Silver Origin June 11th, 2022 sailing with post cruise Machu Picchu add on review. Worth every cent!

[Shipless in Seattle]

Just back from Silver Origin June 11^th sailing with extension to Machu Picchu. Worth every penny. I thought I’d give a short review as have a few tips for upcoming travelers. Wineasmusic did a really nice review earlier which was very helpful to read in advance so hope we can help a few upcoming cruisers on Silver Origin.

 

Getting there:

Trip ALMOST fell apart due to American Airlines. Used Silversea air and glad we did because they were able to save the trip. My advice though is schedule arrival in Quito AT LEAST 3 days before the cruise even at additional expense. The airlines are a mess with no pilots and a domino of cancelling flights. We flew SEA-MIA but then our evening flight to Miami to Quito got delayed hours. After 2 hours sitting on the plane, cancelled around midnight with no options to get to the ship in time. American Airlines was no help and wouldn’t pay for hotel as they claimed it was weather related when it was a pilot issue so had to just get a nearby hotel before the rooms were all gone via Expedia. MIA was chaos with people screaming, lines and bags everywhere. Be sure to buy insurance as we will need it for purchases. TA very helpful and got us Silversea 24 emergency number 786-275-7089. Answered immediately and very helpful.  Also you can call 800-722-9955. Originally, they had no options so we were scheduled to fly home 3 days later as no flights before. Then Silversea called next morning with an option through Panama City which worked. Arrived in Quito but luggage was lost in American Airline chaos but fortunately had time to stop at a mall just before it closed to buy “everything”. 13 other passengers on our canceled flight were not so lucky so had to wear the same stuff for the first part of the cruise. Silversea was able to get us all our luggage by Wed and gave everyone free laundry to help. A fun story in hindsight but a nightmare at the time. So glad we used the Silversea air as we wouldn’t have been so lucky if we’d done it on our own. Another big help for us was dayuse website for getting a room at a hotel for just the day in Miami. We had a red eye there so were able to check in at 8am and out by 4pm guaranteed for $100 rather than having to wait potentially to afternoon check in time.

 

Covid:

Advance Covid RT-PCR test they require is a waste of money ($350) as they retest everyone in Quito airport anyway. Not required to get into Ecuador if you are fully vaccinated. They never even wanted to see it. I think you’d be fine taking a cheap home test to make sure you are negative as they won’t let you on if you are positive BUT might not want to take this risk. HOWEVER, if you test positive before you go, you will need the RT-PCR test to get your money back from Silversea. They also will retest you if you stay on for a 2^nd cruise. One family we hung out with was doing back to backs, but father tested positive so they had to head home when we did. Make sure you are negative before you get on the first flight as your trip will end if you test positive. Would be awful to get all the way to Quito and have to turn around so we were very careful the week before we left Seattle with wearing masks and avoiding crowds.

 

The ship:

Over 500 days on ships and this is my favorite one ever. Beautiful little thing designed perfectly for the Galapagos. We were going to do Silver Galapagos but decided to wait when they announced the ship being built. So glad we did. We had the Superior Verandah. We really liked the big window that came down at the push of a button to make it a balcony. We would have been happy with the standard veranda so you could go outside too but the extra room was kind of nice. You do hear the noise from the deck 7 traffic above you. Drawback of the Superior or Deluxe is the AC shuts off when window opened so the room will get very warm. I’d only suggest upgrading to the Deluxe if you want a tub and shower. Bathroom has a window but makes the room window view smaller. Favorite spot was the open top deck 7 which was great for power walking in the early mornings (530/6am), however, I was the only one doing this unlike other ships. Don’t forget to check out the 8 deck star observation area and 7 deck forward lounge.  There is no pool just a hot tub which was just fine as this is not a trip for lounging at the pool sipping Pimm’s Cups all day rather one for leaving the ship to explore. Design and furniture feel like an African safari. I really liked this little treasure of a ship.

 

How it works:

Don’t worry about anything for booking activities as it all goes like clockwork. Not like a regular cruise. The staff is EXTREMELY organized and has worked out most bugs. You can go on pretty much anything without signing up except kayaks which are limited. Be sure to go to the 715pm next day activity lecture to learn what’s next. Plan to get up early as days start sometimes at 7am. One point is breakfast times change on different days 6-8am OR 6-730am. One day our start for our group was at 830am so we weren’t able to eat something before as the restaurant had closed since they changed the time of closing for some reason. Guides are rock stars out of a National Geographic series. All were great…especially liked JC (Juan Carlos) who was self-taught and had been guiding the Galapagos for ~30 years. Real passion for the animals and the place. As with most Silversea cruises, by day 2 the staff all know your name and what you drink. The Ecuadorians were just great. I already miss Danny bringing us Cappuccinos to our table every morning. The snorkeling was my favorite being surrounded by dozens of curious sea lions. I lost count after 100 turtles on one trip. Water temp varied from 68-76 F. On the warmer days, I found skipping the wetsuit helpful as it was so buoyant it was hard to dive. There is no SCUBA on this trip as regulations allow only SCUBA OR snorkeling on a vessel, not both. Snorkeling was sufficient and very fun. My other half has mobility issues due diabetes neuropathy so some of the walks were a bit too much especially the Prince Phillip Steps and some of the rocky or lava tours. The briefing shows pictures of what to expect so you can decide the night before.

 

Food & Drink & Atmosphere:

It is more limited in wine options from other cruises as hard to get things to Galapagos but I survived just fine! No house champagne so don’t look for the Pommery or Monopole but rather an okay French sparkling wine Verve du Vernay which I grew to love for the trip. Much better and dryer than a prosecco. House wines at dinner very limited with no Pinot Noir. The Malbec seemed to work. Food was nice especially if you like seafood. If you don’t see what you want on the menu, just ask as they’ll make a hamburger or BLT any time. All the meat is pre-cooked due to laws I believe so no tartar or blue steaks, but the cerviche was wonderful.  I never have understood the Hot Rocks idea as I watched people cooking their fish at the table with fish steam surrounding them but they will cook the meal for you if you ask. Don’t get me wrong….I love to cook…just not on my holiday at the dinner table. Caviar service is complimentary. It was not bad and from Spain. Butler will bring as much as you want along with unlimited Verve du Vernay. Dress code is very casual but not grubby. First cruise I left all my ties at home but we were one of the few who wore jackets to dinner. I think I’ll leave the ties at home from now on though as I’m getting too tired to fuss with them anymore.

 

Passengers:

We were told any time you come is great as you see different things. The ship was the fullest it’s ever been with 97 guests. We booked this one because it had the Venetian discount so that may be part of it. We were expecting about 60 based on other posts. However, it never seemed full or caused any service issues. Mix of people of all ages. Biggest surprise was number of kid ages 7-20. Lots of families on board who had planned this for years. I think there were more kids than all my previous cruises combined BUT they were great! I would have thought they’d be bored without water slides and Disney shows, but they were all in it for the animals and adventure. We hung out with a great family with two 12 year olds who were a lot of fun and made us feel like kids again.

 

Altitude:

Quito is ~10K feet then you go to sea level for the islands. Our post cruise trip to Machu Picchu takes you to Lima (sea level), then Cusco (12K feet), Machu Picchu (9K) then back to Cusco (12K). We’ve done Tibet (13-16K) so wanted to be prepared as you will feel it. Suggest talking to doctor about Diamox which we started taking before the trip then at the end of the cruise for Cusco. Seemed to help as we didn’t get severe headaches as some did, but we had no appetite and felt a bit icky the first night in Cusco. Suggest skipping any alcohol for at least the first night or two as I was glad I did. I came home and found I was 10 pounds lighter which is a first for a cruise. Likely due the activities and the altitude which was an incidental surprise.

 

Post cruise Machu Picchu trip through Silversea:

You can do MP as a pre or post option through Silversea. We did latter so it wouldn’t mess with our cruise if we had altitude issues. The line subcontracted through Akorn which is part of A&K. BEST land travel company I’ve ever used. We were very lucky as we were the only two who booked the extension so we had a private tour the whole way. I knew we were in good hands when we were met by an Akorn rep at the beginning while changing planes in Panama City who brought us lunch before the next flight. I wouldn’t change anything they booked. Hotels were over the top, especially Monasterio in Cusco which was a former monastery. We arrived in Cusco during the week of Inti Raymi, festival of the Sun so we were greeted by parades and parties throughout the town. The Inca flag is a rainbow flag which was everywhere so it first felt a bit like being at a Pride parade for us being there in June. The Peruvians were just wonderful. Our guides (Carlos & Daniel in Lima; John, Danny and Adriana in Cusco & MP) were all just excellent. I especially cannot say enough about Adriana Cucho who took care of us from Cusco to MP. She spoke with park rangers to get Jeffrey easier access for walking in MP due mobility issues and kept track of our luggage and safety during train and bus rides getting there. I will request her if we go back. The hotel in MP is also lovely…makes sure you walk up the orchid garden path hidden in the back. Sit by the window in the restaurent at lunch to catch the dozens of humming birds. The Hiram Bingham train to MP was another highlight as you feel like Poirot on the Orient express. One thing I highly recommend is checking the bulk of your luggage at the Lima airport Wyndam hotel before flying to Cusco so you’re not carrying bags you don’t need across the country. We also booked a day room since we had a long layover before a red eye home. This is not included but real helpful since you can walk across the street to the terminal. You can also leave stuff in the Cusco hotel before heading to MP since you return there in a couple days.

 

Hopefully this helps someone getting ready to do a similar adventure. You won’t be disappointed. You get to knock off 2 bucket list items in one trip (Galapagos and MP) if you are able to do what we did. The two BEST things in the world IMO are traveling and friends. This trip gave us a multitude of both. Thank you Silversea and Akorn.

 

Cheers,

Kent & Jeffrey

[LAexNY]

Shipless,

Thanks for your report.  We will be on the Origin on July 23 if all goes well.  Hoping the current unrest in Ecuador will not be a problem for us by then.

[Shipless in Seattle]

We saw no signs of any unrest anywhere in Ecuador or Peru. Both cultures were very friendly. First I heard of it was this website.

[LAexNY]

Looks like you were a week or two ahead of when the unrest began.  Good timing!

[prudence passenger]

thanks so much for all the info, we are on SilverMoon for holidays, Lima to Ft Lauderdale, and added the pre cruise trip to Macchu Picchu, definitely a bucket list item.  And especially thanks for the info on altitude sickness.  We had always been ok, but on last trip to Alps, to Mount Blanc in Chamonix, my husband didn't feel well, and we had to descend halfway.  Immediately, he felt fine.  We will definitely ask our MD for meds!!  Hoping by December all the unrest will be over, and it will be safe traveling.