Silversea Cruises, a pioneer in many milestones, has celebrated the first-ever christening of an ultra-luxury cruise ship in Antarctica with a truly white and unprecedented party to inaugurate the Silver Endeavour, the eleventh ship in its fleet. This is the cruise company's third christening ceremony in just nine months.
Article from CruisesNews magazine no. 63 – December 2022
The Silver Endeavour is the first ship to be christened in the Lemaire Channel, located off the Antarctic Peninsula. Following a highly respected maritime tradition, the godmother blessed the Silver Endeavour for good luck, cutting the ribbon alongside Captain Niklas Peterstam on one of the ship's outer decks so that a bottle sculpted from ice could be smashed against the hull. Guests were able to watch the ceremony from Zodiacs floating around the ship in a setting of unparalleled beauty.
In October of this year, Silversea named polar explorer and climate scientist Felicity Aston as godmother of the Silver Endeavour. Aston was the first woman to ski solo across Antarctica in 2012 and, in fact, the first person to cross the continent on her own and without any vehicle.
It boasts the most advanced services, with the highest ratio of zodiacs per guest, kayaks and state-of-the-art navigation and exploration technology, including a remote camera system that can capture high-quality images from 5 km away.
Silversea Expeditions took delivery of the luxury expedition ship Silver Endeavour four months ago, after acquiring it following the bankruptcy of Crystal Cruises. The ship was practically new, just over a year old, but Silversea has nonetheless renovated the suites to better reflect the brand's identity. The name is a nod to Captain Cook's HMS Endeavour, the British Royal Navy navigator, explorer, cartographer, and captain.
The Silver Endeavour is a beautiful ship inside and out, and a wonderful vessel for traveling to Antarctica. It is classified as a Polar Ice Class 6 vessel, designed to traverse ice floes up to a meter thick, and features azipod propulsion units, which make it even smoother as these encapsulated propellers tend to reduce vibration and noise compared to ships driven by traditional shaft-mounted propellers. It also has a dynamic positioning system, allowing it to maintain a position without dropping anchor and by rotating on its own axis.
It boasts state-of-the-art amenities, including the highest ratio of Zodiacs to guests, kayaks, and cutting-edge navigation and exploration technology, such as a remote camera system capable of capturing high-quality images from up to 5 km away. It maintains Silversea's signature comfort level, with a 1:1 crew-to-guest ratio and all the cruise line's hallmarks of luxury, including butler service for every suite.
For the Antarctic season, Silversea has chosen Puerto Williams as its home port instead of Ushuaia, which was becoming too popular. Silversea has invested significant time and money in Puerto Williams and is the first cruise line to commercially utilize the pier, which is owned by the Chilean Navy. Furthermore, Silversea has an exclusive agreement with DAP Antarctic Airways, meaning they are the only airline chartering these aircraft on this route. Passengers on the Silver Cloud and Silver Wind will depart from a private terminal at Santiago Airport on DAP Antarctic Airways flights to Puerto Williams, where they will transfer directly to the ship. Silversea is working with local authorities to expand the pier, and there are also plans to construct a small passenger terminal.
The ship is part of Silversea's "Antarctic Bridge" program, which allows passengers to bypass the Drake Passage by flying directly from Punta Arenas to King George Island.
It maintains Silversea's characteristic level of comfort, with a crew-to-guest ratio of 1.1 and all the cruise line's signature luxury features, including butler service for every suite.
This air bridge eliminates four days of travel across the Drake Passage and means that passengers with limited time can experience Antarctica in just five or six days.
The ship is scheduled to enter dry dock next spring to complete its refurbishment, which will remove areas designated by Crystal Cruises for the helipad, casino, medical center, and other facilities. There is still considerable work planned to transform it into the luxurious polar expedition ship that Silversea envisions.
Silversea Cruises recently unveiled 27 new voyages for the ship, calling at more than 125 of the world's most remote destinations between summer 2024 and winter 2024/2025. With a diverse range of departures, itineraries, and voyage lengths, from 6 to 21 days, the new voyages include four new British Isles and Iceland cruises, nine additional Arctic voyages, and 14 Antarctic voyages.
