Up bright and early at 7 am today. We’ve got a date with the Silver Moon.
But first we have a date with the front desk at the Pullman – we’ll need to check out and drop our bags, and then we have a free morning before we embark.
Decisions, decisions. First, a walk through downtown Melbourne as we search for a breakfast spot:
Today’s activity is out in the Docklands, so we head to My Koala Cafe – only to find it’s closed this morning for reasons unknown. Not entirely a surprise as they had denied my wife’s reservation request, but Google Maps had said they would be open. In Google we trust, but this time it’s let us down.
So we search instead for another cafe, which is how we find ourselves at Foremost Cafe – and it’s really quite lovely.
You ever go to a place where you can immediately tell that the people there truly care about what they’re doing? That’s Foremost Cafe. I try to order two plates of pancakes for the kids – they tell me that they’re big plates, and they might prefer to split one instead. I struggle with what to order myself, and they suggest a beef rendang toastie.
Drinks come out from the kitchen – and a few minutes later, the server comes out to check how everything is. And it’s lovely:
And again after the food comes out.
Not that there’s any need for him to check, because it’s delicious:
Now, on to the morning’s activity. Some time before our trip, we booked ourselves in at the ArtVo Interactive Gallery – essentially a series of background images paired with photo-taking instructions that let you imagine the participants in a range of wacky and wild scenarios.
And it’s pretty good:
Though even now, I’m of two minds about this choice – I never considered it to be a question of whether we were going to ArtVo or Melbourne’s botannical gardens, but that’s how it shook out. In an ideal world we would have seen both – but did we go amiss by visiting ArtVo?
Ultimately, the kids really enjoyed being in that space – trying new and creative ways to come up with memorable poses and photos:
So I’m going to give myself some grace for missing the botannical gardens this time out in favour of nurturing the kids’ creativity. (Obligatory: Always nice to have a reason to come back.)
After, we had a bit of time – not much, but some – so we let the kids check out Dreamskape across from ArtVo:
Dreamskape bills itself as a “digital theme park” with VR rides, challenges and obstacle courses. We bought a combo package that would allow them to do all of the above.
The kids really enjoy it, particularly the active elements – Australian students went back to school this week, so it’s quiet at this time of day. The kids are alone as they run through the digital challenges. I’m not sure how it all usually works, but I expect the staff allow them to stay longer than normal.
Meanwhile, my wife and our make our battle plans for how to board the Moon. We consider booking an Uber with a stopover at the Pullman, but a brief Google search reveals that Uber will only stop for perhaps 2 to 3 minutes before they start charging extra. Better to break it up into two Ubers instead.
We Uber back to the Pullman in a ‘Comfort’ Uber, and ask for our bags. It takes 5 minutes or so for them to bring them around – a completely reasonable time, but more of a stopover than a regular Uber would have permitted.
Back to the street outside the Pullman, where we call for an Uber Max – only for them to unassign the contract after they hear how many bags we have. Well, I can’t say I blame them.
Eventually we do get another Uber – another Kia Carnival – and they eventually wend their way through the busy downtown streets to pick us up. It takes longer than it should, but we are soon on our way – despite Uber occasionally suggesting that we take a right turn off the top of a busy bridge. Hmm.
I’ve been told previously that there’s a way to drive in to the Station Pier cruise terminal, but there’s no easy way to request that via Uber. So we’re just going to drive up there and see what happens.
And… success. Between our Uber driver’s plucky determination, our promises of further tips and the ready availability of all our paperwork, we are able to make our way right into the heart of Melbourne’s cruise terminal. There we disembark our vehicle, drop our bags, and head to the lift.
Have I mentioned lately how much we love the Silversea bubble? That wonderful aura descended upon us the moment we stepped out of our Uber. Even the port staff were wearing Silversea ties that morning – and though they are employed by the port of Melbourne and not Silversea, I think they should still get some kind of staff discount. How about it, Silversea?
Up to check-in, where we completed the health questionairre and went through the usual rigamarole of providing passports, credit cards, and so on.
No lines to speak of, and no issues with checking in early – we had requested early check-in a few weeks prior, and the best Silversea could do was to send a reply stating that they had noted our request. You’d think they could provide a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’, but it all works out in the end.
We even confirm that we are now eligible for free laundry – that most wonderous of perks, for which we have hungered ever since we first set foot in a Silversea laundromat. (Technically we won’t be at 100 Venetian sailing days for 10 more days, but Silversea frequently advances this perk early if you will achieve it later that same cruise.)
The rigamarole continues – security screening, passport checks by the Australian authorities, and then we finally board the Silver Moon itself.
We immediately spot a few familiar faces. Robert – one of the senior Reception officers – and Ozgur, the Hotel Director for some of our previous voyages on the Wind and Cloud. In the past year we will have spent a remarkable 83 days of it with Ozgur. We also spot Colin – head bartender from the Wind – and others. That’s always a welcome surprise.
I grab a glass of champagne and head for the Grill for our embarkation lunch.
I have the barramundi:
My wife has the quinoa salad:
And the kids both have burgers:
While at lunch, we check the price of premium internet – US$564 for the duration of our 47 day voyage, or US$12 per day. Internet is always a pinch point for us so we go ahead and upgrade. We have heard that the included internet has improved so we are going to hold off on a second premium package for the time being.
We’ve only ever done expedition cruising before, so the Silver Moon is a different experience from the Cloud, Wind and Origin. It seems larger but in a manageable way, and it’s newer both in terms of its style and maintenance.
The food arrives quickly, and the quality seems better than that of the expedition ships – which is understandable, given that they have more space and staff with which to prep. And presumably more access to fresh ingredients.
Midway through lunch – around 1:45 pm – we’re informed that our rooms are ready. Another pleasant surprise.
Down to our rooms to start unpacking. Some of our bags have arrived, and more are showing up all the time. The rooms are larger than those on the Cloud, but the usable space feels similar.
The Moon opts for separate showers and tubs – as opposed to just showers, or occasional shower/tub combos on the Cloud.
The Moon’s verandahs are substantially larger. And they have footrests!
The fridge is also larger. That’s a welcome change, as we are often having to jostle and re-arrange items in order for our champagne to fit.
Our butler Jordan comes by to introduce himself. We have a few small requests, which he jots down – Bvlgari toiletries and the pillow menu, namely. We also tend to eat early, so we’d ask them to try to do turn-down service early as well.
We’d already put in special requests for a yoga mat and a selection of Australian beers, so we’re pleased to see that’s already been handled. The “selection” consists of six bottles of Victoria Bitter, but it’s a start! The initial yoga mat does not meet Silversea’s high standards, so it is immediately replaced with a brand-new one still in shrinkwrap. We didn’t even need to ask.
(Special requests can be sent to specialservices@silversea.com in advance of your cruise. There are limits, of course – I’ve never found a bottle of aged rum on Silversea – but if they have it on ship then you can generally get it sent to your room.)
The SALT Lab opens at 3 pm for bookings, and we sign up immediately. (Thanks to those who passed along that tip, too.) We book in for each of the three cooking classes – Asian / Australian fusion, bush tucker, and Australian baking. Should be fun!
We’re able to find morning sea day times, though hopefully nothing overlaps with trivia. We can only book for this current segment – Melbourne to Singapore – at present, but should be able to book next segment prior to the next round of embarkation. That will be a lovely perk.
Unpacking continues, but still no sign of my checked bag. Ah, well – I’m sure it will turn up. My wife bags up the kids’ laundry, while I watch the safety briefing. We then head to Dolce Vita to report for the muster drill.
We wander through the ship, taking in the various venues. The observation lounge:
Spaccanapoli:
Arts Cafe:
Panorama:
And Dolce Vita:
Everything is just that little bit larger than the expedition ships with more seating, more staff, more choices – and more guests. According to Reception, we have 550 onboard this sailing compared to a maximum capacity of 596 (and compared to the sub-200 we had aboard the Cloud in October.)
Another surprise at Reception – my lost luggage has arrived! It was flagged for additional screening for reasons unknown. We head off to a private area so Security can have a look through to make sure nothing is amiss. My bag is given the all-clear, and I’m free to take it back to our stateroom.
With the last of our admin finished up, my wife and I head off to our verandah to finally enjoy a glass of champagne and bask in the knowledge that we are here and (mostly) settled.
There’s still my bag to unpack, after all, and another bag of laundry to fill out. But that’s done in time for dinner.
Off to La Terrazza! We start with the ubiquitous antipasti plate:
I snap a few shorts of La Terrazza itself before it fills up:
Some beautiful views from the stern as we sail out of Melbourne:
The captain makes an announcement as we get underway. We’re expecting 2.5 metre swells as we depart from Melbourne, which will likely grow to 3.5 metres on the following day. Nothing we haven’t been through before, though some of us may pop a Bonine just to be on the safe side.
Our mains arrive – we each order the tenderloin for our mains:
The kids have the tortino el chocollato for dessert – which automatically comes with ice cream here, unlike on the Cloud. It’s also cylindrical instead of pyramidic in shape. I think we perhaps order this a little too often….
The adults have the rum baba – the first time we’ve seen it appear on a La Terrazza menu:
One last farewell glance toward Melbourne:
Then we head back to the room to enjoy a final glass of champagne before we drift off to sleep, lulled by the gentle rocking of the ship.
Lovely to be back aboard – and glad for a sea day tomorrow as we continue to learn the finer points of the Moon.
Today’s Chronicle can be found here.