Silversea Cruises “Uncharted World Tour” calls at some of the world’s most amazing destinations
While you may not be able to go cruising just right now, one thing you can do is dream. And if you’re going to dream, dream big. How about a voyage around the world, not in 80 days, but an action-packed 167 days. It doesn’t come cheap, but Phileas Fogg himself would be envious.
The 167-day “Uncharted World Tour” from Silversea cruises promises a “raw and unfiltered” experience calling at some of the planet’s most amazing destinations.
Silversea Cruise – The Journey
The journey departs January 30, 2021, from Ushuaai, Argentina’s most southerly frontier, known as the “End of the World” and sitting amid the colossal scenery of the Tierra del Fuego, the “Land of Fire”
Onboard the ice-class crossover Silver Cloud the most spacious and comfortable ice class vessel in expedition cruising, the “Uncharted Tour” will journey between Antarctica’s highlight destinations, sailing past skyscraper-sized icebergs through the legendary Drake Passage, heading to the stunning beauty of the Arctic Sound and the Arctic Peninsula, and to the South Shetland Islands, one of the most remote locations on earth, before setting course for Chile’s Valparaiso via the Chilean Fjords.
Subsequently, the Silver Cloud will set sail for Easter Island, which although it is in Polynesia some 2,300 miles from the Chilean mainland was annexed by the South American nation in 1888. Famous for its Moai or human-like stone statues, the island’s national park has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
After a stop at the fabled Pitcairn Island, where the mutineers of the HMS Bounty would settle, the Silver Cloud calls on several of French Polynesia’s tropical island paradises, including Papeete Tahiti.
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On the way to Australia
The voyage continues through French Polynesia, Samoa and Fiji on to the southwest Pacific islands of Papua New Guinea, docking in early April at Cairns, Australia, home to the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef, where you can dive, snorkel or head out on a glass-bottomed boat to view the world’s largest and most spectacular underwater universe.
From Cairn, it’s on to Darwin, Australia’s tropical capital of the north and the Kimberley Coast after a stop at the famous Mitchell Falls where four tiers of waterfalls plunge into deep pools that flow out into the mighty Mitchell River.
From the Kimberley Coast, the Silver Cloud heads to Indonesia for the beginning of the Asian leg of the voyage, passing through Kupang, Anano Island, home to the stunning Wakatobi Marine Park with one of the highest coral and fish species counts in the world, and Semerang in Central Java, with its majestic Borobudur Temple, the largest Buddhist monument on the planet.
After a change of pace in the futuristic city of Singapore, the Silver Cloud heads back to Indonesia to the island of Sumatra, a former Dutch colony, and the Belawan National Park, 3,000 square miles of protected rainforest, home to more than 120 species of mammals, 190 species of reptiles and amphibians, 350 species of birds and 4000 plant species. Some of the world’s rarest mammals live here, including the Sumatran elephant, Sumatran tiger, Sumatran rhinoceros, sambar deer and leopard cat, as well as its famous orangutans
To the Indian Coast
From Sumatra, the journey continues to Sri Lanka off the southern coast of India and a stop in the capital Colombo with its grand colonial buildings, before sailing on to Cochin, India, the crown of Kerala, the Queen of the Arabian Sea, where cultures and religions blend in the world’s first global trading port.
After traveling up the coast to the former Portuguese colony of Goa with its incredible sandy beaches, and surreal sunsets, the Silver Cloud sails across the Indian Ocean to Muscat, Oman and then through the Gulf of Aden and the Gulf of Suez on to Egypt and the Red Sea port of Safaga, where you can take a trip inland to Luxor on the Nile, the site of ancient Thebes, the capital of the Pharaohs.
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Silversea cruise on the way to Greece
Traverse the Suez Canal, a man-made waterway carved between two seas to head into the Meditteranean for the next leg of the voyage through the Greek Islands and on to Athens, the capital of antiquity.
From Athens the journey continues criss-crossing cultures along the Meditteranean, stopping in Sicily, Italy; Sousse, Tunisia with its Roman ruins; Seville, Spain, once ruled by the Moors of North Africa; Bejaia, Algeria, ruled by the Romans, the Ottomans, the Spanish and the French; and Lisbon, Portugal, one of the world’s most beautiful cities.
It is now mid-June and the Silver Cloud is almost on the final leg of its epic voyage, heading up the Atlantic Ocean, passing through La Coruna, Spain and Brittany, France, and stopping in London before sailing along the coast of the United Kingdom through the Irish Sea to Fort William, Scotland and the rugged beauty of St. Kilda in the Outer Hebrides.
Final leg – Silversea cruise from Iceland to Norway
The final leg of the journey as the Silversea cruise reaches Iceland, the land of fire and ice, spending several days in early July sailing along the coast and visiting its roaring waterfalls, soaring volcanoes and glorious wildlife.
From Iceland, the Silver Cloud crosses the Norwegian Sea, returning to familiar icy terrain in Svalbard, Norway, the northern hemisphere’s widest glacier front, and then, up along the North Cape, the northernmost point in Europe, inside the Arctic Circle where the Atlantic and Arctic oceans meet and there is light 24-hours a day.
On July 16, 167 days after departing Ushuaai, Argentina, the Silver Cloud’s voyage ends in Tromsø, Norway, where you can take the cable car to the Storsteinen viewpoint, where in winter there is an unparalleled view of the Northern Lights, and in summer the peaks of the island of Ringvassøya are silhouetted in black as the midnight sun shines.
A number of world-class experts will join the voyage, offering workshops and lectures, and accompanying shore excursions.
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