Silversea Cruises' 382-guest Silver Shadow will spend the summer cruising to Alaska. The 28,258-ton Silver Shadow offers a crew-to-guest ratio of 1-to-1.29 and a space ratio of 74 (or 7,400 cubic feet of space per guest). The ship will operate 10 itineraries of nine to 12 days. Several sailings feature round-trip departures from Vancouver, with voyages also available from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seward.
"There are a number of mainstream mega-ships calling in Alaska this summer, but only Silversea offers an exclusive alternative for the sophisticated traveler seeking an award-winning, all-inclusive and intimate shipboard experience," said David Morris, Silversea's executive vice president of worldwide sales and marketing. "With one voyage already sold out, and others about to, space is filling up quickly, so now's the time to book." Savings of up to 40 percent are available.
The Alaska voyages will showcase an enrichment program of scholars, writers, and other experts selected from a variety of fields to share their knowledge and insider views with Silversea's guests. For example, marine biologist John Palmisano will host the May 31 Los Angeles-to-Vancouver Inside Passage voyage. Silver Sailing fares for the 12-day voyage start at $5,596 per person for a 30 percent savings. The June 21 Vancouver-to-San Francisco cruise features Relais & Châteaux chef Anne Desjardins from the restaurant and inn L'Eau à la Bouche in Ste-Adèle, Québec, and wine expert John Shafer of Shafer Vineyards and Winery in Napa Valley, Calif. Early Booking Incentive fares for the 10-day voyage start at $5,690 per person for a 15 percent savings. Sabin Robbins, an author, former zoo society director and writer-editor at the National Geographic Society, will host Silver Shadow's Sept. 5 Inside Passage cruise from Vancouver to Los Angeles. Robbins' field research includes East Africa, Galapagos Islands, Amazon River and the whale nurseries of the Pacific. Silver Sailing fares for the 12-day voyage start at $4,797 per person for a 40 percent savings.
Silversea guests can extend their Alaska voyage with optional pre- and post-cruise land programs featuring deluxe accommodations, all transportation, transfers, guided sightseeing and some meals. Prices start at $1,395 per guest. One such land package available from Vancouver is the four- or five-night "The Majestic Canadian Rockies" package, which includes two nights in Banff and a two-day rail journey on the Rocky Mountaineer train. From Seward, the three-night "Denali-Nature at Her Grandest" program features a journey to Denali by luxury rail. Also from Seward, the six-night "Land of the Midnight Sun" combines Denali National Park with a journey of over 300 miles above the Arctic Circle to Barrow, the largest Inuit settlement in Alaska. For more information, call 800-300-4567 or visit www.all-travel.com/silverseacruises