Our first Silversea cruise, and we were impressed with the ship, staff and service; dining was pretty good too, especially in La Terrazza which is so popular, tables are rationed.

However, a huge disappointment on this cruise along Canada's Inside Passage and three Alaska ports, was the absence of a naturalist or wildlife expert. I'd guess that most people on board were there for the scenery and wildlife rather than evening entertainment. The otherwise excellent cruise director seemed to focus largely on the latter. The only onboard lectures were historical and social in content, when what everybody wanted to know was what they would see tomorrow! It didn't help when the captain mentioned that he'd seen some whales earlier in the morning - we'd have loved to share the experience. The cruise cried out for talks every evening so that passengers would know what to look out for and where they were most likely to see it.

Only other criticism was the butler service, which was intrusive and slightly superior - anything other than relaxing. Friends on the same deck had a wonderful butler, so it's just the luck of the draw. Read more