Tag Archives: Silversea Cruises

Silversea optimistic about further expansion

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The 596-passenger Silver Muse, delivered on April 3 by the Fincantieri shipyard, has eight restaurants but no main dining room.

ABOARD THE SILVER MUSE — In a news conference aboard Silversea Cruises’ first new luxury vessel in eight years, company chairman Manfredi Lefebvre d’Olvidio sounded optimistic that the 596-passenger Silver Muse would eventually be joined by one or more sister ships, to reach an eventual goal of a 12-ship fleet.

“What is a fact is that we have three options for three identical ships, at incredibly good terms,” Lefebvre said.

He said the options are for ships to be delivered in 2020, 2021 and 2023. He also said that puts Silversea in a good position, given the recent flood of ship orders that has created a backlog at shipyards.

“Now company policy is we announce things when we do them. When we say we’re going to build a ship, it’s going to happen,” Lefebvre said. He did not have any announcements about exercising the options.

The company’s next project after taking delivery of the Silver Muse is the conversion of its first ship, Silver Cloud, to do expedition cruising, including trips to Antarctica.

Lefebvre said the company has earmarked $170 million for upgrading its fleet. “If it’s necessary to do more, we’ll do more. If it’s not necessary, we will not. But we have a goal. We will proceed immediately with the Cloud. Hopefully another ship will be announced soon to have a massive refurbishment and renovation,” he said.

The 596-passenger Muse, delivered on April 3 by the Fincantieri shipyard, has eight restaurants but no main dining room.

“This ship for us sets a new standard. And, of course, it gives me the problem now that I will have to invest more money in the rest of the fleet,” Lefebvre said.

Silversea plans a global brand campaign starting this summer, related to some product announcements, chief marketing officer Barbara Muckermann said.

Muckermann told a group of agents on the ship in a presentation that Silversea’s target market are baby boomers, and that most of the millennial generation has yet to build the wealth needed to cruise on Silversea.

Lefebvre said that travel agents will play a key role in Silversea’s eventual growth to 12 ships, telling them,”If you help me fill this ship, I will build three more of these.”

Ranking cruise lines’ Rio efforts

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Norwegian Getaway in Rio
Three cruise companies made the Rio Olympic Games part of their 2016 strategy, so in the spirit of the competition, it seems only fitting to award them medals for their efforts.

Bronze

Royal Caribbean International is using the Rio games to revive its “Come Seek” TV advertising, which debuted last fall. The choice associates Royal with the international flavor of the Olympics, plus links it with popular athletes such as Michael Phelps and Simone Biles.

Advertisers like Royal spent $1.2 billion on the Olympics, but so far television ratings are down 15.5% from the 2012 games in London, averaging 27.9 million viewers through the first nine nights.

Still, I thought one video was particularly effective. Titled “We Play Games Too,” it shows an aquatic performer on one of Royal’s Oasis-class ships doing a handstand on a diving platform before plunging into what seems like a pool the size of a postage stamp. The ad effectively showcases something that none of Royal’s competitors can duplicate.

Silver

Silversea Cruises, aptly enough, wins the silver for chartering the Silver Cloud as a floating hotel for the U.S. men’s and women’s basketball teams. The charter earned Silversea a boatload of free publicity, including a front-page article in the New York Times.

Sports channels and outlets also picked up on an extended monologue by USA team coach Mike Krzyzewski about staying on the ship, although Chicago Bulls star Jimmy Butler could have shown a little more enthusiasm.

“I just do what I’m told,” Butler said. “I’m told to sleep on a boat, so I sleep on a boat.”

Gold

While Silversea hosted athletes, Norwegian Cruise Line chartered its Norwegian Getaway for use by sports bureaucrats, including members of the International Olympic Federation, the National Organizing Committees, the Rio Host Committee as well as corporate sponsors.

While not as productive on the publicity front, it gave high-ranking influencers from dozens of countries exposure to a cruise ship, and Norwegian in particular, that they might not otherwise have.

Norwegian gained another backhanded benefit. By chartering the Getaway, it removed the 4,000-passenger ship for 40 days from the Miami/Caribbean market, which “helped alleviate some of the pricing pressure” caused by having two big ships in the Miami market during the summer, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings CEO Frank del Rio said.

Norwegian couldn’t have anticipated that effect when it started charter plans for the Rio games nine years ago, but good luck often plays a role in Olympic wins, as it did for Norwegian here.

Silversea spending $170 million on fleet upgrade

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Silversea Cruises said it has budgeted $170 million for refurbishment of its current fleet. The luxury line said it will be the largest modernization program in its history.

The first three ships to benefit from the program will be the Silver Wind, Silver Whisper and Silver Discoverer.

The Silver Wind will get new furniture and furnishings in a drydock scheduled for October, as well as a new interactive TV and on demand movies system. The La Terrazza and Main restaurants will get new flooring, and the pool deck will get a new teak surface.

The Silver Discoverer, an expedition-style ship, will also be renovated in October. The Restaurant will be lighter and more contemporary, the pool grill will get new furniture, and the Discoverer Lounge will be transformed from a breakfast venue to a relaxation area. It will get new AV technology and furniture as well.

The Silver Whisper will get upgrades in time for its world cruise in 2017. Suites will be refurbished and the bathrooms adorned with dark emperor marble flooring. The pool will receive fresh tile and new chaise lounges.

Dining areas at the Restaurant and La Terrazza will be re-skinned with new carpet and parquet, respectively, and each will receive new furniture.

The Silver Whisper’s communications hub is scheduled for a major overhaul with the addition of two satellite antennas, vastly improving Internet speeds and enabling guests to take full advantage of the new, interactive TVs and on-demand movies available in every suite.

Silversea said details of other refurbishments would be announced later.