Silversea Success: 'It's the Crew'

Review: Silver Nova in Alaska

Adam Illsley (Photo: Gerry Barker)

By GERRY BARKER
​North Palm Beach Life

There was a time in his youth when Adam Illsley thought he wanted to be a policeman. Then at 14,  he got bitten by the performance bug. And he's never looked back.

Now serving as the cruise director for Silversea's newest and most technologically advanced ships, Silver Nova and Silver Ray, he talked about his career path during our recent seven-day cruise in Alaska aboard Silver Nova.

He said the idea of joining the police "never went down great with my dad," maybe another sign the universe had other things in mind for him. After getting his Master of Arts in Dance Professional Practice from Middlesex University in London, he took his talents to sea, where for the past 16 years he's been a singer, dancer, actor and even an aerialist. 

Illsley's road to Silversea had some unexpected turns. "I was on a path to become an assistant cruise director for another luxury (cruise) line," he told me, "but I couldn't join when they needed me." A friend said he should try Silversea. He got hired, and became assistant cruise director on Silver Moon. "Three months later, I was promoted to cruise director."

With a number of cruise lines competing in the luxury-class market, I asked Illsley what makes Silversea stand apart?

Without hesitation, he said, "Its crew."

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Guests appreciate "the human touch"

"At the end of the day, people buy people," he said. "The start of a great cruise experience is the crew, and the end as well. If we don't deliver exceptional service, we don't have a business, and that expectation is repeated from ship to ship."

Silversea's desire to deliver a "6-star experience" was evident on our cruise, from the butler assigned to our stateroom to the servers in the restaurants and lounges. They make you feel more than just welcome and special -- you feel like family when you're on Silver Nova.

That was evident in the Venetian Lounge, where shows are staged by the ship's singers and dancers. At the show's conclusion, the performers line up by the exit, along with Adam, to personally greet and thank the guests who attended.

Illsley said guests appreciate "the human touch," especially after all the disruptions caused by COVID. "That's the main thing people missed," he said.

While he laughed at the suggestion he could step right in should a performer can't go on, he did say that on the longer cruises, he does his own show. "I'm never not going to perform," he said. "It's always in you."

Two weeks after our cruise concluded, Illsley said he would be joining Silver Ray, Silversea's newest ship and the sister ship to Silver Nova, as cruise director. "I'll be there for 12 weeks," he said, "then return to Silver Nova," alternating between the two ships going forward.

Regradless of which Silversea ship he's on, he said there's one thing that won't change:

"We are constantly striving for greatness."

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