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Silver Shadow Cruise Review to Alaska

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 83

Overall rating:

2 out of 5
Verified Review
Silver Shadow

7 Night Alaska Southbound (Seward To Vancouver)

Sail date: August 06, 2015

Ship: Silver Shadow

Cabin type: Balcony

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 9 years ago

Review summary

We enjoyed our cruise to Alaska though that is  due to the scenery and animals Alaska offers as opposed to the experience Silversea offers.  While the Shadow was renovated recently, the decor is still dated.  The entertainment options are extremely limited and many passengers stated that "This cruise is boring."  We could not agree more.  With the cooler weather in Alaska, it's not like a Caribbean cruise where passengers are content lying in the sun by the pool.  There needs to be more activities for passengers on cruise days since lying in the sun is not an option for many of the cruisers on this locale.  

We were also disappointed in the service on this cruise. Silversea is a luxury cruise line and touts it's incredible service.  I've had better on many cruises that do not fall into this category.  The staff was unfriendly and there was a language barrier that got in the way of providing good service.  Many of the staff acted as if this was one of their first cruises ever.  They were inexperienced and unorganized.

Alaska is a fantastic cruise location.  Definitely go there, but pick a different cruise line!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

Entertainment

1 out of 5

Children's Programs

1 out of 5

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Ports of call

Seward (Anchorage), Alaska

3 out of 5

Cruise Hubbard Glacier

5 out of 5

Sitka, Alaska

5 out of 5

Juneau, Alaska

5 out of 5

Skagway, Alaska

5 out of 5

Ketchikan, Alaska

3 out of 5

Cruise Inside Passage, Alaska

3 out of 5

Vancouver (Canada Place), British Columbia

5 out of 5
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8 Comments

cruisellama    5 years ago

Kennicott    9 years ago

Thanks a lot for the review. Folks who make the effort to report on their experiences really helps at times. We have been looking close at adding another line to our repertoire and have been considering Silver Seas, unfortunately we keep running into the same general points of dissatisfaction you encountered. Wife noticed Silver Seas Galapagos cruises, but looking at the reviews really makes us nervous. There isn't a lot of lines that serve the Galapagos either.

We have been long time Princess, HAL and Regent voyagers. Have discontinued using HAL though due the smoking debacle on board their ships. Regent doesn't do the Galapagos nor does Princess. Furthermore, Stein Kruse long time CEO of HAL is running Princess now too, due the decision of Carnival Corp to create the Holland America Group which includes HAL, Princess, P&O Australia and Seabourn, then putting Kruse in as head of it all. So, we are seeing considerable degradation in the Princess product, as a result we really want to find another quality cruise line before we get much older.

Have been looking close at Celebrity, Oceania and Silver Seas, unfortunately Oceania and S. S. aren't looking too good.               
 

noname111    9 years ago

Thank you for posting your review. Makes us think twice about doing a "luxury" cruise.  Food for thought.

glomarrone    9 years ago

I loved my two cruises to Alaska ports and we had plenty of on board activities to keep everyone busy.  Alaska is a special destination and I am happy to read that you enjoyed the ports.  Unfortunately you spent a lot of money and the ship didn't live up to your expectations.  I hope that your next cruise does.

CrusinTim    9 years ago

I know Stef. My point is that service on any cruise line can be hit or miss depending on the ship. I have read where some people had bought an expensive suite with many amenities added that other passengers either wouldn't get or would have to pay extra for just to find that they had to work to get them. SilverSea  is supposed to be an upper scale line and you should have been treated better. Best of luck on your next cruise :)

stefb00415    9 years ago

You're right CrusinTim, though I went on Regent to the Baltic and their service was excellent!

Bubba54    9 years ago

Thanks for the review. Alaska is a beautiful place, glad you enjoyed that part of your cruise.

CrusinTim    9 years ago

Seems more expensive is not always better! Thanks for the review ;)