Converted Silver Wind to debut in May, not for Antarctica

This week Silversea Cruises confirmed the vessel had left the dry dock at Remontowa shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland.

Following its Mediterranean introduction, it will head to Northern Europe and the Arctic for the summer season.

As recently as September, Silversea had talked about Silver Wind being deployed from Chile as one of three ships in Antarctica this season. Antarctica cruises began Nov. 10 on Silver Explorer and Nov. 14 on Silver Cloud.

Environmental upgrades

Besides gaining an ice-strengthened hull and technology upgrades, Silver Wind's conversion includes environmental improvements like an advanced wastewater treatment plant, new food waste treatment technology and fuel-saving boilers.

The 1995-built ship is also being fitted with ice-detector sonars, 24 Zodiacs, 14 kayaks and a mudroom. The casino is transforming into a photo studio, and the swimming pool will be heated.

Reduced capacity

The ship's upper suites are being refurbished and the Vista and Veranda suites updated. There will be some public room refreshes, however many spaces already underwent extensive renovations in 2018. 

Passenger capacity will be reduced from 296 to 274.