Silver Whisper

Silver Whisper seen passing Velsen Noord at the 30th of may of 2016.

Becasue of the success of the first two ships launched for Silversea Cruises in the early years of the 1990's, Silver Cloud and Silver Wind, the company decided to more than double the capacity by adding two larger ships, still based on the style of the former pair. The first of the new ships was Silver Shadow and she was followed by Silver Whisper in 2001. These ships measure 28.258 tons and their lenght is 182 meters. This makes them almost double the size of the earlier ships, but they only take 388 passengers aboard served by 295 crewmembers. The earlier ships have a capacity of 296 passengers and 185 crewmembers, so in passenger to crew ratio the new ships were still an improvement of the former pair. Silver Shadow and Silver Whisper are 24,80 meters wide and have a draft of 6 meters. The normal sailing speed is around 20 knots, a little faster then the earlier ships. They have 11 decks. Like her sisters, the hulls of these ships were built at the Visentini wharf in Viareggio, Italy and completion was done at the Mariotti wharf at Genoa. 

Silver Whisper enters the Northsea through the outer port of IJmuiden, pictured from the south pier. This was at the 8th of june of 2005.

Silver Whisper was named at Genoa in Italy by Marzia Lefebre D'Ovidio, the wife of Silversea's CEO. After her naming, the ship sailed the Mediterranean for her first cruise. Like her earlier sisters, the ship normally sails worldwide cruises, not particuarly placed in a specific region. her design has also the most important elements from the earlier ships, where the accomodations are placed forward and the public rooms aft. Also the placing of the lifeboats is done so that there are no cabinviews obstructed by them. In looks, I always say it seems that those ships are two ships sliced through the middle and made into one, as the forward part looks very different from the aft part of the ship. There are similarities to other Italian built ships also, compare those Seabourn yaughts, the  newer ships of Regent Seven Seas Cruises and the Silversea ships and you find a lot of things looking the same. 

In june of 2003, Silver Whisper was chartered to the Russian government for a while as a hotelship for the celebrations of the 300-year St.-Petersburg festivities. The charter for the ship was signed by Vladimir Putin himself. One year later, in august and september of 2004, the ship again was used as a hotelship for the Olympic Games in Athens. She was one of the most luxurious hotels in port at that moment. In 2010, the ship was updated overall and refurbished. 

As an extra for her passengers, Silversea gives option to really personalize your suite or stateroom. On the earlier ships, it was already possible to choose from nine different pillows for the bed but on Silver Whisper it became also possible to specify or you like to lie at the soft or the firm side of the matrass. Of course, those matrasses are custom made for the company too. For people with special diets, there is the possibility to meet up with the chef upon embarkation to discuss their special needs.