After a week on ultra-luxury line Silversea Cruises’ new Silver Dawn, my hot take is that the ship feels slightly edgier, and, dare I say, more fun, than its older siblings.
It’s a refreshing surprise, made possible by three strong components in Silversea’s evolution. One: A cruise director who can play the traditional warm and fuzzy host but also perform hilarious, more youth-oriented (either by age or mindset) shows. Two: A culinary program that allows food adventurers to explore local cuisine and drinks, both on board and ashore. And three: A newly launched spa that emphasizes ship-wide indulgence as much as soothing treatments.
Here are my five favorite Silver Dawn experiences from a shakedown cruise sailing before the ship’s official inaugural Mediterranean voyage.
Walking around the ship, I was genuinely surprised by how many crew members not only said hello but actually asked how I was doing. They could have said it slickly or robotically, but they didn’t. I saw their eyes crinkle, a sure way to recognize a smile beneath a mask.
One evening, I rang in-suite dining to order a lobster salad starter for dinner. “Oh no,” said the gentleman answering my call, with genuine anguish. “You must order something else. Please, have an entree, too.” So I added grilled prawns, to which he replied, “What about dessert? Anything else I can get you? Have a wonderful evening.” His caring tone of voice was unmistakable. Perhaps because the world feels so off-kilter at this moment, his kindness touched my heart.
When my in-suite dining server flashed the sweetest smile, I asked him where he was from. “Malawi,” he replied, “although my dad is from Zimbabwe and I visit there often.” I got excited and shared stories of my last Zimbabwe visit and how much it meant to me. When exiting my suite, he turned and said, “The highlight of this experience at sea was meeting you.” Rubbish? Perhaps. Yet as a solo traveler, it was my feel-good moment of the night.
Butlers attend to all kinds of passengers, and my butler, who hailed from Calcutta, read me like a book. He was patient when I felt frazzled with writing, fighting jet lag and was busy with meetings (not the typical cruiser). He solved my internet problem, and later, television issues. Sometimes he popped by midday to see if I needed anything. He brought extra bottles of still water, simply by noticing how much I drank.