Silversea’s New Schedule of Expedition Cruises Opens a Portal to Learning, Adventure

Remote tropical island volcanoes, hidden Arctic fjords, saltwater crocodiles, penguins by the thousands and Earth's oldest turtles -Silversea's 2026/27 expedition voyages encompass the globe and its natural wonders. The 131 new expedition itineraries reflect the burgeoning popularity of adventure voyaging and illustrate Silversea's industry-leading expertise in this marvelous corner of luxury cruising.

Take, for example, Ambrym, a remote island in Vanuatu, one of the South Pacific's fabled but lesser-visited destinations. With two active cones inside its 8-mile-wide caldera, the island's central massif rises to 4,376 feet and dominates the 30-mile-wide island, creating a skyline that epitomizes an exotic tropical island. Ambrym's 7,200 or so inhabitants live near the coastline, and its historic coconut plantations and the rest of the island comprise jungle that is crucial habitat for endemic birds, such as red-bellied fruit doves and gray-eared honey-eaters, species you won't find in, say the Bahamas.

The crater of Marum Volcano on Ambrym island, Vanuatu/Getty Images

Though small, Ambrym's human history is dynamic enough that its inhabitants have developed not one but five dialects of the regional Austronesian language thanks to disparate settlements. Here, too, a distinctive local spirit dance, the Fanla Rom, has developed, for which elaborate masks and costumes are made in secret. Witnessing the Rom dance is a centerpiece of the day's shore excursion during Silver Cloud's call at Ambrym.

Travelers who would like to experience this amazing destination must fly to one of Ambrym's two small airports and stay overnight in island bungalows; there are no hotels. Or they can relax in one of Silver Cloud's 130 suites after exploring the island's memorable features and ending the day with a six-course dinner in the onboard Relais & Châteaux restaurant La Dame. Sample entrée: glazed Perigord duck breast with caramelized endive tarte tatin.

Ambrym is included in late summer and early autumn 23-day voyages between Darwin, Australia and Lautoka, Fiji, and is about midway among more than 50 colorful South Pacific destinations in the new 76-day Grand Voyage from Perth, Australia, to Valparaíso. This sailing visits such legendary destinations as Hunter River, Australia; Rarotonga in the Cook Islands; Papeete, Tahiti; and Easter Island, about 2,200 miles west of Chile. Crossing the Pacific, the world's largest ocean, the International Date Line and a dozen time zones, and covering parts of Capt. James Cook's voyages of discovery almost three centuries ago, this trip earns the label "expedition."

Ambrym is just one among hundreds of remote ports-of-call in Silversea's newest expedition catalog; the popularity of this type of luxury cruising is reflected Silversea's steady additions to expedition itineraries to its catalog since this cruise category was first offered 15 years ago, when Silversea pioneered the luxury expedition cruise category.

The infinite wonder of discovery

One of the hallmarks of the Kimberley: intense colors/Getty Images

From the high Arctic polar bear coves of Svalbard, Norway, to the penguin peninsulas of the Antarctic on the other side of the world; from the Kimberley Coast of Australia to the Atacama Desert of Chile; from the equatorial Amazon rainforest to the glaciers of Greenland - the Silversea Expedition catalog embraces a comprehensive array of the lands and their inhabitants of our oceanside world.

Its growth illustrates the infinite wonder and beauty of planet Earth, and Silversea's commitment to providing customers the best possible window into those wonders.

Among the 131 new expedition itineraries are 10 new sailings along the Kimberley coast of Australia, land of saltwater crocodiles, untouched dramatic landforms and Aboriginal cultures dating back 40,000 years.

Voyages depart and return to Darwin, Australia's northern capital, and along the way visit locales such as King George River, one of the region's perennial waterways and home to its 130-foot dual-drop waterfall, whose plunge down 200-foot red sandstone cliffs is stunning sight. On the 8-mile passage upriver from shore, you may spy the legendary saltwater crocodile, the world's largest reptile at 21 feet. No snorkeling here…

Evening sun lights large adult male polar bear walking across melting sea ice near Ross Island in Svalbard, Norway./Getty Images

About as far from Western Australia as one can go, the new roster of High Arctic sailings to Svalbard offers travelers the chance to experience one of the world's most forbiddingly remote outposts. Longyearbyen, the island's biggest settlement, is the northernmost human habitation with more than 1,000 residents and is closer to the North Pole (500 miles) than to the Arctic Circle, which lies 800 miles south of the town. This is the kingdom of the polar bear, the magnificent beings of the North that are among today's most-sought wildlife sights and are common in Svalbard. It's also the home of an endemic reindeer population whose 5,000-year history raises an intriguing question when you watch them browsing lichen on the Arctic tundra: Svalbard is 600 miles from the Norwegian mainland, so how did these animals get here?

In Northeast Greenland National Park, Artic willow, a musk ox, which is an herbivore, and the gentle hues of Arctic fireweed./Getty Images

Other High Arctic sailings depart Reykjavik, Iceland, to visit Greenland, where ships stop in Northeast Greenland National park, the world's largest at 375,300 square miles, 17 times bigger than Wrangell-St. Elias in Alaska, the biggest in the U.S. More than 80 percent of Greenland (the world's largest island) is covered in ice.

All that ice means Greenland is the world capital of glaciers; the island's ice sheet covers 660,000 square miles and holds about 8 percent of all ice on Earth.

As the ice sheet spills down in every direction to the North Atlantic, innumerable tidewater glaciers afford Silver Endeavour countless opportunities for close-up viewing. A glacier calving into the sea reflects the fact that the ice sheet is shedding 280 gigatons of ice a year, inducing some contemplation among the passengers witnessing it in a place thousands of miles from the forces causing it in Franz Joseph Fjord.

Polar opposites

You can fly to Antarctica or you can brave the Drake Passage, sometimes tempestuous, sometimes calm. Getty Images

At the other end of the planet, Silversea continues its innovative services between South America and Antarctica. Travelers enjoy two options to reach the White Continent: Cross the Drake Passage aboard one of Silversea's larger expedition vessels, a two-day journey across a route known as "the most powerful convergence of seas."

Customers who may not wish to experience that power firsthand can board planes in Puerto Williams, Chile, for a two-hour flight to King George Island where they join the ship for six days in the kingdom of penguins and the home of 90 percent of the ice on Earth.

Silversea is enhancing this fly/sail option, the "Antarctica Bridge," by inaugurating a purpose-built 150-room hotel in Puerto Williams. The southernmost city in the world is an intriguing place whose long history of human habitation yields profound insights into the spirit of those who first adventured here millennia ago. An anthropology museum and an ethnobotanical park offer insight into this amazing history.

What you've probably not seen in the British Isles

St Kilda, long abandoned, is a bit of a mystery in Scotland's Outer Hebrides./Getty Images

Say "British Isles" and most people envision Britain and Ireland. But there are hundreds of smaller islands here, and the 12-day itinerary devoted to this part of the world focuses on those.

Few cruises can offer the geographic and cultural diversity of this 12-day sailing: It departs London, often considered the world's cultural capital. Days later, the ship drops anchor at St Kilda, a remote speck of land in Scotland's Outer Hebrides.

Long inhabited sparsely - ask yourself, how did people get here 2,000 years ago, and why? - it was abandoned in 1930 by the last 36 residents. Today, it is home briefly to summertime military personnel and scientific researchers… and to Silversea passengers who admire the highest sea cliffs in all of Britain (around 1,400 feet). They also may wander the abandoned village and the surrounding countryside dotted with cleits, unique stone structures in which the ultra-hardy residents stored grain, peat, eggs and other items that enabled life in this daunting location.

Seafront of Saint Peter Port in Guernsey, a British crown dependency in the Channel Islands/Getty Images

Other stops on this voyage include Saint Peter Port in Guernsey, a quaint village on a peaceful, pastoral island where it's instructive and entertaining to ask: "Is this a country?" It's not part of Great Britain or the United Kingdom; the British Parliament has no authority over it. It's officially known as a "bailiwick" and is a dependency of the British Crown, a status that stretches back to the Dukes of Normandy. that is, William the Conqueror. Please ask Guernseyites to explain exactly what their island is.

Meanwhile, in the Guernsey countryside, you can admire the island's famous dairy cattle, which fans believe produce the finest milk in the world. (Residents of Guernsey's neighbor island, Jersey, dispute that.) You can test these claims by settling in for clotted cream and scones in a Saint Peter Port café, important research that splendidly helps you define luxury expedition cruising. Guernsey cows are gentle, handsome beings that take great interest in visitors who are taking great interest in them.

Though that may seem a world apart from the wilderness of Antarctica, Svalbard or the South Seas, Guernsey is just one of hundreds of Silversea expedition destinations that, taken as a whole, illustrate what an amazing place our planet is - and how astoundingly diverse the human planetary footprint is.

What sets Silversea apart

A guide explains to Silver Origin guests more about the plant and animal life of the Galápagos./Silversea photo by Peter Shanks

In all these amazing destinations, some key items distinguish the Silversea experience.

First, the four expedition ships-Silver Wind, Silver Cloud, Silver Endeavour and Silver Origin-are designed and outfitted to enhance the guest experience in even the most remote locations. It takes a special vessel to sail to Antarctica and afford its passengers the chance to depart the ship, reach shore and savor one of the world's most distinctive places. Zodiacs and huge stores of gear support these excursions - as do expert onboard guides.

Antarctica's penguins, from top left to right: Rockhopper, King, Gentoo, Emperor. From second photo at left and down: Chinstrap (smiling), Magellanic, and Macaroni. Large photo: Adélie penguins in for a swim./Getty Images

There are eight major species of penguin here; few laypeople know the differences, but Silversea guides do. This sort of expertise extends across the expedition catalog and the globe it covers.

Silver Origin: Made for the Galápagos

Silver Origin serves only the Galápagos./Silversea photo

Silver Origin is specifically designed for the Galápagos, and its special abilities make it suitable for these delicate islands just as much as for Silversea guests. A low carbon footprint, high de-emphasis on single-use plastics, dynamic positioning to protect the marine ecosystem, Origin is elegant, practical and sensitive. A high guide-to-guest ratio ensures that passengers understand the importance of treating this special place carefully. The guides are Ecuadorian nationals who bring homeland dedication to the task of creating ardent appreciation.

Expertise and sustainability aboard Silversea go hand-in-hand with comfort and elegance. A day spent exploring polar shores or tropical jungles can be followed by an epicurean dinner in a white linen restaurant or room service in one's suite.

Does a fine meal enhance an adventure? It's a long, long way from Western Australia to South America. No reason not to luxuriate in the experience of exploring the world.

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