7-night European Cruise (Barcelona/Lisbon)

Starting in London, we stayed at the Lanesborough. When you walk into your luxurious suite, you feel you are in someone’s gracious home. Our butler offered to help us unpack, but unnecessary since we were staying only one night. He brought some much needed coffee to help the jet lag and we headed out to see the sights. The concierge was most helpful in recommending an excellent seafood restaurant within walking distance, One on One. The suite was excellently appointed with a huge bath and luxurious bedding. We didn’t want to leave, but Silver Spirit beckoned.

 

 

We arrived at the ship and embarked immediately with no waiting.   Escorts were waiting to take us to our suite. By the time we took a quick tour of the ship, our luggage arrived. The welcome bottle of champagne was most appreciated.

 

Silver Spirit is large enough to provide multiple dining and entertainment venues and small enough to be intimate. It is understated elegance with rich dark woods, red and gold carpeting and tasteful artwork and sculptures. 

 

Silver Spirit is all suites. Our suite was very roomy with a veranda, living area and walk in closet. The bathroom was large with separate tub and shower. There is a choice of Bulgari, Acqua di Parma or Neutrogena bath amenities. Bedding was luxurious and the walk in closet had plenty of room for the contents of our six suitcases. Personalised stationery is included.      

 

Our butler, Royden, was a delight. He kept our suite stocked with coffee, milk and our choice of wine. You can also order afternoon tapas to be delivered to the room. He made our dining reservations for each evening. 

 

 

With seven dining venues, there is plenty of choice. Open seating dining allows you to eat when you want and with whom you want. We had no problem obtaining reservations and a table for two on any night.

 

La Terrazza provides buffet service for breakfast and lunch, with outdoor seating when weather permits. At night, the buffet disappears and La Terrazza is transformed into an intimate, romantic Italian restaurant. This was our favorite venue.

 

The Restaurant is sophisticated and elegant. We had lunch once and dinner three times in The Restaurant, all excellent meals. Our favorite wine steward, Jeremy, was passionate and knowledgeable. He introduced us to many new, excellent wines. If you do not like the house wine that is being served, you can ask for something different and Silversea will graciously provide it.

 

Le Champagne, the Relais and Chateaux Specialty Restaurant, offers a special six-course food and wine pairing dinner for $200 per person. It is worth every penny. Our sommelier, Sylvain, was very knowledgeable, and gave us wine pairing notes for the future. One of our top dining experiences ever.

 

Stars Supper Club offers live music and dancing in a night-club style environment. The menu is a succession of tapas, with 5 different wines. The jazz duo was excellent and we only regret we forgot to come back another evening. Unique touches include Himalayan pink salt and black salt from Hawaii, plus a unique selection of olive oils and balsamic vinegar in test tubes.   

 

Seishin is Asian fusion cuisine. You can have the three-course or five-course dinner. In the middle of the room is the sushi master where you can watch him making his creations. 

 

Hot Rocks is not to be missed. Located on deck 10 overlooking the pool, it is an innovative, unique dining experience exclusive to Silversea. You make your salad selection and then choose your entrée ranging from fish to steak. After the salad course, the waiter brings a hot lava rock and you cook your entrée at the table. You can slice off bites as they get done and continue cooking the rest. A welcome change of simple fare after the sumptuous dining in the other venues. 

 

The Pool Grill serves light fare at breakfast and lunch from the menu, a relaxing alternative to the buffet in La Terrazza.   

 

Additionally, coffee and soft drinks are available through the day in Observation Lounge on Deck 11 and the Bar on Deck 5.

 

 

Not being production show people, we attended only one show – a tribute to Elton John. It was well done.

 

Panorama Lounge offers music and dancing in the evenings, or weather permitting you can sit outside – our preference. There are sofas and chairs in several groupings, or very comfortable round deck chairs for two.   

 

The Bar on Deck 5 also has music, but sadly, we kept forgetting to stop by.

 

You don’t need a dinner reservation for Stars Supper Club to enjoy listening and dancing to the jazz duo.

 

Connoisseur’s Corner has an excellent assortment of Davidoff and Cuban cigars.

 

Observation Lounge is a quiet, relaxing night and day spot. A nice serene place to read up on destinations during the day, watch sailaway or just unwind after dinner.

 

A highlight of the trip was a dinner buffet Poolside with music and dancing. There was a wide variety of salads, vegetables and meat dishes. At the end, the Cruise Director assembled the entire ship’s staff to be presented to a standing ovation from the guests. You don’t realize how many people seamlessly and graciously make your cruise a dream come true until you see them assembled all at once.   

 

 

St. Malo – Sadly, we missed Mont St. Michel as a marathon prevented access that day. St. Malo is a charming walled village, and we enjoyed walking around. Being a Sunday, most of the shops were closed.

 

Bordeaux – Our favorite port and fortunately, there was an overnight. The ship travels 100 km up the Garonne River to dock right in town. We spent one day exploring the town, having lunch in an outdoor cafe with a view of Cathedrale St-Andre. The next morning, we did Silversea’s Bicycling through the Vineyards, another trip highlight. We bicycled through vineyards hundreds of years old, past chateaux and stopped at Chateau Carbonnieux, dating back to the 12^th century for a tour of the winery and wine tasting. Then we boarded buses back for the half hour drive to the ship.         

 

Lisbon – We arranged a private car and driver tour through Portugal Deluxe which is highly recommended. We were met at the gangway by our delightful English-speaking guide, Telma, who introduced us to Fernando, our driver. We were whisked away in a roomy sedan to St. George’s Castle, the 16^th century Jeronimo’s Monastery and Belem Tower, followed by the monument to the great explorers. We continued along the coastline to Cascais and stopped for a wonderful lunch of sea bass baked in salt, ending in Sintra with a port tasting at Loja do Vinho. It was a magical day.

 

Cadiz – The ship docked right in town, and we walked all over the city, including out to Castillo de San Sebastian, a 17^th century fort. Also a Sunday, all shops were closed. The old town is full of narrow winding streets, many of them pedestrian streets, and it’s easy to lose your bearings. After hours of walking, we went back to our suite and ordered tapas from our butler. We sat on our veranda and enjoyed the view of beautiful Cadiz.

 

Gibraltar – It’s about a 15-minute walk to Main Street lined with hundreds of shops, a tax-free haven. However, we bought nothing and hired a taxi from the Tourist Office to take us to the top of The Rock for spectacular views, especially looking down on our beautiful ship docked. The cost was about $100, and we could have waited for another couple to join us to bring the cost down to $70, but we didn’t want to be tied to anyone else’s schedule. We stopped at St. Michael’s Cave, The Great Siege tunnels and the World War II tunnels. Our driver was very knowledgeable and spoke excellent English. The Barbary apes were cute, but we were warned they would bite and steal handbags so we kept our distance. The story goes that Gibraltar would always be part of the United Kingdom as long as there were apes there. The ape population was almost decimated in the early 1900’s and Prime Minister Churchill, being superstitious, ensured the ape population was restored after being down to four apes. The airport runway is curiously cut in half by the only road leading into Gibraltar from Spain. When an airplane lands, the road is closed.

 

Malaga – We hired a private car and driver through Made for Spain, also highly recommended. We were met by Paul, a charming Welshman, and driven in style in a Mercedes 500 to Granada. At the Alhambra, we met Maria, our delightful guide who took us through the 11^th century Alhambra, another trip highlight. 

 

Barcelona – We spent an extra two days soaking up the lovely architecture and Gaudi creations. We arranged a private car and driver through Plus Travel, which receives high marks. Our driver, Carlo, spoke excellent English and took us to Parc Guell, the Sagrada Familia – two famous Gaudi creations – and to Parc Montjuic for spectacular views of the city and port, followed by the Olympic Stadium and Port Olympic. The next day, we walked all over the city and went to the top of La Pedrera, another Gaudi creation with the curious statues on the roof. We dined our last night at Barca de Salamanca, a recommendation of our driver, Carlo, on traditional paella and flan.