Little touches leave lasting impression
Silversea’s Middle East voyage all about luxury
In April, I sailed with ultraluxury line Silversea (Silversea.com) aboard its intimate 296-guest Silver Wind on a fascinating voyage through the Middle East.
I’ve long-admired the luxury line’s standards and quality of service and the 15-day itinerary from Muscat, Oman to Piraeus (Athens), Greece was far too intriguing to pass up.
The 156-metre-long Silver Wind would serve as my luxurious home away from home on this rough and untamed itinerary.
While we sailed from Oman through the Gulf of Aden, guests were able to choose from three different kinds of toiletries with which to equip their suite (Bulgari, Ferragamo and hypoallergenic); nine different pillow options; and two types of bed softness — Silversea’s mattresses are reversible and feature a hard and soft side.
Throw in butler service for each guest onboard and a multitude of Relais & Châteaux dining options, and you have a very welcoming shipboard atmosphere.
It also doesn’t hurt that Silversea includes all but the most premium wines and spirits with your cruise fare, as well as gratuities.
Real luxury is about not having to reach down to sign a cheque for that second glass of wine or shell out more money for a cappuccino.
Having such luxurious surroundings only heightened my experiences on shore.
In Aqaba, Jordan, I travelled overland to the ancient ruins of Petra.
If you’ve seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, you’ll be familiar with the imposing structures that have been meticulously carved into the cliff faces throughout the valley. Jordan is an amazingly beautiful country with exceptionally friendly people — but they’ve been hit hard by the uprisings and violence that affects their neighbours.
Egypt, likewise, is trying to convince the world it is open for business.
Silver Wind docked at the ramshackle port of Safaga and the vast majority of guests elected to do this tour of some of Egypt’s most important sites: Luxor and the Valley of the Kings.
To do this, Silversea chartered three coaches and flew Egyptian guides from Cairo.
The first two coaches contained passengers, one guide apiece and one armed member of Egypt’s Tourism Police. A third coach — empty — followed us around for the next 13 hours, constantly on standby in case one of our other buses broke down.
It was needed: though modern, the heat caused the brakes to lock on the second bus halfway through the day. Guests were transferred from one coach to another and the tour effortlessly continued.
Silversea may be all about little luxuries on board their ships, but that doesn’t mean that level of care stops there. It clearly extends to their land tour operators who are carefully chosen in all areas of the world, but perhaps more so in the Middle East.
Finally, when we returned to the Silver Wind late at night after 13 hours on the road, every butler on the ship was standing pierside holding a large banner that said “Welcome Home.” Guests were offered a cold towel and a welcoming glass of champagne.
In Egypt, bureaucracy dictated our schedule, with multiple changes to our Suez Canal transit time and a delayed departure from Port Said.
The best policy when sailing through this part of the world: be flexible. It will take you a long way.
After all, if I’m enjoying a nice meal on board, what do I care if the ship leaves four hours late? With two stops in Israel, guests had ample time to explore important historic sites like Nazareth, the Dead Sea and the amazing city of Jerusalem.
My visit coincided with the moment of silence for Holocaust Remembrance Day, when I watched as an entire city came to an absolute standstill for a full minute.
Our journey through the cradle of civilization took us finally to Kusadasi, Turkey, and the ancient ruins of Ephesus. It was an excellent prelude to the port city of Piraeus — gateway to the city of Athens, Greece — where my voyage came to a close.
While Silver Wind isn’t operating any Middle Eastern itineraries in the next year, her sister ship Silver Cloud and slightly larger fleetmate Silver Whisper are.
In April of 2016, the 382-guest Silver Whisper sets sail from Dubai on a 22-day voyage through the Middle East, ending in Venice.
Along the way, she’ll stop in Muscat and Salalah, Oman, before heading to Jordan, Egypt, the Suez Canal, Israel, Greece, Montenegro and Croatia.
On Nov. 3, 2016, the intimate 296-guest Silver Cloud will sail a 15-day itinerary from Piraeus (Athens), Greece to Dubai, complete with port calls in Agios Nikolaos, Port Said, Sharm el-Sheikh, Aqaba, Safaga, Salalah, Muscat and Fujairah.
Silversea has always offered itineraries that go to more off-the-beaten-path ports of call, and my voyage aboard Silver Wind was no exception. It showed me a side of the Middle East that I had never had the opportunity to see — and opened my eyes to an entirely new world.