6/30 Sailing on Prince Albert

My wife and I will be on the June 30 Arctic voyage out of Tromso. I wondered if anyone else from the boards will be aboard. We have (as we always do) booked pretty much at the last minute. Given that this will be only the second trip for the Prince Albert, there is not much to go on, other than the Siversea reputation. Any info that anyone has will be appreciated. I have already seen everything previously posted.

I will try to provide a review afterwards.

We await a full report...thanx.

I'm very interested in your review. Have you been on Lindblad, the "premiere" line for eco-cruising (or so I have been told.) I went on a Lindblad trip to the Galapagos and it was fantastic. I am very curious how Silversea approaches an ecological destination. Is there an emphasis on learning? protecting the environment? activity? Does the environment dictate the schedule, meaning that some things cannot be predicted or times set with 100% certainty? Does the staff on the ship hail from the areas you are visiting, eg. an ecuadorian captain and naturalists were present on my trip to the Galapagos. I'd be interested in a comparison between Silversea and Lindblad, if you are able to give it.

My husband and I are considering booking the Iceland to Canada 7/30 trip. We would be interested in your evaluation as there is not very much to go on on these inaugural year cruises

Well, I leave Friday evening for the first of the five legs on my flight from Tucson to Tromso, over four days. Tromso, as I have been telling people, may not be the end of the world, but you can see it from there. Once we board the Prince Albert, however, and sail to Svalbard, we will, in fact, be at the end of the world.

I have never sailed with Lindblad, so I will be unable to make comparisons. I am not taking a computer with me, so my posting aboard will likely be somewhat limited. I hope I will be able to motivate after retuning home to post a detailed review. I expect to take zillions of pictures, and we may upload them along the way -- if we do, I will post a link on this board.

Most of the cruise is variable, meaning that weather and conditions will dictate where and when we go. I sincerely doubt there will be anyone from Svalbard on the crew, as no. 1, the ship is only in the area for a relatively short period of time (the same ship also does the antarctic season during the norther hemisphere's winter), and no. 2, I don't think there are very many Svalbardians to begin with.

There are about half dozen "experts" to deal with the "learning" issue -- an ornithologist, a geologist, a biologist, an anthorpologist, etc. The only entertainment I am anticipating aboard are the "expert's" lectures.

Next time you hear from me I will be closer to the North Pole than the line of the arctic circle.

We will be interested in your review if you have a chance to post it before we leave on the 7/30 trip. I think we are going to book it tonight. It would be good to know the kind of seas you experience.

I have been looking on Silversea's website at the journal entries, but there have not been new entries for about a week, so none yet from Svalbard.

Have a great cruise!

jjjbr, Thanx so much for the info on the PA journal. Good reading.

You're welcome, duct tape. We did sign on, so we will be on the Iceland/Newfoundland leg leaving 7/30. If anyone else is on that, let us know.

I am interested in and anxiously awaiting all your reports. We have cruised with Lindblad in Costa Rica and on the Celebrity Xpedition in the Galapagos. Based on Silversea's reputation, I would expect their ship to be even better, but want to hear some trip reports!

We will be embarking Prince Albert July 30 in Reykjavik ending in New York. Reading the journal on the SS web site has certainly made us even more excited. We have not been on a expedition type ship since our trip to Antartictica, several years ago, on a Regent leased ship the Hanseatic. Hope to meet any CC'ers that will be on board.

Hi Lucky D,

My husband and I will also be on that sailing. We have enjoyed reading the journal entries and are very excited about the cruise. We have not been on an expedition cruise before, so this will be a new adventure for us. We did go out on scuba trips on Zodiacs from Regent's Paul Gauguin, but looks like this weather will be quite different!

We are trying to figure out what to pack. Let us know if you have any tips from your Antartica cruise. Were the seas very rough on that and, if so, what did you do, if anything, to cope?

In my ongoing effort to keep this boards readers informed about our product, it may interest you to know that Silversea Expeditions keeps a log of all Expedition Voyages on our website.

We do provide a true Expedition product in the same vein as the other expedition providers mentioned above. This has been set up and branded as "Silversea Expeditions" for this express purpose - to highlight that this is not a regular Silversea Cruise, or even a cruise - it is an expedition. There are no Cruise Directors and Cruise Staff - instead we will have and Expedition Leader and Expedition Team. There is no shore excursion office, because all the excursions are on the zodiacs. And, yes, weather and sea conditions, not clocks and calendars, will determine each expeditions itinerary.

Here is a link to our Online Voyage Journals - each log entry is made by a member of the Expedition Team. It also has photos, and can be downloaded and emailed:

http://www.silversea.com/silversea.aspx?id=1091&page_type=journal&page_id=princealbertII

Steve Tucker

Director of Sales and National Accounts - Eastern Region

Silversea Cruises

Looks like the link was truncated. Go to http://www.silversea.com, click on the Voyage Journals link on the left.

Steve Tucker

Thanks Steve,

We have been reading the journal entries with great interest. How long is it planned that they will remain posted after a sailing is over? (We want to be able to read about our sailing after we return.)

The journal entries are really interesting--makes me want to schedule a cruise! We are hoping for Antarctica in Nov 2009. I saw where the schedule is now out for next summer--Tahiti. Looks wonderful.

It is planned to leave three voyages up at a time, and then to archive the older ones. How long we leave the archives up has not yet been determined, but certainly there will be plenty of time after a voyage to review, download and/or forward it.

Steve Tucker

Hi jjjbr.

Sorry for slow response, been out of town enjoying the 4th. The weather southbond to Antartica was excellent, however on the return to Ushuaia, Drake passage was quite rough, 25' seas for about 24 hours.

This could be true anyplace, depending on weather conditions.

As to packing; essentials are well covered in the Prince Albert info pack.

We will generally follow their suggestions as the needs are little changed from Antartica. We will not be pursuing name brands, simply using what we currently have.

Just a quick note -- We are off the east coast of Svalbard, about the 78th parallel. Internet access is spotty this far north, so I have not been able to get online for several days. I'll post in more detail after I return home. The ship is great, but this is not a cruise -- it is an expedition. Flexibility is the key to enjoying yourself. I guess I'm pretty flexible, because I'm really having a great time. Basically twice a day into the zodiacs to land and walk or hike, or just to cruise around in amd out of the ice. Polar bear sighting yesterday, for the better part of an hour -- from the zodiacs, pretty close in. The ship is terrific, service classic SilverSea, food what you would expect (if you expect a lot). Easily the most luxurious expedition cruising imaginable. Bring your gear, because you'll be outdoors a lot. Hiking shoes definitely advised. Birding paradise. Really no complaints yet. If you are booked on one of the upcoming trips, you should plan to have a great time. We have been EXTREMELY lucky with the weather -- mostly forty-ish, only very occasionally below freezing, no rain or snow. More later.

Canaandog,

Most interested in the "on the spot" commentary. We have been reading the journal logs on the Silversea website, but those are posted by staff, so it is very informative to have the viewpoint of the passengers. My husband and I are set for the 6/30 trip, so we will look forward to more of your comments.

I am delighted that Mr Tucker's participation has become more frequent. I hope that having a quasi-designated management representative on this board will become a long term regular feature!

P.S. Are my guesses on the newbuild Spirit's features http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=733105 Postings #10 and #21 fairly close to what it will be? Thank you.

Hi LuckyD,

We just started getting our gear together and are excited about the upcoming cruise. The journal entries on the silversea site have been fascinating. Do you plan on taking along your own boots, or using those provided by the ship? Also, are the boots that are use the "over the shoe" type, or just worn with a couple pairs of socks? When their is hiking, do you hike in the boots, or hiking shoes?

Sorry for all of the footwear questions, but I'm slightly confused. Any info from anyone would be appreciated.

We'll be boarding on Thursday in Akureyri and sailing until Reykjavik. I'm a little confused by the "essentials" list, since it seems as if the Iceland weather isn't all that brutal. Still, I have my thermal underwear, gloves and boots (I assume the latter is vital for the zodiac landings). I just hope I'm not shlepping a lot of stuff I won't need.

Really looking forward to seeing and expedition cruise, Silversea-style!

My understanding is that the boots are important to the landings from the zodiac--you'll actually have to walk through water so if you're thinking "Totes," think again!

We got knee lenghth rubber boots with a thick sole. They weigh A TON so I have them stuffed with a ton of stuff!

From what I read...somewhere...the ship does have some boots but they can't guarantee they have all sizes. I plan to leave these behind which will free up my carry on for anything I have to bring home.

Although I recommend bringing your own rubber boots, the ship seemed to have a pretty good complement on the 6/30 Svalbard cruise, but if you bring your own you can insure a good fit (with thick socks, or "welly-liners" that you can also bring). But no matter what, bring your hiking shoes, since the rubber boots (which you really need to wear on all of the "wet" landings) are not the right footwear for hiking after you land. And there is a lot of hiking available. Less dressy clothing and more gear will be a good plan for the PA. Enjoy yourselves! Oh -- if you can manage it, a trekking pole or walking stick will come in very handy.

Thanks for the responses. I was also wondering about the necessity of all the gear, but guess we'll be packing the same. Canaandog, how did you like your cruise? Any chance you will be posting a review?