I knew I was going to like Silversea Cruises’ new Silver Whisper as soon as I stepped into our suite.
Our stateroom, like all others, had a walk-in closet. Our bathroom was equipped with double sinks as well as a tub and separate shower–notice, not EITHER a tub or shower, but BOTH.
Beyond the sitting area with its plush sofa and chairs was a veranda, a nice place to read a book or enjoy a cocktail while gazing at the restless sea. The mini-bar was pre-stocked with sodas and liquor of our choice, and canapes were delivered to our suite every day at 4 p.m. Sometimes it was hard to leave our room.
But, of course we did, and found the rest of the ship just as elegant as our stateroom. Soft colors and rich woods gave the public rooms a warm feeling, and we never had to memorize fancy names for ship spaces. The decks were numbered, not named, the bar was simply The Bar, the restaurant was The Restaurant, the spa was The Spa, The Humidor was the cigar smokers’ den, the Terrace Cafe had a terrace and the Panoroma Lounge indeed provided a panoramic view.
The Silver Whisper, the newest and largest of Silversea’s fleet of four tony ships, is Silversea’s new flagship. It entered service this past summer in Europe, visited South Florida briefly and now is in South America for a season of sailing where the seasons are reversed. It and its sister ship, the Silver Shadow, are the line’s largest vessels, but with a maximum of 382 passengers they’ll never threaten today’s giant cruise ships, which can carry more than 3,000.
Which is how its guests like it. Luxury cruises do not come cheaply, and Silver Whisper’s clientele are discriminating yet very down-to-earth people, we learned.
“It’s not the money, it’s the people,” said John Collingwood of Sulphur, La., explaining why he found fellow passengers stimulating. “They don’t have a closed mind. They can be at opposite poles, but they don’t get mad at each other.”
Such people, paying up to $850 per day per person for their cruise, demand a certain level of excellence, and they get it aboard the Silver Whisper.
First, they demand service that is several cuts above that on mainstream ships. Our cabin attendant, a young Italian woman, was always around with a happy smile, making sure our needs were met. Dining room waiters did their job with skill and pleasantry, even knowing that tipping is a no-no on all Silversea ships. A room service meal was just as fine as the restaurant’s, and if they said it would be there in 10 minutes, it was.
We generally took a buffet breakfast in the Terrace Cafe, which transformed itself in the evening to an elegant, reservations-only alternative restaurant. We often took lunch on the pool deck, and I thought it was sort of incongruous–considering that people were in shorts or bathing suits–that waiters stood by to carry our plate of hot dogs, potato salad or whatever to our table, just as they did in the dining room. A nice touch, though.
In the evening, we took most of our meals in the dining room, where the menu was inventive, the food excellently prepared, the choices broad and the service impeccable. I was particularly impressed with a cannelloni that was delicate in taste and texture. Lifting an ordinary dish like this one to such heights was, I think, the mark of a good chef.
Complimentary wines of high quality were served with lunch and dinner, with the sommelier choosing ones to complement the entrees. But passengers could order different selections if they chose, also complimentary. Bottles of rarer wines like the grand crus, however, carried charges that ran as high as $785 a bottle. Yes, there were people who ordered them.
We also dined only once in the alternative restaurant, which, on ships that have them, usually offers higher quality food and service. We came away not fully satisfied with this one, whose service was less than attentive. But that was our only disappointment on the entire cruise.
In the Mandara spa, on the other hand, services (for a fee) were keyed to a high level. Businessmen breaking away from their workday gruel might go for an Executive Men’s Facial to smooth out those pinstripe worries. Women could luxuriate in a “Javanese Honey Steam Wrap” treatment, or go for a Hot Lava Rock Massage, in which spa personnel massage clients’ bodies with steamed lava stones covered with a blend of rich cocoa butter.
Onboard diversions ran along traditional lines. Books, magazines, games and movie videotapes were available in the library. Daily bridge games attracted several tables of players. Trivia quizzes, musical and otherwise, were popular, and in the evening we enjoyed pre-dinner and post-dinner shows in the two-story show lounge. Other than the fitness room and the pool, there were few activities for more active passengers. Shore excursions, too, were more geared to the older travelers the ship caters to.
But, as on most cruises, a lot of attention was centered on ports of call. On this cruise, we were given the unusual opportunity to spend three days and two nights in St. Petersburg, Russia, longer than most other ships stay. This gave us the chance to see much more of the fabulous palaces of this former Russian capital than is usually possible on shorter stays.
It also was the port where Silversea provided The Silversea Experience, a complimentary shoreside event that the line offers on selected cruises. In this case, the “experience” was a gala dinner and concert one evening at Pavlovsk Palace, which Catherine the Great gave to her son, the future Czar Paul I.Visiting Russia was the highlight of the cruise, but we also called at several other ports, including Gdansk, Poland, where we found the best store bargains of our Baltic Sea cruise. A port call at Zeebrugge, Belgium, gave us a chance to visit Ghent, a short train ride away and buy some of the lace for which Belgium is known. At Rostock, a German port on the Baltic Sea, we opted for a day trip to Berlin, a 2 1/2-hour train ride away–too short for a meaningful visit to the German capital, now one of the most resurgent cities of Europe.
That’s a minor complaint, though. On sum, Silversea gave us an experience well above what we’ve had on any other ship.
It doesn’t get any better.
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The Silver Whisper is in South America for a series of sailings. For more information, conact a travel agent, or Silversea Cruises, 800-774-9996. Web site is www.silversea.com
