Your Cruise Your Way Cruise Blog

Silversea Cruises has a wonderful surprise in store for cruise guests on the Silver Whisper sailing from Athens to Venice this summer. The July 5 sailing of the Silver Whisper is featuring award-winning actor John Lithgow as a celebrity guest lecturer. Lithgow comes as no stranger to most of us, both a an accomplished actor and an outstandingly funny comedian.

Guests sailing on the ultra-luxury ship will be treated to a portion of Lithgow’s new one-man show, Stories by Heart, now playing a limited engagement at Lincoln Center’s Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater in New York. The show is a comic meditation on the art and essence of storytelling. Invoking memories of his grandmother and father before him, Lithgow traces his own history as an actor and storyteller, a history spanning three generations.

“We’re thrilled and honored to have such a renowned stage, film and television actor on board to entertain our guests,” said Cliff Perry, Silversea’s director of entertainment. “The intimate, club-like ambience of Silver Whisper will make it the perfect venue to showcase Mr. Lithgow’s formidable talents.”

A theater actor at heart, Lithgow won the first of two Tony Awards three weeks after his Broadway debut, in David Storey’s The Changing Room. He went on to make a major mark in films with Oscar nominations for his performances in The World According to Garp and Terms of Endearment. Lithgow has been nominated for ten Emmy Awards for his work in television. He won three Emmy Awards, one Golden Globe, two SAG Awards and an American Comedy Award for what is perhaps his most celebrated creation — the loopy character of the alien High Commander, Dick Solomon, on the hit NBC comedy series 3rd Rock from the Sun.

The multi-talented performer is also a New York Times best-selling author of children’s books and has sung in concerts for children with the Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Baltimore and San Diego symphony orchestras and at Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. Lithgow has released three albums for kids, including the Grammy-nominated The Sunny Side of the Street.

The July 5 cruise aboard the all-suite, 382-guest Silver Whisper departs from Athens for Kalamata, Argostoli, Kotor, Dubrovnik, and Split, with an overnight stay in Venice. Early Booking Incentive fares for this 7-day voyage start at $5,520 per person, based on double occupancy.

Silversea Cruises is recognized as an innovator in the luxury segment, offering guests large-ship amenities aboard four intimate vessels, Silver Cloud, Silver Wind, Silver Shadow, and Silver Whisper, all designed to offer an atmosphere of conviviality and casual elegance. With the addition of the regal expedition ship Prince Albert II in 2008, the company’s itineraries encompass all seven continents.

In the U.S., Silversea has been voted “World’s Best” by the readers of Condé Nast Traveler nine times and six times by the readers of Travel & Leisure. International awards include “World’s Leading Luxury Cruise Line” from World Travel Awards (2007); “Five Star Diamond Award” from the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences (2007); “Number One” small-ship line in the Readers’ Choice” survey conducted by Britain’s Condé Nast Traveller magazine (2007); “Five Anchors” for Gastronomy and Service in Germany’s Kreuzfahrt Guide (2007); “Best Small Cruise Line” by Australia’s Luxury Travel Magazine (2007); and Best Luxury Cruise Operator according to Asia’s Travel Weekly (2007).