machotspur

mlk58 - thank you so much for you very helpful comments on Suite 737 - we thank you for taking time out of your cruise to help another Seabourn cruiser 👍. One other quick question if I may - you mention that you took an upgrade for a reasonable cost. Was this offered to you in advance of you departing from home, or once you had embarked the ship ? Thank so much again for your kind assistance.

Absolutely concur with the two accounts on Silver Endeavour. We were on the ship last November for a Falklands/South Georgia/Antarctica itinerary and the hygiene protocols, whilst being throrough they were a breeze - and little inconvenience to guests. To support the reports already posted - once we'd been through the initial inspection of the outer gear we brought with us, the expedition team members took care of everything. They inspected & sprayed our footwear down on exit & reentry to the ship. They also ensured that we went through the sanitation troughs each way. It really was a well organised, professional but hassle free process. We certainly didnt get involved in any boot scrubbing etc. A really good example of reconciling luxury expedition cruising to essential safety & environmental requirements.

We are booked on a South Pacific itinerary on Pursuit in April 2025, in a Veranda suite. Ideally we would have liked a Penthouse Suite but these are sold out. We are able to book one of these but with a ‘We Choose’ booking. On a different ship, with a larger ‘category size’ to be allocated from, we may have taken a gamble with this, but with Pursuit & Venture the Penthouse Suites are a little more complex. There is an odd suite – 739 – that is semi isolated - directly opposite the Spa (the suite was previously categorised as Penthouse Spa) – that is not of interest to us. Of the remaining 11 Penthouse Suites, 5 of them are ‘Accessible Suites’. So – my (delicate) question to anyone that has cruised on Venture/Pursuit in an ‘Accessible Penthouse’ - with utmost respect to those that very much value these adapted suites - is what is different in these to standard Penthouse, and to what degree did it feel ‘unusual’ to be in. Clearly if we went for the 'We Choose' booking we could end up with the isolated 739 or one of the 'Accessible' suites. We need to understand if these are as enjoyable as a standard suite. Thank you so much to anyone who can share inisight on this.

Very much 'ditto'. The experiences on the 'old' fleet led to us deserting Silversea for 8 years. Whilst aware of certain shortcomings the 'Muse Class' ships meet much of our needs. We cruise with Silversea, Seabourn and Regent and in our experience the downturn in standards that some note is apparent across all three. We went back to Oceania a year or so back and found the food & service standards to be very disappointing. None of the cruise lines mentioned fully meet our needs, but we would consider any of them if the itinerary was of interest.

We were on Silver Endeavour for 18 nights in November - Falklands, S.Georgia, Antarctica. No formality at all - generally 'country casual', and in the Grill casual. I understand that the nationality of guests on Antarctica trips is changing significantly and this may well affect how casually people dress. For example on our cruise there were 49 Chinese guests, a fair proportion of which dressed very casually. Nobody seemed to worry about it. One thing to rememeber - assuming you will be taking the charter flight down to Antarctica or Puerto Williams - the baggage allowance is only 23kg. I certainly didn't take anything resembling Formal.

When we were there on Silver Endeavour last month this was the reasoning given - migratory birds introduce the flu, but there is a high chance of humans speading it - if not controlled.(although of course there are other ways it will be spread). I understand that the expedition cruise ship folk will always defer to the people who are on South Georgia, who are charged with the primary objective of protecting the wildlife on South Georgia. I would add that the decision not to land in a couple of places was made by the Silversea 'advance zodiac party' who themselves identified evidence of Avian flu. Having said this the reports indicated up thread are far more positive than I had expected when we were there last month. Fingers crossed for everyone due to go there in the next couple of months !!

An addition to your Edinburgh route if you have time. Once you are done in Holyrood maybe a not too strenuous walk up to Calton Hill (around 0.5 miles). Superb 360 degree views across Edfinburgh, Leith, the Forth etc.

I apologise to the OP for going slightly off topic, however I’d like to make two points that I believe contribute to this subject. My wife & I disembarked Silver Endeavour last Saturday having completed the 18 night Falklands/South Georgia/Antarctica itinerary. It was a very memorable cruise – for all the right reasons. I very much respect that – as shown in this thread – there is much variance in individual views of a particular ship. I for one do not like the Cloud/Wind, hence we switched to Endeavour when it became available (and cancelled the Wind booking we had). We did not regret this decision one bit, in fact whilst there are a few unfamiliar aspects to Endeavour we found the ship itself – and elements such as service, expedition personnel, suites & décor etc to be outstanding. The only thing that missed the mark for us was (at times) the dining, but again, F&B is highly subjective and I’m sure there are other guests that were very satisfied with the dining. With regard to the situation in South Georgia. We were fortunate in being able to complete our first two days on the North side before this section of the island effectively became a ‘no go’ zone. Our third day was spent on zodiacs in the beautiful King Haaken Bay on the South Side. A different experience, which to me was an unexpected bonus as we got to see the exact site(s) where Shackleton and his other 5 crew members landed after the gruelling journey from Elephant Island. It is unclear how the whole Avian Bird Flu will develop in the coming weeks and months. As has already been noted the disease is carried and predominantly spread by migratory birds. There is of course no control over these and it is clear that it has spread rapidly on the North Side, before the cruise season had even got going. I have no specialist knowledge of this subject but reflecting on what happened to us I am thinking that at best South Georgia may now consist of ‘zodiac only’ visits – at worst a total lockdown. Time will tell.

Thank you for posting this helpful article. It appears that there is little that can be done to halt the disease entering South Georgia as it is brought there by migratory birds. Stringent controls on visitors - which are predominantly on smaller cruise ships - should go some way to restricting the spread around the island. I do believe that cruise ships will ‘do their bit’ backed up by the South Georgia authorities who appear to be very diligent. However - as reported in the past couple of days around 50% of landing sites are already infected. It appears to be a question of ‘wait & see’.

Maybe a ‘thank you or like button’ on the original post may have been more appropriate than a post such as this.

Update We were given permission to carry out zodiac cruises around the bay. During this we viewed the glaciers, icebergs and Shackleton’s landing site with the James Caird. We were also able to view from the zodiacs the initial ascent Shackleton/Worsley/Crean took across South Georgia to Stromness. There is no suggestion that zodiacs will/ will not continue to be permissible. My understanding is that the species most vulnerable are birds of flight and certain seals. At the second level some, but not all Penguins are vulnerable. There is no other information being shared by expedition crew on the ship. We have now been at sea for two days heading for Elephant Island so do not expect any further reliable information. I’m sure more will emerge from cruise companies & TA’s in due course.

Some sad news has reached us on Silver Endeavour last night . Avian Bird Flu has reached South Georgia - one of the most remote and environmentally protected locations on the planet. It has been found on around 40% of landing sites on the north side of the island. Our planned landings for our final day have therefore been pulled. We have just received some bad news regarding our substitute landing - Peggoty Bay - Shackleton’s landing site on the south side. The crew advanced landing has identified presence of Avian Bird Flu, with dead birds evident. The landing has therefore been cancelled. The plan is for us now to view the sites from zodiacs. I’m no expert but it’s not looking good in South Georgia, both for the bird population and cruise visits. Those familiar with the island will be aware of the huge populations of various species existing here. Not wishing to be alarmist but I suspect a full lockdown will not be far away.

OK - here's a rather unusual question for you Antarctica veterans out there. We head off for our Falklands/South Georgia/Antarctica in 48 hours, beginning with a couple of days in Santiago, Chile. I believe that Santiago time zone is GMT -3 hours. Falklands is GMT -3 hours & South Georgia GMT -2 hours. HOWEVER - I understand that Antarctica is GMT +12 hours, although the various research stations there apparently have there own time zone, presumably aligned to their home country. So how do the cruise ships, specifically Silversea, handle this ? I'm thinking that we will keep with Chile time (GMT -3 hours) all the way round ?

Ryan - Alfred Lansing's "Endurance" is the classic account of Shackleton's adventure but may I recommend a couple of other excellent books - both of which I have experienced (twice) on audio. Ranulph Fiennes (the preeminent living British explorer) released a biography of Shackleton in 2021 and it is truly outstanding !! Hearing the perspective from someone who has first hand experience of the challenges of Antarctic exploration really brings the book to life. By way of variation Michael Smith also released in the same year a book named "An Unsung Hero". The subject was a chap name Tom Crean, who was on Shackleton's Endurance expedition and also one of the crew of 8 of the James Caird that managed to 'sail' from Elephant Island to South Georgia. He was also on previous expeditions with Shackleton and Scott. He is - IMHO - a truly awesome man who deserves far more exposure than he has been given. Enjoy - whatever you decide.

Hi RyanJCanada There are some truly awesome accounts that have been posted already, from experienced Antarctic cruisers in response to your enquiry, so I will not attempt to augment them. Mrs machotspur and I embark Silver Endeavour this time next week, commencing the Falklands/South Georgia/Antarctic Peninsula itinerary you are looking at. In truth when considering 'when to go' we went round in circles. Like you Falklands & South Georgia were more important to us than several landings on the Antarctic Peninsula (although like you we must have at least one Antarctic landing). I am a 'Shackleton fanatic' so would be devastated if we didn't get to at least see Elephant Island and to raise a glass at his graveside in South Georgia. In the end - and I know it sounds shallow - but the thing that swung it for us was that a quite new ship - Silver Endeavour - was to be our home for 18 days, rather than more dated ships. We felt that with the whole ecosystem being far less predictable than a couple of decades ago, we should just make a decision and go for it. I will let you know how we are feeling in 4 weeks time 😉

Thank you for sharing your experience mchell810 - and of course lincslady. I am thinking that the actual location is not finalised until the number of guests attending is confirmed. Your info that there was around 100 from the Spirit - not that different in size from Muse class - is at the number that would probably be accommodated at the Library. Maybe 200 or so the group gets shifted to Harbour Road (doesn't sound too exotic does it !). We will check the situation out on embarkation. Kusadasi is on Day 6. If it is confirmed that the performance is at Celsus Library we will stick with the booking, otherwise cancel. In the meantime we are heading for Falklands, South Georgia, Antarctica next week on Silver Endeavour. Couldn't be more different from Kusadasi - unless of course Silversea have arranged for the clever penguins to do a classical performance for us on Elephant Island😉😂

The plot thickens ! Having examined two separate areas of the Silversea excursion booking system within My Silversea both locations are stated - Celsus Library & Harbour Street !! I await a response from Silversea but to be honest rarely do I have confidence in their responses to queries such as this.

I’ve just had a look on the ‘other place’ and all posts from Silversea guests indicate that the evening concerts they attended always took place in front of the Celsus Library. (This was the case on ships similar in size to Silver Muse).

Thank you everyone for the useful insight. lincslady makes a very good point - one that i'm now wishing for Silversea to clarify. The situation I have is as follows :- - We are on Silver Muse and the Ephesus evening concert is now a 'pay extra' event - at $299 per person. - The details contained within the Silversea booking system state clearly that the event will take place at the Library of Celsus - the famous iconic spot within Ephesus. - HOWEVER - the photographs included on the Silversea system all show a larger location running down to the Theatre - Harbour Street I believe, shown below. (I think this may be the location that is showing in the report by HaveDogWillTravel ?). As this will be a 'pay extra' event I suspect that the number of guests taking it up will be <100% - maybe 200-300 ? Plus there is no catering provided other than drinks. In this case the Library is likely to be the location, as opposed to the larger Harbour Street/Theatre. Any further comments would be welcome please.

I've very much been enjoying Fletcher's reports of his Sprit Aegean cruise (thank you 👋) and note that the latest post was from Kusadasi for Ephesus. To avoid disrupting such an excellent thread I've begun a separate post on something related to this port of call. Only today my wife and I have been selecting the Shore Ex's for a similar forthcoming cruise on Muse and are considering booking the evening show at Ephesus. Also - we visited Ephesus probably 15 years ago or so - has much changed since then ? We'd welcome any insight on this that previous SS cruisers may have (lincslady .. I note you have been to the evening show several times 😉). Thanks very much in anticipation. In the meantime Fletcher - you are an awesome poster - please keep it coming 👍.

Visas are not required for Antarctica, Falklands & South Georgia - the cruise company have to organise permits for the cruise ship I believe. For Chile - Santiago & Puerto Williams - UK & USA passport holders do not need a visa but I understand that Australian passport holders do need a visa. Most of the posters I have seen commenting on the cruise that departs in a couple of weeks are UK & US - hopefully a fellow Aussie will be along soon with guidance for you.

If my memory is correct I believe that the launderettes are closed down late evening.

Thank you alithecat, Tex1, labrasett - that's really interesting insight. Having been forced to cancel this trip several times in the past few years we are very much 'on tenterhooks' with regard to this trip actually taking place unhindered. 😟. Fingers crossed ! Mmmm .. 'on tenterhooks' - is this a phrase that is only of meaning in certain nations ? 🤔

Mrs machotspur and I have stayed in 1010 & 1009 on Moon & Dawn. Whilst these are one suite back from the suites you refer to - and of course don't directly adjoin the laundrette - we haven't noticed any disturbance at all. There are laundrettes on every deck so I don't suppose that the one on Deck 10 specifically is particularly heavily used. As an aside Deck 10 on Dawn/Moon/Muse is our favourite location on any ship. A 'short' set of suites, with the only 'traffic' being those going to the bridge (I met the Captain a number of times in passing).