Cruise Lines

One of the nice things about a small ship is that is it manageable. I spent two and a half days on Royal Caribbean International's Oasis of the Seas in November, working it's true, so I was kept very busy, but when I disembarked my feet were tired and I realised there were parts of the ship I hadn't even seen.

In one afternoon on Silversea's Silver Spirit, I had managed to get my bearings, see all the public areas, and even zap off a few pictures for the blog.

First stop, of course, was my suite - never a cabin on Silversea. It's all to do with the dividing curtain apparently. If it has one, allowing you to separate the sitting and sleeping areas, as mine does, it's a suite, if it doesn't, sorry guys, but it's just a cabin.

Last time I cruised with Silversea, going around India on Silver Wind, I was lucky enough to be in an Owner's Suite, which was fabulous. Several rooms, never mind a dividing curtain.

This time I'm in a Veranda suite, which is a lot smaller, but spacious nonetheless. A corridor leads from the door, past the bathroom and walk-in wardrobe to the sleeping area; beyond that is the sitting area, leading out to the balcony.

I had only just put down my bags when my butler, Manikiran, or Akula for short (OK, it's his surname but he finds people can remember it more easily), rang my doorbell.

When I was on Silver Wind in March, only the top suites had a butler; now everyone has one. It's great for me in my more lowly Veranda suite status, but I can't help thinking it's better to have the differentiation to encourage passengers to trade up.

Akula came bearing a tray of toiletries for me to chose from - Bulgari, Neutrogena or Salvatore Ferragamo - and also show me around my suite. Most importantly, though, he was able to show me how the TV worked.

This is the real piece de resistance in Silver Spirit's suites. TV's that are hidden away behind the mirrors. There's one in the sitting area and one opposite the bed.

I very rarely even bother to put on the TV when I'm on a ship, but I've been switching them on and off, discovering all the things you can do apart from just watching TV or a film, such as check out the excursions and the places to eat on board, see what is happening on the ship today and keep an eye on the bill.

It's all clever stuff, but actually all I really want to see is the picture emerge from the mirror. How sad is that!