03 March 2009

Silversea floats out new ship

Silversea Cruises' has floated out its new ship Silver Spirit at its Italian shipyard.

The 540-passenger vessel will now undergo its final outfitting works before delivery in December.

The all-suite luxury shipwill embark on an 11-day "Holiday Spirit" maiden voyage, sailing from Barcelona to Lisbon on December 23, followed on January 3, 2010 by a 16-day "Maiden Crossing" from Lisbon to Fort Lauderdale where a formal naming ceremony will be held on January 21.

After the event, 36,000-tonne Silver Spirit will set a course for New York on a Grand Inaugural Voyage.

Then there will be a 91-day "Spirit of South America" journey covering more than 45 ports in over 20 different countries and island destinations across two continents.

The ship, the fifth in the Silversea fleet, will spend the summer in the Mediterranean and reposition to the Caribbean for autumn and winter cruises.

The companyââ¬â¢s chairman Manfredi Lefebvre said: ââ¬ÅâœThis is the dawn of a new era of luxury cruising for Silversea and the industry at large.

ââ¬ÅâœMuch planning and collaboration has gone into the design of our newborn, and it is exciting both as a company, and personally, to see Silver Spirit evolve through the final phases of her construction."

by Phil Davies