Silversea Cruises is a luxury cruise line
A cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships that operate on ocean or rivers and which markets cruises to the public. Cruise lines are distinct from passenger lines which are primarily concerned with transportation of passengers. Though ...
headquartered in Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
. Founded in 1994 by the Vlasov Group of Monaco and the Lefebvre family of Rome, it pioneered all-inclusive cruising with its first ship, ''Silver Cloud''. Since July 2020, it has been owned by Royal Caribbean Group
Royal Caribbean Group, formerly known as Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., is a global cruise holding company incorporated in Liberia and based in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the world's second-largest cruise line operator, after Carnival ...
.
History
Silversea was founded in 1994 by a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
between
V-Ships
V.Ships is a ship management company, part of V.Group Holdings Limited which is registered in Monaco but headquartered in London, England; and has over 60 offices in 30 different countries. Its 51% majority shares are owned by the American equ ...
(previously known as Vlasov Group) of Monaco and
Antonio Lefebvre d'Ovidio of Rome. The joint owners had previously been the co-owners of
Sitmar Cruises
Sitmar Cruises and its predecessor Sitmar Line were company names derived from the acronym for the Società Italiana Trasporti Marittimi ( en, Italian Maritime Transport Company). SITMAR originally was an Italian shipping line founded by Russian ...
.
As a marketing strategy the new line introduced all-inclusive fares including gratuities, beverages, port charges, travel insurance, and some complimentary shore excursions.
As about 80 percent of Silversea's customers were expected to come from North America, the line established a sales office in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
.
Silversea's first ship, , which entered service in April 1994, was followed in January 1995 by a
sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
, .
![Silver Cloud-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Silver_Cloud-1.jpg)
In September 2000, the line launched and in January 2001. Both of these ships were enlarged versions of the original two ships, carrying about 100 more passengers. In December 2009, Silversea launched .
On 18 June 2012, Silversea acquired Canodros S.A., an Ecuadorian tourism company that operated in the
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands (Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuador ...
. The purchase of the line also included the former Renaissance ship ''Galapagos Explorer II''. She was subsequently moved into the "Silversea Expeditions" brand along with ''Silver Explorer''. ''Silver Galapagos'' entered service in September 2013.
On 24 July 2013, ''CNN'' aired a report of a Silversea cruise ship, ''Silver Shadow'' failing a
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...
(CDC) inspection by hiding trolleys of food in crew cabins.
On 10 September 2013, Silversea Cruises confirmed that it would be adding a third vessel to the "Silversea Expeditions" brand, ''Silver Discoverer'', formerly sailing as for Zegrahm Expeditions. ''Silver Discoverer'' was christened in Singapore in March 2014 and set sail on her inaugural voyage along Australia's
Kimberley Coast
Kimberley coastline (Western Australia) is a coastal region at the ocean edges of the Kimberley land region in the northern part of Western Australia.
It commences at the border with Northern Territory and ends at Wallal where the Pilbara Co ...
on 2 April 2014.
Fincantieri
Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (2014 ...
delivered the fleet's ninth ship, ''Silver Muse'' to Silversea Cruises on 2 April 2017, at its
Sestri Ponente
Sestri Ponente is an industrial suburb of Genoa in northwest Italy. It is part of the Medio Ponente ''municipio'' of Genoa.
Geography
It is situated on the Ligurian Sea four miles to the west of the city, between Pegli and Cornigliano. Its pop ...
shipyard. ''Silver Muse''s debut cruise set sail on 10 April 2017, in the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
. That same year, Silversea announced an order for ''Silver Moon'', a sister ship to ''Silver Muse'', to be built by Fincantieri and delivered in 2020. In May 2018, Silversea announced an order for ''Silver Dawn'', another sister ship of ''Silver Muse'', to be delivered by Fincantieri in 2021.
Acquired by Royal Caribbean
On 14 June 2018,
Royal Caribbean purchased a majority stake in Silversea for approximately $1 billion from
Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio
Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio (born 30 April 1953) is an Italian-born Monegasque billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and former owner of Silversea Cruises, a company founded by his father. In June 2018, he sold two-thirds of the company t ...
, son of cofounder
Antonio Lefebvre d'Ovidio, and who had become the sole owner of the cruise line. Following the announcement, Silversea ordered three new ships: two Evolution-class vessels to be built by
Meyer Werft
Meyer Werft is one of the major German shipyards, headquartered in Papenburg at the river Ems. Founded in 1795 and starting with small wooden vessels, today Meyer Werft is a builder of luxury passenger ships. 700 ships of different types have be ...
to be delivered beginning 2022 and one expedition vessel from Shipyard De Hoop to be delivered in March 2020.
In July 2020, Royal Caribbean Group acquired the remaining shares of Silversea from Heritage Cruise Holding in exchange for 5.2 million shares of Royal Caribbean Group stock.
On 14 June 2022, early reports came out that Silversea was very interested in purchasing the ''
Crystal Endeavor
''Silver Endeavour'' (formerly ''Crystal Endeavor'') is a cruise ship operated by Silversea Cruises. Originally built for Crystal Cruises by MV Werften in Stralsund, Germany, she was laid down in 2018 and completed in June 2021. She is the worl ...
'' from the defunct
Crystal Cruises
}
Crystal Cruises is a cruise line now headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois, USA. It was founded in 1988 by Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha, and sold to Hong Kong-headquartered conglomerate Genting Hong Kong in 2015. Following in ...
brand, with records of the trademarked name ''Silver Endeavor'' being filled. However, it was further reported on June 28, that both The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection and the former owners of Silversea, ''Heritage Cruise Holding'' (who recently purchased the two Crystal ships and the entire brand) were still interested in purchasing the vessel as well. Silversea’s purchase was confirmed in July 2022, with a purchase price of $275 million, and the ship being renamed ''Silver Endeavor''.
Fleet
Current fleet
Future ships
Former ships
See also
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Sitmar Cruises
Sitmar Cruises and its predecessor Sitmar Line were company names derived from the acronym for the Società Italiana Trasporti Marittimi ( en, Italian Maritime Transport Company). SITMAR originally was an Italian shipping line founded by Russian ...
*
Oceania Cruises
Oceania Cruises is a cruise line based in Miami, Florida, that operates six cruise ships on worldwide itineraries. It typically offers cruises that last between 10 and 14 days, but is also known for its long cruises lasting up to 195 days. The ...
*
Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Regent Seven Seas Cruises (RSSC), formerly known as Radisson Seven Seas Cruises, is a luxury cruise line headquartered in Miami, Florida.
Since September 2014, Regent Seven Seas Cruises has been a wholly owned subsidiary owned of Norwegian Cruise ...
*
Seabourn Cruise Line
Seabourn Cruise Line is a cruise line headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is owned by Carnival Corporation & plc.
History
Seabourn Cruise Line was founded in 1986 under the name "Signet Cruise Lines" by the Norwegian private investor and ...
References
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External links
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{{Subsidiaries of Royal Caribbean Group
Cruise lines
Transport companies established in 1994
Brands of Monaco
1994 establishments in Europe
2020 mergers and acquisitions