Touring Europe by Ship:
Silver Whisper Mediterranean Cruise
Continued from page 7

LEFT: Durant Imboden gives thanks to Pastry Chef Rik de Baere for the Silver Whisper's croissants and Danish pastries. (De Baere was voted World Champion Pastry Chef in 1995.)

Memorable moments from our voyage

Cheryl Imboden:

• Sitting on our balcony in a Silver Whisper terrycloth bathrobe at night and drying my hair in the sea breeze.

• Drinking rich, dark, fresh-squeezed orange juice at breakfast every day.

• Finding a new set of thick, absorbent towels in our bathroom twice a day. (Even the public restrooms had individual terrycloth towels.)

• Discovering a wooden chest on the jogging deck with a sign that read, "Water for running track."

• Picking up the phone to order a freshly made Pizza Margherita in Corfu when I returned to the ship after missing lunch.

• Talking with a shop owner in Katakolon, Greece, about business, work, and family.

• Seeing the chief engineer wave and talk to his family on a cell phone as the Silver Whisper detoured past his home town on the Dalmatian Coast.

• Having a Silversea executive offer me his cell phone so I could call home and check on the health of our 16-year-old dog.

Durant Imboden:

• Entering Venice by ship for the first time.

• Watching Stromboli erupt at night from the deck of the Silver Whisper. (The passengers' "oohs" and "aahs" reminded me of a 4th of July fireworks show.)

• Being told by a crew member that he'd mistaken me for Sean Connery when I'd first boarded the ship. (My reply: "He and I have one thing in common--we're both losing our hair.")

• Showing off my rudimentary Swiss-German dialect to a Headwaiter who recognized my surname from his hotel days in Switzerland.

• Discussing the challenges of baking baguettes at sea with Franck Garanger, Silversea's corporate chef, and learning that the cruise line had flown in a top baker from Paris to satisfy the owner's wish for baguettes that matched the quality of Silversea's croissants.

• Being whisked off to dinner with the ship's vocalists, Jim Weaver and Catherine LaValle, by Lena and Charlotte Fong (a mother and daughter from California), who had been acting as our social mentors since a chance encounter at the Athens Airport.

Page 9 - Is Silversea for you?