Silver Origin: Silversea's first custom-built ship designed for sailing the Galapagos Islands

SILVERSEA ON A ROLL

As Silver Muse leaves Australia later this month after its second successful season, Silversea is gearing up for a busy year ahead. Silver Origin, the luxury line's first ship custom-built and designed for sailing in the Galapagos islands, makes its debut in July; its first two cruises are already wait-listed but it will operate seven-day itineraries year-round.

Silver Galapagos promises to be the "most elegant ship ever to sail the Galapagos" and the most environmentally conscious ship Silversea has ever built. A maximum of 100 passengers will be looked after by 90 crew – an incredibly high crew-to-guest ratio – and all accommodation is in suites with butler service. It will be equipped with eight Zodiacs and the interactive Basecamp space will host activities with the onboard expedition team.

With the addition of Silver Origin, which replaces Silver Galapagos, Silversea's expedition fleet will comprise Silver Explorer, Silver Cloud and, later this year, Silver Wind. Silver Wind will be moved from the classic fleet in August and transformed into a multi-destination expedition vessel with an ice-strengthened hull; it will set off on its first Antarctica voyage on November 11, 2020.

Meanwhile, the classic fleet also continues to grow. The 596-passenger Silver Moon, the first of two nearly identical sisters to Silver Muse, will make its maiden voyage from Trieste to Civitavecchia on August 6, 2020. Silver Moon introduces S.A.L.T. (Sea and Land Taste), a gastronomic program that encompasses foodie shore tours, destination-focused dinners in the S.A.L.T. Kitchen restaurant, cooking demonstrations and workshops in the S.A.L.T. Lab, and S.A.L.T. Bar, where local tipples will be among the array of drinks served.

Second Muse sister Silver Dawn is scheduled to make its debut in September 2021, bringing the overall classic and expeditions fleet to 10. Two more ships are on order, a new class called Evolution – meaning an evolution of Silver Spirit, Muse, Moon and Dawn.

Not much information is available about these vessels, other than that they will be built in Germany by Meyer Werft, are scheduled for 2022 and 2023 and will probably carry about 600 passengers. However, we can be sure that they will continue the Silversea tradition of elegant, understated luxury and, as Silversea's executive chairman Manfredi Lefebvre has said, will continue to push the boundaries of travel. See silversea.com

TROPICS AND EXOTICS

Oceania Cruises' six expensively refurbished boutique ships – the 1250-passenger Marina and Riviera and 684-passenger Insignia, Nautica, Regatta and Sirena – will be sailing 105 itineraries in its 2021-22 Tropics and Exotics program, 75 of them new to the line. They will call at 10 new ports, including Port Arthur in Tasmania, Whittier in Alaska and Vanuatu's Mystery Island. Cruises range from 10 to 21 days in the Caribbean, South America, the South Pacific, Africa and the Far East. Two Panama Canal voyages feature an overnight stay in Panama City, while Amazon voyages combine rainforest exploration with less-visited Caribbean islands. See oceaniacruises.com