Silver Wind Review

5.0 / 5.0
196 reviews

Silver Wind Mediterranean Cruise, 13-27 March 2012

Review for the Eastern Mediterranean Cruise on Silver Wind
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Randyk47
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Mar 2012
Cabin: Medallion Suite

Embarkation/Disembarkation: Embarkation at Barcelona, Spain on 13 March was extremely smooth and easy. We've never cruised with Silversea before so we really didn't know what to expect nor have we cruised out of any port other than a US port (Ft Lauderdale, Tampa, Port Canaveral, and Galveston). Should say we've also not been on a ship as small as the Wind with only a 296 passenger capacity. It was only 249 actual passengers for our cruise, so it's not like you're fighting a huge crowd at the cruise terminal. Because the ship was staying overnight in Barcelona we felt no pressure to board early so after some morning touring in Barcelona we arrived at the cruise terminal around 2:30 PM. We were greeted curbside by staff from the ship who quickly checked our names against a roster. Our luggage was whisked away by waiting porters and we went into the terminal to go through security and check-in. Silversea uses, at least for this cruise, ship's staff to man the terminal check-in which entailed surrendering our passports, verifying the credit card we'd be using for ship board purchases, and getting our room key cards. No waiting for group numbers or colors to be called, we were immediately escorted to the ship where staff took our carry-on luggage from us and assisted us in boarding the ship. We were greeted by more ship's staff and offered a glass of champagne. The staff with our carry-on bags waited patiently while we exchanged pleasantries and then escorted us to our cabins. Amazingly, though probably not surprising considering the size of the ship, our luggage was very quickly delivered to our cabins.

Disembarkation on 27 March was amazingly rapid and easy. We actually had arrived in Istanbul the day before and overnighted on the Wind, basically using the ship as a floating hotel that last night. One thing we didn't like about disembarkation, and it's more of an observation than a complaint, is that Silversea asked us to leave our cabins not later than 8 AM so they could prepare for the on-coming passengers. As it turned out we went to one of the lounges where they were serving a light breakfast with coffee and Danish and we were off the ship by 8:45 AM. Passing through Turkish Customs and Immigration was quick as Silversea had arranged for our Turkish visas. We were traveling with another couple and had arranged through the ship's concierge desk for a limo service to take us and our substantial amount of luggage to our Istanbul hotel. The ship's staff, many of whom we'd gotten to know during the cruise, quickly greeted us in the terminal, helped us locate our luggage, and make connection with the limo service. Sadly, but efficiently, we were driven away from the terminal within 15 or 20 minutes and arrived at our hotel some 30 minutes later.

Itinerary: The highlight, and main reason for booking this cruise, was the itinerary. Ten ports in fourteen days, and actually three of those were overnights, was intense and exciting. We started in Barcelona (first overnight) then on to Marseille, Monte Carlo, Livorno (second overnight which meant we could visit Florence one day and Pisa the next), Civitavecchia which is the port for Rome, Naples, Palermo, Malta, Piraeus which is the port for Athens, and finally Istanbul (third overnight). At least for us this was a cruise of a lifetime. We've never cruised in the Mediterranean before and with the exception of Florence, which I had visited years and years ago when I was working in Germany, our stops were all new and wonderful. We'd be hard pressed to say we like one better than another as each had its own attraction, flavor, and interest.

Cabin Review

Medallion Suite

Cabin ME

We were in 804,a Medallion Suite, on the Wind. There are only four cabins on Deck 8, just forward of the pool and just behind the bridge and senior officers' cabins. It was almost like having a small part of the ship all to ourselves. Absolutely fantastic location. Noticed that the crew took great care not to make noise in the hallway leading to the bridge so we rarely heard any noise from outside of the cabin. Also no noise from the spa and exercise areas on the deck above. Great cabin with a walk-in closet, plenty of storage, large balcony, nice marble bathroom, comfortable sitting area with a couch and two overstuffed chairs, and our own espresso machine. Could not have asked for a better cabin.

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