Silversea Cruises has taken delivery of ship Silver Dawn at the Fincantieri shipyard in Ancona, Italy. Executives from Silversea Cruises and Fincantieri attended an intimate delivery ceremony to welcome the 10th ship to the cruise line’s fleet.
Following a video screening of the official coin and flag ceremonies, Silversea’s President and CEO Roberto Martinoli penned his signature to officially take delivery of Silver Dawn, the third ship to join Silversea’s fleet since the start of 2020.
“In welcoming the beautiful Silver Dawn as the 10th ship in our fleet, we have reached a huge milestone on our mission to take our guests deep into the world in luxury,” said Martinoli.
With Silver Dawn the cruise line is affirming its position as the leader in ultra-luxury cruising. The third ship in the Muse-class series and the fourth ship to result from Silversea’s longstanding collaboration with Fincantieri, Silver Dawn is a sistership to Silversea’s Silver Muse and Silver Moon. Silver Dawn accommodates just 596 guests in 298 ocean-view suites – 96% of which have a private veranda – and has a crew-to-guest ratio of 1:1.45.
The Otium Wellness Programme: the original art of comfort
Building on the success of Silversea’s innovative culinary programme, S.A.L.T., which launched aboard Silver Moon, Silver Dawn introduces a pioneering new wellness programme, Otium. In a nod to the cruise line’s Italian heritage, Otium takes inspiration from the leisurely nature of the ancient Roman lifestyle. In Roman culture, Otium was a period of time dedicated to leisure, in which people bathed, conversed, sung, theorised, drank, ate, and relaxed. Diverging from existing wellness programmes, Otium encourages balanced indulgence, pampering, and pleasure over sacrifice and delayed gratification. It will provide guests with a 2 customised, multi-dimensional wellness journey throughout Silver Dawn, starting in some of the most spacious suites at sea, growing with a curated range of treatments in the reimagined spa, and trickling out to permeate every moment of the cruise experience. The result is an elevation of Silversea’s unique take on luxury.
Steve McCurry photographs Silver Dawn
For the first time in his illustrious career, world-renowned photographer and long-term Silversea collaborator Steve McCurry has cast his lens on a working shipyard. McCurry travelled to the Fincantieri facility in Trieste to photograph Silver Dawn from August 4, 2021. As well as photographing the shipyard’s workers as Silver Dawn neared completion, McCurry took the opportunity to photograph Silversea’s President & CEO, Roberto Martinoli, as well as the ship’s Master, Captain Samuele Failla. “I had never seen a ship in dry dock before, and was fascinated to see that the entire ship rested and balanced on a series of blocks, says Steve McCurry. “It was especially interesting to see the part of the ship which would be underwater. The workers were meticulous as if they were working on a priceless work of art. I was reminded of watching a flower opening up into its full beauty. The craftsmanship and skill with which they worked was extraordinary.”
In total, over 390 companies contributed to Silver Dawn’s construction. In the peak months, an average of 1,000 professionals were working simultaneously on the ship. Over 15,000 steel plates and profiles were cut for her construction, approximately 95,500 litres of paint were applied, and 18 contractors installed approximately 1,690,000m of electric cable.
Silver Dawn will welcome its first guests from spring 2022.