Silver Explorer 3-21 Jan 14 - Short Review

Summary --

The most amazing cruise. All others cannot compare.

My photos of this cruise are on you Tube:

Embarkation:

Very well executed. We stayed in the Sheraton Park Towers - the same that Silversea uses. We arrange a transfer to the airport. Without it we would have had a hard time finding check in as there was little signs and it was in the old section of AEP.

Everything was on time. No issues with luggage -- nothing was weighed.

Staff:

Typical Silversea -- they were warm and smiling and knew every guests name within two days.

The Expedition staff was good. Some better than others.

Ship:

Comfortable. But a little worn. Especially carpets and furnishings. Due for a major dry dock soon and it needs it.

Certain areas of the ship were too small. Like the bar. Afternoon tea was a crap shoot at getting a seat. Same for special events that were held in the lounge.

Food:

Was Good (not excellent). They are stuck with dealing with Argentina for supplies. So you will see Argentine beef and lamb cooked the same with a new title. The lamb stew and the lamb casserole was the same. The beef was the same just presented differently. The fish was often disappointing -- ofter had a very fishy taste.

We thought the lunches to be far superior to the dinners. What we missed was fresh berries at breakfast and our favorite brand of Gin (despite requesting this in advance)

Disembarkation:

Well organized but having to spend killing time in town was a drag. Nothing nice about Ushuaia. Flight was 1 hour late to AEP and it took another 1 hour to get bags. Many passengers including us -- we scrambling to make flights. One issue is that LAN checked hand carries and weighed them with an 8KG limit. My weighed 12 -- it was all camera equipment and they gave me a hassle.

Spectacular video montage of your photos from the bottom of the world. I particularly liked the sunset over the bay, the penguin in the zodiac, and the incredible glaciers. Thank you so much for taking the time to share it with us all!

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Absolutely concur with Stumblefoot/Brian; Bravo Paul bravo words escape after viewing y'all's magnificent vid...thank You 4 sharing!

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Congratulations on the most stunning compilation of photos...excellent photography and a fantastic display of nature at its best!

Wow !

I have spent a lot of time in the Arctic and love it there. Your expedition review and video make me want to check out the other end of the globe.

Another addition to my "bucket list". Thanks

Read your short review; had to check the date; could have written exactly same words two years ago after our Silver Explorer cruise.

Marc

Wonderful photographs Paul cannot wait until Dec 2nd when we board the Explorer. Loved the penguin in the Zodiac hope Maurice enjoyed the trip! Thank you for sharing your excellent photographic skills. Donna

Many thanks for the nice comments.

Anyone care to compare Arctic vs. Antarctic. Will we be disappointed on an Arctic cruise after doing the south??

Arctic was amazing. Antarctic looks more vast and it appears you saw more wildlife, ie penguins, up close. Can't get that close to polar bears....

They are two different experiences IMO, although you are still on and off zodiacs.

I very much liked the explorer she is not all shiny and spiffy, but warm and quirky.

I would like to know about your experience in the drake passage, aka washing machine.

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Arctic was amazing. Antarctic looks more vast and it appears you saw more wildlife, ie penguins, up close. Can't get that close to polar bears....

They are two different experiences IMO, although you are still on and off zodiacs.

I very much liked the explorer she is not all shiny and spiffy, but warm and quirky.

I would like to know about your experience in the drake passage, aka washing machine.

 

 

 

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It was relatively calm. We had more washing machine from Falklands to South Georgia. However nothing really horrible. About 10 to 15% of guests were sick - plus a few crew. We used the patches and had no issues.

Thanks paulmco

Loved your photos, and I hope to go in 2015!

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Wonderful photos, thank you for sharing.

Thank you. As you know, Paul, we were cruising with you. Totally agree with your comments about the staff, ship and expedition staff. We were very lucky to enjoy mainly good weather and only had a couple of days of rough seas. A WONDERFUL cruise and you have described it well. I love your photos! Up there with the professional DVD.

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Paul, couldn't tell from your pictures; did you land on Elephant Island or take pictures from Zodiac?

It was nice reliving our trip through your pictures.

Marc

Many thanks for the nice comments.

 

Anyone care to compare Arctic vs. Antarctic. Will we be disappointed on an Arctic cruise after doing the south??

I think it would be hard to compare the two. While they are both extreme climates, and in there own ways very beautiful, on an Arctic voyage you will be exposed more to the Inuit culture vs the wild life, as said previously .. you wont get as close to Polar Bears (without the aid a protective vehicle) as you did the Penguins.

Paul, couldn't tell from your pictures; did you land on Elephant Island or take pictures from Zodiac?

 

It was nice reliving our trip through your pictures.

 

Marc

There is no place to land on Elephant Island. Extremely rocky shore. It was a zodiac cruise around.

As you can see there is no beach to land. What was there in the the early 1900's has disappeared.

There is no place to land on Elephant Island. Extremely rocky shore. It was a zodiac cruise around.

 

As you can see there is no beach to land. What was there in the the early 1900's has disappeared.

I can't believe the staff told you there was no way to land; we were very lucky; first time Silversea had been able to put people ashore:

http://www.expeditioncruising.com/2012/01/historic-day-as-silversea-expedition.html

We had perfect conditions which allowed all to make it ashore. On our video, they superimposed video of zodiac pushing off shore exactly on top of the James Caird lifeboat picture.

I can't believe the staff told you there was no way to land; we were very lucky; first time Silversea had been able to put people ashore:

 

http://www.expeditioncruising.com/2012/01/historic-day-as-silversea-expedition.html

 

We had perfect conditions which allowed all to make it ashore. On our video, they superimposed video of zodiac pushing off shore exactly on top of the James Caird lifeboat picture.

They said that they landed only once in last 2 years.

Paul (or any other Explorer cruiser),

A couple of questions, please.

1. We are staying at Park Tower but did not arrange a transfer through Silversea. I didn't realize the check in area at AEP might be hard to find. Is is better to use Silversea transfer? If so, do I need to arrange in advance or can I make arragements at the hotel?

2. Am I understanding correctly - they did not weigh luggage for flight to Ushuaia but they weighed it for the flight back to Buenos Aires? My camera equipment weighs about 22 lbs (10kg) so should I expect some hassle on the return flight?

For those about to sail on the Explorer, we did the Antarctic cruise last February. I wrote a long review (blog) during the cruise. If you look at the review on Cruise Critic you may find all the answers to questions posed on here.

Hope this helps. :)

Summary --

 

The most amazing cruise. All others cannot compare.

 

My photos of this cruise are on you Tube:

 

 

 

Embarkation:

 

Very well executed. We stayed in the Sheraton Park Towers - the same that Silversea uses. We arrange a transfer to the airport. Without it we would have had a hard time finding check in as there was little signs and it was in the old section of AEP.

Everything was on time. No issues with luggage -- nothing was weighed.

 

Staff:

 

Typical Silversea -- they were warm and smiling and knew every guests name within two days.

 

The Expedition staff was good. Some better than others.

 

Ship:

 

Comfortable. But a little worn. Especially carpets and furnishings. Due for a major dry dock soon and it needs it.

 

Certain areas of the ship were too small. Like the bar. Afternoon tea was a crap shoot at getting a seat. Same for special events that were held in the lounge.

 

Food:

 

Was Good (not excellent). They are stuck with dealing with Argentina for supplies. So you will see Argentine beef and lamb cooked the same with a new title. The lamb stew and the lamb casserole was the same. The beef was the same just presented differently. The fish was often disappointing -- ofter had a very fishy taste.

 

We thought the lunches to be far superior to the dinners. What we missed was fresh berries at breakfast and our favorite brand of Gin (despite requesting this in advance)

 

Disembarkation:

 

Well organized but having to spend killing time in town was a drag. Nothing nice about Ushuaia. Flight was 1 hour late to AEP and it took another 1 hour to get bags. Many passengers including us -- we scrambling to make flights. One issue is that LAN checked hand carries and weighed them with an 8KG limit. My weighed 12 -- it was all camera equipment and they gave me a hassle.

We found a lot of the same disappointing aspects during our May cruise. The issues with food were not always related to the fact that you were in Argentina for supplies. We sailed from Portsmouth, England, and had up and down quality as well. Overdue for a substantial drydock? Absolutely.

Paul (or any other Explorer cruiser),

 

A couple of questions, please.

 

1. We are staying at Park Tower but did not arrange a transfer through Silversea. I didn't realize the check in area at AEP might be hard to find. Is is better to use Silversea transfer? If so, do I need to arrange in advance or can I make arragements at the hotel?

 

2. Am I understanding correctly - they did not weigh luggage for flight to Ushuaia but they weighed it for the flight back to Buenos Aires? My camera equipment weighs about 22 lbs (10kg) so should I expect some hassle on the return flight?

My opinion is yes arrange a transfer and yes just talk with the Silversea rep who has a desk at the hotel the day before. They will bill your ship account at $39 pp. It is also less of a hassle. A private Remis (limo) from the hotel will run about the same.

Correct on the weight. Mine was higher at 12kg. So what I did was remove two heavy lenses from the carry on and put it into the Silversea backpack. After weighing back into the Lowepro they went.

Many thanks for the nice comments.

 

Anyone care to compare Arctic vs. Antarctic. Will we be disappointed on an Arctic cruise after doing the south??

We did Antarctica first with Regent and then just last year did the Arctic on SS Explorer. Totally different trips. The landscapes are much more dramatic in Antarctica. The Arctic was much less ice and snow and more Tundra. There was more wildlife to see in Antarctica too. But in the Arctic you will see polar bears! And meet the Inuit people who are very warm and friendly. You will not be disappointed so long as you are not expecting the same/similar trip. I loved both but truth be told, I would love to go back to Antarctica but feel like "been there/done" that for the Arctic.

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Helen

We did Antarctica first with Regent and then just last year did the Arctic on SS Explorer. Totally different trips. The landscapes are much more dramatic in Antarctica. The Arctic was much less ice and snow and more Tundra. There was more wildlife to see in Antarctica too. But in the Arctic you will see polar bears! And meet the Inuit people who are very warm and friendly. You will not be disappointed so long as you are not expecting the same/similar trip. I loved both but truth be told, I would love to go back to Antarctica but feel like "been there/done" that for the Arctic.

------------------

Helen

We sailed a 7-night RT in the Arctic on the Silversea PA II (now the Silver Explorer) in June of 2010 and a 10-night cruise to Antarctica on the L'Austral (Ponant) in December 2011. We loved them both and had wonderful wildlife sightings and experiences on both cruises.

We will probably be back in the Arctic first since we can make the trip in 2 weeks. We will definitely go back to the Antarctic when we have the time to include South Georgia. That makes it pretty much a 3-week vacation and probably moves it out to a time when we are both retired.

At this point, unless Silversea adds another newer expedition ship (or really commits to a serious refurb of the Silver Explorer) we will make both cruises with Ponant or another line.

Great video Paul. I think we saw the same penguins! Haha. We loved the trip.

Our bags were never weighed. It looked like bags that looked larger than the 12 lb ( or roller bags ) were weighed although none of our bags were weighed before leaving Buenos Aires or Ushuaia.

We were impressed that all we had to do was hand our bags in at BA airport. Easy as could be.

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