FORT LAUDERDALE -- Silversea Cruises is reviewing its ports of call, and some destinations may end up being visited less frequently because they're too crowded.
Speaking on the Royal Caribbean Group Presidents Panel at CruiseWorld, Silversea president Bert Hernandez stressed that the luxury line would be calling in more ports than ever. However, it is "vetting ports to make sure they offer the Silversea experience."
What does that mean? Hernandez gave a couple of examples.
"I think what you'll see is less St. Thomas, for instance, and a lot more St. Barts and St. John, and a lot more bespoke, smaller ports in Italy and Greece," he said.
He added that the Greek islands of Santorini and Mykonos have strong appeal for guests, but large crowds can dampen the experience.
"Those islands do have some issues when you go on a high-traffic day, so we'll limit visits to days when they have fewer ships in port," Hernandez said.
The goal is to improve the Silversea experience on all itineraries.
"We spent a lot of time talking to our guests, understanding where they want to go, what are their travel intentions, and then aligning our deployment in such a way that reflects that," Hernandez said.