Silver Dawn will commence official itineraries from 1 April following its “shake down” cruise around Portugal, covering the Mediterranean before heading to the Caribbean in December.

Trade partners have been invited on board to experience the 10th ship in the fleet, where the line’s president and chief executive Roberto Martinoli thanked travel advisors for their support.

“We’re very proud to have had the support of the trade and to have been able to support them, whether protecting and paying commissions, even on cancellations, or being able to help with loans thanks to the support we ourselves have had from Royal Caribbean Group – for us, it was a privilege to be able to offer complete peace of mind and flexibility to advisors and customers,” Martinoli said.

Almost 100 agents were invited to experience the ship, many of whom had not had chance to experience Silversea for several years, and some who were on board one of the line’s ships for the first time, said UK and Ireland managing director Peter Shanks.

"With the amount of refurbishments and new ships over the last few years, Silversea is almost like a new product now, so it was great to bring so many agents on board Silver Dawn to really bring to life what we are doing, especially since this ship is the first to really have the full realisation of both Otivm and S.A.L.T," he added.

The ship – which has 596 guests and 411 crew – is the last of the three “Muse class” ships but the first to debut the new wellness concept from Silversea – Otivm, designed as the line’s “unique take on spa and wellness”, according to chief commercial officer Barbara Muckermann.

This includes a reconfigured spa layout, new treatments and a drive to “extend the spa experience into the suite”, Muckermann said during the cruise, with bathing, comfort food dining, sleep and balcony experiences also available for the first time under the Otivm concept.

“Silver Dawn’s reimagined spa offers guests unprecedented comfort—enhanced with Roman-inspired art pieces, elegant furnishings, and a curated Otivm treatment menu,” Muckermann said. “The Otivm wellness journey has been designed to pamper our guests like never before.”

Muckermann also thanked agents for their continued support, saying Silversea had seen some “record breaking days” of late, while urging the trade to continue talking to clients to get them to commit early to travel plans.

“Prices will go up closer to departure,” she said. “Inclusivity is one of the biggest elements to be able to share with them now, and the benefits of the ‘door-to-door’ booking – including chauffeur collection from home, pre-stay hotels and private transfers to the ship and then the inclusivity on board – can make all the difference.”

Silver Wind will be back in service on 1 June following conversion to an ice-class ship and a soft refurbishment of public areas, meaning that by 22 June, all Silversea’s ships would be sailing again, Martinoli said.

He added Silversea had been “aggressive at going back into service” when Silver Moon returned to sailing in June 2021, making it the first ultra-luxury line to do so, but asserted this had been “the right decision”.

Silversea was also one of the only lines to “have managed a world cruise” during the pandemic, he said, thanks to sailings on Silver Whisper that did not involve Asia, a region he said remained “a challenge” due to operational protocols still in place.

For the first time in 2023, Silversea will also offer a pole-to-pole sailing experience, as well as starting to open up more Middle East sailings as Saudi Arabia seeks to tempt a bigger slice of the cruise market.  

Martinoli added it was “an unfortunate and very sad situation in Ukraine”.

“We continue to be affected from a cruise perspective, in St Petersburg, the Black Sea and the Russian Far East, but we are re-routing and skipping destinations, being flexible and finding ways to still give customers an even deeper experience in the places we can still cruise to,” he said.