Cruises Critiqued

From the moment the MS Rotterdam left Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, we moved into another world, a world of opulence in which the rich and famous indulged. Betty and I were sailing on the flagship of Holland America Line with 1,250 other guests, all bound for an exciting 23-day adventure.

The meals on our ship were always delightful and varied. We usually ate our dinners in La Fontaine, the formal dining room. It was thickly carpeted, had a full wraparound ocean view and offered white linen service. Lots of waiters were on hand to politely take our orders.

We took a cruise from Belize to the Barrier Reef and Guatemala and back, March 12-23, ’04, with American Canadian Caribbean Line (461 Water St., Warren, RI 02885; phone 800/556-7450 or visit www.accl-smallships.com). The cost ranged from only $2,455 to $2,985. It was for 11 nights, with the option of arriving one day early and “being there” rather than worrying about getting there in time for departure.

Having cruised on the Star Princess twice, for a month each time, I found the review of the ship in Philip Wagenaar’s August ’04 “Discerning Traveler” column a bit too glowing and one-sided. Our first journey was on her inaugural voyage in 2002 from Singapore to Los Angeles, and our second cruise was in March ’04 from Bangkok to Venice. I also have logged dozens of cruises with various other cruise lines. I offer the following observations.

Most travel agents and ship reviewers agree that there are four lines that head the top of their lists for luxury or high-quality cruise lines, namely Crystal, Radisson Seven Seas, Seabourn and Silversea. Through a seemingly chance juxtaposition of forces, my wife and I had the opportunity to sample three of these lines within a 3-month period in 2004: Silversea in October, Seabourn in November and Crystal in December.

On Jan. 29, ’04, we embarked on a 9-day cruise on Silver Whisper, which took us from Colón, Panama, to Callao, Peru. We had cruised quite frequently on the smaller Silversea ships and were curious if the newer, larger ships would also become our favorites.

We booked a mid-ship veranda suite at a total cost of $7,942, which included an extra 5% savings because we had already completed 100 days of cruising with Silversea Cruises (Ft. Lauderdale, FL; phone 800/722-9955 or visit www.silversea.com).