Silversea Cruises is a luxury cruise line with its headquarters in Monaco owned by Royal Caribbean Group. 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. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd acquired a 67% controlling stake in June 2018, and subsequently took full ownership of Silversea in July 2020.
History
Silversea was founded in 1994 by a joint venture between V-Ships of Monaco and the Lefebvre family of Rome. The joint owners had previously been the co-owners of Sitmar Cruises. 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, Florida. Silversea's first ship,, which entered service in April 1994, was followed in January 1995 by a sister ship,. In September 2000, the line launched and in January 2001. Both of these ships were enlarged versions of the original two ships, but 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 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 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 on 2 April 2014. Fincantieri delivered the fleet's ninth ship, Silver Muse to Silversea Cruises on 2 April 2017, at its Sestri Ponente shipyard. Silver Muses debut cruise set sail on 10 April 2017, in the Mediterranean Sea. 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. On 14 June 2018, Royal Caribbean Group] purchased a majority stake in Silversea for approximately $1 billion. Following the announcement, Silversea ordered three new ships: two Evolution-class vessels to be built by Meyer Werft to be delivered beginning 2022 and one expedition vessel from Shipyard De Hoop to be delivered in March 2020. Silver Whisper is scheduled to take a 140-day world cruise in 2020. The ship departed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida on 6 January 2020. After visiting 62 ports in 32 countries, Silver Whisper is scheduled stop in Amsterdam, Netherlands on 25 May. On 15 March 2020, Silversea Cruises ship Silver Shadow was blocked from disembarking its 608 passengers and crew at the port of Recife in Brazil, as a 78-year-old Canadian aboard had been suspected of having COVID-19. Two passengers were later medically disembarked, and one of them tested positive for COVID-19. 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.
