 8 for coffee and snacks. Woefully inadequate seating for as popular a place as it was, but what to expect when the Arts Cafe was the only place to get a coffee before 9 am, when the pool bar opened (but just the bar, no food)? Speaking of the bar, the main "bar" is the Dolce Vita, very spacious, large enough for a lot of passengers. Bar service at times seemed non-existent. If you weren't in the bar-staff's line of sight, you got passed over. We did not attend any of the musical shows (usually were too late from dinner). The magician was good, and we got a lot out of the enrichment lectures about ocean liners, the development of the cruise industry, and cruising now and in the future. Didn't attend any of the port talks, but they were available on TV. Seating in the the show lounge was not comfortable. The couches were fine; you had to share the drink table with the people in the single chairs in front of you, IF they were willing to share. The single chairs were narrow and hard. Ports: First one out of Southampton was Falmouth. We did a shore excursion, "Coastal Trek and Pub Lunch". It was about a 4-mile walk on a mostly narrow up-and-down trail, somewhat treacherous from the rain. Even in dry weather it would be treacherous. A lot was along a cliff: if you fell over the side, onto the ricks and into the water you'd go. Far longer and more strenuous than the description led us to believe. The pub was the Witch Ball. We had a separate eating area, seemed jammed in like sardines. Not enough "loo" space. Women were using the gents'. If you were a fitbit user, this trek (and it truly was a trek) gave you plenty of steps. Overall pricey. We didn't go ashore at the Ireland ports. At St.John's, Newfoundland, we went on our own, walked to the Castle Hill area. At St. Pierre we were tied up at the pier...EZ off and on. Caught the shuttle bus from the ship to the "downtown". Colorful buildings, vibrant streets (from kids and traffic). We did plenty of walking around town, two of us walked back to the ship. Very picturesque. We did another shore excursion at Sydney, Nova Scotia: Cape Breton fiddle concert. Was really fun. We even square danced. Then went to a little place for lunch "in town". My wife had poutine, just for once, and I had pizza...which was much better than the poutine. Charlottetown, PEI was the best as far as we were concerned. Weather was gorgeous, there was a farmers' market in town, there were plenty of shops to visit and restaurants serving mussels and other seafood. And good beer. Great walk. We had to skip Gaspe because of speed restrictions on ships due to right whale migration. We didn't see any right whales, probably not being in the right place at the right time. We were also canceled out of a Gaspe shore excursion, a walk through a forest. After our Falmouth experience, we weren't too disappointed. So we spent an extra day "at sea" on the way to Saguenay, PQ. Sailed into the St. Lawrence and up the Saguenay River. Very scenic. Big problem, however, was that the river guide's narration was only able to be heard in the hallways and some of the public rooms and on the decks. Not on the verandahs, as advertised. So we really didn't get much more out of it than seeing the land go by. Luckily the weather was good enough that we could venture out onto the (quiet) verandah from time to time. Saguenay had the best pierside tourist greeting service we have ever seen. Most everyone was bilingual and we were indeed warmly greeted as we got off the ship. We did a little "hike" of our own on some of the city streets. Since the tide was out, we were able to get down to the beach by the pier easily. The pedestrian area on both sides of the pier was more like an esplanade. At Quebec City, we had a private tour that was pre-arranged. Learned a lot, saw a lot. Would recommend. Read Less

Interesting ports of call but the free wifi is limited to one hour a day and the actual charges are horrendous. Their advertising is misleading as other Silverseas ships will offer full time wifi to frequent customers but not the Muse. Its an example of trying to increase profit at the expense of their customers, for a supposed all inclusive service. The new dining concept causes some problems for the passengers and limits the menu selection available, and it is difficult to book the venues on line before the cruise. This is further complicated by the fact that you don't know the menus for each venue when you are doing the booking. its an interesting concept that simplifies the range of meal options available by transferring the style selection to the specific restaurant. Each restaurant has a limited fixed menu and style, so it will interesting to see of the concept survives. Overall the ship is an excellent design with basically all services at the stern apart from some of the main restaurants, and the view through the windows of these restaurants are rather restricted , I guess to encourage some conversation. Read Less

Upon reading reviews of the Muse before leaving, we embarked with open minds; so glad we did! From the minute we boarded until we ended in Montreal, we loved this 6 month old ship and the dining options. Just being a couple who are in a service business, getting away alone is important. We have to be social at home but having the option each night to eat at a table for 2 without seeming antisocial was so nice. Of course we met lovely people at different venues and even our table next to others but for the most part we loved this set up. The work ethic of the entire Muse staff is incredible. Decided instead of full day excursions off the ship, much of the time we just took the provided shuttles into towns and got back on board for late lunch. Loved the ship so much booked another Muse in 2019. Only one suggestion to Silversea: early morning coffee a must in the Observation Lounge, please? Read Less

Wanted to see Ireland and eastern Canada and this did both. The crossing was nice, 4 sea days in a row. A couple so-so ports like Sydney Canada (try and avoid) and western Canada is much more beautiful but still very nice. Loved the French island of St Pierre. My comment to take or leave; the food is great in all the restaurants but they have raised the premium restaurants (La Dame and Keiseke) to $60 per person. For that you get nothing better than in the others. Food not better, service definitely not better, wine not better...what's the point for $120 extra. Try them if you like. Premium restaurant Champagne was $40 each a year and a half ago and you got a glass of Dom Perignan when you sat down. Not sure what their thinking is. You can get lobster and fois gras in other restaurants so...? Never went to a show, 10 minutes with an OK singer, so cannot comment on those activities. Could use more games on sea days. Read Less

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This cruise on Silver Whisper was from Southampton to Montreal. I live in the UK near Southampton so I was really looking forward to the sail away. Traditionally Silversea used to have Sailaway parties on the pool deck so I was very disappointed on boarding to see that a lot of the deck was under repair (large tent covering one side of the pool deck, under which repairs took place). There was no Sailaway party as such, instead just a gathering in the Venetian Lounge (indoor theatre with no windows). This cruise was very expensive and definitely not a repositioning cruise (well over a US$1000 per night) but the deck maintenance continued every single day of the trip and was combined with balcony sanding and varnishing, there was absolutely nothing relaxing about sitting around the pool area! There were some highlights of the trip such as a beautiful day in Greenland but the excursions were overpriced and widely varied in quality. 2 ports were cancelled, 1 ostensibly for bad weather but it was extremely difficult to see why as there was a light swell only, the other was cancelled because of the speed restriction imposed on the St Lawrence sea way. Reasonably this could have been anticipated since there have been speed restrictions for many months and the cancelled port would have given plenty of time but Silversea are impervious to criticism and the trip turned into sea day after sea day. I was doing a back to back trip which then went on to New York (a lot of people were also doing the back to back trip of 28 days) but in lieu of the cancelled port we were just taken to spend longer in Quebec. Quebec is a fascinating City but we ended up spending nearly 3 days there instead of some of the parts of Newfoundland where we should have visited. For the second part of the cruise the food and entertainment were complete repeats of the previous voyage. Nothing different at all and there was little variety even on the first cruise. La Terrazza is the buffet service for breakfast and lunch and is the most popular venue but really it is more like a canteen than a 6 star restaurant. Part way through the voyage they decided to discontinue offering a hot dessert at lunchtime and all of the deserts were sub standard. Cheese choice was good and there is a cheese menu in both restaurants. The dining room is okay but if you don't get there for the start of dinner then you wont get a decent table so it all turns into a bit of a scrum. A well dressed scrum mind you......nearly every night was 'informal' which means a jacket for men so that gets a bit wearing night after night, even when in Port. The wifi onboard is supposed to be better but honestly is dreadful, really slow and disconnects you all of the time. There is now an 'on demand' small movie selection but it is very small. Lots of problems with lack of hot water in the state room. Only 'excellent' for us was that we had a good Butler. He was the Senior Butler brought on to train other Butlers as many experienced butlers have been moved onto the larger Silversea ships. In summary, I think that Silversea are trying to grow too quickly and are not paying enough attention to their loyal guests. The prices are ever higher, the portions of food in the restaurants ever smaller, no canapés before dinner on any evening without asking for them and having had them we wouldn't bother asking again! Drink choice very limited and drink service generally slow. Entertainment very repetitive. The same shows exactly as we saw 3 years ago! The staff are generally as charming and warm as they have always been. The gym had a lot of cardio machines that were not connected to the entertainment system (broken) or other equipment that was out of use. Overall we were disappointed and will consider other cruise lines for our next trip. A shame as I have nearly 700 Venetian days so I do get a discount with Silversea! Read Less

Chose this cruise because of ports visited, seas were rough and we found out they were always rough on this cruise. We were not advised of this and we spent several days in our cabin sea sick. Not fun,big disappointment. We could not visit several ports because of rough seas. The Whisper is an older ship and frankly some areas of the ship our out dated and in need of repair. Example deck around swimming pool was under repair the whole 17 days we were aboard, A big plus was the ships staff who always were of great service. We stayed an extra day in London and had a great time at St. James. We were picked up on time and delivered to ship in a timely fashion. We did not have anything to eat until our butler asked us about lunch. No one told us about lunch being available. Thankfully our butler brought us some cold stuff,which carried us till dinner time. We stayed over in Montreal at St. James. Besides getting our room at 3 PM the hotel was good. Read Less

My wife and I were aboard the Silver Whisper (cruise 4723) departing Southampton, England on Tuesday, August 22, 2017, and arriving in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on Friday, September 8, 2017. It was our second Silversea cruise having earlier gone to Antarctica, etc, aboard the Silver Explorer. The Silver Whisper rides very well. The engines are quiet and even in North Atlantic 12-15 seas, the roll was negligible. Many times, you had the feeling we had to be in port only to open the curtains to see we were still moving. The public areas are all well designed and well kept. The dining rooms are large and comfortable. It's nice that guests can dine alone or in groups at any meal at any time. The maitre d's and wait staff are polished and friendly. The food - at all venues and in room service - was excellent, always brought at the right temperature, and sensibly portioned. First-rate. The "house coffee" at breakfast was not the best, leading many guests to order cappucinos/americano. The buffet area (lunch & dinner) could be larger. Le Champagne, the posh restaurant, is headed by an excellent maitre d' and staff and they serve a wonderful meal but the nearly windowless room doesn't have much of an appeal. The Panorama Lounge is a nice space and could certainly offer more in the way of a light breakfast. The Observation Lounge is rather lifeless. A better chair arrangement, tiered somehow, would offer better views. The Bar - for obvious reasons - is probably the livliest space on the ship. Excellent pianists & singers in the bar. The Grill by the pool, weather permitting, is casual and has a great lunch menu and a fun grill at night. Our cabin/suite on deck 6 was excellent, with a large sitting area, a rather stiff sofa (sleeper) and a private balcony. There is a very good walk-in closet. The bathroom had both a full tub and separate walk-in shower. Excellent towels and toiletries. My problems with the room were limited to the wi-fi which was unreliable and slow. Admittedly, we took the free, daily hour but the wifi experience did not meet Silversea standards. The in-room television needs a sports channel that carries American sports. The "map channel" that charts the ship's course uses maps of such a scale that they are almost useless. We will not see our 65th birthdays again and yet we were among the youngest guests on this cruise. Perhaps a 17-day cruise during back-to-school weeks isn't one likely to attract younger people, but you can disregard the brochures and ship promotional material, this cruise skewed old. The entertainment was poorly chosen. A guest violinist was excellent. The house trio and the ship's two pianists were first rate - otherwise there was too much "show tune" fanfare indifferently lit but earnestly performed. Given the guests, how many people were up for the late-night karaoke and disco nights. Get real. The cruise itinerary was well-planned - Cornwall-Ireland-Reykyavik and "sunny, Southern Greenland" were wonderful. The last week, however, was a slog. It is always subject to weather adjustments but we felt that our Canada changes were mishandled by Silversea. It was too rough for the tenders at L'Anse aux Meadows, so that stop was cancelled. But that came after we had already been told our visit to the Gaspe (three days out) was being cancelled because of some slowdown mandated to avoid the numerous right whales in the area. So, all we got was a forgettable day in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. The people were nice but, how can I say this, there is NOTHING to do or see in Corner Brook other than the ever-belching stacks of a paper plant. Some people took bus tours looking down on islands they had just sailed past. And it was raining and it was Canadian Labor Day - everything was closed. Some creative thinking at Silversea (skip Corner Brook and go to Gaspe?) would have helped. HQ could have found a better alternative than napkin folding competitions in the Panorama Lounge. I give the Silver Whisper ship an A. The food and drink, dining and suite staff an A. I give the larger cruise experience a B. As for "the ratings" below, it is really unfair to have to things like enrichment, excursion and entertainment overall. The offerings on Silversea were all above average but "very good" seems too strong. Read Less

We chose this cruise because it stopped in Ireland, Iceland and Greenland. We had two really great lecturers on board which helped to fill the days at sea. Having been on several Silver Sea cruises before we knew pretty much what to expect. Unfortunately we missed two ports. One due to weather and another due to a mandatory slow down in the St. Laurence river. The slow down was announced by the government before the cruise left but the passengers were not told until midway on the trip. Not good PR on the ship's part. We enjoyed all the ports with the exception of Corner Brook Canada. Bad weather was not the ship's fault but there was a long bus ride with a poor tour guide and not much to see. I would encourage Silver Sea to go back to supplying the rooms with high quality binoculars as still mentioned in their brochures. We expected them and would have brought our own if we knew of the policy change. We return to Silver Sea because we like the smaller ships, the no reservation policy in the main dining room, all inclusive food and beverages, butler service, verandas, room service, handy launderette and a very friendly staff. Most of the food is excellent but on this cruise too many of the dishes featured pepper or hot spices which we do not eat. So, it somewhat limited our selections. Read Less

We chose this cruise because it included Iceland & Greenland. These two locations were excellent and the excursions there were well done. Beyond that the Silver Sea experience was more than expected! Cruise Director Vickie was always available for questions and ever smiling. A special call out to our Butler Mustafa, he went beyond our expectations with offerings to help and provided nonstop service. Restaurants provided both excellent service and quality of food was outstanding. Wines offered were appropriate at all times. Opportunities to improve: 1) Lighting control for entertainers was inconsistent 2) Karaoke had song words by piano where singers, to read, had to stand in the dark 3) Water pressure in men's spa showers was poor! 4) Internet was both pricey and inconsistent 5) More casual dress nights would have been better The trip was complete luxury and the few opportunities mentioned, not withstanding, we look forward to our next Silver Sea Cruise and have friends we have shared this with who are looking forward to joining us. Read Less

We chose this specific voyage due to the itinerary - with stops in Iceland, Greenland & the northern tip of Newfoundland being the most of interest. This was our third Silver Sea cruise, but at 17 days the longest we'd ever been on a ship. The Whisper is an older ship, but well maintained. Don't be looking for a lot of glitz - it is understated class more than 'in your face' fancy. Embarkation was very easy. Due to the small number of passengers it took us less than 30 minutes from the time we arrived at the port until we were sitting in at the bar on the pool deck with a beer. Our cabin was well maintained. There was an issue with the sliding door on our veranda which became evident the first night we encountered heavy seas, but maintenance fixed the door during our next port stop. At most port stops we found our own way around - the few ship excursions we took were mostly large (30+ bus) groups which we didn't really enjoy. SilverSea should put the estimated number of participants on each tour so we could avoid these in the future. (On a previous voyage the tours we took were on small mini-buses, with maximum 12 participants, which suit us better.) Dining was exceptional in both The Restaurant & La Terrazza, with our meal in Le Champagne being our only real disappointment: Not worth the $40/person surcharge when the food elsewhere was already superb. The service throughout the ship was outstanding. Our suite was kept clean & well stocked by our room attendant and butler. We were somewhat disappointed in the L'ecole des Chef's program which mainly consisted of a couple of shopping trips to public markets in Cork & Belfast and sampling the food purchased once back on the ship. The best part of the voyage was the day spent cruising Prince Christian Sound in Greenland. We were blessed with perfect weather for the day: calm seas, blue skies. Unfortunately the weather gods did no cooperate for our next stop in L'anse Aux Meadows, as the sea was too rough to launch the tenders safely, so that became an extra sea day. We also missed our port call in Gaspe due to regulations governing the speed of vessels in the St. Lawrence, so we had more sea days than originally planned. Not Silver Sea's fault though, so they did the best they could given the circumstances. All in all, it was a 'once in a lifetime' voyage for us. We are glad we went, and enjoyed the experience. Read Less

The opportunity to try Silversea was one not to miss, so we joined Silver Whisper in Southampton for what turned out to be a superb mini cruise. Embarkation was speedy, though a little badly organised, check in being are reception desk with only 2 staff members on duty . A small serve of champagne was offered, and we were advised that lunch was being served, and that our suite was not yet ready. We enjoyed a delightful lunch in the very pleasant terrace cafe, served with a choice of wines. At the promised time we were shown to our Vista suite, which was lovely, spacious, comfortable and well appointed with comfortable sofa and armchair, a rise and fall table decent size desk and a cocktail cabinet. Our butler, the charming Kanwar , introduced himself and told us of the suite's features, offering a choice of quality toiletries and advising us of the pillow menu.It was slightly disappointing to note that our preferred pure down pillows were not on offer. He asked for our preferences to stock the minibar, bringing a bottle of champagne and choice of beers and soft drinks.The twin sink marble bathroom was a delight, roomy and with a decent, deep full size tub. The separate shower was simple to operate and had amazingly good water pressure. We explored the ships modest features, finding a lovely pool deck surrounded by sun beds and a few round Balinese style beds at one end. Above was a jogging track with blue Astro turf decking, but we were glad to note that all other decks had teak decking which was in the process of being renovated. There were bars tucked into corners, staffed by cheerful bar staff and a team of servers who circulated constantly ready to serve guest whatever they wished. We particularly admired the large observation lounge and found a large central bar with every kind of drink on offer. There was a little used humidor room, a pleasant well stocked library and spa and beauty therapy specialist facilities tucked to one end of a higher deck. We tried to sample each dining venue on our short cruise, booking beforehand where possible. On our first evening we chose the main dining room which proved a delight, with excellent service and a very good menu. We thoroughly enjoyed an evening in La Terrazza serving delicious freshly made pasta dishes and a wide range of Italian influenced dishes. The casual Grill , with a hot stone cooking menu was great fun, especially on a warm evening , with quality cuts of meat , huge prawns and lots of tempting accompaniments. It was a joy each evening to be offered choices of well chosen wines, and preferred alternatives were always available . On our final night we dined in the delightful Le Champagne, a Relais etChateaux restaurant, a wonderful fine dining experience, with a set, multi course French menu which we'd wisely pre-booked beforehand. This was the only restaurant with a charge, a modest $40 cover charge, worth every cent. We'd anticipated limited entertainment, as the ship is small, and were delighted to enjoy the fine group of young singers who all had really good voices, and when the ship was docked in Hamburg we were delighted to be entertained by two wonderful ballet dancers from the Ballet de Paris and Ballet de Roma . Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the date it was sailing, which may sound strange, but I had planned to attend an event immediately prior to this cruise. Well, Silver Sea does not disappoint! We were pampered by our butler, Ricardo and his assistant Neale, who were just amazing. Our cabin was just lovely, spacious and extremely well planned. The bed and bedding were simply fabulous and the bath towels were hard to leave behind, but we did. I can't say enough good things about the staff throughout, but especially the waiters and the managers of the restaurants. Upon arriving, we met with the maître d' and the head chef to discuss our allergies. Several other voyagers were also asked to meet privately with them to share their dietary concerns. After that, Silver Sea always kept track of who was dining where so that your individual allergy profile followed you around the ship. Our favorite place to dine was The Grill. Although there was more sophisticated food elsewhere on board, Milos ran a really fun spot! The smiles and caring attitude were genuine and made you feel welcome there all the time. His staff was so attentive that it was hard to come home. In the evening, you can grill your own steak and seafood right at your table. Do not pass up an opportunity to eat pasta, made daily on board by a really special Italian chef. OMG. Memories of their lasagna will be hard to forget! When you schedule your voyage, be sure to include one night at least at La Terrazza Restaurant. You can eat pasta and continental cuisine at the main restaurant, as well. We were a bit disappointed in the initial wine offerings at each meal and didn't realize that we could just request a different wine until our last night on board. We should have know that, but had forgotten. Last, but not least, the entertainment on the Silver Whisper was great. They had a group of 6 young singers whose talents were on display almost every night. We just loved them! There also were 2 piano players, one at each bar, a fabulous trio/combo that played at different venues throughout the ship, too. They were really wonderful as well. There were two ballet performances while we were on board. They were a nice addition. As far as the excursions that we took, I'd say that they were okay, but not fabulous. A couple of the guides were just not that nice to us, and we were feeling like they didn't get it that their jobs were working with foreigners and the public. Read Less

We chose this cruise due to the timing (mid June before the big summer crowds), the length (seven days), the ports of call, the offer associated with it (airfare), and the fact that we love sailing on Silversea. Their ships feel like home now, the staff is ultra professional yet friendly, and the guests are always a pleasure to meet. Although not specifically a themed cruise, the itinerary, the excursion options, the entertainment, the lectures, the amenities, all would please seniors, families, couples, honeymooners, people of all nationalities. We had a bit of each and everyone seems to have enjoyed it, as you could overhear raves at dinner, after shows, during excursions.... This is a fantastic way to get a taste of Northen European cities of note and charm - Southampton, Brugge/Ghent, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Skane, Copenhagen. Regarding Silversea cruising in general, we could not recommend it enough. The size of the vessels makes it more personalized both because you get to interact with other guest more easily, if you want, and you receive great service from all the staff who quickly recognize and greet you by name. And, it is such a treat to travel worry-free as these sailings are always all-inclusive so there is no concern about over spending on drinks or wondering about appropriate tipping or anything of the sort. The icing on the cake: the cuisine is superb. If you try Silversea once, you, like us, will keep on coming back. Antarctica is next! Read Less

It was a fantastic time Starting from the departure city, although we didn´t stay in Southampton, we managed to have three lovely days in London. The embarkation went smoothly with a very kind help of everyone, from the time I stepped out of the taxi in the port until arriving my cabin. The ship as usual beautiful and clean. The cabin ready for us with champagne and fruits.It was a very confortable cabin. The dining is the maximum point in the cruise. Fantastic food and wine. Everything very tasty. We can choose from Japanese food to Pizzas. Lovely cheeses and desserts. Another high point of Silver Sea is the Service. The butler always giving the maximum attention and all the staff in the restaurants were very kind. The shore excursions were as usual very quick and not very much time to stop at the points of interest. Resuming it was definitely one of the best ship cruise I did with my Family and I do recommend. As soon as i can I will do another one. Read Less

We've been on previous cruises with SilverSeas and have always had a wonderful time. The cruise line is beautiful and the staff is helpful and friendly. It always makes you feel welcome when the staff greats you by name by the second day We enjoy the delicious food and passenger/staff ratio. The suites are spacious and have excellent service. The cabins each have a great view whether you have a balcony or not. The restaurants are all amazing and the servers are efficient and accommodating. We enjoyed going to Le Champagne for a special evening and extraordinary service. We enjoyed the afternoon tea and stopping by the bar for a pre-dinner drink. We attended the evening variety of shows.. Our ports were all wonderful and we enjoyed the length of time we spent in each location. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and look forward to our next excursion on the SilverSeas Cruise Line. Read Less

From the moment we arrived until the final day we were treated special every day. From the butler to the bar tenders and all employees we encountered knowing our names after just 2 days on the cruise. Dining was always good with lots of options. The smallness of the ship made our adventure even more special. Excursions were very interesting and choices were good. My only concern was that there was not enough time to shop in the ports, by the time we got off the excursions the ship was set to sail. Entertainment was good the only thing I would suggest is that it started a little late for most passengers. I think a nine o clock starting would be better than the ten o clock times, As this was an older crowd the time seemed to be to late from the attendance I saw when we arrived. I would sail again with Silver Seas as I liked the entire experience. Read Less

We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise. The cruise went from good to excellent around day 6. The itinerary was fun and the host cities – especially Killybegs and Greenock welcomed us warmly even if the weather didn’t always cooperate. Most important, the many employees that together made the cruise a great experience are the single biggest reason for Silversea success. Enthusiastic and eager to make their guests comfortable and feel welcome. That said, Silver Wind is looking tired and many of the amenities that are expected for a luxury experience are lacking. The in-room entertainment system is antiquated and not functional. When you want to escape and relax in your room, the old TV with limited features does not enhance your experience. It is one of the least attractive features on the ship. The cabin was spacious and the bathroom included a tub and shower - very good. Unfortunately, there was a lingering odor due to a poor ventilation system. You get the idea. Read Less

The ship and the crew were wonderful. As to the crew, not only were they a delight to talk to and be around, it seemed clear that they enjoyed their positions on board as well. All were very friendly and we enjoyed discussing their various countries of origin as well as their work on board the ship. The food was like most cruises - very plentiful. Although LaTerra was exceptional (the menu actually being a little overwhelming), the rest of the food service was your average cruise food. Certainly the food was well prepared and varied but we did not think any of it outstanding other than LaTerra. Eating at The Grill and cooking your own was interesting for a night but not anything more than that. We thought our room spacious, comfortable and maintained impeccably by our butler and steward. We would have liked to have some seating area on the shared balcony so we could sit out and enjoy the trip and socialize with others. We specifically chose a shared balcony room in hopes of sharing conversations with our neighbors but it really was not set up for that type of relaxation. The fitness room was sufficient but half the cardio machines did not work correctly which was irritating. Read Less

This cruise was misrepresented by Silverseas. They called it a cruise from Southampton to Montreal. We paid top dollar for this. This was a repositioning cruise, as told to us by many staff members. Repositioning cruises typically have reduced rates. The shore excursion staff was ignorant about most of the ports. Thus, you could not get information about what was in the port. When asked questions , they referred to material prepared by staff, in Miami, who clearly had never been in the ports either. We signed up for a silver shore guided excursion, supposedly their best, of a national trust house. We did not get a guided tour because the guide said no guides were permitted in the house. We received a bus ride with some information for our money. When we returned, we went to the excursion desk to discuss what had happened. First we were told that we were wrong about the guided tour. When we showed it to them in writing, they made many excuses. Why did shuttle buses end at 4:30 when the ship did not leave until many hours later? Again the answer was The office arranged it. I could give you many more examples of the incompetence of excursion staff, but you get the idea We encountered several days of rough seas where some public areas had to be closed for safety reasons. That makes sense. But why couldn't activities be offered in safer areas of the ship? These days were boring. The cruise was supposed to be 17 nights. On the 15th night, we had the farewell dinner and show. No activities were planned for the final days of the cruise. There were some positive things about the cruise. We found all staff eager to please. Our 5th deck suite was typical of Silverseas. One comes on a Silverseas cruise to be pampered. A middle of the night request for tea was handled quickly and politely. We found the food and service good but the menu was repetitive and became dull. The butler handled all of my requests with "certainly mam." We ate 1 night in the extra cost restaurant. We were extremely disappointed in the offerings and their preparation. This was our 3rd Silverseas cruise and probably our last. Read Less