Siversea Whisper prepares to cruise to all 7 continents in 2020

Moai Isla de Pascua  (Moais Sculptures on Easter Island)
(Horacio Fernandez -- www.panoramio.com/photo 107053120
Creative Commons 3.0)

CHARLOTTE, NC -- Phileas Phogg managed to circumnavigate the globe in 80 days, but it was nowhere near as luxurious as the Silversea Round the World, 7 Continent cruise in 2020. Passengers on the Silversea Cruise Line will accomplish the task in 140 days, almost twice as long as it took old Phileas, but they will also visit 62 ports in 32 countries.

Silversea Whisper will be refurbished for its deluxe 2020 global advemture (Courtesy: Silversea Cruises)

With a capacity of only 382 people, Silver Whisper has no intentions of challenging Mr. Phogg, at least for time. Rather luxury is the order of the day, making the most unique aspect of this cruise the first to call at every continent on the planet.

Setting sail from Ft. Lauderdale on January 5, 2020, Silversea says it will be the first ever cruise to visit the seven continents in a single itinerary. Of course the price tag won't be inexpensive coming in at $62,000 per person on the newly refurbished ship. Then again, there's an entire year to save your shekels before embarking on the deluxe adventure.

Of course, it you really want to splurge, you can go top of the line for a mere $250,000.

Greek theater, Taormina, Sicily
(Photo: Taylor)

As of now, Silversea is not selling segments of the cruise. That will come later when the entire itinerary will be broken into 9 separate itineraries. Ports of call will include many traditional destinations combined with some more exotic lesser traveled sites in the world.

Among the highlights will be a stop at Pitcairn Island, the remote setting for Mutiny on the Bounty, Vanuatu in the South Pacific featuring a water dance festival on Champagne Beach and three days in Antarctica with glacial expeditions conducted by nine specialists. Zodiac tours will speed passengers along to the stunning frozen beauty of the world's final frontier.

A leopard seal relaxes on an iceberg in Antarctica
(Courtesy: Silversea Cruises)

Zodiacs are small inflatable raft-like boats that are ideally suited for navigating the icy waters of Antarctica.

The "Legends of Cruising" extravaganza concludes in Edinburgh with a farewell dinner at Mansfield Traquair, the Scottish version of the Sistine Chapel.

The first segment of the cruise travels from Ft. Lauderdale to Buenos Aires with stops in Puerto Rico, Barbados, Brazil and Uruguay before disembarking in Argentina.

Abandoned Dreyfus Hut
Pitcairn Island
(Photo: Philipp Weigel)

Among the highlights is a call at the discarded key-shaped island off the coast of French Guiana known as Devil's Island, site of one of history's most infamous and feared prisons.

The prison now lies dormant after being closed in 1953 it now exists as an isolated foreboding purgatory.

The second leg of the cruise sails from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso, Chile including the ports of call in Antarctica.

The Falkland Islands are also part of the itinerary which sails around the southern tip of South America.

Stunning beauty of Antarctica (Courtesy: Antartica Epeditions)

Antarctica's breathtaking iceberg sculptures are captivating and spectacular. Add in up-close-and-personal encounters with a variety of marine mammals and colonies of penguins and you have sense of time travel nearly two centuries into the past when the only visitors were explorers, whalers, sealers and scientists.

Chilean fjords and glaciers
(Courtesy: Silversea  Cruises)

Next come the winding expanses of the Chilean Fjords filled with seals, dolphins, waterfalls and plant-life that clings to the barren rocks. Here small fishing boats from Punta Arenas ply the waters in search of king crab and other fish.

Though Leg #3 only docks at five ports, it may comprise the most exotic collection of sites on the cruise.

Even the name Robinson Crusoe Island conjures romantic images, if for no other reason than the recollections of Daniel Defoe's classic 1719 novel, Robinson Crusoe. Many readers believe the tales are so realistic that Crusoe was a real person and his travelogue accounts are true.

Exotic wildlife of Robinson
Crusoe Island
(Courtesy: Silversea Cruises)

Nestled roughly 400 miles off the coast of Chile, the rugged island of volcanic origin is a UNESCO site and the largest of a tiny archipelago known as the Juan Fernandez Islands.

Ever wonder how Easter Island got its name? The answer is simple really, it was discovered on Easter Sunday, 1722. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is among the most remote places on Earth situated approximately 1,700 miles off the coast of Chile.

Famous for its eerie Moai stone statues, archaeologists continue attempts to unlock the mysteries of the ancient Rapa Nui language which was written on what are called "rongo rongo tablets."

Easter Island is also famous for its beaches 
(Courtesy: Silversea Cruises)

More Polynesian than South American in character, Easter Island also features stunningly beautiful beaches, coral reefs and crystal clear waters.

Embarking from Papeete, Tahiti to Sydney, Australia with ports of call in Bora Bora, Tonga, the Cook Islands and Vanuatu among others, this segment is among the most active legs of the cruise.

For most of us, Papeete and Fiji, another port of call on this leg, would be off-the-beaten path enough, but not on this Silversea itinerary where Bora Bora and Tonga are added.

Bora Bora is stunning from every angle
(Courtesy: Silversea Cruises)

Just the double name Bora Bora captures the imagination and it lives up to expectations with thatched wooden huts standing out over shallow seas and vivid schools of fish swimming just beneath the surface.

Elsewhere, Tonga is an archipelago consisting of 169 islands of which only 36 are inhabited. Uoleva Island is one of the most beautiful anchorages in Tonga, and except for three small resorts, it is largely uninhabited. Talk about getting away from it all.

Uoleva Island is a great place
for whale watching
(Courtesy: Silversea Cruises)

Uoleva is one of the best places in the world for sighting humpback whales while snorkelers thrive in the clear blue waters and colorful marine life.

Now that we are half way around the world, doing Jules Verne and Phileas Phogg proud, we'll take a break from our sea going adventure and return next week with the final five segments of Silversea's unique "Legends of Cruising" world cruise in 2020.