Luxury travel advisors Robyn and Murray Sinfield recently hosted global Virtuoso guests on Silver Nova. Read their impressions in this exclusive review for Karryon Luxury.
We are onboard Silver Nova, working with a global group of Virtuoso clients sailing from the 6th to 24th February 2025 from Melbourne to Singapore – a beautiful 18-day voyage and plenty of time to enjoy what the ship has to offer.
Said to be the most environmentally conscious ultra-luxury cruise ship ever built, Silver Nova embarked on her maiden voyage from Venice in 2023.
She is the sister to Silver Ray, which we cruised on in November 2024 (it was launched in August 2024) in the Mediterranean.
Exceptional service
Onboard Silver Nova, you can expect Silversea’s same trademark flawless service, all-suite ships (in fact, there are 13 different suite categories to choose from), and fabulous cuisine with a choice of nine dining venues.
Our time onboard is enhanced by our friendly and attentive butler, Christian. Every suite has butler service. For us, that meant our fruit platters for breakfast were delivered each morning at 7am with freshly squeezed orange juice.
Lots of space
Silver Nova is an intimate ship, just 728 with 544 attentive crew, so that’s a passenger to crew ratio: 1:1.3. Tonnage is 54,700, so there is plenty of space for everyone.
Chatting to some of the younger guests, they were surprised how the ship had so much space and light, and they didn’t have to wait at restaurants and had no rush hour. They also loved the choice the ship offered.
Your sailing companions
The guests with us on this journey have extensive travel experience and high disposable income.
While many have cruised with Silversea before, there a quite a few on Silver Nova who are new-to-fleet cruisers, or indeed new to cruise travellers interested in deep exploration of warm-weather destinations.
Most of us are Baby Boomers, but there is a sprinkling of Gen X and Millennials (honeymooners) onboard.
Silver Nova holds multiple LGBTQ+ gatherings on each of its sailings and draws a number of LGBTQ+ passengers, and there are many solo travellers on our voyage enjoying the company of other solo travellers.
Plenty of choice
This sailing reminded us to offer the sailings that are coming up from October 2025, when both Silver Nova and Silver Moon will be in our waters again from 14 October -30 November 2025 with shorter sectors now open for sale.
These cruises are ideal for clients who want to ‘put a toe in the water’ for a short journey to see if they like luxury cruising, as they are short getaways that are curated, exploring our amazing coastline in 10 days or less.
They include wildlife, natural wonders like Kangaroo Island and K’gari, to cities with charm like Adelaide (with Barossa on the doorstep) and Melbourne.
This suits the Aussie or Kiwi cruiser because the dress code is very relaxed. It’s mainly elegant casual, and for men, jackets are only expected to be worn when dining in the French La Dame restaurant or Atlantide, on one of the two formal nights.
Top tips for luxury advisors
- For The Arts Café, arrive at 3pm (there’s more food!) when the offerings change from lunch to afternoon tea with cakes and treats you just can’t resist
- The Bar, Dolce Vita during the day is that perfect spot inside to sit, relax and read a book, plus you are still just one level away from a great coffee from The Arts Café
- On day one, head to the library, the secret door can be found on deck 10 forward in the observation lounge, a great stock of books to choose from
- When the day is done, head for the perfect night cap, venture to S.A.L.T Bar on deck 10, or move a little more forward to the observation lounge for the view or some quiet time
Homeward bound
All too soon, it’s time to disembark in Singapore after an easy journey: Adelaide, Port Lincoln, Esperance, Perth, overnight in Bali – ideal for all who want to relax and be ‘close to home’.
We took the opportunity to try a new hotel in Singapore, and we can recommend the newly launched The Singapore Edition, Orchard Road.
For more information, visit Silversea.
*The writer travelled at her own expense.
