Silver Nova

Silver Nova is the ship on which Silversea stopped building symmetrically. Public rooms are pushed outward and sideways rather than stacked along a centreline, so the sea appears in places where it usually does not, and many suites carry a 270-degree view from sea to sky. She sails with 728 guests and 544 crew, a ratio that accounts for how unhurried the ship feels. The second idea is culinary. S.A.L.T., for Sea and Land Taste, runs a kitchen, a bar, a laboratory and a chef’s table given over to the food of wherever the ship happens to be, so a market walked through in the morning can reappear at dinner. Atlantide, La Dame, Kaiseki and La Terrazza cover the rest of the week.

What asymmetry actually does

The shape is not decoration. By pushing the public rooms outward and sideways instead of stacking them along a centreline, the design puts glass where other ships put corridor, and the result is a vessel from which the sea is visible in a surprising number of places. It rewards sea days above all: an afternoon that would be spent indoors elsewhere is spent looking outward here, and the suites carry the same argument as far as a 270-degree view from sea to sky.

S.A.L.T., and the market

Sea and Land Taste is Silversea’s answer to the problem of food at sea losing touch with the place outside. It runs as a kitchen, a bar, a laboratory for classes and a chef’s table of 11 courses, all built around the region the ship is sailing through. The practical effect is that dinner extends the day ashore instead of interrupting it, and a route through a coast with a strong kitchen becomes a reason to book in itself. Reservations and any additional charges follow the booked fare.

The suite, and the light

All accommodation aboard is suite accommodation, so the decision is about position rather than status. Which side the morning sun arrives on matters over two weeks, and so do the deck, the walk to dinner and how much of the day is genuinely spent on the balcony. Categories run from veranda suites up through the Otium, Owner’s, Grand, Master and Signature suites, and on a long voyage the extra living space is used rather than admired.