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Silver Galapagos- Tips and Question...?


Skysurfr
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We are heading to Quito for a few nights and then on to a Silver Galapagos adventure. Any must do's or tips?

 

Also, I think my Amex provides a $300 onboard credit. Is there anything other than massages and up-sell liquor that I might apply the credit towards?

 

Thanks!

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Not much to spend the OBC on on this ship. We got some of the reserve list wine. They have a small (one room) spa, but there is little time to get a massage. There is not really a gift shop, though they do have some good quality locally made art for sale.

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  • 1 month later...

Silver Galapagos - Review and Helpful hints.

This cruise starts and ends in Quito for guests purchasing the whole package. If you are making your own arrangements, I would try to stay at the pre-cruise hotel, the J.W. Marriott. Then purchase the Silversea transfers for $20 per person. They handle your luggage, boarding passes, etc. Basically, you go into “cruise mode” at 6am in Quito on departure day.

Arrival at Baltra / Departing San Cristobal- Silversea meets the flights and takes you back to the airport at the end. If you booked with Silversea, they have boarding cards in hand. The flight is apx. 1:40 min from / to GYE. 40 min GYE-UIO.

There is a poor quality landslide lounge at Quito called LayoverStay. It’s better than nothing if you have Priority Pass it’s in their program. It’s almost open to the lobby and faces a kids play area…noisy!

Onboard-

Cabins- The cabins were the smallest I have stayed in, but looked like an average big ship outside/window room. There’s just enough room to put your clothing away in the drawers.

There really isn’t anywhere to do serious drying of clothing etc. The beds are large queen sized. All the posh Silversea touches are here…sheets, marble bath etc. Don’t over pack!

You have a Butler who will do things for you. He hunted me down on the ship to ask what I wanted in my mini-bar. I stocked a selection of the local specialty beers. Get whatever you want, it’s included. There’s 2 carafes of drinking water plus some bottle water provided in your room. Ships water is fine to brushing teeth etc. The hot water was HOT and the AC was COLD!

Dress- T-shirts and shorts are fine for all shore activities. Consider long light weight pants if it’s going to be cool or you need extra sun protection. I think a loose fitting spf 50+ pull over is a must. You’re going to get wet on the zodiacs…splashed a little or a bunch. Bring clothing that dries quickly, not blue jeans. A wide brim hat or a hat with an apron over you neck is also a must. Sunglasses with a strap are a must.

Lunch dress- shore excursion casual in all areas.

Dinner-

Main Dinning room- Smart or Country Club casual is fine. Slacks or Kahkis with a button down shirt is fine. I wore tropical button downs, tasteful Hawaiian shirts, or a nicer polo each night. I wore my loafers rather than gym shoes in the evening.

Outside Grill- I’m not sure if it’s casual. It’s a bit cooler so long pants and a light jacket for warmth seemed to be fine. They also offer blankets to keep warm up there at night.

Sport coat or Suit- No.

Tie- No.

Footwear-

Rugged gym shoes are fine for excursions. Thick soles are essential for the rugged terrain. You’ll encounter uneven surfaces, be hopping from rock to rock etc for 1-3 hours each day.

Wet Landing shoes- You need shoes that can get wet for some landings. “KEENS” seemed to be good for both hiking and wet landings. I had a pair of slip on water shoes that worked fine. I switched to my gym shoes for hiking after a wet landing. During a wet landing the Zodiac backs up onto the beach and you exit from the back onto the beach. There will be surf ankle to knee deep depending on the waves. Flip-flops are not appropriate for wet landings, but are nice on the boat during the afternoon etc.

Outerwear- Come prepared. …light rain jackets, poncho if you want, hiking sticks are allowed.

Bring stuff that dries quickly. SUNSCREEN! INSECT REPELLENT (small).

Other- Zip Lock or waterproof bags for electronics during landings. Nothing of mine got near the water but if could happen. A small backpack is provided, but not waterproof. Binoculars are fun for the person without the camera. If you’re into photography, bring a decent zoom lens. A water camera is also fun to have.

Snorkeling Gear- their stuff looked fine. They have all sizes of short wetsuits from tiny to XXXXL. I brought my own mask and snorkel and used their fins. I also brought my own lycra body suit for use under the wetsuit and an additional rashguard. The water was a tad cool, and I used my lycra suit. you can rinse and hang gear at the stern to dry.

Daily Life- “Bootcamp” not cruise life.

6am- Wake-up….buffet breakfast or room service.

7am- Gather for excursions.

11:30am- Back onboard for lunch as the ship moves to an afternoon location.

14:00- after lunch lecture or film.

15:00- Afternoon Activity.

19:00- Re-cap and briefing for the next day.

19:45- Dinner.

21:00- Back to bed.

Excursions- The excursions were nature walks, beach snorkeling, deep water (off a zodiac) snorkeling, and a couple of typical drop off at a pier and take a small bus to a nature reserve.

The nature walks were moderate to intense. They are not at all suitable for someone with mobility or balance issues. There are no boardwalks, sidewalks, or groomed flat trails. Climbing up rock steps, walking on uneven rocks and lava, etc is the norm. 2 kayaking sessions were also offered.

Wet Landings- Described above.

Dry Landings- Everything from a pier in a town to nosing up to a rock and stepping off the front of the zodiac.

Food- The food and service onboard is excellent.

Breakfast is buffet style in the MDR. There is an omelette station, waffle station, and a daily chefs special Ecuadorian dish. This is in addition to all the regulars like sausage, bacon, etc on a full buffet.

Lunch- The topside grill offers a salad bar, Ecuadorian specialty station, 4 item cooked to order selection pasta, fish, shrimp, pizza…changing daily. Get there a little early to get a table under the canopy. I saw people getting burgers and fries that weren’t on the menu as well.

Dinner- The MDR has a menu which changes daily. Portions are medium to small so order one of each category if you’re hungry. (starter, salad, soup, main course, dessert)

Hot Rocks- The top side grill does a cook your own food thing at night. They bring your steak and prawns to the table and you cook it on a stone. Note: you can ask the chef to just grill the items and opt out of the stone. Also, don’t be be afraid to ask for more of whatever you want. I ordered a second fillet when my skewers weren’t enough for me.

FOOT STOMP— The Fish is excellent. It’s fresh from the local markets and fisherman. The beef, pork, and chicken are all flown in for the most part and must be pre-cooked to kill bacteria.

They can not offer a “rare” steak because of the pre-cooking. The non-seafood dishes are still good…in fact the fillet at the topside grill at dinner was very good. Again…the fish, ceviche, seafood was EXCELLENT…..FOOT STOMP from the chef. Note: there may be some local fresh beef selections available after stopping off in a town.

Alcohol is included- Grey Goose, Belvedere, Tangy Gin, etc is all included. I googled their wines and they were in the $12 / bottle range from online merchants.

All food and staff must come from 1-Ecuador, 2-South America if possible. Thus the wines are from South America. This is a change from the mainline Silversea.

TV and WiFI- The live TV was inop and the internal video was fubar. Thus they were granting free wifi. It’s fairly quick. You can get a wifi call out if you need to. Couldn’t really stream video. Facebook posts etc were fine.

Onboard Credit- you can use any onboard credits at the spa, to purchase an expensive bottle of wine, or to buy gifts from the display cabinets. Note- The prices on the jewelry was the same in town from the designers shop.

Comments- This is a nature cruise. Expect to see lot’s of birds and interesting terrain. Sea Lions will be all over the place as will Iguanas. We saw sharks while snorkeling and while hiking and got lucky and caught up with a few penguins.

 

Expect to be exhausted after your “vacation” .

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  • 2 months later...

Thanks MICHAEL lots of good info. We arrive two nights before the cruise into Quito on the PRE package deal and are staying at the JW Marriot. Did you take the "city" tour in the evening that is included? What exactly was it? Anything you did for the daytime?

 

How challenging are the hikes? We are bringing Keens and light "sneaker" type hiking shoes. We read some people brought walking sticks, were these necessary and did silversea have available?

 

Thanks for your help.

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I'm going on Celebrity's Galapagos cruise and can only hope it's half as good as the Silversea cruise that you just wrote about. Thanks so much for the great summary. I picked up several packing tips!

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Thanks MICHAEL lots of good info. We arrive two nights before the cruise into Quito on the PRE package deal and are staying at the JW Marriot. Did you take the "city" tour in the evening that is included? What exactly was it? Anything you did for the daytime?

 

How challenging are the hikes? We are bringing Keens and light "sneaker" type hiking shoes. We read some people brought walking sticks, were these necessary and did silversea have available?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

No need for walking sticks. The hikes are not that challenging. The only one that is difficult at all is over lava rock, and the reason it is difficult is because of the rock. If you have ever walked on lava rock, you know what I am talking about. It eats up tennis shoes, and Keens would be downright dangerous for that.

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I'm going on Celebrity's Galapagos cruise and can only hope it's half as good as the Silversea cruise that you just wrote about. Thanks so much for the great summary. I picked up several packing tips!

Having been on both, celebrity's is probably about 1/2 as good. Sites and landings are the same, but the Silversea onboard experience is way superior, particularly as far as food onboard.

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We did the pre-stay in Quito. Our flight (Delta from Atlanta) arrived late at night. I went to the JW Marriott website several weeks in advance and found a link to a tour company. I booked a tour to the equator for 11:00am with Metropolitan Tours (3 hrs.) Our guide was great and we visited both equator sites. We took the included city tour at 5:00. It stopped at the highlights of old Quito, including the statue on the hill. It was dark when we returned (7:30?). We had made a reservation to dine at the Marriott, which was a good decision, as we were still somewhat tired and it is an early start to the airport for the flight to Baltra.

 

I took my collapsible walking stick and I was glad I did. We always opted for the longer, more strenuous hikes, and I definitely was glad I had it, especially for the "rocky" one described above. I hope you enjoy your cruise as much as we did. We cruised in January and the seas were like glass the entire week.

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