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Just back from Silversea Galapagos


TGBoss
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What a trip! This was definitely the trip of alifetime. Just a few notes and will tryto do a longer review later:

 

Organization – For such a logistical cruise, everything ranso smoothly. From the snorkeling setup to all the transfers, we felt so welltaken care of. The staff made us feel sowell taken care of.

 

Crew – This was only our second SS cruise, and there wasdifferences in the crew, because of the local hiring regulations. That said,the crew tried very hard and we had no problems, just the professionalism was alittle different.

 

Guides – This was the best part of the cruise. The guideswere fantastic – so knowledgeable and passionate about imparting theirknowledge of these islands. I learned so much (and without making us feel likewe were back in school!)

 

Food – The food was fantastic, especially lunch at the outdoorGrill. Was my favorite meal of the day.

 

Snorkeling – This was a bit of a surprise to us. We knewthey offered it, but didn’t realize we’d get to snorkel once or twice a day,almost every day. The snorkeling was wonderful – great visibility andincredible wildlife.

 

 

That’s the short version. Let me know if anyone has anyspecific questions and I’ll try to help!

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What a trip! This was definitely the trip of a lifetime. Just a few notes and will tryto do a longer review later. That’s the short version. Let me know if anyone has anyspecific questions and I’ll try to help!

 

YES, want the longer version with many more details, pictures, etc., from your "adventure". Appreciate your great summary. Very helpful and interesting. Why? After we do a mid Nov-early Dec., 2018, Athens to Dubai, 20-day cruise, we then have the Galápagos next on the "wish list". Just need more money.

 

Among my questions might about the routing. Understand there are two different route options offered by Silversea. Western vs. North/Central?? Which one did you do and what is your sense of the various pro/con factors between these two routes. How were the wildlife sightings and experiences? Birds? Other creatures? Keep it coming!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

SE Asia/Mekong River, Etc.! Just completed a Jan. 21-Feb. 20, 2018, first adventure through Southeast Asia with stops in Hong Kong and Bangkok, before traveling all over Vietnam and Cambodia. This includes seven days sailing on the Mekong River. Lots of fun, interesting pictures!! See more at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2591474

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Terry, I am not OP but have done both, one on Celebrity and the other on Silversea. Don’t think it really makes much difference which itinerary you do, just pick what works with your schedule. However, the Silversea experience is way better than Celebrity as far as food, onboard , and attitude of the crew.

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Liz -- thank you for the quick update. I, too, am thirsty to hear more. Interesting bit about the daily snorkeling; I might just have to move this up a bit higher on my wishlist!

 

Looking forward to your next installment,

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What a trip! This was definitely the trip of a lifetime.
Great to hear and thanks for letting us know. We've never done an expedition cruise before and the Galapagos is certainly on our radar.

 

How did you find the condition of the ship? Any tips we should know about this ship?

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;p

Terry, I am not OP but have done both, one on Celebrity and the other on Silversea. Don’t think it really makes much difference which itinerary you do, just pick what works with your schedule. However, the Silversea experience is way better than Celebrity as far as food, onboard , and attitude of the crew.

 

Wonderful follow-up and added details from Rachel. Yes, my leaning would be to try to do this cruise with Silversea. Celebrity is fairly new in this area. Silversea is more experienced there. It takes a little time to know the area, get the best guides, etc. It took Silversea a little time to get to that level, but understand they are fairly comparable now compared to the original player there, National Geographic Lindblad.

 

Added questions?: Do they have a live band in the evenings or other entertainment? Is there too much seafood or a good mix of other meats, too? How busy of is the daily schedule?

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 199,958 views for this posting.

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Terry, did you mean to say the opposite of what you typed? Celebrity has been doing this trip for quite a few years, and they had been there long before SS entered this area. SS is not a newcomer to Expedition cruising per se, but they are a newcomer, compared to X, in the Galapagos.

 

We did Galapagos on X in 2011 and enjoyed it thoroughly. The experience on Xpedition was night and day vs. mainstream X ships. Since we had absolutely no complaints about the food and onboard experience on X, the comparable trip on SS must be incredible. We actually had no issues with the food or onboard experience on X.

 

OP, definitely looking forward to more info about your cruise.

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Terry, did you mean to say the opposite of what you typed? Celebrity has been doing this trip for quite a few years, and they had been there long before SS entered this area. SS is not a newcomer to Expedition cruising per se, but they are a newcomer, compared to X, in the Galapagos. We did Galapagos on X in 2011 and enjoyed it thoroughly. The experience on Xpedition was night and day vs. mainstream X ships. Since we had absolutely no complaints about the food and onboard experience on X, the comparable trip on SS must be incredible. We actually had no issues with the food or onboard experience on X.

 

Appreciate, J.P., this "jogging" of my rusty memory with your good follow-up. Apparently it was Silversea that was newer to be doing sailing in the Galápagos. As I was told, it took Silversea some time to "get it down" and be best at doing this special area. They apparently have apparently "perfected" it well for this area. One of the Silversea pluses versus National Geographic Lindblad is that the SS ship is much nicer and larger in rooms, etc. Looking forward to seeing this unique part of the world.

 

THANKS for that smart correction! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 224,277 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

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Terry, there is a very talented piano player onboard, who also sings. Of course, Jerry was with us on our cruise, so worries about entertainment.

 

The daily schedule is busy, but like any other cruise, you can choose what you want to do. We are really active people, so we do pretty much everything.

 

Food was really good. The seafood was excellent, but they also had edible beef and pork on Silversea (unlike Celebrity).

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Liz - I am booked for this next February and hope you have the time to do a more detailed report. I know these Renaissance class ships having previously sailed on three of the sister ships. Any tips about practicalities - weather experienced, warmth of the sea, altitude issues in Quito etc would be welcome.

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Terry - we did the Baltra to San Cristobal sailing. The guides told us that the main difference is blue footed boobies on the one we did and more penguins on the other! Wildlife sightings were unbelievable. Didn't need the binoculars we brought because all the animals were right there. It was hard at times to keep the 6 foot recommended distance from the animals because there were so many - you weren't supposed to go off the paths, so you stepped over a lot of iguanas and birds that just wouldn't move!

 

We saw blue and red footed boobies, frigates, land and marine iguanas, sea lions, Galapagos gulls, giant tortoises, hammerhead and reef sharks, rays, wavy albatross, penguins...and I'm sure I'm leaving many out!

 

No live band. Just a piano player, but he was great. He played outside at the grill and inside at the bar. Not much going on at night after dinner. Everyone was tired - our first day the excursion meeting time was 7am. And most days was before 7:30, so people tended to enjoy dinner and retire!

 

There was fabulous seafood, but they always had other entrees to choose from.

 

Stumblefoot - This is a much smaller ship than others in the fleet. We were on the 4th deck, right down the hall from the bar (happy coincidence!) The briefing lounge was 1 floor down, the outdoor grill 1 floor up and the only other thing we needed was the restaurant on the 2nd deck. Ship was in good condition - the rooms will look very familiar. Well maintained.

 

Fletcher - The weather was perfect. No rain any of the days. Quito was cooler, of course, but was pleasant during the day in the mid 60s. It did get very warm in the islands mid day, which is why all the excursions took place early morning. We then had a long break and the 2nd round started after 3pm.

 

I tend to be a cold water wimp, but found with the provided wetsuits that it wasn't an issue. (Actually was quite proud of myself!) And I was worried about the altitude in Quito, so I did take an aspirin before bed the first night. But with the aspirin and drinking lots of water, didn't have any issues (aside from a little shortness of breath when we took the stairs up the cathedral tower).

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Stumblefoot - This is a much smaller ship than others in the fleet. We were on the 4th deck, right down the hall from the bar (happy coincidence!) The briefing lounge was 1 floor down, the outdoor grill 1 floor up and the only other thing we needed was the restaurant on the 2nd deck. Ship was in good condition - the rooms will look very familiar. Well maintained.
Thank you TGBoss!
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We recently completed a Silversea expedition cruise in Antarctica and now thinking about booking the Galapagos. By the way, Celebrity is building a new ship for the Galapagos which looks very good so we are considering which one to book. https://www.celebritycruises.com/galapagos/ships/celebrity-flora/

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We are at present finishing 2 weeks back to back. It has been superb and all the crew are trying to provide a Silverseas service.

 

The best is the wild life they totally ignore humans and just get on with living

 

Highly recommend

 

Joe

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This cruise sounds wonderful. I am a little jealous as I have only a 3 night charter in November on this ship as part of a Four Seasons jet journey. Hopefully we can get a good taste and decide if we want to do a longer cruise later. We love to snorkel but not in cold water...to the OP, how cold was the water? I would think the temp would be similar in Spring and Fall.

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Actually, because of the Humboldt current, the water temp varies. The Humboldt Current's influence brings cold waters especially during the misty, rainy season (cool weather) from July to December. "El Niño" current may bring warm waters to the Galapagos and will make the surface warmer and rainfall increase (January to June).

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We are at present finishing 2 weeks back to back. It has been superb and all the crew are trying to provide a Silverseas service.

 

The best is the wild life they totally ignore humans and just get on with living

 

Highly recommend

 

Joe

 

Joe, since you are on the back to back, if you had to pick only one itinerary which would you choose?

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Can I ask a question? I am assuming the zodiacs run to-and-fro the ship all the time, so if you go ashore and for whatever reason you want to go back to the ship after, say, 15 minutes, you can hail a zodiac like a taxi?

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Can I ask a question? I am assuming the zodiacs run to-and-fro the ship all the time, so if you go ashore and for whatever reason you want to go back to the ship after, say, 15 minutes, you can hail a zodiac like a taxi?

No they do not. The zodiacs are used for the guided tours only. You are not allowed to be on land without a guide.

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Can I ask a question? I am assuming the zodiacs run to-and-fro the ship all the time, so if you go ashore and for whatever reason you want to go back to the ship after, say, 15 minutes, you can hail a zodiac like a taxi?

The Galapagos are very restrictive on allowing you onshore. There was one place, a beach, where they had zodiacs coming and going all morning, so you could just set your own schedule. But you can’t just wander around on your own most places in the Galapagos. Also, when we went to the town, they had zodiacs coming and going like a tender . But this is not the usual mode.

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I'm not sure my question has been answered - if you go ashore on an arranged tour with a guide and then decide for whatever reason you just don't fancy this island (same animals, no birds, forgot my camera, too hot, don't climb hills, no KFC, I need the lavatory) then I guess you can go back to the ship after 15 mins rather than be forced to follow the herd . . . and there will be a zodiac to take you back. This was the case on my recent Antarctic trip.

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The Galapagos are very restrictive on allowing you onshore. There was one place, a beach, where they had zodiacs coming and going all morning, so you could just set your own schedule. But you can’t just wander around on your own most places in the Galapagos. Also, when we went to the town, they had zodiacs coming and going like a tender . But this is not the usual mode.

 

Appreciate these additional comments and follow-ups. Very interesting and helpful. Keep it coming!! Especially love the details from TGBoss. The more I read, the better I like this "adventure" idea.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean adventure that started in Barbados, here is the link for that live/blog. Many visuals from this amazing river and Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, San Juan, etc.):

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 55,845 views for these postings.

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Love all the posts, thank you! I'm booked on the Silver Galapagos for July 7th and I am super excited!

 

Questions-

-Are there bathrooms on the islands? What if someone has a bathroom emergency?

-How long did people snorkel for? Did most people wear the short or long wetsuits?

-Did anyone leave the ship to SCUBA dive? I'm a diver and I'm trying to figure out if that is possible. I know it is on the Celebrity ship...

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