Skysurfr

I happend to take one copy with me....here's a scan...

or not.

It won't let me upload the scans.

:-(

Just came off of a deck 5 suite. It was ultra quiet. In fact the maids were running the vacuum outside the room and you couldn't hear it. The large blank areas are crew only areas. Toward the circular stairway, where I was, there was what looked like a prep kitchen, laundry chute, etc behind the doors. It was a bit busy with the staff coming and going, however I am noise sensitive and never heard a thing. I wouldn't hesitate to book there again.

Just did the Grand tour with All and it was excellent. We got back early each day. We ended up as 12 guests from our ship on a 20 passenger Mercedes Van. Everything was as advertised 100%. Best of all there was no silly "shopping stop" or "pearl factory", "carpet factor" visit. We saw everything, had 1 nice sit-down lunch, and one on the go box lunch with soft drinks and beer. We hardly waited in any lines.

Be warned... even with early admission etc... the Hermitage is PACKED.

I wouldn't hesitate to book with them again.

Mike

Crown Plaza towers.... has an old fashioned oscillating fan in the room because the AC is so bad. Then they covered the building in black solar panels making the entire place an oven. Then they brag about how eco friendly the hotel is. News flash.... I don't like spending almost $300/nt and being uncomfortable. It was in the low 60's outside and the high 70's inside....the windows also don't open. It's a hot and stuffy hotel.

Regnet, SilverSea, SeaDream, Seabourn have all been very welcoming to us. People onboard tend to be more to themselves as there are less onboard social activities. When we do things that promote social interaction, like an excursion, trivia, or cooking class etc, we have met some very nice people.

There was the one time when we decided we really wanted another meal in the French Restaurant onboard one of the ships and decided to sit at a large shared table. Turns out the other 3 or 4 couples at the table were all onboard with a conservative radio talk show host similar to Rush. There were a few uncomfortable pauses in the conversation, but it was all we could do to keep from laughing out loud at the situation. Even then, nobody was rude.

If you're looking for a gay party, these aren't the lines for you. The ships tend to be more quiet and reserved.

If you don't encounter any other gay couples, you're likely to meet some of the crew who are gay.

Hope this helps.

I agree.

We also did the full day tour of Florence and Pisa on the first cruise through. Friends who are traveling with us and haven't seen Florence will do the full day this time. I noticed the note on the Lucca By Bike tour that mentioned it will become The Highlights of Lucca in the event of rain!

We are heading for the Voyager at the end of October. It will be our second Regent cruise in the same area. During our first cruise, we spent too much time off the ship on excursions. This time, we have an excursion booked each day but they are 1/2 days. There's some tastings, walks etc. We realized that having a menu of excursions might be tempting, you can easily not experience the great 5 Star floating resort you are on! This cruise will have a few morning excursions and a few after lunch excursions.

A note about Rome and Florence. The ports are very far away from the cities. Once you head into those cities, you may as well spend the day. As I recall Florence was well over an hours drive by bus. In Rome we have taken the train into town and it also take well over an hour.

This time we start in Rome. When we stop in Florence, we are going to do Lucca by bike for a few hours.

You can google map Livorno Italy for Florence. Civitavecchia is the port used for Rome.

Enjoy your ship time as well as your excursions.

Mike

We just did a tour with Alla. The St. Petersburg 2 day tour was fantastic. The pace was decent, but not too rushed. They were 100% as advertised. They met the ship, were totally upfront, worry free. Even though we booked a "group" tour, we ended up with 6 couples on an 18 passenger large Mercedes van. We were all from the same ship. There was no gimmicky souvenir shopping or stopping at an art factory etc. I'd totally recommend Alla to someone looking to book a tour off the ship.

15 to 17 knots is the cruising speed...I was on a Bridge tour of the Ovation a few days ago and that's what I recall. The big bulb keel sticking out the front helps the ship gain about 1 knot of speed.

The variance in speed would be a few knots to economize or time a port arrival reservation etc.

We used Frihamnspiren. You can call and ask Seabourn, they should know where there reservation will be.

FYI- You can walk off the boat and take a bus to the Central Station or the Airport express Train. It takes about 15 min to get into town on the public bus.

Deck 5 on the Ovation, we had no issues. In fact it was ultra quiet and smooth. From an upright seated position I could see over the metal, if I reclined the chair then it was more difficult. With so many other areas of the ship to sit and enjoy the views, I hadn't noticed until you mentioned it.

For US residents, Sprint and other companies are offering $25/7days of high speed data services, and low speed internet is included with most plans at no cost. Phone charges and text are every reasonable as well. The old days of getting hammered seem to be gone. Check the sprint website for the countries where this is available.

Here's the info for Sprint.

https://www.sprint.com/en/shop/services/global-roaming.html?ECID=vanity:globalroaming

I'm not sure about the other carriers.

$400 vs. $25 .... I can wait till the next port to send a few emails and check in on facebook.

Note: I have no financial interests in Sprint or other services. I do not sell phone services. :-)

Bon voyages.

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” .

I've been told that Shore Excursions are an important part of the Alaska cruises.

Last time I checked SilverSea was testing the waters with including the excursions.

I would comparison shop Regent (excursions included) vs. SilverSea (excursions excluded).

Im sure you'll be very happy with either line's service food etc.

Thanks!

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!

You write up your own charge ticket for your drink and mix it yourself.

Room #- Signature-

I think you get "charged" at the bars as well.... then it's "removed" by the computer system if you have a package.

HI.

I haven't read every post in this thread.

Congrats on getting a Neptune suite.

I just sailed with 2 of us in a Neptune suite and another friend solo in a Balcony Room.

You can:

Board together. Disembark together, priority tender together, include as many guests as you like when making priority reservations. You can order room service for everyone to your suite. Don't forget to as for the evening appetizers for all 4 of you. They are delivered on request.

Bring back plates of snacks from the lounge to your room for all 4 of you, including coffee, water, juices etc.

You can't normally, without permission: :

Use the Pinnacle Grill for breakfast together. There simply aren't enough seats. (51)

Go to the Neptune Lounge.

(It's the same menu as the MDR...so who cares? Also the Lido has so many fun choices, it's the best breakfast onboard!)

You CAN- Ask the Neptune Concierge to request permission to bring your kids along. They put in the request with the hotel manager. On our cruise we were allowed to bring our solo travelers with us, but they emphasized that was a very special exception and not allowed on "regular cruises". We were on a charter and the Pinnacle was empty during breakfast.

The Neptune suites have binoculars and blankets for the balcony.

In the Neptune Suites on the N.Amsterdam there is a Nespresso style machine. It makes a lovely cup of rich dark coffee with a bit of "Creama" on top. The "nespresso Style" capsules are replaced as you use them. Also.... the capsules are for that machine only and are slightly larger than Nespresso capsules. There was a selection of regular, strong or long and short pour capsules.

There is a fancy single serve coffee and hot beverage maker in the Neptune Lounge. Espresso, Cappuccino, etc is available on the selection menu.

Coffee from the urn is free on the ship.

I toured the galley and they have espresso style machines etc if you want to pay extra at dinner.

There is a "Starbucks" style cafe where you can purchase coffee as well.

Hot water for tea / instant coffee is available. Tea is free as well. You could always bring your own instant.

Prices were the same as at the bar I think. $6.95??? for a mixed drink.

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Actually the $18 includes the service charge. Its like $15.95 or so plus the svc to equal $18. . ..without checking my bills.

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We swam to the most distant sand cove and stood up. Im guessing they watch for cruise guest who might get in trouble at this spot. Its not marked "no swimming".. so Im guessing they were just playing it safe. We actually had a "plan" to go no further than we went and then turn around. Perhaps we looked like we were going to go around the point out into open water.

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