Silver Galapagos Near to Sailing

4 weeks from tomorrow the first Silver Galapagos cruise sets sail. Anyone on this maiden voyage? Or any of the early sailings? Really looking forward to some reviews of the ship and the itineraries. Perhaps we can get a thread going of reviews and comments? We set sail in Feb 2014.

Swaldos, my Grandson and I will sailing the Silver Galapogos 12/14/13. Only reservation, is it the largest ship in the islands. Wonder way SS is not including" free laundry benefit". Hope it is environmental issues, and not something they just choose to eliminate for these voyages. Let's all hope this will be an adventure of a lifetime for many people. If anyone sails prior to our voyage, please post a review.

Swaldos, my Grandson and I will sailing the Silver Galapogos 12/14/13. Only reservation, is it the largest ship in the islands. Wonder way SS is not including" free laundry benefit". Hope it is environmental issues, and not something they just choose to eliminate for these voyages. Let's all hope this will be an adventure of a lifetime for many people. If anyone sails prior to our voyage, please post a review.

LuckyD - in order to qualify for "free laundry" one must have spent 100 days on Silversea ships and they do it for you. I don't know if the Galapogos will have a "laundry room" where you're "free" to do your own or not.

dusababy,I understand, have 292 days so have had free laundry for quite some time. Just about the best "perk" there is! The 10% isn't too shabby either.

dusababy,I understand, have 292 days so have had free laundry for quite some time. Just about the best "perk" there is! The 10% isn't too shabby either.

Glad you made the magic number. My late husband used to say -- Wow! Free laundry! and it only cost us $100,000!.......:p

Glad you made the magic number. My late husband used to say -- Wow! Free laundry! and it only cost us $100,000!.......:p

Something further to aim for! :rolleyes:

On the subject of Venetian Society members who have sailed 100+ days and receive complimentary laundry ... well they do on all the other Silversea ships but not on the Galapagos. There is no laundrette on board. We have expressed our disappointment via our TA and asked for an explanation. I will let you know what the response is.

Are you saying that you cannot have laundry done onboard? EEK!!! Usually we are fine but this time we will have already been travelling for 2+ weeks- and I had decided that our first request from our handy butler would be to have some laundry done. This may mean rapidly developing Plan B.

OK- just checked and was assured that laundry services were available. Should I assume that by launderette you mean a self service laundry? No dry cleaning but that is not a surprise.

Yes, you interpreted me correctly. There is a laundry service which you pay for but no machines for guests to use... And no complimentary laundry for VS 100 +days. Grrrrr. Haven't heard back from the TA with Silversea's response.

Do you remember what prices they charge for laundry? Outrageous or simply expensive? We probably have no choice- it is either laundry or another suitcase I suspect. Although as I think about it, our clothes for hot and humid will have been refreshed in Quito.

On the other ships the charges are not outrageous bit it does mount up. The charge for laundering a shirt is $5 if I remember correctly.

Odd that they are not offering this as a perk- thought that was all but a basic right after enough days at sea. Could they just have neglected to mention it? Or think about it?

Dry cleaning costs on the ships are par with our local laundry. The pick-up and delivery on the ship is even better,

No dry cleaning available on Silver Galapagos. Laundry only.

Our TA just forwarded the response from Silversea. They will definitely not be giving the 100 day laundry perk on S Galapagos because of stringent rules in this UNESCO site in order to protect the biodiversity of the islands, which we well understand. Our quibble was that it was not mentioned at the time of booking and has only now appeared in the Terms on the website. We have been given OBC (small) to compensate.

We will not be taking it further.

They painted out the old name during our 4 day cruise and left for Panama yesterday as soon as we passengers and the crew were off the boat. The ship is about 100 passengers (have not sailed with Silversea and do not know size of ships) and was comfortable but does need the refitting and updating. The food was very good but I do not know if that is what will be or what was.

In regard to the laundry talk, as said above, they are very fussy about what products are used in the Galapagos trying to preserve the balance. We were given some L'Occitane products but they placed special liquid soap at the sink (no bars at all) and special biodegradable shampoo in the shower. There was no dry cleaning and no self laundry other than if you washed out something in your sink. Laundry service was not cheap but was available with same day service and they are very clear about what you should or should not send (no silk, other fine fabrics). I washed out my undies with Tide without getting my wrists slapped. It was a great trip even while the ship was in transition and lots going on to it physically and I would definitely go again and recommend it but because of the stringent preservation policies in the Galapagos, they may indeed not have the same perks as other Silversea cruises.

We're you already on the Silversea Galapagos? Do you have photos? I thought the first cruise was on the 28th.

We're you already on the Silversea Galapagos? Do you have photos? I thought the first cruise was on the 28th.

I assume they were on the Explorer II which is just now being turned into the S Galapagos. You are right about the maiden sailing.

Thanks, we are waiting anxiously for some trip reports and photos from the ship. We are booked on the June 14th western sailing. Even though it is so far away, we are incredibly excited. I am keeping my fingers crossed for rave reviews and a trip of a lifetime for the Frye family!

We are booked for Feb so we have time for about one set of reviews- and of the maiden sail which is never the best test. So basically- unless there are serious issues we are on. I am sure it will be wonderful- I just have a gut feeling about it.

I can't wait to hear all about it!

We are on the November 9th cruise and they told me laundry will be included in certain categories of rooms. We received our welcome letter from the Silver Galapagos and have a call it to them on a few conflicting items in the welcome letter and on the brochure. They are no big deal just small items, nothing earth shattering. Looks like they will be giving out a waterproof backpack and metal water bottle to each guest. Will post from the ship or soon after we get back. We will also try to post info regarding the pre-cruise Machu Picchu itinerary.

Wonderful! Finally a real live (ok virtual) person taking one of the early trips. Will be looking forward to readubg all about it.

Carefreecruise, I will be looking forward to reading your reports. We definitely want to return to the Galapagos.