Dolcevita Diva

Wine songs…

Hope all your travels go smoothly Lois and look forward to hearing your thoughts on the ship!

Weather-related. Many ports on the previous voyage (Hamburg, St Malo, Bordeaux and Bilbao) were canceled due to weather and the ship arrived early in Lisbon on Wednesday. The Dawn is spending an extra day in Lisbon before its next voyage as the ports in Morocco have been cancelled. There are forecasts of gale force winds and unfortunately also a maritime pilots strike scheduled for Nov. 6-8.

I would love to have visited the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art in Cadiz (I used to show in English saddle-seat equitation and was learning dressage many, many, many years ago), but they were not open to the public on the day we were in port. So the horse farm excursion was my first choice in Cartagena, but I was a bit wary after the entertainment on the sherry tasting tour. Very glad to have seen enthusiastic recommendations from others for the tour. Thanks for sharing your video -it's great!

I’d been hoping for some swordfish that week and that was the first time I’d seen it on any of the menus, so although I seldom eat lunch in Atlantide, that drew me in. It was delicious. Hmmm and suddenly I’m craving swordfish tonight! Yes, the horse farm was terrific. Someone on the same itinerary a few months ago had recommended it highly. I thought the description of the horse “dancing” with the flamenco dancer sounded like it could be a bit hokey… but it was beautifully done.

On the last evening I went up to the Dusk Bar to meet friends for sailaway and had asked my butler in advance to send up the bottle of Dom Perignon that American Express had provided. She got caught up with another guest so it wasn’t there for a bit and of course as soon as I ordered an “appetizer” glass of Pommery, the DP arrived. Egads - I embarked on this voyage having abstained from adult beverages for six weeks or so beforehand and after only 8 days aboard there’s a glass of bubbly in each hand!!! 🥂 My friends headed off to pack and our server asked if I’d be dining inside. When I mentioned that I was reluctant to go inside, in Classic Silversea fashion he made a suggestion and brought the perfect casual meal to pair with that last glass of champagne. Cheers to a wonderful voyage🥂 - and can’t wait to hear all about LoisR and Emtbsam’s experiences on their crossing next week!

I’m not really surprised by the news. When the June 3rd voyage was added (which was that long ago), I went to book it and it was shown as waitlisted almost immediately. That had me wondering if they either shut down bookings due to a possible delay or decided to reserve the initial dates for travel industry preview.

Not specific to the ship, but I do want to mention an outstanding excursion in Cartagena, in case that port is on any of your future itineraries. This was an excursion to an Andalusian Horse Farm. There were 4 tour buses, but never seemed crowded. We were greeted by a friendly Jack Russell terrier who came outside to greet the guests. We learned about the history and unique characteristics of these beautiful horses, as well as insights into the logistics of the breeding farm business. We were then treated to an absolutely stunning dressage performance set to flamenco music. Here’s a snippet. IMG_2168.mov

I finally was able to participate in a S.A.L.T. Lab cooking class on the last afternoon, as previously described. Such a beautiful venue! Our class that day was paella and the recipe they provided was delicious. Alas, my execution of the plating/presentation left much to be desired 😂 because my tomato slivers would not stand up and I was a bit heavy-handed with the dollops of garlic aioli.

I visited Atlantide for lunch one day after noting that they had swordfish with a mango salsa on the menu. When cooking swordfish at home, I sometime make a pineapple-pepper salsa and wanted to compare. The mango salsa was delicious and added an extra little kick to the flavor. Dessert was a hazelnut berry crumble.

Another meal at The Marquee - a lovely piece of grouper, followed by grilled pineapple with coconut gelato.

Ducking back in because I promised @TLCOhio some “food porn” photos. These first two are from breakfast at The Marquee - Greek yogurt with berries, fruits and nuts and some pumpkin pancakes with apple cider syrup. The Marquee is a delightful option for breakfast - with one caveat. They only serve poached eggs for breakfast dishes at this venue. I had planned to order the breakfast quesadillas, but the description did not mention any eggs and when asked, was told they could add poached eggs, but not scrambled. That worked out well because I had to order those delicious pancakes instead…

It's been puzzling to me how anyone who has not yet been onboard a Silversea ship to experience the brand can speak so authoritatively about what may/may not impact the ambiance onboard or future success of the Silversea brand.

Look forward to hearing your thoughts on this beautiful ship! Definitely wish there had been at least 1 more sea day on my voyage a few weeks ago.

Apparently passengers on the June 3rd and June 15th voyages of the Silver Ray are in the process of being notified that there are delays in construction and those first two voyages are cancelled… If you’re booked on one of these voyages, contact your TA.

They are truly wonderful. Alas, the magic platters don't seem to work at home. Hmm, there might be a subscription service opportunity here - a bottle of Pommery and some magical truffles delivered to your home each month. Oooooh - do tell.

My favorite was the amaretti. Alas, I didn’t even sample these lovely morsels for a day or so because I was enjoying the little box of chocolates that was next to the champagne in my suite at embarkation. When I finally noticed these (the little tray was tucked on a shelf by the tv), I only took one at first, thinking that they needed to last. Oh, silly me! Turns out that the secret to the truffle fairy is to eat ALL the truffles. And every time you do, the little platter is magically refilled.

Not in the evening at the Arts Cafe. But never fear, there are delicious truffles delivered to your suite every day, on a silver (or more likely stainless) platter, as well as the occasional small box of chocolates. The truffles are amaaazing…

Our next port was beautiful Malaga (pictures above) and we were lucky enough that the itinerary called for an overnight here, with departure at 2 PM the following afternoon. I had originally booked the excursion to the Villages of Mijas but cancelled for 2 reasons. Someone else on this itinerary a few weeks ago had mentioned how crowded Mijas became due to other ships in port. The port schedule showed there would be an additional 8,000 passengers in port from other ships…In addition, the original tour description mentioned visiting a chocolate factory and having an opportunity to make custom confections. But the description of the tour on board had changed and omitted the hands-on experience, so I decided to cancel this one. My friends and I were also really interested in the excursion to visit the Picasso museum, but that had been waitlisted from the time we booked the voyage and we were notified before the cruise started that would not clear. But you can buy tickets to the museum independently for approx. 10 Euros and visit at your own pace. So we did! Right around the corner from where the shuttle buses drop you off in Malaga is one of the stops for the hop on hop off bus, which was a great way to see the city and get off at some of the key stops. The shuttle drop off point is right by the stunningly beautiful Parque de Malaga, a lovely place to just sit for a while. One of the ticket options for the HOHO bus includes a ticket to the Picasso museum if that is of interest.

Some notes about La Terrazza. I have a distinct aversion to buffets (the result of decades of business travel with the inevitable conference and hotel buffets) and avoid them whenever possible. Unless there is chocolate involved! 😁 So I seldom visit La Terrazza for breakfast or lunch on the other ships although it’s one of my favorite venues for dinner. On this ship, La Terrazza seems larger than on the other ships and the buffet area is definitely larger and is configured in more of a “horizontal” format where the different sections face the dining area and the area isn’t tucked away on the side as it is on some ships. This worked well for several reasons. The “horizontal” format allows you to go not just to the section (salad bar vs hot area vs desserts) you’re interested in, but also directly to the part of that section that interests you, rather than being stuck in line behind someone who is taking their time evaluating which precise piece of fruit they are planning to take or which pastry is the fluffiest. 😆. Another touch that was very clever is there are shelves above the buffet that hold pre-packaged salads in glass jars and pre-portioned cold cuts in bento box top containers if you want to quickly take something to go or don’t wish to prepare your own off the buffet. After lunch, they move the plants from the dining room tables and place them on these wooden shelves, which turns them into a decor element and helps the buffet lines “disappear” visually during dinner service. The handwashing station at the entrance was much nicer than this area on the Spirit last year. I can’t compare to the Moon or Dawn since I’ve not yet sailed on those ships. But the handwashing station on the Nova actually looks, dare we say “elegant” and each step of the process (water, soap and towel dispensing) was automated and hands-free. Initially, one of the maitre’ds was making sure that everyone used the station at breakfast and lunch, but later in the voyage several people ahead of me just walked right past the station and were seated without anything being said. The service in La Terrazza was truly excellent at all meal times - very swift in bringing beverages and made-to-order omelettes at breakfast and very warm, polished and personalized at dinner.

Interesting and concerning. I did not receive a letter of acknowledgment on the Nova last week, but was provided a receipt; albeit hand-written.

Can't answer this about SALT Kitchen (the restaurant) and did not make any special requests. I did notice a slight tendency at the beginning of this voyage across various venues for the crew to encourage certain "standard" offerings. A few examples: On the first evening they were offering an Australian Chardonnay as the complimentary white and when I inquired if they had any French white burgundies, was told no (Say what??? Silversea always has at least a Macon on the comp list). This continued into the second day in other venues (they were really trying to push their planned white wine pour), but then suddenly a variety of additional white offerings were readily available. Another example - When my butler offered to bring some canapes later in the afternoon, I asked for a shrimp cocktail and she hesitated and said that she'd have to check if that was possible (? Really - I can order caviar but not shrimp cocktail?). Someone else on the voyage mentioned elsewhere that they received the same response and were told they could only order items that were on the room service menu. On the other hand, on the first evening one of my friends asked for blue-cheese stuffed olives for his martini and although they did not have any, the server said: "We will have those for you tomorrow and the rest of your cruise, Mr. ---" Not sure if any of this was related to provisioning, new SOPs or newer crew members - but when sharing these examples, it's also important to make clear that the crew throughout displayed the sincere desire to accommodate and make their guests happy - and ultimately whatever you asked for was done with a smile.

Our next port was Gibraltar. I had not signed up for any excursions and had a leisurely morning and lunch onboard. @TLCOhio - I didn’t take many menu or food photos, but here are photos of the lunch menu at The Marquee and some “food porn” for you! This is the Roast Pumpkin and Chickpea salad with some chicken added and although I normally don’t have dessert with lunch, couldn’t resist trying the Mint Chocolate Frozen Sandwich, which was delicious. After lunch, I walked into town and did some browsing/shopping on Main Street. My friends went on the Cork & Cattle excursion and really enjoyed it. They learned about cork production, harvesting, aging, exports, etc. They did say there were 40 people on their bus, though.

I mentioned earlier that there is a saxophone player onboard who plays at the Dusk Bar and the S.A.L.T. Bar. It’s hard to convey just how magical this, but most especially during sailaway. Hopefully this video clip as we departed Cádiz will give you a sense. IMG_1981.mov