Silversea Cruises celebrated a construction milestone on its newest luxury vessel, the 596-passenger Silver Moon, which will usher in the groundbreaking new S.A.L.T. immersive culinary program in August 2020.
Invited guests, members of the press, and workers from the Fincantieri shipyard in Ancona, Italy, watched as Silversea’s Executive Chairman Manfredi Lefebvre and the ship’s godmother, Fincantieri design engineer Roberta Bonisiol, welded coins into the ships’ wall, a traditional ceremony for luck.
Then, the crowd went dockside for speeches, a blessing, and the opening of the pipes that start to fill the dock with water, as the Silver Moon touched water for the first time.
“Today, with the float-out of Silver Moon, we draw ever-closer to achieving my father’s dream of a 12-ship fleet,” Lefebvre said. “Silver Moon is one of five ships currently on order for our cruise line. I look forward to fulfilling my father’s vision, and, with the support of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., expanding the fleet further still in the future. This celebration holds particular significance in the history of Silversea, as it occurs in the same year as our cruise line’s 25th anniversary as the leading pioneer in ultra-luxury cruising.”
RCCL purchased two-thirds of Silversea from Lefebvre in 2018 and is helping Silversea expand at a brisk pace.
Bonisiol then used a small ax to break the cable holding a bottle of Champagne that then satisfyingly smashed against the hull.
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After the ceremony, guests enjoyed an alfresco luncheon dockside.
The 40,700-ton Silver Moon is very similar to 2017’s Silver Muse but with a few changes, primarily to include new spaces for the S.A.L.T. culinary program but also to enhance the many other dining venues.
The major change is the S.A.L.T. complex on Deck 4. It includes the 160-seat S.A.L.T. Kitchen, which will serve regional cuisine inspired by the destinations visited. Next door, the S.A.L.T. Bar will serve local cocktails, wines and beers. And the S.A.L.T. Lab will host workshops, demonstrations and lectures that will appeal to “food nerds,” as affectionately described by Adam Sachs, the former editor-in-chief of culinary bible Saveur magazine, who is curating the S.A.L.T. program and organizing immersive shore excursions to take deep dives into the local culture and food traditions.
To accommodate the S.A.L.T complex, La Dame, Silversea’s signature French restaurant, will move from Deck 4 to Deck 8, where it will double its capacity to 56 seats.
Although in popular demand, suites are still available on Silver Moon’s maiden voyage between Trieste and Rome (Civitavecchia), departing Aug. 6, 2020. Silver Moon will spend its inaugural season in the Mediterranean, before crossing to the Americas in November 2020. After visiting destinations in Central America and the Caribbean, Silver Moon will complete a circumnavigation of South America on the “Grand South America 2021,” visiting 37 destinations in 20 countries between Jan. 7 and March 17, 2021.
