Silversea offers a lavish honeymoon

Two-week getaway on the Silver Muse as much fun on board as at ports of call

In December, I set out on a twoweek adventure aboard Silversea’s flagship, Silver Muse, from Sydney to Auckland (cruise.center/silversea). Having only been to Sydney before, this 14-day journey was full of new adventures for me, from a call on Hobart, Tasmania, to explorations of the wonders of New Zealand and its breathtaking fiords.

This was a honeymoon cruise for my wife and me.

The choice to go with Silversea was an easy one: I wanted something that was relaxing and luxurious, but not ostentatious. With its gracious service, excellent food and sumptuous accommodations, Silversea provides that in spades.

I think it says a lot about a cruise line when you can be docked alongside someplace new and exciting and still debate whether to get off the ship or not. That’s the inner struggle I had during my time aboard Silver Muse, which called to me continually whether we were in Melbourne, Picton or simply at sea.

Afternoons could be lazily spent at the on-board Arts Café, with its ever-changing array of snacks and beverages. Evenings could be enjoyed in one of several on-board dining venues. My favourite — Indochine — provides authentic flavours of Asian cuisines and provides a nice counterpoint to the standard North American cruise fare.

The hours in between could be spent however you’d like. Aboard the 596-guest Silver Muse, there is no battling for a prime deck chair or seating spot simply because of how spacious the ship is.

In 14 days, we never had a day where we didn’t order breakfast in our suite, delivered by our exceptional butler. In New Zealand’s Milford Sound, we even braved the cold and drizzle and sat out on our balcony, clad in our robes, and enjoyed the passing sights.

Silversea offers lavish perfection for honeymooning couples. After two weeks on-board, we became hooked on caviar — which can be ordered complimentary in any public space — and grew used to sleeping on the plush Savoir bed in our suite. We read books in deck chairs, sipped afternoon cocktails and slept in late.

When we weren’t on board, we indulged in some of Silversea’s expert shore excursions, including a visit to Lord of the Rings’ Hobbiton and an exceptional wine tasting in New Zealand. Other ports — like Hobart

— were easy to walk around independently. In ports like Port Chalmers — the seagoing port for Dunedin — Silversea offered complimentary transportation into the centre of town, something most cruise lines charge for.

In many ways, it was the perfect honeymoon. One afternoon, we just sat in our suite and watched Judy and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. We never missed Afternoon Trivia with our shipmates and looked forward to dinners and Silversea’s quality production shows and informative lectures and presentations during the day.

I’ve been sailing with Silversea for a long time now, and

I’ve come to know many different crew members well. What impresses me the most about Silversea is the innate ability of the crew to make you feel not like guests, but valued friends. Silversea only becomes more welcoming with each repeat cruise.

It’s an interesting feeling. We chose this voyage to experience Australia and New Zealand, and to travel to places we had never been together. But when I think back on our early December voyage, it’s not so much the ports of call that stand out, but rather the experiences we had on the Silver Muse that remain firmly in my mind.

I never planned to write about the cruise that was essentially a honeymoon and well-needed vacation. But a cruise as good as the one I had on Silver Muse deserves it.

Happy cruising.