Since we won't have continuous internet service, I am going to give ship's phone number to family whilst we are gone. The docs state to use the international dialing code 011 before the 954 area code; this doesn't make sense to me as 954 is a standard Ft Lauderdale area code.

Has anyone called the Silver Explorer before? Was dialing the same as any other domestic number? Was it a free call (i.e., included minutes)? Have family been able to get you a message calling the ship directly?

thanks,

Marc

Marc not an expert on long distance calling but I believe 011 is the code for the USA and what is put in front of the local number when calling from overseas. The phone will not be free and probably quite expensive. Trying to call a ship directly would be difficult and not even sure if that number would be availabl to a guest. If it was an emergency they should call us and we will contact Silversea who could get a message to the ship OR call Silversea directly.

Marc - You're right that dialing 011 before 954 doesn't seem to make sense, as 011 is the code used before a foreign country code when dialing from the U.S. to a number abroad. 001 is used when calling to the U.S. from aboard, as 00 is the access for international lines and 1 is the country code for the U.S. It appears that Silversea is confused about its own system.

In any event, another option for emergency calls to the ship from the U.S. is to have your family use the Dial A Ship system suggested on the Silversea website:

http://dialaship.com/

Silversea participates in the system, along with many other cruiselines, including Regent. We've tried it with Regent; and it worked well. The caller needs to have a credit card to make the call. Otherwise, one simply follows the prompts after dialing the toll-free number to choose the correct ship. The procedure is described on the Dial A Ship website.

If you are not certain that it will work when the ship is in a remote area, you could give it a try when Silver Explorer is somewhere remote. When I used it with Regent, the ship was not in a remote area.

Cheers, Fred

Freddie, thanks. I knew about 011 for accessing USA when in foreign country; Silversea also lists 99 in their documents. In fact, the full statement in the docs is:



Caps and punctuation are exactly as shown in documents. I think I will use Ngaire's office as contact number,

Marc, the number you have listed seems odd to me to be a direct line to the ship. I am wondering if that is a number to the silversea office in ft. Lauderdale which could then contact the ship in an emergency.

Marc,
Our docs for Nome to Fiji give the number 888-722-3562 from the US to call the ship directly using a credit card.
Jim

Jim - That number is the Dial A Ship number for Silversea. As I mentioned in my post to Marc, the system worked quite well for Regent last fall.
Fred