Today we welcome guest blogger, Anthony Nicholas to The Cruise Line blog as he shares with us his recent supreme voyage with Silversea Cruises.
Starting in Stockholm aboard Silver Whisper, Anthony’s seven day Baltic itinerary included Copenhagen via Tallinn, St Petersburg, where he spent three days, followed by a call to Helsinki before disembarking in Copenhagen.
It is evident from Anthony’s piece that 6-star luxury is only the beginning when cruising with Silversea. The onboard experience and small number of guests merging seamlessly with exciting days ashore sets the tone for what is sure to be an unforgettable voyage, every time.
Silversea Supreme
The beds alone are dream destinations by themselves. With fine, high count cotton sheets and an extensive pillow menu in every room, the Silversea attitude towards a good night’s sleep is typical of the line’s all-embracing approach to the concept of total, all inclusive luxury from breakfast to bedtime each day.
It begins with a red carpeted gangway and a welcoming glass of champagne. From there, a Silversea cruise unfolds into a magnificent montage of stunning experiences ashore, married to a sense of calm, quietly spectacular luxury on board that raises the bar way above the average.
Silversea is as much defined by the things it omits from the onboard experience as by what it includes; there is an almost total absence of loudspeaker announcements. With an all-embracing, all inclusive drinks policy, there are no bar checks to sign. And, best of all, with guest numbers on board varying between 290 and a maximum of 540, you can forget crowds, lining up, or any other kind of time wasting inconvenience.
Silversea is also rightly famed for its open seating, sumptuous, beautifully served on board cuisine. Where else could you have steak and champagne for breakfast on your own private balcony as you sail into magical Manhattan, or past some of the jaw dropping sights of ancient, alluring Myanmar? The dining room is open seating for all main meals, and sometimes features atmospheric dinner dances on evenings at sea. Spanning the full width of each ship, it offers up a conga line of culinary triumphs in a magnificent setting, where a table for two can just as easily become a table for twelve.
Silversea also offers the outdoor Hot Rocks experience, which allows guests to cook their own choice of meats alfresco on a volcanic hot plate. This same area serves as a sumptuous outdoor breakfast and lunch buffet venue, with most food items cooked to order.
At the highest point aft, La Terazza overlooks the stern of the ship, with a fabulous breakfast menu that includes crepes, waffles and eggs cooked to order, and both indoor and outdoor seating. Fresh fruit, healthy options and full cooked breakfasts can be enjoyed here, washed down with cups of piping hot coffee served up at tableside. This is a particularly wonderful way to start the day. At night, this becomes a popular, a la carte dinner options that is reservations only, but again at no extra fee.
Public rooms are subtle, understated and oozing with rich, warm Italian styling. Sundowner cocktails and a side order of cool, mellow jazz are the prelude to a spectacular dinner, with a small, highly styled casino and some late night piano music, plus the occasional disco for the night owls. Cabaret shows tend to be intimate, and usually interact with the audience; an experience a million miles removed from conventional cruising.
Every room is a suite, and most have private balconies. Even the smallest are at least twice the size of the biggest mainstream cruise ship rooms, and come complete with marble bathrooms, plush bathrobes, and gorgeous Bvlgari toiletries as standard. There are expansive sitting areas with plasma screen televisions and, naturally, a fully stocked, complimentary mini bar.
Silversea is the very essence of ease, excellence and warm, gracious intimacy. The ships are usually svelte and nimble enough to dock in the best spots to access the scenic stand out points of any itinerary, from Saigon to Saint Petersburg. And little extras, such as in suite umbrellas, superb butlers and free in town shore shuttles, all help to raise the Silversea experience to a stratospheric level of excellence.
If you would like to know more about Silversea Cruises then please give one of our cruise experts a call on 0800 008 6677. You can also view our Silversea packages and tours collection which is EXCLUSIVE to us.
