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Silver Galapagos: If I Went Again, What I Would (and Would Not) Pack


WorldTourPrincess
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Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with any brand or company. I am not being paid to endorse any product. I just find it helpful to hear what other people bring with them when they travel, so I thought I’d return the favor.

 

That being said, I am not one to travel lightly. I was one of the few people on this trip to bring (and pay for) a second suitcase. It’s not that I don’t try, I just hate not having something that I want when I travel. I would much rather bring too much stuff than say, gee, I really wish I had brought_(fill in the blank)_. I’m envious of those who were able to cram an entire 10 days worth of expedition gear into just a carry on. And I actually met two of these rare and special people! They were in the cabin across the hall. I don’t know how they did it. I should have asked…. Oh well…

 

Anyway, I had a fantastic time in the Galapagos with Silversea. If given the opportunity, I would happily go again. So that made me think, if I went again, what would I pack and what wouldI leave at home? What did I wear or use all the time, and what wasn’t worth the space in my suitcase?

 

What I’m Glad I Brought

Long-sleeved, button down, lightweight, hiking shirts. I wore these every day for hiking and tours on the zodiacs. They offered great protection from the sun so I didn’t need to slather on as much sunscreen,and the LL Bean shirts were also bug repellant. I really liked these two:

EMS® WOMEN’S TECHWICK® TRAVERSE UPF LONG-SLEEVE SHIRT

LL Bean Women's No Fly Zone Shirt

 

Comfortable pants that you can wear hiking and also on potentially wet zodiac rides. The two I bought also had zip off legs so you could turn them into shorts. (I never actually utilized that feature though.) Both offered protection from the sun, and the LL Bean pants were also bug repellant.

EMS® Women's Camp Cargo Zip-Off Pant

LL Bean Women's No Fly Zone Pants, Zip-Leg

 

Wide Brimmed Hat with a Drawstring

I am not one to wear hats or any type of baseball cap at home, but I wore this thing every day! The drawstring is essential! If your hat doesn’t have one, you WILL lose it! Zodiac rides are windy and conditions change all the time. It was great for protection from the sun as well as the few drops of rain that we had. My hat was vented for tropical climates and came from EMS.

 

Moisture wicking bras and underwear

This was something new I was trying, and I liked it. For underwear, I bought both the EMS brand and one from Exofficio and I was happy with both. The bra was by Hanes, and is sold at Walmart, Target, and Amazon. It worked well for the long sweaty hikes to wick moisture away.

 

Sunscreen and a small can of bug spray

Sunscreen- wore everyday

Bug spray- only used occasionally. Maybe the wetter season has more bugs?

 

Water Shoes

I actually brought two different pairs of water shoes andI’m glad I did. I wore both my Teva sandals as well as a sturdier pair of Keen hiking sandals. The Tevas were great when I was just snorkeling off the zodiacs and I wanted something that I could easily take off and put on. The Keen sandals were great for hiking after wet landings. I was glad I brought both, especially that way if one starts to rub you have another option.

 

More than one bathing suit.

I’m part fish so I was in the water as much as possible. On days where there were a morning and afternoon snorkel trip, I was glad I had a dry swimsuit to put on.

 

Sunglasses.

You’re on the equator. It’s sunny. Enough said.

 

A sweater

Sometimes at night The Restaurant was freezing!

 

Sneakers and Hiking Boots

Some of the terrain was really rough so I was glad I had sturdy (Oboz) hiking boots. I also saw a lot of Merrels and Keens on the trail as well. The sneakers were a more comfortable choice for walking around the ship and to/from the airport.

 

 

What I Should HaveLeft at Home

Dresses

I LOVE dressing up for dinner! On a regular cruise I have gowns for the formal nights and cocktail dresses for all of the other nights. I brought two LBDs (little black dresses) and it so wasn’t worth it. I wore one for theCaptain’s Welcome party, and totally didn’t even bother for the Captain’sFarewell party. It just wasn’t worth the effort. It had been along day, I was tired, and no one really cared. I spent maybe 10 minutes at both parties and then just went to dinner. Cute tops and capris were more than dressy enough for the evenings.

 

LL Bean No Fly T-shirts

I bought several short sleeved T’s and one long sleeved T and I never wore them. Bugs weren’t an issue and I much preferred the hiking shirts as opposed to the all cotton T’s.

 

Raincoat.

It was the dry season. It never rained. They also had cute parkas for sale onboard. Buy early in the week though before they run out of your size/preferred color.

 

Makeup, jewelry, curling irons, etc….

I’d still probably bring these items anyway, but seriously,no one cared.

 

Bathing suit cover-ups

Never wore these. I put on my swimsuit, wetsuit, and lifejacket, got in a zodiac, then jumped in the water. Never had time to sit around in cute little cover-ups.

 

Magnetic Hooks & Clips

I ALWAYS bring several of these of when I cruise! They’re great for hanging up important documents, clothes, drapes, all kinds of things. However, most of the walls in my cabin were NOT magnetic! Boo! I only found a couple of spots where I could get them to attach.

 

 

What You Might Wantto Bring, But Don’t Have To

Mask, Snorkel, Fins, Wetsuit

The ship provided all quality ScubaPro gear, and shortie 3mmScubaPro wetsuits. I brought all my own gear (because I like using it) but you don’t really have to. My personal wetsuit also had long sleeves, which I liked for the added warmth. Only short wetsuits were provided onboard- no full length ones. So if you tend to freeze or are super hard to fit, bring your own. No need to go out and purchase anything though if you don’t already have it.

 

Backpack and Water Bottle

They give you this onboard. Only downside is that everyone’s looks alike.

 

Binoculars

Pretty much everything you want to see is right in front of you. The guides and many passengers had them as well, and everyone seemed willing to share when there was something to look at.

 

 

Well that's all I can think of for now! Feel free to chime if you did this trip as well!

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Hi Princess I had 2 weeks just after easter and I did not bring enough memory for the camera but I did bring my laptop along with an external drive. This made me follow a pattern as soon as I came back on board. Copy chip into laptop and then using your preferred software modify and save photos then run the back up to external drive. When I was going home Back up drive was in my wifes hand luggage and I had laptop. I would have used a cloud but wifi was spotty. The mantra in my former life was back up, back up and back up again

Edited by joe_90
I loved the trip
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In 2009 we holiday in the Galápagos, Patagonia and Argentina.

We backed up our photos to our hard drive in Buenos Aires before flying to Barcelona. Our backpack was stolen when we arrived and the computer was in it. The hard drive was in the suitcase so luckily we had all our photos. A lesson to us for our future travels.

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Thank you for the advice. It will be our third Silverseas expedition cruise on August 25, but it still helps to remind me what to bring while I am in the process of packing.

I assume the men wore long khakis to dinner? My husband would wear shorts 24/7 if he could, :D.

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Hi Princess I had 2 weeks just after easter and I did not bring enough memory for the camera but I did bring my laptop along with an external drive. This made me follow a pattern as soon as I came back on board. Copy chip into laptop and then using your preferred software modify and save photos then run the back up to external drive. When I was going home Back up drive was in my wifes hand luggage and I had laptop. I would have used a cloud but wifi was spotty. The mantra in my former life was back up, back up and back up again

 

I brought extra memory but didn't need it. What you mentioned is something I also do. Every time I go back to my cabin I transfer photos from my phone or camera to my laptop. That way if you ever lost your equipment (or dropped it in the ocean!) at least you would still have your pictures.

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Thank you for the advice. It will be our third Silverseas expedition cruise on August 25, but it still helps to remind me what to bring while I am in the process of packing.

I assume the men wore long khakis to dinner? My husband would wear shorts 24/7 if he could, :D.

 

Shorts were definitely not allowed for dinner. Yes, lots of long khakis!

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In 2009 we holiday in the Galápagos, Patagonia and Argentina. We backed up our photos to our hard drive in Buenos Aires before flying to Barcelona. Our backpack was stolen when we arrived and the computer was in it. The hard drive was in the suitcase so luckily we had all our photos. A lesson to us for our future travels.

 

Appreciate ALL of these super great suggestions, details and ideas from WorldTourPrincess. Very beneficial and smart!!

 

Also the above follow-up regarding photo back-ups is good and important. Wonderful sharing. We might not make it to the Galápagos until early 2020, but we are planning and preparing accordingly. These tips and ideas really help.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 209,722 views for this posting.

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