I loved this ship so much, I booked again before I got off

We were sipping champagne as the ship sailed out of Venice’s Grand Canal when another guest asked where I’d cruised before.

“This is my first cruise,” I replied brightly, lucky enough to be a young travel writer on a small luxury Cunard ship called Sea Goddess II.

Ship of light: Silver Nova.

He laughed: “Well, you’ll be spoiled for life now. There’s no going back when you start cruising like this.”

It didn’t take long to see what he meant. There were 120 people on our seven-day roundtrip cruise to Croatia and Greece, and double that number in crew catering to our every whim. The maitre d’ knew each guest by name on the first day; you could order dinner served course by course to your cabin that was prestocked with your favourite wines and spirits.

Stateroom comforts.

That was more than 25 years ago, and my partner and I fell so hard for this calibre of cruising that in the following few years we paid for our own holidays on the same cruise line: Singapore to Myanmar, and later Singapore to Cairns. We weren’t as well-heeled as the mostly older passengers, but we made it possible by taking advantage of returning customer discounts and finding cheaper voyages when ships were repositioning or had more sea days.

Silver Nova’s stylish public spaces are among the best at sea.

I would have happily kept cruising like that forever, but the universe had other ideas. Three children in two years meant a switch – when the kids were old enough – to bigger, family-focused ships. They loved the fun and freedom of cruising life: the kids’ clubs, water slides, mini-golf, 24-hour pizza and self-serve soft-serve. We mostly took cruises to the Pacific Islands, for the ease of travelling in and out of our homeport, although one memorable year we did a cruise around the British Isles, immersing ourselves in history and seeing more cities than we could have by car in the same time.

Of course, it wasn’t anywhere near as glamorous as my early cruising experiences – ships crowded with kids running around at all hours, including my own; lots of queuing at buffets; cabins that felt more like dormitories, with tiny bathrooms. You could forget having a quiet moment in a pool or whirlpool, and finding a free deck chair was like winning the lottery.

A part of me secretly wondered what it would be like to return to a more upmarket ship – to be fussed over rather than being the one doing all the fussing.

The opportunity comes on a five-night cruise from Adelaide to Sydney on Silver Nova, a leg of the luxurious Silversea ship’s first voyage in Australian waters. I’m curious to see how luxury cruising has changed in a quarter of a century, and whether it is as good as I’d remembered.

Pool deck, Silver-style.

Before boarding the ship we meet up with a group doing a shore experience at Adelaide’s Botanic Gardens, where chef Tom Tilbury is leading a foraging tour of the gardens before serving a four-course lunch of local produce and wines. Over yellow fin whiting and an Adelaide Hills chardonnay, ship guests Chris and Karl from Seattle rave to us about Silver Nova: “Be prepared to be impressed… the food is fantastic, the service is over the moon. We’ve already signed up for two more cruises”.

It’s easy to be impressed when you are on holidays, but Chris and Karl are spot on. At barely one year old, Silver Nova still looks and feels like a new ship – one designed to make the most of the light and ocean views.

We are in an entry-level Veranda suite, 33 square metres including a queen-sized bed and walk-in wardrobe. Best of all, the bathroom is more hotel-sized than ship-sized and includes a bath and double vanity.

Silver Nova La Terrazza Buffet.

Every suite is assigned a butler, shared with a handful of other guests. Fernando can’t do enough to make us feel pampered, from constantly stocking the fridge with our choice of champagne, wine, beer and soft drinks, to offering a menu of pillows and arranging an aromatherapy shower experience complete with classical music and macarons. He also makes restaurant reservations and one night serves dinner in our suite with the full white tablecloth experience. Where at home I’m the fairy invisibly tidying up after everyone, for once this is someone else’s responsibility. Each time we return to the suite we notice something else that Fernando has organised or cleaned, from shoes to sunglasses and even winding up pesky iPhone cords.

While you can have three meals plus endless snacks and coffee delivered to your suite 24 hours a day, there are too many restaurants to explore. Silver Nova has eight restaurants and cafes, plus eight bars. The fine weather means we favour the al fresco Marquee on Deck 10, opting for lighter breakfast options of Greek yoghurt, fruit and nuts, avocado on toast, and for lunch poke bowls, calamari and a glass of wine. Close second for lunch is sushi and ramen at the 40-seat Japanese restaurant Kaiseki, and for dinner SALT Kitchen which focuses on produce from local ports.

A few of the restaurants have an additional charge for dinner, such as La Dame, overseen by a Michelin star chef , and the SALT Chef’s Table which costs $US180 ($284) a person. These are good experiences, but you could eat (and drink) very well in all the other restaurants and bars without spending any extra. If you’re into cocktails, don’t miss the signature cocktail called Celestial Nova – a champagne, gin and elderflower creation served with a puffy cloud on top.

Our short cruise has a few port days. We opt for a sealife-spotting cruise off Kangaroo Island followed by a walk beyond Penneshaw Beach, and in Eden a tour of the Killer Whale Museum. But there’s nothing like a sea day to really get to know a ship and the many ways you can be entertained or unwind, from ballroom dancing or cocktail-making classes, to touring the high-tech bridge, going to the gym or sauna, contributing to the communal jigsaw puzzle.

So, is luxury cruising as good as I remembered? It’s even better – or maybe I just appreciate it more at this stage of life. The butler is a fun indulgence, the food is unwaveringly good, the staff all friendly and helpful.

Venetian Lounge theatre.

Not surprisingly, guests on a ship such as Silver Nova skew slightly older, predominantly fit retirees and only the occasional walking stick or walker. It is easy to make new friends talking about travel adventures past and future (also a good way to snag an invitation to check out the really fancy suites, some with separate living and bedrooms, baths with ocean views, wraparound balconies).

By day two we are enjoying ourselves so much that we book another cruise on board Silver Nova later this year, taking advantage of a spectacular Black Friday sale and an itinerary with loads of sea days. It feels like a wild and impulsive thing to do, inspired by our new friends Chris and Karl – until Jane at the Future Cruises desk points out that 40 per cent of passengers on each sailing do exactly the same.

I might have started cruising backwards, but I know which way I’m going from now on.

The details

Cruise
Silver Nova returns to Australia for her second season this year, with a 12-day voyage from Melbourne to Cairns departing on November 30. Ports include Eden, Sydney, Brisbane, and Mooloolaba, as well as the Whitsunday Islands, K’gari, Townsville, Cooktown and Port Douglas. From $14,500 a person. See silversea.com

The writer travelled as a guest of Silversea.