Silver Cloud

 Halifax is typically a way point for cruise ships on their way to or from a home port. Occasioanlly Halifax is the "terminal" port where a cruise starts or ends. That was the case today, September 20, when the Silver Cloud arrived at the end of a twelve day cruise from Iceland and Greenland.

One of three cruise ships in port today, Silver Cloud at Pier 23 joined Mein Schiff 6 (background) at Pier 22 and Silver Shadow (out of the frame) at Pier 21.

 Sailing from Reykjavik September 8 the ship called in seven different locations in Greenland before heading on to St.Anthony, Newfoundland (September 16), St-Pierre et Miquelon (September 18) and Louisbourg, NS (September 19.) After disembarking passengers left the ships in Halifax today the crew made the ship ready for a new contingent to board in the afternoon. It then embarked on an 11 day jaunt to Fort Lauderdale, with the first stop in Bar Harbor. After that the ship will move around the Caribbean before heading to South America in time to start its next Antarctic trip from Chile on November 20.

Built in 1994 by Cantiere Navale Visentini in Porto Viro, near Venice, the ship was extensively rebuilt in 2012 and again in 2017 when it was upgraded to ice class. Now registered at 16,927 gt, it has 196 cabins and can carry a maximum of 296 to 302 passengers, but that is reduced to 200 for polar cruises. Tbe crew then ranges in size from 217 to 222. Operator Silver Seas Cruises, (since 2020) is the luxury cruise brand of Royal Caribbean.

When the ship completed its last Antarctic season in March 2023, it headed for Cape Town, then made its way to Mahé (Seychelles), Muscat, Jeddah, Athens, Lisbon, Dublin, and Reykjavik, arriving June 25. It then started is summer season of six trips in Greenland waters.

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