Stumblefoot Posted March 2, 2019 #1 Share Posted March 2, 2019 Would love to hear others' point of view on Silversea's Executive Chairman acquiring 85% of Abercrombie & Kent this past month. I can only imagine the opportunities this could present in the future with Silversea's Expedition cruises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer Posted March 2, 2019 #2 Share Posted March 2, 2019 I wonder if there will be real synergies given his now-minority stake in Silversea. Perhaps A&K will be his new project. 🙂. It is a quality company — the land-based equivalent IMHO of Silversea. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jpalbny Posted March 2, 2019 #3 Share Posted March 2, 2019 Wow! Agree with Observer's sentiments - the one A&K trip we've taken was very high quality. And expensive, but we got lucky and did Egypt with them right in the middle of Arab Spring, so it was half-price. In fact it was such a bargain that we canceled a PIF European river cruise and gave up a deposit to do it, and it was still worth it. We have always hoped to do more traveling with A&K so this could be exciting news for us! Maybe our 100-day SS status will get us free laundry with A&K now? 🤣😁 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stumblefoot Posted March 2, 2019 Author #4 Share Posted March 2, 2019 4 minutes ago, jpalbny said: ...we got lucky and did Egypt with them right in the middle of Arab Spring, so it was half-price. In fact it was such a bargain that we canceled a PIF European river cruise and gave up a deposit to do it, and it was still worth it. We have always hoped to do more traveling with A&K so this could be exciting news for us! Maybe our 100-day SS status will get us free laundry with A&K now? 🤣😁 Wow! That sounds like an incredible deal. I know it's a huge business and lots of folks like doing land tours in large groups. But, we have always preferred to prepare our own private land tours as we've never been interested in large tour groups. Obviously, our chosen path is more expensive, but is more than offset by privacy, one-on-one guide services, setting our own schedule, and the ability to dine where and whenever we want. With that said, if Manfredi offers free laundry to us SS cruisers, then we might just have to check A&K out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jpalbny Posted March 2, 2019 #5 Share Posted March 2, 2019 Stumbles, A&K does limit it to small groups (20 or less) for many of their trips. Or you can arrange private journeys too. They don't do huge groups. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare drron29 Posted March 3, 2019 #6 Share Posted March 3, 2019 We travelled southern Africa with an A&K company.Just the 2 of us and it was great. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zqtchas Posted March 3, 2019 #7 Share Posted March 3, 2019 11 hours ago, drron29 said: We travelled southern Africa with an A&K company.Just the 2 of us and it was great. We did the same for a bush plane safari in Botswana Following a SS Cruise. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emtbsam Posted March 3, 2019 #8 Share Posted March 3, 2019 I wonder if A & K has handled some of the overland excursions that SS has offered and whether they might do so in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare drron29 Posted March 3, 2019 #9 Share Posted March 3, 2019 6 hours ago, zqtchas said: We did the same for a bush plane safari in Botswana Following a SS Cruise. Exactly what we did on the first time in Africa,Can thoroughly recommend it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jillyf Posted March 4, 2019 #10 Share Posted March 4, 2019 I get A&K brochures and they have advertised land and sea tours with Silversea doing the sea part for quite a while. I live in Australia so it may be a little different. I know Captains Choice ( Aust) use Silversea too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisinPashmina Posted March 4, 2019 #11 Share Posted March 4, 2019 We have been on more than one land excursion with A&K in concert with SS. All were terrific,especially the one in and around Capetown, on to Victoria Falls and to a safari experience at Singita in the Sabi Sands. As I remember, it was a 7 day excursion..not actually sure about the length , but I sure do remember that it was a beautifully arranged tour. Our private guide/driver in and around Capetown was terrific. Based on my wonderful personal experience, I think A&K is an excellent fit with Silversea...or at least a great fit with “Our” Silversea. I believe that I am not alone in being very concerned that the RCCL buy out could jeopardize our quiet, luxurious, unpretentious, SS, but the A& K connection does feel positive. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpstateJan Posted March 4, 2019 #12 Share Posted March 4, 2019 Oh, this makes me very excited at the thoughts! We looked at A&K for a few ideas but never found the right fit. Morocco could be really nice, if only they did Madagascar (Silversea hasn't offered that one for 2019 or 2020). We would really like to experience some of these type places with a small group. The thought of an A&K tie in with an expedition cruise just makes my little accountant heart go pitter-patter. CruisinPashmina, I really don't think RC will dismantle what SS has. They paid a lot for their interest, they aren't going to automatically drop the fares in half to get it within budget for the RC or Celebrity folks to sail. As far as Azamara, we looked at a few of their cruises hitting the same ports as a SS cruise, and they were as much if not more, and offered less. Once again, we book based on itinerary, and then "what else is offered", we were/are Celebrity cruises, but we behaved perfectly fine on Silverseas, enough so we'll be on the Wind in less than 3 weeks (yes, calendar has slash marks, countdown has begun). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jpalbny Posted March 4, 2019 #13 Share Posted March 4, 2019 (edited) Jan, Madagascar is a great place to visit. We were there for two weeks with two other couples (our travel buddies) on a privately arranged tour. It's rustic in spots but worth the effort. But it's huge, and travel within can be unbelievably slow without charter flights. Looking to return and see the other half of the country some day. I'm a little surprised that A&K doesn't offer it yet. Recalling our trip, I think perhaps Madagascar is best experienced with small (8 max) groups so perhaps that's why. Even a small A&K group might have a hard time finding lodging in some of the more remote parts. Enjoy our favorite Wind! Edited March 4, 2019 by jpalbny 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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