Jump to content

Recently back -- trip report


xcountry
 Share

Recommended Posts

PS I meant to add - not sure if this forum allows you to change the title of an original post - but if it does - it would really help newbies and regulars if the thread was titled with the name of the ship. That way people scanning down through all the thread titles would see "trip report dec 2012 silver explorer" - so it would jump out getting peoples attention.

 

Only a suggestion :)

 

That is a good idea

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for posting your reviews everyone! It is enormously helpful! I'm sure there are no "bad" cruises to Antarctica, but it helps to read about the experiences to figure out which line is best for ones own particular needs! :D

Planning for 2015/16, and the more I learn before the sail dates are out for booking the better choice is can make!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

We recently finished a 19 day/18 night trip with One Ocean on the Vavilov to Antarctica, South Georgia and the Falklands. While the technical aspects of the trip were flawless, the education and food weren't good. Truly, the food was awful. The expeditions were handled quite well and the staff was excellent, but the biologists on the cruise weren't passionate or interested in teaching and weren't good teachers so that part was a major 'miss'.

Other aspects were really great, however, but not having good food and lacking a good educational component would have made me go with another company had I known in advance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

xcountry, enjoyed your great report. Thanks for taking the time to share with us.

 

We are booked to go on the Silver Explorer on January 3, 2016. We were planning to go to Buenos Aires for 2 nights before the charter flight to Ushuaia. We were going to use Hyatt points for our hotel but it sounds like everyone stayed at the same hotel in BA ? Maybe we should stay in the same hotel as the group especially with such an early morning queuing up. Appreciate your opinion. (this will be our first cruise on Silver Seas).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

xcountry, enjoyed your great report. Thanks for taking the time to share with us.

 

We are booked to go on the Silver Explorer on January 3, 2016. We were planning to go to Buenos Aires for 2 nights before the charter flight to Ushuaia. We were going to use Hyatt points for our hotel but it sounds like everyone stayed at the same hotel in BA ? Maybe we should stay in the same hotel as the group especially with such an early morning queuing up. Appreciate your opinion. (this will be our first cruise on Silver Seas).

 

I have been on three different Silverseas ships. They deliver some of the best service I have seen in my 47 cruises. My friend has been on the Silver Explorer two or three times and just finished the North Passage through the Artic. Quite an adventure. With Silver seas you won't be disappointed.

I hope you make it to Antarctica, but always be ready to adapt. I hope you have the Drake Lake and not the Drake Rake. For serious sea sickness I always have Scopace tablets available.( by prescription) I used one in the Branfield Strait in Antarctica. I don't like the patch on the skin delivering medicine when you don't need it. The crew said the ship would move tonight. I thought "Of Course it is moving to the next stop" Not what he meant. Boy did it move. HA!! This is not a cruise it is an adventure but one of a lifetime. What a trip.

I think it is a good idea to stay in the same hotel as the others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

See if this works:

Edited by scapel
Place a Link
Link to comment
Share on other sites

xcountry, enjoyed your great report. Thanks for taking the time to share with us.

 

We are booked to go on the Silver Explorer on January 3, 2016. We were planning to go to Buenos Aires for 2 nights before the charter flight to Ushuaia. We were going to use Hyatt points for our hotel but it sounds like everyone stayed at the same hotel in BA ? Maybe we should stay in the same hotel as the group especially with such an early morning queuing up. Appreciate your opinion. (this will be our first cruise on Silver Seas).

We were on the Explorer in December and did not stay at the group hotel as we made our own

arrangements at the Park Hyatt. There was no downside that we could see - we took a VERY short taxi ride to the domestic airport and were handed our boarding pass upon finding the

airport counter for the LAN charter. I was actually happy not to be with a group or on a bus.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Otis for putting my mind at ease. We go next month and booked our own hotel to save a little (silly, I know with the overall cost of this adventure).

 

Curious, I have read that Silversea asks you to arrive 2 hours before the flight. Do you think that is necessary for a smaller airport?

 

Also, how did you handle post cruise transfers? We are thinking to pony up for Silversea transfer to EZE just in case the charter is delayed it would seem they would have some accountability if we miss our flight back to the states.

 

Thanks for the help! Couldn't be more excited for this trip.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Otis for putting my mind at ease. We go next month and booked our own hotel to save a little (silly, I know with the overall cost of this adventure).

 

Curious, I have read that Silversea asks you to arrive 2 hours before the flight. Do you think that is necessary for a smaller airport?

 

Also, how did you handle post cruise transfers? We are thinking to pony up for Silversea transfer to EZE just in case the charter is delayed it would seem they would have some accountability if we miss our flight back to the states.

 

Thanks for the help! Couldn't be more excited for this trip.

 

Good Question Brennagi....I hadn't even thought that far ahead but like you, we'll fly back to from EZE. Hmmm...add this to all my other things to figure out. :confused:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Otis for putting my mind at ease. We go next month and booked our own hotel to save a little (silly, I know with the overall cost of this adventure).

 

Curious, I have read that Silversea asks you to arrive 2 hours before the flight. Do you think that is necessary for a smaller airport?

 

Also, how did you handle post cruise transfers? We are thinking to pony up for Silversea transfer to EZE just in case the charter is delayed it would seem they would have some accountability if we miss our flight back to the states.

 

Thanks for the help! Couldn't be more excited for this trip.

 

-It probably wasn't necessary to be at the airport 2 hours before the flight, honestly, but we didn't want to risk missing the plane and had been warned about the potential for traffic in BA. That turned out not to be a problem that day. The boarding passes seem to have been generated in advance, so there was no benefit to getting there in advance to secure specific seats. Still, the peace of mind of getting there as requested was more important to us that

spending a little less time sitting around the airport. You will find the BA to the ship day very long, indeed.

 

-We arranged for a private transfer from the domestic airport to EZE. Our connection was tight and we wanted to be able to leave quickly, without waiting for other people and a bus.

I really don't know how the group transfer worked, so I have no point of comparison. We were transferring on a Friday night and the traffic was absolutely, positively awful. Almost at a standstill for much of the way. We were happy to have gotten out of the domestic airport so quickly and could go directly to our terminal. Silversea didn't book our international flight,

so I suspect they would not have felt any responsibility for us if our charter was delayed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We did same in Jan 2014.

 

We booked our own hotel at the Sheraton Tower and paid Silversea the extra money for the transfer. Our plane left Jorge Newbury. I would recommend the transfer since they handled all of the luggage and the LAN counter would not have been an easy find.

 

On the way back a private transfer to EZE is best. Our flight was 2 hours late and it would have been doubtful we would have made our flight if we had to wait for a bus. If you can take the latest flight back home.

 

You could also book at the normal Sheraton next door. I actually think it is a better hotel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...