AusMum

On 4/13/2024 at 9:45 PM, shipsmail said:

While there is a lot of posts about poor service on Silversea, I look forward to my expedition cruise on the Endeavour. Can anybody tell about experiences recently of this ship? Maybe from the current cruise in Scotland?

when is your cruise?

We are doing something similar to this in August before our September Greenland cruise

Ohh we go in September 

On 2/20/2024 at 6:10 PM, bubbulz said:

I can’t compare, but Endeavour is a great ship. I booked the Arctic for this year after being on her in Antarctica for 18 days last year. The pool is a pretty cool design and becomes a hard floor during meal times. Besides the Grill, there is La Dame (hardly any bookings on my cruise, as far as I could tell), Il Terrazzino, the Restaurant, and the Arts Cafe, as well as in-suite dining.

 

I’ll be back in Antarctica on Silver Cloud next year so it will be interesting to compare.

when are you going?

The question was asked on another forum about Endeavour and parkas.  It's my understanding that the jackets are only for certain destinations. This passenger is going from England to Scotland and wants to know if they are included, even if this is on an expedition trip.  I have tried google and ended up back here.

thanks!

I'm Australian and I much prefer the South Island, but I love Melbourne more than I love Sydney 🙂 we self drove both islands, so can't comment on an ocean voyage.  We have done several sailings to other destinations in the South Pacific, with varying degrees of weather.

We are on Endeavour this September.  We didn't even consider the layout of the ship, its restaurants or its pool - our only consideration was the amazing itinerary of eastern Greenland.  We saw an ad on tv showing polar bears, then $28,000 each (within less than 24 hours) we were booked!  it was later we found out about butlers etc 🙂

14 hours ago, les37b said:

All floors have a laundry room.if you find your room is being used, the top floors are suites with free laundry (so don’t use) and you will find they tend to be unoccupied.

 

No changes to use them (including detergent.

 

in the past, I tended to have enough clothes with me to not need to laundry, (first cruise aside). Now I make use of our included free laundry and bag nearly every day.  Washing left out before 8am will be returned to you by 6pm. It’s great going home with all your clothing washed!

Great to know when doing a 16 night cruise or more

On 2/2/2024 at 9:31 AM, Snoopkat said:

Question for the ladies that dressed up for PJ party - what footwear did you have? Bedroom slippers don't make good dancing shoes and dancing shoes look odd with PJs.

 

For reference - this is what I'm rocking for PJ party. Still trying to convince my husband to do the same.😂

 

ballet flats

54 minutes ago, ciaoYacht said:

I appreciate all the feedback thus far, and the additional suggestions to see some great sights!  Still lots to think about and consider.  Pros and cons of both voyages I suppose.  Seeing "once in a lifetime" things is definitely on my Alaska list, regardless if its Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier.  Please keep the thoughts coming!  

 

I have my first Virgin sailing coming up in 2 weeks so I may see how I like the larger ship atmosphere before making a final decision. 

I've just been on Virgin's Resilient Lady

Have been to Alaska twice.  Our last cruise was on Celebrity where the highlight for us was Icy Straits - we got to witness whales bubble feeding.  It was a very emotional experience.

We are on The Endeavour this September.  The itinerary keeps changing, but feel this might be normal? I'm hoping to see polar bears in Greenland...

None on Resilient Lady, but loads of satin and plenty of funny pjs

we almost booked with them, but it could probably happen to anyone?

hate all the loungechair experts coming out calling it a "floating petri dish"

We are doing a cruise from Reykjavik  that goes up the east coast of Greenland.  We are doing Iceland via road.

2 minutes ago, Emtbsams said:

Discovered Bonds and their New Zealand counterpart Holeproof a number of years ago.  David Jones ships to the US!

"Everything needs to be secure down below" lol

Davenport have some great ones too 🙂

Saw this new ad on tv tonight, and now I’m super excited about cruising!

https://youtu.be/YGu-LBVTugs

7 hours ago, A Tucson Guy said:

As most of you know, the dress codes, whatever they are. affect men a lot more than women. It is the guys that may or not have to wear a tie or a jacket and not the ladies. Since we don't always know what gender is responding, maybe a hint would help. Ladies are essentially excluded from the problem as they can almost wear almost anything and still fit in on the dress codes. I'm a guy and I would rather not wear a tie but I am OK with a jacket some nights unless the restaurant is warm and then the jacket comes right off. If a lady says ties should be worn, that is different that a guy stating that. One gender is committed and the other is observing.

I’m female and 100% agree with you. Ties can look really ‘stuffy’ on some men. There’s some beautiful shirts available these days.

1 hour ago, fdnycruiser said:

As far as dress codes go, I go along with whatever that may be. I never minded wearing a jacket or tie, but things are changing. Cruise lines do a lot of marketing research. Baby boomers like myself are either in their 70’s or approaching their 70’s. Gen X are entering their 50’s and are more individualistic than the boomers or silent generation. As boomers and silent generations began to pass on, the greatest transfer of wealth is beginning. Most of the recipients of this wealth will be Gen X and Millennials. They’re definitely a different type of cat than us.I believe cruise lines as well as other travel related businesses are aware of this and planning accordingly. 
  BTW, I’ve been reading a newly released book, “ Generations” by Jean M. Twenge. Very insightful about the changes we’re seeing. 

I am Gen x and I think you are accurate.  

I've noticed my inlaws, now in their 70s, have ceased to travel as much.  I'm disappointed for them because it was something they really enjoyed (especially cruises).  Their needs are now very different.

When I saw the advertisements for Antarctica and the Arctic, my husband and I both agreed we were at a stage in our lives where we needed to do more expedition style journeys whilst we were 'still physically able'.  We all age differently, and you get some people in their 70s and 80s who are fitter than people 30 years younger!

Unfortunately, my father in law is already showing signs of dementia, and it's just becoming too risky for him to be on the other side of the world with my husband's mother.  They did have their travel dreams abruptly halted because of the pandemic, but many others experience life changing and unpredictable hurdles in life. 

In 2021 I had a tough battle with septicaemia, that infected my heart and my eyes.  I was given a 5 to 10% chance of survival.  Consequently, I ended up in hospital 9 times in 2021/22 and got through the worst of it.  Sadly it caused glaucoma in my eyes, which is something I am still fighting.  I have surgery again in a few weeks time, to once again try to save my sight.

We've been lucky enough to experience many forms of travel, and seen most countries we have both wanted to see. I now want to do as many things as I can, because we really don't know when our life journeys will finish.  I just know that planning this amazing trip to Iceland and Greenland fills me with hope and optimism.  I'm not going for another year, but I've been spending my days immersing myself in Icelandic novels, Icelandic language, Icelandic history etc. I have maps, I have books, I have watched every documentary.

EVERY person on The Silver Endeavour will have a 'story' about how and why they ended up in The Arctic.  I will be surprised if their main motivation will be to show off their latest purchase from Neiman Marcus.  With only 200 passengers, I'm sure I'll meet some amazing people from all over the world!

I loved Ryan's blog about his young family's recent cruises throughout Scotland and onto Iceland, where they were so impressed with their voyage, they booked another one to Greenland! You are right; Ryan and his family represent a new market for SS (I believe they are millennials).  I love that Ryan took his kids to places where they could really learn something about isolation, the impact of climate change, resilience, and so many other factors that will help craft their young minds.

1 hour ago, jollyjones said:

 

So true.

In my home, shorts are formal wear.

Proper shorts of course - years ago the police were equipped with cards to measure the height of the hem of the shorts above the knee - had to be 4 inches - if the shorts were too short the wearer was reprimanded and told to dress properly.

 

Times do change, I have no problem changing with them.

I people watch and am frequently surprised (in general, not just on cruise ships) by what garments some people feel fit them and are suitable for wearing in public - it doesn't detract from my cruise enjoyment, quite the reverse, it gives me much amusement.

 

Being from Bermuda, you wouldn't get many opportunities to wear a suit!

I get the impression the majority of posters who are strongly in favour of 'formal attire' come from the US (or parts of the UK). What if someone wanted to wear their cultural or religious attire? would that be deemed offensive because it wasn't what someone in North Carolina would wear?

If nothing else, surely the pandemic has made society look at "the more important things in life".  How privileged are we to come out of this alive and affluent enough to afford such experiences.

On 6/29/2023 at 2:17 AM, erikzen said:

I'd suggest looking into one of the mirrorless cameras. They are small and light but have the advantage of having interchangeable lenses and the same basic control over the image you would have with a DSLR, and then some.

've been using an Olympus OM-D E-M10-Micro Four Thirds camera for quite a few years. I like it because the camera and available lenses are small and lightweight - perfect for travel. I can take a small camera bag that will fit inside a backpack and carry 5 lenses, without weight or bulk. There is also a wide variety of good quality lenses. The kit lenses are light and cheap and take better photos than they have a right. If you are looking for pro quality glass, they have that, too. Panasonic also makes Micro Four Thirds lenses that work on Olympus cameras and vice versa. Panasonic even makes some Leica branded lenses, that can run into the thousands, but the cheaper lenses yield good quality as well. I wouldn't take a vacation without my OM-D EM-10.

I have recently purchased an OM System 5.  I love how light it is, it's weatherproof, and has some awesome lenses.

On 8/10/2023 at 8:38 AM, ropomo said:

Sorry if this is a worn out topic, but my search yielded nothing. We have booked our first SS cruise (BTB expedition cruise, Reykjavik, Iceland to Reykjavik, Iceland to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland) August 2024. In looking at the excursions, I have booked them (usually only one shown per port available for booking and "Expedition excursions available on board). Am I correct in assuming that once on board if the Expedition excursions are more appealing to us, I will be able to change then? Don't want to book walk about town and lock myself out of getting out and seeing nature.

Thanks,

Richard

I'm glad you asked this question, as we are going on a similar cruise in September 2024.  I have booked what I can, and also saw the same msg about other excursions being available on board.

Ours is 16 nights in September 2024 - love to hear about your experience!

I thought I was imagining things when I looked at the shore times for our cruise next year, but it probably has changed!

1 minute ago, gcornell said:

100% agree. I always tell my friends and family considering SS don’t go by what you read here and the group on the unmentionable website which is even harsher. You will experience none of it on the actual cruise.  If anything, I found everyone we met to be exceptionally friendly and welcoming and I travel with kids which is even more polarizing than the dress code.  
 

I’m here for the info but I wonder if either site helps or hurts their reputation and business 

Some people also forget that SS is an 'international' cruise line and different countries (even US states) have different fashion beliefs, which we really shouldn't judge.  

Can't wait to find out what this ship is like