Just Back Silver Explorer 1 Aug 15 Longyearbyen to Reykjavik

Hi All. We just returned home from our Silver Explorer 1 August 2015 Arctic Cruise. Short summary is below. Full review is:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=510803

My Cruise Photos:

General Overall Impression:

We were deeply disappointed in the expedition portion of the cruise. We missed 50% of the cruise due to excessive ice and weather in Scoresbysund. Silversea’s answer was to do more in Iceland. We did not pay to visit Iceland – we paid to visit Greenland. For some unknown reason they did NOT go to the southern part of Greenland or anchor in place and wait out the weather and made this second half an Iceland BUS tour.

I blame the Captain here since he controls where we go. There was no reason we could not have gone south and done other expedition areas or just wait a day. The choice of going to Iceland and doing normal ports Husavik, Akureryi and western Fjords was not expedition sailing but sightseeing. Except for one stop (zodiac cruise) -- it was 120 passengers on 3 buses. I could have taken Princess cruise and done this (and had).

This cruise would have been 4 to 5 stars had the 2nd half of the cruise been of the same quality as the first.

Svalbard – 4 day cruise. Very interesting (see photos) though many excursions required you to be in shape and physically fit. Some passenger requested some more less walking friendly tours (ie. Zodiac cruises) but these requests were ignored by the expedition leader. Really enjoyed this portion of the cruise.

Ship Impression. Having been on the Silver Explorer 18 months ago we knew what to expect. The ship’s decor is VERY tired looking. Rooms are almost all same size (except for the small number of expedition and owner suites). Lounge is very small and fills up for high tea and drinks.

Service was excellent. Only comment is that the butlers are glorified housekeepers. Our request for special gin (Henricks) was ignored.

Food was excellent. Much improved over past expedition cruise. Did not have a bad meal. Previously the buffet lunch was the highlight meal. This cruise the dinner portion is where the chef shined. Chef Pia did a great job.

Iceland – what a waste - we were not scheduled to do this we were to do Greenland.

• First port Grimsey Island was cancelled due to high waves.

• Second stop was a Siglufjord town – where the highlight was the Herring museum. Now come on this is an expedition cruise. Herring museum ..zzzzzz..

• Husavik the whaling capitol of the world. However no whaling but a bus tour to visit the falls and hot springs. Have done this twice before on other cruises.

• Akureyri. Botanical garden tour. ..zzzzzz.. Fisherman's hut zzzzz... .

• On the last tour Grundefjord – 75% of the people requested that we return to the ship early – it was so bad -- as was the guide. We "loved" the visit to a greenhouse of tomatoes and cucumbers -- sounds like a salad. They had samples to taste but at 1,500 IKR -- it was a Princess cruise.

We know of course that things do happen. But it appears from our cruise, (and people on the previous cruise who had weather issues) -- Silversea, their logistics people, Captain, and Expedition leader cannot deal effectively with these changes.

Note: we still plan on doing a future SS Expedition Cruise (West Africa). We love this style of cruising.

Appreciate your sharing with all of the details, both what worked and did not. Nice video that you prepared and posted on YouTube. Lots of snow and ice showing. Not quite ready to get back in a winter-setting, yet, however!!

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 184,399 views.

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

Appreciate your sharing with all of the details, both what worked and did not. Nice video that you prepared and posted on YouTube. Lots of snow and ice showing. Not quite ready to get back in a winter-setting, yet, however!!

 

After the last 3 months of 90+ days -- the cool weather was a relief...

After the last 3 months of 90+ days -- the cool weather was a relief...

YES!! Understand fully your perspective and that it can be hot, HOT in Florida during the summer. Fortunately, we have had a very nice and good summer here in Central Ohio. Today it is super nice, sunny and only a high of 69F now and going down to a super comfortable 54F this evening. Only sunny and a high of 74F tomorrow. Wonderful!!

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 117,038 views for this posting.

George and I love expedition cruising, but your complaint was exactly the same as ours with Explorer. They seemed to have no thought out viable plan B if the unexpected (such as too much ice or bad weather, etc) happened. There are lots of interesting places in southern Greenland. We love Iceland, but we have been there twice, and as you point out, if you wanted to go to Iceland, you could do that much less expensively on Princess. Heck, you could probably do it less expensively on Regent that on Silversea Explorer given Explorer's very high price point, and would have a much nicer ship.

Paul, who was the Captain and your Expedition Leader ?

Thanks PaulMCO you should take up film production for a living.

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I guess one has to take the good with the bad. I am going on my first expedition voyage next year from Greenland to Newfoundland (Explorer in Sept. 2016). I am the first to realize that bad weather and ice conditions will make any of the best well laid plans to waste. Never had a port cancelled before in my previous 11 years of cruising but know that the likelihood of some being cancelled on this next expedition to be high.

Am I prepared for it? Well I guess yeah. I can understand the disappointment of the OP but I love Iceland.

Just going to keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best as these expeditions are not cheap by any standards.

As for Silversea being badly prepared for alternative arrangements? Aren't all travel suppliers bad at that? I guess Silversea being a higher end product just makes it more frustrating. I rather another day at sea than a cheesy tourist trap anyday!

For all of the negatives expressed, the experience is still magical.

Take a look at the YouTube video Paul made with his wonderful photographs.

Just outstanding work.

Thanks much for sharing with us.

Brought me right back to our trip on the explorer to svalbard...

Paul, who was the Captain and your Expedition Leader ?

Kit Van Wagner - Expedition Leader

Denis Radja - Captain

For all of the negatives expressed, the experience is still magical.

Take a look at the YouTube video Paul made with his wonderful photographs.

Just outstanding work.

Thanks much for sharing with us.

Brought me right back to our trip on the explorer to svalbard...

Yes it was magical. That is why we are waiting to book for a West Africa..

Paul are you related to the General?

Just as a point of information, we had the same captain aboard the discoverer in 2014 when we were not permitted to disembark in providenya and then our itinerary changed.

We went to Wales instead, a small village not visited by cruise ships. The refusal to go to Russia messed up the remainder of our cruise, and it was not due to weather or ice. Well maybe ice cold relations with Russia.

Our expedition leader was none other than Conrad, who is in charge now.

The crew worked hard to give us other options, but there really weren't many.

I know when we arrived in the zodiacs on the beach in Wales, one expedition member carried an envelope with cash which was paid to the mayor for the benefit of the town, and to allow us to disembark. There was t much to see, but the townspeople had worked hard to put on a dance routine for us.

We were also told that we were refused to go ashore in some other places via zodiac.

I don't know the ins and outs of expedition cruising from the perspective of the cruiseline but we were told that permits often have to be obtained months in advance to land and of course to spend time in a port. So I don't know if an alternative plan can be had, or whether it is so pricey that the cruise line chooses not to do it.

On our arctic cruise in 2013, we also encountered lousy conditions of sleeting, icy snow and lots of pack ice, and rough seas, where visibility was poor. The captain made a decision to change course, and we did get better conditions. We still had a terrific experience, seeing walrus, polar bears and other wildlife.

I would go on an expedition cruise again in a heartbeat.

Paul are you related to the General?

 

On our arctic cruise in 2013, we also encountered lousy conditions of sleeting, icy snow and lots of pack ice, and rough seas, where visibility was poor. The captain made a decision to change course, and we did get better conditions. We still had a terrific experience, seeing walrus, polar bears and other wildlife.

I would go on an expedition cruise again in a heartbeat.

No relation... :)

We are definitely going to do another expedition cruise. I love the concept. Our list includes West Africa and Russian Far East. I would love for SS to do the NW passage again. We were wait listed for Crystal NW passage but the list is over 700..

I am just questioning the Captains decision to leave and SS lack of a good plan B.

Before I left home - I checked the Ice reports and reports on CC about other ships with issues in Greenland. My comment to my DW was " I bet Scoresbysund is full of ice." So if I came to this decision -- well why not SS and prepared with an alternate plan. They could have stayed in Svalbard for 3 more days.. Do not need permits for ice cruising along the polar cap.

I would be interested if the following cruise has issues on the West side of Greenland and going through Christiansund - which I know had ice issues last month.

It still was a good cruise, but still feel frustrated that we missed Greenland. :(

Thanks Paul a really informative report. We board the Explorer in Late September in Nassau for First ever SS Cuba cruise, so we are looking forward to that.

Your video was superb, thank you.

Thanks Paul a really informative report. We board the Explorer in Late September in Nassau for First ever SS Cuba cruise, so we are looking forward to that.

Your video was superb, thank you.

I can only agree, thanks for sharing with us. Shame the second part of your cruise was such a damp squib.

Thanks Paul a really informative report. We board the Explorer in Late September in Nassau for First ever SS Cuba cruise, so we are looking forward to that.

Your video was superb, thank you.

Rojaan and I will see you around Cuba.

As far as lack of an alternative plan or plan at all for that matter, another example. Last year on our Japan to Guam cruise (with this same captain I believe though would have to check for sure), we had several changes and missed ports due to hurricanes, which we understood as you can't control weather.

However, at one of the ports, which had been one the schedule the entire time, we were unable to disembark at the dock because the fisherman's Union did not want us to. That should have been arranged months in advance. It was not a last minute change at all. And they would not allow us to anchor and come to land by zodiac either.

I'm new on this board as we will be doing our first SS cruise in January on the Explorer going to South Georgia and Antarctica.

PaulMCO, I'm so sorry about the disappointments on your cruise. It does sound disorganized and certainly without a plan B. I have no idea who our Captain and Expedition Leader will be but I hope they're not the same as yours.

Wishing you a great time on your future expedition cruises.:)

I'm new on this board as we will be doing our first SS cruise in January on the Explorer going to South Georgia and Antarctica.

 

PaulMCO, I'm so sorry about the disappointments on your cruise. It does sound disorganized and certainly without a plan B. I have no idea who our Captain and Expedition Leader will be but I hope they're not the same as yours.

Wishing you a great time on your future expedition cruises.:)

I think Kara Weller does the South Expeditions. She is very good..

You will enjoy this cruise -- we found South Georgia segment the most interesting portion.

As far as lack of an alternative plan or plan at all for that matter, another example. Last year on our Japan to Guam cruise (with this same captain I believe though would have to check for sure), we had several changes and missed ports due to hurricanes, which we understood as you can't control weather.

However, at one of the ports, which had been one the schedule the entire time, we were unable to disembark at the dock because the fisherman's Union did not want us to. That should have been arranged months in advance. It was not a last minute change at all. And they would not allow us to anchor and come to land by zodiac either.

Not the same captain.And the original landing site was out because of the winds.We then went round to the other side of the island where the fishing port was.So it was a secondary landing site.Although I am sure if one of the more dynamic Expedition leaders was onboardthe situation may well have been different.

Thank you Ron, for correcting me. Not the same captain.

But they should have had a plan in place for a secondary landing site. George was sure that if they had let him negotiate with the locals, he could have gotten a deal to let us land. He felt like they really didn't try hard enough to strike a deal. You just have to make the deal attractive enough. And there was a perfectly good dock there which was nothing used by anyone, including the fishermen.

Funny, that's looks like the same video journal we bought from the ship that was created by the on board photographer. They are available the last day of the cruise. He usually misses video from the last day excursion because he is hard at work blending them together and linking music. If you buy the video you also get a separate CD with still shots taken by the ships photographer.

Funny, that's looks like the same video journal we bought from the ship that was created by the on board photographer. They are available the last day of the cruise. He usually misses video from the last day excursion because he is hard at work blending them together and linking music. If you buy the video you also get a separate CD with still shots taken by the ships photographer.

It is not the same video!! And mine cost far less than the $150 the ship charged.. :)

Silversea should give me a discount for all the views this will get plus the Antarctica one I did in 2014 :) :)

PaulMCO,

I'd LOVE to see your video of Antarctica if you can post the link. You have a real talent !!

PaulMCO,

I'd LOVE to see your video of Antarctica if you can post the link. You have a real talent !!

Thanks.... Here is the link...

BRAVO! That was magnificent.

I'm so excited to think we'll be there ourselves in less than 4.5 months on the same ship and itinerary. Watching your video makes me feel like a little kid on the night before Christmas.

Thank You for sharing Paul !!