Greetings from somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, from Crystal, Beth and Sharon. Uneventful flights to Lisbon. Beth and mom thought they’d lost their luggage, but the belt revved up again, and there it was! The Lapa Palace, where Beth, Sharon and Mom stayed, was lovely—way up there among the best. Crystal was at Janelas Verdes (if I’m remembering the name right), which was very charming. And right next to the Antiquities Museum, where we spent our first afternoon. Some interesting exhibits of glassware, silver, furniture and, oh yes, paintings.

We then had drinks at the honor bar in the garden at Crystal’s hotel. We later realized that the upstairs bar had a perfect view of the pier, where the Silver Wind already was docked. Then, dinner at the bar at the Lapa topped the night. Not sure what time zone we were in, we declared it an early evening and turned in.

Next morning, after breakfast at our respective hotels, we took the Silversea excursion around Lisbon. The sog tour. Yes, it rained—at times hard—through most of the day. Lots of drive-bys. Crossed the bridge, which strongly resembles the Golden Gate, and saw the Christ the King statue---pretty much like the famous one in Brazil. Then went to Jeronemus Cathedral. Lots of dead people. Went to Belem Tower. Beth put on her sunglasses as a sign of hope, and sure enough the sun appeared. We were then able to get out of the bus in a dry state to see the Monument to the Discoveries. Very impressive. Then off to board the ship. A quick and painless process.

For RSSC loyalists, Silversea is very familiar. We think the same person designed the cabins and bought the furniture. They look just like the cabins on the Mariner. Nice ship overall. Food is excellent. Service has some occasional misses, but it’s mostly hits. The cruise line has much to recommend it.

The first night was choppy seas. A lot of people were sick, including Sharon. Camilla, the stewardess, took good care of her. Half the crew, many of whom had first joined the ship in Lisbon, were in the same boat. So to speak.

First port was Oporto, where Beth had arranged a private tour with a British expat now living in Portugal. He drove us around Oporto, pointing out the sites. Saw some impressive tile work in the train station and on buildings all over town. Went into a church filled with gilded woodwork---truly amazing. It was quite a little find, tucked away in a little square hidden behind a passageway. Went on the Six Bridges riverboat ride—a nice ride. Then a tour of a port wine lodge, complete with tasting. Also interesting. Our guide, Peter Evens (company called Portgolf Tours) was excellent. We’ll do a write-up under Private Guide when we get back.

Today is our one day at sea. Crystal had a massage—very nice. The others sat through a so-called lecture on detox for weight loss. Was really a sales pitch. Yawn.

We’re hiding from a lecture on gems right now (suspecting it of being a sales talk) Wine tasting in a bit---we won’t be hiding from that.

P.S., for those who are aware of my little dispute with Silversea, it has been resolved to my satisfaction.

Hi Crystal! I am glad everyone and every thing made it to Lisbon! It sounds like you are off to a good start, thanks for checking in and have a wonderful cruise!

Thanks Crystal! So happy you 3 are off to such a good start. Continue enjoying and keep checking in with us!!

Thanks for checking in, Crystal. So glad things were resolved with the ship and the three of you are enjoying the Song reunion.

Keep up the sea mail as time permits. Just remember .. you'll need to taste those wines for all of us!

Cheers, Anne

Crystal,
Thanks for your report! You all keep having fun!!

Sounds like you are off to a great start, Crystal! Enjoy and have fun - Joanna

Crystal, have a great time! I will be interested to hear when you get back if you have preference as between RSSC and SS.
---------------------------
Helen

Thanks for the seamail, Crystal!!

Masaki

Sorry to have been such a lazy correspondent. Been having a great time. We are currently en route from Morocco to Lanzerote—the first of the Canary Islands. Alas, only two days left on the cruise.

There’s much to like about Silversea. Here’s a bit of a side by side comparison of SS and RSSC—strictly my view and not necessarily shared by the other LCTers on board.

Cabins: Very comparable in size and layout (comparing the first level of balcony cabins on each). Décor and furniture are almost exactly the same, as is room layout and size. The bathrooms are a bit smaller on SS, and it’s a tub/shower combo. I do prefer the separate shower setup of Navigator and Voyager. But the vanity setup on SS is better—there’s a medicine cabinet where you can tuck away your goods, as opposed to the open shelf on RSSC ships.

Therefore, on cabins, I’d score both equal,

Public spaces: Again, the two lines are very similar in appearance. The Silver Wind is a bit less worn than the RSSC ships I’ve been on more recently, but all that can be attributed to the timing of refurbishing. No tacky art auctions on this ship—thank heavens—but then there weren’t on the Navigator either. I don’t know if SS does them on its larger ships.

The Bar is very much the social center of the ship. The past couple of evenings they’ve run out of seats. You don’t see that on RSSC. But, as RSSC goes all-inclusive, I’m willing to bet that people will be gathering more in the lounges.

Due to the ship having a social center that works, I give the advantage on public spaces to SS.

Food: The food on the Silver Wind, in the main dining room, is excellent—noticeably above anything I’ve experienced on RSSC (and I like RSSC’s food). We haven’t tried the alternative Italian restaurant yet, so can’t comment on that. Nor have we tried Saletto—not really interested in paying an extra $150 for dinner.

SS wins on the food in the main restaurant. RSSC wins on alternative venues, if only because it doesn’t charge for them.

Beverages: The wines poured at meals tend to be a little pedestrian on this ship, though they’ve branched out more the past couple of nights. RSSC does tend to experiment more. And sometimes those experiments flop, but I give them points for trying. And SS tends to be a little stingy with the wine. You don’t get the magically always-full glass here that you do on RSSC. Score to RSSC on the wines. Bar drinks on SS are a good selection, and of course it’s all-inclusive, so score to SS on that front (though RSSC will be catching up next year).

Service: Kudos to both lines on this front—the service is superb. A few misses here and there, particularly a couple of nights in the dining room, but overall the staff is pleasant, hard-working and personable. For both lines, this is their greatest asset. It’s a wash on the scoring on this.

Shore excursions: This may be an apples to oranges comparison, as different routes are going to have different experiences re the ship’s excursions. But the ones I’ve seen so far on SS have been more about getting you to shopping venues than to seeing actual sights. Yesterday was the most egregious—everyone was clearly fascinated by the goats in the trees outside Agadir (they climb the argon trees to eat the fruit), but we had to ask to get the bus to stop, and then the guide was clearly irritated and rushed us along. He was in a great hurry to get us to the markets where he could collect his commission on any shopping we might do. While there was a little bit of this on the RSSC Asia tour last year, the RSSC staff had the grace to be apologetic about it, explaining that the host country pretty much required the shopping stops. Score to RSSC on shore excursions.

The little things: Laundry facilities on this ship are awful. Three poor quality machines—at least one of which is broken at any given time—for the whole ship, and limited operating hours. RSSC does this much better. Phone system was just changed, and the instructions in the rooms are for the old system, so using the phones has been a problem. Towels and toiletries on SS are great—waffle towels and Bulgari toiletries.

Problem solving: We’re talking front office here. I’ve run into problems with both lines that involved dealing with the front office. RSSC dealt with it efficiently, satisfactorily, and graciously. SS was more a fight, and while giving satisfaction in the end, it did so grudgingly. Point to RSSC for the front office.

All in all, each line has its strengths and not-so-strong points. Either would be a great choice for future cruising. On balance, I’ll probably stay with RSSC now that it’s gone all-inclusive, if for no other reason than a reasonable single supplement on most sailings.

Great comparison, Crystal! Thanks for sharing that. We love RSSC but may be looking at SS in the future. Linda & Larry

Crystal, that was a wonderful, well-written comparison! The only thing I might add is, the Wind & Cloud have tub-shower combination, but the Whisper & Shadow (newer ships) have separate tub and corner shower, probably quite similar to Navigator & Voyager.

I am very pleased to hear from both you and Todd (who was just on the Shadow) that they have gone back to Bulgari toiletries - our last sailing, they were using Acqua di Parma.

Thanks again, and enjoy your final days on the Wind!

Crystal, what kind of champagne are they serving?

Hi Crystal,

Thanks for your report and comparision, which was very well written.

I hope you continue to enjoy the remainder of the cruise!

Thanks Crystal for taking the time to post that review - Joanna

Great reporting Crystal, I enjoy reading the differences between SS and RSSC. Continue having fun!

Crystal,
Thanks for the review. Our first cruise was on the Silver Wind in 1998, and we loved it.

I agree when Regent goes all inclusive the lounges should have a lot more people in them and be much more fun. The entertainment in the Regent lounges is good and I have felt bad for the musicians and singers when so few people were there to hear them.

Merril

Hi All,

Just back home from the cruise. Thanks to Crystal for sending the great seamail. We were so busy enjoying the ports and seadays (some self-imposed... will talk to that later) we didn't get around to more seamail. As Crystal said, there is much to like about the Wind: her size, the staff and crew, the food and all-inclusiveness.

I'll gather my thougths and work on a review in the next week or so.

Good to be home..... going to unpack and begin the dreaded laundry!

Beth, welcome back to reality! LOL We look forward to your review as well.

Welcome home, Beth!
Looking forward to your review!

Welcome back, Beth! Can't wait to hear all about it!!!

Crystal,
Thanks for such a well thought out and comprehensive comparison between the two. It is always nice to hear someone else's views. So glad it all worked out well in the end.