Review: Silversea Silver Moon Cruise 2022 Stockholm to Southampton

What we think about going on another Silversea cruise?

Sure!

Mid August we received a last minute cruise offer via our cruise travel agent.

A trip to Northern Europe and the Baltic with the Silversea Silver Moon.

For a bargain.

An offer we couldn’t refuse.

Besides, this trip was on our bucket list anyway so we didn’t hesitate.

Stockholm, Copenhagen, Aalborg, Kristiansand, Bergen, Alesund, Nordfjordeid, Flåm, Stavanger, a day at sea and arrival in Southampton…

We traveled with the Silver Dawn last April, the Silver Moon’s sister ship.

What did we think of our second Silversea cruise?

Let’s see!

We paid for our trip on board the Silversea Silver Moon and didn’t get or ask anything in return for this review.

Video

We made a video of our cruise aboard the Silversea Silver Moon.

You can watch it here:

Airport transfers

Included in our last minute offer were the transfers to and from our ship.

A driver was waiting for us in the arrivals area and took our luggage to the car.

From the Stockholm airport to the cruise terminal was about a 25 minute drive.

The taxi dropped us off right in front of the embarkation terminal where Silversea crew had set up a bagage drop off counter.

Our luggage was tagged and sent off.

We went inside to start the boarding process.

Boarding

We received a health questionnaire to fill in.

Silversea only allows fully vaccinated passengers.

Also a negative PCR or antigen test is needed to go on board.

Unless last time pre boarding testing on the spot was not provided.

We had our antigen test taken the day before.

So we handed over our questionnaires, received a ticket with a number and were asked to sit down and wait for the next step in the embarkation process.

Half an hour later we were called to proceed to the next desk.

We were asked if we were fully vaccinated and if we were in the possession of a negative test to which we replied yes. However the paperwork we brought was not checked though, and we were cleared for embarkation.

The staff behind the next desk checked our passports.

Here we linked a credit card to our room keys.

All set, we walked to the ship.

Once on board the Silversea Silver Moon we scanned our room keys to check in and left our passports with the staff. You get them back the day of disembarkation when leaving the ship.

It is 1:30pm, rooms are usually ready around 4pm.

Like last time we went to the La Terrazza buffet restaurant for a lazy (and excellent) lunch. You can also grab a bite at the pizza place on deck 11, the Arts Cafe on deck 8 or at the Grill on deck 10.

An announcement was made at 3:30pm that rooms were ready.

Time to unpack!

Cabin

We stayed in suite 807, a classic veranda suite located on deck 8 on the starboard side of the Silversea Silver Moon.

Compared to other cruise ship cabins we have stayed in, this suite is quite spacious.

In the hallway is a door leading to the bathroom, another door to the dressing. After that comes the spacious bedroom and lounge area, and a sliding door to the balcony.

Bedroom and lounge

Second time traveling with Silversea, and it feels like we never left.

Grey and beige colors, soft yellow lights – it all gives this cabin such a cozy and warm atmosphere.

The cabins here on the Silversea Silver Moon are an exact copy of the ones on the Silver Dawn.

The bed was fantastic, nice and firm mattress and fluffy pillows.

Your butler can get you other pillows if you don’t like them, just ask him.

The sitting area next to the bed is comfortable as well.

It contains a couch, armchair, table and desk with chair.

Under the desk is the minibar that is stocked with complimentary soft drinks, water, champagne and beer.

A chilled bottle of champagne is waiting for you in an ice bucket on the table when you arrive – a delicious to start our Silversea Silver Moon trip!

Between the bedroom and sitting area is a curtain, which in handy if one of you wants to read or work while the other one still wants to sleep.

We hardly used the balcony, except to watch our ship arrive in a new port in the morning.

Again, there is nothing we didn’t like about this room.

Bathroom

What to say about the bathroom?

We also thought that it was quite spacious for a cruise ship bathroom.

No wonder, this bathroom contains a bathtub and separate shower.

The shower was spacious as well, great water pressure and temperature – just perfect.

The Bulgari bath products were fragrant and great. The shower gel, shampoo and hair conditioner were restocked daily.

Also provided: kleenex, hand soap and body lotion, cotton pads, plenty of toilet paper and 2 hand loofahs. A hairdryer can be found in one of the drawers of the desk in the sitting area.

Yes, we liked this bathroom a lot.

Its greyish and white color tones, the shiny chrome and mirrors gave it a luxurious feel.

Excellent!

Dressing

Next to the bathroom is the dressing.

This room isn’t very large but still enough to store our clothes and empty luggage during this 12 day cruise.

Clothes hangers are plentiful, the wardrobe also had enough drawers to put all our stuff in.

The upper drawer is where you can find the safe and a jewellery box.

Other things you can find in this dressing room: 2 life jackets, 2 bathrobes, shoe shine sponge, an umbrella, a clothes brush, small sewing kit, laundry list, luggage rack and right next to the wardrobe a foldable table top for in room meals.

Housekeeping

During our Silversea Silver Moon cruise housekeeping would stop by twice a day.

In the morning from 8am onwards, and a turndown service after 7pm.

Used towels would be changed twice a day as well, whether you put them on the floor or not.

Bed sheets were changed every other day.

The fridge was refilled daily as well with soft drinks, still and sparkling water, beer, champagne – even the 2 bags of cashew nuts.

Our housekeeper Ben was very friendly and professional.

Butler service

Our Philippine butler came to introduce himself the moment we got to our cabin.

He is the one you can call and ask anything and he will take care of it.

Room service, a bottle of wine, extra towels, extra housekeeping, better pillows, polishing your shoes, washing and pressing your clothes, you name it – he will help you out.

Press the butler button on your cabin phone and he will answer, or call you back asap if he is attending to other guests.

You can also have him unpack and pack your luggage if you like.

Room service

You can order a bite to eat or any drinks 24/7.

When your butler is not available (they also need a break) you can call room service and they will take care of it.

The full room service menu is available on your TV.

It consists of cold starters (beef carpaccio, tartare, caviar), soups, pasta, salads steaks, chicken, burgers and desserts.

You can also order any type of food from the onboard restaurants when they are opened. For instance pizza, if the al fresco pizza restaurant on deck 11 is open.

Or cakes, scones and sandwiches from the Arts Café.

In suite breakfast is also available.

Just fill in the request form, choose a time slot and put it outside your door before 2am.

In the morning your butler brings your breakfast and sets up the table for you.

We ordered breakfast during our previous Silversea cruise and were not impressed.

Hot items such as eggs were unfortunately stone cold.

On our last day here however right before disembarkation we decided to have breakfast in our room since we had an excursion at 8am before going to Heathrow airport.

We ordered coffee, Danish pastries, cheese, fruits and yogurt.

The coffee was hot and strong, great.

All the other items that we ordered were cold items, except for the grilled French bread.

Would we order in room breakfast again?

Yes, coffee and cold items.

It is a nice way to start your day in a relaxed way on a busy disembarkation day.

Reception

The reception area on the Silversea Silver Moon is located on deck 5.

You can find 2 reception areas on both sides after you step into the Dolce Vita bar.

On the right is the shore concierge reception for if you have any questions about your excursions.

And on the left hand side is the general reception that handles anything else.

The staff here is very helpful and efficient.

Restaurants

The Silversea Silver Moon has numerous restaurants to choose from.

For some you need a dinner reservation and/or pay extra.

The dining fee for French restaurant La Dame is 60 euros per person, at the Japanese restaurant Kaiseki the dining fee is 40 euros per person.

Breakfast

For breakfast there is a choice between the à la carte breakfast at the Atlantide restaurant (open at 8am, last seating 9:30am) or the buffet breakfast at the La Terrazza restaurant (open at 7am, last seating 10am).

Or grab a cup of coffee and a sandwich or croissant at the Arts Café which is open all day long from 6:30am until 11pm.

We would mainly go to the Atlantide for breakfast. Their a la carte menu is delicious, and if you want to enjoy your breakfast in a more quieter area then this is where you want to go.

The (busier) La Terrazza buffet has it all: pastries, fruits, yogurt, cold cuts, smoked fish, breads, juices, smoothies, eggs made to order, pancakes, waffles, crispy bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, hash browns, sausages… you name it.

Excellent quality and very fast and attentive service.

The staff will bring you water, coffee or tea, and you can also order delicious eggs any style made on the spot, pancakes or waffles that will be brought to your table if you don’t feel like getting up.

On warm days it is fantastic to sit outside, splendid!

The Atlantide restaurant offers an a la carte breakfast menu.

Here as well staff will bring you hot and cold beverages while you browse through the breakfast menu.

Eggs any style, with extras such as mushrooms, hash browns, superb crispy bacon, tomatoes, beans, sausages, etc. Pancakes, waffles, smoothies, granola, yogurt, porridge, pastries, bread basket, fruit platter…

The eggs we ordered were always perfect.

The picture of the Florentine egg white omelet with spinach and cumin doesn’t look great, but it was delicious.

We especially loved the eggs Benedict, yum.

As mentioned before the Arts Café is also a place on the Silversea Silver Moon ship where you can grab a bite to eat in the morning.

This place is open practically all day long from 6:30am until 11pm.

In the morning you can enjoy a hot beverage and pastries or sandwiches. During the day the choice of small bites changes. We often went there after an excursion for cakes, high tea scones and sandwiches, pies, cookies, brownies or a cheese board.

From 6pm onwards you can also grab a pre dinner drink here and enjoy a couple of appetizer bites.

We liked this place a lot, and the staff is very fast and always happy to see you when you walk in.

A real pleasure.

Lunch

There are 6 options for lunch.

The Arts Café again, the lunch buffet at the La Terrazza restaurant, and 4 a la carte places: Atlantide (meat, fish, salad, soups), Kaiseki (Japanese), The Grill and Spaccanapoli (pizza).

We once went to Kaiseki after an excursion.

Kaiseki is open for lunch from 12pm, last seating is at 2:30pm.

Lunch here is complimentary and you don’t need a reservation, dinner is reservation only and a 40 euro dinner fee applies.

Kaiseki is is located on deck 4, right next to Atlantide and S.A.L.T. Kitchen.

On the menu: 2 noodle bowls, sashimi and sushi.

The ramen bowls were disappointing and quite bland. Both the pulled beef and vegetarian bowl lacked seasoning, the soy sauce broth was lukewarm, the noodles were we think cooked spaghetti instead of the soba and egg noodles mentioned on the menu.

We also ordered the bbq eel, which was fine.

The sushi is made on the spot with fresh ingredients. However the California rolls and dragon rolls didn’t excite us at all. Call us snobs, we have just had better (and authentic) sushi.

The Silversea assorted sushi and sashimi platter is a big hit here, practically everyone ordered it.

We would usually go for lunch at La Terrazza restaurant.

Not only for the food but also to enjoy the view from our table outside.

Lunch at La Terrazza is a buffet, however you can also ask the waiting staff to bring you whatever you like.

On the buffet: a large salad bar, cheeses, charcuterie, sushi, breads, a carving station, vegetable and potato side dishes, a pasta and Asian cooking station both serving one daily special, and a large choice of sweet desserts, fruits, pies and tarts.

We loved the daily changing meat or fish offer at the carving station. Treats such as honey roast pork, wagyu beef brisket, roast beef, salmon en croute and beef short ribs just to name a few.

The daily special at the pasta and Asian cooking station was also great.

Pasta alla norma, spaghetti meatballs, seafood pasta – and Szechuan noodle stir fries and seafood curries.

Delicious.

La Terrazza is open for lunch from 12pm, last seating at 2pm.

The a la carte Lunch at Atlantide is often similar to the buffet specials at La Terrazza.

You can enjoy meat, fish, soups and salads.

And the daily lunch menu: starter, main and dessert.

Atlantide is open for lunch from 12pm, last seating at 1:30pm.

If you want to grab a late lunch on the Silversea Silver Moon after 2:30pm, then you can do that at The Grill, Spaccanapoli and Arts Café.

The Grill restaurant is located on deck 10, in the shady areas around the swimming pool area and next to the Pool Bar. It serves as a lunch spot until 3:30pm, in the evening it becomes the Hot Rocks restaurant.

Here you can get a selection of sandwiches, burgers, wraps, appetizers and daily lunch specials such as grilled meat (steaks and chicken) or grilled fish.

We ate here once and ordered the caesar salad which was delicious.

The pizza restaurant Spaccanapoli is located on deck 11 of the Silversea Silver Moon, overlooking the swimming pool area below.

It opens at 11am and serves pizza until 11pm.

The pizza dough is fresh and baked in a proper pizza oven. The choice of pizzas is great, and yes the pizzas we tasted here were delicious.

Crunchy crust, fresh toppings, assembled and baked on the spot.

It is quite a popular place to sit in the afternoon when the sun is out.

A great place to grab a slice of pizza!

Dinner

Plenty of choice for dinner on the Silversea Silver Moon!

Restaurants where you don’t need a reservation: Atlantide, S.A.L.T. Kitchen and the Spaccanapoli pizza restaurant (open until 7pm).

Restaurants for which reservation is needed: La Terrazza, Silver Note and Hot Rocks. At La Dame and Kaiseki reservation is also needed and an extra fee per dinner guest is applied.

Before your Silversea Silver Moon cruise you get the possibility to make dinner reservations online in advance, however since this was a last minute trip our travel agency wasn’t able to do that for us anymore.

Once on board you can make reservations using the reservation tool on your TV screen. Last time most restaurants were already fully booked, or only had free tables left after 9pm.

We went straight to the La Terrazza restaurant manager who made reservations for us on the spot, even for other restaurants.

On our previous cruise with the Silver Dawn we were not impressed with the food at the S.A.L.T. Kitchen restaurant, however we decided to give it another try here.

And we loved it.

In fact we ended up eating at S.A.L.T. Kitchen 5 times during our Silversea Silver Moon cruise.

Delicious warm baked bread rolls, herb butters and dips.

Excellent complimentary wines to choose from, with the help of a highly skilled sommelier.

We loved the daily changing menu that consisted of local Scandinavian classics with local ingredients.

Besides the daily Terraine menu of 3 starters, 3 mains and 3 desserts – you can also choose from the a la carte Voyage menu where you can find the fish of the day or a ribeye steak.

The food at S.A.L.T. Kitchen was memorable, a real pleasure.

We definitely remember the crayfish soup, the traditional Norwegian lamb and cabbage stew (fårikål) and the semolina pudding that brought back childhood memories for the both of us.

Other dishes we tried: marinated herring, shrimp salad, smoked trout, Norwegian cured ham, venison carpaccio, rhubarb soup, goose, turbot, pork belly, Arctic char.

Every meal we ordered here was delicious, made with the freshest local ingredients.

The staff was amazing as well, very helpful and fast.

S.A.L.T. Kitchen, definitely our most favorite restaurant on the Silversea Silver Moon!

We went to Atlantide for dinner twice.

No reservations required here.

On the menu: caviar, octopus, roast beef, smoked salmon, salads and soups. Main courses are fish and delicious cuts of meat, served with your choice of potatoes, vegetables and sauces.

There is also a daily changing set menu to choose from: 2 starters, 2 mains and 2 desserts.

We liked the beef tataki, steak Rossini and raspberry meringue.

The second evening we went for the menu again: scallops, veal chop, ossobuco and marinated pear with speculums crumble.

Excellent complimentary wines to choose from here as well.

Excellent.

We went to La Terrazza for dinner twice as well.

Food here on the a la carte menu is Italian.

We loved the fresh pasta.

The wine sommelier will come over first and offer you a glass of rosé prosecco to start dinner with, and bring a red and white wine suggestion of the day.

Or just pick a bottle of wine from their extensive complimentary wine list.

Appetizers are brought to your table as as soon as you sit down: a plate with sharing appetizers, and 3 types of breads with a bulb of smooth roasted garlic.

And then the fresh pastas, they were delicious.

We loved the bigoli cacio e pepe, the gnocchi with lardo and parmesan sauce and the pasta pesto.

Mains were excellent as well: Italian veal, sea bass, saltimbocca, turbot, crunchy breaded veal chops, Fiorentina steak.

Yum.

Desserts would be coffee panna cotta, Sicilian cassata cake and tiramisu.

Or just ask for a fresh fruit platter or a scoop of ice cream if you like.

One restaurant we didn’t go to on our previous Silversea cruise is the Silver Note.

It is open from 8pm until 11pm, reservation is needed.

Silver Note is the ideal place to dine, relax around a cocktail or glass of wine and enjoy the sound of jazz and blues.

From 9:45pm onwards jazz singer Esther Miller and pianist Zoltan keep you company with a beautiful array of classic jazz and blues songs.

The menu here is short and sweet.

You can choose from 6 starters, 6 mains and 2 desserts.

The cocktails here are delicious, a great way to start dinner and prepare your palate.

We loved the octopus and pumpkin starter, raw fish and meat platter with scrambled egg en caviar, and the beef carpaccio.

Memorable mains were the buttered lobster tail, seared tuna and the lamb loin.

You can choose between a molten chocolate cake dessert and a funky strawberry soup with fruit sorbet and white chocolate tower.

Delicious food again, excellent cocktails and wines.

What we appreciated the most here was the live music.

Esther has an amazing voice, we were truly blown away by her.

Go hear her sing even if you don’t have a dinner reservation: you can just walk in after dinner and enjoy a drink at the bar or sit at an empty table.

Room service 24/7

If you don’t feel like going out for dinner, have dinner delivered in your room.

You can browse the extensive online menu on your TV screen and call your butler or room service to place your order.

There is plenty of choice between appetizers, soups, salads, pasta, meat, fish and dessert.

You can also order any dish from any restaurant on board while it serves dinner.

Bars

The Silversea Silver Moon ship has 8 bars.

The pool bar, panorama lounge and dolce vita bar open before noon.

The S.A.L.T. bar, observation library bar, Silver Note bar and connoisseur’s corner open after 6pm.

The panorama lounge is a great place. The view from the terrace outside is great, especially when the ship is on the move and if the weather issues good. There is often life music while you enjoy a pre or after dinner drink.

The staff is very attentive and always happy to see you.

When the evening is approaching, delicious small bites are brought to your table. You can also order caviar to enjoy with your drink here.

Yum!

The lounge and bar we went to the most is the panorama library.

It is located on deck 11, right above the captain’s bridge.

The view when the ship is on the move in the fjords is amazing.

People come to read and work mainly, no (live) music here.

There is a self service coffee and tea corner throughout the day.

The bar opens at 6pm: order whatever drinks you want, and again you get a selection of canapé appetizers and bar snacks.

What a lovely place!

S.A.L.T. Lab

Each day 2 cooking classes are planned, in the morning and afternoon.

You can book your spot at the Silversea Silver Moon reception.

These classes are popular, make sure to book immediately.

Shops

You can find 3 boutiques on the Silversea Silver Moon ship.

One with women’s clothes and accessories, another one opposite for men and next to it a jewellery shop.

Toiletries and other essential items are available for purchase upon request in the boutique or through your butler. 

These shops are open when the ship is on the move, and that is usually during the evening until 10-11pm. The boutiques were also opened all day during our day at sea.

Any item you purchase is billed to your Silversea guest account linked to your room key which is also linked to the credit card you chose during the embarkation process.

You can settle your bill the day before or on the morning of disembarking.

Swimming pool

The Silversea Silver Moon swimming pool is located on deck 10.

All around it are plenty of sun loungers. Rolled up fresh bath towels are placed on them in the morning by the staff for you to use.

Most of these sun loungers are in the sun, however you can also find them in shadier areas on the same deck, together with comfortable outdoor couches and sofas.

The pool and pool bar staff are very attentive and helpful.

You never need to wait to have someone come and ask you if you would like a drink. The staff walks around constantly to attend to guests.

The water in the pool is heated and heavenly.

Next to the pool are 2 jacuzzis as well.

Excursions

With Silversea quite a lot of the excursions you can book in advance are included.

We booked an excursion for every single day.

For one of them we were on a waiting list but didn’t get to go in the end, which meant a lovely day on board the Silversea Silver Moon.

Information about the excursions, vouchers, where and when to meet, etc was planned well.

Except for the first excursion in Copenhagen.

Our bus was stuck in traffic and we were only told after waiting for half an hour on the pier that it wouldn’t be there for another half an hour. The excursion staff member said we could go back to the ship and wait there. She said we had to be back at 1:45pm.

Once back on board we lost interest in the excursion and decided to stay on board. Some people who were in our group later told us that once they got off the ship again at the right time the bus had already left with the people who had stayed outside.

The ones that made the excursion afterwards said it wasn’t worth it since the trip had been cut in half due to the delay.

Apart from that first excursion we never had to wait for a shuttle bus or a tender to bring us to shore and back, our guides were professional and punctual. We always left at the time we were supposed to leave and were always back on the ship as planned.

On leaving the Silversea Silver Moon for excursions, bottled water is provided for everyone.

We loved the (complimentary) boat excursion in Kristiansand and the Land of the Trolls all day excursion ($189 per person) in Alesund.

As our flight was scheduled at 6pm in Heathrow we also went on the Stonehenge excursion with airport drop off ($119 per person).

Self service laundrette

On each deck with cabins is a self service laundry.

It is open from 8am until 10pm.

A washer and dryer are at your disposal as well as an ironing board and iron.

Detergent and baskets are also available.

Other on board services

• Zagara spa, beauty salon and barber shop
• fitness centre
• sauna and steam room
• casino
• future cruise team
• guest relations manager
• medical centre and 24 hour emergency service

Entertainment

The show on board the Silversea Silver Moon starts at 9:45pm in the Venetian Lounge theatre.

It varied from Italian opera and cabaret to 1960s British songs.

We were not blown away by the entertainment. Often the singers sang out of key.

If we fancied some music in the evening, we would go to Silver Note for Esther’s jazz performance.

What was highly interesting though during the day were the lectures by guest lecturer Eric Ball.

Topics he would talk about were Norway, its geography and nature, vikings, Norway’s architecture and art, and the golden age of ocean liners.

Lectures were planned at 10am or 3:30pm depending on the day and destination.

Each of them took about 45 minutes.

Very interesting and highly recommendable!

Passengers

The average age of most of the passengers was between 55 and 75 years old.

Most of them were couples, a handful of families and a few solo travelers.

With a few exceptions, most of the passengers on board were American and British.

Dress code

Casual wear is allowed on board all day long until 6pm.

No shorts, flip-flops or jeans indoors after 6pm.

On 4 nights the dress code was casual: dresses or blouses and pants for ladies, short shirts and slacks for gentlemen.

We had 6 informal evenings: dresses or pantsuits for ladies, dinner jackets for gentlemen (tie optional).

On 2 nights the dress code was formal: cocktail dresses or pantsuits for ladies, tuxedos and dinner jackets or dark suits and ties for gentlemen.

On formal nights guests may choose informal wear for dining at La Terrazza, Kaiseki and Silver Note.

Dining at Hot Rocks and Spaccanapoli is optional casual all nights.

Would we book again with Silversea?

Yes we would.

This is our second time on board a Silversea ship.

We liked the level of comfort and luxury.

The food is splendid.

The provided excursions are great.

Would we recommend the Silversea Silver Moon and this cruise trip?

Yes, this ship is new – it was built in 2021.

And it shows: everything is spotless, new, fresh, like it has never been used before.

We liked the food, our cabin, the well trained staff, the superb excursions.

Pros

• large and very confortable cabins
• very attentive staff
• butler service
• excellent excursions and organisation
• delicious food
• excellent drinks and wines

Cons

• Informal and formal dress code?

We paid for our trip on board the Silversea Silver Moon cruise ship and didn’t get or ask anything in return for this review.