Cruise aboard Silversea Silver Spirit from Rome to Barcelona
Luxury cruising through the Mediterranean
My day began with a short walk from the luxury boutique Hotel Barocco, across Piazza Barberini, to the Bernini Bristol Hotel. Here I’d meet the motorcoach to get to the closest port to Rome, Civitavecchia. Arranged by Silversea, about 40 of us would take the non-stop coach ride 1 ½ hours to Civitavecchia to board the Silver Spirit.
The Silver Spirit was waiting for our arrival at the small, free-standing building that was used as a cruise terminal. Small ships seems to make every procedural event easy. So it was no surprise that embarkation at Civitavecchia was a cakewalk. Within ten minutes of the bus arriving at the terminal I was on the ship and escorted to my suite.
Verandah Suite 820 – nearly midship
With only 540 passengers onboard (it was a sold-out cruise) there certainly wouldn’t be the familiar mega-ship stampede to the luncheon buffet. On embarkation day, the buffet at La Terrzaza is open a bit longer to accommodate the late arrivals. Normally, the lunch buffet is served here every day until 2pm.
Soon after I returned to my suite, Marcial, my butler, introduced himself and gave me a tour of the suite; how to work the interactive television (with 200 complimentary movies), explained the various booklets and order forms and asked my request for alcohol or wine for my bar. He offered to assist in my unpacking but I politely declined.
Time for a quick walkabout and get familiar with my new home. It’s an interesting ship design with all of the public areas aft and the suites (every cabin is a suite) located forward.
Easily my favorite spot (especially nice to relax at after the long day’s shore excursion) is this spacious outdoor lounging area.
For me, sailaway from Civitavecchia and to leave Rome was sad. It was comforting to know that we’d return to mainland Italy in two days after a visit to Corsica.
Tomorrow: A visit to Porto Vecchio, Corsica.
N.B. I was a guest of Silversea for this cruise from Rome to Barcelona and was under no obligation to write anything that could be false or misleading to readers. All opinions are my own as are all photos, unless otherwise noted.
