Silversea Expedition cruises-Anyone here done one?

We are considering doing one of the Silversea Explorer cruises and have read some VERY mixed reviews

about the condition of the ship, lack of management and major disappointments. Granted this is billed as more of a nature/expedition experience, but Silversea charges a LOT for this. Has anyone here done any of these cruises?

There are several threads about Silversea expedition cruises here. Example: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2557051

We've done four. Explorer is one of our favorite ships. But it's not as fancy as the regular fleet. It is an expedition ship and you need realistic expectations. We love it but it's not for everyone.

We're trying Silver Cloud Expedition next year, after a number of great voyages on the Cloud before she was made into an expedition ship. Very excited.

Randyk47, thanks for the mention.

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I agree with JP, the Explorer is our favourite ship, we have sailed 8 times on the Explorer, with another 4 cruises ( 2X B2B) booked this year. Yes it is not the fancy most modern ship in the Silverseas fleet, but it is very comfortable, easy to get around with great staff. And it has just had a major refurb ! I am just glad Conrad keeps coming up with new places for us to sail on her. Expedition cruises are not for everyone, but after our first, we were hooked. There are some regular Explorer cruisers on here so any specific questions you want answered ??

We've done four. Explorer is one of our favorite ships. But it's not as fancy as the regular fleet. It is an expedition ship and you need realistic expectations. We love it but it's not for everyone.

 

We're trying Silver Cloud Expedition next year, after a number of great voyages on the Cloud before she was made into an expedition ship. Very excited.

 

Randyk47, thanks for the mention.

 

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That’s a good thread with good information so no problem with the mention. Actually has gotten our attention and interest especially with the Cloud coming on line.

We have done 5 expedition cruises on explorer and have another scheduled for this summer. It is an expedition cruise, not a regular cruise. You can look up my blogs on this board. We love it but not for everyone.

We are looking forward to trying out Cloud.

I guess I am a bit slow , but when did SS remove all the daily expedition journals ?

They were a wonderful resource , are they hidden somewhere ?

Am I blind? ( maybe)…..

I agree with the comments by rojaan and jp regarding the Silver Explorer. We were on her 2 years ago to Falkland Is, So. Georgia and Antarctica. Enjoyed the experience, but she is not our favorite ship. Silver Cloud may now be more a "luxury" expedition ship, tho larger.

Wonder how Silverseas' expedition fleet will fare in the future now that new build luxury expedition ships will be coming out in the next 2 years or so.Scenic Eclipse this summer (and a twin in 2020), Ritz Carlton in late 2019, and Crystal Endeavor in 2020. Explorer and Discoverer are pushing 30 years old now; Silver Cloud will hit 25 next year.Comments, thoughts...

I believe there are something like 24 new Expedition ships to come on line in the next 3 years.

The Discoverer's lease ends at the end of June next year and the word is the lease will not be renewed.

The Explorer went through a refurb late last year.We are onboard now and she looks good.She is a great Expedition ship that handles extreme conditions very well-we have been through 2 Force 12 gales in her.Only drawback is she is not suited to the tropics..

The Cloud has only just started her Expedition life so is likely to be around for some time.

For the future there are a few rumours.

1.Another leased vessel.

2.A new build Expedition ship though that would take some time.

3.The Wind becoming a "light"Expedition ship-ie not being repurposed for the poles.

For the future there are a few rumours.

1.Another leased vessel.

2.A new build Expedition ship though that would take some time.

3.The Wind becoming a "light"Expedition ship-ie not being repurposed for the poles.

Such a move would mean the Shadow/Whisper will become the smallest traditional ships in the fleet, followed by the 3 larger and similarly designed ships in the Muse/Spirit/Moon. When added to the existing expedition fleet of the Cloud/Explorer/Galapagos, he'll have 9 vessels. This will leave him room for 3 more ships of a different class to realize his father's dream of 12 total ships.

On a separate subject, are you posting a live report of your trip up the western coast to Vancouver somewhere?

As a betting man, I'll go with #3 as the choice ultimately made by Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio.

 

Such a move would mean the Shadow/Whisper will become the smallest traditional ships in the fleet, followed by the 3 larger and similarly designed ships in the Muse/Spirit/Moon. When added to the existing expedition fleet of the Cloud/Explorer/Galapagos, he'll have 9 vessels. This will leave him room for 3 more ships of a different class to realize his father's dream of 12 total ships.

 

On a separate subject, are you posting a live report of your trip up the western coast to Vancouver somewhere?

It would make sense to convert the Wind to mainly expedition cruises, IF the market exists for another ship of that size. Especially true if the Cloud is as successful as I'm hoping. But personally, we would miss having the Wind for mainstream cruises, as we've never cruised on one of the bigger ships. The Shadow and the Whisper, maybe. But the Muse is gargantuan! ;) I'm afraid I'd get lost on board there...

As for your last question. Yes, Ron is blogging away as I type this. He started a live thread a few minutes ago. Ask, and you shall receive!

Hello all.

As some of you may know, I am currently on the Discoverer and have posted my impressions of this my first expedition cruise under "Discover-ing Japan and the Philippines", for those who may be interested in reading it.

Like most people, I chose this for the itinerary. There are strong rumours onboard that the Discoverer will end after her July 2019 published itinerary.

Agree with the hypothesis that the Wind would be the logical successor to the Discoverer, but would like to have the opportunity to tell Manfredi - hands off!! I love the Wind and would be upset if she stopped her mainstream itineraries.

Kindest regards

Master Echo

There seems to be a lot speculation on The Wind’s future. I’m with Master Echo....Hands off. She’s cosy with an intimacy not even the Whisper and Shadow can match. If anyone has not cruised on her, better book right away so you can see for yourself why she has such a devoted following. And...we might even save her!

Me too. Keep the Wind on mainstream itineraries!

(Interesting to see that the new Ritz-Carlton line will have just 149 suites per ship.)

Agree with sounder heads who support saving the Wind! There will always be a demand for intimate elegance. Fill up the big new ships with waiting lists, but keep at least one traditional lady where we can feel at home.

Manfredi - are you listening?

But personally, we would miss having the Wind for mainstream cruises, as we've never cruised on one of the bigger ships. The Shadow and the Whisper, maybe. But the Muse is gargantuan! ;) I'm afraid I'd get lost on board there...

Agree with the hypothesis that the Wind would be the logical successor to the Discoverer, but would like to have the opportunity to tell Manfredi - hands off!! I love the Wind and would be upset if she stopped her mainstream itineraries.

There seems to be a lot speculation on The Wind’s future. I’m with Master Echo....Hands off. She’s cosy with an intimacy not even the Whisper and Shadow can match. If anyone has not cruised on her, better book right away so you can see for yourself why she has such a devoted following. And...we might even save her!

Me too. Keep the Wind on mainstream itineraries!

Agree with sounder heads who support saving the Wind! There will always be a demand for intimate elegance. Fill up the big new ships with waiting lists, but keep at least one traditional lady where we can feel at home.

Manfredi - are you listening?

Add me to the list too! Wind remains my favourite. Hands off!

Add me to the list too! Wind remains my favourite. Hands off!

Well said couldn’t agree more!

Surely SS have enough ships to plough through snow without taking the Wind away from pleasantly warm itineraries!

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We are considering doing one of the Silversea Explorer cruises and have read some VERY mixed reviews

about the condition of the ship, lack of management and major disappointments. Granted this is billed as more of a nature/expedition experience, but Silversea charges a LOT for this. Has anyone here done any of these cruises?

We did a cruise on the Silver Cloud in February. Here's a link to my review:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=610953

We were on the Silver Galapagos in Spring 2016 and very much enjoyed our trip, it was our one and only expedition cruise so we have no others for comparison. Food and service was great as were the Expedition Leaders.

We will be on the Silver Wind next week for our Iceland cruise, looking forward to experiencing a different style of cruising with Silversea and we are also booked for the Norwegian Fjords for June 2019 on the Silver Spirit.

I did 2 expetion cruise with SS and we are going to our third next week. We went to Antactica and Artic and now Galapagos. We also went on Via Australis for an expedition cruise. 2019 we are going on Cloud. I hope you enjoy as much as we do.

We've done four. Explorer is one of our favorite ships. But it's not as fancy as the regular fleet. It is an expedition ship and you need realistic expectations. We love it but it's not for everyone.

 

We're trying Silver Cloud Expedition next year, after a number of great voyages on the Cloud before she was made into an expedition ship. Very excited.

 

Randyk47, thanks for the mention.

 

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We're taking 2 expedition cruises next year, Explorer to Tahiti and Cloud to South America. Never have done an expedition before. Why is the Explorer "not for everyone"?

We're taking 2 expedition cruises next year, Explorer to Tahiti and Cloud to South America. Never have done an expedition before. Why is the Explorer "not for everyone"?

It's simply a different kind of cruise than the mainstream boats.

Explorer feels like an expedition ship. We happen to find that charming but others find it "tired' or not as fancy as the mainstream ships.

The kitchen is tiny and there is really only one dining venue. Breakfast and lunch is a buffet with limited table service. There are only 3-4 choices per course for dinner. We don't mind that at all and think it's pretty luxurious - for an expedition. But it's not like the other boats, with 4+ dining venues and a more varied menu.

The excursions are different. They involve more walking, more activity, more nature. The cruise is less relaxing and more active. The landing sites can be wild, and you go ashore on a zodiac rather than docking in a city. Though the crew is amazing and will make every effort to get every guest ashore regardless of ability, it is hard if you're not very mobile.

I remember on our October 2013 Panama Canal cruise, some mainstream ship veterans complaining about Explorer, and about the cruise. They booked it expecting a different Panama Canal cruise, I guess. Taking a boat ride on the dugout canoes of the Embera Tribe to the Darien Jungle in a driving rainstorm isn't everybody's idea of fun!

So, if you know what you're getting into, and you want to see nature up close and personal, and you expect to be on an expedition ship, Explorer will fit you very well. If you're expecting to travel on a smaller version of Silver Muse, never get your shoes dirty, and you expect daily trivia and high tea, you might be disappointed.

We have never been disappointed and actually prefer expedition cruises to mainstream cruises. But both are a whole lot of fun! I did a blog of the 2013 and 2017 Explorer cruises here, as well as a few 2014 mainstream cruises. The differences are evident there.

Well said, JP! I would add that the expedition cruise seemed (to me, at least) to attract passengers who are energetic, interesting, and extremely well-traveled in a way that goes way beyond a checklist of cruises. I really look forward to my second expedition cruise later this summer.

The camaraderie among the passengers is even better on the expedition small ships. The smaller numbers and rides in zodiacs as well as meal times together all add up to friendships being made very easily. (Our Australian friends we met in Ushuaia four years ago are coming to stay for the fourth time next week and we have visited them in Adelaide.)

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