Silversea is flirting with perfection with the Silver Muse and its crew. We just completed a 13 day cruise from Dublin to Barcelona with stops also in Portugal. This was our 5th cruise with them. This went off seamlessly without a hitch. I can’t imagine any other cruise line handling logistics better than they do. Pre and post cruise hotels, transportation, embarkation, and disembarkation were all handled seamlessy, every car, every driver was there when the were supposed to be. I can get used to going from hotel to airports in Mecrcedes limos. Anyhow.

The star of this show is the Muse, Silversea’s new 600 passengere ship. It is absolutely gorgeous. Its interior is not showy at all, all muted tones, a palette of tans, greys and brown, creating a calm serene vibe. I was apprehensive about this trip because it was a bigger ship than the other Silvesea ships we have sailed, the Whisper, Shadow and Wind which were all 300 passengers ships. I was worried that the bigger number could play havoc with the client focused attention to detail the Silversea is noted for. The opposite was true. I think they have assembled their A-Team for the Muse. They crew paid more attention to detail than on the smaller ships. The 600 passenger ship is the future for Silversea while also going smaller with expedition ships for 100 to 200 passengers. They just took the Spirit and cut it in half adding space bringing it up to 600 passengers. The message here for Silversea regulars is not to fear they have lost their focus with the larger ships. They make it work.

They also read these reviews and respond if needed, as they did by abandoning their reservations only policy for its 8 restaurants, after there was an outcry in Cruise Critic reviews, which was absolutely the right decision. A few words about the restaurants. The two larger dining rooms are Atlantide and Indochine. Atlantide is what Silversea regulars with know simply as the Restaurant. In this case it is posher, more elegant than its equivalent on the smaller ships. They nail it, the best food I have had on Silversea. The menu features steaks that are all identified as to source and type-grass fed or prime, from France, Argentina etc. The rest of the menu is what Silversea clients expect, they kill a lot of lobsters for example. The menu does not change every night as on their other ships but that is no big deal. Their other large restaurant is Indochine, which is a mélange of Thai, Indian, Chinese and just about every thing else under the sun. Dishes like lobster pad thai, Malabar chicken which is a jazzed up version of the familiar chicken tikka masala, the even do a good Pho. Unfortunately the passengers do not seem to be responding to this change of pace. There is less demand here than in Atlantide which is a shame, because its an elegant room, sort of art-decoiswith great food. Read more