November 2nd 2024 - It was a beautiful sunny morning in Lisbon when we had the pleasure of joining Silver Moon for a 21-day adventure around the Mediterranean. Embarkation is always super slick with Silversea and that day was no exception. It was exactly what we have come to expect from their personal attention to detail. It took just 20 minutes from our arrival by cab to be on board with a chilled glass of champagne in hand and being warmly welcomed by everyone that we met along the way.
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The deluxe elegance of the 3-year-old Silver Moon is sumptuous and bright with an opulent air about the interior and its focused staff.
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We began our day by making acquaintances with various heads of department, checked on our guest details and made our way to our luxurious suite. Unpacking is easy in the well-appointed suite which has a walk-in wardrobe with lots of storage space and drawers. The bathroom is princely with a separate bath and shower cubicle and deluxe toiletries.
We delivered the guest folders and gave all our guests a welcome on board call, as well as meeting our room steward Orly and butler Paul.
Our tour around the ship was easy for us as Silver Moon is a sister ship to the beautiful Silver Dawn that we had the pleasure of sailing on last year. There are seven intimate restaurants to choose from and various bars with amazing bar staff eager to make any cocktail or drink that you might desire.
The dinner venues include Atlantide (for general à la carte dining), S.A.L.T. kitchen (where they create different menus depending on the locality of the cruise), La Terrazza (Italian-themed menu), Silver Note (Fine cuisine with piano entertainment) and The Grill, poolside on Deck 10 for hot stone steaks and more. The other two dining rooms are Kaiseki (Japanese) and La Dame (French cuisine) they both have a surcharge and reservations are essential.
Silver Moon sailed at 11pm under the majestic Ponte 25 Abril bridge and passed the statue of Christo Rey. A perfect sailaway under clear skies and moonlight.
A sea day is always welcomed and today we decided to experience some new things! Our day started out on the aft deck of La Terrazza with a fabulous buffet-style breakfast. I just love the smoothie bar there too! Later we went to an interesting lecture on Morocco, a Shuffleboard tournament, and coffee and cakes at Arts Café. We filled the afternoon with an art class, a talk on the secrets of Bletchley Park and meeting our lovely guests at the Distinctive Voyages (DV) cocktail party. We enjoyed a good hour or so with them and were delighted to be asked if we would arrange another meet up as the group got on so well. As a group, we all went to the Captain’s Welcome show in the resplendent Venetian Lounge for more champagne before supper.
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There is literally something for everyone, even if you have visited the port before. We chose a 3* (strenuous activity) walking tour of the town. It covered 3km of the medina, narrow alleys, fascinating history and ended in a restaurant for mint tea and cookies.
We walked back to the ship after that to sample the impressive Kaiseki Japanese restaurant. It is free at lunchtime and definitely worth a visit. We highly recommend the Silversea Sushi & Sashimi platter with an Asahi beer or a glass of saki.
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Casablanca – there was a free shuttle into the city from the port as well as the choice of excursions. On top of the included excursions, there are also other private tours available at various prices - everyone is so thoughtfully catered for on Silversea. As we have been to Casablanca on a few occasions, we chose a 4-hour tour to the ‘Fortress City of Rabat’ this included an orientation tour of the ancient city and walking visits to the medina, the palace and fort. All most enjoyable and another capital city accomplished.
Back on board we were encouraged by our butler to sample his ‘afternoon tea.’ An absolute delight to enjoy canapés, finger sandwiches, cream and scones with a pot of tea and champagne all set out on our balcony overlooking the harbour.
Next stop was Gibraltar. We used to live here, so we met friends ashore for a quick drive around to see how it has vastly changed. Some things for the better but goodness – there is so much building work going on in such a small place! Then we brought our friends on board for lunch. Friends and family can be brought on board with previously arranged permission (passport details, etc.) at a cost of US$60 per person. Our friends loved the luxurious experience and were very impressed by our treat for them.
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Tours from the ship included a trip up the Rock of course, WWll tunnels, High Tea at the Rock hotel and even a guided tour by E-bikes which are a new addition to Gibraltar.
It was a beautiful but bittersweet sailaway out into the Straits of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Ocean with views of Gibraltar and Spain to one side and North Africa to the other.
Thursday 7th November was a sea day and Keith’s birthday. He chose breakfast at the Arts Café - where they do delightful wraps, rolls, pastries and snacks all morning - then a game of shuffleboard, followed by a splendid Indonesian buffet on the pool deck. Closely followed by a dip in the hot tubs with cocktails and later a specially prepared Indian supper at the Atlantide restaurant. Many of the chefs and staff are Indian and we just left the menu up to them; they really enjoyed showing us their local cuisine. The food was, of course, excellent. To end the day with the Silver Moon singers and dancers performing certainly made it a birthday to remember for Keith.
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Palma de Mallorca was bathed in sunshine and a perfect day to visit this beautiful Spanish city. We chose the strenuous tour ‘Best of Mallorca’ which included 2km walking around the city and over 50 steps up to the incredible Beltver Castle. Other tours went to Soller village, Caves of Drach and Valdemossa, plus the free shuttle. We stayed in the city to wander at our leisure after our tour and caught the shuttle bus back prior to sailing at 7pm. Such a beautiful evening to enjoy a rib eye steak on hot stones for supper poolside with the company of the super friendly staff and a few glasses of red wine. Silversea provides special bibs, blankets and overhead heaters to enhance your outdoor experience, but the staff were warming enough and no need for more to enjoy this wonderful meal experience under the stars.
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It was a sea day next and also a formal night – breakfast was served with mimosas and all the usual activities of cooking classes, art classes, talks, shuffleboard and golf putting ensued. The evening was glamorous and the cocktail bars were full of people in resplendent attire before supper and the show. We dined in the gorgeous Italian restaurant with four other members of our group and enjoyed a ritzy night with sparkles, bubbles and good conversation.
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Tunis – La Goulette, we have been here a few times before but the Silversea excursion of Carthage & Sidi Bou Said was exceptional.
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A highlight was the Bambalouni doughnuts! We thought they were a great deal at 1 euro each but our guide said we should have only paid 50 cents. We will know for next time.
The ship arrived at Valletta, Malta at 1pm, so we had a morning of the usual onboard activities before we headed out on our scheduled tour of a 4-hour ‘Panoramic Island Tour’. The weather was wet and miserable, but the tour was mostly in a bus, so that was a lucky choice! We went to Mosta to see the 3rd largest unsupported dome church in the world, Birgu and Dingli Cliffs. It was an overnight stop at Valletta, so we walked into the city centre after a late lunch. There is an incredible 58m high elevator (The Barrakka Lift) that takes the pain out of a very long walk up to the top of the cliffs in just 23 seconds for 2 euros return, with expansive views and gardens at the top well worth the experience alone.
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It was 11th November, so we paid our respects at the city’s war memorial freshly covered in wreaths from today ‘Remembrance Day’. It was a lovely evening exploring the plazas and fountains before heading back to our opulent ship all lit up in the harbour and awaiting our return for another fabulous supper on board.
Day 2 Valletta, we took an easy 2* (moderate exercise) tour intriguingly called ‘Game of Thrones’. We were taken to Attard and the beautiful ‘silent city’ Mdina. The tour was so named because the drive and visits took us to many locations where the Game of Thrones was filmed. The guide had some lovely stories of the actors and locals involved. Other excursions went to the Gardens of Malta, Treasures of the Fortress City and Three Cities with Dghajsa cruise.
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We had a late departure, so once again we took a walk, but this time, along the coast out to the peninsula where we came across ‘The Malta Experience’ where there is an immersive museum about the city and the Knights Templar. We had been there before, so we didn’t go in this time. Instead, we found the imposing Siege Bell and War Memorial and expansive views across to Gozo and the harbor. We also witnessed the arrival of Prime Minister Myriam Debono by an impressive police escort! All very exciting! It was another very long walk back under the historic buildings and cliffs of Valletta to see the resplendent bright lights of the elegant Silver Dawn and Silver Moon alongside each other. It was a wonderous sight.
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From Malta to Sicily and the port of Siracusa. The weather had threatened to be stormy and after recent flash floods in Spain, the Mayor cancelled many excursions for the safety of everyone. We transferred to another 4-hour tour and were very pleased with this alternative visit to the small city of Noto. The magnificent rich cream-colored baroque architecture comprised of a great deal of huge imposing buildings, built by rich nobility and their families. These opulent buildings included 50 monasteries and convents, also connected to the nobility of the area.
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Only the first born were allowed to marry, subsequent children went into their connected religious institutions to be married to the church. One monastery in the city housed as many as 1,000 monks. Another grand building is the Palazzo Ducezio opposite the cathedral which now houses the town hall. The whole city is now a UNESCO World Heritage site and was a delight to visit.
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The following day we were docked at the not-so-beautiful port of Palermo, Sicily. We chose a leisurely 2* Highlights tour. It started with a drive to a viewpoint which meant traversing hairpin bends up the side of a mountain. Not for the faint hearted! Then, once we had alighted at the photo opportunity point, the poor drivers had to do much to’ing & fro’ing to turn their buses around and head back down the mountain! It was a nail-biting experience, but a great view! The tour then took us to Mondello beach for another photo stop before heading to a drop-off point in the city. Outside the cathedral was a huge, captivating statue of Santa Rosalia. She is said to have rid Palermo of the plague in 1160, and people say that prayers during the covid pandemic also kept them free of illness. Santa Rosalia has her own parade every 14th July. An interesting part of the cathedral is a brass line in the floor of the main aisle with signs of the zodiac embedded alongside. These are all lit once a day by the angle of the sun shining in through one well-appointed window. Palermo was not particularly clean and not helped by the fact that there were three other huge ships in port that day. It was with great relief that we returned to the serene extravagance of Silver Moon after the tour.
We had another specially prepared Indian meal awaiting us for supper, but this time we had some of our lovely DV guests join us and share it with. The chefs came out to see if we enjoyed their creative culinary delights – of course it was fabulous. What a wonderous treat.
Cagliari, Sardinia was just an overnight sail away and the tour here was a highlight of our voyage. The 3* ‘strenuous’ activity began with a 1.5 hr bus ride to Barumini. Here we arrived at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Nuraxi (pronounced Nurage). It is a wonderous and ingenious, ancient Bronze Age towered fortress and settlement. It has been there for over 2,000 years and, although it has had some excavation work, it has never, ever been restored. There is a tunnel system to get inside and even staircases within the walls of the stone-created towers. No cement anywhere, just a total creation of stones ranging from huge to tiny. A total feat of engineering.
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Back in Cagliari, we wandered this pretty city and made our way to the most magnificent monuments - the Bastione de Saint Remy. With its imposing yellow limestone columns, triumphal arch and staircases, it leads to the splendid Piazza Costituzione with immense views across Sardinia. (There is also access to this Piazza by a free elevator a little further along).
Back on board – the Cruise Director, Soraya, decided to get everyone dancing this evening! The singers and dancers put on a disco-themed show in the Panorama lounge and got everyone up to dance with them. It was a most enjoyable night dancing alongside the officers and crew!
Day 15 and a much-needed sea day! It’s a tough life being a tourist! Apart from our usual activities of lectures, art class and shuffleboard tournaments, we had scheduled special tours for our DV group today. We escorted them to an exclusive bridge tour, where we were enlightened by the effervescent Captain Giovanni and his officers. We even got to stand out in the bridge wings and stand on the glass floor panel!
After that, we escorted them to a galley visitation conducted by the senior chef. They all enjoyed both tours exclusive to our DV guests which culminated in champagne together before changing in readiness for another glamourous formal night.
Valancia, Spain was visited with trepidation as much of the city and surrounding areas had recently experienced terrible extensive flash flooding. The local government had made extensive cleanup operations, moving washed away cars and detritus to holding areas outside the city. It was sad to witness and has been a horrendous time for the local inhabitants. As with all disasters, people rally together and make good the damage.
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Our 2* easy-going tour took us out to Carcaixent, which was a pleasant drive from Valencia into the countryside to see the vast orange groves and how this farm in particular is experimenting with the fascinating process of grafting different types of oranges onto one tree. Other tours went to the Prince Felipe Science Museum, cycling, walking and wine tasting.
Cartagena, Spain is always a delight to visit at any time of the year but today was perfect as we dock right in the city center within an easy walk of everything. From the various included tours offered, we chose to go out to an Andalusian Stud ranch called Maipe. It was a beautiful setting in amongst citrus trees and we sat under a pergola of pink bougainvillea, drinking wine and eating homemade tortillas whilst being shown how and why these magnificent horses are renowned and coveted throughout the world. We walked to a paddock to be enthralled by a stampede of mares and foals as they were let out into the lush green exercise areas, before going back to our shaded retreat under the blossoms to be entertained by an exquisite young lady dancing traditional flamenco whilst an immaculately turned-out equestrian performed with his Purebred Andalusian stallion in and around the trees. It was a surreal and beautiful heartwarming experience transporting us to the days of old traditional Spain.
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Back in Cartagena, we all wandered amongst the many fascinating statues, shops and street cafés as the locals were preparing for Christmas and we had to pinch ourselves that on this glorious sunny day it was actually almost the end of November!
During this day in Cartagena, one of our couples took up the offer from DV to experience a luxury limousine experience and thoroughly enjoyed their private city tour and visits to the 3,000-year-old port, punic walls, extensive views and a stop at a delightful café for traditional drinks and tapas. They were thrilled with their experience when we met them for cocktails later.
Malaga was another wonderful visit and although we had lived in Andalusia for 15 years, we had never been inside the three places afforded to us here. So, it was our tour of choice today and one we will never forget. It is so easy to overlook the actual port that you visit (or even places that you live in) when we venture further afield. Right here in Malaga was the imposing and incredibly old Gibralfaro Castle dating back to the Phoenicians in 770 BC. It was a steep walk with many irregular but original steps and warranted its 3* ‘strenuous activity’ level. From there we went to the Alcazaba, a palatial fortress from the 11th century and one of the best preserved Alcazabas in Spain. Again, steep and long walks but afforded us amazing views over the city of Malaga. Next was a walk through the city, an encounter with the statue of Picasso and the café owned by Antonio Banderas before entering the absolutely majestic Santa Iglesia Catedral Basilica de la Encarnación. I regret never having been in here before, but am so grateful for the visit today. There are not enough adjectives to describe this grandiose cathedral. It is truly magnificent and holds a lavish collection of statues, art works, mahogany carvings and stained-glass windows cast playful lights over the resplendent cavernous chapels. Our young guide was as impressive as the building with his joyful casual approach, enthusiastic and extensive knowledge of this captivating place. We were not hurried, but I could have stayed for hours and will certainly go again.
We wandered back towards the port through the beautiful oasis of gardens and met our local friends for coffee and tapas before enjoying a walk back to the ship at sunset absorbed in conversation about our good fortune to visit Malaga’s highlights and the most majestic cathedral that we could both think of.
Cadiz was our last port of call and another beautiful friendly city where all ships berth within easy access of the city center with its ancient buildings, elegant fountains, statues, traditional street cafes and modern retail stores. Something for everyone here – including the crew – they can easily go ashore here in their short spaces of time that they have.
We decided on having our own exploration time today and wound our way through the myriad of narrow streets and alleys to the other side of Cadiz where we found a traditional Chiringrito to have tapas and local beers, watching the waves lapping on the beach of the Atlantic ocean, hearing the sound of flamenco in the background on this beautiful wintery but sunny day and mulling over this fabulous cruise on board Silver Moon. We feel truly blessed and long may we have the health for extensive travelling.
Day 2 Cadiz and the very last day of the cruise. Other tours included Seville, Jerez, wine tasting and various scenic drives, but we selected a city tour and Flamenco Show. What a treat that was! Our guide was warm and enthusiastic with stories of famous film stars who she had the pleasure of hosting during the many films that are made in and around Cadiz. After a pleasant drive, we walked through a section of the cobbled streets to a tiny alley and into a traditional flamenco bar. At only 10.30 am – we gleefully drank sangria whilst eating homemade tortillas watching an emotional, captivating troupe of four professional flamenco dancers and musicians. We went back into the streets and once again entered a different world.
It was with heavy feet that we walked back to the ship knowing that it was out last walk up that beautiful gangway to our sumptuous ‘home’ of Silver Moon, but once on board in our ‘other world’ we went to the Japanese Kaiseki restaurant for Beef Ramen bowls and a Sushi/Sashimi platter with saki before setting about the tedious job of packing.
With that horrible task out of the way, we met up with our group for farewell cocktails before joining the delightful Captain Giovanni, officers and crew for their farewell show, then supper.
We had chosen The Grill, poolside under the stars, as our last meal venue as it was also my birthday. This was totally enhanced when the Captain himself brought me a birthday cake along with about 15 officers and crew singing Happy Birthday. What a magnificent way to celebrate my 70th! On top of that, a number of DV guests met us for after-dinner drinks. A farewell evening never to be forgotten.
We awoke in Lisbon on the final day, which started with breakfast, as elegant as always. Followed by disembarkation which went with clockwork precision as slick and serenely as the ship itself. Groups were called according to their pre-arranged timings and we all left to go our separate ways.
There was a shuttle arranged by the ship for a fee, but we had a previously booked taxi to take us to Humberto Delgado airport. It was a sad farewell going down the gangway for the last time to the land of harsh reality amongst throngs of people awaiting flights all over the world.
It was an absolute joy spending the past 20 nights on the resplendent Silver Moon and enjoying the wonderous experiences of the Mediterranean with our guests of Distinctive Voyages.
Affectionately,
Susie and Keith, Cruise Specialists Voyage Hosts
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