The Prince Albert II expedition ship won't be sailing in Tahiti next year, said Silversea, because the line wants to keep the ship closer to its core customers.
Silversea also said demand for Antarctic and Arctic voyages has exceeded demand for Tahiti.
The Tahiti deployment was scheduled from mid-March to late October 2009.
The 132-passenger ship will return to the Arctic on June 1 and operate nine sailings there before heading south to spend fall and winter in Antarctica, South Georgia and the Falkland Islands.
Silversea has not yet finalized the ship's itineraries between mid-March and June.
"Operating our vessel in close reach of our three leading markets (U.S., U.K. and continental Europe) is all the more justified given the present economic environment," Silversea CEO Amerigo Perasso said in a statement.
The Arctic sailings will include seven-day cruises to either the Svalbard archipelago or Greenland and 10- to 16-day trips to more remote Arctic areas.
The Tahiti itinerary was to feature the "less-traveled" regions of French Polynesia, ranging from the southernmost Austral Islands to the Tuamotu archipelago and the northernmost Marquesas Islands.
Silversea acquired the ship last fall, renovated the vessel and christened it the Prince Albert II in June.
