Silversea Explores Expedition Expansion

Silversea Cruises, celebrating the 10th anniversary of its expedition division, is considering expanding to meet fast-growing demand for adventurous experiences, executives said.

The celebration is taking place on a special two-day Silver Cloud voyage from the London Tower Bridge to Dublin, Ireland. The Silver Cloud late last year was converted from one of Silversea’s traditional luxury ships to an ice-strengthened expedition vessel; it now accommodates 254 passengers but only 200 in polar regions.

Silversea Chairman Manfredi Lefebvre confirmed the line is exploring converting Silver Cloud’s sister ship, the 296-guest Silver Wind, into an adventure ship.

“It’s not a firm decision, but it’s a logical thing,” Lefrebvre said. “If you like this ship (Silver Cloud) – and the results and comments we get are very positive – it’s a natural evolution.”

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Mark Conroy, managing director-the Americas for Silversea, said the Silver Wind is due for a renovation as it approaches 20 years, so it wouldn’t be a difficult decision to add an ice hull.

Lefebvre pioneered the concept of luxury adventure cruises with the purchase of the World Discoverer, which was christened on June 3, 2008, in Monaco as the Prince Albert II; its name was later changed to the Silver Explorer.

Lefebvre also said other ways to expand and refresh the expedition fleet are under consideration. “We have several ideas – not only ships of different sizes and where to go but also the possibility to locate ships in several destinations. Many times, we just pass through. The Galapagos has a ship full-time. It’s not the only place in the world that deserves a ship full-time, or maybe half a year in one place, half a year in another place.”

Lefebvre explained how he conceived of the luxury expedition cruise product – an idea Conroy, a former competitor, admits he thought was “crazy” at the time but now realizes was a wise decision.

Lefebvre said his passion is exploring exotic places in the world. “I love to travel, and I love to go to places which are uncontaminated,” he said. “I went to the Oma Valley (in Ethiopia) and for one week, I think, I had one shower, because the hotel showers didn’t work or whatever. So as much as I am adaptable, if I can get good comfort, I prefer it, like all of us probably. Having good food, proper facilities, a comfortable cabin, and good service is better than not having it. If you have to go to see a place without it, you do it. But if you can choose, you choose better. So that was my feeling.”

He said he wanted the Silversea brand to make unique adventures possible amid comfort. “I don’t perceive luxury to be an extra bottle of Champagne. For probably most of the people who cruise with us, that’s a given. I perceive luxury as the possibility of achieving unique experiences in a very well-organized way with good support,” he said. “What we offer is not only a beautiful ship, good service, and good food, we also offer unique destinations and a unique team of experts, which helps us learn about this world.”

The executives are very bullish on the growth of the luxury adventure cruise segment, despite two dozen or so newbuilds in the works.

Conroy pointed out that all those planned ships are small and accommodate 3,000 to 3,500 total, which is fewer than the capacity handled on one contemporary mega-ship.

“The success of this business is so evident,” said CEO Roberto Martinoli. “There are experts in marketing projections that are telling us the increasing capacity will certainly more than offset the increasing demand. We are not too concerned about flattening of pricing.”

Baby Boomers are the “propelling fuel” for future Silversea capacity, said Chief Marketing Officer Barbara Muckermann. “They are not interested in jewels, cars or watches anymore. They’re shifting to spend on experiences. The other thing happening with the Boomers is, not only will they have more time, they will inherit 1.5 trillion dollars in next 10 years, so they will have money and they will have time... We’re really, really bullish about it.”