Silversea Cruises is a privately owned luxury cruise line with its headquarters in Monaco. Founded in 1994, it pioneered all-inclusive cruising with its first ship, Silver Cloud.
Silversea's co-founders, owners and operators are the Lefebvre family of Rome, Italy. As of early 2014, the company had eight boutique cruise ships, each of which carries only 100 to 540 passengers. In spring 2017, Silversea added the slightly larger (596 passenger) Silver Muse, for a total of nine all-suite ships.
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History
Silversea was founded in 1994 by a joint venture made up of V-Ships (previously known as Vlasov Group) of Monaco and the Lefebvre family of Rome. The joint owners had previously been the co-owners of Sitmar Cruises. Silversea's business model was to operate ships in the small, all-suite, ultra-luxury category. According to John Bland, Silversea's President in 1993-94:
The new line's all inclusive fares included such features as gratuities (none were allowed), beverages (including selected wines at lunch and dinner), port charges, travel insurance, and one or more complimentary shore events in every itinerary. As about 80 percent of Silversea's customers were expected to come from North America, the line established its 25-person marketing office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Silversea's first ship, Silver Cloud, which entered service in April 1994, was followed in January 1995 by a sister ship, the Silver Wind.
In September 2000, the line launched Silver Shadow and Silver Whisper in January 2001. Both of these ships were enlarged versions of the original two ships, but carrying about 100 more passengers. In December 2009, Silversea launched the Silver Spirit.
The Prince Albert II has since been renamed the Silver Explorer to align the names under the Silver theme.
It was announced on June 18, 2012, that Silversea acquired Canodros S.A., the premier Ecuadorian tourism company that operates in the Galapagos Islands. The purchase of the line also included the former Renaissance ship the Galapagos Explorer II. The vessel will continue on its planned schedule of cruises and will continue to be operated by Canodros, which is based in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Canodros will also continue handling reservations for Galapagos Explorer II, as well as sales and marketing through its established network of travel companies and tour operators. She will be moved into the Silversea Expeditions brand along with the Silver Explorer. The Silver Galapagos entered service in September 2013.
On July 24, 2013, CNN aired a report of a Silversea cruiseship, Silver Shadow failing a CDC inspection by hiding trolleys of food in crew cabins.
On September 10, 2013, Silversea Cruises confirmed that it would be adding a third vessel to the Silversea Expeditions brand, the Silver Discoverer, formerly sailing as the Clipper Odyssey for Zegrahm Expeditions. Silver Discoverer was christened in Singapore in March 2014 and set sail on her inaugural voyage along Australia's Kimberley Coast on April 2, 2014.
Fincantieri delivered the fleet's ninth ship, Silver Muse, to Silversea Cruises on April 2, 2017, at its Sestri Ponente shipyard. Silver Muse's debut cruise set sail on April 10, 2017, in the Mediterranean.
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Main fleet
Expeditions fleet
Awards
Recent Travel awards include
- "Best Cruise Line for Romance" 2015 by U.S. News & World Report
- "Best Small Luxury Cruise Line" 2014 by The Daily Telegraph Ultratravel 100 Awards
- "Top 5 Small Ships" 2014 by Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships (Silver Spirit, Silver Whisper, Silver Shadow)
- Among "The 120 Most Trusted Brands" 2014 by Entrepreneur Magazine
Personalized Voyages program
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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