June Galapagos cruises

[CruzinFeraBruzin]

Mark Conroy, Managing Director with Silversea, appeared on Insider Travel Report video posted this morning (May 6th) on YouTube.  He talked about the restart of Silversea cruising and indicated Galapagos would be restarting late June or early July.  Crew is in the process of being vaccinated and second shots should be completed by the end of May.  Assuming they then have to do test cruises after that puts them on track for late June at the earliest.   Still no answer on why early June cruises haven't been cancelled yet, but this is encouraging for those who have sailings later in the year.

[TLCOhio]

38 minutes ago, CruzinFeraBruzin said:

Mark Conroy, Managing Director with Silversea, appeared on Insider Travel Report video.  He talked about the restart of Silversea cruising and indicated Galapagos would be restarting late June or early July.  Crew is in the process of being vaccinated and second shots should be completed by the end of May. 

 

Appreciate this added information and these various follow-ups.  Agree that late June or early July seems more realistic.  Clearly, early June is not going to happen.  Not that I would want to be on the first or second cruise after this re-start happens.  

 

It takes time for the staff and management on these ships to get their "processes" smoothed out and operating at a 100%, fully-functioning level.  After a 15-month or so period of not operating, things for food service, etc., cannot open up in a perfect and/or ideal manner.  I am sure there will be great staff spirit and excitement, but making it "ALL" work well take some time, practice and patience.  Also, this a new ship where there will be a "learning curve" for the staff, etc.  Right?  Or, am I being too negative and/or pessimistic for these initial sailings in this area?

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Barcelona/Med: June 2011, with stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Great visuals with key highlights, tips, etc. Live/blog now at 253,443 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

Edited May 6, 2021 by TLCOhio

[gui218]

Silver Origin departed Manta on April 23 and is now off San Cristobal!

Are they getting ready for passengers?

Guess the sailing start Date!

We all look forward to Reviews of this new Ship. 

[Carol From California]

14 hours ago, gui218 said:

Silver Origin departed Manta on April 23 and is now off San Cristobal!

Are they getting ready for passengers?

Guess the sailing start Date!

We all look forward to Reviews of this new Ship. 

 

Received an email from Celebrity that the Galapagos cruises will start on July 4. Celebrity and Silversea are owned by the same parent company. The Celebrity Flora and the Silversea Origin are identical builds but customized for each of the lines. I also read this past week that Linblad Expeditions is starting up their Galapagos cruises in June or July. So, Silversea can't be that far behind. We are booked on the Origin in December. The JW Marriott in Quito has not reopened yet and that is where Silversea and Celebrity put up their guests pre-cruise, so hopefully they will reopen soon or another hotel will have to be secured.    

[Host Jazzbeau]

I read on the Celebrity forum that the JW Marriott has assured Celebrity that they will reopen in time for the first cruise. 

[CruzinFeraBruzin]

1 hour ago, Carol From California said:

 

Received an email from Celebrity that the Galapagos cruises will start on July 4. Celebrity and Silversea are owned by the same parent company. The Celebrity Flora and the Silversea Origin are identical builds but customized for each of the lines. I also read this past week that Linblad Expeditions is starting up their Galapagos cruises in June or July. So, Silversea can't be that far behind. We are booked on the Origin in December. The JW Marriott in Quito has not reopened yet and that is where Silversea and Celebrity put up their guests pre-cruise, so hopefully they will reopen soon or another hotel will have to be secured.    

Our June 12 cruise on Origin still has not been cancelled even though Silversea has all but declared a late June or early July start date.  I have wondered why Silversea doesn't follow the same restart schedule for Origin as Celebrity Flora since they are both owned by RCL and have to go thru the same government channels to restart.  Perhaps they are waiting until we get inside the 30 day window in case we decide to cancel before they do.  Not sure.  Good news from Host Jazzbeau that Marriott will reopen soon.

[Fletcher]

For UK citizens Ecuador and all of South America remains on the government's red list and thus off limits for the foreseeable future.

[CruzinFeraBruzin]

It's official - June 5 and June 12 Galapagos cruises have been cancelled as of this morning.  Silversea's website was updated with maiden voyage of Origin now sailing June 19, but of course that is subject to change.

[TLCOhio]

3 hours ago, CruzinFeraBruzin said:

It's official - June 5 and June 12 Galapagos cruises have been cancelled as of this morning.  Silversea's website was updated with maiden voyage of Origin now sailing June 19, but of course that is subject to change.

 

Maybe the Galapagos will really happen next month??!!  

 

From two different trade publications today, there are specific stories with precise dates listed.   Here is one headline: “Silversea Cruises is returning to the Galapagos year-round with Silver Origin” with these highlights: “Silversea Cruises will return to service in the Galapagos Islands this summer on its new ship, the Silver Origin, with an inaugural June 19 cruise.   Full vaccinations will be mandatory for all guests and crew.  The 100-passenger Silver Origin will offer two alternating itineraries that incorporate five maiden calls, including the island of Santa Fe. Both itineraries will include Fernandina and Isabela, two of the Galapagos' most iconic destinations.  Celebrity Cruises also said last week that it would return to the Galapagos this summer: It plans to relaunch its three ships by the end of September, starting with the Celebrity Flora on July 4.”

 

Here is more from the Travel Weekly story: "The Silver Origin was delivered by Dutch shipyard De Hoop last June, one of two Silversea ships delivered during the pandemic: The Silver Moon was delivered in November. Roberto Martinoli, Silversea's CEO, noted that the Origin is both the first ship to join the fleet since Silversea Cruises joined the Royal Caribbean Group and its first destination-specific ship."

 

Full story at:

https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Silversea-is-returning-to-the-Galapagos-Silver-Origin

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 241,851 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923