Post card from the "silver whisper"

[Doc Vernon]

There are no mere staterooms onboard the ultra-luxurious Silver Whisper – everyone has a suite. Living room, bedroom, walk-in closet and a marble & glass bathroom the size of Kentucky. A steward as well as a white-gloved, uniformed butler looks after everything, your every need – and, yes, they'd practically brush your teeth for you!
Although there's only a mere 375 "guests" (not just "passengers" here) onboard, there are 4 separate restaurants to choose from each evening including gourmet Italian & high cuisine French. But on the Silver Whisper, you are "encouraged" to also dine in your suite.
So, Franco (from Capri) arrives, arranges a specially set-up table in the suite's living room and then arranges the tableware, silverware, wine glasses & of course the fresh flowers. A special in-suite menu has 10 categories (and then a separate, 2-page menu just for desserts (including lots of Italian specialties since Silversea Cruises might be Miami-headquartered, but it is Italian owned & operated). So maybe, only Sophia Loren eats this good!
Last night, it was Maryland crab cakes, then Tuscan bean soup, followed by Thai beef salad & noodles and then a main course of succulent – no, absolutely divine – prime rib (complete with ice-cream like mashed potatoes, a sprinkling of tiny veg & on the side a milky horseradish sauce). And for dessert and to "cleanse" the pallet: a tangy orange sorbet.
Yes, the butler came & went – often so quietly – serving course after course as if it was, say, a ballet, a gastronomic ballet. And then, just as quietly, it was all cleared away -- not a trace or a crumb left of that exquisite meal.
Yes, as a fellow guest said: "On the Silver Whisper, it is like being in Heaven – except you don't have to die first!"