In this episode of Luxury Cruising, Dr. Krystal Sodaitis welcomes back Bradley from Explore With Bradley to share his first Silversea experience aboard the classic Silver Shadow. Bradley discusses why he finally booked the ultra-luxury line (a family bucket-list trip inspired by his late grandmother), the surprising presence of young families and babies, the ship’s timeless ambiance, butler service that went above and beyond, the food and entertainment, and the small nitpicks that come with an older vessel. A heartfelt story about a custom memory booklet created by their butler makes this episode especially memorable.
What happens when a lifelong cruiser finally sails Silversea; the ultra-luxury line that once felt out of reach?
In this episode of Luxury Cruising, host Dr. Krystal Sodaitis sits down with returning guest Bradley from Explore With Bradley to unpack his voyage on the classic Silver Shadow. Bradley explains how the itinerary, timing, and price point aligned with a personal goal of ticking off a cruise his grandmother had always admired. He describes the ship’s spotless, old-school elegance, the surprisingly welcoming atmosphere for young families and babies, and the outstanding butler service that included daily caviar, personalized bath setups, and a deeply moving custom memory booklet.
Listeners will also hear candid thoughts on the food; excellent quality but more limited variety on the smaller ship, surprisingly strong entertainment, and a few honest observations about balcony furniture and Wi-Fi upgrades. Whether you’re considering Silversea for the first time or already a fan of ultra-luxury, this episode offers an authentic, detailed look at life aboard one of the line’s classic ships.
Episode Highlights:
Episode Mentioned:
Episode 70: Azamara Live With Bradley
About the Guest:
Bradley, is a passionate cruise enthusiast known for sharing honest and detailed cruise reviews across YouTube and social media. From mainstream lines to ultra-luxury voyages, Bradley documents his experiences with a focus on itineraries, onboard experiences, luxury travel, and nostalgic cruising traditions.
YouTube: Explore With Bradley
Instagram: @ExploreWithBradley
TikTok: @ExploreWithBradley
About the Host:
Dr. Krystal Sodaitis is a pediatrician, executive, and life coach for neurodiverse physicians—and the passionate host behind Luxury Cruising. She brings expert insight and honest excitement to every interview, helping curious travelers elevate their adventures at sea.
📍 Website: luxurycruising.net
📧 Email: luxurycruisingpodcast@gmail.com
🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/krystalsodaitis
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👥 Want to be a guest? Fill out this form to connect.
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[00:00:00]
Welcome back to Luxury Cruising. I'm your host, Dr. Krystal Sodaitis, and I'm so excited to have Bradley back with us from Explore With Bradley, and
He is going to tell us about the latest stop on his grand adventure tour. Bradley, please tell the audience anything you would like them to know about you.
Oh, thank you, Krystal. Yep, I'm back for another session. So my name's Bradley, and of course, as I always say, I love anything and everything about cruising and travel.
So yes, that's all you need to know for now.
Amazing. Tell us, what made you choose this Silversea trip, this cruise, this itinerary? Give us the background.
Well, as you know, Crystal, of course, getting into the luxury cruising market over the last couple of years, you know, starting with Crystal, leading on then to other brands, it was a fact of Silversea's always been on our radar because Silversea was one of the original six-star or ultra-luxury, cruising [00:01:00] lines back when I was a kid.
And it was something that we could never afford to go on, or it wasn't marketed more towards f- younger families, um, especially down in Britain. and it was something that my nan saw when she was cruising with my grandfather and obviously with her parents and everything back when they were younger.
Silversea was like the QE2, if that makes sense, of, the crème de la crème of cruising. It was something, as I said, that we couldn't go on back then, not just financially, but of course for us as a family, as I said just now, it wasn't something that catered to us, or we didn't feel like it catered to us.
It was something that we didn't venture into. so as time's gone on, of course, as my grandmother passed away, we were ticking off the list of doing things that she wanted to do. this particular itinerary came up which we'd been on before or quite similar, which was lovely. And the price point was excellent.
It was within that Explorer journeys bracket, that Crystal bracket. It was even a bit less than Crystal, and within the Azamara bracket. Of course, the timeframe in August, which was good for us 'cause we didn't have anything booked, and it was just one, and then we thought, "Right, if we're gonna do it, let's do it [00:02:00] now."
So we took the plunge, should we say. we rode the wave, no pun intended, and, we got it booked. And, yeah, so we've just come back from it, so we'll, talk all about it.
Awesome. Now, you mentioned something about it used to be sort of marketed to younger families. So I'm curious because when I think of Silversea, I don't really think of family cruising.
especially being in August, did you find that there were families on board?
So yeah, it certainly changed, as I said earlier on, from when we were younger, you know, you never would've thought that it was a family cruise. But when we went on here, and I'm glad we've touched upon this, especially with having my niece and my younger cousins and everything.
When we got on board, we were quite surprised to see all ages of children. I don't mean now, older teens and then a couple of 12 or 14-year-olds. I mean babies. You know, there was three or four families who had their the parents of the child, the grandparents, the aunties and uncles or friends and family, and it was like, "Oh, wow, [00:03:00] okay.
This is different than what we thought." Fabulous for us because we like to see that, don't get me wrong, there wasn't like 50 kids running around the place, nothing like that. It was just a good surprise to see. And younger people, of course, people of my age, sort of 30 years, you know, and younger, couple of teens on board.
But the, what really surprised us was the babies, and as soon as we saw them, we could see that the staff or the crew just a different people. They see these youngsters, they see the babies, and they were just all over them. It was amazing to see. And that was just on day one, you know. But everything was catered for.
You could see there was little things like on the balcony, we had a family next to us, and the balcony had, a specific rope that was like crisscrossed that they've already done prior because this is an older cruise ship. There's the metal, bars. So 'cause there was a baby next door, they already knew this, and obviously they had put like a safety harness, should we say, all across the balcony.
when we went to dinner, there was always baby [00:04:00] seats, you know, the baby chairs, but you could see they were specifically for different families 'cause they were specifically put in different thing. Just little things like that, and you could see that little meals were catered for. And the pool, for example, Obviously, there was only one pool in this particular ship because it was a smaller ship, but the crew were always there.
They'd cornered off little areas for the babies, you know, that they were of course, with their parents. There was little life jackets, little toys. It was marvelous to see. And you know, when people go on there and you think, "Oh gosh, they're not really used to having kids on here."
Like when we went on Explorer, there is kids' facilities, but there wasn't any kids. On here, I didn't see any kids' facilities, and I didn't see anything advertised for kids. But that didn't matter because it was made for them, the way the crew made them feel. And I believe when these families obviously went on there, they went with little intention of knowing, of course, what's on it, 'cause they book the cruise, of course.
But I don't think they went on there specifically thinking they were gonna be inundated with kids', you know, sort of itineraries and facilities. But that didn't matter because the crew [00:05:00] took care of it from what we could see, of course.
I love that. And I've heard that before that, you know, when you cruise in luxury with kids, the staff are just so happy.
Oh, yeah. They are so glad to see them. They treat them, like little princes and princesses because it's not usual. And you know, when people talk about, you know, is it a waste of your money to take your kid, your little kid, maybe your toddler on a luxury cruise, I say absolutely not, because they're gonna be treated so well.
And as a parent, when your kids are happy and are treated nicely, it makes you happy.
Absolutely. Yeah. And you've hit the nail on the head there. Of course, the child probably won't remember these memories, but that's not the point. It's the fact of seeing the parents and the family enjoying so much.
And the best thing about it was so relaxed. We like the formality of cruising. That could be ultra-luxury or it can be the budget brands or the more whatever brands or lines it could be. Everybody's [00:06:00] different. Now, on Silversea there is, an optional formal evening, and the children are dressed up the adults dressed up.
It was lovely. But, throughout the day and throughout, well, even the evening, very relaxed. There was no pretentiousness to it, if that makes sense. There wasn't a demand or a must for the families that or the children couldn't do this or do that from what we could see. And seeing them relaxed and welcomed on a luxury vessel, you know, or ultra-luxury vessel, to us, it was brilliant to see because you could instantly see the family's at ease.
You know, they weren't hiding the fact that their baby was crying or it was at the main dining room table, or it was in a speciality restaurant. Well, no, hang on, they've paid the same as everybody else. Now I get quite not hepped up about things when-- I understand completely when people go on cruises and then they'll complain about kids.
Well, hang on now, you've gone on a family-friendly ship. So, you know, I don't mean now if there is kids that are, acting up or being overly loud, I totally get that. It's like anything, any place. But just remember, you [00:07:00] booked this cruise knowing that it's a family thing vessel. So unfortunately, you are gonna run into a child who's crying.
You are gonna run into a child that's playing and having fun, and that's the reality. But on this ship, because it was a smaller ship and there was a limited amount of families, it was just absolutely wonderful to see. And as you said, you don't really- Put together luxury and ultra-luxury cruising with children, but seeing the way they were treated and seeing the way that their families were enjoying, to us was just the ultimate luxury, should we say, for a family to have everybody waiting on you hand and foot because they absolutely love them.
As you said earlier, they treat the children like their own, as in the crew do, and that was so lovely to see. And I think they reminisce with that because they miss their own kids,
yeah. So many of them are giving up time with their own family so that they can, you know, provide in a better way than what they could if they lived and worked on their home country.
100%. And so- Yeah ... yeah, they miss their kids.
Absolutely.
Take us to the ship itself. What is [00:08:00] the decor like? What is the inside of the ship like?
For Silversea, there's many different vessels, and some of them are all the same sort of class or vessel, as in, size and shape or layout, whatever you want to call it.
And then there's the two newer ships, the Nova and the Ray. Now they were in the last sort of three or four years that they've come out. We were on Silver Shadow, which is one of the oldest and one of the smaller ships. But Silversea have this identity to them, should we say, that they're two-toned or two different colors, in white and then, like, a gray or a light gray hull, which has always been for me, you always knew that was a Silversea ship.
And of course, their Silversea logo on the funnel, you always know the big S that you know that it's there. From the moment we saw the ship, it was spotless. For a vessel that's, don't quote me on exactly how, many years, but I think she's at least 20-odd years old, um, she was not an ounce or a millimeter of rust on her, and that went through into when we boarded.
She [00:09:00] smelled new. She looked new. The ambiance, everything about it was just wow. It was old-school cruising in a modern way without being dipped into this modern world of minimalistic, whites and blacks and, all that sort of decor. ... Like, for instance, called The Restaurant, ironically, was, like, a pink, and you probably think, "Hmm, okay, this is like a pinky red," but it fitted, you know?
It was different, and it went. ... You could tell it had a refit for a few years, but it was meticulous, you know? There was not a thread out of place. There was not anything. The crew always cleaning, always. Always hoovering, polishing, washing. Oh, it was just fantastic. She was only 300 and, I'm gonna say 82 passengers.
Again, don't quote me exactly. The smallest vessel we've ever been on, but wow, she had everything. You know, bars, restaurants, show lounges, theaters outdoor deck, open deck space, one pool, but it was big enough, two jacuzzis, you know, [00:10:00] outdoor board games or outdoor deck kites or games, open bridge so you could see the bridge from up above 'cause it was open.
Um, it was just such a fabulous ship, well-appointed, everything there. I get emotional when I talk about ships because I've been brought up in them. But getting on a ship like that, and especially the ships I've been on as of late, it reminds you what cruising was and in my mind still should be, with a little bit of adaptations, of course, and of course, getting on with the real world.
But yeah, for our first Silversea ship, going on the smallest or one of the smallest and one of the oldest, we thought, "Ooh, you know, what's it gonna be like?" And we were very much blown away in a very, very good way
That sounds awesome. I love that. And yeah, it's hard to picture, like, that sort of pinkish- Yeah
going with the silver. I know exactly that silver you're talking about. but yeah, hopefully I'll see it one day. What about the room? Tell me what was the room like?
Right. So I've memorized this. so on Silver Shadow, there was the lead-in category, as [00:11:00] we say here, it was a vista suite.
Now that's a suite with a window or a panoramic window, whatever you wanna call it. Then there's the veranda. So there's a classic, premium, and deluxe, or classic, deluxe, and premium. That's you know, a veranda, as it says. That's a cabin with a balcony, but they're all suites. and then there was, like a medallion suite, a silver suite, a royal suite, grand suite, all them sort of different suites.
Again, don't quote me on the exact ones. But we had a classic veranda suite, so we were one up from the bottom. Now- Explorer, we talked with them and you know how much we adored their lead-in suite. Explore, Crystal, again, our Aquamarine suite, stunning. This lead-in veranda category suite, it was everything that Crystal and Explorer had, but in the neutral creams and beigey old school colors, but with the proper double vanity sink bathroom with, again, the beigey cream granite and the [00:12:00] floor with a massive shower and a full bath, or as you say, a tub.
it was just like a bathroom you'd have at home where you could have a husband and a wife, or a husband and a husband, wife and wife, whatever it is, there, one brushing their teeth, one doing their hair, one could be in the shower, one could be in the bath, everything. It was amazing. And the best part, you could wipe your finger across every surface in that room, and it was spotless.
And again, USBs ports, you know, little things like that you didn't think would be on there. They have updated over the years, of course. State-of-the-art television system, a phone, everything you could have. The only thing I will say, and I put this in my Instagrams and my vlogs, for a ultra-luxury cruise or line, and I have seen a few people put this in, and I'll always be honest, as you know, the outdoor furniture or the furniture on the veranda didn't have any pillows, didn't have any cushions, you know, didn't have any plush elements to it.
Don't get me wrong, it was nice metal, [00:13:00] you know, veranda balcony furniture. But for me, if you're in an ultra-luxury category and you're paying that price point, things like that matter, and attention to detail like that matters. I'm not gonna say, you know, it didn't spoil anything. But for people who love being out on the balcony, like even Q and A in the grills, their outdoor furniture is stunning.
It's wicker-type furniture with lovely, gorgeous, you know, plush mat. And I thought, "Come on, guys, you know, this is something that should really be looked at," in my eyes. Apart from that, we couldn't fault anything. Our cabin location was right at the front on deck five. Unfortunately, our itinerary had a lot of tender ports, so the anchor was up and down all the time, and the bow thrusters.
So what I will say is if you're on an older ship and you're right at the front on a lower deck, that's something always to look out for. But yeah that's what I can say about that .
Yeah, that sounds like a beautiful room.
And I agree, like, if you're at that level make the outdoor furniture also comfortable. And maybe it was comfortable- Yeah ... but yeah, give it a little bit of a cushion or- Yeah, absolutely ... a pillow [00:14:00] or something. Yeah. If you want people to lay out there, and if the weather's good enough, why not?
And also, I mean, I've been in one of those rooms too where you, like, feel the vibration of the anchor going up and down, and sometimes it's, like, very early in the morning. Yes, exactly. ... that's why it's important to, pick your room.
don't let the cruise line pick for you.
I had a question about the all-suite, 'cause it sounds like this was an all-suite ship. Correct. And is that just sort of, a word that makes people feel good? I mean, compared to a standard veranda room, what differentiated this room that warranted that title of suite?
You talked a little bit about the bathroom, but, like, within the room.
The first and primary thing I believe that categorizes Silversea suites as suites is all of them have a butler. So every cabin or every suite has a butler, and that's what I find, to me, [00:15:00] f- I'll use P&O as an example. Butlers are only for suites.
Princess used to have butlers ages ago, years and years ago. That was only for suites. Now, I think they categorize as an all-suite ship because it all has butler service. That's what I believe. You can be in the biggest suite or you could be in the smallest, you know, vista suite, it doesn't matter. You all have butlers, and that's what I believe is the primary point.
Because a lot of them differ. I didn't go in the vista suite. I don't know if they have a bath and a shower. But everything from the second to the bottom, like our classic veranda up, would have a bath or a shower. Of course, some layouts differ. Um, but I believe that it's generally because of the fact that they have butler service.
That's why I believe the su- I could be completely wrong, but I can't really think of anything else because everything else was the same, just obviously the more you go up the bigger the suite.
Yeah.
How many, like, square meters or square feet do you think?
Ooh, gosh. I'm gonna say in the 300s I would think.
Oh.
Yeah, as in square feet now.
That's a good size [00:16:00] room.
Yeah.don't quote exact, but I put it this way, the explorer suite that we had was pretty much the same, but this one was a little bit longer. And of course the bathroom was different. But it's certainly up there with the biggest in the leading category suites and cabins.
I'll use Princess as an example. If you went in a standard balcony cabin, it was double the size of the ones on Princess. Okay. You know? So that's what I'm saying. I wish I remembered the exact square footage, Ophie, but it's gotta be in the 300, including the balcony of course.
And the balcony, again, stunning, width or length, it doesn't matter what you say. But again, on the Silversea ships, like many others, don't forget, a lot of the ships can differ, and a lot of the cabin sizes then change. On the newer one, I was speaking to a couple who were following me on Instagram, who were on the Ray the same time that we were on the Shadow.
They boarded in Monte Carlo, we boarded in Valletta. The layout is the same, but of course the deco is different, and a lot of people prefer the deco on the [00:17:00] older vessels than the new. Of course, a lot of people prefer the newer deco on the modern one, which I completely understand. But a lot of the new ones don't have baths or tubs.
A lot of them just have the shower. So yeah, there's a lot of subtle changes, like people who are not aware of checking floor plans and layouts before. This, we've talked about this before, and I think it's a vital point. But yeah, if people go in a classic veranda, deluxe, supreme, whatever they are on Silversea, they'll be very surprised at the size of it.
Not forgetting as well, a walk-in closet, or a walk-in wardrobe as we call it, and a very nice size one at that. Plenty of space for both, you know, a couple, family, friends, whatever. Lots of drawer space. A big safe, big enough to fit a laptop, because a lot of people now carry laptops. I do when I go because I'm working, or iPads.
So that's what I'd say about it. It's one of the biggest leading suites that we've had
and that sort of all comes together, the square footage- Yeah ... the butler, the beautiful bathroom, and-
Yeah ...
yeah, the walk-in closet. I love the large safe. it's true.
You know, a lot of people [00:18:00] travel with, laptops or iPads- 100% ... and those teeny-tiny safes are not-
Yeah ...
gonna fit them,
Well, we actually met a lovely woman she was a widow, love her, who sailed with her husband for many, many years, and she was a broker in, I think it was New York, but a broker for many different things.
But she had very expensive, Birkin handbags or whatever they're called. And of course there was one particular one that was bought by her husband, and she's very sentimental. Of course, I can imagine very expensive, and even that managed to fit in the safe. So little things like that. I know some people will think, "Oh gosh, well, I'll never have one of them."
But remember now we're talking about ultra-luxury cruising, and a lot of people that I know on there and have seen for myself have a lot of... You know, it doesn't matter about the value of it as in monetary value. It could be something so sentimental that is large in size, you know, and you need to put it in the safe.
So whichever way you look at it- Yeah ... it's a good thing to know.
Yeah, Absolutely. Let's segue to, um, the service. And I know that there was a really, really special thing that, um, your [00:19:00] particular butler did for you. So let's just talk about the service, and please tell us about the special surprise that your butler did for you.
Absolutely.
Well, first and foremost, the crew and the staff on board Silversea were second to none. Some of the best we've ever had. they end up knowing you by name. Of course, when you're on social media, when you're on an ultra line like that, a lot of them do follow and see things, because there's a lot of, you know, the guest to staff ratio is second to none.
It's like 1.2 or 1.3 to one, you know. It's ridiculous. So they're on the Facebook sites, they're on the Instagram sites, they're on the YouTube. They see it, they love it. They want to be recorded. They want to be in photos. They want to take the photos. And what I learned about them, especially after coming off Crystal, Explora, and Azamara, when you get into the luxury and ultra-luxury market, even though the finesse is there and they're very good at their job, they're also a lot more personal and approachable.
They like to be involved. They like to have a little joke. Of course, that also depends on the customer [00:20:00] or the passenger. Me and my mum, as you know, open, honest, authentic, but also want to have a laugh. A lot of other people, they just want their service, and they want it second to none, and they want it Silversea service, and that's it.
Okay, I completely get. But they find that the crew and the staff get to know you, and they understand. They were polite. They were open. They were understanding. They understood your needs. Everything and anything that you wanted, they would try and accommodate. And me and my mum wanted to do this because we've seen it with our friends, the Posh Travel Blog, and a lot of other people who go on Silversea, about the caviar, and you can have it anytime, anyplace, within reason.
And we'd always like to try and joke with the staff, say, "Oh, could we have caviar here?" And they were like, "Ab- absolutely. Give us 10 minutes." You know? We'd have it at the bar. We'd have it in the café. We'd have it outside on the open deck, and You know, when you go on certain lines and it's like no, sorry."
or you find sometimes they think that something's a bit too much of a hassle. Not with this. And again, it's that same with the other lines that I've tried recently. But it was just, they wanted to be part of, and they wanted to do anything [00:21:00] they could to make it extra special.
Talking about extra special, I have been on, as you know, over 60 cruises, and I possibly have had 20, 25 butlers in my time, and I've had the best butlers in the world and the most amazing ones that we've stayed in touch with. Jacob, our butler on Silversea, knew it was our first time. We got talking, you know, he got to know us.
He was very professional Then he got to know us. we was professional throughout, but I told him, "Look, Chip, we do like a laugh. We do like a joke, don't think you have to be stern-faced all the time." Not that he was stern-faced, but you know what I mean. Very professional where it's like I'll say this, and then I'll leave."
We like to talk to you. We like you to be open and honest with us. He always remained that professional face, but he got to know us, and then he was asking questions, nice questions about our family or what we do because we were engaging with him. He never asked it like, you know, randomly because they don't do that.
It's just when you ask them things, they'll say it back. And [00:22:00] first thing we told him on the first day, we love caviar. Around about 5:00 every day, just as a little joke, he said, 'cause we heard it, "Oh, absolutely." Our fridge, champagne always in there. Fanta lemon, which I like. My mum's Tia Maria. Uh, you get large bottles of, you know, any, alcohol that you want.
Anything and everything was there. Wanted to know all our preferences, uh, wanted to know about my mum's jewelry 'cause she's got a lot of very nice jewelry that he knew and he'd seen, and he said, "Ma'am, do you know that you can have your jewelry cleaned? I'll take you to the boutique, uh, introduce you to them.
You can have it cleaned." Anything and everything. My mum also likes a good bath, uh, or soak in the tub or, whichever way anybody calls it, and Silversea are renowned for their, um, setting up their baths. The butler set up the baths with the bath bombs type thing. It's like, you know, the things they put in, and the flowers and the candles, and we'd seen this again by The Posh Travel Blog and others.
And I did drop it in. I said, "Oh, [00:23:00] my mum really likes a bath." And as, oh, as soon as I said that I forgot to say, it's WhatsApp. So on Silversea, they have a WhatsApp, and your butler is on WhatsApp, and anything you want, you just WhatsApp. So I was like, okay, I- Yeah ... this is just amazing. And we were on for a few hours, and at something like quarter to 5:00, he messaged, uh, "Mr.
Bradley, your caviar and champagne are in the suite. Would you like me to open the champagne now or wait for you to arrive?" So we were like, oh, my, we've never seen the caviar before. You know, well, we have, but not on Silversea. Turned up, there he was, popped it all, you know, and he said, "I'll leave you now.
I will sort out the bath tomorrow, for Mrs. Jones." and we were like, "No, Bradley and Natalie." And anyway, next day, a text after we got back. Got back to the room. There was all these animals, you know, the towel art, the animals, with a little note saying "We know it's been a hot day. here's a glass of champagne and some macaroons.
Please come back at 4:30 for your bath experience [00:24:00] from your butler and your suite attendant." And, uh, we came back, and there it was. The candles were lit up. Uh, you know, fake candles, obviously. The flowers were there, the bath salts, the smell. The TV was on, you know. So I said to Mum, I was like, "Right, I'm leaving you.
You go and enjoy. I'm gonna walk around and find any sort of calories or alcohol that I can and go and enjoy." And that what it was like every day for that. However, after the fourth or fifth day, he got to know us a lot, and he understood that we'd picked Silversea for a very special reason for my grandmother because she couldn't get on one, and we wanted to tick it off the list.
I shared some photos with him, which I showed him on my profiles because obviously I'm on the social media, and he said, "Oh, can I look at the..." "Absolutely," I said. If you wanna show anybody, you know, carry on." 'Cause the very thing about not crossing a line, so I give full permission for everything, not knowing, of course, that he was gonna do what he did in such a good way.
So forwarding on to the last evening, we arrive back [00:25:00] to a, let's call it, a table of memories, should we call it. We walked into the table with all dressed up with finery and just tassels to, you know, nice-looking tassels, should we say, and decorations with candles, macaroons, strawberries, champagne, and this gloss, A4 sort of...
that's all I can explain, was like a booklet. So I thought, oh, it's like they used to do in the days where they describe all your cruise day by day and all this. And I'm thinking That young man there was me when I'm 18. That looks like my grandmother. That's my mother. he had created with his team this beautiful booklet of, you know, memories of me and mine.
And thank you ever so much for coming on Silversea. You know, your nan would be so proud. She's looking down onto you. You know, I never get emotional, all right? When I mean cry. I, of course, get emotional, but never cry. Me and my mum sat there and gone there's little details, and there's going the [00:26:00] extra mile, and then there's this."
And I don't mean now it was, um, like thin paper either, you know, like just something printed out. No, no, no. This was laminated, stunning glossy paper with handwritten notes, the most beautiful pictures which I shared with him and I showed him, and it was just, wow. Never said anything Asked if he could do something special, but of course I didn't know what it was.
And in the morning we just had to say to him, "Wow." And he said, and he did say to us, he said, "Look, this is something special from me and the suite attendant. of course, we do it for everyone for different things," should we say, if they share stuff with us.
So please don't think that I've done this. You know, if you do want to share it, of course, please say that, you know, you've given me my permission because of course the photos that were used. And I was like, "I'm gonna share this all over the world because people need to know this, and I'll make sure I put in the disclaimer that I give you full permission to use my photos and show them," because
It was just unbelievable. And it was one of them where we sat there, raised a glass to my gran, and just said, you know, "Wow, this [00:27:00] is something." you have to see it. You've seen it, Crystal. You know what it was like. I know it's hard to explain
But wow. Yeah, it really was beautiful. Like, I Was crying.
Like, I think I saw that I put a comment and I'm like, "No, I'm crying." Because it really was. it was just so touching and so beautiful. And yes, you know, when people come onto the podcast, I often hear stories about how, a butler or a concierge or somebody went above and beyond, and I think we have to be really cognizant and say like,
You know, you can't go on expecting some grand gesture, but when it happens it is so nice.
Yeah.
And something that, as we said, small gestures, yes, like a small gesture of we'd leave our sunglasses and glasses on the table, and we'd come back and they're cleaned spectacularly and rolled with Silversea little glasses cleaners.
Those are little gestures. Again, I've never had that before. But this is something which you never forget and realize, wow, I know now why Silversea are noted for having the best crew or best butlers , [00:28:00] you know? Because I will say, hands down, we would go back on Silversea purposely to see Jacob or to see the butlers because the team of them were just unbelievable.
And remember, that's through every suite category.
That sounds amazing. Well, it's hard to move on from that beautiful story. But let's talk about the food. You mentioned the caviar. Yeah. Silversea is known for 24/7- Yes ... champagne and caviar. And gypsum. How was, like, the rest of the food, the dining rooms? Tell us about that.
Well, first and foremost, the food was excellent. It was you know, good quality, really enjoyed. Again, the one thing we would say is with our particular ship, coming off the likes of Explorer with quite possibly the most varied and most amazing variety of different food and culinary experiences, when you're on a smaller ship, remember, there's only three or four restaurants, especially on our one.
So we found it a bit limited, not in what was offered, but in the dining, different ex- experiences, should we say, in regards to how many restaurants there were and places to eat. [00:29:00] Now, the La Terrazza, or La Terra- whichever way you say it, is the main buffet area at the back. Uh, fantastic. Wonderful, you know, sunset views out on the balcony 'cause there's al fresco dining and indoors.
Very nice. Everything you could possibly want in the buffet. Um, I wouldn't say we were blown away by the quality or what was there, but again, it's when I'm comparing it to the likes of The Marketplace onboard Explorer, you can't compare anything to that because that is just far superior to anything in its class or category.
The quality of the food, really good. For example, La Dame, which is the only chargeable or speciality restaurant on board Silver Shadow. There's different things on different ships. $60, uh, per person, which I thought was very good, the level of service there, exquisite, amazing, unbelievable. The food, again, really nice.
Wasn't the best we've ever had, but that's just our personal preference. But it certainly wasn't something where we'd go, "Oh, we didn't enjoy that." No, we thoroughly enjoyed it. Very good. Lovely quality, quantity of it, and it was the more the experience. It was a dining experience. [00:30:00] It was, for example, you have your amuse-bouche, and then you have your, we'll say starter or soup.
Then it's 15, 20 minutes then before your next course because you're having a glass of wine. They're talking to you. It was a two-and-a-half-hour meal, which is what we used to have in the old school. I know some people don't like that, but when you are paying for an experience... Like, I don't believe in ultra-luxury cruising you should be paying for anything.
I do agree that there should be a restaurant or two which is speciality in respect of, you know, it could be a Michelin star or it could be something. I don't think you should be paying for anything apart from one or two things like that. Was it worth it? Yeah, absolutely. The main dining room, called The Restaurant, ironically, again, lovely.
Superb service, but hardly anybody in there. In my vlog that I did, you know, I saw multiple lunch times where there was nobody there at all. You know, this is how small this ship was, and not busy it was. But the lunch that we had there one day, me and Mum said, "Oh, do you know what? Shall we have caviar to start?"
Not a problem at all. They brought out the caviar. Absolutely fantastic. And we had a [00:31:00] teriyaki salmon for mains. Oh, superb. You know, and this was just lunch. Now, this isn't a dinner. This was just lunch, and it was perfect. Again, the quality of the service, fantastic. One thing that did s- stick out for us, I will say, room service.
Oh, superb. Wonderful. You could have anything. The room service menu, which I put on my vlog, so extensive. The breakfast, the lunch, and you could have that any time. There was no time... Of course, it said breakfast, lunch and dinner, but, you know, fillet steak or Angus steak, whatever it was, in the room service.
I always have Caesar salad with extra dressing, you know, 'cause I like a bit of, uh, extra dressing with all the calories. Uh, but I had it with prawns, chicken. I don't have the anchovies, but anything you could add on. My mother had this chicken dish from room service, which was spectacular. Again, caviar any time, any place, exquisite. Really good room service. That really stuck out for us. So yeah, the food was excellent. I'm not gonna say it was the best we've ever had because we have been spoiled with the [00:32:00] likes of Crystal and with Explorer. But again, if we go on the newer Silversea ships and there's a lot more different variety, then I could be saying even better things.
But for what we paid and for the category that they are on the ultra-luxury market, yeah, I thought it was very good. We very much enjoyed the food on board.
That's awesome. Yeah, I mean, look, every cruise isn't going to have the best food we ever had.
Yeah.
But if it's, very good, high quality, service goes a long way.
I love an extensive, en suite-
Yes ...
dining room menu- Yeah ... menu because, you know, you want something, sometimes you just don't want, like, burgers and fries-
Exactly ...
you know, and pizza
Absolutely. and you used the right word.
It's in-suite dining. And, in-suite dining for breakfast, there was the old school, you know, it was the massive, two-page menu, which you just tick, which I love doing. You know, you go through everything. Extensive. And then you could have the caviar at 7:00 AM if you wanted, you know? and I'm not ashamed to say that [00:33:00] I did, because I just said, "Well, why not?"
You know, I can't have this at home, so why not? It was very good. The in-suite dining, yeah. And there was a place outside called The Grill. Now, there was one evening where we went out there, and lobster, king prawns, steak all lined up as much as you could want or need, you know, all there. And that was nice as well.
Too warm for us outside, 'cause it was in the middle of August, in the middle of Italy and you know, and Malta. But again, it was lovely to have that. What I did like about the ship, there was a lot of outdoor dining, al fresco dining. Now, that's something that I love, and I know they have The Grill on every one of their ships, I believe, or the La Terrazza.
So they like to have an outdoor element, which is something that I really like. And of course, I know a lot of ships have that. But yeah, it was a good variety good quality, and, um, we very much, uh... One thing I will say, sorry. The Arts Cafe or the main cafe in the middle of the lobby, I had on a daily basis, I think about nine macaroons lemon meringue tarts anything and everything.
They knew that I was coming past, and they'd go, "Mr. [00:34:00] Bradley." And there was this lovely lady called RB. She'd make my martinis. She was excellent. She was throwing things in the air. She was doing it all. I felt like James Bond. I think every time I passed, I gained two pounds. Every time. Because in a week, I put on eight pounds, okay?
That's how much I was eating. Oh, God. Yeah. I love eating, and I love all the drinks. But these macaroons, one day I had passion fruit macaroons, right? I can't even tell you. But this lemon meringue tart, which one day I had four. And I don't mean now like this, I mean like this. Turns out, in one of them, there's 850 calories approximately.
Yikes.
So work that out. Exactly. But that little Arts Cafe, and a lot of people when they watch this will know what I'm on about in regards to Silversea. Fantastic. A bar and a cafe, and the array of sweet treats and savory treats, gluten-free, dairy-free, all that there. Breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, late-night snacks until about 11:00 PM.
What more could you want? And the best thing about our cabin on deck five, [00:35:00] we were all of 72 spaces or paces away from that. So I could just go out of the suite, straight to there. RB was there. "Vodka martini?" "Yes, please." "Macaroon?" "Absolutely." "Lemon meringue tart?" "Why not?" You know? It was just absolutely perfect.
We know exactly where you went now when your mom was having her bath
Yeah, absolutely. You know, I'm not gonna deny it either, you know? and she was laughing. She'd just say, "Where are you disappearing to?" And I'd say, "Well, first of all, I'm having a martini followed by 950,000 calories," you know? So, I was their best customer all week.
That's fantastic. That's fantastic. Other than watching the bartender make a martini how was the entertainment? We know these smaller ships, you're not gonna have a Broadway production. And, you know, what did you do in the evenings? What kind of entertainment did they, you know, provide for you?
Well, I'm glad you touched upon that, Crystal, because again, this is something that we didn't go on with any expectation, knowing [00:36:00] full well that it was a smaller ship with 300-odd passengers, so there's no way we're gonna have the razzmatazz shows that we're used to on the bigger vessels. Boy, were we wrong.
This is probably, apart from Jacob the butler and the caviar, this was right up there with something that we were totally blown away with. And I've said this, and I'll put it in my article when I do it. The entertainment on board Silver Shadow on our particular cruise, the entertainment team were nothing short of spectacular.
The voices of the entertainment, the performers in this team, there was only four main performers, two males, two female, and then two dancers. So there was a team of six, and of course the musicians and the orchestra. Their shows ranged from, you know, the normal shows where they'll throw in a bit of, The Greatest Showman Phantom of the Opera, Elton John, you know, all of them, the collaboration of everything they put in.
Then they put in another show about a specific genre. But it was a small theater, and a tiered theater. But what we loved, every sort of seat had a table for drinks, and there was the, the crew would come [00:37:00] down. Every time you go into the theater, the crew are at the top into the show lounge, and they're there with all drinks.
You know, you just pick it up and you go and sit down. Little touches like I would love. And pre-show canapés and hors d'oeuvres. Love that. You know, that's the things that we look out for. But before you go into the show, you're in the bar area where you've got a live pianist or a little singer. You know, you could have a pre-dinner drink, and you're there.
And as you walk in, and there's the show. Wow, I'm gonna make sure that I put this in the vlog and in the, feedback that I give. Absolutely superb. Now talking on the flip side about daytime activities, 'cause we was a port-intensive itinerary for us we didn't get much done during the day.
However, quizzes trivia guest speakers deck games, arts and crafts. Anything and everything that you would expect on a bigger ship was here in plentiful. And what I love about Silversea, a lot of the people on their Facebook page, they do a Silversea Facebook meetup, which they do every couple of [00:38:00] days.
And at meetups for anything else. Fantastic. You know, we were very much blown away by the quality and variety of entertainment throughout the day and night on board our Silversea voyage. Fantastic.
Awesome. I'd love to hear that. I love those little like... It's almost like a theater and nightclub put together-
100%
the way
you
describe
it.
Yeah. 100%. And oh, another good point you said about nightclub. There was a silent disco, which we love, 'cause all cruise lines seem to be adapting to this now or adopting it, something we didn't see on ultra-luxury cruising. I didn't foresee it on this. I will say it wasn't the best attended that we were on, but it was getting to 12 o'clock at night, and of course, the demographic was a little bit older, but of course, there was a lot of younger people.
and again, it was port intensive, but as me and my mum were there, and we were having a little bit of boogie, and we did think, "Oh, should we have a bit of caviar?" And I think we'd be the only people with caviar in a silent disco. We didn't, 'cause we went to La Dame, so we were full.
But there was also deck parties, then the crew, even the senior crew, they were there, and they had their wigs on, and they were partying, and you had the ice sculptures, [00:39:00] and the entertainment staff were there, and they were doing the conga. You know, things you didn't expect to see on Silversea.
And again, me and my mum was awestruck. It was just fantastic. You know, things like that you just do not expect, well, we didn't expect anyway. And yeah, it was just fantastic. Really, really enjoyed it.
I love it. So anything else that we haven't touched on that you want to make sure the audience knows about Silversea?
Everybody that we know now, apart from certain individuals, of course, Wi-Fi is a massive part of any cruise, travel, whatever it is, fact of life. Wi-Fi was included. The only thing that I didn't like was you could pay for the better version of Starlink. 'Cause you know what it's like on cruise ships these days.
They give, like... Some cruise ships don't give any, or cruise lines don't give any and you have to pay, and then there's different categories like premium and then superior, whatever it is. Now, the Wi-Fi for me was good. I could post. You know, you could speak to people. It certainly wasn't the best, and then you could be offered then to pay for the version above.[00:40:00]
To me, again, I'm nitpicking here, but when you're paying a lot for ultra-luxury, I don't think you should be paying extra for things like that. I said the same about Azamara. Explora were excellent, Crystal were excellent. Now, for me, that's nitpi- If you can offer 24/7 caviar, I'm sure you can offer full access to Starlink, you know?
And again, as I said, the inclusive internet was fine, and it was more than manageable. But for someone who's on his phone all the time or working or certainly seeing the difference in quality, but seeing that you had to or needed to pay if you needed the better one, for me, in Britain we call it an ick.
An ick means if there's something, like, on your mind or if there's something that bothers you. Now, to me, that bothers me, 'cause to me that's penny pinching or cent pinching, you know, in your life. So yeah, that's all I'd say about that. That may not apply to 70% of the audience, you know, because they're more than happy with the other one, but that's all I'm saying.
But I always say to people, when they go on Silversea, especially after us now, just remember, the [00:41:00] butler service is there. The caviar is there. It's not always posted of certain things, you know, you can do. Try things. Ask for different things. But be prepared to be blown away in a good way, but also understand, again, that the variety of ships with Silversea differ, and they also have some expedition vessels, which are smaller ships and they have ribs on the outside, as in, you know, the fast boats that get them places or different things.
So always do your research on the ship you're going on first, and always understand that these things differ a lot. But if I was to recommend Silversea, 100%, go for it
Yeah. I love it. So what's next for you? What's on your agenda in terms of cruising?
Right. So 18th of October, we are back on QM2, but this time in the Grills.
Of course, you know we love the Grills, but I have never done the Grills on QM2, believe it or not, and I've been on it four times now. So we're ticking that off the list, because she's the most iconic ocean liner in the world, as you know, not a cruise [00:42:00] ship. So we're ticking that one off the list. Can't wait for that.
And then a few weeks after her, we're on Queen Anne again in the Grills, so there's a bit of a theme here. And then in February, we're on Queen Elizabeth, again in the Grills. And then in May, we're on Queen Victoria. So we're doing the four Queens all within four or five months of each other. But for the next couple of months, it's all Cunard.
we unfortunately had our Crystal and Explorer cruises canceled for 2028 due to what's going on in the Gulf, not the Gulf, the Middle East and everything over there, unfortunately. So we're now in the process of looking. But of course, now Silversea very much in the mix. But the itineraries we're looking at the minute, we've done them all, so we're just trying to see what fits in.
But for now, apart from Cunard, it's certainly gonna be Explorer, Crystal, and Silversea. But again, we love Azamara, and still yet to try Regent or Seabourn, so watch this space.
Absolutely. Well, you are always welcome back. Love to hear your comparison of when you're done with the Four Queens-
Absolutely
um, [00:43:00] of your Grill experience on the Four Queens, so-
Absolutely ...
thank you again. Remind everyone what are the channels, where can they find you and see your beautiful videos?
Absolutely. So YouTube, Instagram, and of course TikTok, all the same, Explorer Bradley. As soon as you put that in, I'll pop up. Please follow along and, come along on the journey and, come away for a laugh and the memories that we make.
Amazing. Thank you again, as always. And to the listeners, I thank you for being here. And until next time, I wish you safe and luxurious cruising.