It used to be that your copy of Silversea’s Daily Chronicles told you what to wear for the day ahead and what theatre show was on at night – these days it might tell you what meal you could be whipping up, and which wines you could be tasting onshore.
The ultra-luxury cruise line has been working on its S.A.L.T initiative for a couple of years, and was due to put the fully-fledged version of the programme onboard its latest ship, 596-passenger Silver Moon, last year. Of course, the pandemic pause put paid to that, but Silver Moon and S.A.L.T have now been well and truly launched.
The christening of the ship in July by Gaia Gaja, of Greek winemaking fame, nicely ties into this new focus of S.A.L.T, exploring the notion of what the world’s cultures and people are like via their food and drink traditions.
Standing for Sea and Land Taste, Silversea says the concept allows “travellers to use food to dive deep into the world’s richest cultures, to truly understand the soul of a destination” via new dining and interactive experiences onboard and “unique land-based experiences”.
And according to Barbara Muckermann, Silversea’s chief commercial officer, S.A.L.T is “an entire eco-system around culinary discovery” that is “very different from what the industry has been doing so far”.
Along with the Silversea team, Adam Sachs, a three-time winner of the James Beard Journalism Award and former editor-in-chief of Saveur magazine, oversees the programme to make it as engaging as possible.
I joined Silver Moon in Rhodes to see what that means in practice. The first – and perhaps most novel element – is S.A.L.T Lab, an intimate, stylish and hi-tech, hands-on cooking space with nine stations for guests, where they can cook and find out about recipes, food culture, local ingredients and experiences from visiting chefs and culinary experts that reflect the destinations a ship is sailing to.
As I was on a Mediterranean cruise around the Greek islands and Cyprus, taking a meze masterclass class in the lab with UK-based Yasmin Kahn, author of Ripe Figs: Recipes and Stories from the Eastern Mediterranean, seemed a very apt and enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours.
In the lab, the semi-circle design means everyone has a great view of the action at the front, but things are also being beamed onto two TV screens to ensure everyone can follow the steps. An array of books line the shelves and one cabinet even has some micro-greens growing, while another has a plethora of spices on display.
While David Bilsland, Silversea’s culinary trainer and chef focused on S.A.L.T, may have had years of cooking experience, including teaching at Le Cordon Bleu London, he says guests onboard certainly won’t need to be masterchefs themselves.
“They’re designed to be bite-sized classes that don’t take too long and fit well into a guest’s day,” he says. “Guests might be interested in the entire S.A.L.T programme during one voyage, or they might just dip in for some of it. We think at least a fifth of people onboard so far are engaging with it.”
Certainly – given all ingredients in the right measure in front of me – I easily managed to put together a delicious meze myself under Yasmin’s guidance; I’d be worried if I couldn’t manage to chop up some vegetables and mix things together by this stage in life.
But another class later in the voyage, Simits & Skewers: Mediterranean Streetfood – partly inspired by chef Anissa Helou – may have tested me more, covering as it did Lebanese kebabs and making simit bread; all recipes are also given to guests on handy cards to take away. There will tend to be one or two complimentary cooking classes per day in S.A.L.T Lab, along with a range of wider demonstrations and talks held in the ship’s beautiful Venetian Lounge.
I have to say though, I’ve always preferred eating food to cooking it: lockdown did not make a new chef of me, and nor did this cruise. But of course, on a Silversea cruise that’s no problem. In fact, the S.A.L.T Kitchen dining experience was one of my favourite meals of my six-night sailing, and I was lucky enough to dine with Yasmin.
Like all the new S.A.L.T elements on the ship, the restaurant is designed by London-based interiors firm HBA, and would not have been out of place in a trendy London neighbourhood, with enticing design, table details and buzzing atmosphere.
S.A.L.T Kitchen is a completely new restaurant concept for Silversea, with a daily changing menu based on the port of call – or countries being sailed by, if at sea – alongside a regional menu that remains the same throughout the voyage, for example, dishes inspired by the wider Eastern Mediterranean when I was onboard. There’s also a regionally inspired wine list.
You could also go for a divine pre- or post-dinner cocktail at S.A.L.T Bar, where much mixology magic happens, using local inspirations and liquor. Again, HBA’s atmospheric, intimate interiors made this feel like a secret spot in a top fashionable hotel.
Regular Silversea cruisers might notice S.A.L.T. Kitchen replaces the space typically occupied by Indochine on some ships, or Teppanyaki on Silver Muse. The S.A.L.T. Lab takes the previous place of high-end dining experience La Dame, which is repositioned to a new spot on deck eight on Silver Moon and expanded, almost tripling its previous capacity from 24 guests to around 60.
Deck four on Silver Moon is home to all three S.A.L.T “hub” custom-made spaces and also on this level is Kaiseki, for specialist Japanese cuisine, also created by HBA to give beautifully designed surroundings.
On this level, guests will also find Atlantide, what could be considered the more traditional main dining space (a la carte breakfast, lunch and dinner) on a cruise ship.
I also tried La Terrazza for delicious buffet (but now served to you by staff under new Covid-19 protocols) breakfasts and lunches and when it was transformed to an elegant a la carte Italian restaurant at night. Then there were also visits to Spaccanapoli for amazing all-day pizzas, and The Grill for my vegan burger fix some other lunchtimes.
This area becomes the Hot Rocks experience at night, while other options on board are Silver Note (tapas style small plates and jazz vibes) and another favourite spot of mine was the beautiful little Arts Café, with contemporary decor and shelves lined with arty tomes – and the best coffee on the ship in my opinion...
Bar-wise, there is also Pool Bar, Panorama Lounge, Dolce Vita (the main deck five place to hang out near the lobby, reception and shore concierge desk), Observation Library and Connoisseur’s Corner.
