It's a sunny day in the Mediterranean - "luxurious" might be a more appropriate word - so it seems like a good time to talk about luxury cruising. The fact that I'm sailing on the Silver Spirit, which wears the luxury badge well, has nothing to do with it, of course.
My interviewee is Brad Ball, spokesman for Silversea, one of the cruise lines considered luxury class (the kind for which they used to say: "If you have to ask the price, you can't afford the cruise.")
These are small ships - with 540 passengers, Silver Spirit is the largest - and throughout the recent recession, they have remained successful. So it's logical to ask how.
"Times have changed," Ball says. "You can buy a cruise on Silversea for less than you would have paid 10 years ago, and get a lot more for the price. With competition at sea and luxury-based land resorts, we are now all about value and choice."
What Silversea did was make major changes to its Silver Privileges fares to give customers separately priced options. These include air, transfers, hotel and land components.
"That's the choice part," adds Ball.
You can book the lowest fare possible long before your cruise and if you (or your agent) find a lower fare for a comparable cabin, the difference is returned in shipboard credits, future cruise credit, upgrade or reduced fare.
The three-year-old Silver Spirit is the fleet's "mega ship," with one of cruising's best space-per-passenger and staff-to-passenger ratios (it has a crew of 376). The other four ships are Silver Shadow, Silver Whisper (both 382 passengers), Silver Wind and Silver Cloud (both 296 passengers).
How spacious is the Silver Spirit? All cabins are suites ranging in size from 312 to 1,879 square feet, and 95 per cent have teak balconies with floor-to-ceiling glass doors. Other luxuries include marble floors in the bath area, a choice of nine types of pillows, separate bedroom or bedrooms, dining and living area, and a walk-in closet ... just like home. Well, not quite.
The ship is awash in luxury. Butlers attend every suite, and provide all the services you'd expect, such as shining shoes, making reservations, providing room service and acting disappointed if you miss anything that's included.
My butler, Rowland, who realized I was staying in the cabin to write this column and my blogs, brought canapes and wine at 4 p.m. and returned later with a menu to make sure I didn't skip dinner while working.
The Silver Spirit's ports on this nine-day cruise- Portugal,
Morocco and the Canary Islands in Spain - are exotic if not luxurious, and make for short sailing distances (my blog posts on the ship and its ports started Nov. 13 at portsandbows.com).
Passengers get on and off the ship at Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. But you can choose from a range of Silver Spirit cruises with more luxurious ports, such as Monte Carlo, Cannes and French Polynesia.
While a luxury ship, the Silver Spirit is friendly and not snobbish. I'm told 50 per cent of the passengers are North American and 50 per cent international.
Some are meeting Silversea friends from past cruises and crew members often remember passengers by name. Even tipping is friendly because all gratuities are included. I tried to offer something extra for extraordinary service and was politely refused.
The ship's ample space allows for six restaurants; four are part of your cruise fare, while the other two - Le Champagne and Seishin - have a per-guest reservation fee.
Luxury may not be part of your daily lifestyle but the Silver Spirit gives you a welcome taste of it, even if it's just a once-in-a-lifetime experience. When I get home, there will be no canapes and wine at 4 p.m. How will I make it through the day?
Visit portsandbows.com for daily updates on the latest cruise news, best deals and behind-the-scenes stories from the industry. You can also sign up for an email newsletter on the site for even more cruise information. Phil can be contacted directly at portsandbows@ gmail.com.
