Travel is one of the best routes to bonding with family and loved ones, and cruise ships place us in group settings in which turning new acquaintances into lifelong friends is easy, especially when traveling solo, as I sometimes do.

In 2022, I traveled aboard the Silver Wind along Greenland's West Coast. Although I had been lucky enough to visit the world's largest island once before, I had not visited Ilulissat, a small community perched at the mouth of a 2,000-foot-deep fjord, most of which sat undersea, choked with ice from the hyperactive Jakobshavn Glacier. The larger icebergs calved from the glacier aren't building-sized; they're neighborhood-sized.

On a ride in a small boat, we navigated the channel's endless maze of white and pale blue bergs as a pod of humpback whales surfaced alongside the ice. It was such a rewarding day I couldn't wait to share it with someone. Except on this trip, I was alone.

As we sailed out a few hours later, the evening was calm enough that I ventured up to the pool deck where Hot Rocks, the ship's al fresco-only steakhouse, sat poolside. Jenni, a distinguished older Australian woman I had befriended in a kayak a couple of days previously, was there, just cutting into a tasty-looking filet, and she invited me to join her. On some Arctic evenings, Hot Rocks is not the ideal place for a meal, but on this night the air was brisk but not chilly, and a waiter brought me a blanket to keep my legs warm. I ordered a New York strip.

An alfresco dinner on an Arctic cruise with a new friend at the Hot Rocks Grill was a wonderful moment./Silversea Photo

I must have shown some trepidation about cooking the steak to perfection on a slab of searing rock. Jenni asked how I like my steak; medium rare, I said. "Time it," she replied. "Three minutes each side, no more than four, then slice in to see if it's right." I set the timer on my iPhone, and we began comparing notes from what had been an extraordinary day of hiking and sightseeing by boat and helicopter. We had barely started before the timer sounded. Her instructions were perfect. The simple meal, accompanied by views of icebergs left and right, was one of the best of my cruise, made better by the wide-ranging conversation of new friends.

Australian guest Dianna Madden's story reminds me that I'm not the only one traveling alone sometimes - and how easy it is to adopt friends.

"Aboard my second Silversea cruise, to New Zealand, the first night I joined the Solo Meet group. Our hostess was lovely and so welcoming. We took a vote on who wanted to dine where, and I ended up with a table of three other ladies, from the U.S., the U.K. and Canada. Very shortly after settling into our dinner together I thought, "Wow. This is my tribe.

"We instantly connected on so many levels. We chatted, ate, drank and laughed a lot. Every night thereafter we dined together in different restaurants, and we took turns hosting pre-dinner cocktails and caviar in our suites. We named ourselves the FAB5 and had so much fun together. We have since kept in contact with Zoom calls and have planned more trips together. The next one is to Cape Town, South Africa, aboard the Silver Spirit in February 2025. Thank you, Silversea, for helping us create this great lifelong friendship."

Juli Tracy is another Silversea cruiser who unexpectedly found fast friendships while aboard an expedition trip.

"Greenland was beautiful icy fjords, floating icebergs, tiny communities, friendly people, choirs singing for us, tundra walks with expert scientists, and a natural hot pool amidst snowy peaks. Even better was the companionship we found onboard.

"We were invited by an officer to dinner with two other couples. We just clicked. The seven of us ended up closing the restaurant, probably disturbing other tables with our laughter! After that, our 'Group of Seven' ate together at Hot Rocks, La Terrazza, The Restaurant…always the last to leave, and maybe a little rambunctious and loud. We were from New York, Texas, California and Peru, and from different backgrounds and occupations. But we found much in common - the schools attended, places we had lived, previous Silversea adventures - and we enjoyed laughing with and at ourselves and each other. It was a beautiful itinerary, but what made the voyage great was the experience of meeting and being with such compatible people."

Silversea guests tend to adopt an esprit de corps on the ship, looking after one another, especially in far-flung places where languages and customs can be quite different. Orlando Gonzalez provides an optimal example of the kindness of strangers aboard the Silver Whisper.

"In February 2010, my wife and I flew from Madrid to Hong Kong for a Vietnam cruise. We made it to the ship, but our luggage didn't, having been lost in transit by the airline. We felt trepidation embarking on a nine-day cruise without our clothing and other essentials. But upon hearing of our mishap, several passengers got together to help us out, sharing some of their clothing with us. A couple from Chile was especially helpful. To this day we are amazing friends and have cruised several times with them since. Fortunately, there has been no repeat of the lost-luggage fiasco! The camaraderie among passengers is what makes a Silversea voyage so special."

For some guests, bonds develop with Silversea crew members and extend well beyond a single voyage. Joe DiCorpo and his wife had their first Silversea experience on a July 2000 cruise aboard the Silver Cloud, a seven-day sailing from Monte Carlo to Venice, Italy. The first evening, they met head waiter Jorge Caeiro.

Silversea's wonderful crew has made Joe DiCorpo's Silversea experiences quite extraordinary ones./Photo by Carolyn Spencer Brown for Silversea

"He was so accommodating and attentive to our overall dining experience, always checking in and asking if there was anything he could do for us. Within a few minutes he knew our names, and for the duration of our cruise, he would always smile and address us by name. We found Jorge to be the consummate professional. There was nothing you could want or ask for that he wouldn't make happen. Jorge was someone you could tell enjoyed his work, with the unique ability to evoke a joy of giving, making us, and all guests for that matter, feel appreciated.

"In 2007, on a seven-day Caribbean cruise aboard the Silver Wind to celebrate my wife's birthday, we were met by Jorge in the reception area during embarkation. He remembered us from our previous sailings and greeted us by name. After a little catching up, Jorge asked what she would like prepared for her birthday dinner, and he had her special birthday dinner prepared later that week.

"We have sailed 115 days on Silversea, and Jorge is one of the many reasons we have kept returning. Management recognized Jorge's talents and eventually promoted him to Maitre d'Hotel - a promotion well deserved, as he continually strived for perfection but settled for excellence. Over the years, we stayed in touch with Jorge as he became a wonderful friend. We would try to coordinate our next cruise around his ship assignments as we simply enjoyed sharing our experience with him.

"We can't believe it has been 30 years since Silversea began sailing the seven seas. Here's to many more decades of exploration, luxury and excellence."

Not only is a Silversea cruise an opportunity to form friendships with strangers, but it also can provide moments for celebration and for striking out on bold new paths. Ryan Korsgard shares how he experienced both:

"Shortly after we started dating, my boyfriend, Marshall, took me on a trip to Palm Beach. He gave me a scrapbook that revealed we were going on a Silversea cruise for my birthday. He had previously asked me what cruise line I'd like most to try - of course, it was Silversea - and he planned a celebratory voyage. A month later, we were in the Mediterranean on the Silver Muse.

"On the morning of my birthday, the Silver Muse was anchored off Cannes, France. Eating breakfast on our balcony, Marshall gave me a gift, a beautiful Rolex watch, with blue accents to mirror the sea. I enthusiastically put the piece on my wrist. Marshall looked a bit puzzled. He asked, 'Did you read the back?' And I'm thinking, 'To look for the serial number for authenticity?' Instead, I found the back was engraved: 'Will you marry me?' To this, I quickly said, 'Yes!' We married in Austin, Texas, about 15 months after our onboard engagement. On Nov. 9, we will celebrate five years happily married."

My father died before I took my first real cruise, but one of the perks of my profession is that there is often an empty bed in my cabin, so I am happy to share a Silversea suite with one of my immediate family members. My mother in particular has been my guest on a half-dozen cruises - to her delight. David Ellis knows how special it is to share travel with family and tells about his "return" to sea with his parents, aboard the Silver Muse.

"My parents are incredible people. Instead of keeping me at home, they took me on vacations all over the world. Travel creates memories, and the bond we forged as family was, in large part, due to cruises. When COVID hit, I thought I might never get to cruise with my parents again. The pandemic was tough, and I had been through a difficult time. In 2022, my parents surprised me by revealing we were taking our first Silversea Cruise, to Alaska, for my birthday. To say that I was overjoyed was an understatement.

Silver Muse, in Alaska, was the setting for unforgettable family memories for David Ellis./Silversea Photo

"The first night onboard, tears welled up because I was getting to experience a cruise once more, with the two most special people in my life, something I thought would never happen again. Silversea took our expectations and blew them out of the water. The shore excursions were insightful. The service was the best I had experienced in my lifetime. Every restaurant was more delicious than the previous. Most important, the Silver Muse was the perfect setting for us to appreciate the fact that we could be together, sailing throughout Alaska and getting the chance to create more memories together."

This thank-you note, shared by 82-year-old Frank Clement, also expresses the joy of shared experiences.

"My wife of 59 years died in January 2024 and left my children and me in a new venue of healing. I decided to book a seven-day Alaska cruise from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Seward, Alaska, for my son and daughter and their spouses. All are in their mid-50s. The cruise was absolutely spectacular. The ship, food, entertainment, and crew made a great home from home. But let me tell you about a thank-you note I received from my son-in-law. He wrote:

After his family trip to Alaska, Frank Clement writes "we all had the best vacation ever."

Dear Frank, I'm sorry for not writing to you sooner. It's a bit for me to get used to being back on land, in the real world. Thank you so much for hosting Beth and me on that lovely Alaskan cruise. It was a wonderful, relaxing time, with beautiful scenery I won't soon forget. I passed several late-night hours just watching the mountains float past the ship. I have never traveled in such comfort before, and I expect it will be a while until I do so again. For several nights after our return, I'd wake up disoriented, thinking I was still on the ship -it seemed that the waves were still rocking me to sleep. Thank you so much."

Frank writes, "We all had the best vacation ever and felt better about our lives and future."

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