Crcketfan Posted November 27, 2023 #1 Share Posted November 27, 2023 Just back home from Silver Origin followed by Machu Pichu tour. Last leg first,the Peru trip was excellent with great guides,great hotels ( Belmond )and reps present at every point to help.It could not have been organised better. The precruise experience in Quito was also very good.All the South Americans including the ship gave really good and helpful/friendly service. So what was disappointing! Excursions.Avian flu is present on some islands and landings were not allowed.The itinerary was changed.Net result for us was a lack of activity with 2 nature walks and 2 short beach walks plus the giant tortoises which was a drawn out affair that was far too long taken up by coffee tasting.Not what we went to see.Be warned,if you are not big on snorkelling & kayaking this cruise gets boring.Several younger people thought it great but several “older” folks felt as us. Food and Wine.For us the food was poor with meat and chicken distinctly below par often overcooked and/or tough.Fish was sometimes overcooked.Most food seemed over salted. Wine was uninspiring,the Ecuadorean being not very good for us.Even the pay for list was narrow in choice and again uninspiring. Ship Motion.We know the Origin is not a big ship so may be more prone to motion.For us the degree of rolling was too much,it was as if there were no stabilisers.In fact we were told that the stabilisers had never worked properly.The fact that the ship does not anchor and uses technology to maintain position seemed to make things worse.At night there was some really bad motion and the seas/swell was definitely not bad. We were given notice by Silversea a few days before departure about a change of itinerary but with no mention of the Flu issue.Its likely this will be around for a while so forthcoming cruises are also going to be affected 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare drron29 Posted November 27, 2023 #2 Share Posted November 27, 2023 With Avian flu present this is not going to change any time soon. maybe a Galapagos cruise is not a great idea for the next 1 - 2 years unless you do like snorkelling which is excellent there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare twangster Posted November 28, 2023 #3 Share Posted November 28, 2023 Origin does anchor at times, when it can. Saves fuel. It was at anchor when we boarded her and was at anchor at certain stops on our itinerary. Ship motion is largely a function of the very small ship size (6,365 GT) but also the currents that run through the Galapagos Islands. With three major currents that vary at times it can lead to unpredictable motion. It never got to me but I certainly was aware of it at certain times along the itinerary. Some of it is luck depending how the currents are running any particular day/week/month. It doesn't take visible large waves to create motion when strong currents are encountered. Some folks are more susceptible to it. The avian flu is very unfortunate but that is what they have to deal with. The Galapagos Park decides if they can land on any given island. Regardless it is very sad and hopefully won't last very long but no one knows how long it will take to run its course. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
labrasett Posted December 2, 2023 #4 Share Posted December 2, 2023 Very sad post, how anyone could not be blown away by Galapagos I cannot imagine. Personally I wasnt keen on the food as we are not great fish lovers but we never went hungry. We thought the ship was amazing and the crew delightful. The expedition team were amazing providing really informative lectures without being long winded or indeed too lengthy. It would have been disappointing not to go ashore in some places but most of what you see can be seen from the ship or the zodiacs. The avian flu epidemic is a tragedy which as "adventure" travellers we all accept may affect our trips and future plans. As for ship motion, well its a relatively small ship so it is to be expected. "Boring" personally I am never bored and even though I found the snorkelling a little challenging I participated in all the zodiac trips out and mainly stayed on the zodiac shadowing the snorkellers. I had a fabulous trip and I am sorry if other peoples expectations are not being met, horses for courses. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjs217 Posted December 2, 2023 #5 Share Posted December 2, 2023 All expedition cruise ships in the Galapagos have to be 100% manned and operated by Ecuadoreans. That includes the chefs. We took Silversea Galapagos many years ago and found that what the crew may have lacked in some areas of sophistication, they more than made up for in trying to make it a fun, informative, and educational cruise (and it was.) For example: the first evening at sail-away my husband ordered a scotch, neat. It came with a big fat straw and an umbrella. Instead of getting our panties in a wad, we found it hilarious, and still laugh about it today. We find some of the stuff people complain about to be absurd. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cool cruiser 14107 Posted May 5 #6 Share Posted May 5 does anyone know if the gift shop on the silver origin has just a few high end things (and tiny) or can you get clothes and sundries? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emtbsam Posted May 6 #7 Share Posted May 6 On 5/5/2024 at 1:14 PM, cool cruiser 14107 said: does anyone know if the gift shop on the silver origin has just a few high end things (and tiny) or can you get clothes and sundries? thanks You can get some clothes at fairly high prices and a few pieces of jewelry at fairly reasonable prices. We loved our time on the Silver Origin and had the best suite and butler of any cruise in over 700 days!.. If you go and have the good fortune to have Joāo as your Butler, you are in for a treat. I so wish the ship were in the Mediterranean - I would take it in a heartbeat! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cool cruiser 14107 Posted May 6 #8 Share Posted May 6 thanks sooo much!! can you also get things like OTC pain remedies; tylenol, etc. and sunscreen? etc? and inexpensive trinkets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare drron29 Posted May 7 #9 Share Posted May 7 (edited) 1 hour ago, cool cruiser 14107 said: thanks sooo much!! can you also get things like OTC pain remedies; tylenol, etc. and sunscreen? etc? and inexpensive trinkets? I think a ll the ships have a limited range of OTC stuff. It certainly was that way on the old Silver Explorer. But again very expensive. A shampoo I use was $US15 on the Muse last month. When in Bangkok I bought 2 50% larger bottles for just under $US6. Edited May 7 by drron29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cool cruiser 14107 Posted May 7 #10 Share Posted May 7 I thought all ships did too; but I heard that the Sliver Origin (being the smallest, and in the Galapagos) might not have things like OTC, sunscreen, etc....? thanks; yes; all very expensive I'm sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emtbsam Posted May 7 #11 Share Posted May 7 There was sunscreen in our Royal suite and I assume it was in all the suites. I forget the brand, but it was fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cool cruiser 14107 Posted May 7 #12 Share Posted May 7 oh wow; so I didn't even have to/don't have to buy any ahead of time?! or maybe you only get that with the Royal Suite? We'll be in a regular room. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare gnome12 Posted May 8 #13 Share Posted May 8 3 hours ago, cool cruiser 14107 said: oh wow; so I didn't even have to/don't have to buy any ahead of time?! or maybe you only get that with the Royal Suite? We'll be in a regular room. thanks I can't imagine using a brand/formulation that I didn't select myself to my own preferences. I will always bring my own. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cool cruiser 14107 Posted May 8 #14 Share Posted May 8 that's a good point🙄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RELS Posted May 9 #15 Share Posted May 9 On 5/7/2024 at 3:41 PM, cool cruiser 14107 said: oh wow; so I didn't even have to/don't have to buy any ahead of time?! or maybe you only get that with the Royal Suite? We'll be in a regular room. thanks All rooms get a tube of sunscreen. They want you to use something that won't harm the wildlife. I'm pretty sure it's mineral sunscreen, but we used up our tube a while ago, so I can't check. The zodiac drivers and guides who are in the sun all day wear long sleeves and long pants. Hats and buffs and gloves on the zodiac drivers. You never see their faces :-). The sun is fierce and we're not used to it at all, so we wore swim leggings and rash guards when snorkeling and thus avoided being stung by the tiny jellyfish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Port Power Posted May 9 #16 Share Posted May 9 On 5/8/2024 at 9:57 AM, gnome12 said: I can't imagine using a brand/formulation that I didn't select myself to my own preferences. I will always bring my own. You do need to make sure that your preferred brand is marine friendly. Otherwise what washes of people will coat the coral and kill it. Ask the expedition crew. There is one ingredient that cannot be used, but many retail brands are still okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare gnome12 Posted May 9 #17 Share Posted May 9 1 hour ago, Port Power said: You do need to make sure that your preferred brand is marine friendly. Otherwise what washes of people will coat the coral and kill it. Ask the expedition crew. There is one ingredient that cannot be used, but many retail brands are still okay. I think that I missed that we were discussing specifically expedition cruising. There was a mention that all ships might supply it. I definitely understand that if you are in protected waters that the ingredients are important. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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