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We just returned from our Silversea cruise on the Silverwind after a land tour on our own following debarkation. We truly loved the ship, crew, itinerary and the entire experience. We arrived in Barcelona a day prior to embarkation and were met by a driver in a Mercedes to take us to the Ritz Carlton Arts Hotel. The hotel was fabulous and we had the opportunity to enjoy some of Barcelona. We were driven to the port the next afternoon by bus and flew through embarkation. The ship is in great shape after a recent refurbishment. Our Veranda Suite was very nice for two people and had great walk-in closet space and more than ample drawer space for our luggage.
We arrived in the lovely port of Ibiza the next morning and went on a fun wine tasting at a local vineyard in the afternoon. We also explored the port area by foot and had a great time. Ibiza was a pleasant surprise and a fun port.
We had a relaxing sea day the next day by the pool enroute to Cassis, France. Cassis is truly lovely. We enjoyed an excursion to Le Castellet and a wonderful local vineyard. The sites were gorgeous and the people were very friendly.
We visited the fabled San Tropez the next day. What a lovely place! The port was gorgeous and full of multiple-million dollar private yachts. We enjoyed an excursion to the port of Grimaud and the beautiful medieval village of Grimaud. We explored St. Tropez when we returned. It was teeming with people but it was beautiful and fun!
The next stop was the very quaint Porto Venere in the Italian Cinquetere. We took a boat tour excursion to see this beautiful area by sea and had a great time. We returned to port and explored the area by foot including visiting an ancient castle and church.
Our next port was Livorno. Livorno is a working port and not a beauty spot. Its claim to fame is proximity to Florence, Pisa, and Tuscany. We were there for two nights and enjoyed excursions to a lovely village called Bolgheri in Tuscany and a beautiful vineyard in Tuscany. We visited Pisa the following day and climbed the leaning tower to view gorgeous sites from the top. It was a great excursion.
We arrived in Civitavecchia the next morning to disembark. I didn't want to leave! The level of service on Silversea was superb. Captain Palmieri and his wonderful crew did everything possible to ensure the ultimate in customer comfort. Our butler, Krishnan, made us very comfortable and delivered our favorite Cabernet to our cabin each afternoon with fruit and snacks. The food service and beverage service crew were fantastic with Gilbert Lanza and his staff doing an outstanding job. Darwin, Verlin, Carlo, Oscar, Peter and all othes that we encountered were wonderful.
My only criticisms with the cruise were that the entertainment was a bit too late for early excursion folks to enjoy. The ship excursions were a bit rushed and I would have liked some more time at most of the destinations. There were not many on-board activities on the sea day. This was very port intensive so not sure what would occur on a cruise with more sea days.
The food and beverage selections were great. The choices were interesting and nicely prepared and served. The wine selections were very good with top notch selections from The Champagne bar for an extra price. The complimentary selections were of decent quality too.
I would select Silversea again for a port-intensive experience. We loved the ability to experience small ports that big ships can't navigate and the passengers were a sophisticated group of people that were fun to travel with. Silversea is not suited for kids in my opinion. There are no children's programs. It is intended for a mature audience.
Hope that this review is helpful!
The food and beverage options were very good and prepared very well.
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