Chic Caribbean: upscale cruising to offbeat ports aboard Silversea

A third restaurant, the intimate, 24-diner, Le Champagne (also no-fee), serves the cui-sine of Michelin-starred Chef Joachim Koerper, owner of Girasol (a Relais & Chateaux, Relais Gourmands member restaurant) in Moraira, Spain. Wines, spirits, and other beverages, are served without charge in the restaurants and lounges (except in Le Champagne where premium vintages are offered).

Meals are open-seating. Passengers could dine when, where, and with whom they chose--as opposed to having the same assigned tables every night. Service in all three restaurants was attentive and impeccable, provided by a European-trained wait staff.

Musical teas, including a Viennese-themed tea with Sacher tortes and other delicious treats, are served every afternoon in the ocean-view Panorama Lounge, an ideal lounge to repair to for relaxation, perhaps after an exotic, Bali-inspired treatment in the ship's Mandara Spa, or after a day spent out ondeck by the pool and the two Jacuzzis, where a tropical band entertains. Other daytime pastimes include bridge lectures, golf-putting tourneys, culinary demonstrations, wine tastings, and lectures on the cultures and history of the Caribbean. Team trivia contests, held each afternoon when at sea, were very well attended during our sailing--and very competitive, as points are earned for prizes that included Silversea logo T-shirts and tote bags.

The fellow passengers to share these activities with are typically couples in their 40s to 70s, well-heeled and well-traveled. Many a conversation started like this: "Last year in Thailand ..." or "This wine reminds me of one we enjoyed when we were in Chile...."

Evening entertainment includes variety shows and musical revues by the seven-member Jean Ann Ryan Production Company. One of the highlights is a Latin-themed show presented out ondeck after a lavish barbecue featuring a Caribbean-style whole roast suckling pig, Spanish paella, grilled salmon, ribs, grilled vegetables, a variety of salads, creme brulee, passion fruit and other fruit tarts, double Dutch chocolate cake, and many more goodies--onboard the Silver Whisper even a barbecue is chic. Held during a starry night in Antigua, the staff brought up to the open decks--which are decorated with palm fronds--all the fine china, crystal, silver, and linens from the main dining room.

"It is fabulous," said Lois Rapp, a passenger from Glendale, Maryland. "The prawns are delicious and as big as lobsters."

"Very special--like the cruise," added Cynthia Carmichael, a guest from Radlett, England, a town near London.

Passengers who had time (either because they had a late afternoon flight home or because they planned a post-cruise stay) in the debarkation port, Bridgetown, Barbados, still had more to look forward to. A tour sold onboard ($56) takes in several of Barbados' main points of interest, including Harrison's Cave, one of the Caribbean's greatest sights, found in the geographic center of the island. A one-mile trip via electric tram inside the cave takes in its multitudes of stalagtites and stalagmites, subterranean streams and water-falls. The tour also stops at Francia Plantation (a working plantation and great house with an outstanding collection of antique maps and prints, including a map of Barbados from 1522), as well as at Orchid World with its fancy blooms that personify Caribbean "chic."