What we like most about Silversea ... and our bestest memories ...

[UKCruiseJeff]

I remember a Croation waiter called Igor. He was a robust man with an extremely dry sense of humour. He was built like a tank. He was an acquired taste ... which I acquired.

 

One lunch time at the end of a long lunch outside at the blunt end ... we were just about to get up .... and he rushed towards us and requested we had a coffee .. or a brandy or both. "No ... don't need that .... thanks for looking after us Igor......" "How about some stewed apple?" "No thanks Igor ... none of that either .." "How about a sandwich .... some ham ...." "Igor ... we've just had fish with some ice cream afterwards...... why would we want a ham sandwich .... what on earth has come over you ... why do you not want us to go ...... " "Just stay for another 10 minutes until the restaurant closes ... anyone else wanting lunch will go inside .. and I can clear up ......"

 

We had grappa and stayed.

 

I loved Igor. How could you not? If I were a waiter I'd be like him.

[oregon50]

First evening aboard Whisper, MDR, Cape Town departure, 2012.

 

Waiter asks our surname, so that he may address us by name.

 

Wine stewardess arrives two minutes later with a bottle of red in one hand, white in the other. "You may choose either wine with your dinner, or you can pay more for something else."

 

Dinner arrives, bok choi served as spinach. Strike three within eighteen minutes. Maitre 'd explains that this is what they call spinach in South Africa. Yeah, right! Anne Marie, top person in the kitchen is from SA.

 

Pathetic.

 

Yes, I have great memories. But the last good one was in 2006.

[WesW]

Jeff, this a wonderful thread idea, thank you.

 

We were on the Spirit's maiden crossing, when Dougburns and I (really our DW's decided) to renew our vows. Magical moment created by a spectacular sunset on the bridge of the Spirit, led by Captain Corsaro and the fabulous CD, Fernando. Fernando has us repeat our vows after we did so (tears flowing) he handed us exceptional scripted vow renewal words that we framed and still have this day. We were privileged to invite some dear friends and Silversea hit a grand slam with first vow renewals on the Spirit. Pix below show the emotion, joy in us all. If that was not enough, Silversea had a hosted cocktail party for the newly/oldyweds on the veranda of La Terraza for about 40 of our maiden crossing dear friends. Then Captain Corsaro hosted us at his table for an outstanding dinner in the Restaurant. The most magical day we have spent of any cruise line in 150 days of cruising. Pls enjoy pix below.

 

Is it any wonder why we will board the Spirit for our third crossing next Wednesday and our fourth crossing in November?

 

 

 

 

[UKCruiseJeff]

You old romantic .... lovely memories!:)

[billcrooz]

First evening aboard Whisper, MDR, Cape Town departure, 2012.

 

Waiter asks our surname, so that he may address us by name.

 

Wine stewardess arrives two minutes later with a bottle of red in one hand, white in the other. "You may choose either wine with your dinner, or you can pay more for something else."

 

Dinner arrives, bok choi served as spinach. Strike three within eighteen minutes. Maitre 'd explains that this is what they call spinach in South Africa. Yeah, right! Anne Marie, top person in the kitchen is from SA.

 

 

 

Pathetic.

 

Yes, I have great memories. But the last good one was in 2006.

 

Pray,tell us, what the last great memory was!

[CanadianKate]

Hard to pick one. Our first dinner on SS was pretty memorable.

 

Our first dinner on board our second cruise was even more memorable.

 

(In both cases it was the people we met those nights, people we've since visited with on land.)

 

Then there was watching the pilot jump outside Halifax in deep fog and then sailing in (it was my dad's home harbour and he was offered a job as a pilot there shortly after I was born, but chose a different, less strenuous, job.)

 

Or the navigator sending us a chart with the spot where my father was buried at sea marked, our course, and the time we would pass closest to the spot so we could pay our respects.

 

Or the time we were invited to be on the bridge as we left port. When the Captain asked us to be there for 5:30, I wasn't sure if it was for arrival or departure. Yes, I would have happily been up there at 05:30 but 17:30 was more pleasant!

[Stumblefoot]

I echo Wes's sentiments UKCruiseJeff. Appreciate you sharing your "bestest" memory. I so enjoy following this forum and the wonderful participants here, and hope they too will chime in with their best memory. Here goes mine...

 

When my girl and I fell in love and began making wedding plans, we cleared the air on a variety of topics, one of which was that we both could never imagine taking a trip on a cruise ship. We wanted to explore, seek adventure, and revel in our destinations. But, it would be by air or land only, so that we would never be bound to someone else's schedule. If we would ever do a cruise someday, we said, it would be when we were much older, like perhaps for our 20th anniversary to Alaska.

 

Low and behold, fast forward 20-years and wouldn't you know it... Our 20th anniversary arrived and we decided to go on our first cruise to Alaska; a 10-day adventure from San Francisco to Skagway and back to Vancouver. To this day, I still count my lucky stars that we choose Silversea and the Shadow. I'll never forget when we were both standing on the deck, watching in awe as the Tracy Arm Glacier calved, and looking into each other's eyes without saying a word. WE, were having the time of our life and couldn't believe we had waited 20 years to try it.

 

Needless to say, you can imagine the excitement that is building in our home as we anxiously look forward to spending our 25th anniversary aboard Silversea this June touring Northern Europe and our first voyage on the Cloud.

[ging466]

Mine is meeting the best group of CCers on my transatlantic on the Silver Spirit in 2010. Best cruise ever with the best group of people (u all know who u are:D)

 

Absolutely loved the Silver Spirit!

 

Cheers

Jennifer

[Tothesunset]

Rather than choose one memory, may I be indulged and claim one day? That would be 19 Feb this year.

 

Wife's xxth birthday made special, I mean really special by:

 

The wonderful American friends we made in the Connoisseurs Lounge who arranged a special hors d'oeuvres party before dinner; especial gratitude to Marcello, Sandra and the other staff who set this up with great secrecy!

 

Our butler, Jithin, for the cabin decorations, snacks, champagne and generally being ''on the ball'' throughout the day.

 

The MDR staff for a fantastic birthday dinner (including memorable crepe suzette) - we even got an in-tune rendition of ''Happy Birthday''. And also the reprobates (or noisy, drunken Brits as the other cruisers may well have known us) - they know who they are!

 

All this and the wonderful Silver Spirit in the middle of the South Pacific - it really doesn't get any better.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Well, as a complete aside, but justified by the general romantic nature of some of the posts ..... today is our 39th Wedding Anniversary .... and for pretty much all of that time my wife and I have spent all day and every day together - as for much of that time we started and ran a business together. We are very fortunate to have found each other.

 

I also said we would never go on a cruise as I thought it only for old people but she made me do it. As long as you make your cruise what you want it to be then it can be for everyone as I was to discover.

 

Captain Corsaro was mentioned up thread and I do remember one particular conversation with him.

 

I'd been observing his driving style for some time, particularly his port quirks. I concluded that he didn't like reversing because at that time he would go through some of the greatest convolutions to avoid doing so. Over an early morning coffee I told him what I'd noticed. He looked surprised that I'd noticed and said "Manfredi, 'e doesn't react well when his masters prang 'is boats". Priceless. We then discussed Naples female drivers and their habits ....

 

I do fully know that Fernando is much loved by many and that is as it should be. However for some, his love of the microphone is a touch to intense or should I say prolific. Sometimes it is nice to have a bit of quiet and there is no place on SS outside to escape the booming monologue.

 

I recall specifically entering the Venice lagoon in the early morning mist where my wife and I yearned to soak up the atmosphere in completely eery silence but instead the ship reverberated with "On the port side, ... on the left hand side ...." On another occasion he managed to switch on the emergency mike circuit and had his performance wake every one up who was having an after lunch doze in their suites and some of us concluded it was muster stations ...... But this is outside the positive intention of the thread - however amusing.

 

Another great memory was on a cruise that was due to start In Nice but the waves were so big the ship moored off Villefranche instead. We had been lucky enough to be invited to attend the Cannes Film Festival the previous week and were in really good spirits in more than one sense, and on boarding day we couldn't find the ship. Eventually we found it off Villefranche and found a tender rotating between shore and ship setting stuff up and so we jumped on one. For the rest of that day the seas were too bad and no one could make it to the ship and we and a handful of others had the ship completely to ourselves whilst all the rest of our fellow cruisers entertained themselves in the restaurants of Villefranche.

 

Happy days.:)

[bogey]

What a great idea for a thread. Happy Anniversary, Jeff.

 

We're relatively new to Silversea, but like it enough to have logged 4 cruises in less than 3 years.

 

Favorite experiences are plentiful --- A beautiful day sailing through the Dardanelles. A wonderful evening concert at Ephesus. Perfect weather on a crossing. A meal in La Terrazza which ranks among the best we've ever had (and yes, there were some meals which could/should have been better.) Etc.

 

But the thing about Silversea which makes it special for us is the people and the service they provide. Just a few random examples:

 

Second morning of a cruise on the Wind, I'm having my cappuccino in the Panorama Lounge and the server calls me by name. I knew that remembering customers' names was important to the line, but was shocked that this young man knew my name on the second morning. We'd had no interaction other than ordering a cappuccino on the previous morning. I learned that he'd seen my cabin number on my daily paper which I'd taken with me on the first morning and looked me up. That is going the extra mile in terms of customer service.

 

During a Med cruise on the Cloud, I'm standing on the pier in Naples and somebody from behind says, "I know you." I turn around see the shore excursions person on the Wind which happened to be tied up across the pier. We'd met her on the Spirit on an earlier cruise. She drops what she was planning to do in order to give our companions a tour of the Wind.

 

On our first night on a crossing on the Spirit, we go to the Panorama Lounge for a drink. With no prompting, the bartender comes to the table with the drinks we always ordered. He recognized us and remembered our drinks from a cruise on the Cloud a year previous. (No, we're not big drinkers :-) just a regular cocktail before dinner.)

 

I could go on, but don't want to waste space on this great thread. The point is that little things like these are what make the level of service on Silversea a step above anything else we've experienced.

 

We've taken over 20 cruises on lines ranging from Carnival to Regent, and Silversea is our favorite because of the quality of their people.

[Seafairer]

Very happy anniversary to you and your wife, UKCruiseJeff - I toast your 39 years!

 

This is a really challenging assignment. But I'll never ever forget the moment we first set foot in our [Vista] suite on the Cloud, around 1999. We, too, were massively turned off by the cruise stereotype, but our travel agent suggested we look at Silversea. My husband, while on board with the plan, largely agreed for my sake.

 

I did a ton of research and thought I knew what to expect when we boarded - ha! There is no way we could have anticipated the actual experience. Uniformed staff lined up at the gangplank with a warm welcome and flutes of champagne, being leisurely escorted to our suite. I already knew the suites were among the industry's largest in their category, at the time. But finally experiencing the airy space, the large picture window, the comfort, the STORAGE, the thoughtfully lit makeup table, the unqualified feeling of luxury and being cared for. There's no way to put that into words, except to say we immediately felt it was where we belonged. My husband, who knows a thing or two about boat design, couldn't find a single thing wrong with the suite, not a single change he would make. He was so happy that within the hour he proclaimed that we really should take a Silversea cruise every year. Which we basically did.

 

And as a runner-up: leaving London one dark, misty night on the Wind. Tower Bridge was sparkling white, all lit up as the ship slowly approached to go under. Crowds along the streets cheered, and our beloved Cruise Director Colin Brown played a stirring, Baroque-style vocal recording of "Rule Britannia," heard over the whole outside deck. Needless to say, this Anglophile was in tears with joy!

[UKCruiseJeff]

I asked my wife what her favourite memories were and she has a couple.

 

The first is sitting in the outside area of the bar very late at night, watching the surf wake behind the ship. The other is when we sleep on the balcony instead of the bed - listening to the water.

[Mr Luxury]

. today is our 39th Wedding Anniversary ....

Happy days.:)

 

Jeff, a good film the 39 Steps.:p

 

I'll have a bottle of Puligny Montrachet and toast you both this evening.

 

Happy Anniversary. :)

[RachelG]

Well, I have only been on one Silversea cruise (that will change soon as we leave next week for the TA on Spirit) on Explorer. But my favorite memory from that cruise was the midnight cocktail party out on the back deck at midnight on June 21 in Svalbard. Bright as day. Everyone bundled up in our heavy coats, some with just PJs underneath. So fun. We have some great pictures from that one.

[newlondon]

Wes, Can't match you. Wendy and I actually have three favorite memories (by the way Jeff,great idea).

On our first SS cruise we established a table we wanted to stay at for the full 16 days-Norwegian fjords. There was an unbelievably sweet Scottish girl waitress and she was marrying a Filipino sommelier. The next port was where she had to take him to meet her parents. We talked to them at length to reassure them and then gave them a wedding present. Tears on all sides.

Second, In Torres del Paine, Patagonia, we went on the two day excursion. A gentleman from Las Vegas had a heart attack. Natalie, who we had met on our Norwegian trip stepped up in the middle of no where and made sure he got to modern medical care. It involved a lot and SS flew him home.

Great preparation and execution.

Third, Nothing to do with SS itself; we went to the Valdez peninsula penguin colony and got a picture of a mother penguin sheltering her chicks that we used as a Christmas Card with a quote from Psalm 119.

Unfortunately I don't know how to upload to CC:mad:

I'll send it to you Wes and maybe you'll be able to figure it out.

Thanks, All.

Bill

[Ravenscroft]

Wishing Jeff and Mrs Jeff a very Happy Anniversary .

[UKCruiseJeff]

We really appreciate the good wishes! Aren't people lovely.

 

I made her some haddock in batter with french fries and mushy peas, bread cut on the bias (the posh way) with pickles and tarter sauce and a bottle of Deutz. She loves Deutz.

 

:)

[jpalbny]

I made her some haddock in batter with french fries and mushy peas, bread cut on the bias (the posh way) with pickles and tarter sauce and a bottle of Deutz. She loves Deutz.

 

:)

 

I thought you Brits called that fish and chips? ;) Love the mushy peas, too. Happy Anniversary to you!

 

Our favorite memory on SS...? So many good ones! Will have to think about that some more.

[Ms Understood]

Favorite SS memory: Sailing on the Cloud into London under the Tower Bridge, docking across the river from the Tower of London and then the SS private visit to the Tower of London that night. Loved it!

---------------------

Helen

[UKCruiseJeff]

I thought you Brits called that fish and chips? ;) Love the mushy peas, too. Happy Anniversary to you!

 

Our favorite memory on SS...? So many good ones! Will have to think about that some more.

 

 

Thanks the problem is that the fish ....

 

 

.... and some lovely home made baguettes ....

 

 

...... with the Deutz makes it a French meal? :)

[Mr Luxury]

Mange tout Rodney.

[UKCruiseJeff]

I hope you noticed that I purposefully made one baguette bigger than the other!

 

My wife also reminds me of some fun whilst sitting at the pool bar.

 

We could see a large white container bobbing about in the water, and clearly so had the bridge. It was obviously duty bound to investigate.. It slowly started to turn towards it and started a long and laborious corkscrew manoeuvre in order to home in and get a better look.

 

This was unknown to everyone else around the pool except fr us at the bar.

 

Soon there was some murmerings and grumblings as people who had been in the sun started to find themselves in shade and the same noises from those seeking shade and finding themselves in the sun. People started to collect their belongings and started to seek recliners on the other side of the ship. Thirty minutes or so later the noise was a bit louder as people started to swap back again ..... and then of course after another half hour it all reversed again with people staring upwards and wondering what on earth the sun was playing at.

 

To us, at the bar and sharing the joke this was the funniest couple of hours any of us could recall.

 

In the end the box was just debris but it was great fun.

[WesW]

From NewLondon/Bill, we they went to the Valdez peninsula penguin colony and got a picture of a mother penguin sheltering her chicks. Thanks for sharing Bill.

 

[daddyo]

Even though we celebrated our 20th, 25th, and 30th anniversaries on SS; one of our best memories is the Cruise Critic Breakfast on our 2010 Norway Cruise which has been well documented and posted by Terry from Ohio. Along with Duct Tape, Mayflower1, and Conte De Savioa, gdlambreth and others, We had a tremendous time. This cruise is at the top of our list.