Silversea cruise restart set for June, but full vaccination required

Silversea Cruises has announced it will return to service with Silver Moon out of Greece, but will only be accepting bookings from fully vaccinated guests.

The Silversea cruise restart will require all embarking crew and guests to have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 when Silver Moon cruises from Athens.

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The Silversea cruise restart follows a spate of other cruise line’s that have announced new itineraries from Athens and other ports in the Mediterranean.

The vaccination requirement will apply to all Silversea voyages globally, with the exclusion of sailings departing from Australia, for which protocol is still under evaluation.

Silver Moon will mark the Silversea cruise restart in June, when she begins sailing 10-day itineraries to the Eastern Mediterranean from Greece visiting Santorini, Paros, Mykonos, and Crete, as well as Haifa (Israel) and Cyprus.

Each cruise will be a roundtrip voyage and bookings will open on April 15th.

“Our guests share our excitement for our eagerly-anticipated healthy return to service,” said Roberto Martinoli, President & CEO, Silversea Cruises. “In recent months, we have seen the cruise industry resume responsibly in destinations around the world and we are delighted to announce these new inaugural sailings for our flagship.”

“Vaccinations will play a critical role in ensuring the health and safety of our guests, crew, and the communities we visit, which we priorities above all else,” he added.

Vaccination requirements by cruise lines are controversial, with some anecdotal evidence that they might impact demand for cruises from some passengers.

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However, most of the cruise line’s that have announced a return to cruising in the UK for this year have mandated full vaccination, and have not seen a drop-off in demand.

In fact, Cunard Line, which requires full vaccination of all guests, reported its busiest booking day in a decade, after it announced a new UK cruise season for 2021.

“Paired with our science-backed onboard procedures, which leverage on the expertise of the Royal Caribbean Group’s Healthy Sail Panel, vaccinations will enable our guests to travel deep into the world once again, with a renewed sense of appreciation for our beautiful planet,” Martinoli said.

Silversea was an independent cruise line for several decades until 2018 when it was partly purchased by Royal Caribbean Cruises, the parent company of Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises.

Following the acquisition, Royal Caribbean invested in upgrading the entire Silversea fleet, while also placing orders for several new cruise ships for the line. In 2020, it bought the remaining stake in Silversea, bringing the cruise line fully under the RCCL umbrella.