When we boarded at Los Angeles it was with a little trepidation following our November 2012 cruise with Seabourn where we had encountered such poor food and service aboard Seabourn Sojourn. We need not have worried. Silver Whisper was as close to perfection as I think it is possible to get and, believe me, after 36 years of cruising on a whole variety of cruise lines, I think I can comment fairly, objectively and without bias.

The 29 days crossing the Pacific to Sydney where we disembarked were the first two sectors of the 2013 World Cruise. Silversea only do one annual World Cruise and the job normally goes to Silver Whisper, one of the mid-sized ships. There were 340 guests aboard a 28,000 tonne ship which makes for a remarkable space/passenger ratio. Nowhere ever felt crowded. This is an extremely comfortable ship which rides the ocean very well - and we did encounter some quite 'big' seas!

The other passengers were, like us, virtually all in the upper age bracket. 140 (approximately 40%) were doing the full 4 month World Cruise. You need to be retired to commit to such a long time away from home, but it does enable you to experience leisurely cruising as it used to be, before these 7-day (or less!) 'every day a different port' cruises were invented. 85% of the passengers had sailed with Silversea before. Our fellow passengers were well travelled, well educated, charming and companionable. We joined a 'trivia team' where all the other members had sailed before on the Silver Whisper World Cruise and we were made most welcome, even though we had not sailed on the ship before. Read more