Butlers and caviar: Is this the world's most luxurious cruise ship?

Launched in: June 2024

Size: 364 staterooms, accommodating 728 guests; 244.2 metres long, 29.6 metres wide

Crew-to-guest ratio: 1:1.3, including butler service for all suites

Itinerary: Silver Ray has some fascinating itineraries from this year to 2026, including The Mediterranean, Transoceanic, South America and Grand Voyage. An 11-day, nine-port cruise from Rome to Barcelona in November this year starts at $9550 per guest in a classic verandah suite. silversea.com

IT'S an exciting moment. I've been invited to my first ever ship "shakedown", for the sparkling Silver Ray.

This is where a brand-new ship sets sail with "fake" passengers - mostly industry types - for the first time, in order to make sure there are no major issues.

There's so much sparkle onboard: new ship, new Silversea president, new fare categories, a new loyalty program and enhanced SALT (Sea and Land Taste) offerings.

With capacity for 728 passengers (and 556 crew), Silver Ray is the 12th ship in the fleet, the identical twin to Silver Nova and thus the second vessel in the cruise line's innovative Nova-class, with the same open inside-out design and focus on service, food and views. And glass: more than 4000 square metres of it, including six sexy outward-facing glass elevators, which give guests the feeling they are floating above the sea.

It is also the largest and most environmentally friendly, using liquefied natural gas (LNG) as the primary fuel source.

Sailing from Europe's biggest port, Lisbon, we zigged to Cadiz and back again, to be christened by its godmother, ocean scientist Maria Josefina Olascoaga, before it set off on its official inaugural Mediterranean season.

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The 364 guest suites all have private balconies and are across the middle four levels of the ship, while public areas, bars, restaurants, the pool, observation lounge and theatre are on the top and lower levels. I'm in cabin number 9046 - a Deluxe Veranda suite, the smallest category on the ship at 33.2 square metres total, but it feels spacious, with a large bedroom, bigger-than-usual bathroom, a living room and lots of storage, including a walk-in wardrobe.

It's more fancy hotel room than cruise cabin - but I do have a little FOMO when I spy the new OTT 123-square-metre corner Otium Suites with their giant living room, library and office, walls of windows offering 270-degree panorama views and huge wraparound balconies with private spas.

With 10 restaurants and eight bars on board, it's unlikely you'll try everything, so here are my tips: pumpkin pancakes at the open-air Marquee, eggs benedict and a massive buffet breakfast at La Terazza (when I popped in early after the gym, I had all 12 staff to myself!), delicious wood-fired pizzas at Spaccanapoli, the whole $160 tasting menu at La Dame (from two-Michelin-starred chef Jean-Luc Rabanel - but just once. It's typically French and oh so rich!) and perfectly cooked steaks at another fine diner, Atlantide.

You will also definitely need to eat at SALT Kitchen and Bar or get educated at SALT Lab - preferably both. This clever culinary program overseen by Adam Sachs (ex editor-in-chief of Saveur magazine) showcases regional flavours and local food stories in regularly changing menus, cooking classes, lectures, chef's tables and excursions tailored to each destination's foodie specialities.

Drinks-wise, take excellent coffee from the centrally located Arts Cafe, drink too many cocktails as the sun sets at the Dusk bar and sip champagne at the secret champagne bar, the Shelter, on Level 3, which is part of a Silversea partnership with the French sixth-generation fine-champagne family Duval-Leroy.

And of course, order at least one meal in - just to experience that famous service as it's delivered and so beautifully set up on your verandah as the sea rushes by.

He also sourced me a better pillow and kept my minibar stocked with my favourite sparkling water. It's not just Clark, everyone on the ship seems so service-oriented and happy to be onboard. One night, while I was chilling out under the stars at the Pool Bar, the barman wrapped a delicious pre-warmed blanket around my shoulders; and after just a few mornings the barista knew my coffee order and my name.

Lie about and enjoy the sun! There are 280 loungers on the pool deck and 3600 square metres of open space on decks 10 and 11. The sophisticated design includes artificial (but so real looking they could have fooled me!) white-blossom and orange trees on deck and beautiful vases of flowers throughout rooms and restaurants.

The Venetian Lounge spanning decks four and five is a theatre for 370; great for the resident and local acts. But our favourite entertainment was daggy dancing to whatever awesome live cover band was playing by the pool deck bar every night after 10pm. Sadly, I wasn't to witness anyone taking a midnight dip!

You also need to have a massage at the Roman-themed Otium spa, where floor to ceiling glass is again a feature. It's not cheap but you can also hang about in the sauna, steam room or thermal pool and use the complimentary body scrubs for as long as you like - and you'll feel on top of the world (as well as the sea) afterwards.

Wandering the ship is a real joy, I almost wish later I forwent a port visit, as good as they were. There are evocative Steve McCurry photos throughout the ship, two libraries to browse including the "connoisseur's corner" full of travel books and lots of cosy nooks and corners.

The writer was a guest of Silversea.