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The Signature Collection departures offer Exceptional Value, Enriching Experiences and Exclusive Amenities. You will find details for those departures under the Special Offers tab to the right.
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♦ Exclusive Free Car & Driver or Free Onboard Credit on all Silversea departures
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Added values on Silversea:
♦ FREE gratuities
♦ FREE bottled water, sodas, specialty coffees and teas
♦ FREE fine wines and premium spirits in bars, restaurants, on deck
♦ FREE in-suite mini bar stocked with your preferred selections
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Cruising with Silversea
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What's Included?
Everything, including the tips and the minibar: Complimentary beverages are served throughout the ship. Wine at dinner, a Champagne toast in your suite or cocktails — courtesy of Silversea.
- No, we mean it, everything’s included: Besides the chilled bottle of champagne that awaits you, every suite includes a beverage cabinet stocked with your preferred assortment of complimentary beverages. All onboard gratuities are included — none are expected. In-suite dining and 24-hour room service carries no charge and no tipping. Roundtrip ground transportation is complimentary from the pier to the heart of town in many ports of call.
- Life aboard Silversea is luxurious, extremely comfortable, intelligent, diverse and pleasant. Guests eat when they want, and Silversea offers a series of scheduled events throughout the day for their consideration.
For instance, luminaries from the world of food and wine, famous artists and celebrities, world affairs experts, renowned authors and destination specialists awaken the senses to a fuller cultural appreciation.
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- Experienced international travelers: Silversea cruises are exceptional ocean journeys with unique opportunities to explore remote ports-of-call from an intimate haven of incomparable luxury. Guests hail from across the globe, yet share an appreciation for the spectrum of choice offered in Silversea’s array of exotic destinations and exclusive shore explorations.
- Comfort seekers: Guests enjoy the most expansive suites of their class at sea, each providing a panoramic view of ocean, shore and port, and an elegant ambience of unrivalled luxury. A full 80% of those suites feature a furnished, private teak veranda where guests can breathe in the bacing sea air and lingo over the unmatched views.
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Silversea Cruises - Cruise Line Reviews
Carrying between 296 and 540 guests, the line’s five cruise ships are the ideal size for luxury — not so big that crowds form, not so small that you feel obligated to socialize if you don’t want to. The luxury cruise operator also has an expedition vessel, the Silver Explorer, which carries 132 guests, to the Arctic and Antarctic and points between.
Life On Board Silversea Cruises
From the smallest (but definitely not small) to the largest suite, all accommodations come with the service of a butler who’ll draw you a bath, arrange a cocktail party, clean your luggage with an eco-friendly solution, and act as your concierge, securing dinner or spa reservations or a car at the next port.
As aboard all true luxury lines, gratuities and unlimited wines, spirits, and other drinks are included in your fare.
And at the end of the day, you’ll find a fine Pierre Marcolini chocolate propped on the pillow you’ve chosen from a nine-option pillow menu, while a scent you’ve chosen from an aromatherapy fragrance menu by Italian perfumer Laura Tonatto wafts subtly around your suite.
Life on board proceeds at a relaxed, private pace, and those activities that are programmed tend toward the cerebral. Guest lecturers are featured aboard every sailing — often noted authors, historians, chefs, or experts in contemporary affairs — and often speak topics related to the region being visited.
There are also wine-tastings, language classes, golf instruction, exercise and computer classes, treatments at the bliss-inducing spa, and galley brunches in which guests tour the ship’s galley, sample from more than 100 dishes, and chat with the chef.
Special Culinary Arts Voyages, offered in partnership with Relais & Châteaux, offer an even deeper dive into Silversea’s culinary universe, with cooking demonstrations and tastings hosted by Relais master chefs.
Dining On Silversea CruisesSpecial voyage or not, cuisine at Silversea’s restaurants ranks among the best at sea: artistically prepared and presented, using the finest ingredients, and with taste to die for.
Each ship has one formal, open-seating dining room (called simply “The Restaurant”) serving a varied menu along with wines selected for the meal. You can also order (at extra cost) off an extensive premium wine list. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
All Silversea ships also have at least three alternative dining choices: La Terrazza, which serves as a buffet restaurant for breakfast and lunch with indoor or al fresco seating and is transformed into an intimate Italian restaurant for dinner, and the excellent Le Champagne, developed in partnership with Relais & Châteaux and serving six-course menus created especially to bring out the flavors in the day’s six wine selections. Dining at La Champagne entails an extra charge.
The Pool Bar & Grill serves casual lunches and dinners, the latter featuring the fun “Black Rock Dining” experience, in which guests can grill their own meat or seafood at their table on a preheated volcanic rock. You can also order lunch and dinner served course by course in your cabin, from the day’s menu at the Restaurant.
The line’s newest ship, 2009’s Silver Spirit, offers six alternative dining choices — a remarkable number considering the vessel’s relatively small size.
Each Silversea ship also afternoon tea in the Panorama Lounge.
Entertainment On Silversea Cruises
After dinner, guests can take in newly introduced (2011) Broadway-style shows or performances by a guest acts in the show lounge, gamble in the small casino, enjoy a pianist or musical group in various lounges, go dancing, or watch a movie back in their suites.
Accommodations On Silversea CruisesThose suites, of course, more than live up to Silversea’s overall standard, offering tons of space, elegant furnishings, Italian marble bathrooms, champagne upon request, fresh flowers, refrigerator and bar set up with your preferences, European bath amenities, down duvets and Egyptian cotton linens, premium mattresses, a pillow menu, personalized stationary, binoculars, umbrella and WiFi.
Note that these ships are not for children, and offer no facilities or programs to entertain them, although families with small children are occasionally seen on Silversea vessels.
Another note: Silver Explorer, the line’s small expedition ship, offers a completely different experience, mixing luxury service, cuisine, and accommodations with an exploratory vibe.
‘Spirited’ Competitor In The Luxury Sector
For those who follow such developments, Silversea’s newest vessel begs the question: How will it compare to the other luxury launch of the year, Seabourn Odyssey? The short answer is “favorably.” For the explanation, read on.Spirit’s Slightly Larger Suites
For starters, Spirit is the larger vessel, carrying 540 guests, compared to Odyssey’s 450. Spirit’s Veranda Suites also are a tad larger than the comparable category suite on Odyssey. On Spirit, the Veranda Suite measures 376 square feet with a 65-square-foot veranda, giving Spirit 11 square feet more interior living space than Odyssey.
Spirit’s Veranda Suites also feature, not one, but two 26-inch, flat-panel televisions (one in the bedroom area, the other in the living area) with more than 400 movies available free of charge. The bedroom television will hide behind a mirror when not in use, a nice touch.
By contrast, Odyssey’s televisions were small for the room, 21 inches being my best estimate, with tinny sound.
With the introduction of Spirit, and extending fleetwide, Silversea will offer new services, including an expanded pillow menu featuring a selection of nine pillows. Also new: “luggage freshening.” Guest luggage will be washed and wrapped in a ribbon, clean for the ride home.
Six Dining Venues
The larger Spirit features six restaurants compared to Odyssey’s four. Two of Silver Spirit’s restaurants are reservations-only.Spirit will introduce Seishin, an Asian fusion restaurant, where the signature item will be Kobe beef, served with sushi, sashimi, exotic sakes (the rice wine), and more. Pricing has not yet been established for the reservations-only restaurant, but it will likely be in line with Le Champagne, at $200 per person.
Silversea execs are aware of Odyssey’s frustrating reservations procedure with regard to dining, and they vow to avoid the frustrations, though how they intend to do so is not yet clear. Execs on the Spirit sea trials say they plan to bring the reservations process online, but no firm timeline was given.
On my Odyssey sailing, guests could reserve at specialty restaurants 48 hours in advance -beginning at 7:30 p.m., and only by phone. Imagine the switchboard. Lines were busy on several nights when I dialed.
Nonetheless, Odyssey’s restaurants are stunning, and its main restaurant is exceptionally attractive, with flowing sheer curtains that serve as separators to create cozy areas, reminiscent of South Beach’s Delano Hotel. Odyssey’s main restaurant also features a couple of attractive high tables for those who prefer a more casual dining experience in the formal dining room.
South Beach/Palm Beach Meets Old World/New World
If Odyssey is a bit like South Beach meets Palm Beach (as Seabourn strives to appeal to both young and mature guests) Spirit is a bit more Old World meets New World. Service and cuisine will be in the European style, with a twist that the line hopes will please its largest passenger demographic, North Americans.
With its reception area, Spirit has matched Seabourn Square (Odyssey’s library/internet cafe/coffee shop/purser’s desk/shore excursions and attractive public room), by integrating a bar and dining area for light snacks.
Clearly, both Odyssey and Spirit are top contenders in a segment where the differences between ships and service is as thin as a razor’s edge. Spirit’s six restaurants, slightly larger staterooms, larger televisions, and additional pampering (i.e., luggage freshening) can indeed make a difference to discerning clients. The innovation and improvements taking place on both ships, however, are ratcheting up the proverbial bar, and for connoisseurs of luxury, ‘spirited’ competition can only be a a good thing.
Silversea Cruise Ship Reviews
Come Casual To Silversea's Outdoor Dining Venue: The Grill
by Ralph Grizzle. An award-winning travel writer, and recognized cruise ship expert.
Last night, I dined at the Hot Rock Grill on Silver Whisper. This new dining option, first introduced on Silver Spirit, makes for an enjoyable evening, especially if you’re someone who appreciates dining outdoors, some light cooking/grilling and food that doesn’t go cold.
Hot Rock Grill, situated on the pool deck, serves up anything but your normal cruise ship food. This cruise dining experience is essentially a cook-it-yourself affair, where you grill your own meat or seafood on volcanic stones that are scorchingly hot.
Of course, like everything Silversea Cruises does, the meats are top notch, Sterling Silver(sea?).
Diners are given the choice of a variety of cuts of beef as well as fish or shrimp. Dishes are preceded by a choice of three types of salads and accompanied with a skewer of vegetables and baked potato. Of course, there are oh-so-delicious desserts and as always, complimentary wines or cocktails.
I ordered the Filet Mignon, accompanied by lobster, grilling both myself. To make the job easy, the meats are seared before being delivered, still sizzling, to the table. The volcanic stone sits on top of a bamboo platter, and the best technique for grilling, I learned from my waiter, was to slice thin cuts of beef, then grill and eat. During the hour that I was there, the stone stayed hot, and I never put a cold cut of beef in my mouth.
I filmed the accompanying video on Silver Spirit, where I was only able to watch the concept take place. It was a pleasure to sit down and experience the Hot Rock Grill concept on Silver Whisper.
The fact that this cruise dining experience is conducted outdoors is also a big part of the attraction, and on our sailing from Helsinki to St. Petersburg just yesterday, it was enjoyable to sit as the evening sun glowed in the western sky and put a little sizzle in our steak. No doubt, I’ll return on one of the nights before this Baltic cruise ends, but not before trying Silver Whisper’s four other dining venues, Le Champagne, La Terrazza, The Restaurant, and one of my all-time favorites, room service in the comfort of my suite.
Mixing It Up With Rex Reyes, Silver Spirit's Bartender
by Ralph Grizzle. An award-winning travel writer, and recognized cruise ship expert.
Silver Spirits: What Brands Is Silver Cloud Pouring?
So what exactly is Silversea pouring? Let’s start with the champagne. Silversea’s complimentary pours are Perrier-Jouet, generally preferred by guests from the United Kingdom; Pommery, the preference of many American guests; and Drappier, a new offering for Silversea that is the French president’s preferred brand, according to Tim Donvin, Food & Beverage Controller on Silversea.
House pour wines number about 80 different brands from regions worldwide, says head sommelier Vanja Vrhovac (pictured). Wines are chosen primarily based on Silversea’s heritage (an Italian company) and the regions where the ship is sailing. For example, on sailings in South America, regional wines, such as Malbec, are provisioned.
In addition, Silver Cloud offers a selection of about 50 premium wines, available at an extra charge. One passenger I spoke with said prices for the premium wines were about half of what he paid for the same brands in restaurants in the United States.
Not an oenophile myself, I am content with the complimentary pours. When I ordered white wine with room service earlier this week, the room steward brought along a bottle of Chateau Saint Marie, a Bordeaux blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillion and Muscadelle. I had no trouble quaffing a glass of the 2007 vintage.
Starting this month, complimentary wines are being upgraded, Vrhovac says, citing such new brands on board as Conundrum and Caymus, from two of California’s best-known wineries.
House pour spirits include fine brands, but you can cough up a little extra for the best brands if you wish.
Silver Cloud’s guests may also request bottles of wine and spirits to be delivered to their suites.
During a typical 10-day cruise, more than 1,900 bottles of wine and 400 bottles of champagne are consumed along with beer and spirits.
One special wine experience on Silver Cloud is Le Champagne, which offers a Relais & Chateaux dining experience with paired wines. For $200 per guest, the dinner includes a paired wine with each course of the Degustation menu. The menu is offered for $30 without the special pairings.
On this sailing, a Bordeaux menu was featured last night that started with Dom Perignon, followed by Sauternes, which typically costs $140 to $180 a bottle, then a selection of other wines that average around $150 per bottle. For oenophiles, Le Champagne appears to represent a good value.
Market Visit & French Cooking Class In Sete, France
by Ralph Grizzle. An award-winning travel writer, and recognized cruise ship expert.