In the calm, indigo-blue waters of the Mediterranean, two lines, Seabourn and Silversea, are locked in a battle for supremacy. Both have relatively small ships, butler service and spas – but which is better? Adriaane Pielou joins two comparable cruises to find out.
Deciding where to go is simply a matter of identifying the key place you want to see – Venice, say. Itineraries tend to wrap several dull destinations around one or two stars.
The big issue, then, is how to do it. Get on the wrong ship, and you face an experience as grisly as being trapped in a downmarket resort without a hire car; by day two, you will want to hurl yourself overboard. Board the right one, and by the second day you will be hugging yourself and blathering on about the amazing value and convenience.
The trick is simply to choose a small ship. Smaller, anyway. Look for the kind of vessel that takes about 500 passengers and can moor directly alongside the quayside. The two best lines with smaller ships in the Mediterranean are Seabourn and Silversea, locked in an ongoing battle for small-ship supremacy. So which should it be?
To find out, I joined Seabourn Odysssey for one of its regular one-week cruises from Istanbul to Athens. Then, for comparison, I stepped aboard Silversea’s Silver Spirit for the Palermo-Rome segment of a round-the-world cruise.
I compare the two experiences.
THE BASICS
Seabourn Odyssey
Built Italy; 32,000 tons
Launched June 2009
Cabins with balcony 199 out of 225
Cabin size 295 to 1,189 sq
Passengers/crew 450/335
Silversea’s Silver Spirit
Built Italy; 36,000 tons
Launched December 2009
Cabins with balcony 258 out of 270
Cabin size 312 to 1,668 sq ft
Passengers/crew 540/376
Each ship has been rated * * * (adequate), * * * * (good) or * * * * * (excellent)
Seabourn Odyssey * * * *
It’s pouring with rain in Istanbul, and at the airport
I am subjected to an obnoxious non-welcome – first from a sour-faced woman in the visa booth brusquely demanding £10 (“No credit cards. Cash! Hurry!”), then from an immigration official insolently flicking his hand and jerking his thumb to indicate come forward and go. It immediately puts the politeness of the Seabourn staff in the dockside marquee in an extra-good light.
Exhausted-looking, they have plainly been processing new passengers for hours, but the smiles are still in place, if strained. On board, there is a sense of tentative excitement as we begin to get our bearings. Some passengers joined the ship a week ago for a fortnight’s cruise. The couple who have bagged a double sunbed overlooking the pool on Deck 8 – one of the prize spots on the ship – have the look of people who don’t intend to yield their prize.
Silversea’s Silver Spirit * * *
Joining the ship at Palermo, I feel like the latecomer at a party. The mood on the quayside is jolly, with the other passengers – most of whom have been afloat for weeks, some for months – already on first-name terms with the crew checking them back on board after a day’s shopping and sightseeing around Sicily. “Hey, Tony, watch my wife doesn’t slip overboard,” says
a tanned, sixtysomething man in standard cruise uniform of polo shirt and chinos to the white-uniformed Filipino who is helping passengers aboard with their shopping. “She went crazy again with the credit card.” His fellow Americans laugh good-naturedly. “Oh, Giovanni, what a pleasure to see your smiling face again,” says an elegant woman with an Alabama drawl, drifting chiffon.
First impressions
Seabourn Odyssey * * * * *
Photo via luxurycruisebible.blogpost.com
No wonder Yachts of Seabourn , as it used to be called, changed its name. This is a ship, a bright and shiny new ship accommodating 450 passengers and 335 crew. My cabin is like a luxurious little flat, with a two-seater sofa, armchair, two TVs, an iPod dock, and an ingeniously compact proper bathroom – separate bath and shower. The taps are exasperating, though, and the tacky faux-leather bedspread seems bizarre. The minibar has been stocked with the drinks I’d pre-ordered – spirits and soft drinks are included in the fare – and the butler (who has a dozen cabins to look after) arrives promptly and bows out after asking if I need anything pressing.
Exploring the ship, I find the blue, silver and beige colour scheme has been followed throughout. Bland but smart. I quickly find my favourite spot: Seabourn Square , the hub of the ship, with pursers on duty to answer questions and book excursions; a Starbucks-style coffee counter dispensing cappuccinos, muffins and small sandwiches – all included, of course, in the fare; computers to use (but at a charge of 40 cents a minute); TV screens showing films of upcoming ports of call; and such an excellent library of new novels and biographies and reference books themed around ocean life that
I quickly amass a dozen volumes. Behind the hub, I am pleased to discover an empty deck space furnished with sofas. “Most people never know it’s there,” says a purser. “It’s one of several secret sunny spots around the ship where you’ll be able to read for hours completely undisturbed.”
Silversea’s Silver Spirit * * * *
Photo via avidcruiser.com
I’m immediately struck by the atmosphere – relaxed, cheerful and convivial, a contrast to the impersonal professionalism on Seabourn Odyssey. But why does the ship look so dowdy? It has been decorated primarily in hideous tones of red and brown. The exterior couldn’t look more glamorously nautical, gleaming white with navy blue. Why didn’t they continue with that colour scheme?
The reds and beiges extend to my cabin, which is larger but otherwise similar in layout to the one on the Seabourn ship, with TV screens embedded in the mirrors in the sitting area and at the end of the bed. Blissfully, there is the same miracle of clever bathroom design. There is also a dressing room with enough space to satisfy the kind of passenger who likes to produce a different outfit every night – a large proportion of people on round-the-world cruises, apparently, as these involve more formal nights than short cruises.
Seconds after my arrival, an engaging young butler appears, and I point out that there is no fruit in the cabin. By the time he has chattily spun out his introductory spiel, he has forgotten that he’d promised to fetch some. On Silver Spirit, there is no equivalent of Seabourn Square and the library is smaller and less well-stocked than Seabourn Odyssey’s. Perhaps all the new novels have already been checked out to the round-the-world passengers. As on Seabourn Odyssey, the swimming pool has a Jacuzzi next to it and is surrounded by sunloungers – but the poolside bar and grill aren’t quite as sleek.
Captain and crew
Seabourn Odyssey * * * *
Most cruise-ship captains are Italian or Norwegian and ours is one of those tall, silent Scandinavians who feels happier on the bridge gazing out to sea than talking to passengers. At the captain’s cocktail party – to which women guests pitch up in diamonds and high heels – he unbends enough to describe the worst seas he has experienced.
“Dealing with 90ft waves in the Atlantic was quite exciting,” he says, with a faint smile. “I’ve seen 45ft waves in the western Mediterranean, but the eastern Mediterranean is always calm. The trick is to slow down and head straight into them. Being hit sideways could be fatal.” Gulp.
Among the crew, the South Africans stand out. Of the 55 who joined Seabourn Odyssey when it was launched in 2009, only 35 remain because the cost of flights home makes them expensive staff to hire. Cheerful, funny, willing and efficient, they are exemplary. “It’s tiring work,” one of them admits. “We’re up before 7am and on duty until after midnight, six days a week. On our day off, most of us just sleep.” Many of the restaurant staff are Eastern European and new, being shown the ropes by older staff. “If they turn their cup down, it means they don’t want coffee or tea, OK?” hisses a German waitress to a plump newcomer.
Silversea’s Silver Spirit * * * * *
On the bridge, the captain and crew – all Italian – look as if they are dressed for an expensive watch advertisement as they negotiate the narrow strait between Sicily and Calabria. The captain, dapper and craggy, is resplendent in gold frogging, his crew in immaculate whites, their trouser hems touching the ground at their heels, breaking perfectly over their insteps.
The week before, says the gregarious captain, eyes flickering between a control panel of buttons and the horizon, they were sailing off Somalia when an Italian container ship nearby, with which they were in radio contact, was hijacked. “We heard their mayday call,” he says, “then their captain suddenly announced: ‘Please, no one come near, or the pirates say they will kill us.’
We ourselves were doing 20 knots at the time, too fast to be caught, but it is a bad situation, very bad.” Incidents like this still happen regularly, he adds, despite ships in the area now sailing in convoy, protected by Nato destroyers.
At dinner that evening, presiding over a table of eight attentive passengers, the captain talks about how his father was one of a handful
of men saved when his destroyer was torpedoed during the Second World War. “He survived because he had left his wallet on deck, with a picture of the Virgin Mary in it, so he went back to fetch it. She rescued him!”
After that, the captain’s father never went to sea again but instead ran the local cinema – so the captain grew up like the boy in Cinema Paradiso, helping with the projector. I listened, enchanted, immediately understanding why the atmosphere on board Silver Spirit is so pleasant. In addition to the Italian officers, there are Swedes, Germans and Romanians among the crew, but the majority are Indian or Filipino.
Other passengers
Seabourn Odyssey * * * *
“Toast!” screeches a sun-dried Australian woman on the second morning at breakfast. Is she doing an impression of a female Les Patterson?
“I ordered toast and I want it now!” she repeats –and she means it. There are plenty of New York lawyers in their forties on board with their families. “My husband wants to do everything, from the 6am deck hike to the midnight party,”
I overhear one American woman complain.
Of the 420 passengers, 70 are teenagers. “They can have freedom, get up when they want, eat when they want. American liquor laws prevail in the bars, so under-21s don’t get served alcohol. This is a very good option for kids,” says the earnest mother of two psychotic-looking boys.
The most glamorous passengers are a quiet, immaculately-dressed Brazilian couple in their seventies, the woman gleaming with diamonds. Around 5pm each day, several of the sociable middle-aged British couples on board order caviar and champagne to be brought to them in the pool. “This is the life,” says one, clinking her glass. “I wish we got to dress up more on this ship, but
I love it that caviar and blinis and champagne are brought to you anywhere, any time, at no extra charge. It’s one of the reasons why we booked.”
Silversea’s Silver Spirit * * * *
Conversation is much livelier on this ship, and there is much more sharing of tables since most passengers are one half of a couple or on their own. There are no children on board. At night, long dresses and expensive jewellery appear. The longer the cruise, the more formal nights there are – but although the ship’s casino is the haunt of white-tuxedo’d Americans every evening, the ship seems quiet by 11pm. On Seabourn Odyssey, a lot of people were up until 2am.
A group of New Zealanders on the world tour talk about how shocked they are by London’s transformation since their last visit, 15 years ago (“Going through Heathrow, I thought I’d landed at Karachi!”). I notice a doctor from Maine listening to an eloquent Czech woman, resident in London, who talks scathingly about British politics.
“My jaw is on the ground,” he says. “The New York Times preaches about Saint Tony Blair. Thank you for putting us right!” A dozen or so wealthy, wonderfully entertaining Americans sing the praises of Silversea; all seem to have been CEOs of major companies and to have cruised with the line numerous times before. “I would not consider going with a rival,” one of them says pointedly.
“It’s relaxed but efficient,” argues another, “and whatever the question, the answer is always yes. Coming on board, it’s like a family reunion: seeing the familiar crew, having people remember what you like and don’t like.” A retired naval commander, he is enthralled by the story of the Somali pirates.
“Captain, sir, I have a proposal!” he announces one evening. “For Silversea’s next season, let’s have a pirate-hunting safari cruise! If you’ll be captain, I’ll be first mate!”
The captain laughs diplomatically.
Food
Photo via vistalandtravel.com
Seabourn Odyssey * * * *
Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 Queens Grill is more impressive, according to one couple I meet who say they have been on 32 cruises. But the food is probably as good as it can be on a ship, given that most provisions have to be taken on board frozen.
“When you’re in port for just a day, you can never rely on getting what you need fresh,” says the head chef, who supervises regular tours of the galleys so passengers can watch his staff turn out canapés. Simple flavours seem to work best: the lamb chops, for instance, and the excellent hamburgers and salads at the pool grill. Breakfast is outstanding, with a huge array of fresh breads and pastries.
Tea in the Observation Bar is civilised, with thinly-cut crustless finger sandwiches and six types of cake. The tea itself arrives hot and well-brewed (unlike the tea at breakfast, which is forever being delivered almost lukewarm, a constant source of irritation among British passengers). Restaurant 2 , the much-fêted “intimate alternative dining venue” where you have to book, disappoints.
I have the tasting menu and find it repulsive.
Silversea’s Silver Spirit * * *
Good, on the whole, but not quite as good as Seabourn’s – and let down by details. Ordering tea in the cabin brings a tray with tea bags and a hot-water flask rather than a teapot, plus some uninspired canapés set out on a charmless thick china plate.
I don’t try the Relais & Châteaux menu, but at dinner one night the medium-rare steak is fine but the blue-cheese soufflé starter which sounds so promising is a shrunken, chewy little apology of a thing; the burger at the pool-deck cafe is flabby and the desserts that follow it bland. Breakfast is my favourite meal, served in the sunshine on deck. The chefs produce the lightest scrambled eggs and pancakes, and an excellent selection of cold meats and cheeses. Afternoon tea on deck is not in the same league: finger sandwiches with minimal filling, pastries presented on an unalluring, thick-plated cake stand. The tea is infuriatingly weak.
Lectures/excursions
Seabourn Odyssey * * *
Considering all the high achievers on board, the lectures are disappointing; they seem pitched at schoolchildren. Best is the classicist Dr Mary Eaverly , who lectures to a capacity audience about Ephesus in Turkey – once the second-largest city in the Roman Empire after Rome – and city planning in the Classical world. “The ancients had unlimited time and manpower,” she says.
“If it was going to take 120 years to build the vast and magnificent Temple of Artemis , so be it.
All buildings were made to a formula, so if you find one piece you know the rest.”
The handwriting expert draws a similarly large audience (“I wouldn’t trust anyone who writes a closed e – a sure sign of meanness”), as do two well-known American television news journalists.
The highlight among the excursions is an evening concert below the amphitheatre of Ephesus, overlooking the sea, with tables set up near the ruins and an orchestra playing as the sun goes down – perfectly executed and entirely beguiling.
Silversea’s Silver Spirit * * *
The serious lectures on board are serviceable but a bit droning, and I find myself bridling at the “light relief lecture” about our Royal family’s dirty linen. All these talks are broadcast on the ship’s cable station, so you don’t have to attend in person. Of the excursions, Pompeii is the star attraction, and the night before we arrive I lie in bed to listen to the lecture about Mount Vesuvius.
“The second most dangerous volcano in the world after Mount Fuji, it last erupted in 1944,” the speaker intones, “but there will be another catastrophic explosion as bad as the one that killed so many thousands in Pompeii. It is just a question of how soon. An evacuation plan has been written, but it is easy to write a plan. Evacuation will be impossible.”
It’s a terrifying thought, but fascinating.
Spa
Seabourn Odyssey * * * *
Photo via cruisecritic.com
The spa has seven treatment rooms, including a luxurious open-air zone with twin massage beds and a shady relaxation area. Even better, one of the therapists is Gerald Cruz, a Filipino former physiotherapist whom I encountered on Crystal Serenity. He’s a brilliant therapist, specialising in reflexology, and he especially likes dealing with passengers who have a health problem he can sort out over several weeks with daily sessions.
“People think oh, foot massage, that will be relaxing. Not with me!” he says, with a short laugh, my foot in his powerful hands, as I wince. Interestingly, he says people tell him they drink less alcohol on board than they usually do at home: because drinks are free, there is no pressure to buy a round or another bottle.
Silversea’s Silver Spirit * * *
Photo via shipdetective.com
The spa is not as visually lavish as Seabourn’s, but it is well-run and efficient, with a steam room, sauna and gym. Although there isn’t an outdoor area, I have a massage to the sound of waves (a tape, not the real thing). My therapist is much better than the standard type you encounter in a spa on land, as are most therapists who work at sea. Having to administer six or seven massages a day, six days a week, they can hardly avoid becoming proficient.
Verdict
Seabourn Odyssey
For many, a cruise is a chance to lie in the sun and read, go to bed after dinner and watch a good DVD, and do other deeply enjoyable but very ordinary things that they don’t have time to do back home. This ship is perfect for such pleasant sloth. It is wonderful to visit sights such as Ephesus, and almost as enjoyable just to lie on a sunlounger on the days when the ship is moored at less interesting spots.
I love the slick efficiency of it all, and the decor is hands-down more attractive than on the Silver Spirit. It feels a bit like a floating Four Seasons, but lacks the warm ambience of the Silversea vessel. Most people keep themselves to themselves. This cruise is unparalleled, though, for an undemanding holiday with teenagers who can enjoy some freedom in safety.
The details
A seven-day Mediterranean cruise on Seabourn Odyssey costs from £1,599 per person, excluding flights. Return fares from London to Istanbul with British Airways (0844 493 0787, ba.com) cost a further £400, bringing the total to £2,000. Bookings: 001 206 626 9179 , seabourn.com
Silversea’s Silver Spirit
The sooner the drab decor is revised, the better. Silver Spirit has more restaurants than the Odyssey, but the food I ate was generally less impressive. Yet there is a sense of cohesion, almost cosiness, among the crew and passengers which is absent on Seabourn’s vessel.
Perhaps Silver Spirit’s warm, charismatic Sicilian captain has something to do with it, as does the fact that most people are on the ship for at least three weeks. Prior to disembarkation, the line cleans passengers’ suitcases – a small but endearing gesture that several passengers tell me they love. That personal touch seems to typify Silversea.
A seven-night Mediterranean cruise on Silver Spirit costs from £2,778 including flights from London and US$500 of on-board credit per person. Bookings: 0844 251 0833, silversea.com.
Via telegraph.co.uk
