Silver Discoverer Review

5.0 / 5.0
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Terrific expeditions but ship needs work

Review for Australia & New Zealand Cruise on Silver Discoverer
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melmike
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

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Sail Date: May 2014

I've always wanted to see the Kimberley but balked at the price of the cruises, looking at Orion and True North. When we heard about the Silver Discoverer we decided it was going to be worth the (extremely high) cost. After all, not only is it all-inclusive (alcohol and gratuities) but all excursions are included. And it's Silversea.

We had high expectations for our 10 day Darwin to Broome cruise, as this is a newly leased and re-badged ship for Silversea. It came out of drydock in Singapore only at the beginning of the year and had, I think, 3 or 4 journeys before ours. From the official website: "And she has been newly refurbished to help guests maximize their experience…"

So you would expect a spotless and immaculate ship, right? Unfortunately, wrong.

Cabin Review

Cabin Vista

When choosing a cabin, we realised that the View (16.8sq m) would be too claustrophobic, and while the Veranda sounded great at 32sq m, the room itself was 26sq m, which was almost the same size as the Vista at 25sq m. So the balcony was about 6sq m, which is tiny in anyone's language. And it was considerably more money, so we passed on the balcony and were very glad we did. It would have been a very expensive way to dry clothes. So we were happy with the size of Vista Suite 653, and the location was good, too. The bathroom was a decent size for one person at a time, with an adequate shower stall. This was a big complaint from guests in smaller suites: apparently the shower stalls are so small it's hard to turn around.

But our cabin disappointed for many reasons, all of which could have been rectified and should not have been an issue in (a) a Silversea vessel and (b) a newly refurbished vessel.1) Between the wardrobes and the bedroom area there was previously a curtain. The old hooks were still swinging freely. These took 10 minutes to remove when brought to the attention of the hotel manager, but why where they still there after a refurbishment?2) Behind the TV (which pulls off the wall) were large dirty handprints. Probably from the installers of the TV. So after a launch and 3 cruises, no one checked?3) One bedside lamp was held together with putty. 4) The emergency sign was stuck onto the back of the door over what was obviously a bigger sign, so the marks of the previous one were obvious. Tacky.5) Large marks and scratches in the walls/ceilings in various places.6) Metal pins in the wall had been puttied over (badly) and touched up with paint (badly).7) The bathroom door squeaked VERY LOUDLY – especially annoying in the middle of the night. All it needed was a squirt of WD40. Why did no butler or room attendant have this fixed in the month she was at sea, before we complained? (For that matter, did no previous guest complain about it?)8) Overall cleanliness of the cabin was sadly lacking. They sent a team in to fix on the second day.

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