So what do we do with our $250 OBC? Multiple Kaiseki meals?

We're not really interested in jazz, and the earliest time is 8:00, which is not our style. We're definitely planning on S.A.L.T., though we're cruising the British Isles and Iceland, so we'll have to see how interesting the regional dishes really are.

OP here, back from our second Silverseas cruise. We were on the Whisper in a Penthouse Suite. TLDR: Wonderful experience.

The ship is old by chronological age, but in excellent shape. Not a whisper of rust was visible. Interior public and suite areas were well-maintained. Furniture is dated, but very-well maintained.

After an initial problem with our Butler (never before on this ship or a butler), we got an experienced butler who knew how to communicate and do his job. The housekeeper was fantastic, as was the entire crew. This was a very different experience from our first SS cruise five years ago, when we seemed to go on board a ship loaded with unhappy poor performers. Except for our initial butler, the rest of the staff knew what they were doing, and were very pleasant as they went about doing it! Food was pretty good for cruise ship fare. Entertainment was abysmal (we were told that all SS entertainers will now be SS employees rather than contractors).

I just wish SS had a future cruise deposit system like Seabourn, in which one can use the credit within four years, and always get a refund if requested.

You can use it for the spa, for one of the Select (extra cost) excursions, in the gift shop or on a bottle of wine from the Connoisseur list. Although wine and spirits are included, if you enjoy wine, the Connoisseur list has a number of hard-to-find wines priced at the same or possibly less than you'd pay if you purchased in a retail store. And laundry! It�s great to come home with your suitcase filled with clean clothes so you just need to unpack.

On a separate note, just booked a voyage for late September on the new ship Silver Nova. Look forward to seeing this new design!

You know we are big fans of Silversea and have some 14 cruises with them in the last 12 years and a long 23-day cruise booked with them for next year. It was surprising to hear you had a bad butler experience but I trust your view and opinion from our other discussions here and through our few PMs. Can you share what exactly was off with him? Not at all going to make excuses for him or Silversea but wonder if this is an indicator of a little of what we saw on the Dawn earlier this year. On that cruise the staff in the whole was great, some even exceptional, but you could tell there were a few that were not up to speed which in our experience is unusual for Silversea. We did talk to the Hotel Director and he said they were well aware there were a few gaps. On our cruise on the Dawn they were still short 20 wait staff which according to the HD was 10% below their staffing for that position. He was a bit frustrated..

Since covid, the hospitality sector (cruises, hotels, airlines, restaurants, etc.) has been hard hit with staffing issues. I read that many left and found better jobs elsewhere, with better pay and less stress, and for cruise workers, jobs that let them stay home with their loved ones. I have sailed on 8 Seabourn cruises since covid, and while the service level has been very good, there was certainly some issues with a few below average performers who are new to the cruise industry or to a lesser extent, new to Seabourn. I would guess that the same is happening on Silversea and other cruise lines.

Aloha Randy,

I can't recall a lot of the miscues and omissions by this butler, but it got to the point over the first few days that I did not even want to see him. Any single example I might give you would seem minor and explicable, but the accumulating total of them became very frustrating. I finally asked him to send his supervisor to see me, and the supervisor got an "A" for quickly determining the right course of action, and also giving me more insight into the situation. The supervisor explained that the butler was new to his position and came from a different ship. The supervisor (somewhat surprisingly) told us that even the room attendant did not want to be assigned to the same rooms as this butler. The supervisor replaced our butler with someone he said that he had worked with for many years, and was very experienced. This butler was great, communicated well, followed-up, and went beyond the effort level that we expected.

On a whole, we were very pleased with the ship and crew. A much better culture on board this ship than our previous Silversea experience. If Silversea had a more customer-friendly future cruise deposit program, we would have put money down while onboard. It really is a loss for them, as once the "customer is off the lot" a business has a much lower chance of a sale.

Thanks to you (and others here) for all of the great input delivered over the years!

747FC - Only once have I complained directly about a specific person on Silversea. A server in LaTerrazza during the lunch buffet was asked politely for assistance by the wife of the couple we were cruising with. She was recovering from an injured hand and asked if he could please separate lobster from its shell. He grumbled a bit but did it. I was a few people behind her. In front of me he leaned over to the server next to him and complained he couldn’t believe the “woman had the nerve to ask me to shell her lobster”. I didn’t challenge him immediately but went back to our table to ask her about her exchange with him. She said he seemed put out but did it and she left it at that. I thought about it a minute but decided it was wrong, I just happened to know one of the maitre’ds and got his attention. Calmly explained what had happened and pointed out the server. Before we knew it the ship’s restaurant manager was at our table. She apologized profusely and said it never should have happened. Turned out he admitted he was put out by her request and didn’t think he should have been asked to do such a thing, Both couples received letters of apology signed by restaurant manager, Hotel Director, and the Staff Captain. We were told later that the server had been returned to the kitchen staff for further training.

So a little bit of a tangent here.
Not sure if any of you fly with Delta and have heard about the bombshell they dropped this week, changing elite status to only be attainable through spend with Delta (including Delta vacations) - and doubling the spend requirements vs. 2021. A substantial percentage of current elites say they will drop to lower, perhaps much lower levels due to this (12K a year spend for Gold, 18K for Platinum and 35 for Diamond). The changes don't phase me; I retired last year and will lose my Platinum status but am exempt from the spend requirements and retain Gold status as a 2 million miler with Dl.

However, a little light bulb just went off! Given what we pay for cruises with Silversea (or Regent, Seabourn, et al), would simply booking 1 or 2 cruises through the Delta Vacations portal rather than with a TA or direct with the cruise line yield enough spend for Platinum or Diamond status? Diamond status included global upgrade certificates, which can be worth more than OBC from a TA. Interesting opportunity, perhaps.

Edited to add - All depends on whether Delta considers cruise booking with a flight and hotel as a "vacation package."

I never thought about paying for cruises via Delta (or other airlines) Vacations. Can that only be done if you're buying DL flights in conjunction with your cruise?

BTW, my cruise agent offers me a 6-10% discount plus sometimes a little OBC as well.

I'm only seeing Delta Vacations as earning MQD's. Can you find in the new scheme ( and post ) where Delta Cruises specifically count toward MQD's??

I have Azamara to plan, a Silversea to plan and a transpacific to plan. I would def book at least one thru DL Cruises ( or at least do the math to see if it was worth it) if I could see where they are included in the spend.
Thanks!

Need to do some more digging on this; seems it may be too good to be true.
The cruise section was nested under Delta Vacations and is still nested there under "Earn miles with Delta Vacations and Cruises". But they've broken out the MQD piece to say Earn toward Medallion Status with Delta Vacations and list flights, hotel, rental cars and activities as elements of the Total Vacation Package.

SO - need to confirm whether cruises would be considered part of a vacation package if booked with a flight and hotel. And if not...there's always the option for us to book our own business class air and hotel for a cruise as part of a vacation package to earn those MQDs, rather than booking those with the cruise line or a la carte.

Pretty sure that you can book DL (or AA or UA) cruises without booking flights, just as you can use their portals to book hotels.
I'd never thought about it either until earlier this year, when I noticed a promo on the United cruise portal that offered something like 70,000 miles if I booked through them. Since I'd just used 73,000 UA points to book a business class flight to Europe on Swissair, that caught my attention because the value of those points when applied to business class air was significantly greater than the discount/rebate from my TA, which is similar to yours.

American Airlines has new promos out with a variety of cruise lines. Silversea Cruises Ships & Deals at American Airlines Cruises (bookaacruises.com)
Up to 100,000 AA bonus miles based on length of the cruise on Silversea (100k miles for 20+ days) in addition to AA points based on the amount spent. And according to the bookaacruises.com website, bookings do receive Loyalty Points for elite status. I believe that only the base points of 1 LP per dollar spent count - but that will add up quickly with luxury cruise bookings.

• NEW! Earn miles and Loyalty Points toward AAdvantage� status
• Earn double miles: up to 2 per $1 spent
• 110% Best Price Guarantee