From BMWs to Bathrobes, I Wouldn’t Want it Any Other Way.
Cruising in Style with Jeff to Silversea’s Norwegian Fjords.
Thirteen days, nine ports, two countries, and 28 friends. Those were the stats that made up the perfect equation for a flawless Norwegian cruise on Silversea’s Silver Dawn. The journey would trace the incredible Fjords of Norway.
It was the first of many Hosted Experiences on the Travel Concierge calendar, in which a member of the team joins our valued clients on a group trip to somewhere exotic, enchanting, and luxurious. Our goal is to take the effort out of travel by handling every detail so that clients have more time to indulge and experience the beauty of each destination.
My hand went up, “sacrificing” for the sake of delivering a seamless travel experience.
This summer, we decided to cool off in Norway and cruise in style, starting with a BMW 7 series. Part of the Silversea all-inclusive experience is chauffeur service with roundtrip ground transportation from your home to the airport.
As a seasoned traveler, of course I wouldn’t want it any other way, and Silversea knows that. They know how I like my coffee with a dollop of vanilla foam, and how I like my cocktails shaken and not stirred. They even know that I like ice cream at midnight, but don’t want to talk about it the next day.
That’s the kind of service I could hardly wait for my 28 friends to experience as I sat back in the BMW flagship luxury sedan. That drive alone set the tone for what was in store, something I call “Frictionless Travel.”
As I told the group, the greatest luxury in travel today is not a seat in First Class or 700-thread-count sheets, but rather the seamlessness that comes through traveling alongside an experienced concierge. Hassles, hiccups, and hangups are nonexistent, to the point that this travel recap is, in fact, void of drama or challenges.
Instead, it's a mental summary of serene fjords, postcard villages, and ten days at sea where we indulged in Silversea’s amenities. And indulge we did, basically occupying most of the Silver Suites on Deck 11. The foundation of ultra-luxury cruising, these 5-star suites take travel to a whole new level with private verandas, sitting rooms, and bedrooms with 786 square feet of space.
Converging from Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, Orlando, Jacksonville, Sacramento, and San Diego, our group met in Copenhagen for embarkation. Our group kicked off the cruise in style with a welcome dinner at La Terrazza, serving authentic Italian dishes made with local, sustainable ingredients.
On Day One I told them, “I don’t have a whistle and a flag. We’re like-minded travelers but we’re all free to do as we wish.”
Ironically, that meant wining and dining as a group.
And on this trip, I was dedicated to pulling strings by scheduling private cocktail parties, meet-and-greet sessions with the captain, and even an Indian meal prepared by the Head Chef who served us dishes from his home country.
Reservations are normally required at designated onboard restaurants, including SALT. Yet another perk of joining a Hosted Travel Experience with Travel Concierge makes that unnecessary. Grabbing a private table at SALT, we could indulge in the local cuisine of Norway, whenever we wanted regardless of the size of our party.
What we found was that SALT was just one of eight superb dining options where we gathered as smaller parties each evening for “Wine Roulette.” These spontaneous nights of “We’ll meet you there!” included one person ordering the first bottle of Caymus, and the second person ordering a bottle of Pomerol, and then our sommelier taking the helm from there on out.
Between late dinners and rich conversations were daily lectures, shore excursions, and night caps in the cigar lounge. Some in our group prioritized daily activities while others were content reading a book on the veranda.
Along the way, we explored the Art Nouveau architecture of Ålesund and fjords that take one's breath away. We made stops at the glacial waterways of Flam, the pastel-colored warehouses of Bergen, and eventually returned to the vibrant metropolis of Copenhagen. While the final destination was important, it was the journey that brought us all together.
For me, the high points were about the on-cruise experiences with friends. It was about the mixologist who created the “Lavender Experience” for our group, a lavender-infused gin martini. It was about the “formal-night-turned-pizza-party” because my wife and I (along with wonderful friends, both old and new), preferred to have our butler deliver pizza and champagne to our suite.
We felt so at home, like living in our own posh little neighborhood with doors wide open, passing champagne and caviar in our bathrobes to the suite next door. This priceless gift of friendship is what enriched the experience. Those unique touch points by Silversea, turned clients into friends, and friends into deeper friends.
As the cruise came to a close, our pool of 28 parted with the one question that keeps me dreaming big at Travel Concierge:
“Where to next?”
Learn more about the 2025 JOIN US Collection by clicking here: https://tc.jefflavender.com/2025-join-us-collection