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Silver Discoverer expedition


rickandpat
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We've put in a deposit for a two-week expedition cruise Oct. 2017, covering the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. It offers free diving and hiking volcanic islands, along with expert lectures. We're in our 50s, love adventure, being active, diving and snorkeling, hiking, experiencing new places and learning new things. We don't need luxury, big rooms or fine dining, though they are nice to have. Has anyone done this type of cruising with Silversea? I'm a little concerned about sea days, though they said there is diving on those days too.

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We have done a cruise on the Discoverer from TPNG and across to the Solomon's It was a great trip and we had lots of fun.

The ship is small and cozy, but the crew and the expedition staff make up for any hard product shortcomings.

The ship has a dedicated divemaster and they ran dives at most stops.

Sadly I can no longer dive but I made up for it snorkelling.

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We have not yet sailed on Silver Discoverer but we have done three expedition cruises on Silver Explorer. We really enjoy this type of travel, and we are signed up for a fourth next year.

 

Friends who have sailed the Kimberly expedition on Silver Discover liked it very much.

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We sailed the exact route in 2014 and really enjoyed it. Steve Traynor was the dive master and Kit was his #2. Diving was great but of course, sea conditions are constantly changing.

Please remember you MUST pre-register to dive and strictly adhere to the requirements. Bring proof of dive insurance, diving log, and anything else SSea asks for as it will be closely reviewed by Steve. Failure to strictly follow the requirements will result in your not being able dive.

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We sailed the exact route in 2014 and really enjoyed it. Steve Traynor was the dive master and Kit was his #2. Diving was great but of course, sea conditions are constantly changing.

Please remember you MUST pre-register to dive and strictly adhere to the requirements. Bring proof of dive insurance, diving log, and anything else SSea asks for as it will be closely reviewed by Steve. Failure to strictly follow the requirements will result in your not being able dive.

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  • 9 months later...

Hi Rick and Pat,

We are on your same cruise with Silversea leaving October 25, 2017. I'm glad to know that there are some adventurous people on this expedition. We are on it purely for the snorkeling and it looked like there was a lot of it when we first read the itinerary. When I look at it now, I'm not so sure. Also, since they just changed the itinerary and left out Port Resolution, I'm not sure that we will be hiking up to the volcano on Mt. Masur which was high on our list. We have paid in full and will definitely go but hope that it really is a trip for active adventurers. Looking forward to meeting you, Nancy and Steve

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Hi Nancy and Steve:

Thanks for posting! I looked up the village that is taking the place of Port Resolution (Waisisi), and it's the same distance to the volcano, if not closer. We're a little nervous too about changes, but we're hoping to be blown away - above and below the ocean. We'll keep our eyes open for you two.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Rick and Pat,

Have you heard anything about coral bleaching in the Solomon Islands? It's affected many other parts of the world. We're concerned that the coral won't be colorful and the fish won't be plentiful.

Steve and Nancy

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If you are in any way adventurous, I wouldn't bother with the Siversea expedition ships unless you're going to Antarctica when any trip is highly controlled regardless. We've been twice to Antarctica on Silver Expedition and had a great time but the back to back trip to Japan, Papua New Guinea, Solomann Islands etc must rank, with one notable exception, as the most forgettable trip of all our travels. Not only did it miss a number of stops as it was sailing in the cyclone season, activities as advertised in the pre-voyage journal were ignored and those that did happen were mainly cultural/ dancing. Hiking in the U.K means a substantial walk, over 10 miles or so and/or with a steep gradient. Hiking to Silversea means an amble for about an hour. The one nod to adventure was the trip to the volcanic crater in Tana where we witnessed volcanic rocks being thrown out- half the passengers chose to stay on ship, however, which says it all really about the "adventurous" spirit on board. Never again would we go on a Silversea expedition ship- we got far more adventure in the three days we spent afterwards on our own in Taveuni,Fiji, and have built up far more memories from our independent holidays around the world over the years. As far as value for money and memories created, this trip ranked as the lowest ever.

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  • 3 months later...

Arrived home a few days ago from the cruise, and have to say for the right price and itinerary we'd do Silver Discoverer again tomorrow. No, it wasn't quite as active as we'd like - we sailed over 2700 nautical miles and covered a lot of ground - but there was some good hikes, and the snorkeling and diving were quite good. The islands were beautiful and culturally, just wow. The lecturers were outstanding (Apex was on-board and had some of their own people, but even without them the level of knowledge/education was excellent), and so the sea days were not so bad. The gym is small but surprisingly well-equipped. Food was quite good. There were a few hiccups I wouldn't have expected but we liked the expedition style and figured in 5-10 years it will will be just right.

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This is our first time on Silverseas, I'd compare both with Seadream. Our cabin, the least expensive on the ship, was on the third level. An okay size and furnishings, comfortable, but nothing outstanding. Food was tasty and plentiful,and we understood when they ran out of cucumbers for my salads (provisioning that far out couldn't be easy). We really enjoyed the outdoor hot rocks dinners too.

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I think the Solomon Islands might be my favourite place on Earth. I have done two cruises around these islands - on the Orion (now Lindblad Orion) and the Caledonian Sky, both expedition ships of the same size as Silver Discoverer on which I have done two South Pacific trips when it was the Clipper Odyssey. Readers of this thread might be interested in looking at the photos I took of my two trips around the Solomons. I think they give a decent impression of what to expect . . .

 

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