SILVER WHISPER - SILVERSEA
Silver Whisper - Silversea - Luxury Travel Magazine
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Just a Whisper Away | |||||
| By: Michael Gebicki, Issue 38 – Autumn 2009 | |||||
| (Silver Whisper – Silversea) | |||||
| A LUXURY SILVERSEA CRUISE LEAVES A LASTING IMPRESSION. | |||||
| Over nine million tourists visited Croatia in 2007, more than 70,000 of them were Australian. The 2008 figures are sure to be higher, judging by the number of Australians we ran into on our recent trip. | |||||
| Give or take a month or two, it’s taken 42 years to get me back on board a cruise ship. The psychological scar tissue from that 1966 voyage from San Francisco to Sydney lingers on. I recall a dark and airless inner cabin, a lingering smell of drains everywhere, a narrow bed, and bread rolls that we teen terrors used to hurl at one another. It’s time. I’m dipping my toe in the water so to speak, with a three-night cruise from Cebu in the southern Philippines, to Hong Kong. Not exactly intrepid, but enough to see whether cruising and I are made for one another. “Champagne sir?” I’ve just stepped up the gangplank and it’s already obvious that cruising has changed somewhat. Naturally, I’ve chosen a ship with care. Silver Whisper first hit the water in 2001, a product of Norwegian architects and Italian shipbuilding finesse. With a length of 186m, a beam of 25m, and a gross tonnage of 28,250, she’s a minnow compared with the mega ships of many rival cruise lines. This is typical of Silversea’s sixship fleet, which are all smallish vessels that are big on comfort, style and amenities. One statistic that you need to pay attention to when you choose a cruise ship is the space-to-passenger ratio – the vessel’s gross tonnage divided by its passenger capacity. With a capacity of 382 passengers, this gives the Silver Whisper a figure of 74. This is phenomenal. These days, a space-to-passenger of 35 is about the norm for a luxury cruise ship. Some of the tonier lines such as Holland America, Crystal Cruises and Seabourn nudge into a space/passenger ratio in the 40s or even low 50s. But 74 is truly astonishing. No other cruise line even comes close. What does it mean? It means that I never have to wait for a computer when I go to check my email, that I can always get a window seat in La Terrazza when I sit down for breakfast, that I can lounge by the pool in a teak recliner without bodies in close proximity if I want to, and that I don’t play bumper cars with other people on my morning jog even when the ship is rolling. It means I don’t have to queue to leave the ship when she ties up in Manila, and that after day one the smiling man behind the espresso machine on the pool deck knows how I like my coffee and when. Guest suites are poshly elegant. Mine is a Verandah Suite, which is by far the majority of the eight suite categories. Regardless of which suite you choose, everyone gets a view. There is no such thing as an inside cabin. There’s a queen-size bed with a choice of pillows, which can be divided by curtains from the sitting area, which has a small but comfy couch, an armchair, a flat-screen TV and writing desk. There’s a bottle of French champagne, which is replenished when I pop the cork, and a mini-bar stocked with soft drinks, beer and some spirits. Beyond are sliding picture windows that open to my private balcony. The marble-panelled bathroom has double sinks, a bath separate from the shower and Bulgari bath condiments. There’s also a walk-in dressing room with heaps of storage space. It feels like a plush room from one of the better American stables: Ritz-Carlton, if I had to put a name to it. There’s a lot to like about the Silver Whisper’s dining arrangements. All bases are pretty much covered, with a choice of a fine dining room that also happens to be the only Wine Restaurant by Relais & Châteaux at sea; the mod French-style The Restaurant; the light, bright and beautiful La Terrazza; poolside snacks and lunch and 24/7 in-suite dining. Better still, passengers are not shoehorned into assigned dining times or tables. Show up when you want to and sit where you like and with whom you choose. About twice a week there are formal nights, theoretically a black tie event for those who wish to attend evening cocktails and the formal dinner in The Restaurant, but those who decline will not starve. Although there are plenty of tuxedos, a charcoal-grey suit gets me through the door of The Restaurant, although the maitre d’ consigns my elegantly attired female dining partners and I to a corner of the uncrowded restaurant that is clearly Siberia. A standout is the daily High Tea, when tiers of dainty sandwiches, pastries, cakes and biscuits decorate the tables of La Terrazza. I must confess I attended High Tea with scrupulous regularity. The clientele is overwhelmingly between 50 and 70, well travelled and well off. Americans are in the ascendant, but there’s a sizeable contingent of Brits, a dozen or so Aussies and a sprinkling of nationalities, predominantly from the white, English-speaking bits of the planet. Many are repeat clients. One couple that started cruising with Silversea three years ago has already notched up close to 400 days at sea. The gold medal on this particular cruise went to another couple, with over 900 days aboard Silversea ships. The Silversea fleet has an all-inclusive tariff. Meals, drinks, activities, the Champagne and mini bar goodies in your room are all covered. There’s also a no-tips policy. Extras that might appear on your final bill include shore excursions, internet time and phone calls, and meals at the fine dining room, Le Champagne. Is it worth it? A seven-day cruise from Athens to Venice in late July starts at US$5,945 (AU$9,289) per person. Not exactly cheap, but then reasonable value for a full-gloss tour of the classical Med in peak season. However there are some nifty bargains around in the cruise market these days, and especially at the top end of the market. On September 12, for example, Silver Whisper departs on a seven-day voyage from Istanbul to Athens with Marmaris, Symi, Volos and Nafplion on the itinerary, with fares starting at US$3,497 (AU$5,464). Now that’s cruising. | |||||
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