Luxury Cruise Bible

Middle East Splendors and Silversea

Submitted by: Dreps from Washington, DC, USA

Cruise Details

• Cruise line: Silversea
• Ship: Silver Whisper
• Date of sailing: 4/20/2008
• Number of nights: 15
• Embarkation point: Dubai, U.A.E.
• Debarkation point: Athens, Greece
• Ports of call: Fujairah, U.A.E.; Salalah, Oman; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Safaga, Egypt; Aqaba, Jordan; Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt; Suez Canal transit
• Stateroom category: Verandah
• Stateroom number 712
• How did you book your cruise? Online travel agency
• Travel agent: Brown & Keene
• How many times have you sailed with this line? 1
• Favorite cruise line: Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Comparing Silversea and Regent

Ratings

• Overall Rating 4
• Ship Condition 5
• Public Rooms 4
• Stateroom 4
• Food & Wine 4
• Spa, Gym, and Salon n/r
• Entertainment 3
• Enrichment Program 3
• Internet & Phone Service 4
• Excursions 4
• Service 4
• Value 4

I thought it would be interesting to post my thoughts on our Silversea Silver Whisper cruise in the Mideast with our previous cruises on Regent. For background, note that we’ve been on the Mariner for 47 days and on the Paul Gauguin for 24 days. While we haven’t been on the Voyager or the Navigator, I am aware of most of the physical differences with the Mariner. First, I’ll start chronologically with our pre-cruise.

As you may know from my blog, we began with a three-night pre-cruise in Cairo, and it was handled excellently. The transfer agents and the guide were both terrific. Of course, we were only six people, and it was like having a private tour. If one compares it with our overnight excursions on PANDA (Osaka–Hong Kong), I think it compares favorably, realizing that tourism in Egypt is not up to the standards of that in even the less sophisticated cities of Xian and Guilin in China.

Transfer to the Ship

The transfer to the ship and boarding were fairly effortless—very similar to Regent. Not only was champagne available when we boarded, but a nice spread with shrimp, smoked salmon, etc., was in the room where we registered, and I grabbed a quick nosh, having only had two breakfasts (including an odd one on Egypt Air). Then we went up to the cabin and only had to wait a short time for our luggage. (We had boarded about 4:00 pm.)

Our Veranda Suite

Our cabin 712 was a veranda suite toward the front. As most of you know, the cabin itself is very similar to those on the Voyager and the Navigator. As you can see on the Silversea site, the furnishings are very similar with blonde woods, mirrors, etc. What I find interesting is that even in comparison to the smaller Mariner cabin, the space on Silversea is not as efficiently utilized. There are less exposed shelves and drawers, and some that do exist are fairly useless because of their size. For example, there are small end tables next to the little sofa in the sitting area that have tiny drawers on top and a false bottom, and I have no idea what’s in that space. (There are also similar end tables on either side of the bed, but they have just one larger space in each, with no shelves.) There is also less drawer space around the desk. The new flat-screen TV is nice, but there is a lot of wasted space behind it now. With regard to the bathroom, I’m somewhat of a heretic in that I don’t care about the separate shower because it is very small and there is only a very tiny area on which one can put shampoo, conditioner, and soap, so I find it just as convenient to shower on the Mariner since I’m only 5’8”. The double sinks are nice, but quite frankly, we seldom use the bathroom at the same time. There have been several times that hot water has been a problem, and I’ve heard several other Camelites with the same issue. I’m not sure what’s going on with that. Some love the bedding, some find it a bit soft. We thought it was fine.

Cabin Stewards

Our cabin steward and her assistant are Filipino. (As many of you know, Regent has reduced the number to only one steward per cabin with no assistant.) Regina was one of the best we’ve ever had. She was pleasant, outgoing, and I enjoyed interacting with her. The first thing she did was ask what exactly we wanted in the mini-bar. (I think I wasted my time filling out a specific request on the guest information form.) The mini-bar was restocked later that evening. I also asked her for a little pair of scissors to use during the cruise because I forgot to pack one, and I think she loaned me her own pair. The veranda is very similar to the one on the Mariner.

Dining

The food is hard to assess and compare. The first dinner was definitely the least good meal. I ate mussels for an appetizer, and that was a big mistake, as I really think I had some sort of adverse reaction. Not food poisoning, but more of an allergic reaction. My main course of tuna was okay, nothing great. The second night—the Captain’s Welcome dinner—was superb with lobster as the featured entrée, but many of us had appetizer portions so we could also have prime rib as the main course. The chocolate dessert with a variety of confections was also very tasty. The duck entrée the next night was also very good. My appetizer of king prawn and scallop ravioli was less exciting. Most of us ordered Grand Marnier soufflés, which you actually ordered after the meal, and they varied tremendously. Most seemed somewhat undercooked.

Lunches have been fine. We’ve gone to La Terrazza and one day there was a salmon en croute that was particularly good. Yesterday, they were carving a pork roast, which others said was excellent. Gail and I stuck to the Italian dishes: lasagna, pizza, eggplant, etc. Desserts have been good at lunch and similar to Regent, but instead of labeling each one, Silversea puts up a dessert card with a list, which makes it sometimes tricky to identify which is which.

Breakfast is similar to Regent, though not quite as good so far. I really like Muesli, and despite the more international nature of Silversea, I find their Muesli inferior. One thing several of us really don’t like is that you line up for your food in an area of La Terrazza at the side. It’s almost like going into a back room, and there is essentially a single line. This makes things much less efficient than the duplicate set-ups on Regent. As far as service, I think the personnel are very friendly, but I also have the impression they are stretched a little thinner than on Regent. They sure seem to hustle a lot, but I don’t think there as many bodies to see after things.

We decided to try breakfast in The Restaurant because we weren’t arriving in Salalah, Oman until noon, and they didn’t seem to have pancakes, French toast, etc. on the buffet (though I’m sure you could order them there). It was very empty at the main restaurant. We ordered and received our fresh orange juice, promptly and it was delicious (as it had also been in La Terrazza). I had a bit of a communication problem trying to find out if one could get something other than the rye French toast on the menu. Eventually, Gail had waffles, and the waiter brought me both French toast and my second choice, blueberry pancakes. I didn’t care much for the French toast, which I think ended up being made with white bread but had an unusual flavor (perhaps from cooked mangoes on it), though I’m not sure. Everything else was fine, but the real problem is that it took about 45 minutes for our food to arrive. Mind you, there weren’t more than five occupied tables in the whole restaurant. From now on, I think we’ll stick to the buffet in La Terrazza and possibly try room service (which I don’t think we ever did).

Fellow Passengers

Regarding the other passengers, as you would expect, there are far more international guests on board. I haven’t decided what I think about that yet, though my initial impressions are that it is not particularly a plus. One aspect that may have colored our opinion is that we smelled smoke more often than on Regent ships. We’re not even sure of the source, but it was definitely bothersome in the hallways occasionally (but thankfully not in our cabin).

Further Impressions

We did a half-day excursion in Salalah, Oman. On the basis of that one data point only (and we’ll have more), I would say that it was comparable to a Regent excursion. I certainly believe that in this part of the world, it is more challenging for the cruise lines to obtain the quality of land-based operations that are available in many other places. Nevertheless—and we may have lucked out—we had an excellent guide on our tour. He apologized often for his English, when, in fact, it was very good. The bus was very comfortable, and we had actually changed from another one that seemed to have less good A/C so that most of our group could be together. That also added to the enjoyment. I am also somewhat biased in evaluating the excursion because during our last stop at the bazaar, the guide went out of his way to help me find a garment and hat for my costume for the “Camel” races in the space of 10–15 minutes. I felt somewhat guilty monopolizing his time, although our fellow passengers were also busy shopping.

Most of the staff have been very friendly. I presented one of the wait staff—a young woman from Romania—who had admired my magnetic Camel pin with an honorary one, and now I think I have a friend for life. I continue to think that the staff in the dining rooms are spread more thinly than on Regent. Our cabin stewardess remains one of the best we’ve ever had.

More on food, which probably is the most subjective area of comparison. One thing I like is that each night when we receive the Chronicles for the next day, it includes menus for both lunch and dinner. On every other ship we’ve been on, I usually anxiously wait for the menus to be posted—but I’m a bit of a “foodie.” On the other hand, I wish we could have booked the alternative restaurant online, because by the time one sees the menu, it’s too late to get a reservation at one of them. For us, that really means La Terrazza, because I doubt we’ll pay the supplement for Le Champagne. It’s $200 per person for a meal with wine pairings. If one foregoes the wine it’s only $30 per person. However, the kicker is that if you want any wine, you must purchase it, and the bottles start in the $50 range. I’m sure we’d go if we could just purchase a glass of wine each, but we don’t really think it’s worth spending over $100 when there are two very good alternative restaurants where there is always something good. (We, in fact, never did go to Le Champagne.) The food itself continues to be comparable to Regent, in my opinion—especially dinners. Neither cruise line is totally consistent. I do miss the daily specials at breakfast on Regent. In addition, I’d probably give Regent an edge at lunches. Dinner last night was somewhat mixed: An asparagus/spinach tart (like a quiche), lemon sole (which actually was an appetizer portion of a main course), and a prime rib-eye steak. The fish was really delicious. My steak was way beyond medium rare, and even its replacement, which came in less than five minutes, was still overcooked. In part, this was because all of them were fairly thin. Death by chocolate for dessert was so-so. The wines have been quite good, and if one pour doesn’t hit the spot, it’s easy to get another.

Entertainment

We’re not big on going to the shows. So far, we’ve only attended an Italian magician, and a singer who “impersonates” the style of Barbra Streisand. The magician was okay. The singer was very good. Gail thought she was one of the best acts she’s ever seen on a ship. I’m a harsher critic, and though I admit that she was good, when you take on Streisand, it’s a tough challenge.

I’ve attended a couple of lectures, in part, because someone raved about the lecturer. My gripe was that the lecture was supposed to be all about Saudi Arabia, and, in fact, only five minutes at the end (out of 45) was devoted to the country. I became bored by the content and pace of the talk. Perhaps the ship and the lecturer didn’t communicate properly.

I sure miss the free Internet on Regent (because we’re Silver Tier). Yesterday, we did not have service most of the day (which I realize has also happened on Regent ships). Nonetheless, I’d sure enjoy browsing the Internet more, if I weren’t paying for it. It’s been especially costly in trying to solve my problems with posting many pictures.

Final Thoughts

• Staff: The staff were extremely friendly—perhaps more so than on Regent at least from our experiences. Some of this may be due to the smaller size of the ship. For example, I think on the Paul Gauguin the experience is more similar but that is also in French Polynesia, where the Gauguines add a special dimension. I still think the staff are overworked in the dining venues on the Whisper.

• Food: We thought it was less consistent than on Regent. However, on several occasions, when a dish was good, it exceeded anything I’ve had on Regent. You couldn’t go hungry on either line. One peculiarity was that The Bar—where we played Pooch and trivia, is a main bar on the ship, and during the day there is no bartender. So if you want anything to drink, you have to call for it, which we did on several occasions. This seems very strange, given the all-inclusive nature of the ship. This is quite different than the set-up on Regent when one plays trivia right after afternoon tea.

• Excursions: They were really good, except for Jeddah. No better than Regent’s, but on par. What we didn’t like was the fact that thus far Silversea has ignored the whole issue of our terrible guide in Jeddah. One Camelite even sent a letter the night of the excursion, and didn’t even receive an acknowledgment.

• Cooking Demos: The audio-visual set-up for the cooking demonstrations was more sophisticated than on Regent. Also, they brought samples of the dish and a wine pairing, which added to the experience.

• Ship Handling: Another interesting thing is that while we were blessed with spectacular weather and very calm seas, even when it was windy and it seemed the seas were certainly moderately choppy, the Whisper handled it amazingly. Either the wind direction was an important factor, or there is just something about the design to provide exceptionally smooth sailing. I would be curious to hear from those who have been on the Whisper or its sister ship, the Shadow, to find out if they ever experienced a “rough” sailing.

• Disembarkation: Baggage was handled very well upon disembarkation. There were also a number of Silversea staff around to ensure that everything went smoothly. They provided more assistance than we’ve seen on Regent. You didn’t feel that now that the cruise was over, you were forgotten about.

Passenger Composition: I just did an analysis of the make-up of the passengers. European (incl. Great Britain): 37%, U.S.: 31%, Australia/NZ: 13%, Canada: 7%, Asia: 6%, S. America (incl. Mexico): 5%, Misc.: 1%. A high proportion of the Europeans were from Great Britain. There is obviously a much larger proportion of non-USA passengers than on most Regent sailings.

Our bottom line is that if everything else was equal, we would still pick Regent over Silversea. We did not think we would mix in as well with the passenger demographics as on a Regent ship, especially if it were not an escorted cruise. At the same time, if Brown & Keene escorted another Silversea cruise to a destination in which we were interested, we wouldn’t hesitate for a minute in signing up for it.

For More Information…

…talk with your travel, call Silversea at (800) 722-9955, or visit their website.