5. Silver Moon, Silversea Cruises
SALT Tour Silver Moon (Photo: Colleen McDaniel)
Passenger-to-Crew Ratio: 596 passengers to 411 crew (1.5:1)
What Makes Silver Moon One of the Best Luxury Cruises? One word: Food. Underlining this idea is the SALT program aboard Silver Moon, an immersive cultural and dining experience that endeavors to broaden guests’ understanding of the food they are eating and its relation to the destinations throughout each voyage. Additionally, Silver Moon forgoes a traditional main dining room and instead has eight smaller restaurants at which passengers can dine any night. Six are free, but require reservations, while Kaiseki and La Dame cost extra.
Complimentary choices on Silver Moon include Asian-fusion Indochine, Italian La Terrazza, seafood grill Atlantide, tapas restaurant and bar Silver Note, pizza place Spaccanapoli, and The Grill, a grill-your-own meat venue. During the day, La Terrazza is the ship’s buffet, offering breakfast and lunch. Likewise, Atlantide is the closest to a main dining room you’ll find, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner for those who prefer a sit-down option.
Keeping in line with the line’s luxurious reputation, Silver Moon has lovely, understated public spaces, including an expansive pool deck featuring comfortable lounge chairs, a large pool and dedicated pool stewards ready to cater to any needs that arise. There’s also a cool Arts Cafe, where coffee- and tea-drinkers can feed their habit while noshing healthy bites amid funky art.
Suites are also a highlight, with more than enough space plus personal butlers and large bathrooms complete with bathtubs and separate showers. All cabins also have a neat hidden TV feature — flat-screen televisions are embedded into huge mirrors, and when they’re turned off, you can’t even see them.
About Silversea’s Luxury Offerings: Silversea shines across its fleet when it comes to personalized service. Staff is trained by The Leading Hotels of the World, a well-regarded hospitality consortium. The crew is friendly and intuitive; they seemingly know what you want when the very thought has just crossed your mind. This is especially evident in the lounges, where the bartenders quickly memorize your drink preferences and always have your favorites (along with a few savory treats) waiting for you.
Butler service for every cabin is Silversea’s claim to fame. Butlers are educated by the Guild of Professional English Butlers and will assist you when it comes to unpacking and packing your luggage, serving breakfast on your balcony, making arrangements for shore tours and dining times, and even serving dinner — course by course — in your suite.
Silversea also loves to throw a good soiree and does so on every warm-weather cruise in the form of its deck party. Chefs spend the day preparing for this pull-out-all-the-stops event at which they serve roast suckling pig, carved meats, pasta, salads and an array of mouth-watering desserts.
Who Sails on Silver Moon: Silver Moon has fans from many walks of life, but most passengers are older couples from North America, Great Britain and Europe. It’s rare to see children onboard, though they’re more likely to be seen during school breaks or summer vacations, when families (often with multiple generations) sail together.
Other Ships in the Silversea Fleet: Silversea offers a traditional luxury experience with its fleet of ships that includes Silver Muse, Silver Wind, Silver Shadow, Silver Spirit and Silver Whisper. It also has an expedition fleet, which includes Silver Cloud Expedition, Silver Explorer, Silver Galapagos (which sails the Galapagos Islands year-round) and Silver Discoverer.
Read the full Silver Moon review here.
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