Silver galapagos nov 2013 review

[carefreecruise]

Tried to post on ships reviews but the ship is not set-up or I just don't know how to do it. Cruise Critics said they wanted to review it first but that was five days ago. So see below for my full review of the Silver Galapagos. Maybe someone can help me put this review in the right spot?

 

SHIP êê

 

100 Passenger with a crew of 70, recently refurbished during a quick two week wet dock. Ship looks tired and miss kept with rust showing on many parts, broken stair parts, brass parts not shined left to turn green, holes in the ceilings in public areas, falling down light fixtures, flooring coming lose inside hallways and decking missing out on exterior decks. Just basically a tired 1980’s looking ship interior, with some cool looking exhaust stacks; shaped like two small wings on top of the ship. Don’t get me wrong, lots of major items were done with new navigation equipment, new kitchens, moving hot tubs and building new spa and workout rooms.

 

It still displays brass plaques in guest rooms with the “Galapagos Explorer II” name. Even your closing bill with be on Galapagos Explorer stationary. Currently Silversea does not have full control of the ship till after the first of the 2014 to clear out pre-booked passengers form the previous owners (getting rid of the three and four day cruises). Newly added spa and workout area on deck 6 look great but you won’t find anyone in them due the nature and time restrictions of this voyage. Other public areas got new furniture and trimmings. They look dis-jointed compare to the rest of the ageing ship. Workers onboard are welding, stripping varnishing, sanding, painting and upgrading while cruising. Definitely a work in progress. Silversea branding could suffer for a while till a scheduled one month dry dock is done, this September 2014 at a Panama port. Some sales brochures and onboard paperwork is miss-printed, so don’t be surprised if things are not what you’re expecting, be calm it all works out in the end. Later on after a few days in the cruise you dismiss these first perceptions as the crew and Galapagos islands win you over and you recognize you’re on an expedition type ship. Lecture time is a little different being in the meeting room with the entire ships guests, just shows you how small this new community is. This closeness adds comrade and you soon have lots of new friends…

EMBARK & SHIP GREETING êêê

 

A little relaxed and subdued, You wait at the airport in a waiting room with light refreshments till the buses are ready to drive you down to the dock. A zodiac will take you to the ship and there you will have lunch then go settle in to your room after 1:30 PM. No taking your picture, running your credit card or collecting your passport. All you need is the preprinted boarding card; they handed us a day before we even got to the Galapagos island. Without the initial picture taking process it makes it a little harder for the crew to recognize you, but they will try.

ROOMS êê

 

Rooms are very basic, not what you would anticipate for a Silversea ship. All the usual amenities: robes, shampoo, conditioner, cotton balls, hand dryers, two pairs of 10x50 binoculars and two drawers with a keyed lock. Rooms have a strange plastic key with holes in it and ship is very leery you will lose a key causing them to replace the entire door hardware. Walking sticks are located on deck 3 if you need them. Some rooms have espresso machines. Heating and cooling is done with a wall hung fan-coil that works well. Rooms do not have irons or ironing boards. Cabin upgrades done recently are replaced carpeting, mattress, bedding, room entertainment system, drapes and complete re-do of the bathrooms. Other than the new bathrooms, rooms look old and out dated, expect them to finish things in the next dry September 2014.

 

MONEY êêêê

 

American dollars are used everywhere in Peru and Ecuador. At the time of this wiring it was a 2.7 exchange rate for Peru and one to one in Ecuador (American dollar in national currency in Ecuador). Note – bills used in Peru need to have no tares or pieces missing. (in good ATM condition)

SHORE EXCURSIONS êêêê

 

PRE-CRUISE - Abercrombie and Kent combined with Acorn tours do a great job on meeting you and taking care of all your needs. On the Machu Picchu four day trip, be prepared for a 3:30 AM hotel pick-up in Lima, going to the airport for a flight out to Cusco. On your train ride down the mountain, be careful, train cars rocks back and forth, so moving around the train could be a problem. Keep your eyes peeled for seeing lots of smaller Inca ruins along the way down to Machu Picchu. Staying at the Sanctuary hotel overnight is great way to add extra time in the park and be prepared to keep your patio door open to regulate room temperature (no AC but there are screens on the patio door). Sanctuary hotel rooms are nothing to write home about but; Silversea picking up the tab on breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and drinks, surely makes up for it. In the dining room you will receive with the current chef, sample tasting items and food brought out would get, a one, possibly two Michelin stars. Skip desert, pastry chef needs a lot of work. Be mindful the dry season in Machu Picchu is May through September. Have a poncho or rain gear to keep dry for sudden rain showers in the wet season. Be prepared for it to be very crowded and over commercialized, just let the guide show you around and you will soon forget about the crowds. After a nice buffet lunch, take the train ride up the mountain and a car ride to Cusco, arriving in the late afternoon. (Oxygen is available on the train and in the hotel room) Hotel in Cusco “Monasterio” is an old monastery and would have loved to explore the hotel and a very cute town square, but you get in so late in the afternoon and leave the hotel at 5AM. Just not enough time, missing a lot to do there… Note- hotel Monasterio does not have AC, no screens on the windows and no curtains. Hotel in Quito was the Hilton and had excellent accommodations but still no time to explore with a late arrival and a 6AM hotel departure out to the Galapagos. We were the only two people on the Pre-cruise excursion and that didn’t stop Silversea and A&K Tour, from going over the top to make sure everything was meeting your expectations. So many people are helping in every way, you will need a fist full of $10.00 an $20:00 dollar bills for tipping to A&K drivers, guides and bellmen. Speaking of money; the American dollar is king, you will need not carry any local currency and English is spoken everywhere we went.

 

CRUISE EXCURSIONS êêêê

 

All land excursions, kayaks, glass bottom boat rides and snorkeling are included. At the beginning of the week you will check out your wetsuits for the duration of the voyage (they come long and short legged versions in all sizes) fins and mask. Lots of areas on the islands you are climbing or walking on irregular lava rocks and will need to be limber and agile. Walks are sometimes long in distance but the walking is very slow. Some hikes have alternate short and long versions for you to select. Most days have a morning and afternoon excursion and you can select a shorter route or skipping one altogether. After snorkeling you are greeted with a towel and a hot chocolate drink. Islands have a wet season (Dec-May) and a dry season. Terrain will become a lot greener during the wet season. By ”wet season” it does not mean lots of rain but fog and drizzle. Some months are better for bird hatching and mating; wetter months are greener with lots of bugs, so pick you poison (so to speak). Your guides are all locally grown and have backgrounds in biology with university degrees. They are full of valuable information and make-up most of the days pleasurable experiences. So, stay close to the guides and you will get the most out of it and learn a plethora of new information. Photography Notes (most animals will only be between 6’ to 12’ away from you other than some birds, which could be up to 150 yards away. Most all will be posing nice and still. Bring underwater camera, UV and polarizing filters if you got them)

ALCOHOL êê

 

Two bottles of distilled spirits (what you would find in a normal bar but selection limited due to this small ship size) or house wines, will be delivered to your room at no cost with all soft drinks and or mixes. Don’t’ count on any great selection of beer or wines; they just are not on this ship.

BUTLER SERVICE êê

 

No traditional suits with tails in this part of the world, letting them dress casual during the day and black vest during the evening. They are eager to please and really trying hard to make your stay as comfortable as possible. They were still in training and confused about included items at the time of this writing. (we think the problem might be that there are many guests onboard that booked with the old ship long ago that everything was an extra charge. Silversea needs to deal with this till early 2014)

 

HOUSE KEEPING ê

 

The job gets done but not to the standards of detail and deep cleaning one would expect on high end hotels. Cleaning in done sloppily and sporadic even requiring the butlers to make beds but hopefully things will get better as training continues. It may be a losing battle due to the national park assigns the labor force for the ship to use regardless of their requests.

WIFI êêêê

 

A charge of $30.00 per day, per device or $140.00 per week. What you do is log on from your device and create an account charging your room, click on the appropriate browser you normally use and fill in the blanks. We tested to see if only one device can connect at a time and found we got up to three devices working on one account at the same time. Also Skype works as of this time. I know this differs from the printed publication but that’s the way it was on Nov 9th, 2013. Be careful WIFI has dead spots in some public areas.

IN ROOM ENTERTAINMENT ê

 

A fancy new flat screen and spiffy Sony controllers are installed for movies, TV, music, HBO, photos, alarm clock, internet and Sports. System can be setup in many languages. Looks great but the only thing working at this time is movies on demand. They do have lots of movies and newly released items to choose from (About 80 of them). No newspapers are available but you can log on to Silversea webpage for free if you have a computer to view local or international news.

LAUNDRY êêê

 

All the laundry is included in Silver Suites and Venetian members will be at no charge (Pressing is not included). Items left out by 9:00 AM will be done the same day and delivered to your cabin and hung-up in the afternoon, around 6PM. No self-service laundry facilities are on this ship. Laundry pricing for other rooms are s $4:50 to $6:00 for shirts or blouses, $11:00 dresses, $2:00 socks, $2:50 underwear and $3:50 for T-shirts.

CASINO/ SALON/ WORKOUT/ LIBRARY & SHIP STORE êê

 

CASINO (none) SALON – Very nice facility with no advance reservations needed. WORKOUT ROOM – fairly large and with nice equipment but shore excursions will give you ample exercises. STORE - Only a small cabinet behind the reception desk that will have bug spray, sun screen, shaver and just a few other items. LIBRARY- on the honor system, lots of nice book on the eco system at the Galapagos for you to read or take back to your room. No cards or board games available.

ENTERTAINMENT

None, other than your lecture persons and employees trying to adapt to the new owners.

DINNING êêê

Everything is scaled down but done nicely other than breakfast. Breakfast is similar to a downtown hotel with a few shaper dishes with bacon and sausage, pancakes, scrambled eggs, cold cuts and an omelet station. Dinners have a rotating menu in the main dining room and lots of seasonal specials on Patio deck. Patio deck has hot rock grilling, something new for Silversea. You cook your own protein the way you like it with a very nice selections of fish and meats. Lunch was the best meal of the day for us, buffet style treats done with Ecuadorian flavors and style.

FOOD êêêê

Best thing is ALL food is fresh, nothing is frozen. Quality is a little better than what you would expect being so restrictive in this park. We were told all food must be local other than some items approved by Ecuadorian government. Beef is not graded in this part of the world and must come from the Galapagos, so don’t be surprised if the meat is a little chewy. If anyone has a food allergy they will go out of their way to eliminate any cross contaminations and prepare something special.

CREW êêê

Ecuadorians make up most or all of the crew that served the previous ships owners. They are trying to figure out the new standards. They will go way out of their way to help you and attempt to get your every need. Consistently asking if there is anything they can do for you. Shure there are some so-so ones but don’t dwell on them because the local park controls all labor on every ship.

TIPPING

Naturalist need tipping and found it hard to corner them to provide proper tipping. I guess just wait till the last day and provide them something when you run into them.

DISEMBARK & PARTING THOUGHTS êêê

 

You will have breakfast and disembark starting around 8:00 AM by Zodiac boat out Baltra. Flights on Aerogal leaves at 10:30 AM to Guayaquil arriving at 12:45 PM then continuing on to Quito. Silversea will check-in all your luggage and hand out you boarding passes at the airport. If you booked with Silversea air, they will have a hotel room for you to hang out in, with transportation back to Guayaquil or Quito airport for your flight home in. They hold your hand very well.

 

Our cruise had a blind person and an extremely overweight, out of shape person onboard. Ships staff, boat operators and land tour guides went way out of their way to extend the special experience to all guests. Ship even has a (weight lifter) type person to carry you ashore on wet landing if needed. Being onboard for seven days and having three and four day cruise guests coming and going leaves you a dead day for extra fire alarm drills and new guest welcoming stuff. So you will be shopping for a day…Most likely when it gets out of its month long dry dock (September 2014) this ship should be running on all cylinders. Crew training is to happen on Silversea’s other expedition ship during this same time. Not to say now is not a good time, maybe I was expecting too much too soon, once I got over that the ship was not completely redone things got better straightaway, your experience with staff, food and naturalist is the highlight not the ships current condition. This will not be a vacation or typical sit back cruise. This is an expedition experience, which moves your adrenaline in an exciting way, leaving you with long lasting memories. Guests on this expedition ranged between 55 and 80 years with some having limited mobility. Not much for teenagers to do if they are not super into animals. If you came all this way; you don’t want to miss a single hike, so recommend hitting the stairmaster machine for a few months, prior to this voyage.

Edited November 20, 2013 by carefreecruise

[Liquid Amber]

Many thanks for your time and effort. I have a question, what choice of wines were there please?

[Keith1010]

Thanks for writing and sharing this review.

 

Keith

[beaujolais]

A great balanced post unlike some other supercilious posts who seem never to have been on an expedition ship or read the pre-cruise information provided by Silversea. We are off in 2 weeks for a back to back in Dec.and I now feel much more confident after your post and we are now looking forward to our voyage on yet another Silversea vessel.There were problems with the Explorer (Albert II) in the beginning but these were sorted and it is now a fine vessel in all departments.Many thanks once again for time you have spent preparing your post

[Mahogany]

Thanks Carefree Cruise for sharing your experience. I am on Dec.14 sailing, and after a few negative comments, my TA contacted General Tours with whom I booked this voyage, and they have been calling passengers after disembarkation for their comments, and offered to have me speak directly with passengers who have returned. Obviously, some passengers had positive experiences. So, I'm going with an open mind, patience, and excitement for an area that is very high on my bucket list.

[Liquid Amber]

Thanks Carefree Cruise for sharing your experience. I am on Dec.14 sailing, and after a few negative comments, my TA contacted General Tours with whom I booked this voyage, and they have been calling passengers after disembarkation for their comments, and offered to have me speak directly with passengers who have returned. Obviously, some passengers had positive experiences. So, I'm going with an open mind, patience, and excitement for an area that is very high on my bucket list.

 

Are you going to sign up for meet and mingle, we have?

[Liquid Amber]

A great balanced post unlike some other supercilious posts who seem never to have been on an expedition ship or read the pre-cruise information provided by Silversea. We are off in 2 weeks for a back to back in Dec.and I now feel much more confident after your post and we are now looking forward to our voyage on yet another Silversea vessel.There were problems with the Explorer (Albert II) in the beginning but these were sorted and it is now a fine vessel in all departments.Many thanks once again for time you have spent preparing your post

 

Also on a back to back, in Dec. have signed up for meet and mingle.

[onetravelbug]

Hi, we were on the 5th cruise that ended on November 2nd, and agree with your review for the most part. My DW and I had one of the two Terrace suites, which we thought was very nice. The bathroom had been remodeled, and it was very roomy for an Expedition ship. There were the three and four day tour groups on our seven day segment. On the last three days it was more notable as that was when we discovered that over half the ship was getting off, and were being replaced with more tour groups. The new groups tended to stick together which made it difficult to get to know individuals. The Grill was more to our liking for lunch and Dinner. Other than the Grill we thought the food to be acceptable, but nothing to cause us to write home about. Crew worked hard to please, but lacked the training that one would expect on a luxury line (expedition or not). The islands and animals were the real stars here, and don't let any constructive criticism here keep you from booking. The park guides were exceptional, and we enjoyed each morning and afternoon trip. This is not a trip for those that want to sit in a lounge chair. You will have long hikes twice each day, with optional (and free) snorkeling or kayaking in between if you want. Bring your camera and water shoes, and enjoy a once in a lifetime experience.

[alexandra cruiser]

Think I ll wait till SS completely in charge in 2014 before I attempt one of these type cruises.

We re in good shape for late 60 s,but wonder about age and condition of most passengers.??Hate to be the only ones that are somewhat slower and slow down whole group,may have to rethink this.

Guess I wanted a smaller version,luxury cruise with all the expected amenities in 3rd would country and this might not YET be it,right?:confused:

[carefreecruise]

Think I ll wait till SS completely in charge in 2014 before I attempt one of these type cruises.

We re in good shape for late 60 s,but wonder about age and condition of most passengers.??Hate to be the only ones that are somewhat slower and slow down whole group,may have to rethink this.

Guess I wanted a smaller version,luxury cruise with all the expected amenities in 3rd would country and this might not YET be it,right?:confused:

 

Don't fret. I wish I could remember the names of three other ships we kept running into in the Galapagos. They looked fairly new, like little yachts. The passengers all seemed to fit in one or two rubber zodiac boat. Passenger looked to be around 15 total, maybe up to 30? A smaller group that may customize the excursion for you? And yes most of the trails are very rough. Ships doctor was busy sewing up cuts on guests legs and hands. Silver Galapagos had excursions to fit the slower and not so fit guests. I posted a copy of one of the days activities. See a thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1941637&highlight=silver+galapagos and on one of the pages is an attachment to view activities for that day.

[carefreecruise]

Many thanks for your time and effort. I have a question, what choice of wines were there please?

 

They have cabernet, merlot, chardonnay and Malbec but only one to choose from for each grape type. The wines are all new, something you would find in a store for $5.00 American, per bottle. Were big wine drinkers and on this trip we switched to beer.

[alexandra cruiser]

somehow hate to think we re now in the "slower group"but that MAY be true,whew.\

Funny,you said Dr. patching up people, may DH is a surgeon and I m an RN.so at least we ll have THAT covered.haha.PS.on most vacations we end up helping someone(even in air on way over,almost bizarre),worst was helping to deliver a baby on flight over ocean.My DH had not done that since med school and only experience I had was school and with my own.Thank God she waited till we landed,but it was close.I should start a thread about that.:confused:

[RachelG]

A lady on our xpedition cruise fell and broke her arm, and another fell and got a huge gash on her head which bled profusely. I was able to sort of slow the flow till we got her back to ship where she could get stitches. The trails are definitely rough on some islands.

 

Alexandria cruiser, I would have been fine with the baby delivering bit, but I once had to do a full code on a man on a trans Atlantic flight. You would not believe how well stocked their medical supply bag is on AA.

[mrsm88]

Hi, we were on the 5th cruise that ended on November 2nd, and agree with your review for the most part. My DW and I had one of the two Terrace suites, which we thought was very nice. The bathroom had been remodeled, and it was very roomy for an Expedition ship. There were the three and four day tour groups on our seven day segment. On the last three days it was more notable as that was when we discovered that over half the ship was getting off, and were being replaced with more tour groups. The new groups tended to stick together which made it difficult to get to know individuals. The Grill was more to our liking for lunch and Dinner. Other than the Grill we thought the food to be acceptable, but nothing to cause us to write home about. Crew worked hard to please, but lacked the training that one would expect on a luxury line (expedition or not). The islands and animals were the real stars here, and don't let any constructive criticism here keep you from booking. The park guides were exceptional, and we enjoyed each morning and afternoon trip. This is not a trip for those that want to sit in a lounge chair. You will have long hikes twice each day, with optional (and free) snorkeling or kayaking in between if you want. Bring your camera and water shoes, and enjoy a once in a lifetime experience.

I am going March 1st & we have both Terrace Suites booked (for 4 of us). Originally we were lead to believe we had a shared balcony at front of the boat but found out it is not ours, but a public place reachable via a door between our room? (not one person we spoke to have been able to clarify this). Could you fill me in on the cabin set up & the balcony? Are there larger windows in this cabin? Thanks :)

[mrsm88]

Many thanks for the detailed trip report. I have been reading on trip advisor & have to say I was freaking out, so reading your report has settled me down quite a bit. Have to laugh though- thought this was advertised as "top shelf" liquor....$5/bottles of wine:eek:?!

[carefreecruise]

I am going March 1st & we have both Terrace Suites booked (for 4 of us). Originally we were lead to believe we had a shared balcony at front of the boat but found out it is not ours, but a public place reachable via a door between our room? (not one person we spoke to have been able to clarify this). Could you fill me in on the cabin set up & the balcony? Are there larger windows in this cabin? Thanks :)

 

The two cabins that look cool on paper but don't turn out that way are 505 & 506. All decking around and in front of these cabins is public deck with lots of decking damage. Anyone on this deck just looks right into your rooms. You will need to keep the curtains closed all day and night. if I remember each cabin has two windows about 2'x3' looking forward. Your only access to these decks is not from your rooms, you will go out your front door and out to the decks. Its a little hard for guest to find this deck so you probably wont find many guests looking in your windows.

[carefreecruise]

Many thanks for the detailed trip report. I have been reading on trip advisor & have to say I was freaking out, so reading your report has settled me down quite a bit. Have to laugh though- thought this was advertised as "top shelf" liquor....$5/bottles of wine:eek:?!

 

All liquor and mixes is very limited. I ask for an after diner liqueur and was told there was none other than for $70.00 a drink for some Remy Martian bottle they had. No one really knows about wines or liquors, this is all new for the employees. Maybe a in the future they will have wine steward or sommelier.

[alexandra cruiser]

A lady on our xpedition cruise fell and broke her arm, and another fell and got a huge gash on her head which bled profusely. I was able to sort of slow the flow till we got her back to ship where she could get stitches. The trails are definitely rough on some islands.

 

Alexandria cruiser, I would have been fine with the baby delivering bit, but I once had to do a full code on a man on a trans Atlantic flight. You would not believe how well stocked their medical supply bag is on AA.

 

and it was so odd.They asked for a Dr.or nurse and 5 people showed up.We sort of figured out which one was the most experienced.One was a pathologist,other plastic surgeon,my surgeon DH and 2 nurses.Since I was the RN with ICU/ER training.(other LPN).They ALL deferred to us.Did find lots of equipment,used defibralator,but sadly man died.It was hard to get back into "vacation mode"after that.PS.we sometimes think its sort of "Fate"or something.Happens a LOT to us,have asked others and they agree.Strange,I know.

[onetravelbug]

I am going March 1st & we have both Terrace Suites booked (for 4 of us). Originally we were lead to believe we had a shared balcony at front of the boat but found out it is not ours, but a public place reachable via a door between our room? (not one person we spoke to have been able to clarify this). Could you fill me in on the cabin set up & the balcony? Are there larger windows in this cabin? Thanks :)

 

My DW and I were in terrace cabin 506, and liked the cabin. It seemed more spacious than the veranda cabins next to us. I think that was because of the layout of the room. It appeares square in shape and had a remodeled bathroom. Storage was plentiful. There is an over abundance of dark wood paneling, but that is a matter of personal preferences. You are correct there is a "public" veranda at the aft of the cabin. You will have to exit the cabin and go through two doors to access this area. It is large, and most times no one was there. They had a few lounge chairs, but when you are seated, you can't see much over the solid metal railing. It was a non issue with us, because we were so busy with tours and eating, there wasn't a lot of time to just sit out on the deck to relax. Unless you just have to have your own private veranda, I think it is a much better cabin than the veranda cabins. Let me know if you would like more details.

[mrsm88]

My DW and I were in terrace cabin 506, and liked the cabin. It seemed more spacious than the veranda cabins next to us. I think that was because of the layout of the room. It appeares square in shape and had a remodeled bathroom. Storage was plentiful. There is an over abundance of dark wood paneling, but that is a matter of personal preferences. You are correct there is a "public" veranda at the aft of the cabin. You will have to exit the cabin and go through two doors to access this area. It is large, and most times no one was there. They had a few lounge chairs, but when you are seated, you can't see much over the solid metal railing. It was a non issue with us, because we were so busy with tours and eating, there wasn't a lot of time to just sit out on the deck to relax. Unless you just have to have your own private veranda, I think it is a much better cabin than the veranda cabins. Let me know if you would like more details.

Thank you for that info- it seems everybody has a different view & opinion about these things. I was really looking forward to my morning coffee on the deck but if you cannot see anything while seated & supposedly now no coffee maker (expresso machine) in room?

[5waldos]

Thank you for that info- it seems everybody has a different view & opinion about these things. I was really looking forward to my morning coffee on the deck but if you cannot see anything while seated & supposedly now no coffee maker (expresso machine) in room?

 

From what I read here don't fret about the lack of the coffee maker- they don't work anyway.

 

I suspect that all the balconies have the high walls- the better to keep you from tripping and falling overboard I guess. Why they don't make them from heavy plexiglass or tempered glass I don't know. But people who design ships don't always think things through- like the cabins shaped so that the sitting areas look into the scenic bathrooms. What were they thinking???

Edited November 27, 2013 by 5waldos

[carefreecruise]

They have cabernet, merlot, chardonnay and Malbec but only one to choose from for each grape type. The wines are all new, something you would find in a store for $5.00 American, per bottle. Were big wine drinkers and on this trip we switched to beer.

 

Silversea operation rep called after reading the review, to let me know all food, wine and consumables are by a contact vendor from the old ships owners. It expires Dec 31, 2013. This is why the wines and alcohol is so weak. It was to be given free for the non inclusive guests. They have new vendors lined up after the first of the year. I recommended lowering the price till they get it together....

[5waldos]

Silversea operation rep called after reading the review, to let me know all food, wine and consumables are by a contact vendor from the old ships owners. It expires Dec 31, 2013. This is why the wines and alcohol is so weak. It was to be given free for the non inclusive guests. They have new vendors lined up after the first of the year. I recommended lowering the price till they get it together....

 

They really should offer a rebate or voucher or something until then- the fares for these other people was significantly lower. Sounds like there may be real changes after Jan 1. Does not seem like a good business decision to open a new area like this with all these issues hanging around. In the long run it would probably have been wiser to either wait to begin cruising, or simply upgrade the previous guests to Silversea standards. In the long run it may have been more profitable, even if in the short run they took a bit of a hit. Initial reviews are important.

Edited November 27, 2013 by 5waldos

[carefreecruise]

They really should offer a rebate or voucher or something until then- the fares for these other people was significantly lower. Sounds like there may be real changes after Jan 1. Does not seem like a good business decision to open a new area like this with all these issues hanging around. In the long run it would probably have been wiser to either wait to begin cruising, or simply upgrade the previous guests to Silversea standards. In the long run it may have been more profitable, even if in the short run they took a bit of a hit. Initial reviews are important.

 

ABSOLUTELY... They have lots of excuses that they would lose their license if they didn't get back to providing service in the park. No way of upgrading existing guests due to the old company still makes all the provision orders till Jan first.The sales and marketing rep are going to call me next week to go over things, hopefully reduce the price and provide some refunds? If I remember right, your going on this ship next month. I guess you may be stuck in this December limbo time period....

[onetravelbug]

Thank you for that info- it seems everybody has a different view & opinion about these things. I was really looking forward to my morning coffee on the deck but if you cannot see anything while seated & supposedly now no coffee maker (expresso machine) in room?

 

You are right there is no coffee maker or expresso machine in the room. However, the Grill is on the same deck as the Terrace suites, so with just a little effort, you can have coffee and a great view. I sent an email to silversea's home office with my concerns on how the cruise was advertised as a "luxury" cruse, but fell short in several areas. Despite all of the minor issues, it was one of our favorite cruises because of the Park Guides and the animals. It is a not to be missed experience. Silversea had the opportunity to make this an over the top experience, but tried to hurry the training and refurbishing schedule. I'll be interested to see their response to my email.