Silversea Cruises has four unique ships and is adding new vessels:

Silversea Cruises has begun to build a 540-guest, 36,000-ton vessel from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri named the Silver Spirit. Delivery is scheduled in the fourth quarter of 2009 with a signed option for a sister ship in 2010. Silversea has also purchased an expedition vessel with a Class 1A rated hull for high latitude journeys beginning in June 2008. The expedition ship is named the Prince Albert II. With the addition of the regal expedition ship Prince Albert II in 2008, the company's itineraries encompass all seven continents.

Guest Profile

Silversea guests are from around the world, with about half from the United States, one fourth from other English-speaking countries, and one fourth from elsewhere. Most guests are well-traveled, interesting, and outgoing, and many are repeat Silversea cruisers. Although many guests are over 50, there are always some young professionals on board. Average age onboard varies by cruise but ranges from 47 to 59.

Accommodations and Cabins

All of the impeccably maintained cabins on the Silversea cruise ships are suites with walk-in closets, refrigerators, and spacious marble baths with tub and shower. Most of the suites have balconies. The linens are marvelous and include a terry robe and slippers to wear onboard. Each suite has a sofa and table, and 24-hour room service is available for dining, course-by-course from the restaurant menu, in-suite.

Cuisine and Dining

Every dining experience on a Silversea cruise ship is a memorable one. The ships have one main Restaurant and two alternative dining venues. Since the ships are small (less than 400 guests), the Restaurant often feels like an elegant, yet comfortable club. The open seating dining, varied menus, and excellent wines included in the meals give the sensation of a private dinner party. On formal nights dining in the La Terrazza restaurant is an informal alternative. The upscale venues of Le Champagne (Shadow and Whisper) or Saletta (Cloud and Wind) feature vintage wines as a worthy foil to our finest menu choices.

Onboard Activities and Entertainment

The intimate Silversea ships have many of the same activities as the large ships such as computer classes, afternoon tea, wine tastings, and bridge instructors. The vessels often have excellent expert speakers onboard who appeal to a diversified international guest complement. Evenings are low-key compared to larger ships, combining variety acts with featured performers. A casino, music & dancing in the Bar or Panorama Lounge and evening on deck events round out the evening activity menu.

Common Areas

The decor on the Silversea Cruise ships is simple, elegant and tasteful. The colors are muted and perfect for a relaxing, luxurious cruise vacation. Guests can often be found either socializing in the comfortable lounges or enjoying a massage or good book on deck. Silversea has expanded wireless Internet access to 100% coverage throughout all four ships, enabling guests with Wi-Fi-enabled laptops and PDAs to access the internet, check e-mails or make cell phone calls from the comfort of their suites as well as public areas.

Spa, Gym, and Fitness

Each Silversea ship has a fitness center, a swimming pool and hot tubs. The Spa at Silversea, voted best at sea, operates the full service spas. The fitness center has machines, exercise classes and a staff who can customize a full onboard wellness exercise and diet program personalized to the guest preferences.

More on Silversea Cruises

Silversea Cruises was launched in the early 1990s by the previous owners of Sitmar Cruises--the Lefebvre family of Italy and the Vlasov Group of Monte Carlo. Many of the features on the ships are a tribute to the Italian heritage of the cruise line. We have recently entered into a partnership agreement with the Grimaldi family of Monaco.

Silversea Fleet Update

Amerigo Perasso outlined Silversea’s refinements for three ships. Silver Wind, which entered service in 1995, will go into drydock for a month in October 2008 and Silversea’s first ship, Silver Cloud, will follow in April 2009. Also, the Prince Albert II, formerly named the World Discoverer, is at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Trieste for an extensive upgrade prior to entering service in the spring. The Prince Albert II arrived into a berth beside Silver Whisper, which was at the shipyard wrapping up a scheduled drydock before sailing on November 3.

Plans for the Silver Cloud and Silver Wind call for major suite upgrades, including new bathrooms, carpets, flat screen TVs and other appointments. Verandas will also be spruced up and virtually all public spaces and corridors will see substantial enhancements of furnishings and carpets.

Most dramatic of the upgrades will be the addition of a new oceanview spa and fitness center on Deck 9, a new Observation Lounge, eight new large suites on Decks 7 and 8, reduction of Vista Suites on Deck 4 and a new guest elevator connecting Decks 8 and 9.

Fincantieri cuts steel for the Silversea newbuild to be named “Silver Spirit”

Silversea Cruises announced that its newest all-suite ship will be named “Silver Spirit”. Currently under construction at Fincantieri's Ancona shipyard, the vessel is scheduled to join the fleet in late 2009. The company also revealed a number of architectural details.

“Silver Spirit” will feature more of the quick-to-sell-out Silver Suites, with a total of 26, and more Veranda Suites, 222 in all. There will also be six Grand Suites and two Owner's Suites. Plans also call for a new supper club, offering gourmet cuisine served in an intimate, club-like ambiance, and a new Asian restaurant.

The Silversea newbuild is 36,000 GRT, 195.8 meters in length and 26.5 meters at the beam. Passenger capacity will be 540, with a crew of 378. All 270 passenger accommodations offer ocean views, and 222 cabins and 34 suites come with balconies. All but 12 suites will have verandas. Silversea holds an option for a second newbuild with a 2010 scheduled delivery date.

With the order of Silver Spirit, the introduction of luxury expedition ship Prince Albert II and major refurbishments of Silver Cloud and Silver Wind, Silversea will invest half a billion dollars during the next two years, noted President and CEO Amerigo Perasso.

The lack of capacity increases in the past few years has helped profitabilty in the sector, he said, adding that Silversea is committed to continued innovation and controlled growth, with highly diversified source markets to cushion against cyclical economic downturns.

‘Our Asia-Pacific business has been growing hugely in the last two years,’ Perasso noted. Europe and the UK are also growing source markets.

The brand will go from a 23% share of the top luxury sector capacity now (behind Regent with 33% and Crystal with 32%), Perasso said, to a leading 28% share in 2012 (trailed by Regent with 24%, Crystal with 23% and Seabourn with nearly 22%).