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Silver Spirit Cruise ReviewPage 6
Other amenitiesLike most cruise ships, Silver Spirit has a good assortment of services and features beyond the basics of accommodation, food, and entertainment. Here's a sampling: Library. Silver Spirit has two libraries:
Books and DVDs are borrowed on the honor system: Just take what you want and return it at your convenience. (No checkout required.) Newspapers in multiple languages. Each morning, you'll find a four-page digest-style newspaper in the mail bracket outside your door. Newspapers are supplied in a variety of languages, and--where possible--content is targeted to the passenger's nationality. In addition, Silversea offers a "Silvernews" option for well-heeled news junkies. For US $7.50 per issue, the ship's staff will download, print, and deliver a large-format satellite edition of a newspaper to your cabin each day. (Choices include 280 newspapers from 50 countries.) Feeling thrifty? You can save money by browsing among the newspapers in several languages that are brought to the ship's library each day. Casino. Silver Spirit's small casino on Deck 8 is open for blackjack, roulette, and slot machines when the ship is at sea. If your tastes run to contract bridge or Old Maid, you can retire to the Card Room, which offers "unsupervised play" for addicts of the four suits. (Some voyages have bridge tournaments; look for a "Bridge" icon in Silversea's cruise calendar.) Boutiques. You'll probably want to do most of your shopping on shore, but if you have money to burn after winning at the casino--or if you have an onboard credit that you need to spend--you can shop for jewelry, designer clothes, cruisewear, Silversea logo items, perfumes, and necessities in the shops on Deck 8. Fitness Center and Jogging Track. Silver Spirit has a well-equipped gym on Deck 6, a small running track on Deck 10 (with free bottled water in a cooler), and classes led by a personal trainer. Table tennis and golf-putting competitions are also available, and you can swim laps in the pool if you manage to beat the crowd. Spa. We didn't indulge ourselves with spa treatments (we're too Calvinist in our upbringing to appreciate hands-on pampering by strangers), but readers of Condé Nast Traveler Magazine voted Silver Spirit's spa #1 in a 2012 poll. The spa, which measures 8,300 square feet or 770 m², has nine treatment rooms, a thermal suite (inset photo), and other amenities. Haircutting and other beauty treatments are also available. Internet access. Silversea has a variety of Internet packages, starting at 100 minutes. Alternatively, you can pay as you go. You'll pay the same rate whether you use the PCs in the library or access the Internet via Wi-Fi anywhere on the ship. (Our Internet package cost US $85 for 250 minutes, and satellite speeds were excellent during our voyage from Lisbon to Monte Carlo.)
Laundry. In addition to free laundromats, Silver Spirit provides same-day laundry, dry cleaning, and pressing at rates that are comparable to what you might pay at home. Just hang a laundry bag outside the door of your suite before 9 a.m., and your butler will bring the clean clothes to your suite during the afternoon. (Your butler will also shine shoes at no charge.) Next page: Ports, shore excursions
Inset photos 1, 6, 7, 8 courtesy of Silversea Cruises. |
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