Silverseas to probably add a cruise ship to Tahiti in 2009

[canadagal]

Well, it's nice to see that Silverseas will be basing a ship out of Tahiti.......more competition is good for the consumer.

Pat

 

17/12/2007 à 17:41

Silver Dawn is potentially 4th Papeete-based cruise ship in 2009

 

(Tahitipresse) - The Temaru government and the Monaco-based Silversea Cruises have signed a letter of mutual commitment intent that could end up adding a 132-passenger cruise ship to a Papeete-based fleet of three ships in 2009.

 

 

The fourth vessel would be the Silver Dawn, which is the former expedition ship World Discoverer purchased by the Silversea Cruises Group Ltd. in September. The ship is in Singapore and is due to undergo a multi-million dollar refurbishment before it begins service next spring, according to Silversea Cruises.

 

The Silver Dawn is being prepared to offer very up market cruises the equivalent of five- and six-star voyages, French Polynesia Tourism Minister Marc Collins said Sunday evening after having signed the letter of intent.

 

Amerigo Perasso, president of Silversea Cruises, who also signed the letter, already runs a fleet of four ships that operate a variety of cruises throughout the world. They are the 296-passenger Silver Cloud and Silver Wind and the 382-passenger Silver Shadow and Silver Whisper.

 

The signing occurred on the eve of Collins' expected meeting with cabinet members traveling with French Overseas Secretary of State Christian Estrosi, who is due back from the Marquesas Islands on Monday.

 

Collins wants to discuss a revised French state decree that took effect on Oct. 25 dealing with visa requests for foreign cruise ship crewmembers. According to cruise ship industry officials, the revised law requires more time to get visa approval, making it difficult to quickly replace a crewmember.

 

Collins is hoping to obtain a favorable solution, which would also have a bearing on the destination's relationship with three other cruise ship lines. This is why the Temaru government signed a letter of intent and not an agreement with Silversea, Collins said.

 

Speaking recently before the French Polynesia Assembly, Collins said he was looking at tripling the number of Papeete-based cruise ships from two to six vessels.

 

The Papeete-based cruise ship fleet will add its third vessel on Dec. 26 with the arrival of the 170-passenger, four-masted sailing ship Star Flyer, which is owned by the Monaco-based Star Clippers Ltd. The Star Flyer will begin four years of 10- and 11-night cruises on Dec. 30 that are expected to produce 6,150 passengers the first year.

 

The Star Flyer will join the Papeete-based fleet of cruise ships, which include the 330-passenger Paul Gauguin and the 670-passenger Tahitian Princess. However, the Tahitian Princess will end five consecutive years of year-round cruises from Papeete when it moves to Alaska for cruises from June-September next year. The ship will continue its 10-day cruises to Huahine, Rangiroa, Raiatea, Bora Bora and Moorea from January through May and from October through December next year.

 

The Paul Gauguin is committed to Papeete, its homeport since 1998, through the end of 2008. Collins said Sunday evening that negotiations are underway to keep both the Tahitian Princess and the Paul Gauguin operating in French Polynesia waters.

 

The present cruising plans for the Silver Dawn in Tahiti and Her Islands call for non-traditional routes, taking tourists to discover the southernmost Austral Islands, the sprawling Tuamotu Archipelago and the northernmost Marquesas Islands, Collins said.

 

Those plans also call for six months of sailing in French Polynesia waters—from April to October 2009, creating a potential for more than 2,000 overseas visitors, the tourism minister said. The ship is expected to spend the rest of the year cruising in Antarctica waters, he added.

 

Collins said his aim is to continue the Silver Dawn's presence in French Polynesia for several years.

 

When Silversea Cruises' parent company, Silversea Cruises Group Ltd. announced the purchase of the expedition ship World Discoverer in September, Silversea President Perasso spoke of the plans for the ship's refurbishment. Those comments were posted on Silversea Cruises Internet Web site.

 

"…(T)he refurbishment will extend to virtually every area of the ship. Although we will maintain much of the vessel's current configuration, which features all ocean-view accommodations, we will dramatically enhance and redesign a number of public spaces, as well as some of the accommodations and even some aspects of the ship's external appearance.

 

"This will bring World Discoverer in line with our usual high standards, but with some modifications to better adapt the ship for the special needs of expedition cruises."

 

Speaking of the passenger accommodations, the Silversea Internet article said they would include "owner's suites, grand suites and 12 yet-unnamed suites that will be similar to the line's popular Silver Suites—offering an intimate club-like ambiance that will deliver an expedition cruise experience consistent with Silversea's award-winning luxury standards. The ship will maintain the line's reputation for intimate yet spacious ships."

 

The article also spoke of the planned crew for what the Silver Dawn. "…(T)he vessel's crew complement of 106 will continue to ensure the highest level of service with a crew-to-guest ratio that will equal or exceed that of Silver Cloud and Silver Wind, thus being among the highest in this niche market."

 

And the 6,072-ton Silver Dawn "boasts a strengthened hull with the highest Lloyd's Register ice-class notation (1A), appropriate for navigating waters, without an escort, in some of the world's most remote regions, including Antarctica", the article stated