All About Cruises

Tag: silver sea cruises

  • The Destinations of Silversea Cruises

    Silversea Cruises, the luxury cruise line ever at risk of having its name misspoken (“Silverseas Cruises”) or misspelled (“Silver Sea Cruises” or “Silver Seas Cruises), travels to destinations all over the world. In this regard, they are like other major cruise lines. However, unlike other major cruise lines, Silversea operates a fleet of only six small ships (as covered in our article about the cruise ships of Silversea Cruises), and while this limits the number of cruises Silversea can offer each year, it does allow them to reach more remote destinations. The present article examines the destinations visited by Silversea Cruises, as well as why you might want to take a Silversea cruise to one of these destinations.

    We’ll begin with the places you can visit while vacationing with Silversea. Despite the relatively small size of the fleet, Silversea offers a large variety of different cruise vacations. They cruise to all the major cruise destinations, which the company breaks into the following nine global regions: (1) Mediterranean, (2) Northern Europe & Baltic, (3) Africa, Arabia & Indian Ocean, (4) Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific, (5) Caribbean, Mexico & Panama Canal, (6) South America, (7) Alaska & Pacific Coast, (8) Canada & New England, and (9) Asia. You’ll perhaps notice that this pretty well covers the world – basically only the polar regions of the globe are missing. However, Silversea actually goes to these places too with their “Expedition Cruises,” which also go to exotic locations in Africa and South America. You can take a Silversea cruise to (almost literally) everywhere in the world.

    Besides these destination-oriented cruises, Silversea also offers a number of cruises that go to several parts of the globe in one voyage, as well as cruises that basically function as regular transportation between two points that are generally covered with an airplane. As concerns the former, Silversea offers several “grand voyages,” which are actually combinations of a few separate cruises that are strung together. All of them last over a month and visit a number of ports all over the world. Once a year, Silversea also offers a world cruise, a multi-month expedition that covers the entire globe. As for the latter, Silversea has transoceanic cruises that begin at a port on one side of the world and end at another. The majority of these voyages go between the US and Europe, as one might expect, but there are also voyages from Japan to Canada and from the Caribbean to Europe. Silversea also allows passengers to design their own cruises, such that they can embark at one port and debark from another even if the official cruise is underway. These “personalized voyages” and the transoceanic cruises are basically a more leisurely (and luxurious) way to travel between different parts of the globe.

    So, we have now said where you can take a Silversea cruise vacation, but why would you want to take one? This question was already addressed, albeit somewhat indirectly, in our general overview of Silversea Cruises. There is no reason to repeat ourselves, so all we will say here is that Silversea, being a luxury cruise line, has a reputation for offering its passengers an exceptionally pampered cruise experience (for a relatively high price, we should add). The other reason you might be tempted to take a Silversea cruise is that the company offers voyages to places that other major cruise lines cannot. They are able to this because, as we mentioned above, Silversea operates small cruise ships that can access ports that are inaccessible to larger ships. With Silversea, you can of course visit the major ports, but you might also find yourself cruising down the Thames River in London or navigating the intricate fjords of Norway. Such journeys demand smaller, nimbler vessels, which is exactly what Silversea offers.

    There is no shortage of places that Silversea Cruises can take you. If you are inclined to take a Silver cruise (and you can afford to do so), you can travel to virtually anywhere in the world.

  • The Cruise Ships of Silversea Cruises

    Silversea Cruises (alternatively, but incorrectly, called “Silverseas Cruises,” and occasionally spelled “Silver Sea Cruises” or “Silver Seas Cruises”) has a relatively small fleet consisting of only six vessels. They range in size, although they are all small by cruise-ship standards. Of course, the size of a ship does not correspond to the quality of services it offers, and in any case smaller cruise ships enjoy definite advantages over their larger counterparts. Below we have compiled some information about all the Silversea Cruises cruise ships, including both general information about the fleet and specific information about each ship.

    In a world in which huge cruise companies dominate the market – Carnival and Royal Caribbean, with their dozens of ships spread across multiple cruise lines, control over 70 percent of the industry – you might wonder how Silversea competes. The answer is really quite simple: as we explained in a recent overview of Silversea Cruises, the cruise line does not directly compete with the huge cruise lines. Rather, they are focused on the luxury segment of the cruise industry, so they aren’t looking to attract a huge number of passengers so much as they are looking to attract high-paying ones. The Silversea fleet cannot accommodate nearly as many passengers as the major cruise lines – every passenger has more space on board, in addition to there being only six small ships – but it is not a problem because they charge a premium for their high-class services.

    Although all Silversea ships are small, they are not equally small. By far the smallest ship, which is used for remote voyages to places like the polar regions, is the Silver Explorer. (The names of all Silversea ships begin with “Silver.”) It weighs a little over 6,000 tons, and it can accommodate only 132 passengers. The Silver Cloud and the Silver Wind are nearly three times this size, weighing 16,800 and 17,400 tons, respectively. Both accommodate 296 passengers and sail all over the world, as do all of the ships in the Sliversea fleet. (Most of the ships have planned itineraries for the next couple of years that take them all over the globe.) The three remaining ships are the Silver Shadow, the Silver Whisper, and the Silver Spirit. The first two weigh the same amount, 28,258 tons, and hold the same number of passengers, 382. The Silver Spirit is the largest of the fleet, weighing 36,000 tons and accommodating 540 guests. To be sure, these aren’t small ships, but they are absolutely dwarfed by some of the enormous ships that have been released over the last several years, including the largest cruise ship in the world.

    Again, though, size does not correlate with quality, and the Silversea fleet has much to offer its customers. The rooms on Silversea vessels are among the largest offered by a cruise line, and every cabin has butler service and a view of the ocean (most rooms have private verandas, in fact). At the same time, Silversea ships have many of the same amenities as larger cruise ships, such as on-board casinos and spas. And because of their small size, Silversea vessels are able to access more secluded harbors, opening up travel opportunities unavailable to passengers vacationing with other cruise lines.

    So, the Silversea ships have a lot to offer, but, as we mentioned in our last article, they come at a price. Silversea regards itself as a luxury cruise line for a reason. If you can manage to afford one of their cruises, however, and if you want to go to one of the destinations that Silversea sails to, you’ll enjoy ships that blend the advantages of both small and large cruise vessels.

  • Silversea Cruises: An Overview

    Silversea Cruises is a luxury cruise line owned by the Lefebvre Family of Rome. Silversea Cruises aims first and foremost to provide a luxurious cruise experience, and this is primarily what they are known for. (Indeed, the cruise line regards itself as part of the ultra-luxury segment of the industry.) And while the cruise line may be well-known for their commitment to high-class cruising, the precise name of the company is evidently not well-known, as it is frequently referred to as “Silverseas Cruises” (plural), and it is often spelled “Silver Sea Cruises” and “Silver Seas Cruises.” But we suppose that’s neither here nor there. Below you’ll find an introduction to Silversea Cruises, covering the basics of the cruise line and what it has to offer.

    Silversea Cruises was started in 1994, making it a relatively new cruise line. It is also rather small: there are six small ships in the Silversea fleet, and the entire company controls only a .4 percent of the cruise market. However, Silversea is not directly competing with the mammoth cruise companies like Carnival and Royal Caribbean. The specific intention of founding the cruise line was to carve out a niche for itself as a luxury cruise line, and that is what it has done.

    In pursuit of this goal, Silversea ships are designed to accommodate fewer guests, which means every passenger has more personal space. Their accommodations are among the most spacious offered by a cruise line, and every cabin has a view of the ocean. Most rooms even have private verandas. For anyone who has booked a cruise vacation before, you’ll recognize how rare this is. On a normal cruise, you pick which type of cabin you would like, and you pay a correspondingly higher amount for better cabins (defined by features like ocean views and private verandas). On Silversea, there is essentially no such thing as a second-class cabin.

    Not surprisingly, the service on board Silversea cruises is highly personalized. Every cabin has butler service, and passengers can eat when and where they choose. The service is so personalized, in fact, that you can actually design your own cruise. This allows passengers to embark and debark as they see fit, getting on or off at whatever port a ship passes. The only restriction to these “personalized voyages” is that you must stay on board for at least five nights. Despite the smaller ships and the highly personal service, Silversea cruises feature many of the same attractions as regular cruises, like casinos and spas, and they also sail to the same major cruise destinations, such as Alaska, the Caribbean, and Europe. (For the record, they also sail to more distant lands, like Australia, as well as to locations in Asia and Africa. More information can be found in our article The Destinations of Silversea Cruises.) So, you get an intimate cruise experience without sacrificing the amenities offered by the major cruise lines.

    You might be thinking that Silversea Cruises sounds awesome, and indeed they are highly regarded. However, as you might expect, they are more expensive than regular cruises, and you likely won’t be finding any really cheap cruise deals for Silversea vacations. That said, if you can afford a more expensive vacation and you have a taste for luxurious living, you might want to look into Silversea Cruises.

Skip to content