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Silver Whisper
Silversea "Scotland's Tattoo" Cruise
Continued from page 7

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ABOVE: Silver Whisper stewardesses pose in their evening dress uniforms.

Service

Years ago, when we had problems getting our car loaded onto the budget-priced ocean liner Mikhail Lermontov, a stevedore told us: "When you go cheap, what do you expect?" He'd have been pleased to see that we learned our lesson by cruising on the Silver Whisper.

The service on Silversea's Silver Whisper can be summarized with one word: "superb." Everyone, from Captain Gennaro Arma to the stewardesses to the able seamen who helped us on and off the ship's tenders, was impeccably courteous and helpful.

Some members of the crew were formal (such as an Italian waiter, Claudio, who moved with the precision and flair of a waiter trained in fine European hotels). Others were more overtly eager to please (such as the young waiter who, after reading our placecards at the safety officer's table, addressed us as "Mr. Durant" and "Mrs. Cheryl" each time he served us a new dish).

We were especially impressed by Gabriele Schintu, the maitre d' in The Restaurant, and Carlos, the headwaiter in the Terrace Café, who memorized our surname and instantly accommodated our dining preferences (at a shared table or à deux, indoors or outdoors) at every meal.

Two anecdotes suggest the quality of service that you can expect on the Silver Whisper:

We were slow to make reservations for the "Cucina Italiana" theme dinner in the Terrace Café. Carlos, the headwaiter, explained that the dinner was fully booked, but that he'd put our names on a waiting list.

Around 6:15 p.m. on the evening of the dinner, Carlos phoned our suite and said that, unfortunately, there hadn't been any cancellations and he didn't have a table for us.

An hour and a half later, as we were on our way to The Restaurant, we stopped for a moment to talk with a fellow passenger near the staircase. Carlos saw us from his Terrace Café podium at the far end of the corridor and ran down the hall to tell us that he'd just had a last-minute cancellation and could give us a table. (He'd tried to reach us in our suite, but we'd already left, so he made a point of looking for us before we could reach the main dining room.)

In St. Peter Port, Guernsey, a fellow guest bought a pantsuit that required alterations. She asked if a tailor was on board, the concierge's desk said yes, and in due course a tailor arrived at her cabin to take measurements. She then asked if it would be possible to have the suit back within 24 hours.

The following day, the suit was delivered to the passenger's stateroom. She tried it on, and it fit perfectly. The only surprise came when she received her bill at the end of the voyage: The tailor had charged only US $10 for the extensive alterations.

Such service qualifies as "above and beyond the call of duty"--and it's all the more impressive on a ship where service is included in the fare and no further tipping is expected.

Next page: Overall experience


Silver Whisper
Introduction Entertainment
Silver Whisper Shore excursions
Staterooms Service
Dining Overall experience
Mandara Spa Web links

"Scotland's Tattoo" ports and sights

Copenhagen Londonderry
Rosyth (Edinburgh) St. Peter Port (Guernsey)
Invergordon (Inverness) Zeebrugge (Bruges)
Stornoway (Outer Hebrides) Tilbury (London)

Ship photos

Silver Whisper Photos 2003 Silver Whisper Photos 2002

Related cruise review  
Silver Whisper Mediterranean Cruise