to-ceiling windows run down each side, bathing it in glorious sunshine during the day. It operates in two sittings at night, and there is no alternative dining option for the evening meal. The food is not an overblown extrava- ganza, either. Menus typically offer two or three choices for each of five main courses. But the quality transcends many more ostentatious ships, and the dining ex- perience here is one of the most endearing things about this small, highly styled ship that manages to get under your skin with almost effortless ease. Entertainment is pretty low-key, with one main show-lounge staging song and dance routines that owe more to street theatre and European heritage rather than
Vegas. Live music throughout the ship is always high quality, though, including a piano player whose styling was often as soft and subtle as the sunset that flooded the room before pre-dinner cocktails. You really did feel you were sailing in a differ- ent era altogether.
T
he officers are mostly Portuguese, and are always to be seen around the ship they are so proud of. Dress code for the passengers is pretty much informal. It is also true the ship attracts an older clientele. Though there is a nightclub in the gorgeous, glass-walled veranda café that overlooks the outer decks, this is not really a ship for those looking for late-night action.
Yet the lack of structure and compunc- tion to sample everything has the para- doxical effect of ensuring your days really are filled with a series of richer, more rewarding encounters, whether with your fellow passengers, the crew or just with the elements themselves. One other thing Daphne has in spades
is sheer charisma. I never tired of watching the sharp bow knifing through the water; there was no constant playing of music outside, but that allowed you to really hear and listen to the sea itself as it rolled all around that staunch, graceful hull. The paraphernalia of being on a real
working ship was in plain view. Coiled ropes on the forecastle head were also used to lash down the gangway. The blades
Spring 2012 I WORLD OF CRUISING 59
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