Silversea Cruises Launches New Expedition Ship to Sail Exotic Itineraries

Cruise passengers looking to explore the remote corners of the world have a new expedition option. Silversea’s latest expedition ship, Silver Discoverer, set sail this week on a cruise to the jaw-dropping Kimberly coast of Western Australia.

The 120-passenger ship is the 20-year-old, ultra-luxury line’s eighth ship and third expedition vessel.

Silver Discoverer will cruise The Kimberly, between Broome and Darwin, through May. It’s one of those wild places best seen by ship, a landscape of rugged red cliffs and white sands, remote islands, and rivers and inlets leading to towering waterfalls and Aboriginal rock art dating back some 20,000 years. Another attraction: saltwater crocodiles.

During its inaugural season, the ship will also visit other isolated places in the Pacific including Micronesia, Melanesia, East Asia, and the Russian Far East/Alaska, as well as Southeast Asia and New Zealand. Polynesia joins the lineup in 2015.

Unusual areas of exploration include the Phoenix Islands Protected Area in Kiribati, with a visit to Nikumaroro, the island where some believe famed aviator Amelia Earhart perished.

On the newly refurbished ship – previously operated asClipper Odyssey – all accommodations are ocean-view suites (select suites have small balconies), serviced by butlers.A cruise in February 2015 explores the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, and Micronesia and includes an opportunity to dive to World War II wrecks including JFK’s PT-109.

The ship’s public rooms include a restaurant and main lounge/lecture room, the Discoverer Lounge (where passengers can have breakfast and lunch), The Grill for outdoor dining, an outdoor bar, and a small swimming pool. All drinks are included in the cruise fare.

The line’s expedition cruises involve Zodiac excursions and complimentary nature walks led by experts – such as marine biologists, ornithologists, geologists, botanists, historians, and anthropologists.