Silversea Cruises newest ship…Silver Moon

Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 8/1/21 Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 8/1/21

Day 5: Rhodes, Greece

We explore medieval Rhodes, tie for First Place in team trivia, have dinner at S.A.L.T. Kitchen and enjoy a Queen concert!

This morning, Silver Moon is docked in Rhodes, Greece. Rhodes is the fourth-largest Greek Island and is considered one of the great islands of the Mediterranean. We chose to explore this island on the Medieval Rhodes excursion offered by Silversea. The excursion was scheduled for a 9:00am departure. As we disembarked Silver Moon, The World is docked nearby.

Motor coaches lined up for today’s tours

After boarding the coach, our driver takes us up some winding roads to the Acropolis of Rhodes, which is basically just a photo op stop. Unfortunately, some serious fires from nearby Turkey have caused a layer of smoke to obstruct the view. The smell of smoke was in the air as we took our photos.

Our next destination was the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes. Rickee and I visited here a few years ago, but we did not tour the palace; we just admired it from the outside.

The tour inside the palace lasted about an hour, after which our tour guide offered us a choice. We could continue with her to the Archeological Museum, or, we could walk back to the ship on our own through the shopping district. We chose the latter. Whenever you are on an island, it is usually pretty easy to find your way back to the ship, as long as you know the general direction. You simply keep walking downhill! Sooner or later, you will reach sea level.

Narrow pedestrian streets are lined with shops

As we walked through the narrow streets of Rhodes, we could not help but think that you would never know there was a pandemic to look at the bustling activity here. All of the merchant shops are open, restaurant managers try to get you to come into their sidewalk cafes to have lunch. It is as if nothing has changed. We did find a couple of souvenirs to take home. The walk back to Silver Moon took about an hour, but much of that time was spent stopping and looking in the shops.

Soon, we were walking along the ocean front toward Silver Moon.

When entering the cruise port area, we are required to stop and have our temperature taken along with a quick look at our cruise key. Silversea also instructs us to always carry a photocopy of our vaccination certificates with us when off the ship, just in case they ask for them. They did ask to see our certificates before allowing us to enter the Palace of the Grand Master.

Before boarding Silver Moon, we could not resist stopping to get a photo with the ship.

Once back on board, it is time for lunch. We head to Deck 11 where we order pizza at Spaccanapoli, Silver Moon’s pizza restaurant. I ordered the sausage and mushroom pizza with extra sausage. Rickee ordered the Margherita. Honestly, the pizza was not as good as we remembered from Muse and Spirit. Maybe the dough did not rise correctly this morning, but it was lacking something. Also, both pizzas were supposed to have basil, and as you can clearly see, there is no basil on the pie.

At 4:45, it was time again for Team Trivia and Rickee and I, on our own, did very well today. We tied for First Place and racked up 10 Silversea Prize Points!

For dinner this evening we chose to try S.A.L.T. Kitchen, Silversea’s newest dining venue. S.A.L.T. Kitchen is located in the same space as Indochine on Silver Spirit and Silver Muse. S.A.L.T. (Sea And Land Taste) is a new dining concept on Silversea and is represented by the S.A.L.T. Lab and S.A.L.T. Kitchen. The “lab” is a space where guests can get hands-on cooking instruction and the Kitchen is a restaurant where guests can enjoy a menu that changes every day, with dishes that reflect the destination.

The S.A.L.T. Kitchen menu is divided into two sections. One section remains the same every day and the other section changes with the destination to reflect dishes from the region. Rickee and I both chose the Mezze platter from the “always available” menu.

The highlight of the Mezze platter was the “Hummus Three Ways”. The herb, beetroot, and pistachio hummus were all good, and served with pita bread. The tzatziki with fried keyfalotyri cheese was also excellent. More please.

For my main course, I ordered the Lamb Stifado, cumin-scented lamb chops which were quite good. I also asked the waiter if I could get a side order of creamed spinach, which is not on the menu. No problem on Silversea, I got a beautiful bowl of delicious creamed spinach!

Rickee ordered the Freshly Caught Fish of the Day which was grouper. Unfortunately, her grouper was just too fishy for her to eat and she sent it back.

After dinner, we went to the Venetian Lounge to enjoy another performance by the Voices of Silversea. Tonight, they performed Rock Rhapsody, a collection of songs by Queen. It was another excellent performance.

Tomorrow, Silver Moon will be At Sea so we will sleep a bit later and enjoy all that the ship has to offer!

Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 7/30/21 Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 7/30/21

Day 3: Paros, Greece

We enjoy an amazing S.A.L.T. excursion in Paros, Greece.

Today, we have been invited by our Silversea host to join the group for a S.A.L.T. (Sea And Land Taste) excursion on the island of Paros, Greece. Paros is one of the lesser known islands, often overshadowed by Mykonos to the north, or Santorini to the south. Yet, Paros has a lot to offer visitors to the island. Cafes and taverns line the port. Paros is a port you can explore easily on your own, which we did a few years ago on our first visit to the island. But, today we are in for a treat. We are joining a group of other media professionals for the S.A.L.T. Ashore: “Tastes of the Cyclades” excursion.

Visiting Paros by cruise ship requires a short tender ride. Silversea has done a good job of maintaining social distancing efforts on tender boats.

After arriving at the pier, we boarded a motor coach for the ride to Kamapango, a small, local active organic farm where we enjoyed a morning walk through fields of olive trees, vineyards and herb gardens.

Rickee chats with Brad Ball, Silversea’s Director of Public Relations, The Americas

We come from a world where everything we consume is shipped to our grocery store from God‑only‑knows‑where. On this portion of the tour, we could actually touch and feel and taste the products that are grown on the farm. Olives, grapes for Suma (a local drink comparable to Ouzo), herbs for cooking, and delicious figs, are all grown right here on the island. Everyone came away with a new appreciation for local farming.

At one point along the walking tour, we stopped for snacks, all of which were prepared using the local ingredients grown on the farm.

At the conclusion of the farm tour, we boarded the coach once again for a short drive to Thalassamou, a beachside restaurant, for lunch.

The setting for this part of the tour could not have been more idyllic. The mostly open-air restaurant looks out over the deep blue ocean waters, separated only by a beautiful beach. After being seated and offered cold water, beer or soft drinks, we noticed the chef removing freshly baked loaves of bread from an outdoor clay oven.

The same chef later treated us to a demonstration of how to roll out the paper-thin Phyllo (or Filo) dough for Spanakopita, a Greek pastry filled with a mixture of Spinach, onions, leeks, mint, and olive oil. It was fascinating to watch his technique, and we suspected we might get to try the finished product during lunch.

Soon, we were being asked to take our seats at tables set up on the beach. It is a beautiful day today with only a little wind. The tables are set up under trees for shade and, soon, the food begins to arrive.

Large bowls filled with delicious fresh salads begin to arrive, all served family style. A delicious eggplant salad was my favorite. The tomatoes in the salads were deep red and deliciously sweet. Not like the pink, flavorless ones we get back in Texas. Oh, the tomatoes. One of our table mates said that the tomatoes were one of her favorite reasons for visiting Greece.

The bread we saw being removed from the oven was served in brown bags and was still warm and delicious. Then came platters of fresh sardines, fried calamari and the freshly baked Spanakopita. I am not a big fan of seafood, so I leaned toward the Spanakopita, which was delicious.

Overall, this was an excellent excursion that fed the mind as well as the body. It is not something we will soon forget.

We arrived back on board Silver Moon in time to partake in this afternoon’s Team Trivia at Dolce Vita lounge on Deck 5. Our Cruise Director, Vicky, was on hand to inflict the pain. Rickee and I formed our own two-person team and failed miserably, coming in last place! We will do better tomorrow.

After our huge lunch on the beach, Rickee and I were not very hungry for dinner. We decided to check out the S.A.L.T. Bar on Deck 4 for a cocktail that has been all the rage on social media. Selene, The Moon is a concoction of Moonshot Gin, Maraschino, Rue Berry, Fresh Lemon, Apricot Jam, Peach Bitters and Citrus Smoke. The drink arrives with an ominous wiggly bubble on top filled with the citrus smoke.

Rickee prepares to pop the smoke bubble on Selene, The Moon — Rickee prepares to pop the smoke bubble on *Selene, The Moon*

When the bubble pops, smoke pours out that Rickee said smelled like Rosemary. The drink is quite sweet and refreshing. It is a must try when you visit S.A.L.T. Bar!

After our cocktail, we decided to head back up to Deck 8 and enjoy one last cocktail at Arts Cafe. We found a nice table outside with a beautiful view of Paros in the distance.

Outdoor seating at Arts Cafe, Deck 8 aft

Although not hungry enough for dinner, Rickee found herself in the mood for some caviar to enjoy with her glass of Prosecco. We asked the waitress at Arts Cafe if we could get some caviar delivered to our table. Within minutes, an order of caviar arrived with all the trimmings.

Complimentary, sustainable caviar is now available on Silversea

Rickee enjoyed the caviar; however, she felt like the blinis were a little too sweet. Nevertheless, the tin was soon empty. I am not a caviar fan, so I enjoyed a nice cheese platter offered at Arts Cafe in the evening.

After Arts Cafe, we retired to our suite and enjoyed a movie on the TV while munching on a bowl of popcorn delivered by our butler, Antonio. It was a great way to end another amazing day aboard Silversea Silver Moon. Tomorrow, Silver Moon will be anchored off the coast of Patmos, Greece. Stay tuned!