Silver Nova’s asymmetrical ship design – said to be the industry’s first and one that allows for innovative use of spaces for guests – has attracted immense interest from both travel agents and travellers, resulting in a large showing of first-time guests who will sail with the new luxurious vessel on August 14.

According to Silversea Cruises, some 400 new first-timers along with 200 loyal Venetian Society programme guests will set sail on Silver Nova’s maiden journey, a roundtrip from Venice that will call at many of the Adriatic’s most iconic destinations over seven days, including Piran in Slovenia; Zadar, Dubrovnik, Split, and Rovinj in Croatia; and Kotor in Montenegro.

Barbara Muckermann, president and CEO of Silversea Cruises and member of Royal Caribbean Group’s executive committee, said the “category-breaking” Silver Nova “will move us farther away from the old images of cruise ships and open up the market for us further”.

Silver Nova is the first in Silversea Cruises’s Nova Class to launch and, with capacity for 728 guests, is the largest in the cruise line’s complete fleet. Her design has created several highlights including long stretches of spaces that grant guests unblocked views of destinations she calls at; high and airy atriums; a greater selection of suites, including top-end ones in the aft (back of the ship); a 130m² pool area – largest in the cruise line’s fleet – with an abundant supply of deck chairs; and expanded spaces for Silversea Cruises’s signature Sea and Land Taste (S.A.L.T) destination deep-dive culinary experience programme.

Muckermann said: “Silver Nova will allow us to reach resort customers who may have never considered a traditional cruise ship, but will now do so after seeing our pretty cool product – and with the insane price hikes that we are seeing on the hotel side, I think the incredible value our cruise offers will come forward.”

Beyond strong interest from new guests for Silver Nova, Muckermann revealed that the company’s database is also showing “a lot of new agents and new guests” for other itineraries.

However, the new kid on the block is not expected to alienate loyal Silversea fans. Muckermann said travel partners on the preview sailing have expressed joy over the introduction of suites in the aft, an accommodation type that their regular Silversea Cruises guests have been desiring for a long time.

She said: “Even though this class of ship is so different (from what we have), the reaction we get from our loyal guests has been much more positive than what we got when we introduced our Muse Class. While the Muse Class was an evolution, it changed a lot of the language of the brand. So, with the Nova Class, we kept some beloved heritage spaces and evolved other types of experiences.

“I like to think that we have achieved a good balance based on the feedback we have received. Our guests are happy that we have given them some new things while retaining their familiar comforts. This is very important when you are developing a heritage brand.”

At the same time, Silver Nova’s abundant open spaces will now allow the cruise line to “work on a regionalisation of our deployment”, revealed Muckermann.

She pointed out that Silver Origin is ideal for the Galápagos Islands, while Silver Endeavour is perfect for the Polar regions. “In the same way, Silver Nova is the best warm water luxury ship,” she commented.

“By allowing the regionalisation of our deployment, we can bring programmes like S.A.L.T to the full extent with deeper content because we can commit more time to a certain destination and region,” said Muckermann.