The four of us were on board with Jackie and Dennis on this cruise also.

BLUF: We all agreed that this was one of the top two of three cruises we've ever experienced.

I believe two major contributing factors to a wonderful cruise were, more or less, completely beyond the control of Silversea.
- Passenger chemistry
- Weather

I do not understand all the magic associated with "group chemistry" at parties or work groups or cruises; but, I am convinced chemistry has a major effect on our experience of any of these activities. That said, this group of passengers just seemed to blend pleasantly and instantly. Cheryl mentioned that she noticed the "feel" within the first hour or two. The conviviality was truly palpable on board.

A year previously this same itinerary had really bad weather (wind and cold and rain and high seas) for almost the whole trip. As Jackie mentioned we really had Chamber of Commerce weather everywhere but Skagway. Relatively warm (50F) temps even in the Gulf od Alaska and Bering Sea IMHO contributed to everyone's enjoyment of this trip.

We agree with everything Jackie already stated but I wanted to throw in a few of my own random pros and cons:


PROs:
- First we'll second the rave reviews of Sujith and Kirk.
- Fresh squeezed orange and grapefruit juice
- Mixed fresh berries until the last day or two
- La Terraza at dinner was one of the best run restaurants in which I've eaten. Soltan's calm, professional control here was evident every time we dined. They changed the menu here twice during the 16 day cruise. The Osso Buco was as good as I've ever had.
- Hot Rocks for us was a unequivocal success. Tafun's control here was superb.
- Buckwheat Pancakes for breakfast
- One night for dinner in the Restaurant, I didn't care for the red wine so I asked if they had a good Cote de Rhone. The sommelier offered two, one more full bodied than the other. The next night in Hot Rocks (I had the fillet) I was asked if I wanted the same Cote de Rhone I'd had the night before in the Restaurant. I thought that was pretty SH.
- Entertainment concept using 6 singers instead of a mix of singers and dancers. I heard SS changed to this some time ago but this was my first experience with this construct and I REALLY liked it. Smaller ships in SS and Regent's fleet don't really lend themselves to "production shows" as much as larger ships; so this idea came off very well IMHO.
- Some of the most attentive (by name) service from all depts (Reception, dining venues, Excursions, Butlers, and even the Boutiques), that we've been fortunate enough to experience.
- Because all of the above is under the supervision of the HD (and I apologize for not remembering his name); I stopped by and spent a few minutes sharing with him what a wonderful crew he working for him.
- Our experience with our Butler, Altamash, added considerably to our enjoyment of this cruise. He took time to get to know his customers (and we didn't have any problem with his afternoon replacement as TC2 did) and provide truly quality service. Cheryl was celebrating a birthday and he had a group of Butlers/Room Attendants come sing Happy Birthday. Linda had indicated she was celebrating her retirement on this cruise. Much to our surprise, he had decorated their room (including a light show) the night we left Ketchikan.

CONs:
- We were with Jackie in both of the La Champagne experiences and agree with her comments completely.
- SS has created a self serve "coffee connection" in the Observation Lounge (see my comments on our Norwegian cruise on Silver Cloud two years ago). While not as easy to use as those on Regent, I could get a cup of coffee or tea at 0530 without calling room service.
- We ate in the Restaurant several times for breakfast and lunch (due to the seas Jackie mentioned and DH's propensity toward Mal de Mer). While the food was quite good it took an incredibly long time to eat. While I don't mind "lingering" at dinner, I wish it had been a bit faster at lunch and breakfast.

After our South American cruise last year I was afraid I'd never get DH on a cruise again. Fortunately, we already had this one booked. And thanks to Silver Shadow's crew and our experience on this cruise; we are back to considering cruising as a vacation option.

A special thanks goes out to Susan Walsh. Due to plane maintenance we missed the ship in Vancouver. Susan worked with me and SS on the fly to get us booked through to Ketchikan, where we could pick up the ship; booked a GREAT hotel in Ketchikan and notified SS so that their security folks were looking for us on the dock in Ketchikan as the ship got the Gangway over.
Greg

Greg,
Enjoyed your report, but am puzzled by your references to Jackies' as I don't see where she posted one on LCT.

Kathy,

I originally posted my review on Cruise Critic and cut and pasted to LCT. Jackie's review (and the follow-on discussion) is on CruiseCritic at:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1922040

I should also add that our ports were:
Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Kodiak, Petropavlovsk, and Hakodate. Only ship tour we did was Petropavlovsk. Rest of the ports were DIY (with the aid of a SS Shuttle bus to town in Hakodate) and were easy DIY ports. I'd be happy to answer any questions. As soon as I clean up my photos I'll put some up and post a link if you're interested.

Greg

Editing to add: We spent four days in Tokyo post cruise and had a great time! We stayed at the New Sanno (must be active duty or retired military or civil service) and it was really nice. Spent one day at the Festival of the Portable Shrines and watching groups perform with Taiko Drums on a large stage set up on a park. Sort of like a County Fair in the US. Went to Hakone for a day (I really recommend this trip if you're in Tokyo for 3 or 4 days). Also, attended a Kabuki play at the Kabuki-za theater near the Ginza. Didn't think I would enjoy this but our guide made it most enjoyable.

Not only a great cruise but a great trip!

Thanks Greg; I should have checked CC before I asked.

Quite a trip is right! We were in Tokyo in 1970 - I can't imagine what it's like now as it was something then!

What did you do in Hakodate? We will be there next year on explorer.

Shadow ran a complimentary "Morning Market Tour with Chef Brisland" But you could do this in your own easily. Only real issue is that the "downtown" is quite a ways from the dock (Shadow ran a free shuttle bus). After walking through the Market we took the tram to the Museum of the Northern Peoples. This museum is focused on the early inhabitants of northern Japan (similar to Alaskan Aleuts and Tlingets). After that we walked up the hill (we just used the city map from the excursion Desk) towards the old British Consulate. Beautiful grounds everywhere. There is a square commemorating Perry's visit to Hakodate. At the top of the hill there is a visitor's center where we got a better map showing the old churches and such in this old area of town. We walked past the Gondola that goes up to the top of Mt. Hakodate (some folks that took it said the views were wonderful). From the base of the Gondola we walked down hill past a large Buddhist Temple to the "old warehouse" district which has been renovated to a large shopping mall are (sort of like Baltimore's inner harbor area). This is near the Market and where our shuttle bus stop was located. All in all a VERY pleasant walk in great weather. One of the hits of our visit was the school children (middle school and High school age) who were our "escorts" through the market place. They provided some translation services and guidance towards where we wanted to go. They greeted our ship on arrival and did the Ika Dance at the dock as we sailed away that evening.

Greg

Sounds great, Greg! I will bookmark this for future reference.