Back at home for a few days and it is time to gather some final thoughts.
We both absolutely loved our cruise on the Silver Whisper and would do it again in a heartbeat. Everyone we met on the ship had the same experience.
We could go on and on about the service – it was just incredible and at no time did we every stand in line or wait a long time for anything. The staff were all very friendly and very eager to help, and as we spent more time on the cruise, they began to know you and you them. In the morning we just needed to buzz our butler and a carafe of piping hot fresh coffee was in our cabin in minutes. We very much enjoyed our time in our cabin in the morning, sitting on our balcony, watching the boats in the harbour, and listening to the bids. There was never a feeling of being rushed, for any reason.
The capacity of the ship was 386 passengers and our passenger count was 323. Of these, the largest number (130+) were from Britain, followed by the U.S. (about 115). There were only 19 of us Canadians, and only 4 (including us) from Western Canada. The rest were from countries all over the world. Most were in the 50-70 age range, but there were a few younger couples, one with small children, and some very elderly people. It was really a great mix, and one of the benefits of a small ship is how easy it is to meet and get to know your fellow travelers.
The food was very good throughout and some dishes that we would say were absolutely excellent. My only real disappointment is a lack of fresh local fish. We thought it would be a great feature to have a catch of the day that was from one of the local islands and for it to be featured as such. We loved the Italian theme La Terraza restaurant and the Poolside dining. Cooking on the hot stone while enjoying the warm Caribbean breezes was an incredible experience. You are only allowed to confirm one dinner at each specialty location, but you can request more. We suggest you do this very early in the cruise and keep checking. We were able to enjoy two dinners at La Terraza and three Poolside (plus the barbecue night). The main dining room is very good as well and one benefit is you can join a large table and meet your fellow travelers (no reservations required there and no set dining times). We did not try the Champagne room, which features gourmet dinners with high-end wines; at $200 per person, that is a bit beyond what we were willing to pay. Those we talked to who dined there though reported it was excellent.
The complementary or feature wines on the menu at each meal were generally very good. As I mentioned earlier in the blogs, other complementary wines could be requested, but there never was a list, or any real explanation of why there was not one. That shall remain a mystery. You could pretty much order any type of drink you wanted from any of the various bars, or ask your butler to bring a bottle of your choice to your cabin. The main evening bar “The Bar” was a great place to chat with people pre and post dinner. We never did make it to one of the evening shows – generally by about 1000 PM, we just wanted to go and relax in our cabin and have a nightcap there.
A good variety of shore excursions were offered and we heard good reports form people who were on them, but we like to be relaxed and spontaneous and when we arrived in port we looked around and then made a decision about what to do. We were very happy with that approach. We loved the itinerary and the variety of ports and the time spent in the ports. Typically, if there was another cruise ship in port, it would depart well before we did.
One of the best parts, at the end of the cruise, nothing was charged to our credit cards and we did not pay a penny more while on ship. It was so stress-free and relaxing to have an all-inclusive cruising experience.