In December 2019, I was lucky enough to be one of the first people to sail aboard Silver Spirit. The ship was big news in more ways than one; not only was she Silversea’s first brand new ship for 8 years but the cruise line’s largest-ever vessel (although in Silversea terms that actually only means 540 passengers!) with room for additional places to eat, a larger spa and more spacious suites.
Little did I know that some eight years later I’d be in a shipyard in Palermo, Sicily, watching as Silver Spirit was cut in half and a new 49-foot section was inserted in the middle to make her a little bit bigger but a whole lot more luxurious to ‘amplify the experience’ as Silversea says. Specifically, the new section is adding another 34 suites (26 Verandas, 6 Silver Suites and 2 Panorama Suites), taking the capacity to 608 passengers.
While it was not the first time I have seen a cruise ship cut in half, no one else has managed it with quite such panache as Silversea. A room at the elegant Villa Igiea in Palermo (my balcony even had a view of the shipyard) and a card inviting me to witness the second significant parting in the history of the seas.
It goes without saying that lengthening a ship is an incredible feat of planning and engineering. First Silver Spirit had to be stripped of furniture, carpets, basically anything that could be moved (a lot was donated to local charities in Crete) because once the yard had finished stretching her, she was going to be totally refurbished in the image of Silver Muse, Silversea’s new ship launched last year.
Before work could start, some 1,300 cables, air ducts and pipes - basically all the onboard services that would be severed - had to be tagged so they could be matched to labels on the same services on the mid-section when that was finally in place. And then the cutting began.
On the afternoon of Silver Spirit’s fourth day in drydock, I sipped on Prosecco, nibbled on canapes (I told you it was all done in Silversea Style) and watched as the final cut was made and the front of the ship inched slowly away from the back on skid pads and hydraulic jacks. Less than 24 hours later I was back at the yard to watch as the new mid-section was manoeuvred into place and the yard workers started the job of putting her back together.
Then the refurbishment began. It’s a massive job - new decor and furnishings of course, the extra suites, a new Zagara Spa, an enlarged pool area and completely revamped dining. Two restaurants, Atlantide and Indochine, respectively a steakhouse and Asian eatery, replace the dining room. Both made their debut on Silver Muse, are complementary and don’t require reservations. The Stars Supper Club is to be reinvented as Silver Note, a venue that serves up light bites and live jazz and they are adding a funky Arts Cafe and pizza restaurant called Spaccanapoli (both venues also replicate outlets on Muse).
The price tag for all this? A cool $70 million, which seems a lot to add just 34 suites but it is considerably cheaper than building a new ship - although Silversea is doing that as well. Silver Moon, another Muse lookalike, launches in 2020 and I have been told the next ship after that is already in the pipeline. Exciting times indeed!
