The Luxury Expedition Cruise. It’s quickly becoming the river cruising of the deep-ocean cruising world. Much like “glamping” redefined the idea of “camping, ” luxury expedition cruises still offer all the adventure and knowledge of their predecessors, but they do it in much better surroundings.
Aside from Hamburg-based Hapag-Lloyd Cruises – which traditionally catered to a primarily German-speaking clientele – luxury line Silversea was one of the first cruise operators to pioneer the concept of the luxury expedition cruise.
In fact, the “traditional” expedition looked a lot like this. Behold: the nuclear-powered Russian icebreaker, 50 Years of Victory.
Traditionally, most expedition cruises were conducted aboard ex-Russian icebreakers, like the nuclear-powered 50 Years of Victory. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia / Creative CommonsNow, 50 Years of Victory is pretty cool. It’s nuclear powered. It can sail right to the North Pole. But for the price of admission, this is the level of accommodations you’re treated to – if you splurge for a suite:
The “Suite Life” aboard 50 Years of Victory. Author collection.Cozy, innit?
Also consider this: 50 Years of Victory is pretty much the crème-de-la-crème of traditional expedition ships, because most aren’t nuclear powered, and most can’t go to the actual North Pole. What I’m driving at here is that your average expedition ship is actually a downgrade from this high standard.
So, along comes Silversea in 2007. The company purchased a small, purpose-built expedition ship that started life out back in 1989 as the Delfin Clipper. Fast-forward through six name changes and Delfin Clipper had become World Adventurer by the time Silversea purchased her and spent millions of dollars refitting her in order to turn out its very first luxury expedition ship, Prince Albert II.
Small Silver Explorer in Antarctica. @ 2013 Ralph GrizzleSilversea renamed the vessel in early 2011 in order to bring her in line with the naming conventions for the rest of the fleet. They bestowed the name Silver Explorer on her; fitting, considering that the ship would spend most of her year traversing the globe from one polar region to the next.
Of course, there was much skepticism surrounding this decision – mostly from unsure potential guests and other cruise lines. Luxury cruisers, it was reasoned, didn’t want to get into Zodiac rafts at seven in the morning. Luxury cruisers wanted something sedate and pampering. Luxury cruisers wouldn’t take to the product. And so on.
Before long, demand was so great for the line’s Silversea Expeditions product that Silversea expanded its fleet, adding Silver Discovererin the Pacific; and Silver Galapagosto operate in Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands – one of the most highly-regulated, difficult to operate in regions of the world.
It was great to return to Silver Explorer last month to see how she’s making out as she celebrates her seventh anniversary with Silversea. People often don’t realize that an expedition ship has to be designed much differently from one of the line’s classic luxury ships: You’ve got guests traipsing around in your corridors wearing heavy-traction rubber boots. They’re carrying backpacks and walking sticks, cameras and stainless-steel waterbottles, binoculars and who knows what else. So every decision you make, from your wall treatments to your carpeting, has to be designed with wear in mind.
Love smoking or hate it, there’s no denying that the adjacent Connoisseur’s Club is one heck of a popular place. It gives smokers an indoor space to enjoy a fine cigar and a scotch, while the scent is kept inside the room thanks to a set of glass doors that allow access but are never propped open.
Moving forward and up one deck, the Observation Lounge is a cozy spot to sit and read during the daytime (or, let’s face it – nap), and a small continental breakfast is served up here each morning, with coffee, juice, and an assortment of pastries.
No matter which suite category you choose, you’re treated to full butler service – just as if you were onboard Silver Spirit. Bulgari Green toiletries are provided in most suites, with Bulgari White provided in the Grand and Owner’s suites. But, this is Silversea: You can also have the Bulgari swapped out for toiletries by Salvatore Ferragamo, or choose a hypo-allergenic brand.