Silversea Cruises is to explore opportunities for more new-builds as it looks to further freshen up its fleet and increase its expedition offering.
The line has seen a 56% increase in capacity since the start of the pandemic, with five ships, including newest vessel Silver Nova, joining the fleet since 2020. Nova will be followed by sister ship Silver Ray, set to launch next July, and brand president and chief executive Barbara Muckermann said Silversea was likely to decide on options for two additional Nova-class ships by the end of this year.
Muckermann said the team “deserved time to breathe and digest current growth”, but confirmed she would be “looking at new-build opportunities”.
“I would absolutely love to see more growth in expedition,” she said.
We are always looking for new opportunities because we need to update our older hardware
“Expedition remains at the centre of our strategy. We will be looking at new-builds – we are always looking for new opportunities and one of the reasons for that is because we really need to update our older hardware.
“You can’t have a ship like [Nova] in the market and also be competing with a ship of 20 years. There is a moment when you really need to start looking at new opportunities as there becomes a point where there is too much of a gap.
“A leading brand like Silversea will continue to work on new hardware across ocean and expedition.”
Royal Caribbean Group president and chief executive Jason Liberty reaffirmed Muckermann’s sentiment, adding: “We feel very strongly that the ultra-luxury space and the expedition space are very much in demand. The expectation is that we will continue to grow and be the leaders in that space.”
More: Agents urged to put Silver Nova ‘on shopping lists’ of high value clients
Silversea considering more ships to expand expedition fleet
Line hails ‘success’ of its revamped agency commission structure
Silversea Cruises is paying out more in agency commission since changing its remuneration structure at the start of the year.
President and chief executive Barbara Muckermann said the incentive structure had been “realigned” in January to reward agents who produce more sales, resulting in the operator spending more on agency commissions this year than in 2022.
The line also introduced “commission kickers” as a way for agents to earn bonus commission.
Agents can earn an extra 1% commission on bookings for new-to-brand customers or expedition sailings, with both of these combinable for a 2% bonus. Agents booking a client’s second Silversea cruise are also rewarded with 1% bonus commission.
Muckermann said: “Our average commission cost has increased from last year – not because of an increase in revenue but as a percentage. I’m spending a higher percentage of my P&L on travel advisor commission than I was last year – and we want that.”
Muckermann, who described the move as “very successful”, said some agents weren’t transferred to the new structure immediately and data had shown they had performed worse than those agents that had been switched to the new terms.