Silver Endeavour Review

After being bought by Silversea, the former Crystal Cruises' expedition vessel Crystal Endeavor relaunched in November 2022 as Silver Endeavour.

Silver Endeavour becomes the fifth expedition ship in Silversea's 11-strong fleet and replaces the 144-passenger Silver Explorer for the Antarctica season. The vessel is named after British explorer Captain James Cook's research ship, HMS Endeavour, and Silversea has returned to the original spelling.

The ship stays in the Antarctic all season, which runs from late October to early March, and only offers fly-cruises on Silversea's Antarctica Bridge program, avoiding the Drake Passage and cutting four days from a typical Antarctic itinerary.

The ship went through a significant structural refurb in April 2023, when 10 suites were added, increasing capacity to 220, bringing it more in line with the Silversea brand.

Silver Endeavour deck plans are well thought out, with a lot packed into a small space including an extraordinary aft restaurant, The Grill.

Almost all dining on Silver Endeavour is included in the price (bar one, La Dame), as is alcohol, gratuities, excursions and Wi-Fi.

The ship's public spaces include a gorgeous Observation Lounge, library and map/chart room, the multiuse Arts Cafe, and the Explorer Lounge for lectures.

Silver Endeavour Deck Plan Offers Plenty of Spots for Viewing the Stunning Landscape

Designed for ultra-luxury expedition cruising, Silver Endeavour carries just 200 passengers on a vessel with eight passenger decks.

Public areas are spacious and extensive, and they include a stunning Observation lounge on Deck 9 with 270-degree panoramic views for wildlife spotting, along with a forward observation deck complete with hot tub on Deck 6, and an aft observation area on Deck 5.

Adjacent to the Observation Lounge is a lovely set of rooms, which include the Library, the Studio and a Science Room, complete with maps and charts, and where you'll often find members of the Expedition Team eager to chat.

On Deck 5 you'll find the stunning glass-enclosed, double-height The Grill restaurant; a spa with treatment rooms and a gym and a yoga studio, and shops. The Arts Cafe on Deck 4 is a great spot to meet and grab a light meal.

You'll find the lecture theater, the Explorer Lounge, on Deck 3, along with the main dining room and the specialty restaurants -- La Dame and Il Terrazino and Connoisseur's Corner, a cozy cigar lounge.

The Mud Room, where you get changed for expeditions, and a laundry, are on Deck 2.

Outside spaces include a running track on Deck 10 and a Promenade Deck on Deck 5, as well as the aforementioned viewing spots.

Silver Endeavour Cabins are Comfortable and Offer Plenty of Storage Space

All rooms are termed suites. None are inside and all have balconies and butler service. There are four types: Veranda (which are broken down into Classic, Premium, Superior and Deluxe, but all are the same size and configuration); Silver, Grand and Owner. Only the latter two can be termed true "suites" in that they have separate living areas.

Living space in the entry-level suites comes in at a generous 304 square feet. A curtain divides the bed and living area to provide privacy.

All rooms feature ample wardrobe space, a drying cupboard for wet gear and a separate shower/toilet. Bathrooms feature large showers and sinks with double faucets.

The biggest suites are the Grand Suite and the Owner's Suites, which have very big balconies, a hot tub for two (indoor) and offer fantastic views from the front of the ship. They can be connected to adjoining Penthouse Suites to create accommodations with indoor footage of 2,227 square feet and a veranda of 1,654 square feet.

Silversea has opted not to carry a helicopter or submarines on the ship (a departure from what Crystal offered), and will add six premium suites where the helicopter hangar is and four standard suites where the casino once was.

Rooms/cabins to avoid are the ones higher up at the end of corridors, as these will be more prone to motion.

Food on Silver Endeavour is Hit & Miss

For a line that places such a strong emphasis on food, the quality has some way to go to reach that of the rest of the fleet.

There are six options ranging from the main dining room through specialty restaurants, an informal bistro and grab-and-go spot:

The Restaurant: Silver Endeavour's main dining venue and has space for up to 192 guests with a modern, spacious design.

Il Terrazzino: Meaning "little terrace"-- is an homage to the La Terrazza restaurant on the rest of the fleet and serves Italian cuisine in an intimate setting for 36 passengers.

La Dame: Silversea's signature French restaurant, La Dame, offers fine French cuisine and is the ship's only for-fee restaurant with a $60 per person charge.

The Grill: Offering 270-degree views of the destination from the ship's aft on deck 4, with a mezzanine on deck 5, The Grill is Silver Endeavour's casual eatery.

The ship also has the Arts Cafe, which offers light snacks and coffee.

Guests can also opt to have their butlers serve meals in-suite.

Silver Endeavour Offers High Levels of Luxury and Technology

Silver Endeavour maintains Silversea's high levels of luxury with a crew-to-guest ratio of approximately 1:1 and butler service for every suite. When the ship was ordered by Crystal Cruises and constructed at the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Germany, it was billed as the first purpose-built polar-class mega-yacht.

Designed to explore both polar regions and travel to remote and hard-to-access destinations, Silver Endeavour offers the highest Zodiac-to-guest ratio in expedition cruising, according to Silversea. The vessel is equipped with some of the latest exploration technology, including a remote Shotover gimbal camera system and a robotic Remote Operated Vehicle. The camera can capture high-quality images of wildlife from a distance of 3 miles, and these are streamed directly to TVs on the ship, including the large screens in the Expedition Lounge. Similarly, the remote vehicle can explore depths of nearly 2,000 feet to take underwater images.

Inclusions

What's Included

• All restaurants (except La Dame)

• Wi-Fi

• Gratuities

• Alcoholic beverages and specialty coffees

• Excursions

• Self-service laundry

• Flights from Punta Arenas to King George Island on Antarctica Airways

• Use of kayaks

• Rides on the ship's Zodiacs

• Boots (which need to be returned)

• Parka

• Waterproof pants

What's Not

• La Dame restaurant

• Spa treatments