Silver Endeavour 12/19/2022

[Cheer Dad]

Family and I are just back from the Christmas sailing of the Silver Endeavour that departed King George Island on 12/19 and here are my thoughts, observations and suggestions for others to make note of should you follow in our footsteps.

1.       We booked our own international air transportation from the USA to Santiago Chile after finding Silver Air very difficult to deal with.  Of those we met on the cruise, I am aware of only one that used Silver Air for their transportation to Chile.  After arrival, the Silversea representative was easy to locate at a position just before exiting into the arrival hall.  We had contacted the Mandarin Oriental concierge to arrange transportation to the hotel from the airports since Silversea did not provide us with transport.  In the arrival hall, there seemed to be an abundance to taxis for hire.

2.       The check-in process at the MO was easy with a quick visit to the Silversea room on the M1 level.  Since we arrived early in the AM from the USA, our room was not yet available so we ultimately had to make another visit to M1 to pick up our room keys a little later.  After our first visit to M1, we visited the Silversea room in the hotel lobby for some additional info.  Silversea seems to adjusting things as they go further into the season because we didn’t try on anything for sizing in Santiago as earlier cruises seemed to.

3.       There is a mandatory briefing in the early evening that sets some of the ground rules for visiting Antarctica.  This mandatory briefing was also presented in Punta Arenas however passengers only need to attend one briefing. It seemed like the overwhelming majority of passengers attended the briefing in Santiago.

4.       Silversea provides an area to have exterior clothing vacuumed to remove lint and other debris before arrival in the Antarctic.  You only need to have your previously used exterior clothing vacuumed. If you purchased new external gloves/hats and are opting to use the waterproof pants, parka, and backpack that Silversea provides, you do not need to have them vacuumed. Silversea’s room for such operation is on M1 but closes around 6 PM.  It is a quick process done while you wait.

5.       Silversea provided breakfast the next morning was in the main hotel restaurant.  A general buffet was provided.  We found that the service for drinks was very much lacking. The food offering is what I would consider adequate – runny scrambled eggs when they were available and if they had been replenished – as well as cereal, bacon, pastries, breads, cold cuts and fruit.

6.       Transportation to the airport was around 10 AM and airport security seemed to done in the Domestic Terminal in a special area for the charter flight.  After security screening, passengers then entered to departure level of the Domestic Terminal along with all the other departing flights.

7.       Food provided on the approximately 3.5-hour flight was less that appealing.

8.       The seating configuration is two seats on one side and three on the other.  Because of the nature of the flight, on the three side the middle seat is left unoccupied.  There are some seats at the front that have a little extra leg room but most seats are pretty tight on leg room for a 6-foot-tall person.

9.       A few days before our departure for South America we got an email from Silversea informing us about “limited accommodations” throughout Punta Arenas.  It seems that Silversea uses three different hotels in the city:  Hotel Cabo de Hornos, Dreams Casino Punta Arenas and Hotel Almasur.  We stayed on the way to King George at the Hotel Almasur and on the return at the Dreams Casino.  The Hotel Almasur is rustic to say the least.  The Dreams is like an old off-strip Vegas hotel complete with a casino, but windows are not air tight so if the winds are high then you will be entertaining by whistling all night long.  Food at both locations was better than the food at the MO.  The Hotel Cabo de Hornos seemed to be the better establishment.  Parkas, waterproof pants, boots and backpacks are waiting in passengers’ hotel rooms.  People are given an opportunity to make adjustments in sizing at their hotel before departure to King George Island.  Make sure to try on all items including both boots.  I had one size 12 boot and one size 10 boot which was easily remedied in Punta Arenas.

10.   Departures to King George Island are dependent on fly windows which are determined by winds and visibility on King George Island.  Our fly window was late in the day so we did not arrive to the ship until 8:30 PM which made for a quick dinner and briefing.  We were allowed the use of our hotel rooms at Punta Arenas well past normal checkout time as we waited for our flight windows.  Lunch was provided at the hotels and we could walk around the city sticking relatively close to the hotel during the day should the flight window change.

11.   Flight from Punta Arenas to King George Island is about two hours again with the food offering leaving room for improvement.  Again, seating configuration is 2 – 3 with several rows at the front that have extra leg room and all remaining rows the pretty tight space.  On departure from the plane in King George Island, one must be wearing their parka, waterproof pants and boots.  The flight attendants made an announcement close to landing to inform us that it was time to put on our waterproof pants and parka, as well as change into our boots. We wore normal shoes onto the plane because you will end up leaving your boots in the mudroom on deck three, and change back into your normal shoes to walk around the boat.

12.   If passengers desire to kayak on the cruise, they must attend a mandatory briefing that is given only once on the whole cruise.  So, if you only have the slightest desire, go ahead and attend the briefing – you have nothing to lose.  Actual kayaking can accommodate 12 passengers at a time.  Sessions are held most mornings and afternoons but is weather dependent.  Slots are filled on a lottery basis.  It seems that popularity of kayaking is low at the beginning of the cruise and then builds as word spreads.

13.   Once on the ship, passengers are divided into four color groups and participate in excursions with their group.  We had 146 passengers so 35 – 40 people were in each group.  When your color group is called, you proceed to the port side mudroom that is being used to put on boots, put on a life vest and await the boarding of the zodiac.  Each cabin has side-by-side spaces assigned in the mudroom for boot and life vest storage.  Space in the mudroom can get very crowed with people putting on life vest and boots while wearing parkas, waterproof pant, hats and gloves.  We found that wearing slide sandals to and from the mudroom allowed for minimization of time in the overly crowded mudroom.

14.   Restaurant reservations while on the ship are needed in all venues for dinner with the exception of the main dining room.  We made our reservations online before departing the USA.  Since daily excursions and briefings sometimes run late, one should make reservations for “Regular” times which is 8 PM.  The dinner menu in the Grill is a constant menu that does not change.  Il Terrazzino has what seems to be two different menus that rotate every three days.  We did not eat at La Dame, but we heard from others that they had a great experience.   The room service menu is available to use in any restaurant for any meal.

15.   There are robes and slippers in every cabin.  If different sizing is needed, just ask.  We got an XL robe and larger slippers for me.

16.   The naturalists are really outstanding – not a weak one among them.  We especially liked Nick Bredenkamp and the kayak leader Megan Savage. Many of them specialize in different areas and work together to provide different perspectives on each excursion from their respective specialties. Marieke Egan was the Expedition Leader for our cruise, and she did a terrific job. There was a weather system that came through during our cruise. Marieke remained very flexible, and found some great landings in areas that she didn’t plan for when she initially planned our sailing’s excursions.

17.   When you come back from excursions you will clean your boots to make sure that you aren’t introducing anything new to the environment for your next landing. Make sure to double check your pants for any rogue specks of penguin poop. You use the “sit and slide” technique to load the zodiacs, so it is easy to end up sitting or sliding across an area where someone had previously stepped. Even the smallest speck of penguin poop can stink up a room.

18.   There is entertainment provided every evening in the form of a pianist and a guitar player.  One seems to be in the Explorer Lounge evenings with the other in Observation Lounge.  They would rotate between each venue.  Sergei the pianist is really exceptional, could play any type of music and we tended to follow him.   The entertainment director, Yessey, was very personable and high energy.   

19.   We tended to have lunch in the Grill most days.  The view from the 2 story windows can’t be put into words.

20.   Upon return from excursions, you are welcomed back aboard with a warm beverage.  In the afternoons, the Arts Café offered a warm broth that one could add noodles, protein and veggies to help shake the cold. There were also other small warm dishes, desserts, and sandwiches in the Arts Café, but the warm broth was a hit with my party.

21.   Departure day does drag depending on when the fly window is.  Departure from your room at 8 or 9 in the morning sees people camped in the common space for quite a while.  We camped in the Observation lounge because of the views and it did fill-up. Our departure was at 5 PM so we had a lot of time between when we had to be out of our rooms and disembarkation. The lunch options were the Grill and the Arts Café. We, along with several others, took one last opportunity to enjoy the views from the Grill.

22.   At the initial briefing on the ship, Silversea reps tell you about a thumb drive that will be given to each cabin at the end of the cruise.  Upon looking at the contents after returning home, it was very disappointing.  The drive contained 4 very short videos and a little over 10 still pictures.  I know there were 2 different “photographers” listed amongst the naturalists as well as many of the other naturalists took pictures of wildlife during the excursions but most of those photos didn’t make it to the thumb drive.  We took thousands of pictures on our phones and other travelers (some with high powered cameras) were kind enough to swap pictures with us.  Airdroping of photos was a very big hit.

23.   Our departure from King George Island was a thrill ride.  The pilot set the break, revved the 4 engines to max power, popped the breaks and we were off.  Some compared to the Rock’n Roll rollercoaster at Disney World.  All the passengers’ heads whiplashed back when the pilot popped the breaks.

24.   If you are fortunate enough to go on the Silver Endeavour this season, please tell a waiter that generally works the Grill named Ljubomir or pronounced Lubo for short, that the tall Texan with no hair on the top of his head says hello.

[Stumblefoot]

Thank you for taking time to share your experience about the new ship and different type of itinerary that eliminates sailing to/from the continent.

[highplanesdrifters]

Ditto, excellent report!

[melinda0222]

Fantastic review.  I do have 3 questions and am hoping you can answer.  

1. what onboard electricity did you have?  110vs 220?  etc... Just trying to figure out which adapter I need. 

2.  Did you find your evening attire was more casual (as in slacks and a collared shirt) or more dress pants and button down shirts?  

3. how was your connectivity on the ship?  wifi any good? cell coverage?  Just trying to think about family back home and elderly parents.   Thank you again for your review.  

[1 of 8]

Thanks so much.  Heading there in 2 weeks and appreciated all the information.    

[tabber]

2 hours ago, melinda0222 said:

Fantastic review.  I do have 3 questions and am hoping you can answer.  

1. what onboard electricity did you have?  110vs 220?  etc... Just trying to figure out which adapter I need. 

2.  Did you find your evening attire was more casual (as in slacks and a collared shirt) or more dress pants and button down shirts?  

3. how was your connectivity on the ship?  wifi any good? cell coverage?  Just trying to think about family back home and elderly parents.   Thank you again for your review.  

We were also on this fantastic cruise, so hope you don’t mind if I answer your questions.

 

1.  There were both 110 and 220 outlets, and quite a few USB outlets.  We had no issues charging any of our devices.

2.  Evening attire ranged from more casual to more informal to a step below formal.  Slacks and a collared shirt, and dress pants and button down shirts were seen every night.  Some, but not many, even wore suits  and/or jackets with ties.

3.  Included WiFi was so so.  We opted to upgrade to premium WiFi, at a cost of $206 for our 9 night cruise, which enabled us to FaceTime with elderly parents in the US.   4 devices can be used on one subscription, but my iPad was continually kicked off (not while in use, but if I closed the iPad for a bit) and I had to restart the premium WiFi many times each day to reconnect.

[bubbulz]

Thank you for all the details. I am booked on this ship/itinerary later this year. I’m confused a bit about the pricing on the veranda suites. It looks like the pricing goes up by about $4k for the first upgrade and by $8k for the top level veranda suite. Since all the veranda suites are the same size and configuration, I am wondering if the location makes all that much difference. Seems like a pretty significant jump for just a 6 day cruise. Also, since I’m fairly prone to seasickness (thank goodness I’m skipping the Drake!) I’m thinking the lower level might actually be better for me although it will be in the forward section of the ship. I’d be interested in your thoughts re: cabin location.

 

I booked ‘door-to-door’ right now but may end up doing my own international flights if I don’t like what they come up with. Can I ask what airline you flew and how your flights were? I’m finding no non-stop flights from airports near me. Thanks.

[tabber]

Sorry, don’t know much about the different veranda suite pricing.  We had originally booked the Medallion suite on the Silver Explorer, over a year and a half before the cruise.  That suite category disappeared when the ship was switched to the Silver Endeavour and we were reassigned to deck 7 in a premium veranda suite.  Not sure what we would have booked had we been only been looking at the Endeavour deck plans, but I feel like we would have probably gone with the least expensive veranda suite because skipping the Drake sealed the deal for us on this itinerary.  FWIW, some passengers on our cruise did get seasick early on, but the seas improved after the first night.  I take Bonine every day because I am also prone to motion sickness without it, and did not suffer at all.

We chose the business class upgrade through Silversea.  American Airlines to Santiago and Delta (Latam) back.  The new Latam lounge in Santiago is an amazing lounge with a top notch bartender, and we had a wonderful time there waiting for our flight back home.  

 

[scotlandyard1985]

Thanks for all the information 

 

On the deckmap it seems that the door of the cabins is opening into a small hallway rather then on the main hallway. Is it so?

[tabber]

Yes, the outer, very heavy door from the main hallway opens to a small entryway, and two cabins are accessible from there. 

[tabber]

[tabber]

Sorry, tried to post a photo and failed!

[tabber]

Main corridor

 

Main door from corridor

 

Cabin doors on left and right, facing each other 

 

[scotlandyard1985]

Thank you very much! It looks good for blocking noise from the main hallway

[bubbulz]

On 1/16/2023 at 7:49 PM, tabber said:

Sorry, don’t know much about the different veranda suite pricing.  We had originally booked the Medallion suite on the Silver Explorer, over a year and a half before the cruise.  That suite category disappeared when the ship was switched to the Silver Endeavour and we were reassigned to deck 7 in a premium veranda suite.  Not sure what we would have booked had we been only been looking at the Endeavour deck plans, but I feel like we would have probably gone with the least expensive veranda suite because skipping the Drake sealed the deal for us on this itinerary.  FWIW, some passengers on our cruise did get seasick early on, but the seas improved after the first night.  I take Bonine every day because I am also prone to motion sickness without it, and did not suffer at all.

We chose the business class upgrade through Silversea.  American Airlines to Santiago and Delta (Latam) back.  The new Latam lounge in Santiago is an amazing lounge with a top notch bartender, and we had a wonderful time there waiting for our flight back home.  

 

Thanks, tabbed for the very helpful info. Skipping the Drake is what sealed the deal for me as well. I am on small boats frequently and take meclazine each day and it works. I, too, chose the business class option through Silversea. I don’t have flights yet but I’m hoping they can get me routing via IAH to Santiago on UA. Lastly, thanks for the photos of the cabin entries.

[JSR]

Thank you for your review. We are on the Arctic cruise in June. I have a couple questions:

 

1) is there a self serve laundry on the ship? 

2) Were there any classes or private training option at the gym?

3) is there track (weather permitting) on any of the decks?

4) Would you recommend the cruise you were on if you were unable to participate in any of the zodiac tours?

 

Thank you for your help!

[alithecat]

@bubbulzSilversea Air wanted to charge us an additional $2500pp on top of the regular business class fare to fly UA via IAH. They routed us on AA via JFK. They also routed someone else on one of these boards, who lives in Houston, via JFK rather than putting them on the non-stop. Have your agent request the specific flights you want before they go ahead and make a different booking.

[bubbulz]

If SS can't route me via IAH I may end up doing my own flights and possibly add an extra night in Santiago in both directions just to be on the safe side. But I will go ahead and notify my agent of my preference. Thanks.

[alithecat]

@bubbulzthat's what we did. We cancelled the air, booked our own flights, and added an extra night in Santiago. If you do this, you will lose the SS transfer to the hotel but can pay to add it back. If they use the Mandarin Oriental like they did this year, then I suggest that you book the extra night on your own. It will be cheaper and if you join their Fans of M.O. before you book you get some benefits that you don't get if you book thru SS. We did not book an extra night for the way back, as our flight, and most of the others, was late at night. You also lose the day room on the way back if you book your own flights. Silversea will take you back from the charter airport to the main airport. We booked a regular room at the Holiday Inn Santiago Airport, so we'd have a place to hang out and a room to sleep in just in case the flight was cancelled. Hope this helps.

[cruiseej]

@bubbulz SS Air booked us AA through Miami to and from Santiago. Unless you're locked in on only flying United, AA via Miami isn't a bad option. If you're upgrading to business class air, then you get the use of American's Flagship lounge in Miami. One other thing to note: if you use SS Air but fly a day early, you normally pay a deviation fee for this, but if you book the extra night in Santiago through SS, the deviation fee is waived; the extra night through SS was more expensive than booking it on our own, but when you add in the waived deviation fee, the transfers, and the hotel day room at the end, booking through SS Air was cheaper and worked out quite well for us. But as @alithecat details, eahc circumstance is different. It pay to check the pricing via SS and on your own to see which option is best for your trip.

[bubbulz]

@cruiseej @alithecat Thank you both for the helpful info. I have status with United so my strong preference is to stick with Star Alliance. It looks like my options are United through Houston, Air Canada through Toronto or Copa via Panama. That said, that Flagship lounge in MIA is really nice so that is tempting!

[alithecat]

@bubbulz there is a beautiful new United Polaris lounge in Houston, in terminal E.

[tabber]

6 hours ago, JSR said:

Thank you for your review. We are on the Arctic cruise in June. I have a couple questions:

 

1) is there a self serve laundry on the ship? 

2) Were there any classes or private training option at the gym?

3) is there track (weather permitting) on any of the decks?

4) Would you recommend the cruise you were on if you were unable to participate in any of the zodiac tours?

 

Thank you for your help!

1) There is a sign for the self serve laundry on deck 3, near the mud rooms.  I never went to it, so don’t know how many appliances it contained.

2) It’s a large fitness center for the size of ship.  If my memory serves, it is much larger than on the Wind.  There are treadmills, ellipticals, weight machines, stationary bikes and an area for yoga or stretching.  Not sure about classes or private training, other than AM yoga classes.

3) There is a track on deck 10.

4) Personally, we would not have gone on this particular cruise if we were not able to participate in the zodiac tours, hiking and kayaking.  But that’s just us.  There were many people who rarely left the ship and instead enjoyed the library, games, table tennis room, lovely spa, indoor pool and hot tub and outdoor hot tub.  This ship totally can be a destination on its own, we just like getting outdoors more.

 

[JSR]

9 minutes ago, tabber said:

1) There is a sign for the self serve laundry on deck 3, near the mud rooms.  I never went to it, so don’t know how many appliances it contained.

2) It’s a large fitness center for the size of ship.  If my memory serves, it is much larger than on the Wind.  There are treadmills, ellipticals, weight machines, stationary bikes and an area for yoga or stretching.  Not sure about classes or private training, other than AM yoga classes.

3) There is a track on deck 10.

4) Personally, we would not have gone on this particular cruise if we were not able to participate in the zodiac tours, hiking and kayaking.  But that’s just us.  There were many people who rarely left the ship and instead enjoyed the library, games, table tennis room, lovely spa, indoor pool and hot tub and outdoor hot tub.  This ship totally can be a destination on its own, we just like getting outdoors more.

 

Thank you this is very helpful information. We are headed on the Endeavour for an Arctic cruise in June. We will then be traveling after the cruise and trying hard not to have to lug too much despite different climates, land, and then a transatlantic cruise home. 

[Rothko1]

Thanks for all the great information.  We are on the Feb 4 trip on Endeavour (Air bridge!), so we are very excited to try out this new ship.  Got assigned Cabin 653, a Deluxe Veranda suite, so I am very happy.