Brilliant food — and lots of it — a drawcard of Silversea’s Silver Muse cruise
My third trip on this cruise line meant food expectations were sky high, but inclement weather made it a quite different experience. The perils — and pleasures — of being a captive eater afloat.
There are many reasons to cruise but choice of ports is usually paramount. The idea of being at sea for weeks on end might not appeal to most travellers, although trans-Atlantic crossings remain in high demand. It takes seven days for a voyage between New York and Southampton aboard the stately Queen Mary 2, which I reckon amounts to a proper rest cure, polishing off one novel of average length each couple of days. It’s facile to argue that you could do that home, as such an attitude severely downplays the lure of shipboard life, its ease and sociability.
So, here I am aboard Silver Muse with a husband who’s been unwell and needs perking up, and our purpose is to get from Sydney to Benoa, Bali, with as little distraction as possible. Our ship, Silversea’s 596-passenger Silver Muse, is the real destination. It’s of no concern that across 12 days the itinerary’s ports are places we have visited often, because we’ll make snap decisions whether or not to go ashore in Brisbane, Townsville, Cairns and Darwin. As it transpires, thanks to hurling rain and mist, Cairns looms like Brigadoon and we can’t dock. Fellow passengers with bookings for Great Barrier Reef or Daintree excursions are demonstrably annoyed. In fact there’s so much grumbling that we expect a minor mutiny to erupt, which would be ridiculous, as safety issues are at stake. Captain Tomasz Kulas calms the situation by scheduling an extra night in Darwin. This mollifies most, if not all, and so not wanting to appear churlish, we join the shuttle bus conga line and stretch our legs in the Northern Territory capital’s beautifully maintained parks.
Back aboard, magpie larks are swooping beak-to-tail in tight formation on to the tables at Spaccanapoli, the Deck 11 semi-al fresco pizzeria, their calls an excited mix of caws and whistles. It’s a miracle of avian choreography, as if the birds are threaded together by ribbons. They must be peckish and who could blame them as the calzone crusts and classic toppings are as good as you’d find in Rome’s hip neighbourhoods.
What to eat on board
But if luxury has a taste, it’s brioche topped with lobster, served as routinely as if it were a cracker with cheese. This is my third Silversea cruise and expectations of food were already high, but previous itineraries included a lot of time ashore and more exercise. Now I am a captive eater afloat, which is dangerous. I am surrounded by a constant whirl of what my granddaughter would announce as “temptings”. Unlike the majority of small cruise ships, dining options are abundant and varied. There’s not just bounty, but brilliant cooking, especially in the hands of chefs at Italian-focused La Terrazza, with its scrumptious but agreeably small buffets at breakfast and lunch, and a la carte evenings. As the name heralds, Indochine ranges across Southeast Asia (mostly Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia), with menus rotating every three days. Generous dishes of stir-fried crab legs zinging with spice become our go-to treat.
For classic Japanese, Kaiseki is a small diner with sit-up counter, attracting a surcharge at dinner but not lunch. It’s also the only venue on the ship dishing up green tea ice-cream, according to server Frannie, who decides I absolutely need to know this, and she’s right. We don’t try the haute French (surcharge) restaurant, La Dame, but only because we forget, diverted by “temptings” elsewhere on board. Determined to exercise, I pound the promenade deck circuit with the wind in my sails, and take occasional pool dips when it’s not too breezy. Mornings start early and predictably, with a march to the smartly decorated Arts Cafe (zany colours, comfy chairs and abstract paintings) to pick up espressos to go and take a furtive sideways glance at the cookie counter. Breakfast is a leisurely affair for most passengers, and the majority head to La Terrazza, either seated indoors or on the covered deck, and tuck into tropical fruit and creamy pastries, plus eggs and sides cooked to order. Popular on sunny days, The Grill is al fresco rotisserie and burger bar by day, DIY lava-rock specialities from 6pm.
Days at sea assume a comfortable rhythm. We read most mornings in the Observation Lounge, a quiet zone and library (including book swap piles) at the stern with its 270-degree panoramas. Fellow guests put down their novels here to join quietly industrious classes with instructors in drawing, quilting and craft. For maintenance, the serene Zagara Spa offers all manner of exotic therapies and more routine offerings, including hair and nails. The Venetian Lounge hosts movie nights, enrichment lectures, song and dance hits, game shows and skilled guest artists, notably concert pianist Bernard Walz and “crossover” violinist Patrick Roberts, most recently on stage with Sting at Chateau de Chambord. We also attend an unexpectedly hilarious cooking demonstration with Indian-born executive chef Subhash Rawat, who whips up porcini risotto and cannelloni alla Sorrento and stresses that all pasta is made on board. A sidekick Italian chef plays along, offering “advice” to his superior and cracking jokes. “Si, si, but we must not stress the parmigiana!” We all laugh along and one wag calls out that being stressed on Silver Muse is never an option. Everyone applauds.
Meantime, in Suite 1115 on the top deck, the palette is of soothing greys and blues and it’s a mere 30 steps via corridor and deck to the Gelato Bar adjoining Spaccanapoli, where scoops of pistachio and blood orange are irresistible treats. This “silver” category suite features a full-length veranda, open-plan dining and lounging areas, massive bed in a separate alcove, two TVs with streaming services, oodles of wardrobe and storage space, Illy coffee machine and stocked minibar, plus a full ensuite with separate power shower and huge Jacuzzi tub. When butler Prem from Delhi notices I’m not using the supplied Bulgari gels and lotions, he quietly augments them with Ortigia. Such intuitiveness is a Silversea butler’s calling card. But they remain unused, too. Eventually I confess I have brought along my own. By the time we disembark, I have a market stand’s worth of tiny bottles in my suitcase. I told Prem I could leave these for the next passengers, but he is clearly horrified by such an idea.
On the last night, our captain introduces his officers plus members of each department. Up on stage in the Venetian Lounge is Prem, smartly uniformed in his butler tails and straight as a soldier. He winks our way. We also spy our cabin steward Dewa from Bali, and favourite waiters who’ve shared jokes and stories. We wave to Godlove from Cameroon, Daniel from Zimbabwe, and Fortune from South Africa. There’s J-Lo, Mister Bean and Bond, self-named for their frankly uncanny likenesses to those stars. In the case of Bond (real name Oscar), it’s because he looks like a young Idris Elba and would make a devilish 007. To say we have “bonded” and become friends sounds ingenuous, but this has been the most genuinely companionable of cruises. The home scales reveal an extra 1kg, but maybe the machine is just being polite. I hardly care, to be frank. Extra weight is easily shed but memories last a lifetime.
Susan Kurosawa was a guest of Silversea Cruises.
Silversea runs a fleet of 11 ships, including the newly launched Silver Ray. Silver Muse has a series of Asia voyages in 2025, including a 14-day Tokyo round-trip, departing May 6, including a stop in Busan, South Korea; from $20,800 a person, twin-share. Door-to-door voyages include economy-class international airfares and multiple extras such as shore excursions, transfers and accommodation at departure point. Port-to-port voyages with fewer extras are also available at lower cost.
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