Ultraluxury line Silversea Cruises presents a jaw-dropping array of worldwide locations on each traditional — as the road calls its conventional cruise ships — and expedition vessels. Initially, Silversea was the one luxurious line providing each voyage types; maybe its success led the way in which for others, reminiscent of Viking and Seabourn, which have adopted.
Between its traditional and expedition vessels, Silversea options greater than a dozen ships visiting greater than 900 locations throughout all seven continents. Amongst traditional cruise locations, Silversea maintains a powerful presence in Europe, particularly within the Mediterranean. (Firm headquarters are in Monaco.) It additionally sails the British Isles and Northern Europe from spring into late fall, and its Canada and New England leaf-peeping cruises generate a lot buzz within the autumn months.
Come winter, ships head to the always-sunny Caribbean, in addition to summery Australia, New Zealand, South America and Asia.
Silversea caters to vacationers on the lookout for extra-long sailings to a number of locations. The road presents a restricted variety of “mixture cruises,” the place itineraries mix two or three cruises into one for in-depth regional exploration.
Grand Voyages, its next-longest choices, can run from 59 to 131 days. The final word in destination-bagging, world cruises are the longest itineraries on supply and run as soon as per 12 months; for instance, the 137-day voyage in 2025 departs from Tokyo and visits 59 ports throughout 30 international locations — together with Turkey, Italy, Sweden, India, Saudi Arabia and Greenland — earlier than ending in New York. (The 2024 world cruise is already bought out.)
Silversea’s expedition vessels search more-remote locales. Three ships — Silver Cloud, Silver Endeavour (previously Crystal Endeavor) and Silver Wind — extensively discover the Arctic and Antarctica throughout polar seasons. Silver Origin, custom-built to sail the Galapagos, cruises within the wildlife-rich islands year-round with simply 100 passengers. In the meantime, 144-passenger Silver Explorer spends a lot of its time in Australia’s Kimberley area and likewise within the South Pacific islands.
For extra cruise information, evaluations and suggestions, join TPG’s cruise e-newsletter.
When not crusing polar areas, Silversea’s expedition vessels enterprise actually to each nation permitted, from the American West Coast and the Indian Ocean to the South Pacific and South America.
The road’s first expedition Grand Voyage in 2024 is a 125-day cruise on Silver Wind, crusing from the South Pole to the North Pole, providing the perfect of each Antarctica and the Arctic. Alongside the way in which, it would name on main spotlight cities — Lisbon, London, Buenos Aires and Reykjavik, for instance — throughout a number of continents.
Each day Publication
Reward your inbox with the TPG Each day e-newsletter
Be a part of over 700,000 readers for breaking information, in-depth guides and unique offers from TPG’s specialists
With Silversea providing a lot of the world on a silver platter, the problem turns into selecting a sole vacation spot. Right here, we provide 5 areas the place Silversea constantly shines, promising a cruise assembly — if not exceeding — anybody’s thought of a dream trip.
Galapagos Islands
Silversea is a longtime participant within the Galapagos; now-retired Silver Galapagos started cruising there in 2013. The extra polished 100-passenger Silver Origin, Silversea’s first destination-specific ship, debuted in 2021 and sails between the islands year-round. All-suite lodging with ocean-view showers, butlers for all friends, an interactive base camp, Ecuadorian cooking courses and a stargazing platform set this expedition ship aside from the exploratory pack.
Most cruises are seven days lengthy, crusing round-trip from San Cristobal, Ecuador, and visiting Floreana and Santa Cruz among the many isles. Throughout the December holidays, 10- and 11-day voyages make onboard celebrating relaxed and simple, and 14-day cruises are perfect for vacationers wanting a full two-week expertise.
Arctic
With two Silversea expedition ships — Silver Cloud and Silver Wind — cruising the Arctic, you’ll be able to depend on loads of selection on this rugged, bucket listing vacation spot. The 254-passenger twin expedition vessels ship a mess of itineraries and voyage lengths from late Could via early October.
Choices embody full circumnavigations of Svalbard that final greater than per week and Northwest Passage crossings that may stretch greater than three weeks. Some nine-day cruises are Greenland unique, whereas a few of the longer sailings discover Canadian islands, reminiscent of Decrease Savage, with alternatives to identify polar bears. These voyages permit passengers to study Inuit tradition by visiting native sights just like the Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum, with its spectacular assortment of native and regional Inuit artifacts and paintings.
Associated: I did not assume I would like my 1st Arctic expedition cruise; here is what proved me improper
Antarctica
Silversea now devotes three posh expedition ships — Silver Cloud, Silver Endeavour and Silver Wind — to Antarctica from late October till late March, making it a significant regional participant. (Veteran polar vessel Silver Explorer now focuses on the South Pacific, reminiscent of Australia’s Kimberley.)
Silver Endeavour possesses a PC6 ice-class ranking, one of many business’s highest, and superior exploration expertise, together with a remotely operated underwater automobile and a distant gimbal digital camera system.
Silversea presents two types of Antarctic voyages. The quickest, dubbed Antarctica Bridge, normally run six days. Passengers skip the doubtless tough waters of the Drake Passage by flying on to King George Island (the most important of all of the South Shetland Islands) from Punta Arenas, Chile. From there, it is simply two hours by ship to the Antarctic Peninsula for instant polar gratification. Some nine-day Antarctica Bridge sailings are provided, too; in addition they bypass the Drake and supply extra Antarctic exploration time.
Antarctic cruises crusing the Drake Passage cruise round-trip from Puerto Williams, Chile, and run from 10 to 18 days. These longer, extra complete cruises can embody three days within the Falkland Islands and South Georgia Island or Elephant Island.
Associated: 6 methods to journey to Antarctica in fashion and luxurious
Mediterranean
Silversea claims the Med as its house base and plies its waters accordingly. The road delivers entry to each tiny ports and large hitters so passengers can expertise an genuine Mediterranean cruise, both in traditional or expedition fashion.
The fleet’s traditional ships are magnets for luxe-loving cruisers; the arrival of Silver Ray in 2024 means Silversea will quickly have six traditional ships and one expedition vessel within the area.
Rely on numerous itineraries and cruise lengths, with many voyages spanning 10 or 11 days. Search for extra off-the-beaten-path ports, not simply marquee cities. Ships may cease in Giardini Naxos, Sicily; Bari, Italy; Casablanca, Morocco (with cool excursions like lunch at Rick’s Cafe, from the long-lasting movie); or Collioure on the south coast of France, the place you will have an opportunity to go to medieval Carcassonne.
When Silversea ships go to glam, big-name ports, they transcend providing simply the standard shore excursions featured on different strains’ vessels — maybe, partly, as a result of many Silversea cruisers have already been to high European cities and are on the lookout for one thing extra.
In Monaco’s Monte Carlo, this luxe line supplies flightseeing over the Cote d’Azur and explorations of Dolceacqua, Italy, a superbly preserved medieval city in Liguria at France’s border. When a ship visits Livorno, Italy, passengers can go truffle-hunting, sip Tremendous Tuscan wines or embark on a S.A.L.T. (Sea and Land Style) shore tour, savoring an Italian barbecue feast with superb wine within the Tuscan hills.
Even Silversea’s expedition ships bask in Med time, though with a smaller footprint. These cruises will unfold otherwise than on traditional ships, with an emphasis on distant cities and villages.
Anticipate an expedition workforce of specialists in fields like historical past to guide lots of the outings. Passengers may interact in energetic pursuits like hikes and Zodiac rides. For instance, on a Silver Cloud cruise from Athens to Lisbon, passengers go to Tunisia and Algeria, venturing to seaside ports with Sixteenth-century mosques, outdated casbahs and Spanish fortresses.
Associated: Greatest Mediterranean cruise tricks to improve your European trip
Australia and New Zealand
Silversea dives deep into South Pacific choices, with 5 traditional ships and two expedition vessels presenting itineraries to a whopping 150 locations.
Cruises hovering round two weeks — reminiscent of these between Auckland, New Zealand, and Sydney or Melbourne in Australia — are plentiful. Many house in on New Zealand’s pristine splendors, visiting beckoning ports like Dunedin and Wellington. Ships additionally cease in Hobart, Tasmania, the place greater than a dozen excursions await passengers.
Traditional itineraries protecting extra of Australia embody a 17-day journey from Singapore to Brisbane on Silver Muse, together with ports like Cairns to view the Nice Barrier Reef or be part of a rainforest journey. In Darwin, Australia’s capital of the north, head out on the Adelaide River to search for leaping crocodiles.
Silver Muse additionally sails an interesting route between Cairns, Australia, and Auckland, visiting the Nice Barrier Reef; Noumea, New Caledonia’s capital; and distant Thriller Island in Vanuatu. Anticipate to decide on between a number of excursions from New Zealand’s Bay of Islands.
For adventuresome cruisers, Silver Cloud presents a number of expeditions between late Could and early September in Australia’s unspoiled Kimberley, primarily crusing 10 days between Darwin and Broome. This fascinating western Australia area options horizontal waterfalls (not a typo), saltwater and freshwater crocodiles, and rock artwork that probably dates again 40,000 years.
Backside line
Silversea presents an eye-popping array of each far-flung and close-to-home itineraries for conventional cruising or adventuring in utmost luxurious. Anticipate a major concentrate on Arctic and Antarctic itineraries for expedition ships, with Galapagos cruises year-round. Traditional ships supply close-to-home fall foliage, Alaska and Caribbean voyages, but additionally enterprise globally, with an emphasis on Europe from spring to fall and Asia, South America, Australia and New Zealand in our winter.
Planning a cruise? Begin with these tales: