Silverseas Whisper

Last Saturday Muriel and I traveled with Porter Airlines(see last post) to Montreal to visit the Silversea Cruises Silver Whisper. It's not often that we get an opportunity to visit and inspect a cruise ship as our offices are based in the Toronto area(not exactly a coastal port). During the autumn many of the large cruise line's ships begin their Canada/New England itineraries and make a stop in Montreal allowing us the rare opportunity to see these wonderful ships for ourselves.

The Silversea Cruise company is independently owned by an Italian family - the Lefebvres of Rome. There is a genuine pride of ownership and a true Italian passion for embracing the best of life. Each of their ships is considered 'small' - holding no more than 540 passengers on their largest ship, the Silver Spirit and only 296 on the Silver Wind and Silver Cloud. Silversea continues to sail against the trends, with intimate ships that offer not only a richly abundant and highly personalized experience aboard, but a stimulating and authentic travel experience that is far more meaningful and life-enriching for their guests.

The Silver Whisper was just recently refurbished making the interior of the ship feel almost brand new. Throughout the ship you get the feeling of refined taste and an understated, mature design style. Nothing garish or sparkling about it. Tasteful art and sculptures decorate every hallway focusing on many different themes. If only we hadn't been in such a rush to see every corner of the ship we could have spent more time viewing all the magnificent masterpieces. Clearly the passengers are being wowed by the whole experience and not flashy decor.

Each of the common areas we were shown had passengers indulging themselves - reading books, playing on their iPads, enjoying a cup of coffee - everyone looked very relaxed and comfortable.

Silversea is one of the few ALL-INCLUSIVE cruise lines who really mean all-inclusive. Some of the included amenities are butler service, complimentary beverages served throughout the ship including fine wines, champagne, spirits, and specialty coffees, gratuities, 24 hour room service, fitness classes, and on-board entertainment. This years brochure rates even include FREE AIR and TRANSFERS from select departure gates and are 60% OFF!

Silversea also offers it's guest a complimentary shore-side 'Experience', for example on their Inaugural World Cruise in 2011 aboard the Silver Spirit you can experience "Tea with Picasso" in Barcelona at the Picasso Museum located along the narrow winding streets of the marvelously restored Gothic Quarter. The Museum houses one of the most extensive collections of artworks by the 20th-century artist, including his blue period paintings and his cubist Las Meninas series. This is one of the most visited museums in Barcelona and Silversea guests are offered a private opening and tour, followed by tea service in the courtyard. They also offer "Night of 1001 Delights" in Dubai where you'll watch the sun set over the high golden dunes as you enter an elaborate torch-lit Arabian campsite. Try sand-boarding in the desert dunes. Get beautiful henna designs on your hands or try out traditional Arabic dresses. Then relax on majlis (low cushions) in a tent, smoking a shisha (water pipe) and watching belly dancers perform. And for an authentic taste of Arabia, dine on delicious Arabian barbecue beside a blazing bonfire with traditional cups of coffee and dates. An experience right out of Tales of the Arabian Nights... exclusively for Silversea guests and offered on select sailings.

Silversea Cruises is also renowned for their customization. If you prefer a certain drink or menu item, the staff will do their best to accommodate your wishes. Their menus also offer a selection of fresh, locally grown produce and seafood directly from the ports they visit. The 'Le Champagne' restaurant offers a six-course epicurean experience of rare wines and regionally inspired cuisine to a maximum of 16 guests in their own 'private' dining room. The Black Rock Dining option seemed to be a big hit with the guests too - offered poolside in The Grill, it's an interactive dining venue where fresh seafood and prime meats are grilled table-side on a heated volcanic rock plate! And of course, we can't forget to mention the 24 hour room service or in-suite dining from The Restaurant during dinner hours. If a culinary experience is what you are looking for Silversea offers Culinary Arts Voyages and Wine Series Voyages with world-renowned guests, lectures, tastings, demonstrations and optional private tours.

The cabins are all ocean-view suites featuring butler service, champagne upon arrival, fresh fruit and flowers, refrigerator and bar setup stocked with your preferences, European bath amenities, down duvets, fine bed linens, a choice of 9 pillow types, plush robes and slippers, personalized stationery, binoculars, and umbrella. For those guest wishing to upgrade to the Medallion, Silver, Royal, Grand or Owner's Suite - they can expect added amenities of laundry service throughout their voyage, afternoon canapes, Nespresso coffee machine and dinner at Officer's table to just name a few.

We left the Silver Whisper after a delicious lunch with complimentary wines definitely wishing we were one of the lucky passengers heading off to New England later that evening.

Next September we hope to be able to visit the Silversea Prince Albert II ("The World's Most Luxurious Expedition Ship") when it makes a stop in the Port of Toronto on it's way to Bermuda. Perhaps I'll do a little research on the Silversea Expeditions for my next blog entry. Oh, and The World was docked right behind the Silver Whisper. This is one ship I intend to learn more about. Rumor has it that it's just unbelievable!

If you'd like more information on a Silversea Cruise please don't hesitate to contact Muriel for all the latest offers, itineraries, cabin availability and up to date pricing.

Here's some snapshots I took while touring the ship.

Deck 8/Pool Deck and view of Dining area

Panorama Lounge/ Deck 8

The Bar /Deck 5

Upper Level of The Show Lounge/Deck 6

Le Champagne Private Dining Room/Deck 7

View of the Aida from the Observation Lounge

For more details on Silversea Cruises you can check out our website (www.cruisenet.ca/silversea.html) or the links below.

Silversea Cruises

Flying Refined with Porter

I finally had an opportunity to get Muriel on a Porter flight. We flew from Billy Bishop Toronto Island Airport to Montreal and back again on Saturday for a Silversea ship inspection (more on that in the next blog). I've felt that Porter was five star travel with discount rates and was thrilled to be able to finally show Muriel what I had experienced.

And she agreed.

It is such a breath of fresh air to travel with complimentary beverages (wine and beer too!) and some actual leg room! The lounge at the Toronto Island Airport is so tasteful and serene with an airline steward checking to see if you've got time for a coffee in their complimentary self-serve cafe.

We sat with amused pleasure watching first time Porter fliers reaching for their purses and wallets as they scanned the offerings (Iced Tea, bottled water, variety of juices, coffee, tea, cappuccino - to just name a few! Plus there were some handy snacks to take the edge off) only to then see the look of utter shock when they realized it was all FREE!

Then we sat at a comfy table with it's own lamp - yes an actual lamp resting on a side table, next to a sofa chair. No rows of uncomfortable chairs bolted together and to the floor! Kind of like sitting in your own living room.

Free wireless and free business center with a large number of Mac's standing ready - just waiting for a bored client to log on.

Once aboard our 1 hour flight we were pleasantly surprised by the amount of legroom. Muriel, having just returned from London with Air Transat noted with pleasure that she had more than twice the amount of room as on her transatlantic 8 hour flight! The plane interior felt new and clean and the stewards were lovely in their retro pill box hat and uniforms. Even though there's no inflight entertainment you don't miss it. You sort of realize that maybe all the other airlines' inflight entertainment is meant to distract passengers from the fact that they have to pay for every drink, blanket and pillow and that their knees have permanent etch marks from the seat in front!

The whole experience is so pleasant it's just not NORMAL! And yet, this is the way air travel used to be, should be, obviously can be.

And now for the kicker - what do you think we paid to be treated like paying customers rather than a herd of cattle? This may really shock you! LESS than WestJet - LESS than Air Canada, for the same flight and schedule. Hard to believe that an airline could offer such a high level of service and actually charge us LESS than the big airlines.

Well, suffice to say, we were both pleasantly surprised and impressed and will be recommending Porter Airlines to ALL our clients traveling to a Porter destination. It's absolutely worth every penny and then some!

You can check them out for yourselves at www.flyporter.com or find them on twitter and facebook.