Cruising may be more commonly associated with the leisure sector, but these floating palaces can also work well when it comes to hosting business events. Colette Doyle finds itโs all plain sailing when she boards the Silver Wind
Cruise ships have a reputation for glamour, but not all are created equal. As you board a Silversea vessel you realise from the outset that youโre in for a taste of the high life all the way, from the chilled champagne that greets you on arrival to the Bulgari toiletries youโll find in your suite and the gleaming gold fittings that surround you.
Then thereโs your cabin attendant โ actually, scratch that โ other lines may have attendants; Silversea has frock-coated butlers. Ours is Jitin, an affable character who hails from Kerala and for whom nothing is too much trouble, including unpacking our bags as we stagger off an early-morning flight โ a real treat. The reassuring thing is that heโs not being this nice just so youโll cough up a big tip at the end of the voyage, as all gratuities on board are included. โAlways appreciated, never expectedโ is Silverseaโs motto when it comes to tipping and the truly superlative service, pre-empting each guestโs every whim (when I tell him Iโm not a big fan of New World wines, Jitin graciously swaps my Chilean bottle of wine for an Italian one) is abundant evidence of this. In fact, the ratio of just 296 guests to 222 crew members on board the Silver Wind means there is always someone on hand to assist.
Another pertinent fact to note about the Silversea experience is there are no inside cabins on its fleet โ itโs an all-suite line, each one with a panoramic picture window and most featuring a balcony, or veranda as theyโre more grandly called here. As well as the butler service, you have a fridge โ which banishes all sorry memories of the mini-bar by stocking full-size bottles of your favourite tipple โ plush bathrobes and cosy slippers, plus (my favourite if only for the sheer cachet of it) personalised stationery.
A digest of news is delivered daily free of charge so you can keep up with all the goings-on at home, but I really liked the Silversea Chronicles. This is a printed overview of the dayโs activities, both in terms of the entertainment on board and the different shore excursions available. It also incorporates the rather quaint touch of informing you of the dress code for the day โ formal, informal or casual โ with a reminder that no jeans or shorts are allowed indoors after 6pm.
The highlight of most cruises is the dining and on the Silver Wind this is a gastronomic experience designed to please even the most exigent bon viveur. The prosaically named The Restaurant is the main dining room and, unlike on some other cruise lines, there are no fixed timings or seating allocations, meaning you can choose when you eat and with whom youโd like to sit. Typical starters include swordfish carpaccio or shrimp cocktail, followed by a choice of meat grills accompanied by a vast selection of side dishes and sauces, plus seafood and vegetarian options, salads and pasta. Desserts feature a healthy alternative complete with calorie count for those who are either being virtuous or dull, depending on your point of view.
La Terrazza, meanwhile, serves up Italian fare and reservations are mandatory, although thatโs simply to keep numbers in check in order to foster an intimate atmosphere, but thereโs no additional charge to dine here. Favourites of mine included the classic vitello tonnato (veal with a tuna and caper sauce), homemade tagliatelle with San Marzano tomatoes and cassata Siciliana, a divine ice-cream cake.
The all-inclusive pricing structure that operates on Silversea cruises covers alcoholic drinks too, so youโre free to imbibe away, whether your libation of choice is a glass of fine wine, champagne, or a fancy cocktail โ the Aperol Spritz comes highly recommended.
If you donโt mind paying extra on top of your all-inclusive deal, you may want to check out Le Champagne, which can lay claim to being the only Relais & Chรขteaux restaurant at sea. There is a steep additional charge of $200 (around ยฃ125) per person, but the menu offers up such tempting specialities as Dover sole with a Camembert bouillon, lobster thermidor and Grand Marnier soufflรฉ.
Youโll never go hungry on board a Silversea ship. As well as the standard three meals a day, thereโs afternoon tea, tapas before dinner and all-day snacks at the pool bar โ even drinks in the lounges come served with dainty canapรฉs. Meanwhile, if you opt to have a meal in your suite itโs silver service all the way, as your butler unfolds the tablecloth with a flourish and sets the table with proper cutlery and condiment dishes.
When your itinerary takes in such stunning ports of call as Sardinia, Corsica, Portofino and Monaco (see the box right), you might not plan on spending that much time on the ship, but there are on-board activities aplenty for when you do. During the day, there are card games, trivia quizzes and fitness classes to while away the time, as well as talks on places of interest that youโre passing through. I didnโt recognise any of the speakers on this sailing, but there are big names on occasion: last year, the Silver Wind played host to award-winning investigative journalist Roger Cook, who spoke about his globe-trotting career that spans more than 40 years.
Thereโs also a hair salon and Steiner spa with a full range of wraps, facials and massages, a small but serviceable casino and a set of smart-looking boutiques where you can pick up some tasteful souvenirs, plus thereโs a terrific little library where you can borrow a decent selection of books and DVDs if youโre not feeling especially sociable. Each evening there is entertainment in the show lounge โ I particularly enjoyed the Abba tribute performance, but there was also opera and classical piano recitals on offer for the slightly more highbrow.
Explaining how the facilities can be put to good use in the corporate sector, Maarten Tromp, Director of Corporate & Incentive Sales for the EMEA region, says the cruise line organises six full-ship charters a year on average, plus four group charters whose numbers mustnโt exceed 25 per cent of the shipโs capacity, so as not to disturb the other guests. Then there are deck charters, where a company can take over one whole deck and customise it with their branding, while still having access to all the facilities on board. For instance, a group from a well-known soft drinks manufacturer took part in a deck charter with a dual purpose: as well as being the venue for a board meeting, it also served as an inspection visit for a whole ship charter that was planned for the following year.
So far to date in 2014, the companies that have run programmes hail from the UK, continental Europe and the Far East and span various industries, including the financial, automotive and household goods sectors. Customisation is the name of the game: for the group from the Far East all the menus were translated into Asian languages, oriental cuisine was the fare of the day and their national spirit was especially flown in.
Other items that have been flown in by companies include entertainers such as Diana Ross, US comedians from the Vegas circuit and Russian dance troupes; boxer turned motivational speaker Sugar Ray Leonard also made a guest appearance as a presenter at a corporate awards ceremony. โYou can change the itinerary to suit, and tailor it to be as personal as you like. If itโs possible to do it, weโll make it work,โ comments Tromp, citing the example of one group who chose to stop off at Sardinia instead of Corsica, as there was a specific golf course there that they wanted to play at.
On another occasion, a German firm devised a partnersโ programme so that spouses werenโt bored waiting while the company employees got down to business. When the ship docked in Monaco, the team worked on board as partners embarked on a glitzy shopping trip and were later picked up in St Tropez. Then there was the car manufacturer, which had its brand new models lined up in each port so that the invited motoring journalists could test-drive them.
Tromp opines that perhaps the perception of leisure puts conference organisers off considering cruise ships as a serious option, but once itโs proposed they often take to the concept like โ if youโll pardon the pun โ a duck to water. As he puts it: โYou stay in a hotel, but you experience a cruiseโ and anyone who has cruised with Silversea can vouch for it being quite an experience indeed.
Prices for a similar voyage on board Silver Wind in 2015 start from ยฃ2,750 per person. For more information on other itineraries, ships in the Silversea fleet and charter opportunities, visit silversea.com
Silver Wind itinerary for voyage 2340
Day one
Arrive Rome, transfer to Civitavecchia. Silver Wind departs for Olbia, Sardinia
Day two
Arrive Olbia at 8am, depart for Calvi, Corsica at 6pm
Day three
Arrive Calvi at 8am, depart for Portofino at 11pm
Day four
Arrive Portofino at 8am, depart for Livorno at 11pm
Day five
Arrive Livorno at 8am
Day six
Depart for Cannes at 7pm
Day seven
Arrive Cannes at 8am, depart for Monaco at 6pm, arriving at 10pm
