labrasett

We all need to cut SS some slack, they are probably running around like headless chickens trying to keep up wih the various countries' requirements vis a vis covid in addition to the fact that a passengers nationality and point of origin also has to be taken into account.  Nothing like this has ever happened before and hopefully when we get out the other side of the current situation nothing similar will ever happen again but you can never say never.  In the meantime patience is key to sanity.

No silver boxes?  Why on earth would SS be wasting money on printing itineraries and sending them out at a time when countries all over the world are changing their Covid restrictions at the drop of a hat.  A voyage journal in a lovely silver box is pointless at this point in time.  Its very sad as the arrival of a silver box is wonderful in the run up to a cruise but its just another "suck it up" moment associated with Covid.  Maybe in 2022 we will all be able to get back to normal but I am not sure about that either.   Fingers crossed most of us get to cruise to our destinations of choice or to sail on some alternative but still with the same comfort and joy you get on SS ships.

Barbara M has just put a post on the Silversea Passengers Facebook page to say that their systems are down including telephones, they are working to fix it and send their apologies.   So no need for conspiracy theories.

On 7/27/2021 at 1:16 AM, kimanjo said:

 

It helps a lot!  The sizing info too.   DH doesn't really own a cold weather vest or jacket.  So, if he can make it from our home to Punta Arenas wearing just a fleece pullover, he doesn't need to buy a jacket, and can plan on packing layers and using the supplied parka.  Then, he can use the puff jacket as his "cold weather" next year when we do more cooler climate travels.  We got rid of all of our New England ski jackets years ago, and he's managed to get by without one.  

A couple of layers and fleece pullover will be fine for travel/arrival at Punta Arenas and your parka will be in your cabin when you get into it on the ship.  The parka is so useful later both as a wind/waterproof outer, as a good winterproof jacket when the outer and inner are worn in tandem and the inner makes a lightweight extra outer layer which works for cooler days or even quite cold days, the technology which has gone into the filling of the inner means it works well on cool and really quite cold days and I am truly a chilly mortal so feel well qualified to talk it up!!

All best discussed with your travel agent or your SS representative, a very complex set of questions but I will try to answer in brief. SS make all things possible if they can.   If you book travel through SS you pay at the same time as you pay for your cruise, you may pay a supplement for upgraded travel.   Reimbursement is as per the booking terms and conditions which are a bit of a moving feast at the moment although apparently settling a bit as the world slowly moves towards "normality".  Amending date  of travel (going early or coming back after end of cruise) is possible, sometimes incurs an amendent fee but if requested well in advance tends not to.   Number of changes?   Depends where you are travelling from and to and also if you have a preference as to which airline you fly with.   So still lots of unanswered questions there I am afraid.  

1 hour ago, Stickman1990 said:

Great plan - we’ve done the Indian Pacific from Perth to Sydney following a cruise and loved it. Good food and scenery and a very social experience in the lounge far

 

One suggestion is that you consider whether to do the Ghan from Adelaide to Darwin or the other way - we’ve been advised by several people that the Darwin to Adelaide option has better off train excursions so you might want to check the options out  

I understand what you are saying but Darwin down to Adelaide seems too counter intuitive as we are flying back to UK via Singapore which is a relatively short flight from Adelaide!  But, it was someone's comment on this website which encouraged me to do the whole of the Indian Pacific rather than just getting off in Adelaide to join the Ghan so until a bit nearer the time it is a case of never say never!

We have booked Auckland to Sydney for February 2023 on Whisper.  Having been to N. Island NZ a couple of years back we are keen to see South Island but no longer have a big appetite to drive about so a cruise seemed a good way to fulfill this ambition plus a follow up stay in Oz catching first the Indian Pacific train from Sydney to Perth, stay a few days then back track to Adelaide to pick up the Ghan (yes we love trains) to Darwin.   En route back to UK we intend to stop off in Singapore for tea at Raffles (they were closed for refurbishment the last time we went).   Watching Michael Portillo's great train journeys TV programmes this week has more than stirred our excitement for the trip.   

The UK has just lifted entry restrictions for fully vaccinated US and European travellers.

On 7/23/2021 at 11:37 AM, CruzinFeraBruzin said:

I fully expect this will take several calls to the SS Agent to remind them to add the cancelled cruise days to our Loyalty Statement.  The squeaky wheel gets the grease!

You may be right but I dont propose to squeak just yet, plenty of time for that when things start to settle down, I am sure I will get them in due course!  I enjoyed free laundry on my last trip and will continue to do so for some time to come before I am due any further loyalty reward.

I dont see any sign of our VS loyalty credit for our cancelled cruise for January this year and I was thinking maybe it doesnt actually matter because I am unlikely to reach the next milestone (240 days) but then I got to thinking that with the credit (not yet showing) plus the days I currently have booked for the next two years I will be closer to 200 rather than 100 days so maybe, just maybe achieving the 250 mark is not so unlikely!   Provided I remain fit and well into into my eighties then I will reach the heady heights of 250 plus days subject of course to the pension funds remaining extant!    Oh happy days on SS ships how much I look forward to our return to sea next spring.   I havent chased our consultant for the missing loyalty days at the moment as I suspect he has more than enough on his plate trying to arrange and rearrange and rearrange this years cruisers, plenty of time for me to chase him when the current situation has eased.   😀  

We too will be so sad when Explorer goes.   We did our first trip on her in 2011 and have done nearly 100 days over the ensuing years.   She is just the loveliest little ship with, as others have said, so many comfy spots to settle down in peace and enjoy the relaxed ambience.   A real expedition feel to her which is not replicated on the Cloud.   The small number of passengers ensures you get to speak to everyone and make many friends in a very short space of time.  She will be a great loss.

17 hours ago, cruiseej said:

@OlsSalt  Is this a new email you receive recently from Silversea? They announced the change from Ushuaia to Puerto Williams for this winter season's Explorer cruises at the end of April, so I was just wondering if you're just now getting communication about those details.

 

It sounds like you will get a better trip south from Santiago than we will for our trip on the Silver Wind. For the Explorer trips: "Travelers will depart from a private terminal in Santiago, Chile, on a lunchtime flight reserved only for Silversea guests, with extra legroom and additional baggage allowance." The air travel is a charter with DAP Antarctic Airways, the carrier Silversea uses for their December "Antarctica Bridge" cruises where passengers fly from Punta Arenas to King George Island in Antarctica to board Explorer for a 5-day trip, bypassing Drake's passage.

 

By contrast, what I've read from previous passengers traveling from Santiago to Ushuaia, as we are scheduled to do, it's on a cramped LATAM Chile flight: bigger airline, larger plane, smaller seats, public rather than private airport terminal! And sometimes, in the wee hours of the morning to boot. 😉 

Yep it is generally in the wee small hours of the morning which is a bit of a bummer.   The departure is easy from Santiago airport as it has a dedicated check in and we have not (done it twice through SCL) found it irksome, in particular because of the early start the terminal has never been crowded.   The Latam aircraft is standard economy but since it is only about a third full you usually find you get three seats between two people so have a bit of space around you.   Food and drink is limited on the flight.   Grin and bear it its really not too bad and true luxury awaits you at the other end.

The wifi is very variable, not generally suitable for streaming.   I was able to do a little work remotely a few years back via email and it has been greatly improved since.  It is generally OK for emails.   I am not sure about "premium" wifi on an expedition to Antarctica which might speed it up a bit I think the satellite connection is the main issue but you should be OK kimanjo for the use you describe.

hulmops - you would be happy with Club Word, that is Business Class in airline langugage.   Our experience of SS flights has been very good, usually BA and usually direct although we did come back from Cape Town via Doha on one occasion, will be watching out for that one for our next planned return from Cape Town but I am conscious that BA may not do daily flights on all of the routes it used to service pre Covid.  

However you do it, it is an absolute must at dawn and dusk.   It is incredibly beautiful in both the morning and the evening light and while there are lots of people there it has an air of "hush" about it and somehow you dont feel hustled.

It stands to reason the discount for not taking up the flights will be different epending on where you are flying from and where you are cruising from.   Just ask for a quote and then establish a dialogue wth your allocated cruise consultant, its not difficult.

We too were on the "ill fated" cruise to Patagonia (Chilean Fjords) on the Explorer this Spring.   We thoroughly enjoyed the cruise albeit cut short by three days due to quarantining in cabin but even that was well managed although became rather tedious.   The scenery and the trips out were wonderful including a couple of great zodiac cruises.    The wild life was as expected with added Condors.   Time spent on the Explorer is always good, food very good, service outstanding and everyone so cheerful.   The return was a little hectic due to the local authorities being somewhat dischuffed with the fact we had offloaded a passenger with Coronavirus into one of the small local towns but SS did a wonderful job, in the face of very considerable adversity, secreting us away from the area on a zodiac, a ferry and then a flight from a local airfield to Sao Paulo.   They arranged aircraft to take pax to US, to Oz and to Europe (London).   Not the easiest of journeys but certainly so much better than being stuck in Chile either on the ship or on the land for weeks as many other cruise pax have experienced with other cruise lines.   A month or so on and we still await our bags which are still on the Explorer moored off Panama but no doubt they will come in due course.  We love the expedition format particularly on the Explorer.   We have done several trips on her including Antarctica, Panama down to Valparaiso and Cape to Cape.   We have also done Cape to Cape on Silver Cloud which is more of an adventure than an expedition experience with more pax, slightly less time in zodiacs and on shore and a slightly different clientele (not the more rugged types of a proper expedition cruise).   South Georgia is a destination that everyone should visit at least once in their lives, at least that is my view.

I dont really "know" but the port is small and the ship will not be far from the entrance so I suspect provided you have your ticketing documentation you will be able to just walk on board if you arrive at the correct arrival window.  Surely your Silversea booking agent can confirm this for you.   Which trip are you doing?

What I should have said was that the only place the large gentleman couldnt/didnt get off was on to a rocky island.

Great series of posts and a lovely round up. We too have found the food somewhat varied but never starved - it just isnt possible as there is always something which is acceptable at any time and sometimes the food is wonderful. We have also cruised with someone who was utterly huge and the expedition and ships staff were fantastic at getting him on and off the zodiacs at all but one stop on the relevant cruise and the effort they put into ensuring he enjoyed himself was immense, the crew showed great forbearance and considerable skill. The only place he could get off was onto a rocky sided island in a pretty brisk swell which was fairly hazardous for eve the most agile although safely negotiated by all who wanted to go to the island. Thank you Rachel for your wonderful pictures and descriptions of your trip. Cant wait for ours next March (Cape to Cape).

Thank you for the wonderful reports and pictures, do I understand this is your last day - have a safe trip home, it has been great exchanging comments with you.

We always said we would go anywhere with Susan on board. Such a lovely gentle person, so knowledgeable and such a good presenter. Please send her regards from Geoff and Frances Firmin (to remind her of who we are say "We are the couple who dressed up for the onboard field trip"! She will laugh. More lovely photos today thank you.

Hi Rachel, lovely pics, who are the members of the expedition team?

Thank you RachelG, we always enjoyed lunches on the Explorer, such a wonderful selection. So envy you your trip except the mozzies, I wouldnt be good with those, nor would my husband!! Keep blogging I am loving it.

Loving your blog on this site. We are lovers of the Explorer having done three trips, one to Antartica, one Cape to Cape and one from Panama to Valparaiso. Great to hear you are having a good time on the ship and that the food is still so good. We were a bit disappointed with the food on the Shadow on a recent trip but hopeful of our next Cape to Cape trip in 2019 which will be on the Cloud (expedition config). Looking forward to your next and future posts. Have a fantastic time.