Silver Linings on Silversea's Muse

Silversea Cruises’ new flagship, the “Simply Divine” Silver Muse, exudes luxury in an understated, quietly elegant way. In fact, Silversea Chief Marketing Officer Barbara Muckermann described the ship as “whispering luxury.”

That’s why Silversea devotees will love the Silver Muse: It offers attentive and personalized service, a wide choice of restaurants and cuisines, a sumptuous spa, and luxe furnishings and fabrics.

“The Silversea ships have always been elegant, but they have also been understated,” said Mark Conroy, Silversea’s managing director of the Americas. “The Silver Muse is an evolution of that philosophy with an updated color palette” of silvers, grays and beiges.

The 596-guest, 40,700-ton Silver Muse also is an evolution of the Silver Spirit, which entered service in 2009 at 36,000 gross tons with a capacity for ‎540 guests.

Here’s a summary of its features and amenities:

Fanciest and Most Common Accommodations

Silver Muse has four Owner’s Suites. The Balsorano Suite reflects the tastes of Silversea Chairman Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio. In fact, there is an oil painting of him at the entrance to the suite. It includes some of Lefebvre’s personal items, such as books, sculpture, art, family photographs and vintage ports.

The one-bedroom Owner’s Suites measure 947 to 1,005 square feet and include a large teak deck, separate dining area and living room, along with a marble bathroom, double vanity and full-size tub. They can be connected to a second suite for a two-bedroom accommodation measuring 1,281 to 1,389 square feet.

The top 10 suites—including Owner’s, Grand and Royal—have bespoke Savoir beds made in Wales of top-quality natural materials, including lambswool.

The popular Silver Suites measure 786 square feet or 1,119 when combined with a second to create a two-bedroom suite.

Most common are the Veranda Suites—categorized as Deluxe, Superior and Classic, depending on location—which measure 387 square feet. All accommodations feature a marble bathroom with a tub and separate shower, a walk-in wardrobe with safe, two 42-inch flat-screen HD TVs, Bulgari bath amenities, Pratesi bed linens and a pillow menu.

What’s Included

The Silver Muse is all-inclusive, with fares that include beverages, gratuities, at least one hour of Wi-Fi per day, butler service, 24-hour room service, in-suite bar setup and complimentary transportation into town in most ports. Guests pay extra for shore excursions, and spa and salon services ($149 for a basic 50-minute massage, including tip).

Two restaurants have a $60 cover charge—the formal La Dame by Relais & Châteaux and the Japanese Kaiseki—although guests in the Owner’s, Grand and Royal Suites receive a complimentary dinner for two in La Dame.

What’s for Dinner? 

With no less than eight restaurants, there’s always something guests will find appealing. Culinary Director Rudi Scholdis said his goal is to serve as much locally sourced food as possible with a focus on the world’s finest ingredients, such as truffles from Alba, Italy, and milk-fed veal from Holland.

The options are as follows: seafood and steaks at Atlantide; Asian fusion at Indochine; teppanyaki and sushi at Kaiseki; freshly made pizza poolside at Spaccanapoli; the tapas restaurant with a jazzy vibe at Silver Note; grill-your-own steak and seafood at the pool deck’s The Grill; the informal Italian eatery La Terrazza; and the very fancy French gourmet restaurant, La Dame.

Also, the Arts Café features takeaway snacks amid paintings and sculptures.

Reservations are required for Atlantide, Kaiseki and La Dame but are also recommended for the rest. Formal attire is requested at Atlantide and La Dame. The rest are informal, while The Grill is casual.

Who Goes on This Ship? 

Silversea is targeting baby boomers, who have the time and money for an ultra-luxury cruise vacation. Ideal prospects are 60-plus, well educated and well traveled.

“The lowest hanging fruit,” said Conroy, “are guests who have experienced a luxury cruise, guests who travel in upper-category staterooms and suites on premium and contemporary ships, and guests who have taken a river cruise and are interested in going back to blue water since our ship mirrors many of the aspects of a river cruise—no lines, good food, dock downtown, being one of few versus one of many.”

Key Selling Point

Conroy recommends a pricing comparison to the cost of a suite on a premium line.

“It is not what the cruise costs, it is what you pay in total, including onboard spend and again, being one of few versus one of many,” he said.

“The guests get a luxury cruise for a price close to what they would spend in total for a similar size suite on a premium or contemporary ship, including onboard spending. The agent can make almost twice as much commission because of our inclusive nature and very low NCFs. Since we have at any given time about 50 percent of our repeaters onboard, the agent is highly likely to secure future bookings on Silversea for this guest.”