Split, Croatia
Ship: Silversea Cruises’ Silver Ray
Itinerary: 11-Night Venice to Athens
Today, Silver Ray is docked in Split, Croatia. As with Zadar, this is our first time ever to visit Split. From our balcony, we can see the old town of Split over the top of the ferries docked next to us.
The view of Split from our balcony
We decided to book one of Silversea’s shore excursions: Diocletian’s Split and Olive Oil Tasting. Our tour is scheduled to depart at 10:30 this morning and we disembarked 10 minutes prior to our excursion to meet our guide, as instructed.
Our walking tour group gathered next to the gangway where we met Katija, our local tour guide for today. Katija provided all guests with audio receivers which make it much easier to follow her dialog during the tour.
Guests gather for a walking tour
After a short, but warm, walk into the Old City, Katija gave us an overview of what we will see today. Split has a very strong Roman history, which is evident in the remaining architecture. Our first stop will be a visit inside Diocletian’s Palace. Before entering Diocletian’s Palace, we see how the palace would have looked upon its completion in 305 AD.
My favorite part of these excursions is admiring the architecture and engineering skills the Romans possessed in order to create these structures. I am not sure these could be built today.
Roman architecture is amazing
It is incredible that these buildings have survived nearly 2,000 years. Even a Sphinx at the palace remains in place.
After our palace tour, we visit the Split museum where we learn about the Venetian and Ottoman influence on the Dalmatian Coast region over the centuries.
Split Museum
After the tour, we visit a local cafe for an olive oil tasting. Rickee and I have been wanting to do an olive oil tasting for years, and today we finally get to do one.
Olive Oil Tasting
We tasted three different olive oils today. The first was a virgin olive oil and the last two were extra virgin. We learned that only extra virgin olive oils offer anti-oxidant properties. It is interesting how the different oils have completely different tastes.
At the conclusion of our tour, we opted to wait for the next Silversea shuttle to take us back to Silver Ray. It is getting uncomfortably hot and air conditioning seems very appealing about now.
Complimentary Shuttle
We are back on board Silver Ray in time for a late lunch, so we decide to try The Grill. There is seating in the center of The Grill, where no one was sitting. This area is covered by a pergola structure allowing fresh air and light into the space. It sort of reminds me of Wintergarden on Viking Ocean ships. We seated ourselves at one of the booths, wondering why all other guests were seated in the covered section of The Grill.
Seating At The Marquee Grill
We soon learned why nobody was being seated in this area. We began to notice little black specks all over the table and the dishes. No, this was not pepper. We learned that this was ash from the ship’s smokestacks! The Maitre’d told us that in certain wind conditions, this can be an issue and is why they are not seating guests in that area today. He immediately moved us to a different table for two that was covered.
Specks, Not Good
After we moved to a new table, Rickee ordered the fish and chips, which she absolutely loved and will order again.
Fish and Chips at The Grill
I ordered a fried Calamari starter, which was so good I forgot to take a photo! The Calamari was served with a garlic aioli and it was one of the better Calamari dishes I have ever had. For my main, I ordered the Silversea burger with cheese. The first burger I was brought was under-cooked and I had to send it back for a replacement.
The second burger they brought to the table was cooked nicely. I will do a thorough review of the Silversea burger in my Food and Dining Review video coming soon.
Silversea Burger
When we returned to our suite, our butler, Sajan, has created a beautiful Otivm shower experience for us, Chilled champagne was waiting for us in the bathroom along with macaroons and candles (electronic, of course). A special shower “cake” has been placed on the shower floor which releases fragrances of eucalyptus, black pepper, rosemary and mint as it dissolves in the warm shower stream.
The Otivm Shower Experience
We also discovered our mid-journey guest questionnaire, which we completed and returned to Reception.
This evening, we decide to skip dinner and just enjoy the ship after dark. The weather is perfect for a stroll around the outer decks.
At 10pm, it is show time and we are treated to the second production show of the cruise.
While there were some excellent vocal performances, this show was all about dance. The four dancers on board are excellent. We thoroughly enjoyed the show and look forward to the next one. We just wish they did not start so late.
Tomorrow, Silver Ray will be anchored off the coast of Dubrovnik.
