SOLID STERLING CRUISE PERFORMANCE
by Shirley Linde
Its name is Silver Whisper and so, like the lady that it is, the
Whisper quietly shows its class and luxury without being loud or ostentatious.
You notice the first-class operation right away when you step aboard.
You are greeted by the cruise director in full British formal attire
and the officers in their dress whites; the waiters offer you champagne,
and a steward stands by to whisk you to your stateroom. Your bags
have already arrived. From the first day to the last we found the
ship luxurious, the service superb; there was an easy elegance, but
without pretension.
Our suite was magnificent: 1,400 sq. ft. with a separate bedroom
and living room, two bathrooms, a walk-in closet, sliding doors to
a large verandah, and from the bedroom a glorious view through two
huge windows facing forward so you could see the full view ahead.
Shirley
Linde, Gentlemen Hosts® Ken Fassino
and Charlie Foster, and Nancy Reeser |
There was a TV in each room, the main entertainment center in the
living room having a flat screen with the latest DVD, VCR, stereo
components. A Victorian curved lounge sat in front of it for curling
up and watching. There was a dining table with four chairs and a huge
arrangement of fresh flowers, a long desk where I could work, and
a bar with refrigerator supplied every day with ice, fresh fruit,
bottled water, soft drinks, champagne, juices whatever you wanted.
There were two sofas in the living room and one sofa made into a
comfortable bed for an extra person or if your partner snores. And
there was an entryway shared by a second cabin next door so that the
two could be joined into one grand suite for a family or for a corporate
reception suite, or if you were an important government personage
the second room I guess could be for your security forces. We were
told that on a previous cruise Nelson Mandela had our suite, and on
another occasion, Hilary Clinton.
Thank you Silversea!
The Silver Whisper, built in 2001, carries 382 passengers. It is
a sister ship to the Silver Shadow, built in 2000. Silver Cloud and
Silver Wind are smaller with 296 passengers. The officers are Italian,
the crews are international.
Between the ships they have cruises in the Mediterranean, the Baltic,
Scandinavia, Greenland, Iceland, Africa, India, along the east coast
of the U.S., in the Caribbean, Asia, Australia, South Pacific, up
the Amazon and along both coasts of South America. The Maldives, Myanmar,
and Bermuda have been returned as ports of call after several years
absence.
Our cruise sailed from Ft. Lauderdale, a roundtrip 14-day cruise.
Port stops were Basseterre (St. Kitts), Roseau (Dominica), St. George's
(Grenada), Los Roques (a Venezuelan island), Oranjestad (Aruba), Cartagena
(Columbia), Georgetown (Grand Cayman), and Key West.
There are 194 cabins on Silver Whisper. All are outside. Staterooms
are either 287 sq. ft. or 345 sq. ft., and come with or without a
verandah. All have twin-convertible-to-queen beds, walk-in closet,
sitting area, bath with tub and separate shower, refrigerator, TV/VCR,
direct dial telephone, safe, and individual climate control. Some
will accommodate three guests; two are wheelchair accessible. And
there are 21 large suites (they a separate bedroom), ranging from
521 sq. ft. to 1,435 sq. ft. with various configurations.
There is a pool, spa, fitness center, observation lounge, show lounge,
wine and champagne bar, casino, library, hairdresser, self-service
washing machines, dryers, and irons, a computer center with email
access, credit-card-operated fax and telephones, and internet access
from every guest suite. There are guest lecturers, language courses,
bridge tournaments, dance band, shows, folkloric performances and
films. There is a medical center and a doctor on board.
You can go on shore excursions in every port, ignore the shore excursions
and enjoy the ship as its own destination since there is much to do
on board, or you can even ignore all the entertainment and simply
lounge by the pool and read in a deck chair. Whatever you choose,
you find only a few announcements so you can do it in peace and quiet.
There is open seating. Meals were sumptuous. For breakfast and lunch
you could eat in the dining room, or go through a many-choices buffet
and eat in the indoor cafe or on the aft deck (usually too windy when
underway but wonderful when in port). Or you could have a hamburger
or snack at the poolside grill. There was high tea at 4 p.m., followed
later by stone crabs, shrimp, caviar or other delicacy delivered to
your suite and/or appetizers and cocktails in the bar/lounge.
Dinner began at 7:30. There is no smoking in the dining rooms. There
were choices of several hot and cold appetizers, two soups, a salad,
four or five main entrees plus a vegetarian dish, plus a choice of
low cholesterol, low fat, low sodium dishes. Some of the out-of-the-ordinary
dishes you don't usually find on a cruise ship: escargot, frog legs,
octopus, ostrich, or grilled portabello mushrooms as appetizers; for
soup, perhaps a provencale vegetable soup or a chilled Andalusian
gazpacho; for a main course, roast quail stuffed with truffles, poached
rainbow trout, wild boar, Chilean seabass, rabbit, or perhaps grilled
izumi-dai fish filet or Malaysian fish curry for the wok of the day.
If you don't want these or the other choices on the menu, you can
always order steak, lamb chops, or chicken at any meal.
Gentlemen
Hosts® Charles
Foster
and Ken
Fassino
|
By reservation there was another restaurant that served Italian,
French, or Asian cuisine on various nights. Or if you wanted to eat
in your cabin, just call in your order and it will be delivered.
THE DAY-BY-DAY SCHEDULE
Sunday -- The ship left Ft. Lauderdale at 5 in the afternoon, with
a sailaway party on deck at poolside. We met dance hosts Ken Fassino
and Charles Foster and enjoyed the scenery while heading out to sea
while being plied with caviar and champagne by a bevy of waiters.
Then dinner, and dancing after that. A good beginning.
Monday -- A day at sea. The fitness program started at 7:20 and went
all day, offering everything from yoga circuit training to cardio
kick boxing. Their computer system worked well. I was able after a
leisurely breakfast on deck (smell that fresh air!) to access my emails
and be in touch with people at Small Ship Cruises. A big relief. There
are many activities for passengers: golf lessons (followed later by
golf excursions to courses in Cartagena, Grand Cayman and Key West),
computer lessons, a briefing on coming ports of call, a lecture on
the islands, Italian language lessons, shuffleboard competition, bridge,
art history lecture and art auction, dance lessons by the dance hosts,
chess, water volleyball, needlepoint, a movie, an AA meeting. Or you
could indulge yourself at the spa with a seaweed treatment or massage
or even have two therapists working on you simultaneously. And of
course there was always blackjack, roulette and slots in the casino.
How can people who have never cruised think that there is nothing
to do on a ship? Tonight is Captain Angelo Corsaro's welcome aboard
reception, a formal night. After dinner is a Broadway-type show in
the show lounge, followed by late night dancing.
Tuesday -- We are cruising our way St. Kitts, the weather delightful,
the verandah a joy to sit on. The day program is basically the same
as yesterday, with an added table tennis tournament. Tonight is informal;
there is a string quartet concert before dinner, and we have dancing
again before and after dinner. Thank you Silversea for having dance
hosts!
Wednesday -- We arrive in St. Kitts at their newly built pier, near
the main shopping area in the main town of Basseterre. The new scenic
railway was not yet open for a circle of the island, so most passengers
either went on a sail/snorkel catamaran excursion or took a bus excursion
to see the island highlights. Several of us got a taxi and went to
the Golden Lemon Hotel, where Arthur Leamon, an editor with House
and Garden, bought a dilapidated waterfront estate built in 1600 and
converted it into a restaurant, inn, and villas. His friends said
he was buying a lemon, so he painted everything yellow, decorated
with bowls of lemons, and stayed in business 40 years. We get back
to find stone crab appetizers in our suite to stave off starvation
before dinner.
Thursday -- We arrive in the morning in Roseau, Dominica, another
typical mountainous island, the highest peak being some 4,700 ft.
high, often covered in mist. Most passengers went into the interior
of the island to experience the rain forests, either with a hike to
a waterfall or on a tour to explore the island history of the Carib
Indians. Others go on a jeep safari to explore hot springs and a fresh
water mineral lake in the rainforest.
Friday -- Our usual great breakfast on the aft deck, this time looking
out on St. George's, Grenada, the Spice Island. And indeed most of
us bought nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, and cocoa from vendors
on the island. One tour involved a spice estate and a hike to a waterfall;
another was a snorkeling and beach outing. This was about the time
I caught my cold and found one more example of Silversea extraordinary
service. My son, an expert in herbs, emailed me that I would likely
be helped by a tea of fresh ginger and the white part of scallions.
I mentioned it as I went to dinner and when I went back to the suite
there was the fresh ginger, scallions, a tureen of hot water and a
little honey to sweeten it. Thank you Silversea. (By the way, ginger
is also great to take if you tend to be seasick.)
Saturday -- This was a beach day. We anchored out and took the tender
to a beautiful white sand beach at Los Roques National Park, Venezuela,
one of 50 islands in the park. It was great for walking and swimming.
There was a 12-mile barrier reef for snorkelers and divers, and many
little lizards scurrying around for the rest of us. No dancing this
evening for me; I had another pot of tea and went to bed.
Sunday -- We docked in Oranjestad, Aruba in the morning. Some took
an island bus tour that included a butterfly farm, and others went
for an underwater excursion in an Atlantis submarine to see some fish
the lazy way. Vision was not good through the portholes, and the p.a.
system was distorted. I do not recommend this excursion. That night
a barbecue dinner on deck was scheduled, but it rained, so we had
a buffet line going through the kitchen and ate in the dining room.
Monday -- Another day at sea, with the many choices from Italian
language lessons to bridge games, golf lessons, dance lessons, or
a culinary demonstration on food and wine by the executive chef, pastry
chef, and head sommelier. This was our second formal night. The ginger
and scallions worked, my cold is gone, the band played in the dining
room so we were able to enjoy dancing before, during, and after dinner.
Tuesday -- Cartegena! I love this town. We docked in the morning
and took a tour of the city, including the famous fort Castillo San
Felipe de Barajas, once the most important military structure in Latin
America, and walked through the old city, the buildings having great
massive doors and New-Orleans-like flower-filled balconies. Shopping
was excellent with many native-made crafts. I bought coffee and vanilla
for my gourmet-cook sons. The only drawback to the tours were the
persistent beggars, mostly chased away by the tour guide, but still
unpleasant encounters.
Wednesday -- A day at sea as we started cruising back northward again.
We have gotten used to the breakfasts on deck and the cruise director's
"It's a glorrrious morning!" Today there is a wine-tasting
class, and more water volleyball, and another dance class (the group
can handle rhumba and merengue pretty well now). Passengers were invited
to the bridge to visit, and many also went to the spa for a massage
or other treatment.
Thursday -- It's Thanksgiving! And what better way to spend it than
visiting another Caribbean island. This day was Grand Cayman. We anchored
off and tendered into Georgetown. Some people took a tour of the island
and saw the turtle farm and sting ray city where you could swim with
sting rays; others enjoyed the beach or went shopping or had a Caribbean
lunch on shore. That night at dinner there was wonderful mushroom
soup with sun-dried tomatoes followed by a traditional Thanksgiving
turkey with old-fashioned bread stuffing, but others could not resist
the rack of lamb or the salmon.
Friday -- Our last day at sea, and the third and last formal night
for Captain Corsaro's farewell reception. The usual groups got together
whether for volleyball, golf or yoga, and we have our last dance class.
Chanukah service was held before dinner. I noticed for the first time
the elegant box on the table at the entrance of the dining room, opened
it and found two dozen pairs of glasses in case you needed them to
read the menu. Talk about the extra touch!
Saturday -- We arrived in Key West, docking at Mallory Square, the
place where crowds gather each evening at sunset. People take the
trolley car for a tour around the town, stroll around to see Mel Fisher's
museum of salvaged treasure and the homes and hangouts of Ernest Hemingway,
Tennessee Williams, Robert Frost, Thornton Wilder, Harry Truman, or
shop, or take one of the excursions available at the harbor such as
the hour ride in a World War II PT Boat. After dinner we have our
farewell dances and say goodbye to the crew and passengers that we
have met. (Most passengers were from the United States, many from
Great Britain, plus small numbers from other places in the world.)
One of the amazing things we had learned was that 60 percent of passengers
are repeaters, and there is only a 20% turnover in crew. The result,
according to hotel director Giuseppe Bagnato, is that passengers recognize
crew members and passengers feel like family. One woman had been on
Silversea cruises for a total of 490 days.
IF YOU GO
While we were on board, Silversea Cruises had just been named again
the World's Best Small Ship Cruise Line by Conde Nast Traveler (the
seventh consecutive year and the company just started operating in
1994). Silversea has also been selected four times as the best small
ship line by Travel & Leisure. (The Small Ship category in the
cruise industry is considered vessels carrying fewer than 500 passengers.)
Most scheduled cruises on Silversea are 7 or 14 day cruises, with
some as long as 34 days. But you can also book on their unique Personalized
Voyage program. This program was first announced for 2003 voyages
aboard Silver Cloud, now is available aboard all Silversea vessels.
With this program you can start and finish your cruise wherever you
wish among a selection of about 200 ports.
Typical fares for Silversea cruises: Seven-day cruise-only fares
start at $2,571; 14-day fares start at $6,740 per person double occupancy.
Fares include port charges, all beverages in your mini-bar and throughout
the ship and all gratuities. Spa services, phone and Internet, and
shore excursions are extra. There is a 5 - 25 percent discount for
booking and paying in advance. Past guests save 5 to 10 percent on
certain sailings. And occasionally there are special offers of 25
to 50 percent off.
© Small
Ship Cruises
|
 Shirley
Linde is editor and cofounder of Small Ship Cruises,
the biggest website in the world on small ships. Small Ship
Cruises' writers have traveled on ships all over the world so
that the information on their website comes from personal in-depth
research and hands-on experience. Linde's article, "SOLID
STERLING CRUISE PERFORMANCE", was originally published
on WWW.SMALLSHIPCRUISES.COM
in February 2003. It has been reprinted here with their permission.
|
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