The upcoming Silver Ray, the next luxury ship from Silversea Cruises, floated out at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany on February 25.
This brings the amazing vessel to her next phase of construction and closer to her June debut when she will welcome eager guests for a season in the Mediterranean.
Silver Ray Floated Out
Sunday was a momentous occasion for Silversea Cruises as the luxury line moves one step closer to welcoming their third new vessel with Silver Ray floating out at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany on Sunday, February 25.
This follows a brief delay, as the ship’s float out was originally scheduled for Saturday, February 24, but had to be postponed due to inclement weather.
Sister ship to the acclaimed Silver Nova, Silver Ray is now ready to begin finishing details and fitting out ahead of her planned June debut. This process will take several months as interior spaces are finished and details installed aboard the exquisite vessel, but she is now officially in the water – nearly 15 months after the first steel was cut for the ship’s official construction.
The floating out process took approximately four hours, when 100,000 cubic meters of water (roughly 26.4 million gallons) were flooded into the construction dry dock and the ship was maneuvered by two tug boats into the adjacent harbor basin, where work on Silver Ray will continue.
“Reaching the major milestone of the float out, we now approach the completion of Silver Ray. The Meyer team is now working on getting this beautiful ship ready for her upcoming sea trials,” said Thorsten Kroes, Project Manager at Meyer Werft.
Those sea trials will take place soon, once the ship’s technical systems are complete and the ship has been conveyed down the Ems River to the North Sea. At that time, she will put through her paces for navigation, propulsion, maneuvering, safety responses, and more.
Luxury cruise aficionados are eagerly awaiting the debut of Silver Ray, following the amazing response to Silver Nova, which debuted in August 2023 and is currently offering a diverse range of sailings in South America.
“With the float out of Silver Ray, excitement is building for the launch of the second ship in our pioneering Nova-class,” said Barbara Muckermann, President of Silversea. “We received such incredibly strong feedback on Silver Nova from guests, travel advisors, and members of the press following her launch in August 2023.”
To commemorate the float out, the ship’s master, Captain Alessandro Zanello, welded a coin to the wall on the pool deck, a time-honored tradition believed to bring good luck to the vessel and all aboard her.
Diverse Itineraries on Offer
With her debut, Silver Ray will spend her first months offering a range of Mediterranean itineraries from homeports such as Lisbon, Barcelona, Rome, Athens, and Venice, before her first transatlantic cruise in early December as she moves to Fort Lauderdale to offer South American itineraries.
In her first seasons, Silver Ray will make visits to stunning ports of call such as Malaga, Saint-Tropez, Sorrento, Zadar, Cagliari, Tangier, Oranjestad, Cartagena, Ushuaia, and many more.
The new ship will return to the Mediterranean for the 2025 summer season and will be back to Fort Lauderdale for Caribbean itineraries in December 2025.
Amazing Luxury Line Growth
Silver Ray will be the sixth ship added to the Silversea Cruises fleet in just three years, following Silver Moon (2020), Silver Dawn (2021), and Silver Nova (2023) for cruise ships, as well as the expedition ships Silver Origin (2020) and Silver Endeavor (2021).
This demonstrates outstanding growth for the luxury line and amazing confidence in its ability to deliver unparalleled experiences to discerning travelers.
“Sustaining the wave of innovation that is driving our success, the launch of Silver Ray will strengthen Royal Caribbean Group’s unwavering commitment to delivering a lifetime of vacations for guests, with its industry-leading global brands,” said Muckermann.
Other lines in the Royal Caribbean Group have also recently introduced new vessels – including Royal Caribbean International’s Icon of the Seas (January 2024) and Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Ascent (November 2023) – further bringing new and amazing vacation options to all types of cruise travelers.
