This was supposed to be an “Ultra Luxury cruise with a sophiticated ambience with like minded travellers”. Instead Silversea sold two group bookings so that out of a maximum capacity when full of 380 passengers over 270 were group bookings. The larger group was over 220. If this wasn’t bad enough, the group were low earning commission agents who were a part of a multi-level network marketing group, the average earning’s being reported in the press as being less than £10 weekly. Not wanting to seem like snob, but clearly not really suitable demographics for mingling with Silversea’s normal Venetian Society clientelle.

It’s a wonderful thing for them that they had the opportunity of experiencing a once in a lifetime cruise line that they will probably never otherwise afford or experience. But a free cruise for them with being offered unlimited free alcohol on demand 24/7 was predictably not going to wrok out well for Silversea’s normal remaining customers. The passengers, drank and drank and drank. They fell off of their bar stools and needed carrying back to their suites by Silversea security people. Many could barely stand. Few could walk around the ship,without a glass in their hand. They poured champagne over their balcony railings into the sea and slid down stair bannisters. There was nowhere to escape from them and Silversea did nothing to minimise the upset this caused other passengers. In fact the reverse. They carved out bigger tables in the main dining room and resetved them for the crowd leaving a few tables for the rest of us “ordinary” passengers. They took over the whole of the ship as one huge 24 hour party venue. “Club Tropicana where the drinks are free”. Our wider experience of the ship and ameneties were somewhat curtailed because we spent much longer in the suite than we had planned to.

The staff on the whole coped as best they could. But the combination of the overhwelming number of the group booking combined with inexperience neant that the cre were overwhelmed and sometimes they thought we were a part of the large group simply because we were Brits. My wife was once told "You English can certainly put it away" by a barman when she wanted two colas. We didn't bother with any of the orgnaised tours so cannot rate them. Read more