Ahead of her maiden voyage on August 14, Silversea Cruises’ new ship Silver Nova has set sail from Venice, Italy with select travel trade partners and journalists for a preview of what the new luxury vessel can offer to cruise travellers.

The Architectural Preview of Silver Nova, which set off on August 10, carries some 200 guests, including 35 from Asia-Pacific.

Guests are invited to experience dining, recreational and entertainment onboard as well as a variety of shore excursions in Venice (Italy), Zadar (Croatia) and Trieste where Silver Nova calls at for this preview voyage.

Special arrangements have also been made for guests to partake in exclusive, guided behind-the-scene tours into the crew area and engine room; guided art tours led by Mariangela Capuzzo, art curator of the collection aboard Silver Nova; and insightful talks that shed light on the ship’s design and culinary focus.

Following on from the special preview, the 728-guest Silver Nova will sail roundtrip from Venice, calling 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.

According to ship executives, the maiden voyage will enjoy a full occupancy.

In an earlier interview with TTG Asia, Adam Radwanski, managing director for Asia-Pacific said bookings for the first few sailings on the Silver Nova had sold “very well”, with demand inflated by the ship’s launch in the middle of a “very busy” Mediterranean season.

Silver Nova is Silversea Cruises’ 12th ship in its fleet, and represents an important milestone on Royal Caribbean Group’s journey to Destination Net Zero. She is powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) as her principal fuel source, while various technology features have been incorporated to enable a 40 per cent reduction in emissions compared against Silversea Cruises’ other class of ships.

She is also the largest ship in the Silversea fleet, which grants her a wider selection of suite categories – 13 in all, compared to nine in the Muse-class ships; all suites with balcony; and, for the first time, pools in the Otium Suites.

Capturing ship highlights during a welcome reception on August 10, Barbara Muckermann, president and CEO of Silversea Cruises and member of Royal Caribbean Group’s executive committee, said another important feature of Silver Nova was the provision of more extensive facilities for crew to enjoy when they are off duty.

Muckermann said: “As much as we spend a lot of energy in devising incredible itineraries and in building the most beautiful ships in the world, our guests often tell us that they keep coming back for our crew. We give thanks to our crew, which is really the core of the Silversea signature service. On this particular ship, we are able to offer state-of-the-art crew accommodation plus incredible crew gym, crew spa and recreational space. The crew gym on Silver Nova is even bigger than the one we have for our guests on other ships.

“I am really proud of (what we can offer our crew), because we want to continue to attract the absolute best crew.”

Editor’s note: The original post states a 91 per cent occupancy on the maiden voyage. This has been corrected to reflect a full occupancy.