Silversea has announced it will be building a new flagship to be launched in the spring of 2017/ She will be called The Silver Muse, a name I love. Lord knows there are enough Queens and Princesses out there cluttering up the sea lanes. The Muse will be 40,000 GRT. That, by the way, stands for Gross Registered Tons. She will hold 596 guests.
This new ship will carry 596 guests. If you compare those figures to the current flagship of the Silverseas fleet, the Silver Spirit launched in 2009 you will notice that she accommodates 540 guests at a GRT of 36,000. So you might make the case that the new ship is in general proportion to the last ship. That, of course, is saying something since offers some of the highest space categories at sea. Now let me tell you a little something about space ratios. Some of the lux ships have ratio’s in the 50’s while some of the mass market Big Berthas offer space ratios in the low twenties. That has a lot to do with price you see. If you imagine that everywhere you walk aboard ship you are surrounded by an imaginary moving box of private space you will see how having 50 sq. ft. in that box is far preferable to being in a box
The Silversea Muse is being built by the Italian yard, Fincantieri under a team led by Guiseppe Bono (no relation). Each yard that builds ships has its plusses and minuses and Fincantieri has earned an enviable reputation for modernity and functional design. They build beautiful ships – let’s call them the Ferrari of shipbuilders. Sitmar has been owned from the beginning by the Lefebvre family based in Monte Carlo. There are rumors, from time to time, that Silversea is for sale. I believe I may have helped spread some of those rumors. But if you look back, you will see that this family-owned line is still independent. In fact, the current Chairman, Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio, recalls that his father, highly respected in the industry, ordered his first ships from the Fincantieri yard for Sitmar Cruises all the way back in 1887. That was the year I had just started to properly break in my moustache, as I recall. Competitors Seabourn and Regent Seven Seas are owned by cruise conglomerates Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Lines, respectively. Silverseas is the independent in the race for luxury supremacy. The Muse will be competing for glory against the new Regent Explorer and two new ships from Seabourn. The consumer will be the clear beneficiary of this race to be crowned the Luxury Leader.
I am rather fond of great offers on great ships.But I will reveal a little secret here before a tell you about a “Real Deal”. All of the top travel consultants get exactly the same prices. The industry couldn’t function if that were not the case. But go online and read the discount drivel and you would think that these little companies with a 800 number and the big Coke cruise dispensers have been given a special gift from the cruise gods. No, sorry, it only works that way for those foolish enough to believe it. And they won’t be reading this anyway.
Do check out Seabourn’s special pricing offer on their 18-Day Jewels of Arabia and India itinerary departing November 18th this year. Operating between Dubai and Singapore, the exotic list of ports includes Mumbai, Mangalore,Cochin, Muscat, Phuket, and Abu Dhabi. There are lower category window cabins that have sold for $4,999 per person. This is what we call “Bad News Bears” Pricing. When CNN is reporting awful manners among nations in the area, the drops suddenly because the travel bears go into hibernation. You should be watching the BBC anyway.
