Silver Spirit Voyage 5041: a great mix of Eastern and Southern
Caribbean Ports.
Image courtesy of Silversea Cruises.
Deep within my boxes of cruise memorabilia, I have a ratty, well-loved copy of NCL's 1998 Alaska Cruises brochure. It was the year I took my first cruise, and I spent months pouring over the itinerary and deckplans, until I almost had the thing memorized. In fact, I can still remember some of it, including the bad, 1990's-style copy: "All that glitters isn't gold...it's the multi-story atrium aboard Norwegian Dynasty!"
Twelve years and twenty cruises later, another brochure is getting similarly put through the paces: the 2010 Silversea Voyages guide. I've been pouring over it for months in anticipation of tomorrow, when I will board Silversea's brand-new Silver Spirit for a unique, nine-day voyage through the Southern and Eastern Caribbean. Starting in Bridgetown, Barbados and ending in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, it promises to be a remarkable cruise in many ways.
Well, almost. I can't physically take you all with me - there's too many of you - but I can take you there virtually, and that's almost as good!
I will be blogging and writing a new article each day while on the cruise, describing both the ship and the ports of call in as much detail as I can, and utilizing as many photographs as I can reasonably upload over a shipboard internet connection.
Of course, like any "live" blog, this comes with the usual disclaimers: we all know how tricky Wi-Fi connections can be, both on land or at sea. So there may be some lag in getting the articles up. Hopefully not - but you never know. Most of the updates will be written in the evening - after all, it doesn't do any good to tell you about things that haven't happened yet!
I will be uploading some key photos each day as well, though the majority, including HD-video clips from each port of call and, more importantly, the Silver Spirit, will follow after Christmas. A complete, deck-to-deck photo tour of the Silver Spirit will also be available around this time.
Silversea's brand-new Silver Spirit.
Photo courtesy of Silversea Cruises
This voyage is a huge deal for me in many ways. First of all, I've never sailed to the Eastern or Southern Caribbean, so this is all new for me. I sailed once, about two years ago, on a short Western Caribbean cruise out of Tampa that I booked largely because airfare was so cheap. Being on the West Coast, it can be more expensive to fly to Florida than to go to Europe.
Besides the exciting, off-the-beaten-path ports like Bequia (pronounced beck-way) and St. Georges, Grenada, the Silver Spirit herself is the main attraction for me. I've sailed aboard everything from Royal Caribbean to Cunard, but I've never cruised on a true luxury line before.
When I toured the Silver Shadow here in Vancouver in June, I was blown away by its features an amenities. The little touches were everywhere, from the lady in the dining room making the final adjustments to the fresh flowers, to the crew greeting each guest by name. Then, there was the space. In fact, I'd wandered around the ship for two hours before realizing most people were already aboard!
I realized then that true luxury isn't just having a bigger suite or included beverages. True luxury is not having to battle the masses.
(to all the large-ship lovers out there: let me just say two of my all-time favorite ships are Crown Princess and Queen Mary 2 - both of which carry roughly three-thousand passengers.)
You Had Me at 'Document Pouch': the elaborate,
printed documents Silversea provides.
Photo © 2010 Aaron Saunders
So when the opportunity came up to try the line out for myself, it was a no-brainer.
And in this age of do-it-yourself e-tickets, Silversea pulls out all the stops when it comes to documentation. The tickets, which came in an actual, honest-to-God silver box emblazoned with the Silversea logo, consisted of two leather luggage tags, a leather document pouch containing separate folders for air and cruise tickets, large, high-durability adhesive luggage tags with stateroom and names printed on them, and a proper, printed shore excursion booklet.
They say you only get one chance to make a first impression; Silversea had me at "document pouch." Sure, there's a debate on CruiseCritic as to whether it is real or faux leather, but does it matter? I haven't received a document pouch for any cruise in well over two years, let alone any of the other included goodies.
It's all part of the experience - and that experience begins tomorrow. I hope you'll tune in!
If you want to get a good look at the Silver Spirit, have a peek at this very well-made video produced by Fincantieri, the yard that built her.
If you want to get a good look at the Silver Spirit, have a peek at this very well-made video produced by Fincantieri, the yard that built her.
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