Question for my fellow river cruisers regarding SilverSea (particularly polar expeditions)

[bubbulz]

I'm starting here since I know a number of you have posted here about cruises taken with Silversea. I've been pondering where to go next (well, after the next couple of trips that already are planned), and have pretty much decided on a polar expedition, most likely Antarctica but I'm open to the Arctic. But here's the thing: I've never been on an ocean cruise, and they've never really appealed to me, particularly the large ships. I'm thinking a smaller expedition ship might be something I'd enjoy. I'm completely open as far as timing, but wouldn't want to push it out beyond early 2025 unless there were an overriding reason to do so. I do like a certain amount of pampering when I travel, and Silversea seems to offer that.

 

I'm looking for any info you might think would be helpful to help me decide regarding itineraries, month of travel, choice of ship/cabin, etc. I'd be traveling solo, and it seems like Silversea's solo supplement is typically 25%, which isn't horrible, but do they ever have specials where they waive it? I'm leaning toward Antarctica right now but the Arctic likely would be on my list for the future, particularly with an extension in Norway to visit friends.

 

I've only just started the research so anything you think might be helpful would be appreciated. TIA.

 

Now, back to your regular river cruising programming. 😉

[bubbulz]

@jpalbny

@Gourmet Gal

Also think Lois and Papa B may have been on Silversea as well, but not sure about their polar cruises. TIA!

[Gourmet Gal]

No, never did the Poles mostly because I don’t like rough seas, sea days and I really hate cold weather so no comment other than if you’ve never done an ocean cruise you should research how rough the seas are at the time of year you are considering.  Many cruisers have a hard time dealing with the big passage down to Antartica.  SS does have some departures that will fly over the passage to avoid the rough seas.  Some people will chime in here and say the seas were just fine on their cruise but they could be the exception.  Have fun planning!

[jpalbny]

Have done 3 Polar expeditions with SS. Each was great. Did a blog for the third one, link in my signature. Will come back with more later...after midnight here in Helsinki and need to get some sleep.

[Wings55]

@bubbulz We have not done a polar cruise but would love to someday. What I can recommend is Viking Ocean's new polar ships, the Octantis and the Polaris. We just finished a nine-day cruise on the Octantis and it's a wonderful ship. 378 passengers filled with lots of science and research activities. The option to go for a dive on one of the ship's two submarines was the highlight of the trip!

Paul

[bubbulz]

Thanks, everyone. I have done some relatively rough crossings on smaller, liveaboard dive boats and find that I can live through it if I medicate. 😉 But it is a concern. However, as with Cocos Island and Galapagos, etc., I figure this would be worth it. I’m also looking at the option of avoiding the passage. (I spend a fair amount of time on boats in general so you’d think I’d be over the whole sea sickness thing by now but I’m not.)

[jpalbny]

Ok, more as promised. 

 

We did Antarctica in 2009, and Svalbard in 2011, both on SS's smallest expedition ship, PAII/Silver Explorer. These were our first and third SS cruises. The expedition aspect was great. Zodiac landings on the continent, great wildlife sightings, excellent history and scientific lectures, and luxurious accommodations. Food and wine were very nice as well.

 

I did a text-only live report from Svalbard too, before I got the hang of posting pix, but you'd have to search for it. There are pictures from both expedition cruises in my SmugMug galleries; link also in my signature. 

 

In the last few years, SS has retrofitted two of their older classic ships into expedition-type vessels. We loved Silver Cloud and Wind as classic ships and have been equally happy with Cloud as an expedition ship (trying Wind expedition in June). The ship is about 50% bigger than Explorer, and has 4 restaurants so the combo of expedition and luxury is a big plus for us.

 

We have also done 3 other non-polar expedition trips so it's obvious that we really like this type of cruise. 

 

The larger ships are a bit more "expedition lite" and you have to land in 3 groups not two, so that may be a negative thing. We didn't notice any big issue with this.

 

You'll see all sorts of complaining on the SS boards about a perceived drop in quality since Covid. We didn't notice it much when we were back on SS for a classic cruise last November, but obvious some people feel differently. Can't tell you how you're going to perceive it, but if you've never done an ocean cruise you'll very likely have a great time on SS.

 

The new Silver Endeavor looks amazing but it's much more expensive. You may get what you pay for. Have no experience with that. We are considering a third Antarctica trip in a few years and will give it a look then, along with Ponant's new ship, Le Commandant Charcot.

 

Any other specific questions? LMK. Have fun planning! 

[Canal archive]

My dad was in the Royal Navy all through WW2 he got sea sick watching a heaving! sea on TV, never got over it at all, as kids we had to shout the all clear so that he could watch one particular programme after the start.

[bubbulz]

Thank you, JP, for all the info. I looked through your postings and photos … All amazing and very helpful. I have a lot more research to do, but thank you for the running start here.