In October my friend Leah and I traveled to Manhattan, New York to board the Silver Whisper, one of many beautiful ships from the luxury cruise line, Silversea. Aboard this all-inclusive cruise ship we had many delightful experiences during our 10-days travelling from New York to Barbados. Upon checking in we were greeted with a very friendly and personal welcome from the Hotel Director, Norman Rafelson and the Cruise Director, Don Fluke.

Our Butler, Dennis, showed us to our Midship Verandah Suite, #631, which was very similar to what you might expect in a 5-star hotel. Our suite included two very comfortable beds, a small living room with a fully stocked complementary mini bar and an amazing view from the verandah (which had a table and two chairs). The bathroom was stocked with Bvlgari products, had two sinks, a jetted tub and a separate shower!

While exploring the ship we found  that Silversea offers (at no extra charge) Yoga classes, Pilates classes, a golf tee practice range, ballroom dance classes, many fitness and health seminars, a gym and a salt water pool (where you can play water volleyball)! We joined a trivia team that included some of the most brilliant players from around the world and we even took first place many times! And if you just happened to forget your book on the plane they have a library that offers a wide range of books and movies that you can check out.

The first two days at sea we had some free time to explore the ship, see a few of the many different types of shows offered, and experience the tantalizing tastes of the three restaurants, not to mention 5-star room service! The dining choices onboard were fabulous. Each day we ordered lunch from the delicious poolside grill. This isn’t your ordinary poolside grill, it offered many options from crab Caesar salad to cheeseburgers, and as a special they served grilled swordfish. For dinners there were three choices of open dining –you choose where and when you want to dine. The two fine dining experiences, the Restaurant with International cuisine, and La Terrazza with Italian cuisine, were delightful. However, out of the three choices my personal favorite was The Grill (on pool deck 8), in the evenings the Pool Grill transforms into an interactive Black Rock Grill experience. Our orders were brought to us grilling on a hot lava stone! My favorite menu item was the surf & turf, which included filet mignon & tiger prawns, and apple pie alamode for dessert!

In summary, I now know why Silversea is a top award-winning luxury cruise line. All of the staff was helpful, courteous and never said no! The Silver Whisper is the perfect size with only 325 passengers, and we never had to wait for anything. The ship is small enough to venture to islands that are more difficult, or impossible, for the big ships to get to. Most importantly, from the moment we stepped onto the ship until we disembarked we were well taken care of and had a wonderful experience. I would recommend Silversea and would certainly sail on them time and again!