This was our first cruise on the Silver Whisper, a small luxury ship from Silversea. As we soon discovered, there is something to be said for the understated elegance of this Italian line that is fast becoming the industry standard by which all others will be measured.

It is 6 p.m. and our ship, the Silver Whisper, is silently slipping out of New York Harbor on its way up the eastern seaboard, part of an itinerary billed as Autumn in the Maritimes with ports that include Newport; Boston; Halifax and Sydney, Nova Scotia; Quebec City; and Montreal. Noticeably absent from the experience were the blaring music and servers hawking drinks with little umbrellas that instantly pump up the cost of a cruise. On Silversea, all extras are inclusive in the price of the cruise.

My wife and I had already checked into our ocean view suite on the Veranda deck. A chilled bottle of champagne was waiting for us as we gazed wide-eyed at new quarters consisting of a queen bed, a marble bath with shower and bathtub large enough to accommodate my six-foot frame, sitting room and private balcony. “This,” we thought to ourselves, “is what has been missing in all of our past cruises.”

Silversea is a young fleet launching its first ship, the Silver Cloud, in 1994 followed by the Silver Wind in 1995. The Silver Shadow followed in 2000 and the Silver Whisper, the newest ship, made its debut in 2001. The concept was to build all-inclusive, smaller, more intimate vessels with a high crew-to-passenger ratio (1 to 1.34) that offer more space, open seating dining options and a high level of personalized service by Italian officers and European staff. Rather than feeling like just another guest, we were impressed by the fact that our cruise director, Fernando, remembered our names (and seemingly those of every one of the other 382 passengers) after only hearing them once.

In my experience, the differences in quality can be found in the little details, and in this case, the Silversea succeeded. Every request from the staff was met with a smile and quick response. Our bath contained upscale toiletries from the renowned Italian fragrance house of Acqua di Parma. Other suite amenities included plush robes and slippers, walk-in closets, remote TV’s and VCR’s with on demand movies, dressing tables with hair dryers, fresh fruit and flowers, personalized stationary, and a well stocked beverage cabinet.

The all-inclusive concept, so popular with land-based companies, has also apparently been a big hit among the cruise set. All gratuities are included, a welcome change from having to tip for every day at sea. Beverages are included throughout the cruise, including a selection of fine wines. All open seating at meals allowed us to choose when and with whom we wanted to dine, and 24-hour room service was there for those rare times when we still felt hungry.

This type of extraordinary service is one reason why Silversea has risen so quickly to the top ranks among its class of sailing. For the eighth year, it has been named the number one small-ship line in the 2004 Readers’ Choice survey conducted by Condé Naste Traveler magazine. Additionally, Silversea was selected as the World’s Best small-ship line in the 2004 Travel and Leisure readers’ poll.

We found the on board dining experience to be a delight. At breakfast, for example, we had a choice of dining in the ship’s main restaurant with a full menu, a buffet in the Terrace Café or just sleeping in and ordering a cozy meal for two in our suite off of the room service menu. Since we are both tea lovers, we rarely missed the daily mid-afternoon British high tea in the Panorama Lounge. I have traveled to many locales in search of the best scones, tea sandwiches and savories and have to say that the afternoon teas served on board were the best I have ever had anywhere in the world.

Dress attire for dinner is based on the length of the cruise. For ours, we had two formal, four informal and three casual nights. We chose to dine in The Restaurant while others preferred the gourmet dinners served at Le Champagne. Our meals were exquisite with appetizers such as steamed fresh black mussels in white wine sauce or a Stilton and pear salad. To cleanse the palate, a different sorbet is served each night but I wished I had a whole bowl of the rum and chestnut served one particular evening. For our main course, we had a choice of several dishes, but the five-spice honey roasted loin of pork with a soy reduction won out on one of our nights. There is also a Cruiselite menu for those who prefer low fat, low sodium options.

Of course, desserts are always a highlight of cruises and Silversea’s chefs make it difficult to decide between chocolate mousse cake wrapped in white chocolate, homemade berry ice cream with crystallized rose petals and tempting confections. Often we just ordered all of them, reasoning that we could walk off the extra calories in port. During days at sea, we took advantage of the treadmills and weights in the ship’s fitness center.

While other cruise lines offer neon-lit multi-story shopping malls, art auctions and pulse-pounding discos where the kids can hang out, transit time on Silversea is meant to be enjoyed in a leisurely manner, like the luxury liners of the past. You can lounge by the pool, spend time in the library or surf the web at one of the many Internet stations. Since we were headed towards New England, I learned a little about the early development of colonial America from one of the guest lecturers on board. There is also a full range of planned activities each day, including dance lessons, provided via the Silversea Chronicles that was delivered to our cabin every evening along with a turndown service and a chocolate mint on the pillow.

Just because this is a small cruise line doesn’t mean that they have skimped on first class evening entertainment. The Viennese Lounge featured musical and dance reviews, including one spectacular performance reminiscent of Cirque du Soleil, a classical guitar duo and full-length feature films. There was also dancing with a live band in the Panorama Lounge and blackjack, roulette or slots in the casino.

Even though our voyage was focused on New England and Canada, you can sail almost anywhere in the world on Silversea. The Mediterranean, Africa, the Far East, the Caribbean, and Alaska are all part of the regular itineraries that can take you there in style.

Prior to our sailing, we were sent a complete list of shore excursions that we could pre-book online. These were very reasonable in price and included walking tours, a city highlights motor coach tour and even a bird’s eye view by helicopter. Complimentary shuttles arranged by the cruise line were available in most of our ports.

One of the things that we like best about cruising is that we only have to unpack once. What made us feel even more special was that on the Whisper, the staff quickly learned our preferences for food and beverage and seemed genuinely happy to provide us with excellent service.

Silversea is not taking its rise to fame in the industry for granted and is continuing to position itself as the premiere ultra luxury small cruise ship line by selecting internationally renowned actress, model and author Isabella Rossellini as its first-ever ambassador. “We asked Isabella because she is the ideal personification of Silversea’s exclusive standard of elegance, glamour and sophistication,” said Barbara Muckermann, Silversea’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing and Communications.

Silversea will also be adding new luxury partners in 2005, including FAI- Fondo per I’ Ambiente Italiano (the Italian National Trust) to enhance some of the Italian cultural events and shore excursions. They will also be featuring the finest wools and cashmere products from Loro Pian, who has been providing 100% Italian made products for over six generations. Creations from Italy’s new art masters, such as Velasco and Rapetti, will also be on display courtesy of the Italian Factory.

Now that my wife and I have sailed on Silversea, we truly feel spoiled for all other cruise lines that pale by comparison. Perhaps the best description that summarizes our experience was given by a fellow passenger when she stated, “We have sailed on many other luxury lines and we find our experience on Silversea superior to any other cruise we have taken. This is our 14th cruise on Silversea and we have already booked our next one.”