The Silver Shadow

Here’s a quick look at our ship, the Silversea’s Silver Shadow. The boat entered service in 2000. It’s 186 meters long and sits 24.8 metres above the waterline. Its capacity is 382 passengers, plus 295 crew members. That’s a passenger-to-crew ratio of 1.31 to 1. We’ve heard that our cruise is currently sailing near capacity.

The boat was refurbished in 2019. As a result, its facilities are in surprisingly good condition. For example, I haven't noticed any chips, marks, or frayed edges on fittings and finishes in our cabin and around the boat.

Our cabin was the cheapest onboard. That is, it doesn’t include a balcony, just a wide panoramic window. However, its interior is just as spacious as a more expensive balcony cabin. It features a marble-clad bathroom with a decent shower and a separate bathtub, plus a walk-in closet and a reasonably spacious lounging zone.

The ship’s facilities include three restaurants, plus a poolside dining zone, a gym and spa and a tiered show lounge where a troupe of dancers and singers deliver a themed show each night. There’s also a pool, a casino, and several bars. Our room is right next to the lift, making it easy for us to get around the ship.

As you can see from the photos above, taken in St Thomas, our boat (on the right) is a lot smaller than other cruise ships. This is proving to be a bonus. We’re visiting more than six ports by tender on this cruise, ports that larger vessels can't reach. This included Monserrat, which we visited today.