Live from Silver Nova - Lisbon to Barcelona Sept. 29 - October 7, 2023

[A Tucson Guy]

9 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

For what they are charging, that’s awful.

I was referring to the Salt Restaurant which is no charge and not the Chef' Table which is $360 per couple.

[TLCOhio]

22 hours ago, Lois R said:

Hi Terry, yes I am on the crossing and am arriving in Lisbon 1 day early. I have sailed out of there multiple times. And yes, I plan to eat in Salt on the cruise🙂

 

Appreciate these great follow-ups.  Glad that Lois and others are experienced with S.A.L.T.  Love to learn any and all tips and insights for this dining environment.  Given that our cruise will involve India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, there should be a wide range of culinary styles and approaches, including the China influences in this region.  

 

At S.A.L.T., are they open to any day-ahead special order requests?  Other suggested ideas for added creativity that they offer, etc.?

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

[TLCOhio]

16 hours ago, zqtchas said:

An excuse to save more money! And cut more corners.

 

Saving money or the environment?  Or, just cutting corners?  

 

I would hope they would offer customers the option of paper or electronic.  People like choices!!

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

[Lois R]

5 minutes ago, TLCOhio said:

 

Appreciate these great follow-ups.  Glad that Lois and others are experienced with S.A.L.T.  Love to learn any and all tips and insights for this dining environment.  Given that our cruise will involve India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, there should be a wide range of culinary styles and approaches, including the China influences in this region.  

 

At S.A.L.T., are they open to any day-ahead special order requests?  Other suggested ideas for added creativity that they offer, etc.?

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

Hi Terry, I have no clue about special orders. I am guessing you can ask and see what they say. I am just one of those folks who usually finds something on the regular menu and never think about asking for anything special ahead of time. Talk to the Maitr'd about it.

[TLCOhio]

15 hours ago, Dolcevita Diva said:

 @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! 

 

YES!!  Appreciate these varied and nice visuals.  Keep it coming!!  Fun to follow along and see these visual samplings.  Such visuals are low in calories, but make me want to grab something to taste.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

[TLCOhio]

2 minutes ago, Lois R said:

Hi Terry, I have no clue about special orders. I am guessing you can ask and see what they say. I am just one of those folks who usually finds something on the regular menu and never think about asking for anything special ahead of time. Talk to the Maitr'd about it.

 

Appreciate the follow-up from Lois.  Since we are on an 18-day cruise in February on the Silver Moon, it is always good to be "creative" and learn more about the various options.  

 

That's one of the key assets and advantages with Silversea.  The crew likes to show off their flexibilities and great abilities to find fun ways to satisfy the varied interests with their well-traveled and sophisticated passengers.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

[sea bright]

There is no charge for Salt Kitchen on any of the ships. The Nova has a Salt Chef's Table, which has a hefty up charge. I think the OP was referring to the Salt Kitchen as there is no Salt Chef's Table on the Moon or Dawn.

[Dolcevita Diva]

45 minutes ago, TLCOhio said:

 

At S.A.L.T., are they open to any day-ahead special order requests?  Other suggested ideas for added creativity that they offer, etc.?

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

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. 

[Dolcevita Diva]

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.

 

 

[Dolcevita Diva]

[Dolcevita Diva]

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.  

[spinnaker2]

Question, if the Arts cafe closes early does that mean no chocolate truffles?????!!!!!

EGADS.

[Dolcevita Diva]

1 hour ago, spinnaker2 said:

Question, if the Arts cafe closes early does that mean no chocolate truffles?????!!!!!

EGADS.

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…

[lincslady]

Lovely flavours - does everybody else like milk and white chocolate?  The only chocolate I care for  is as dark as possible, the others are for small children. (IMHO)

[Stumblefoot]

11 hours ago, lincslady said:

…does everybody else like milk and white chocolate?

Of course!

[lincslady]

OK, stumbles - you have my milk and white ones, and I will have your dark ones.

[Dolcevita Diva]

20 hours ago, lincslady said:

Lovely flavours - does everybody else like milk and white chocolate?  The only chocolate I care for  is as dark as possible, the others are for small children. (IMHO)

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. 

[Stumblefoot]

I absolutely adore lovely little magical platters.

[spinnaker2]

I will raise a glass to the truffle fairy!!!!

and ps, there really are truffle fairy stores, in Ireland. 

[Dolcevita Diva]

16 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

I absolutely adore lovely little magical platters.

 

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. 

 

4 hours ago, spinnaker2 said:

I will raise a glass to the truffle fairy!!!!

and ps, there really are truffle fairy stores, in Ireland. 

Oooooh - do tell.  

Edited October 18, 2023 by Dolcevita Diva

[779kahoa]

My husband and I will be on the New Dawn from Lisbon to Barcelona for the November 4, 2023 sailing.  We are being joined by another couple, Dawn and Mike.  Looking forward to it and thanks everyone for your comments.  So helpful!

[Lois R]

1 hour ago, 779kahoa said:

My husband and I will be on the New Dawn from Lisbon to Barcelona for the November 4, 2023 sailing.  We are being joined by another couple, Dawn and Mike.  Looking forward to it and thanks everyone for your comments.  So helpful!

You realize this thread is all about the Nova, right? The Dawn is totally different than this ship. Just wanted to make sure you weren't thinking it was the same.

[ronrick1943]

What a wonderful report, thank you so much for taking the time.  I enjoyed every line and looking forward boarding Nova this coming December.  We’ll have to change suites after the first 8 days has the suite we wanted wasn’t available until the 19th.  We’ll be able to see if it’s worth the extra dollars, think it will as we enjoy the suite as the ship is an important factor in our cruise.

[Dolcevita Diva]

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… 

Edited November 4, 2023 by Dolcevita Diva

[Dolcevita Diva]

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