For perspective, this is from the point of view of a fifty-something single woman with extensive experience travelling and living in many countries around the world (starting at the age of 4). I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and, as an avid amateur photographer, shot thousands of photos and videos during this cruise. It is a truly amazing bucket list sort of place, but it is very active but not for those with physical limitations.

This cruise includes a 2 night pre-cruise stay in Quito, flights to/from the Galápagos on Latam Ecuador and a day room at a hotel in Guayaquil before departing flights and ungodly hours to other destinations. I booked the cruise directly with a Silversea consultant, who didn't seem to know much about the trip and got some details wrong - I'll be using a travel agent for future bookings. There were excursions available in Quito, but no information was provided about those excursions until after check-in at the Marriott in Quito. Consequently, I pre-booked a separate walking city tour through a link on the hotel's website with a large local touring company (Metropolitan Touring) in advance. I would have liked to have known about and perhaps booked one of those excursions in the Quito area offered by Silversea (one to visit a reserve that specializes in hummingbirds would have been interesting if I'd known in advance). I booked my own airfare as the Silversea consultant said they weren't really set up to book first/business class airfares on this trip (surprising as that may seem). I did not book an arrival transfer in Quito and took a cab from the airport (easy, cheap and safe).

The flights to and from the mainland were on Latam Ecuador. The Silversea consultant incorrectly told me these were charter flights, something that was clearly not true since the flights were easy to find and were separately bookable on Latam's website (and had many non-cruise passengers on board). What was not available from the passenger record number (PRN) provided by Silversea was an ability to access the reservation and select a seat in advance either via Silversea or Latam's website. I managed to get seat reservations in advance by contacting Latam through Facebook Messenger. Others mentioned that they called Latam directly in order to do this. The inability of passengers to access their record online and self-select a seat needs to be fixed. I haven't had a commercial flight reservation without a pre-selected seat since an Ethiopian Airlines flight in 1988 and see this as unacceptable. Silversea's setting sail guide also incorrectly tells passengers they are entitled to 2 pieces of luggage, but the confirmed reservation they provide says only one piece of luggage is permitted. The truth is best discovered by checking Latam's website, which says 1 piece of checked luggage, plus one carryon and one personal item (all slightly smaller than permitted by most US carriers). A second piece of checked luggage costs only $20, so isn't a big deal for most passengers on this cruise, if they need that extra piece of luggage. Read more