She is the newest Silversea ship to sail in Australasia and the first in the ultra-luxe fleet to bring the acclaimed S.A.L.T. program to our shores. Karryon Luxury stepped aboard Silver Nova for a cruise from Sydney to Hobart. Here’s our verdict.
Gleaming in the sun, flags fluttering from bow to stern, Silver Nova rises elegantly above the semi-industrial surroundings of Sydney’s White Bay. There’s a buzzy vibe in the Cruise Terminal – everyone seems excited to see this beautiful new ship in port – and boarding is as fast and seamless as I’ve ever experienced anywhere.
Everything flows effortlessly from then on. We are welcomed aboard by smiling crew bearing champagne and caviar-bedecked canapes and directed to our suites to meet our butlers and room attendants: in my case, Peerapong from Thailand (“call me Pong”) and Ingrid from India. Just in case your butler doesn’t tell you everything that Silver Nova guests can expect from him or her (every category of suite offers butler service), here’s an outline.
‘How may I help you?’
Your friendly butler will start by running through the functions of your suite’s ipad, which is backed up by an interactive TV and the printed daily Chronicles. You can use the ipad to control temperature and lighting in your suite, view the opening times and menus in all eight restaurants, order room service, check your account and more.
He or she can unpack and pack your bags; take your shoes away for polishing; offer a choice of bathroom products (Otium, Bulgari or Sebamed); draw a bath for the Otium Bath Experience or scatter scented salts around the shower for the Otium Shower Experience (champagne, candlelight, music and a selection of canapes are also involved).
They can also make restaurant reservations; provide an Otium Balcony Experience (which are tailored for warm and hot climates); and if you are in one of the largest suites, your butler can organise an intimate cocktail party for you and your new best cruising friends.
Suite categories
There are 13 categories of suites, and 364 suites altogether. Six are wheelchair accessible, 100 are adjoining and 123 can accommodate a third guest.
All suites have balconies, a mini-bar and fridge (you can ask your butler to have them stocked with your favourite tipples), walk-in wardrobe, a large vanity, writing table, marble bath or shower, and several USB-C mobile chargers, including one on each side of the bed.
Silver Nova’s top accommodations are the two Otium Suites, new to this ship and her identical sister Silver Ray, which made her debut in June 2024. They are located aft on Decks 6 and 7, measure 123-square metres and each boasts a whopping 40-square metre balcony with its own whirlpool (there’s also another one in the bathroom).
Otium Suites feature 270-degree views and guests enjoy perks such as an in-suite espresso machine, a free Otium spa treatment and laundry services.
Master Suites are also new to the Nova-class ships. They range from 67-square metres to 77-square metres and have balconies that wrap around the back of the ship and bathrooms that offer views to the outside. Medallion Suites are 50 per cent wider than a standard veranda suite and also have larger balconies.
Classic Veranda suites are the ‘entry level’ category, but at 33-square metres they have plenty of space and are as elegantly designed and furnished as the larger suites.
I stayed in a supremely comfortable and spacious Premium Veranda Suite (33-square metres) on Deck 9, conveniently close to the stairs and lifts. The glass lifts that glide up and down the outside of the ship are another highlight of the ship’s innovative design – I took every possible opportunity to ride up and down and enjoy the ocean views.
Culinary delights
Silver Nova has eight distinctively different restaurants, plus the open-all-day Arts Café on Deck 4 in the light and airy atrium, and 24-hour in-suite service that includes lavish treats such as lobster and caviar rolls from the Otium dining menu.
Dining at all except three venues is included in the fare: La Dame (a Silversea signature French restaurant) is USD$160, Chef’s Table is USD$180 and Kaiseki (another fleet favourite, for superb Japanese and a selection of Asian cuisines) is USD$80 for dinner but complimentary for lunch (highly recommended).
The Marquee on Deck 10 is a new venue, a beautiful al fresco space towards the ship’s aft, near the pool and Dusk Bar. It’s open for casual dining during the day and in the evenings combines Silversea’s popular Spaccanapoli and The Grill, for irresistible pizza and the hot rocks grill your own meat or fish experience. If you prefer not to DIY, the chefs will grill it for you – I didn’t want to ruin a perfect filet mignon.
Silver Note is an atmospheric night spot on Deck 5 where you can indulge in small, tapas-style plates for dinner as well as pre- or post-dinner cocktails while enjoying live piano music. You do need to make reservations for dinner.
Atlantide on Deck 3 is open for à la carte breakfast, lunch and dinner. It accommodates up to 270 guests and is the ship’s most spacious restaurant.
La Terrazza is open for buffet breakfast and lunch and à la carte Italian dinner. It seats 90 diners on its expansive terrace at the aft of Deck 4 – watch out for dolphins playing in the ship’s wake – and up to 340 altogether.
S.A.L.T. Kitchen on Deck 3 is a sophisticated dining room for up to 160 guests, open for dinner only. S.A.L.T. stands for Sea and Land Taste and is a themed program that incorporates food, drink, cooking classes, lectures and excursions, offering a delicious deep dive into regional cuisines onboard and ashore. S.A.L.T. Kitchen produces dishes based on the ship’s destination for the Terrain menu and the Voyage menu comprises the best recipes of each voyage. Dishes we sampled included blue swimmer crab salad, emu ravioli, mushroom steak with miso butter, and mango and hibiscus pavlova.
Look out for my review of the S.A.L.T. Lab cooking class, Chef’s Table degustation and our incredible shore experience with Tasmanian chef Analiese Gregory early next year!
Bars and lounges
Among the 10 bars and lounges set variously on Decks 3, 4, 5 and 10, our group of media and travel advisors seemed to gravitate mostly to the lovely al fresco Dusk bar for pre-dinner drinks and to S.A.L.T. bar for extraordinarily imaginative cocktails.
The Shelter is a new venue for the Nova-class ships, an intimate, evening-only bar on Deck 3 of the atrium, handily placed for Atlantide and S.A.L.T. Kitchen. A little harder to find is the Observation Lounge on Deck 10 – it has an almost secret door that opens to reveal a stunning library featuring a night-sky ceiling embellished in a delicate gold leaf design.
The capacious Venetian Lounge, on Decks 4 and 5, hosts musical and theatrical shows, movie screenings and enrichment lectures. I enjoyed an excellent lecture there by Australian forensic consultant, criminal lawyer and author Judith Fordham.
Otium Spa
Having previewed Otium Spa in Karryon Luxury and its underlying wellness concept of a combination of leisure and pleasure – inspired by ancient Roman practices – I was beyond keen to experience it in real life.
A Roman Bliss massage with therapist Anisa was indeed blissful – I was so relaxed I can’t even remember how long it took – and free-to-use facilities such as the ocean-facing sauna and thermal pool are fabulous.
The Spa menu includes massages, facials, medi-spa treatments, acupuncture and herbal medicine consultations, and the salon offers a range of beauty treatments for women and men.
And yes, chocolate treats and Champagne are freely available – as it says in the brochure, “Our vision of wellbeing is not about sacrifice, but about savouring the best life has to offer – every single day.”
The verdict
Silver Nova is the fourth Silversea ship I’ve had the privilege of sailing on, and the first for several years.
Its new asymmetrical layout creates an over-arching sense of space and light, with high ceilings, floor-to-ceiling glass walls and a very successful outdoor-indoor flow. The use of a neutral colour palette in the suites and most public spaces manages to be soothing rather than bland, and the artworks and design details are sensational.
Wining, dining, service and inclusions throughout are top notch – I’d suggest that advisors book clients in for Silver Nova’s 2025-2026 Australasian season as soon as possible. In a nutshell: all expectations well and truly exceeded.
Silver Nova fast facts
- First of Silversea’s Nova-class ships and 11th in the fleet.
- First Silversea ship to feature asymmetrical design, maximising indoor-outdoor connection and grouping suites on Decks 6, 7, 8 and 9 and public spaces such as restaurants, bars and entertainment venues between Decks 3, 4, 5, 10 and 11.
- Inaugural voyage: August 2023.
- Capacity: 728 guests, 556 crew.
- Crew to guest ratio: 1:1.3.
- Tonnage: With a gross tonnage of 54,700 tons, she offers a space-to-guest ratio of 75 GRT-per-guest, one of the most spacious cruise ships ever built.
For more information visit silversea.com
