Luxury cruise line Silversea Cruises has announced its 2012 season. The line's six ships will sail more than 200 voyages detailed in day-by-day itineraries, including the line's 115-day world cruise aboard Silver Whisper. The itineraries include visits to 450 places in more than 100 countries and all seven continents. Featured destinations include the Chilean fjords, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Riveria and St. Petersburg.
The line will visit eight new places this season, including Spain's Santander, Porto Novo in Cape Verge and Larnaca in Cyprus. Also joining the line's collection are Kuwait City, Kuwait; Cambodia's Sihanoukville; Christiansted in St. Croix; and Ireland's Foynes and Killybegs.
"Our 2012 schedule has been carefully designed to offer a broad range of travel choices, including multiple-day calls and overnight stays showcasing traditional must-see destinations, as well as journeys to remote regions that are inaccessible to mega-ships," said Steve Tucker, Silversea's vice president of field sales for North America.
World Cruise 2012
Embarking January 6 from Fort Lauderdale, Silver Whisper's 115-day World Cruise will head toward Monte Carlo. Visiting 45 ports in 27 countries, the ship will tour the Caribbean, South America and Africa, as well as the Far East, Arabia and Europe, including 13 overnight visits and exclusive, in-depth access.
Silver Cloud
Accommodating 296 guests, Silver Cloud will take in the eastern Caribbean over seven-, nine- and 10-day trips. Following, the ship will tour Bermuda and then northern Europe from May through August, including the North Cape and Russia's far-flung Archangel region. Then, the ship will head toward the Mediterranean for a series of predominantly nine-day voyages in the fall until November, when it will cross the Atlantic and cruise through the Amazon before tracting the eastern coast of South Africa to finish at the "end of the world" in Chile.
Silver Wind
Starting the new year, also accommodating 296 guests, Silver Wind will sail from Mauritius to South Africa. Following a series of 10-day roundtrip sailings from Cape Town, the ship will head north along Africa's west coast. Throughout the summer, Silver Wind will mainly feature seven- and nine-day trips through the Mediterranean from Barcelona to the Black Sea. In the fall, she will cruise Egypt, the Holy Land and Arabia. Afterward, she will cross to India to finish up the year in the Indian Ocean, in Madagascar and Reunion Island.
Silver Shadow
With room for 382 guests, Silver Shadow will span the globe, spending summer in Alaska, winter in Australia and New Zealand, and spring and fall in the Far East. We like the 19-day voyage from Auckland to Fremantle. Cruising Asia, you can check out China, South Korea and Japan, or take your time getting to know Vietnam. Mostly seven-day trips tour Alaska's Seward and Vancouver. During the holidays, visit Bali and wrap up the year from within the cool, blue waters of the Grand Barrier Reef.
Silver Whisper
On Silversea's World Cruise, Silver Whisper will take up to 382 guests to Brazil before South Africa and the Indian Ocean. Then, she will head into the South China Sea before traveling toward the Arabian Sea and Egypt. During summer, the tour of northern Europe will include a series of seven-night voyages featuring St. Petersburg, following by the ship's arrival farther west for Canada's fall foliage. Closing out the year, Silver Whisper will head into the Panama Canal and finally the Caribbean for 2012's conclusion.
Silver Spirit
With accommodations for 540 guests, Silver Spirit will embark on a 64-day tour of South America at the top of the year, with a crossing of the Panama Canal and three days in Rio de Janeiro during Carnaval. Following a tour of the Caribbean, the ship will cross the Atlantic and then stay overnight in Monte Carlo in May for the Grand Prix. During the summer, featured among the Mediterranean destinations will be Greece, before Silver Spirit heads back to the Caribbean.
Prince Albert II
Aboard the 132-guest Prince Albert II, passengers will have a series of cruises to Antarctica, the Falkland Islands and south Georgia to choose from. In March and April, the ship will sail through Central America. During the spring and the summer, the western coast of Africa will be explored, as well as Britain's northern isles, the Arctic's Svalbard and Russia's isolated Franz Joseph Land. Three voyages will visit west Africa, before the ship goes back to Antarctica, mid-November.
Visit www.silversea.com.