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Barbados and departing - Part 12
Written by: Dominick A. Miserandino
Photography by: Margherita Miserandino
Parting is such sweet sorrow.
Today we woke up and packed. Yes, we arrived in Barbados, and we did get to see the cruise terminal, but essentially that’s all we did.
So here is the grand summary. The part of the story you can read if you really were bored by the rest and wanted to cut to the chase.
We’ll start with the itinerary. The Caribbean is visited by nearly every damn cruise ship in the world, but fortunately Silversea hits some unique ports and also goes right through the Panama Canal. Some ships say they visit the canal, but they kind of go through one lock and come right back out again. Silversea goes through the entire canal and hangs out in the middle. Most Caribbean itineraries hit the traditional Caribbean ports, but Silversea went to the San Blas Islands and Colombia. While Colombia wasn’t our favorite in terms of safety, we did see it, and I’d much rather have the safety of the Silversea ship to run back to. We saw the San Blas Islands. We saw the Panama Canal. We saw the beautiful island of Grenada. People mention the ABC Islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao but usually only visit Aruba if you’re lucky. Seeing all these ports one after the other lets you compare and contrast them.
Now let’s go to the summary of the ship. When we cruised with Silversea in Norway, we experienced how the super-rich live. Here we found a mix of rich and normal. We saw how the wealthiest live, but also, how they were more down-to-earth. The people were a bit younger and more hip.
The food was simply incredible on this trip. Our biggest regret was that we didn’t get to try more meals. I mean, it’s all top of the line and any food combination is available. Gourmet this and gourmet that. Want a hamburger? That’s fine too.
The free, and unlimited premium alcohol is great, not only if you’re a drinker, but also if you’d like an education. I wanted to learn about wines and literally tried over 20 different bottles.
Lastly, since the crew is paid on salary instead of tips, it’s a different feeling. First of all, in price comparing, this certainly should be taken into account, as should the free drinks. But that said, the crew seems to have a different mentality. They are 100% oriented towards looking at customers’ needs, and they seem to be genuine about it. It’s almost as if they get a thrill out of blowing your mind away.
Overall, while after Norway I would say that Silversea is for seeing how the other half lives, this Caribbean cruise seemed to be for people who know they like wine, good service and don’t want to go on a ship to just party. They like intimacy and feeling like they’re at ease like at home. Silversea provides all that and so much more.
San Jose - Part 1
San Jose - Part 2
Silversea's Silver Wind - Part 1
Day at Sea - Part 2
Panama Canal/Gatun Lake - Part 3
San Blas Island - Part 4
Cartagena, Colombia - Part 5
Day at Sea - Part 6
Aruba - Part 7
Curacao - Part 8
Bonaire - Part 9
At Sea - Part 10
St. Georges, Grenada - Part 11
Barbados - Part 12
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