Cloud Ft Lauderdale to Lima 11/10-30/10

[jillyf]

Thanks Silver, I’ve really enjoyed your posts.

We are just back from an expedition cruise on Coral Discoverer ( 70 passengers) Broome to Cairns and although we enjoyed it and would love to do some of their other itineraries, we found it very tiring. Probably won’t try another one.  Classic cruising suits us better. 

[jpalbny]

Sorry, Pashmina and Jilly. We have (so far, after just one try) found the Cloud expedition experience to be a little softer than we prefer. We still had a great time, don't get me wrong. The Cloud is a luxurious expedition ship. But we wished for a bit more adventure.

 

We shall see how our upcoming January voyage to South Georgia and Antarctica compares to our prior trips on Explorer. Expedition cruises are our favorites. But that's how we travel now. Probably in 20 years we won't have the energy to keep doing it that way,  and we will come back to the classic itineraries. So glad that both are available! 

[Silver Spectre]

1 hour ago, Silver Spectre said:

Thanks Pashmina, there’s not a lot of point in posting anodyne rubbish if it’s going to be helpful.

That was meant to be ‘if it’s not going to be helpful’

[Silver Spectre]

1 hour ago, jpalbny said:

Sorry, Pashmina and Jilly. We have (so far, after just one try) found the Cloud expedition experience to be a little softer than we prefer. We still had a great time, don't get me wrong. The Cloud is a luxurious expedition ship. But we wished for a bit more adventure.

 

We shall see how our upcoming January voyage to South Georgia and Antarctica compares to our prior trips on Explorer. Expedition cruises are our favorites. But that's how we travel now. Probably in 20 years we won't have the energy to keep doing it that way,  and we will come back to the classic itineraries. So glad that both are available! 

Hi JP, considering the part of the world we were in, what would constitute more adventure?

[jpalbny]

Silver, our one Cloud trip was in Iceland. It was lots of fun, but there are definitely more adventurous excursions which could have been organised there. Just offering a different perspective. It seemed less "rough" than our expeditions aboard Explorer. Still very excited to be back on Silver Cloud in January.

[Silver Spectre]

10 hours ago, jpalbny said:

Silver, our one Cloud trip was in Iceland. It was lots of fun, but there are definitely more adventurous excursions which could have been organised there. Just offering a different perspective. It seemed less "rough" than our expeditions aboard Explorer. Still very excited to be back on Silver Cloud in January.

Thanks JP, I was just looking for a different perspective. One of the differences between the Explorer and the Cloud is its ability to get close enough to certain areas for the Zodiacs to operate effectively. The deeper draught of the Cloud means it has to anchor further out in some places. This contributed to the very long Zodiac run in San Andres and the subsequent squall problems. 

 

I also suspect that that there is some tailoring of excursions based on the likely demographic.

Edited November 4, 2019 by Silver Spectre

[Silver Spectre]

Borrowed this from a friend - Parque Nacional Marino Isla Bastimentos

[Silver Spectre]

Penultimate night crew parade

 

[Silver Spectre]

No more Zodiac rides - hooray

 

[Silver Spectre]

Temples of the Sun and Moon, local beer, Moche canal (reused),  fruit stall with red bananas

[Silver Spectre]

+1

 

[Silver Spectre]

+2

The red bananas

 

[Silver Spectre]

+3

 

[jpalbny]

Great pix Silver! Learning about the Moche civilization was a real eye-opener. Great to see those places again.

[Silver Spectre]

33 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

Great pix Silver! Learning about the Moche civilization was a real eye-opener. Great to see those places again.

More to come

[Silver Spectre]

+4

The guy on the right is the director of the archeological site, also a professor at the local University. His English was perfect, having spent 3 years doing research at UEA in Norwich. I believe he came and spoke to all 3 tour groups and he was very informative.

This was the one and only time that I used a 'QUITEVOX', which worked well, provided we stayed relatively close to the guide.

Edited November 7, 2019 by Silver Spectre

[Silver Spectre]

+5

The fearless Marcel, Xpedition member extraordinare.

[Silver Spectre]

+6

 

[QueSeraSera]

Fascinating, thank you SS.

[Silver Spectre]

+7

Repeating a photo which is the sacrifice area, men only!

 

[Silver Spectre]

When we entered the Moon Temple we were the only tourists there, we lucked out by being the final group

 

[Silver Spectre]

And then we met this guy

 

[Silver Spectre]

The main courtyard

 

[Silver Spectre]

As we leave it's completely empty again

 

[Silver Spectre]

Past the slums and back to the port again