The aurora borealis can be a spectacular sight on an Arctic cruise. [Photo by Bruno Cazarini/For China Daily]

My water bottle is always full. My shoes are always shined.

Meals are five-star hotel quality, which chef Pia－a statuesque strawberry-blonde from Germany－somehow pulls off even when the ship is days away from a market that meets her exacting standards. The sit-down dinner service (there's no assigned seating, except at the welcome and farewell dinners hosted by Croatian captain Denis Radja) features gourmet European fare. Lunches are expansive buffets in the restaurant－though in good weather, many of us sit in the sun on the observation deck, where there is a small buffet as well as sandwiches and pastas made to order.

I'm slightly surprised to find that quite a few passengers have not only cruised with Silversea before, but rather often. At one reception, a Japanese lady gets applauded as the passenger aboard having the most cruise days with the line: 860! That's getting close to three years at sea.

On this cruise, we are particularly pampered: There are only 56 passengers－and 119 crewmembers. There are usually 120 to 150 passengers on board, and most cruises are fully booked－popular destinations such as Antarctica and the Mediterranean as much as a year ahead.

Late summer timing and the challenge of booking return flights after disembarking at Kangerlussuaq have kept our group on the small side. We'll all know each other pretty well at the end of our 12-day cruise.

Expedition leader Kredel observes that we'll be extra-pampered with two crewmembers on board to every one passenger.

"But let's not have any talk of mutiny on this ship," he jokes. "Always remember: You are outnumbered."