Silversea Cruises
Silver Whisper Cruise Review
Athens to Rome

Just Returned From Silver Whisper-FABULOUS!!
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My husband and I were on Silver Wind ten years ago and had the trip of our lifetime. I never thought it could be repeated again. But it was! Another trip of a lifetime on Silversea!

We were on a 9 day cruise – June 6-15 to Greek Islands, Sicily and Italy.

Of course the ports were wonderful, but I am not going to review the ports since everyone chooses an itinerary based on their own preferences. My objective is to discuss our experience on Silversea.

From the moment we boarded the ship - The service was incredible!! Every staff person always greeted us and had big smiles on their faces.

Woke up very early every morning  - and ordered cappuccino delivered to our rooms. Ten minutes later it would arrive and placed on our balcony with fine linens and china. 24 hour room service - you can order anything to eat or drink. Ordered drinks at 2:00 a.m. and same efficient and quick service.

Then we would go to La Terrazza for buffet breakfast when it opened. Huge wonderful assortment of breakfast items, juices, fresh omelet station, fresh fruit station with staff cutting the fruit. etc. – Glasses for juices were chilled.
The attention to this kind of detail was evident in everything they did on the ship.
Then you could have pancakes, waffles etc., prepared for you.

I am not a breakfast eater- so ordered lamb chops, with wild mushrooms and ice tea every morning. (Asked for fresh pineapple slice in my ice tea). By the second day, the waiters knew me and would say – “Are you ready for your lamb chops and your Ice tea with fresh pineapple”. 10-15 minutes later the lamb chops arrived. The point I am trying to get across is whatever special request you may want- the answer is always “YES”! The waiters would carry your plates to your table from the buffet. All the waiters had wonderful attitudes and were there to please you in every way. You are made to feel very special!

We had a veranda suite which included a balcony. We loved having the balcony and used it all the time. The room is lovely, with plenty of closet space and more drawers than you can fill up- and we had 4 pieces of luggage. Personalized stationary with your name on it. Fresh flowers in your cabin. The bathrooms were fantastic! - double sinks, shower and tub with Bulgari amenities- soap, shampoo, conditioner etc. Very comfortable bed with fine linens and duvet cover.

The stewardess was fantastic. Always smiling and calling us by our names. Good morning Mr. and Mrs.…... The stewardess’s- work in teams with 2 people taking care of your suite. The cabins are cleaned twice a day and the cleaning was immaculate. They even lined up my makeup in a straight row! We kept saying to ourselves, this service is UNBELIEVABLE!!! We had to keep asking ourselves how anything can be so perfect like this.

We ate dinner every night in the main dining room and also ate once in the Italian Restaurant. The food was excellent. Many choices and if you don’t see what you like on the menu - they will bring you what you request. One day I saw an appetizer from lunch that looked interesting and requested it for dinner. Nothing was ever a problem!
The dining room wait staff was so professional, great attitudes and impeccable service. We were greeted by the waiter and wine steward the minute you sat down. Every night it was like eating in a fine restaurant. Presentation of the food on the plates was always beautifully done. The beef dishes were extraordinary - beef melted in our mouths! You will be pampered beyond belief!! Most nights we would stay in the dining room for 3 hours talking to our fellow guests we were dining with at our table.

We enjoyed the formal nights as it made for a glamorous evening!

Chef David was accessible to all the guests. Coming out to the dining room, greeting everyone and making sure you were happy. One day my husband told the chef- he may prefer something different instead of a filet of fish. The chef said call me and let me know- he said “do you want a whole fish - I can make it anyway you want”.
Almost on every port before we were ready to sail- there would be a lovely small buffet set up by the pool area before dinner. Chef David was always walking around – getting to know all the guests.

One night we had a “Barbeque Dinner” on the pool deck. It was FANTASTIC! Fourty desserts to choose from- I counted! The pool deck was set up with fabric covered chairs, linen tablecloths. Great entertainment and dancing to the wee hours. We were talking to a few couples and the Captain came by our table and talk to us for one hour! That is what made our cruise so special - all the staff treated you like family!

Every cruise they do an open Kitchen Galley Buffet Lunch. What a magnificent presentation! So interesting to see how the kitchen functions.

See pictures of Kitchen Galley Lunch, Barbeque Dinner Buffet on Pool Deck and Breakfast Buffet:

http://pictures.aol.com/galleries/dafne478965

At the bars they use linen napkins - another attention to fine detail! All the bartenders made great drinks! I like Pina Coladas and had it prepared in Hawaii with vanilla ice cream. I told the bartender and with in a few minutes they went down to the kitchen galley and got the ice cream. No request is denied!

When we disembarked at the ports they had cold bottled water to take ashore and on the way back waiting for the tenders to return to the ship –at the ports they had cold punch, water and chilled towels!

What makes Silversea cruises so special are the fellow passengers you meet. We met wonderful, fascinating people from all over the world. Everyone was so friendly and wanted to socialize. We have made some lasting friendships that we will keep in touch with.

If you want wonderful service, great food, and a smaller ship than there is only one Cruise Line - SILVERSEA!

The advantage of the smaller ship is that it is easier to make friends since you run into the same people all the time and the staff members get to know you personally.

Ron our cruise director was so friendly, and eloquent making announcements and always had a big smile when he greeted us.

The entertainment was classy, A Broadway singer, a famous pianist etc.

On the third day the Cruise Hotel Director delivered to all cabins a sheet asking if there is anything that he can do to make your cruise more pleasant please let him know. I wrote back on the sheet: “HOW CAN YOU IMPROVE PERFECTION” And I meant it. There is nothing that I would add or change.

Spoke to many fellow passengers the last day of the cruise and everyone had the same opinion saying it was FABULOUS!

Silversea is expensive, but worth every dollar you pay. We loved an all inclusive cruise - never have to sign for anything. Everything is included. We kept asking ourselves, how can a cruise line deliver such a perfect product down to every last detail?

We travel all over the world for our business and have stayed in the finest hotels- and the Cruise we just went on with Silversea in all around service, food, attention to detail, and staff is top on our list.

To be honest it was hard to go back to reality when the cruise ended as this cruise was a fantasy come true!

How would we describe our cruise? MAGNIFICENT! AMAZING! PERFECT! FANTASTIC! INCREDIBLE!
AND FABULOUS!!