Possibly thinking about Silversea cruise

Never cruised with Silversea, but thinking about possibly trying one! My question is-I know ship is all inclusive, but wondering about how much excursions tend to run?

Never cruised with Silversea, but thinking about possibly trying one! My question is-I know ship is all inclusive, but wondering about how much excursions tend to run?

Good question! Glad you are considering your cruise options. The quick answer on your smart excursion cost question is . . . "IT DEPENDS!!" Why and how? From sailing 36 days with Silversea on three different cruise in the past year and a half, "local" supplier and cost structures affect not only Silversea, but any cruise line.

Then there is the big variable as to whether you are doing a simple 3-4 hour city tour in a port . . . or . . . a more complex, longer "special event" that is more involved and complicated with its logistics and what location you are visiting.

Generally with Silversea, from doing four cruises with them, their groups in doing such tours tend to be smaller and not situations where the buses are packed to capacity. They also have a staff member go along with each group, providing added "service" and monitoring to make things go well, etc. Some tours have been $60-80. Some at $150-$190. Some more, but usually those more costly examples have several "extras" involved and/or are more private/exclusive, etc.

Where are you planning to sail? What ports/towns? Tell us more!! Can share more specifics/details as fits your interests.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo sailing over 26 days that started in Barbados, here is the link below to that live/blog. Lots of great visuals from this amazing Brazil river and these various Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.) that we experienced. Check it out at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 42,229 views for these postings.

Thank you for your input! Sounds like pretty comparable with most ship excursions. We have done many trips all inclusive and love traveling this way. I was just curious to price range of the excursions. Silversea sounds very nice and all the perks of a luxury cruise are just what we like at our age(early 60's)! We love Europe and loved cruising from Italy to Turkey-so, we are looking to possibly go the other way this trip. Possibly Italy to Barcelona this time! We did a river cruise on the French Waterways a couple of years ago with Tauck and enjoyed it, but have decided that river cruises are a little slow for us. We like big water cruises better! Thanks again for your input!

My advice would be to have a chat with your TA as SS are now including shore excursions in their all inclusive fares on some voyages.

I'm sure you will enjoy the Silversea experience.

Sophia [emoji5]

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Good question! Glad you are considering your cruise options. The quick answer on your smart excursion cost question is . . . "IT DEPENDS!!" Why and how? From sailing 36 days with Silversea on three different cruise in the past year and a half, "local" supplier and cost structures affect not only Silversea, but any cruise line.

 

Then there is the big variable as to whether you are doing a simple 3-4 hour city tour in a port . . . or . . . a more complex, longer "special event" that is more involved and complicated with its logistics and what location you are visiting.

 

Generally with Silversea, from doing four cruises with them, their groups in doing such tours tend to be smaller and not situations where the buses are packed to capacity. They also have a staff member go along with each group, providing added "service" and monitoring to make things go well, etc. Some tours have been $60-80. Some at $150-$190. Some more, but usually those more costly examples have several "extras" involved and/or are more private/exclusive, etc.

 

Where are you planning to sail? What ports/towns? Tell us more!! Can share more specifics/details as fits your interests.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo sailing over 26 days that started in Barbados, here is the link below to that live/blog. Lots of great visuals from this amazing Brazil river and these various Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.) that we experienced. Check it out at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 42,229 views for these postings.

Just remember, you are under no obligation to take the ship excursions. There are several outside companies that act as booking agents for some of the same tours the ship offers without the large markup.

My advice would be to have a chat with your TA as SS are now including shore excursions in their all inclusive fares on some voyages. Sophia

fla742: Just remember' date=' you are under [b']no obligation to take the ship excursions[/b]. There are several outside companies that act as booking agents for some of the same tours the ship offers without the large markup.

Appreciate these wonderful and wise added points. Yes, some Silversea cruises include certain excursion without added cost. BUT, as I understand and/or re-call some of those of the more "basic" tours are "free" and that certain better/more creative excursions involve added cost. Your choice!! Depends on what you like and seek.

In doing our four cruises with Silversea, we have always done mix of ship and private/DIY tours. So much depends on what the ship will offer, what we seek to do, etc. In South Africa earlier this year, the ship's offerings were some limited and not the best. Insider sources told me that Silversea was not hooked up with the best local provider/supplier in that part of the world. We did more private options along that South Africa coast and that worked out so much better for us. It gave us superior value and improved "personal" experiences. My live/blog connected below has the "evidence" from the results.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

AFRICA?!!?: Lots of interesting and dramatic pictures can be seen from my latest live/blog at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Now at 19,242 views for this reporting and visual sharing that includes Cape Town, all along the South Africa coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta area.

Consider Seabourn. We have travelled with both Silversea and Seabourn. Seabourn ships are better, the vibe much more upbeat and the customer age profile closer to yours, with better excursions in terms of quality and just overall. Silversea scores well on food and the standard of their core entertainers, but Seabourn we think has a clear edge when it comes to overall cruise experience. We would be happy to sail Silversea again, but our preference would still be Seabourn.

Consider Seabourn. We have travelled with both Silversea and Seabourn. Seabourn ships are better, the vibe much more upbeat and the customer age profile closer to yours, with better excursions in terms of quality and just overall. Silversea scores well on food and the standard of their core entertainers, but Seabourn we think has a clear edge when it comes to overall cruise experience. We would be happy to sail Silversea again, but our preference would still be Seabourn.

It just goes to show how subjective cruising is. We have sailed with Silversea 7 times, enjoyed every cruise. Last year we had our first Seabourn cruise it was very good, not much between the two cruise lines.

Three weeks ago we had a second Seabourn cruise, no comparison on the first cruise, we will be back with Silversea far better, in our opinion of course.

Consider Seabourn. We have travelled with both Silversea and Seabourn. Seabourn ships are better, the vibe much more upbeat and the customer age profile closer to yours, with better excursions in terms of quality and just overall. Silversea scores well on food and the standard of their core entertainers, but Seabourn we think has a clear edge when it comes to overall cruise experience. We would be happy to sail Silversea again, but our preference would still be Seabourn.

The OP could consider Regent or Crystal too.. But the Op specifically asked about Silversea.

I am open to any suggestions on any of these smaller luxury ships! Just had gotten a brochure on Silversea and prices did look good. We like the all inclusive travel on land or cruises, but really like to know of any extra expenses that would occur. Thank you for all your replies and I would enjoy input on any of the other luxury cruise lines as well! We have cruised the mediterranean before, toured Europe via land trips, ferries, river cruises, and guided tours. Just really thinking of doing something different and the smaller ship cruising brochure came in the mail. Really tired of huge cruise ships with tons of children running around(I love children, but when I think of luxury I think of no children-no offense!)! So, please feel free to offer me any suggestions! Thanks again!