Latest Silver Discoverer Thoughts

Curious to hear from those that have been on the Silver Discoverer over the course of the last year to gather your thoughts and perspectives on the ship's sailing experience and facility maintenance. It seems this ship may no longer be a part of the Silversea Expedition fleet once Silver Cloud joins the brand in late 2017. So, I worry if the company will keep the suites and public spaces well maintained over the course of the next year.

Lastly, I'm looking at a late spring 2017 itinerary from Koror, Palau to Hakodate, Japan and wonder what the seas are like in this area of the world at that time of the year. DW and daughter can easily get seasick, so worry about the pitching and rolling I've read about the Discoverer as I have no knowledge of the seas in this area of the world.

On our last Discoverer voyage, there was one option for water supply. Not a problem for those who enjoy drinking the ship's water.

We have not cruised on the Discoverer for a couple of years , but as you haven't exactly been swamped with input I will contribute.

Compared to the PAII ( I refuse to call it anything else) , we found the Discoverer quite wanting in terms of it's layout and amenities.

It is a very small ship , and with that comes movement at sea and other logistic impediments not seen on the larger or better planned vessels.

Small ships are expensive to run and the Discoverer has not enjoyed the stellar level of occupancy enjoyed by the PAII.

Having said that , the ship under the Silver Sea banner , is warm , inviting , friendly ,comfortable ,…….and not to be missed.

Expedition ships are not about a few marks on the carpet ; they receive industrial usage by wet sometimes dirty adventurers who are having fun.

It probably makes economic sense to end the ships lease , but this is just another nail in the coffin of truly eclectic expedition cruising in favour of softer, impersonal, sanitised, "crowd class" cruises masquerading as expedition cruising.

I say go while you can...

We have not cruised on the Discoverer for a couple of years , but as you haven't exactly been swamped with input I will contribute.

 

Compared to the PAII ( I refuse to call it anything else) , we found the Discoverer quite wanting in terms of it's layout and amenities.

It is a very small ship , and with that comes movement at sea and other logistic impediments not seen on the larger or better planned vessels.

Small ships are expensive to run and the Discoverer has not enjoyed the stellar level of occupancy enjoyed by the PAII.

 

Having said that , the ship under the Silver Sea banner , is warm , inviting , friendly ,comfortable ,…….and not to be missed.

Expedition ships are not about a few marks on the carpet ; they receive industrial usage by wet sometimes dirty adventurers who are having fun.

 

It probably makes economic sense to end the ships lease , but this is just another nail in the coffin of truly eclectic expedition cruising in favour of softer, impersonal, sanitised, "crowd class" cruises masquerading as expedition cruising.

 

I say go while you can...

That's very well put, I think. I have done three big trips on this ship when it was called the Clipper Odyssey and while it had many drawbacks in terms of ride quality as well as comfort levels it remains our favourite ship because of the places it took us to, mainly remote South Pacific islands.

It would indeed be a great pity if expedition cruising became more sanitised but I have seen examples of this in recent years and now believe that in some cases the expedition crew size up the passengers, single out the least physically able, and say 'if that person can't easily make that zodiac landing no one will.'

I have been on the Discoverer and enjoyed it.

As has been said above, it's little and not really built for creature comfort.

That being said, we had a great time aboard. Silversea made a lot of changes to the interior. The ordinary suites are small and the furniture in them Lilliputian. Was difficult for DH to be comfortable in the chair because he is so tall.

We had rough seas and people did get mal de mer.

Select a midship suite for sure if you have propensity for sea sickness.

The time aboard the vessel is pretty limited, you are busy all the time.

We were told that the Discoverer will not be a part of the fleet in the near future.

I would go again if I could.

Looked at a trip this summer which priced out at almost 44k including flights.

Too much !!

Oregon50, tgh, Fletcher, and spinnaker2,

Thank you very much for sharing your perspectives on the Discoverer. Your thoughts are exactly what I was looking for.

The ride quality scares me as I don't know what the typical seas are in the voyage we are considering. For that reason, I think we're going to take a pass and wait and see if the Cloud might do the same itinerary in 2018 or 2019.

.........For that reason, I think we're going to take a pass and wait and see if the Cloud might do the same itinerary in 2018 or 2019.

Stumblefoot, we haven't been on the Discoverer so we are no help there, but we too are looking forward to what the Cloud & Explorer will do in '18/'19. I am hoping Conrad comes up with lots of new itineraries for us to try. :D

Hope we get to sail with you again !

Remember that the Discoverer was built originally as an inshore floating casino for the Japanese market. It was never intended to venture out into the empty ocean. However, as I said in my previous post, it remains our favourite ship because of the places it has taken us to.

Regretfully we've had to miss one of SS's finest new itineraries on this ship, sailing in February from Sri Lanka to the Andamans, Bangladesh and Calcutta.

....................

Regretfully we've had to miss one of SS's finest new itineraries on this ship, sailing in February from Sri Lanka to the Andamans, Bangladesh and Calcutta.

Ditto !!

Hope we get to sail with you again !

We do too on both fronts!

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Remember that the Discoverer was built originally as an inshore floating casino for the Japanese market. It was never intended to venture out into the empty ocean.

Thx for the additional input Fletcher. Much appreciated!

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