mattygroves

About 10 years ago I was lucky to spend 10 days on a very small ship on the Sea of Cortez doing quite alot of blue and sperm whale watching although we also saw Fin, Humpbacks and 200+ pods of dolphin.. The chap who ran those cruises is retired and I can't find another company that does anything similar ideally sailing from La Paz.

The closest I've seen is Uncruise who seem to do a 6 day cruise but that has too much land based activity and the ship is a bit too big for my liking even at 64 people.

Does anyone know of a small company that offers small ship cruises (say 20 people max) in that area focused on water based wildlife as I'd love to go back ?

I wasn't there with Silversea but was in the Galapagos in November 2016. Definitely needed a wetsuit as the water is quite cold especially after a long snorkel. On the boat I was on wetsuits were provided but my boat was much smaller. We also borrowed flippers/fins but took our own masks and snorkels. The snorkelling trips were the best bits of the trip for me - sharks, marine iguanas, sealions, rays, turtles and even penguins - simply stunning. Most of it was in deep water and we only had one uncomfortable day with a strong swell when we all finished early. The kayaking we did was also good - wildlife reacts in a very different way to a non motorised boat.

All the islands have something different to offer and you see something different each day - we spent 14 days visiting nearly all the islands and didn't get bored at all even on a more basic boat.

I've trawled the Silversea website and it makes no mention of snorkelling gear so I'd ask. For me a trip to the Galaagos would be very disappointing without a decent amount (at least 2 trips every 3 days) of snorkelling and it's bulky to pack your own. It is a very special place though.

Thanks for the answers. I've worked out how to use the search function and found a few more reports.

I'm surprised not to see examples of following whales in zodiacs in any of the blogs - I've had wonderful experiences following blue, fin, orca, humpback and sperm whales in zodiacs or pangas. Some zodiac drivers have got a bit too close but most not which is why I asked about the Silversea experience.

Had a fantastic afternoon in the Antarctic in zodiacs following a pod of orca who were hunting a minke - the expedition leader thought they we had seen a training hunt for the teenage orca as they could have killed it much sooner than they did. They weren't bothered by us and we kept a respectful distance away. We left before the final kill but a photo taken that afternoon won best photo in the expedition competition.

Reading your reports has convinced me to go before the polar bears become too difficult to see but I'm not sure if Silversea is the right fit. I think I need something a bit smaller or at least where everyone can be off the ship together for the best sightings which has been my experience on every other ship I've been on.

Might have to save Silversea for one of the more unusual itineraries - I quite like the look of northern Alaska to Japan.

Having done a few expedition cruises on small ships I'm looking at Svarlbard as the next destination and am thinking about trying Silversea. I've previously been on ships with passenger numbers ranging from 8 (Sea of Cortez) to 92 (Antarctica and South Georgia) and really enjoy the atmosphere and flexibility of small ships particularly for wildlife viewing.

I like the look of the Explorer but wonder if it might be a bit too big and would welcome some feedback from those of you that have been on the trip on some issues that I've been wondering about:

- is the Explorer small enough (or have enough zodiacs) for everyone to be off the ship and in zodiacs at the same time ? I don't think I would be happy missing something because it wasn't my turn.

- how many zodiac trips / landings could I expect a day and how long would they be ? Do they take advantage of the long daylight hours to run the zodiacs in the evening if something is spotted ? If possible I'd like to spend more time off the ship than on it during waking hours.

- there seems to be no mention of a polar plunge opportunity - is this a possibility ?

- what is the ratio of expedition guides to passengers ? Do the expedition staff eat with the other passengers or can you run into them in the bar and have a chat ?

- is there an open bridge policy and are extra wildlife spotters welcome ?

- do they put on a deck BBQ one evening ?

- is there a link with a relevant wildlife or conservation charity and a charity auction at the end of the trip ?

- do you feel that the expedition staff go above and beyond in ensuring the maximum number of landings / zodiac cruises and the best wildlife encounters or do you feel they play it safe ?

- how do you feel the zodiac drivers treat whales ? Do they go too close or do they maintain a respectful distance ?

Apologies for the long list of questions but there are few reviews / trip reports for Arctic trips either on here or Trip Advisor.