Beyond the Numbers: Silversea’s Three Oceans World Cruise 2027
Numbers tell a fascinating story about Silversea’s recently announced World Cruise 2027: 149 days, 80 destinations, 50 UNESCO World Heritage sites, 35 countries, five continents. For sure, the statistics are breathtaking on their own, but add a range of programs and special events, and the stage is set for nearly five months of immersive experiences and adventures that enrich and elevate guests’ journey on The Three Oceans World Cruise 2027 on Silversea.
The journey will call in more destinations than any voyage in Silversea’s history, says Bert Hernandez, president, Silversea. Traveling on the 596-passenger Silver Dawn, guests will “discover the very best experiences in ultra-luxury cruise travel,” Hernandez adds.
Indeed, Silver Dawn features Silversea’s popular S.A.L.T. (Sea and Land Taste) program, which connects menus and shore adventures with the regions in which guests are traveling. On this journey, guests can indulge in 350 dishes that reflect the tastes of their locale. Of course, S.A.L.T. Bar also will be part of that regional focus, offering 50 cocktails that impart a sense of place. Those who want to deepen their knowledge further can absorb a wealth of knowledge on 25 S.A.L.T. shore excursions, from 50 S.A.L.T. lectures and in 50 S.A.L.T. Lab classes.
The Dawn also features s the OTIUM spa, which celebrates indulgence and wellness.
Gaining a world view in new ways
Departing Jan. 8, 2027, from Los Angeles, guests will find those experiences in such destinations as Hawaii, French Polynesia, American Samoa, Melanesia and New Caledonia before Silver Dawn heads to Brisbane, Australia, and circles northward to Asian ports, some new, and some familiar. Then it turns south, eventually tracing a path around the southernmost piece of the African continent. Next? Silver Dawn heads up Africa’s western coast, reaching the Iberian Peninsula before heading for the U.K. and Ireland and on to Scandinavia, where the journey ends June 7 in Copenhagen.
What’s new for 2027’s Three Oceans World Cruise?
Travelers can try to spot the Big 5 in South Africa, cruise the Norwegian fjords, which offer a trifecta of landscapes, brilliantly green peaks and thundering waterfalls; swim above the Great Barrier Reef, revered for its beauty and the habitats it provides; rest and rejuvenate in Bora Bora’s famed overwater bungalows, where the tides will lull you to sleep World Cruise 2027 also offers the luxury of exploring destinations in extraordinary ways. Among them:
A S.A.L.T. (Sea and Land Taste) Culinary Experience in Sri Lanka: This country has absorbed the best of the cuisines and cultures that have been woven into its rich fabric. A S.A.L.T experience not only allows you to sample the result of the culinary triumph but also allows you to participate in its creation with interactive demonstrations that unlock the secrets of a feast that you will want to replicate.
Livingstone’s Legacy: David Livingstone, a Scottish explorer and missionary, led the way in opening Africa to the rest of the world. Thwarted by unrest in China, where he hoped to live and work, he chose Africa, arriving in March 1841 in South Africa and making discovery after discovery for the next 15 years. In 1855, he traveled to what became known as Victoria Falls. This two-night optional excursion gives guests a ringside seat to a misty spectacle that commands awe and draws respect from all who are enchanted by their power and thunder.
Hawaiian Treasures: You will be introduced to the wonders of the hoku (stars) in Hawaii, which not only put on a dazzling light show for all to see but also will be preceded by a special celebration honoring the Polynesian navigators who developed a way to navigate by the stars. You’ll eat delicious fare from an imu, an inground oven that has allowed, for centuries, the cooking and steaming of such dishes as kalua pig, taro, chicken, fish, sweet potatoes and breadfruit. The flavor of its dishes is unrivaled in its moistness and delicately smoky flavor.
Harmonies of the Emerald Isle: Belfast Cathedral, also known as the Church of St. Anne, is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year. It will be the setting for a taste of local cuisine in a special Silversea event that will also include choral music. The first part of this Romanesque building was the nave, which was consecrated in June 1904. The church’s grand arches celebrate distinguished members, and the pillars pay heed to shipbuilding, linen, the arts and womanhood, among other topics.
2027’s Three Oceans World Cruise has three segments
World cruises typically are designed in segments . Each one of the three segments in our 2027 Three Oceans World Cruise is wrapped around a theme of discovery that includes a host of experiences, including visits UNESCO World Heritage sites, averaging one visit every three days of the voyage. Those travelers whose schedules don’t permit them a full world cruise can still experience its essence by just booking a segment or two. More specifics? Read on.
Segment 1: An Ocean of Time: The Pacific Ocean
The first leg of the voyage takes you from Los Angeles to destinations you think you know, but on Silversea, you’ll find quite a different lens through which you’ll view a trip whose first leg will dock 46 days later in Brisbane, Australia.
In Hawaii, for instance, guests can visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that’s home to the one of the largest active volcanoes in the world. Further, guests will learn about the mysterious Polynesian seafarers at an event that delves into the mysteries of how they navigated vast areas of the Pacific. A ho’olaule’a, or celebration, in Honolulu focuses on authentic fare and allows guests to contemplate just how those early Polynesians knew so much about the world.
The next phase of the trip takes you to Rangiroa, Moorea, and Bora Bora, all in French Polynesia and Samoa on Upolu, the second largest island in Samoa’s chain. Silver Dawn also calls at Lautoka on the island of Viti Levu, Fiji, the largest island in a country that includes more than 840 islands and islets and where temperatures in winter rarely dip below the 60s.
Guests can celebrate Champagne Beach in Vanuatu (“Our Land Forever”), a country that’s been independent since 1980. What will have you bubbling: This is the place you envision when you dream – think crystalline waters and baby-fine sand – of the ideal idyll.
After a stop in Lifou Island, the largest of the Loyalty Islands in the country of New Caledonia, you’ll be heading for Australia and its varied faces and places: Arlie Beach in the Whitsundays region; Darwin, the capital of Australia’s Northern Territory; and Brisbane, the third largest city in Australia and the capital of Queensland, which will give you another taste of the tropics and an opportunity to get to know the Great Barrier Reef, just off its coast.
Segment 2: An Ocean of Life: The Indian Ocean
The second segment of World Cruise 2027 embraces the magical and the mystical, including a stop in Bali, east of Indonesia’s Java, and Semarang, on the northern coast of Java, a place of temples and statues of Buddha. Contrast that contemplative spot with a stop in Singapore, the city-state on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula and the largest port in Southeast Asia. The title of long-serving Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s book, “From Third World to First: The Singapore Story, 1965-2000” chronicles a transformation that remains a marvel.
Nature again takes center stage, this time in Praslin, Seychelles, called the “green pearl of the Indian Ocean.” It’s known for Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve, or Mai Valley National Park, a UNESCO site that overflows with colorful flowers and plants that are unique to this island.
Before 1972, Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon, and Colombo, its capital, has been crisscrossed by maritime visitors throughout the ages, including Arabs, Portuguese, Dutch and British. Today the country is a colorful tapestry of cuisines and cultures.
At a call in Réunion, South Africa, part of the Mascarene Islands (a French overseas department) in the western Indian Ocean, you’ll hear French spoken widely – it was a French colony until 1946 but today is an overseas département of France.
The adventure continues to escalate on a two-day trip from Durban, South Africa, to Port Elizabeth, now called Gqeberha, as guests are introduced to Victoria Falls, which span the breadth of the Zambezi River at the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. The breathtaking spectacle drops about 33,000 cubic feet of water per second. To put that in perspective, if a small bathtub holds 4 cubic feet of water, guests will see the equivalent of 8,250 bathtubs of water plunge over the falls every second.
Segment 3: An Ocean of Discovery: The Atlantic Ocean
Guests will be introduced to a host of fascinating destinations after Cape Town, including Namibia, whose landscape includes desert, mountains and savannas; Angola, the largest of the Portuguese-speaking countries and blessed with abundant natural resources, including oil; Ghana, formerly a British colony once called the Gold Coast for its cache of the precious metal and today, rich with natural beauty; and the Gambia, Africa’s smallest, non-island country known for its beaches and said to be the place from which Kunta Kinte, from Alex Haley’s “Roots,” originated.
Dakar, the national capital of Senegal on the Cape Verde Peninsula, is a hub for West Africa, and although the government plans to move the capital in the coming years, Dakar will remain a popular tourist destination, thanks to its melange of cultures, and its gorgeous beaches.
The Canary Islands and Morocco will be featured prominently in the next segment of travel. Guests will visit Praia, capital of Cabo Verde, a country made up of islands that are nearly 400 miles off Africa; Arrecife, the main port of Lanzarote Island in the Canary Islands; and Agadir and Casablanca, Morocco, a place forever imprinted in movie-lovers’ minds. A stop in Lisbon, Portugal’s capital and the westernmost capital city in continental Europe, shows off the country’s ascendance as a favorite destination, thanks to the weather, its beaches, its castles and, of course, its fado music.
At Belfast, Northern Ireland, Silversea guests can attend a musical performance in the Romanesque Cathedral, where its stained glass windows and needlework (including kneelers) reflect both its style and simplicity.
World Cruise 2027 winds up in Copenhagen, Denmark’s capital and home to Tivoli, which is called an amusement park but will give visitors a generous dose of culture, including musicals, ballet and concerts, as well as a generous helping of botanic beauty that makes it wholly and wonderfully different from the U.S. playgrounds and their mousey mascots.
It is 149 days later, not quite half a year! And certainly enough memories for a lifetime.
And wait! There’s more
A big part of the allure of a Silversea World Cruise are the special events that provide more context to the places you’re visiting. A team of destination experts design and implement these special events.
“We love off-the-beaten-path locales that allow us to produce experiences our guests won’t find anywhere else,” Kevin McKeon, Silversea’s experiences and events manager, tells me.
World Cruise 2027, for instance, will focus on the Polynesian Seafarers and invite guests to join in on a what McKeon called a “cultural and culinary journey where, as guests dine, we lead through a reading of the stars,” which Polynesians believed spoke a “language” that communicated how to navigate the waters. They used no maps or charts in those long-ago days but memorized the position of stars to ensure successful and safe passage to and through the 62 million square miles of the Pacific Ocean. Ingenuity and innovation opened the way for travelers for generations to come.
McKeon also is excited about an overland trip to Victoria Falls. “The ability to take our guests deeper into southern Africa,” he says, “and immerse them in nature, the way [Scottish explorer] Stanley Livingstone found it, presents a great opportunity to deliver on our mission of ‘Traveling Deeper in Luxury.’ The experience includes two nights in luxury accommodations, sunset river cruises along the Zambezi River and memorable dining experiences await our World Cruise guests.
Producing such special events is never easy, McKeon acknowledges, but he and Jannie Cloete, the director of Silversea events and experiences, make it look that way, thanks to hard work, countless hours and millions of details woven into the creation of these once-in-a-lifetime events.
“I often think about my second day on the job at Silversea, meeting Jannie at ‘Opera in the Quarry’ in a limestone quarry outside of Cape Town, South Africa,” McKeon recalls. “The scale, attention to detail and Jannie’s delivery of the event demonstrated to me that Silversea truly is the leader in experiential travel.
“It set me on this course, and I’ve never looked back.”