A silver lining for reader Michael Moore’s cruising life

Michael Moore, an avid reader of Travel, is a veteran of six voyages with Silversea.

His first trip on Silversea was with his late wife Sue to Hong Kong in 2010 on the Silver Shadow. The couple had spent many years in Hong Kong during Michael’s business life and wanted to see all the changes.

The next trip was on the Silver Cloud in 2011 from Rome to Athens. “It sounds stupid, but the next one was another cruise, which was also in 2011 because the return journey was regarded as a second cruise. So, we did a back-to-back cruise.”

The fourth was another trip to Hong Kong to catch up with friends on the Silver Shadow. “In 2018, when I was travelling on my own, I wanted to pick this particular Silver Shadow cruise because it went from Hong Kong to Singapore via the Philippines and Borneo,” says Michael. “I’d never been to the Philippines and the cruise took me to places such as the infamous Sandakan.”

The fifth cruise was on the Silver Muse from Adelaide to Bali via Fremantle, and the sixth on the same vessel is the Singapore to Sydney via Fremantle that we are on.

So why Silversea, I ask? “I just think it’s the comfort, everything’s included and yes, it’s more expensive, but you weigh up what your desires are,” smiles Michael.

What appeals to Michael is that there are virtually no add-ons. “Sure, if you want a special bottle of wine, you’d have to pay but apart from that, no.”

Michael is laudatory on the crew morale and work ethic: “Their work ethic is very much customer oriented, they are very, very attentive. Everybody’s just so approachable and appears to be so happy. And they all pitch in — managers and wait staff alike.”

And the next trip, I inquire? Michael says: “I would certainly like to do another cruise but have no plans right now . . . I am 92 you know. But if I do, it will be Silversea.”