Opening · The Open Deck
First, a Slow Look Around
April 30, Harumi, Tokyo. Once the embarkation formalities were done and lunch had left me thoroughly content, my favourite thing to do is simply to wander the ship — no schedule, no destination, like opening a new book and reading slowly through its table of contents first.
This ship is Silversea’s Silver Moon: 40,700 tons, 596 guests, built by Fincantieri at Ancona, Italy, and delivered in 2020. She is not large, yet she has everything. This afternoon, follow my footsteps, deck by deck, and get to know her.
Today’s Walking Route
First Stop
Arts Café Deck 8
The stroll begins on Deck 8. Arts Café is the ship’s arts café: works by different artists — paintings and sculptures — line its walls. By day it is a café and delicatessen; come evening, the lights shift, and it becomes a cocktail lounge with just the right mood.
Second Stop
The Pool Deck Deck 10
Two decks up is the most holiday-like place on the ship. The pool on Deck 10 is heated, with whirlpools at its side; nearby, The Grill serves salads and burgers by day, then changes its face at night — lava stones heated to 400 degrees are brought to the table so guests can grill their own meat and seafood, the most hands-on dinner on board. In the afternoon light the main pool shimmers blue, signal flags strung in a line between the masts, and row upon row of loungers, as if inviting you to hand the afternoon over to the sea breeze.
Sunscreen and champagne on the same little table — that, perhaps, is Silver Moon’s philosophy of life: take good care of your body, and live your days well.
Third Stop
Greenery & Music Aboard
On the way down, I first come upon a white phalaenopsis orchid in full bloom; a few steps further is a lounge with a stage, where the piano and drum kit are already in place, waiting only for the evening’s performance. At the other end, in a lounge ringed with panoramic windows, there is — of all things — a table-tennis table: even an elegant ship keeps a little mischief for its travellers. The Panorama Lounge, the ship’s observation lounge, is also on Deck 9, open from morning to night; after dark there is piano and a DJ — a fine place to watch the sea and let your mind wander.
Fourth Stop
Back to Deck 8 Deck 8
After a loop, I am back on Deck 8. The glass doors of Arts Café stand quietly open, and the directory sign beside them lists this deck’s neighbours clearly: Suites 801 to 865, Arts Café, the French restaurant La Dame and the Boutique — all on this level.
Fifth Stop
The Grand Staircase
The grand staircase at the ship’s centre is, privately, my favourite corner. Curved handrails, a patterned carpet, the stairs spiralling up beneath the skylight — every walk up or down feels like a small ceremony.
Sixth Stop
The Top Deck Deck 11
At the top of the ship, the wind becomes honest. The Silversea emblem on the hull, the funnel and the signal flags are all here; the jogging track’s sign explains: eight laps around the funnel’s upper deck and the pool make one mile.
This deck also hides the corner I long for most aboard — the Observation Library. It sits at the very top of the ship, a place kept for reading and contemplation: you can borrow books, read the newspapers, and sit by the window while a whole sea spreads out beneath you. On the same deck is Spaccanapoli, the Neapolitan pizzeria, its pizzas baked to order in a custom oven.
On the wall there is also a brass plaque — this ship’s birth certificate: FINCANTIERI, the Ancona shipyard, hull number 6279, 2020.
Seventh Stop
The Connoisseur’s Corner Deck 9
At the stern on Deck 9 comes a stop with a grown-up flavour. The Connoisseur’s Corner is the ship’s cigar and cognac lounge — and under the ship’s smoking policy, it is the only place on board where cigars may be smoked. Inside are tufted leather chairs and a liquor cabinet; cigars such as Cohiba, Montecristo, Partagás, Ramón Allones and Bolívar can be purchased, and cognac is available to taste for an additional charge. Silver Moon also adds a covered Wintergarden outdoor area, where you can finish a cigar slowly beneath the stars.
Most charming of all is the trunk-style liquor cabinet: opened up, glasses hang in rows and drawers are divided into compartments — Jack Daniel’s, Evan Williams bourbon, The Famous Grouse, Southern Comfort and Sandeman port each in its place, like a little cellar you could wheel away.
Eighth Stop
A Preview of Dinner Deck 7
Deck 7 is a preview of dinner. The entrance to Silver Note hides between wooden walls, its ceiling a flower-petal lamp — this is a supper club with live jazz and blues, serving tapas-style small plates; it is complimentary, though reservations are required. Further on is La Terrazza: for breakfast and lunch it is a buffet, but a hosted one — you are shown to your seat first, then wander at your leisure among the olive-oil cellar, the mozzarella bar, the salumeria and the seafood counter. At dinner it puts on its formal face and becomes an Italian restaurant, serving Sapori di Casa home-style dishes and handmade pasta.
Ninth Stop
Venetian Lounge Deck 5
The theatre on Deck 5 is the liveliest place on board each night. The Venetian Lounge has 316 seats, designed in the style of a Belle Époque cabaret, with small tables set among the tiered seating; films are shown by day, and full-scale song-and-dance productions take the stage at night. When I walked in that day it was completely empty, the screen paused on the embarkation day’s safety briefing — “SAFETY ON BOARD”: emergency drills, accident prevention, the code of conduct aboard — page after page, the homework before a voyage begins.
Tenth Stop
Atlantide & Kaiseki Deck 4
Deck 4 is the centre of taste. Atlantide is the ship’s main restaurant, known for its royal crab, blue lobster and what is said to be the best steak at sea, served complimentary at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Next door is another world on the same deck: Silver Moon was the first ship to introduce the S.A.L.T. (Sea and Land Taste) culinary programme — the S.A.L.T. Kitchen menu changes with every port, matched with more than 160 regional wines, and the S.A.L.T. Lab offers complimentary hands-on cooking classes. Beyond that is Kaiseki: its menu is built on the five elements and the yin-yang balance of Japanese nutritional cuisine; by day there is sushi, sashimi and izakaya dishes, with lunch complimentary. In the evening it rises to refined Japanese dining — miso black cod and wagyu teriyaki are signatures — at US$40 per person, reservations required.
Eleventh Stop
La Dame Deck 8
The end of the stroll is saved for La Dame on Deck 8 — Silversea’s signature French restaurant: white tablecloths, white gloves and silver service, the most formal meal on board. It is also one of only two restaurants on the ship that carry a cover charge: US$60 per person, dinner only, reservations required. Its entrance and walls are clad in bespoke Lalique crystal panels, their design taken from René Lalique’s 1935 work Masque de Femme — aquatic creatures circling a mysterious face. Inside, carved screens divide the seating into small alcoves, and on the round tables fine-wine gift boxes stand in a row, like a still life before dinner.
Final Stop
Zagara Spa & Fitness Centre Deck 6
Finally, back to Deck 6, to settle the body as well. Zagara Spa has nine treatment rooms and an acupuncture suite, its own outdoor whirlpool, and separate saunas and steam rooms for men and women, all on this deck. Treatments cost extra, but that round window is worth it — the steam room is wrapped in mosaic tiles, and beyond the window is the Tokyo we have not yet left; once we sail, it will be nothing but sea. The rules on the wall are written with care: twenty minutes at a time, and shower before entering. Next door, the fitness centre uses Technogym equipment; regular classes are complimentary, personal training extra. On the shelves by the door, rolled towels, bottled water and a plate of fruit are all ready.
Epilogue
Day One Begins with a Stroll
The loop complete, the ship has not yet sailed, and I have already walked through the settings of the next two weeks of life: where breakfast is, which deck the pool is on, which corner to hide in when I want quiet, where to go for a performance after dinner.
Half of the sense of security in travel comes from this kind of “getting acquainted first.” Silver Moon, day one, begins with this stroll.
— ARY
Ship's Particulars
Ship: Silver Moon (Silversea)
Tonnage: 40,700 tons | Guests: 596 | Crew: 411
Built: Fincantieri, Ancona, Italy (hull no. 6279, delivered 2020)
Embarked: April 30, 2026, Harumi, Tokyo
Cover charges: Only two restaurants on the ship charge a fee — La Dame, US$60 per person; Kaiseki dinner, US$40 per person (lunch complimentary). All other restaurants are complimentary; some require reservations.
