We want to be known for tours, not just cruises: Silversea senior VP

We want to be known for tours, not just cruises: Silversea senior VP
By Alexandra Coulton


Silversea Cruises no longer want to be known solely as a cruise company, according to its senior vice president, Conrad Combrink.

Speaking at a media breakfast on Wednesday morning at Sydney’s Rosetta Trattoria, Combrink said the company is focusing on its destinations.

“We have decided to embark upon a journey to become destination architects,” he said.

“We have nine ships currently and we have more on order but ultimately it’s about delivering the seven continents. We’ve got 140 countries and nearly a thousand destinations now.

“There is this idea that Silversea is only a cruise ship company or only an expedition company and we want to get away from that and focus really on our destinations. “

Some 18 months ago, Silversea launched its Couture Collection, an exclusive series of ocean and land adventures custom-designed for luxury travellers. Originally meant as an extension of a cruise, the Couture collection is now a stand-alone product.

“It’s not just about finding the unique destinations or pinpointing a destination, it’s about how we interpret this destination and what we do when we get there,” Combrink said.

“These are things that you can’t go online and book. They are fully individualised, fully escorted by Silversea with unique accommodations that are often created for our guests.”

Conrad Combrink_Director of Expeditions

Silversea’s senior vice president, Conrad Combrink says the cruise line wants to more on experiences.

The focus of the event was the launch of Silversea’s new luxury expedition world cruise, the Uncharted World Tour. The cruise marks the world’s first expedition world cruise, which Combrink said came about when he joked about the concept with a colleague.

He said he when he and his team began suggesting places the cruise would visit, activities, and lecturers to feature, the idea began to take on a life of its own.

“The more we looked at it the more excited we got so we started getting very serious about it,” Combrink said.

“We were fortunate enough to have a soft launch in January and on the 14th of March we launched the worlds first ever expedition cruise.”

The Uncharted World Tour will depart from Ushuaia, Argentine on 30 January 2021 and will run for 167 days visiting 110 destinations in 30 countries across six continents.

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