Before I took a recent Amadeus Silver II cruise, I googled to read some reviews of the cruise ship to get a glimpse of where I would be living for 11 days.

One cruise reviewer wrote that the Silver II has a swimming pool and no elevator.

It is just the opposite.

The Silver II has no swimming pool but it does have a wonderful elevator. That writer might have gotten confused because the elevator is so cleverly covered that someone might not have known it was here.

Running on all three accommodation decks, the elevator has an elegant door that looks like a work of art to blend in with the rest of the ship décor. I’ve taken a photo to go with this blog so you will see what I mean.

The door looks like it might just be a pretty decoration. Actually you push a button, the artsy door opens and – voilà  – a comfy big elevator takes passengers to all cabin decks.

When I first got on the ship, I saw a woman slowly climbing the stairs until one of the crew quickly pointed out the elevator in case she wanted to use it. I later saw her doing just that.

Truthfully, I didn’t know it was an elevator when I came aboard. My dining companion Alex told me because he walks with two metal arm braces and is quite appreciative of the Silver II’s “lift,” as he calls it and the cruise line’s efforts at being accessible for people with disabilities.

As for that swimming pool, I have no idea where that notion came from. The Silver II has many wonderful things to offer passengers but there is no swimming pool. There is so much to do and so many great shore excursions that I didn’t miss swimming aboard the Silver II.

Story and Photo by Jackie Sheckler Finch