AT LAST—cruising again—Live from the Silversea Origin August 28-September 4, 2021

[cool cruiser 14107]

wow; that's sooo late!  I guess if you do the flights with SilverSea though, you're on the American 1:50 a.m. for the most part?

[RachelG]

5 hours ago, cool cruiser 14107 said:

wow; that's sooo late!  I guess if you do the flights with SilverSea though, you're on the American 1:50 a.m. for the most part?

We did our own air, and the schedule was changed at least 10 times by AA.  I finally just gave up.  I originally had us leaving today in the morning but that flight got cancelled, so they put us on a later flight then the original flight came back, etc, etc.  I finally just stayed with what they gave me.

[TakingFlight]

I have a question about the deep water snorkeling. Did your husband see fish and other wildlife while snorkeling on the surface or did he need to dive down to see them? I am fine while surface snorkeling but I’m not confident with diving under the water. Will I be able to see anything?

[cool cruiser 14107]

Wow; that's frustrating so many flight changes; do you think it was all due to covid; or I wonder if they always do that; even pre-covid.

thx

 

[RachelG]

3 hours ago, TakingFlight said:

I have a question about the deep water snorkeling. Did your husband see fish and other wildlife while snorkeling on the surface or did he need to dive down to see them? I am fine while surface snorkeling but I’m not confident with diving under the water. Will I be able to see anything?

He saw lots of big and little fish.  While he does dive, he assured me that anyone would be able to see a lot of fish.

[RachelG]

40 minutes ago, cool cruiser 14107 said:

Wow; that's frustrating so many flight changes; do you think it was all due to covid; or I wonder if they always do that; even pre-covid.

thx

 

It is a covid thing.

[CorbsinVA]

How many passengers were on board? We’re booked on Oct 23rd sailing… so excited, and most appreciative of your postings! Thanks!

[RachelG]

14 hours ago, CorbsinVA said:

How many passengers were on board? We’re booked on Oct 23rd sailing… so excited, and most appreciative of your postings! Thanks!

46 on board.  We started with 48, but one couple disembarked the first night as they were going to have to be on quarantine due to being in contact with a passenger who had disembarked and had tested positive for covid in Guayaquil after disembarkation.  They did not want to be on quarantine, so they left. 

[TakingFlight]

We will be on the Silver Origin in early December. We arranged our flights with frequent flyer miles and it worked out that we have an extra day in Quito and an extra day in Guayaquil. Are there any must-do, must-see things in either city? Or even an enjoyable way to idle away a few hours? I'm not seeing a lot in Trip Advisor that piques my interest.

[jpalbny]

We did a weekend in Quito a few years ago. We did two great tours. One to Mindo and one to Quilotoa. We ended up not spending much time in the city except for dinners but they were great too. There are some pictures in my SmugMug albums (link in my signature).

 

Do you like city stuff or would you prefer to get out of the city to hike, see nature, etc?

 

Guayaquil is also a nice place for a half-day tour. See my blog for what we did there before our October 2017 cruise. Not sure if our tour guide is still around but I'm sure there are others who could take you on similar itineraries. 

 

 

Edited October 10, 2021 by jpalbny

[cool cruiser 14107]

There is currently a Level 3 (!) State Department "reconsider travel" to Equador presently! I hope this improves; we want to explore Quito & area as well. I don't know when that changed to level 3?

 

[TakingFlight]

Thanks for your suggestions, jpalbany. I will check out your blog. I know you are a foodie so I know you’ll have some good restaurant recommendations. 

 

cool cruiser: I’m not too worried about the Level 3. I’ve been watching the covid levels in Ecuador and they haven’t had a big spike like so many other countries. We went to the Bahamas in July when it was Level 3 and felt pretty safe. Only 4 countries are Level 1 and 15 countries are Level 2, all the rest are 3’s and 4’s. So many places where cruising is happening right now are 4’s including Bahamas, Bermuda, Iceland, Caribbean, French Polynesia. I think it’s a decision you have to make for yourself whether you want to travel given your risk tolerance and desire to travel. For myself, if Silversea is going to take me to the Galapagos I’m ready to go. Our travel clock is ticking. 🤗

[jpalbny]

@TakingFlight, the two restaurants that we ate dinner at in Quito, when we were there for the long weekend trip, were Zazu (very well-known place, upscale, really nice) and Miskay, a place that was more difficult to find but worth the hunt. The food is excellent and fairly inexpensive.

 

I agree with you - so many places are Level 4 these days; Level 3 is pretty good! When we went to France a month ago it was Level 4 I think. We went to a quiet part of France so we weren't too worried.

[TakingFlight]

3 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

@TakingFlight, the two restaurants that we ate dinner at in Quito, when we were there for the long weekend trip, were Zazu (very well-known place, upscale, really nice) and Miskay, a place that was more difficult to find but worth the hunt. The food is excellent and fairly inexpensive.

 

I agree with you - so many places are Level 4 these days; Level 3 is pretty good! When we went to France a month ago it was Level 4 I think. We went to a quiet part of France so we weren't too worried.

Thanks, JP.  Much appreciated. 

[cruisequeen4ever]

I’ve read so many Celebrity Galapagos cruise blogs but never any from other cruise lines, so this was extra interesting. I can’t believe you guys had to climb a rope ladder! Thank you for sharing your adventures!