The Ocean’s Calling Me Again | The Silversea Cruising Experience

Our guest writer, John Ninness, took a short journey with Silversea to Yangon and return aboard the Silver Muse and was pleasantly surprised by the outstanding service and hospitality aboard. John writes…..

There’s a romanticism with ocean cruising that seems to tug at the heart of all of us at one time or another. Ever since I first watched the Titanic movie, there’s been an inward yearning to stand on the bow of a cruise ship like Jack and Rose, feel the wind in my face and the romance of a cruising journey.

Yet like many Australians, who have heard the horrifying cruise tales over the last few years, I have been left with a somewhat tainted view to take a vacation aboard an ocean cruise ship. Until now…
This story begins in the thriving metropolis of Singapore where I boarded as a guest of the Silversea Cruises’ iconic flagship, Silver Muse, headed for a journey up to Yangon in Myanmar and returning to back to Singapore.

Singapore is a thriving modern metropolis and the perfect location to begin my Silversea adventure to Yangon

As an aside, I think it’s appropriate that I set the context of my travel journeys. Over the last thirty odd year’s of my working life, I’ve had the privilege to stay in some great five star hotels around the world (generally as part of a work assignment where I often failed to venture outside the hotel bounds). Cocooned in a five-star hotel isn’t that much fun for me I might add. The sterility of the food, the beds, the inherent odour of hotel rooms and the windows that don’t open just don’t do it for me anymore. They’re so indistinguishable that sometimes you can forget which city or country you’re in. So you can imagine my hesitation to partake on a cruise on a luxury five-star ship. It turned out I was very wrong…

Boarding Silver Muse in Singapore, I was greeted by some smiling faces (as you would expect on a luxury liner). But there was a sense of honesty and integrity in the staff as I passed through the several checks before boarding. An earthy friendliness that you’d seldom see in a five-star hotel. There was something different…almost like catching up with a distant family that you haven’t seen before. There was a formal familiarity that didn’t make you feel uncomfortable. An instant connection. A connection that would continue throughout the voyage…and even leave me missing some of these fabulous people over the past few weeks as I returned to my normal routine.
The well-appointed luxury suite with its’ private balcony, walk-in closet and every luxury amenity (including a pretty cool range of Bvlgari products, a tantalising chocolate selection, Illy Capsule machine and an excellent Bose Sound System) were consistent with what you could imagine within the expectations of a five-star experience.

The Butler and Room Attendant was not…they were both far beyond my expectations.
Not long after my arrival in the suite, a pleasant gentleman in Butler’s attire knocked graciously at the door. He introduced himself and provided an introduction to the features of the suite in a thoughtful and caring manner.

This guy (Andrew) was apparently a pro butler, and his sense of enthusiasm and graciousness didn’t stop the whole cruise. Yes, that’s right! Silversea Cruises provide full butler service to every suite on the ship for the duration of the journey. Andrew, like many of the other staff aboard Silver Muse, is a significant point of difference for this cruising company. Their attention to every minute detail to assist you in feeling comfortable was nothing less than outstanding.

The staff of Silver Muse became an extension of me as the cruise progressed. They knew my coffee wants and needs…and, of course, they knew which wonderful sweet morsels that I would desire during morning and afternoon tea sessions.

They knew my cocktail preferences in the evening, the choice of drinks as the evening progressed and even down to setting my preferred alarm time on the clock in my suite.

Even the bed turn down was better than my mum used to do as a child. These guys had silver service nailed, and whenever and wherever I went on the ship, I was always greeted with a friendly courteous style that reflected the connection and the integrity of the experience. It never ever stopped over a twelve-day cruise.


Seriously you say, it couldn’t be that good? I have to say that it was better than “that good.” There was not one day passed by when I felt I needed to think about anything (apart from which dining experience to enjoy) aboard Silver Muse…my new big Silver Muse family always had my back.

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