Personal Review of Silver Shadow - My Favourite Aspect

One aspect of cruising that I think is overlooked is the general ambience of the ship and on Silver Shadow there's one area that I absolutely adore - the onboard art collection.

All ships of course have their own art - normally in the gallery with an art auction listed in the daily programme.  Silver Shadow chooses to put its art front and centre, with all the public areas containing and impressive selection of different art from paintings, etchings and ceramics.  

I'm no great art expert and would not profess to know any more than the old adage "I know what I like" but with the Shadow's collection of modern art and sculpture including Dali and Miro, the selection is very much to my taste and adds much to the onboard experience.  Even the art above my bed "Self portrait with Guillaume" by Paul Cezanne, shows the attention to providing something above and beyond.

One of course must remember to stop once in a while and admire what is displayed.  It is easy to rush past a multi-thousand dollar sculpture on the way to lunch or dinner, so making the time to slow down and take some time is important not to forget.

 I just wish I had a budget to invest for my own home.

Days at Sea - Boring? Yeah Right!

One of the most often asked questions when people talk to me (or I’m boring them) about my cruising holiday habits is: “Aren’t sea days boring?”  To which my incredulous response is “Are you kidding??!”.  OK, let me caveat that now.  If your idea of fun is being occupied non-stop from waking to sleeping by bungie jumping, sword swallowing and jumping out of and undertaking death defying free—falls from a perfectly serviceable airplane then I guess cruising isn’t going to be for you.  However sea days offer the opportunity to explore and appreciate the vessel itself (and let’s not forget we are in a floating luxury 5/6* hotel) that can sometimes be forgotten in the hubbub that a port intensive itinerary can bring.

Every night the programme for tomorrow is delivered to your suite, enabling interesting activities to be ticked and built into your own personal day’s schedule.  Today, for example, I could have been up at 7am (yeah, right!) for a sunrise walk with the personal trainer Vlad followed by Fab Abs.  After breakfast I have a choice of bridge lessons or enrichment lectures on a wide variety of topics - today’s are the History of Hawaii and The Art of the Magazine Picture story.  If I didn’t fancy any of that then I could have joined a cookery lesson with the Silversea Culinary Trainer, David Bilsland, who is showing us some pub favourites leading up to a traditional English pub lunch around the pool.

At noon, we get the daily navigational update from Captain Cataldo Destefano.  In the afternoon, I’ve the choice of a blackjack tournament, more lectures including one from Vlad, previously mentioned, on increasing my metabolism, playing a few games of bingo or the daily team trivia quiz built round afternoon tea.  And if I’ve still got time, there’s a little more exercising, crossword puzzles, sudoko, shuffleboard or golf putting to show some sporty skills.

In the evening, I’ve a choice of entertainment from simple melodies, played by the pianist in the main bar to the spotlight cabaret in the main theatre from the onboard ensemble or visiting artistes.

Don’t forget you’ve got to build in time for breakfast, lunch afternoon tea, perhaps a pre-dinner cocktail and dinner too.  Time to be bored? I don’t think so.

Of course you can always take my route to spending my time on sea days.  Eat, relax and catch up on some reading and favourite music in one of the lounges.  Maybe an afternoon nap.  After all it’s my holiday and I deserve it.

(I should also add as a postscript that many of the mainstream cruise lines have much more going on than a line like Silversea - the Silver Shadow doesn’t have zip lines, climbing walls, surf machines, water flumes et al.  Which just goes to show why cruising is such a flexible holiday - it’s there for you to find if you want but if you like things a little more refined and slower-paced then that’s there too)

Pacific Adventures - London to Embarkation

LHR to SFO

Using Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class service is definitely the way to travel long distances.  Dropping off at the Upper Class Wing, removes the need to battle the crowds through a busy Terminal 3 at Heathrow.  Pulling into a private entrance and by the time you’ve passed through the security barriers and driven up the ramp, you are met kerbside by a Virgin representative, with your boarding pass in hand.  Your luggage is wheeled away by two other people and you don’t need to worry about that again until you reach your destination.  A few simple security questions later and you’re directed to the private security lane and moments later you’re airside and walking to the Virgin Clubhouse.

In my opinion, the Virgin lounge is one of the very best - spacious, well designed with a spa and shoeshine if you need to tidy yourself up before boarding.  As you’d expect, there are a few quirky extras such as a pool table and a big TV wall showing sports for those who need a quick fix of football before flying.

Most important of all for me is that wherever you sit there is a friendly waiter ready to bring you food and drink.  Indulge in a full cooked breakfast or eggs benedict in the morning before 11.30, after which burgers et al become the order of the day.  A quick tip - it’s a bit difficult balancing your breakfast on your knees if you sit on the sofas, so try to think ahead before you stake your claim to a particular seating area.

Within no time at all your flight is called and you’re walking to the gate.

Unfortunately for me there was a missing relief pilot for our flight so we had a bit of a delay at the gate before boarding and ended up picking up about an hours delay overall but on the whole it was well handled by the gate staff and crew.

Inflight, Upper Class is as you would expect a quality service. I seated myself on the upper deck of our 747-400 where 10 Upper Class passengers have their own private cabin, making the experience much more akin to a private jet.  Flat beds and good food complete the mix with the customary mid-flight ice-cream  Unfortunately on the Upper Deck, on disembarkation you cannot rush off the aircraft as behind you by the stairs, there is an economy section, so passengers end up being one of the last premium passengers to leave (The main deck is held back to enable the upper deck to disembark after Upper Class downstairs.

Hotel in San Francisco.

After getting through the queues at US immigration (never complain about Heathrow again!), luggage is waiting on the belt and on passing through customs, I was met by a Silversea representation who directed me and 3 other passengers to our transfer limo.  By this time it was rush-hour so we had to contend with rather a lot of traffic but eventually we arrived at the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Hotel.  A pleasant property, my room with a king size (american sizing) bed wasn’t the biggest or best designed (strangely built into a corner so that the hall wrapped round the bathroom) but the bed was comfortable with a nice topper like my own at home so after a long journey and a hot shower, it was good to fall asleep to the American version of Family Fortunes - a much more upbeat affair with lots of whooping and clapping than our own.

Embarkation

On arriving at the hotel, every passenger is given a letter from the ground agent giving useful information, so on checking out at noon, I knew I had the meet the rep in reception for our transfer to the ship at 12.30.  Leaving on time, after 10 or 15 minutes we were at the cruise terminal, our luggage whisked away once again to be loaded onto the ship and delivered to our suites.  Embarkation was painless.  A few flashes of our passports, our security cruise card is issued and we board.  On arrival, a cold towel is offered and we are directed to reception  where two rapidly moving queues move us to the counters where our picture for security is taken and just like any hotel, our credit card registered for our onboard account.  Trust me to end up at the terminal that decides to crash when I arrive!  Expertly handled by the guest relations manager, I move across to her colleague who finalises my arrival.

It’s then on to lunch (you can choose depending on your time of arrival to dine a-la-carte in the main dining room, have the buffet offering in La Terrazza or dine al-fresco on the pool deck).  I chose the main restaurant as I like the service and had the beef carving of the day with a nice Yorkshire pudding, just home from home!  

At about 1.40pm the Cruise Director Jimmy Kovel announced the suites were ready.  I’m in a terrace suite to take advantage of the single supplement promotion.  The accommodation is similar to the veranda suites except that I share my veranda with 10 or so other suites.  Not a problem, its not a major traffic route and as long as you remember to close the curtains when dressing, privacy is not an issue! Accommodation is spacious with a marble appointed bathroom with double vanity and separate bath tub and shower.

Every suite on Silversea’s fleet has a butler.  Mine introduced himself that afternoon, gave me a tour of the suite’s facilities and established my preferences of toiletries and in my mini-bar (all complementary), orders me a bottle of prosecco and even offered to unpack my luggage.

After the compulsory muster drill, it’s time to settle back and enjoy the voyage.  I started mine as we sailed away from the port, under the Golden Gate Bridge, with a cocktail, snacks and canapés all expertly served and prepared by the bar team.

It is then time for dinner and then back to my suite to have a good night’s rest in the rather bumpy 4m swells that rock me gently, mostly, to sleep.

They were right! A new owner for Regent Seven Seas Cruises

It looks as if the reports yesterday were right.  Regent released the attached statement on their blog today:

"We have some exciting news to share.  The parent company of Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Prestige Cruises International, has agreed to be acquired by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Ltd., parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line.

This is a significant milestone and an achievement only made possible with the hard work and dedication of the entire Prestige Cruises International family, from the officers and crew onboard our ships to the staff and management team here in Miami.

For our loyal guests, you can rest assured that the Regent Seven Seas Cruises experience you’ve come to love will remain unchanged.  At Regent, we pride ourselves on providing our guests with the most inclusive luxury experience at sea with included round-trip air, fine wine and spirits, unlimited shore excursions, specialty dining, ground transfers and gratuities. We continue to enhance our offerings for guests with our expanded free internet program that begins next year, and in summer 2016 we will introduce the most luxurious ship ever built with Seven Seas Explorer^®.

With Norwegian Cruise Line, we’ve found a partner that shares a similar passion for going above-and-beyond to deliver exceptional guest experiences and we’re excited about starting this new chapter for our company.

When the transaction is complete later this year, it will bring together three great brands as part of one family.  The combination will create a diversified cruise operator with a full spectrum of offerings that range from family cruising on Norwegian’s innovative Freestyle Cruising ships, to the country-club casual experience on Oceania’s fleet, to the all-inclusive, more intimate experience afforded by Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ luxury offering.

For the Regent Seven Seas Cruises brand, our mission will be to preserve the distinct offerings, guest experiences and unique onboard culture our guests cherish, while always exploring ways to further enhance our luxury experience."

It'll be interesting to see if this change in ownership has any effect on the Regent cruise experience, positively or negatively.  As someone that's sailed 175 or so days with them, I hope it'll be a positive development.  I for one will be watching as my next booking is likely to be next year after the acquisition.

New Owner for Regent Seven Seas Cruises?

Reuters are reporting today that Norwegian Cruise Lines are in talks to buy Prestige Cruise Holdings (PCH), the owner of Regent and Oceania in a deal worth $3billion.  Apollo Global Management (a private equity firm), the owners of PCH also own 20% of Norwegian.

Seven Seas Voyager anchored off Komodo Island - February 2014

As Regent is one of my favourite cruise lines, I wonder if this deal goes through will I be greeted with the large graphics on the hull so beloved by Norwegian the next time I sail?