THE CRUISE: Seven days in August 2015 from Seward, Alaska, to Vancouver, British Columbia, on the Silversea Silver Shadow. The 28,000-ton ship was launched in 2000 and refurbished in 2011. Considered a premium or super-premium small ship, it carries a maximum of 382 passengers with a crew of around 300.
PRE-DEPARTURE AND EMBARKATION: After three days at the Hilton in Anchorage, we took the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Seward, a trip that is included in the cruise at no extra charge. Silversea reserves the entire train for cruise passengers. The cruise itself is all-inclusive, including drinks, tips and port fees, but on the train portion there's only a welcome glass of complimentary champagne; you have to pay for any other food or drink you purchase. We did buy light snacks and drinks, including a cute "Moose Mary," an Alaskan version of the Bloody Mary.
The train boards at the Alaska Railroad depot at the Anchorage airport, not at the station in downtown Anchorage, so four of us took a taxi from the Anchorage Hilton to the airport station. The fare for four was around $20 plus tip, much cheaper than the $39 per-person Silversea charges if you use their transfer service. The Anchorage airport train station is right at the airport terminal area. It's functional rather than attractive, whereas the airport itself is an attractive small airport with lots of local flavor and local art.
We had one of the “suites” with only a window, not a veranda open to the sea. About 85% of the cabins on the ship do have verandas, but this was a fully booked ship and a veranda suite wasn't available. As it turned out, we didn’t miss the veranda as much as we thought we would, as it was often quite chilly, and we probably would not have had breakfast on the veranda. There was also not as much to see on the Alaska itinerary as I thought there would be. There was only one whale spotted, and we missed it. The couple we were traveling with did see a large pod of porpoises.
Our cabin was quite large, about 287 square feet. We had a comfortable queen bed, a walk-in closet and a lovely large bathroom with both tub and separate shower, plus two washbasins in a granite top. There was plenty of storage. We had a small fridge, and our butler kept us supplied with ice. The TV, though a flat screen model, seemed fairly old, and we found the DVD player difficult to use. Although some of the wood surfaces in the room showed a little wear, overall the suite (though that’s stretching the definition) was very nice. We had no complaints.
We walked around the town. Like most other ports on this cruise, except Sitka, the town has been taken over by cruise lines. The towns look like Charlotte Amalie in St. Thomas, with Diamonds International and other jewelry stores.
It was raining lightly. We walked around town and did eventually find the Salmon Ladder. Saw quite a few live and some dead salmon.