My wife and I took our first Silversea cruise exactly a year ago: a ten-night western Caribbean cruise on the Cloud. We enjoyed it greatly, but felt that the Cloud was a bit too small (296 passenger capacity), a bit too old (1994), and a bit too quirky (some strange public-area design elements, such as no men's room on the deck where the main restaurant and Le Champagne are located; you have to go up a flight, and then have to look all over the place to find it).

So, while on that cruise, we booked this one, on Silversea's newest (2009) and largest (540 passenger capacity) ship, hoping that the ship itself would be better but without sacrificing the things we loved about the Cloud, notably the high-quality cuisine and the restaurant, bar, and housekeeping service.

We weren't disappointed. Read more