Cruising in style: Swanky new luxury ship opens for bookings

One of the most luxurious cruise ships ever envisioned is now open for bookings.

Silversea Cruises on Monday began taking reservations for the 596-passenger Silver Muse, which is scheduled to debut in 2017.

Currently under construction at a shipyard in Italy, the 40,700-ton vessel will be the largest ever for the luxury line and feature some of the most upscale accommodations at sea (scroll through the carousel above for the first images of what Silversea is planning).

The ship is arriving as competition heats up in the luxury cruise sector. Silversea rival Regent Seven Seas Cruises also is building a new vessel that it's billing as the most luxurious ever, and luxury line Seabourn is in the midst of a two-ship fleet expansion.

Silversea's last newly built luxury ship, Silver Spirit, came out in December 2009. Since then, Silversea also has acquired and revamped several smaller expedition-style cruise ships, including the 100-passenger Silver Galapagos in 2013 and the 120-passenger Silver Discoverer in 2014.

Silver Muse's first sailing will be an eight-night voyage out of Monte Carlo that kick off on April 10, 2017. It'll feature stops in France, Spain and Italy and start at $4,250 per person, based on double occupancy. The vessel then will sail a series of 11- to 13-night voyages in the Mediterranean through the summer with fares starting at $6,750 per person.

For a deck-by-deck look at Silversea's revamped Silver Galapagos, click through the carousel below.