This Luxury Ship Feels Like a Stunning Mediterranean Resort, With a Gorgeous Pool Deck and Top-notch Cuisine

Travel + Leisure

9 hours ago

The ship's overall light and airy ambience, which puts the focus on what's happening outdoors.
Top-end suites equipped with wraparound balconies and private whirlpools.
A culinary program that brings local tastes and libations on board, through menus, cooking classes, and themed cocktails.
Sustainability features include the use of cleaner-burning liquefied natural gas, or LNG.
With the Spanish city of Cadiz in full view, I was gleefully dancing around an expansive, resort-like pool deck like it was the 1980s. A live British band was playing George Michael, the Eurythmics, Tears for Fears, and even David Bowie. I only wished I had packed bigger shoulder pads.
When I took a break, it was for sips of complimentary Champagne because this was no high-end night club but rather a luxury cruise ship—one that offers all its amenities as part of the package.
Want your butler to deliver caviar with all the trimmings? You got it. In fact, my butler thoughtfully added a bottle of Champagne. Or you might ask for a trendy cocktail to sip with endless views. Or you could ask for the surf and turf, embellished with foie gras—or get some fantastic vegan cuisine.
Whatever your version of excess and decadence might be, odds are good you can find it on the over-the-top Silver Ray , a 364-cabin ship with a crew of 544.
Like its sibling vessel, Silver Nova , which debuted in 2023, Silver Ray is one of the largest operated by Silversea, the luxury line. Still, it's comparatively small by cruise standards, with a distinctive design that emphasizes views of the gorgeous coastlines this ship tends to frequent.
My take? The Ray is big enough to not feel crowded, with places to get away and pretend you're on your own yacht. There is also beauty at every turn: a stunning pool on one side of the ship, open-air dining areas, plush fabrics that make you mushy with delight.
While on board for a four-day preview cruise in Portugal and Spain, I relished in the niceties and appreciated the less-formal atmosphere on board. Opportunities to indulge aside, this ship is a more comfortable approach to luxury cruising. Like DeBarge sang in the 1980s: 'I Like It.'
You really can't go wrong: every suite on Silver Ray has a veranda and butler service. Entry-level accommodations start at 301 square feet, large enough to feel like a nice hotel room, with a table and chairs on the veranda, a walk-in closet, and a marble bathroom with either a large glass shower with a sitting bench or a glass shower and separate tub. The minibar is stocked, the Egyptian cotton bedding is from Milan's Rivolta Carmignani, and the pillow menu has several choices, including hypoallergenic options. If money is no object, the best digs are two aft-facing Otium Suites, which clock in at 1,324 square feet, each with a 421-square-foot wraparound veranda with private whirlpool. La Terrazza.
Courtesy of Silversea Cruises
Food is part of the pampering, and so are free drinks. There are eight restaurants on board, and while many are free, reservations are recommended. I was a fan of the Italian restaurant, La Terrazza, which introduced a new menu of contemporary Italian cuisine while I was on board. The S.A.L.T. Restaurant, named for Silversea's culinary program Sea and Land Taste, has an ever-changing approach that tailors menus to the destinations the ship is visiting. I was impressed by the Cadiz menu on offer when we were visiting that Spanish city. The Marquee is a pergola-topped, open-air casual venue serving things like pizza and salads.
For me, one highlight was the S.A.L.T. Chef's Table, a tasting-menu experience that was limited to 18 guests. Mine was 11 courses of exquisite bites such as a confit of piquillo peppers and salt cod topped with burnt onion, accompanied by the stories of João Sá, who has garnered a Michelin star for his Lisbon restaurant, Sála. Though Chef's Table comes at a hefty additional charge, I thought it was well worth it. The S.A.L.T. Chef's Table.
Courtesy of Silversea Cruises
Also at extra cost are a Japanese restaurant, Kaiseki, and La Dame, which offers both a classic French menu and a new tasting menu by French chef Jean-Luc Rabanel, who is known for vegetable-forward, Michelin-star gastronomy. (I found it odd, then, that the ship-board menu was heavy on meat.)
The S.A.L.T. Bar, with indoor and outdoor seating, was serving Spanish gin and other local beverages on our sailing and became my go-to among several lounge choices. The outdoor terrace of the Panorama Lounge is another good option. For a pick-me-up or quick meal, I really enjoyed Arts Café, which has perfectly foamy lattes and vegan tofu breakfast sandwiches, among other selections.
Silver Ray is sailing in the Mediterranean for much of 2025, with trips that range from 6 to 16 nights, many of them hitting the big cruise cities of Barcelona, Civitavecchia (near Rome), Lisbon, and Monte Carlo. The ship heads to Fort Lauderdale in mid-November for the 2026 Caribbean season, before returning to Europe in late March.
Fares include a shore excursion in every port, though they tend to be straightforward: a visit to a famous palace, a guided stroll through a city center. I opted for a couple of the at-extra-cost offerings that are part of the S.A.L.T. program. One was a tour of the westernmost vineyard in Europe, Casal de Santa Maria, where I found myself sipping wine and slurping oysters with Baron Nicholas von Bruemmer, whose Latvian grandfather founded the place. The Silver Ray pool deck.
Courtesy of Silversea Cruises
The chic pool deck is a focal point for the whole ship, surrounded by two decks of open space with fabulous views. There's a cushy lounge chair for everyone and, as I mentioned, room to dance too. Elsewhere, at the ship's Roman-inspired Otium Spa, I indulged in a soothing and energizing four-technique massage. In between treatments and dips in the spa's small hydrotherapy pool, you can sip champagne. At a cooking class in the S.A.L.T. Lab, I learned to make Portuguese cream tarts (though not, alas, Lisbon's famous pastéis de nata ). Otium Spa.
Courtesy of Silversea Cruises
A lively group fills the ship's small casino. Jazz fans head to the supper club for small bites served with a dose of Cole Porter. And those who find shopping for vintage Hermes and Chanel bags a form of entertainment will find that option onboard, too. In the impressive, two-story show lounge, singers and dancers perform and you can also catch a lecture.
Silversea says kids are welcome as long as they're older than 6 months, but the vibe on board is pretty adult: there's no kids' pool, no kids' club, no babysitting offered. That being said, the ship has an assortment of connecting suites, including a two-bedroom Master Suite that connects for up to six guests.
Silver Ray has four wheelchair accessible Premium Veranda Suites and two, larger wheelchair accessible Silver Suites. Public areas of the ship are accessible, and crew can provide assistance on the rare occasions that ports require stairs (rather than ramps) to disembark. I also noticed braille signage in public rooms, staterooms, and in elevators—which is something not all cruise ships have.