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Silver Explorer

We selected this vessel due to cross over Russian Arctic on 25 day Voyage.

The Expedition program ( under contract ) was good with most Arctic Ocean stops accomplished. However the vessel is an old ( 30+ years in service ) with poor public spaces and mediocre staff service. 

For two pax price ( $100,000) no real value here. 

SILVERSEA has taken older vessel and placed in “ expedition service” without any discernible improvement in boat safety facilities. Older gangway and Zodiac loading stations are hazardous - should have been replaced before vessel was placed in ocean service.

The food was poor - kitchen ran out of basic ( fruits, vegetables ) half way into voyage.

Officers are foreign nationals - Russians - with little interaction with passengers.

In summary, poor quality for the price. We have been on better trips for a quarter of the price of this voyage. SILVERSEA appears to be solely interested in sales, marketing and promotion at the expense of passenger experience !     Member, Circumnavigators Club

RUSSIA ARCTIC TRANSIT - OLD SHIP, GOOD EXPEDITION

Liverpool

Its the only way to see the Chilean coast inlets and scenery short of having your own boat. There are no roads or habitation in most of the areas we visited. Excursions by zodiac to see wildlife and glaciers were amazing. The ship was small by cruise ship standards but was therefore able to sail in confined fiords and through narrow passes.

The food and service was excellent. Nothing was too much trouble for the staff. The ships captain was informative and approachable. The company issued everyone with appropriate clothing which was just as well because that part of the world has heavy weather at most times of the year. If you needed items of clothing or spares for your photography the ships shop was well stocked.

Improvements are possible in some detailed areas. The graphic display of the ships position was poor. The exterior of the window could have been cleaned.

Ushuaia to Valparaiso, Chile on Silver Explorer

This was our first time cruising with Silversea, and we were impressed by the highly organized program, comfortable ship, delicious food, and terrific crew. Our fellow passengers were almost uniformly smart, interesting, and friendly. It seemed that the majority were repeat customers with Silversea, and I was inspired by both their loyalty to the brand and how well-traveled they were. 

We chose this cruise because of the interesting itinerary along the Pacific coast of Peru and Chile. The activities ranged from bird-watching from a Zodiac to long bus trips up into the Andes. Some excursions were amazing; some were a bit more elaborate and lengthy than would be ideal. The on-board experts were terrific; my husband and I really enjoyed the lectures we attended, and felt we learned a lot about wildlife, geology, botany, and archaeology. I only wished the Silversea guides had a more active role in the bus excursions, as the quality of the local guides was hit or miss. But the on-board lectures matched up well with the excursions, so we had enough information to enjoy the local trips regardless of guide quality.

This sailing was a culinary cruise, and I thought that was a great bonus. The local chefs and wine experts worked with the cruise line's culinary instructor on some entertaining cooking demos (with tastings!). A cheese expert was the dark-horse star of the show: her cheese talks and tastings were funny and illuminating. This delicious culinary focus translated to the dining room, as well. The local experts contributed to some interesting dinner menus. There were a la minute cooking options for lunch on several days, and we got to see the chefs at work during some dinners, too. Experiencing local food traditions is always a highlight of travel for me; having that experience in such a refined setting was a real treat.

Overall, I thought the food and beverage offerings were excellent. I noticed comments in other reviews about lukewarm offerings at the buffet; I experienced that at times, but I always had the option of ordering something else if food temperature mattered. I had cooked to order breakfast every day, and we ate at the outside grill for numerous lunches. The menus were so interesting and appealing, the only difficulty was deciding what not to order. Service was also top-notch--very personal and attentive (though dinners could be a bit drawn out, which I know is not to everyone's liking). 

The ship is well-maintained and very comfortable. I was pleasantly surprised by how uniformly happy the crew members seemed. They did so much to make sure we had a great cruise. Thanks to all of them, and to Silversea for a memorable adventure!

Expedition cruising with a gourmet twist

Paris

Arrived at the Wharf to find out the ship was still  in drydock in another country and wouldn't be ready for 2+ days.  Not only did we lose this time, two ports were eliminated and time cut short in three ports.  The cabins were like a building site with coke and beer bottles, razor blades, screws and nails on the floor, bathrooms flooded, no TV movies and faulty aircon. After complaints 50% of the fare was refunded.  The fait accompli was on arrival in Honfleur when people had been told there would be plenty of taxis to find out there are only two in the town so many of us were left standing for two hours till a bus was hired and we were charged a bus fare for transport. Certainly no six star luxury cruise.  

Save your money and go on any of the other many reputable cruise lines.

Save your money

Hilo

We chose this cruise for it's itinerary through Scotland, St Kilda, Orkneys, Shetlands though 24 hour daylight cruising in Norway was a fabulous bonus. 

For me the hikes, the bird life (they set you down right in middle of thousands of puffins and razor bills and guillemots etc. ) the scenery were the highlights.

They really make an effort to get you ashore even in difficult weather. We were the only ship that arrived in St Kilda, the others cancelled because of the easterly winds, then they manoevred the ship to broadside the weather so we could use the zodiacs on the lee side.They knew how important a landing was to everyone. They have the loading and unloading of the zodiacs down to a science. Even the most unsteady should feel perfectly comfortable. Then when we really could not make the Lofotens Islands due to conditions they hastily organized an interesting visit to Narvik. The on board historian did a great job getting up to speed with the new location, getting the fliers printed etc. So very very accommodating. Another time we had to skip an afternoon visit due to weather, but they were able to replace that with a hike up to a glacier after dinner. So at 10:30 pm all those still sober set off on a hike up to a glacier in the midnight sun.

About those on board experts. There are "ologists' for everything - geologists, biologists, archeologists, ornithologists. Almost too many of them. They dominate the cruise. When you are ashore it's a little like a school outing with the "ologists" there counting everyone, one at the front, one at back making sure no-one goes missing. They certainly add to experience, but occasionally you just want to break free. 

The on board ship facilities are few. There are two small hot tubs on the aft deck. But in 11 days I only saw them used 3 or 4 times.  Food is excellent. The chef tries to buy produce from local markets.  So when the ships docks somewhere he is off to the local fish market to see what they have. He is always out greeting guests at dinner, very accessible, talking of what he been able to acquire.There is one bar that is pretty lively after dinner. 

If you want serene cruising, off the beaten path locations, history hiking watching wildlife this is the way to go.

Serene off the beaten path cruising

With many SilverSea negatives in the forums ,and the memories of the Silver Discoverer hotel dept shortcomings still fresh ; our recent Silver Explorer cruise provides  a timely opportunity to review.

We found the ship and it's crew to be right on top of their game and we enjoyed this cruise very much.

The British Isles Itinerary was selected for convenience and timing rather than for the content, however it was an interesting and informative cruise. It was almost a regular style cruise with less adventure and many bus rides , although the Zodiacs were , for many, an adventure in themselves!

The explorer is a lovely ship , and I continue to rail at the renaming..she will always be the PAII in my mind. A  ship of lovely lines with an impeccable pedigree and a great capacity for rough water and sea ice.

We last sailed on the ship in 2009 and I wondered how she would be after many many years of heavy use. 

We were pleased to find the the ship, overall, in very good order ,  clean and well maintained but also showing signs of a long life of adventure

Our midships cabin was generally in good condition but was showing evidence of heavy use, our mattress was well overdue for replacement.

For this voyage we found the hotel department right on top of their game , the food was good, the wine was also mostly good and all the hotel staff without exception were very friendly and efficient. They were so good and so much fun that we were sorry to leave them.

The expedition team , beefed up with German speakers for a  very large German language guest contingent, were competent if not quite up to some of the stellar teams we have found on other cruises.

Most importantly the whole cruise ran smoothly , pleasantly, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. 

All is forgiven Silversea..we shall return…...

A team on top of it's game

It is one of the most boring cruise I have been on. Program is poorly executed and pre and post cruise program and schedule waste a lot of time for nothing. Charter flight to Longbyen is inconvenient for both embarkation and disembarkation. Food quality is very average. More like a 3-4 star quality than a 6 stars ship. There is not even ham for breakfast unless you specially ordered. All meals are quite poor in both cooking style and food quality. A few dinners are up to par. No choice of restaurant except a BBQ outdoor small setup is available with reservations for dinner - extremely limited choice of dishes - just salad & steaks.
Out of 7 days, we saw 1 polar bear, 1 group of walrus and a birds enclave. Most of the days are wandering on the sea and 2 days to some Tundra islands with nothing to see. No seals, reindeers at all. The ship is very small and smells like a medical clinic all the time on many floors. The staff on the ship are very attentive. Water pressure in bathrooms are superb.
There are no TV, no internet (98% of the time so do not buy their package), no DVD player in your room, almost no entertainment AT ALL except about 20 movies to select which are again, poorly chosen. There are not even TV shows on the selection menu. They did not tell you ahead of time so you are bored to death on the ship. The "gymn" has 2 treadmills and that is it. There are almost next to zero activities on the boat except a few "lectures" of 1 hour long that is not that interesting either.
I will not advise anyone to go on this ship especially not for the money paid.

Arctic expedition on Silver Explorer

Sorrento

We took the 14-cruise, which started with a charter flight from Oslo to Longyearben, and included Svalbard, Greenland and Iceland. Although we received numerous extreme warnings from Silversea about how luggage limitations would be strictly enforced on the charter flight to Longyearben, none of the warnings turned out to be true. We were told that under no circumstances could we have more than one piece, 50 pounds maximum, of checked luggage, plus one hand luggage of 11 pounds. In fact, SAS said they would be happy to check two pieces of luggage per person, and they showed no concern over the weight of our checked or hand luggage. SAS also said that Silversea pre-assigned all seats on the plane and had instructed them not to change anyone's seats. Despite the fact that the aircraft was only about half full, we were assigned middle seats in the next to last row.
We had a veranda suite category room, so our French doors opened onto a tiny balcony. This was especially important because we had views--including of a polar bear that appeared directly under our balcony, that could not easily be accessed unless you could step outside the cabin.
The cruise was pretty good, but overall we had mixed results. We had been on the same ship to Antarctica, which is a much more exciting destination with far more to see.
The biggest drawbacks of this cruise: it is about four days too long, so that several days include uninteresting things to see on the shore (remains of cabins or mining; entire excursions to see moss and tiny flowers) or consist of sailing around the shoreline; there is surprisingly little wildlife around--animals are extremely scarce (a single seal or whale brings dozens of people on deck), although we were lucky enough to see one polar bear VERY close up in Greenland, and a couple others in Svalbard at a distance; the expedition staff does not do a good job of describing the shore excursions accurately in advance--they sometimes neglect to mention the zillions of mosquitoes or the strenuous hiking that may be involved; it is difficult to rest because loudspeaker announcements are frequently being made and the room speakers can not be turned off. The ship's extremely expensive internet rarely worked (even when my personal phone would get cellular reception), especially in the extreme north, and for mysterious reasons, the TV satellite usually would not either, even in port.
The plus side: the scenery is spectacular, with gorgeous sea ice and icebergs; most of the Zodiac rides are beautiful; the crew is extremely nice, helpful and hardworking; there is a reasonably good variety in and quality to the food and lots of fresh fruit (even exotic fruits); the ship and cabins are pleasant and well maintained. The lectures, library and movies are fine. The fitness center is very small and often crowded. There are good free laundry facilities.

Good but isn't Antarctica

I want to state right up front that we have to take part of the blame for our dissatisfaction with the cruise. We booked the itinerary. Silver Explorer was our favorite ship, but her capabilities were totally wasted on this fully mainstream sailing. I understand the economics of having the ship "earn her keep" when sailing between main expedition regions like the Arctic and Antarctic, but surely she could be better deployed than on this type of cruise.Accepting that (with very few exceptions) the itinerary was even more boring than we could have feared. I will, therefore, evaluate the cruise as a mainsteam cruise with very limited shore options and mostly Zodiac landings. Taken on that basis, it was still below average (even more so for a luxury cruise) and not a good value for money.Pre-cruise and post-cruise: We booked 3 nights in London (Apex City of London Hotel) before sailing and 2 nights in Edinburgh (Apex City Hotel)after the cruise. Very good values and extremely well located. When in Edinburgh again we will try the Apex International Hotel. It is a few doors down from the City and has more facilities.The ship: I would say she could use a facelift. The hull paint is faded and there is really evident discoloration (rust?) below the waterline. Looking at the public rooms, there are just so many layers of paint you can put on. Soft furnishings and carpet probably have been refreshed since our last sailing (6/10), but everything else looks the same.Cabin: Well located and quiet, the problem was the overall condition. I think this area had some flooding from the problem in Antarctic this past season. The ceiling has some peeling paint that flaked off to the touch. We reported it and it was addressed (except for a full repaint they probably could not accomplish at sea). My question is why was the problem even present? We saw it within 2 minutes onf coming into the cabin.Other issues: 1) Window dingy and fogged (broken seal?)and plastic sill cracked and poorly caulked; 2) beaten up coffee table (looked like someone had taken a knife to the edge); 3) under sink door pull loose and just spun when I tried to tighten it by hand; 4) lens for light in the shower had been painted over and then scraped to allow light through; 5)the sink stopper mechanism was disengaged so the sink drain could not be opened. This may seem like nitpicking, but this is not acceptable on a luxury line. Had this been a real expedition sailing, I have to admit it would not have made such an impression.The heating/cooling and other systems worked very well. The bed was comfortable and the storage space was more than adequate.Expedition Staff: This staff was definitely not of the caliber we had in the Arctic. They were not nearly as engaged with the passengers and much more stand-offish. We had an Expedition Leader, Robin West, and an Assistant Expedition Leader, Yarda Versloot-West (his wife) who, coincidentally are moving to Seabourn (along with another staff member)for the Antarctic season (permanently?). I know these folks have contracts that come to an end, but I found it interesting to see Robin as the "Face" for the new Seabourn expedition effort. We also had a Botanist (he would quiz us on plants that were seen on excursions we might not have been on) , a bird expert, and a fish expert (why??). All in all, the recaps and preps for the next day were very weak since here was not a lot to cover. The photographer/videographer was young, appeared inexperienced, and produced the worst voyage video I have ever seen.I would be remiss, however, if I did not mention that there were some stars on the staff - an incredible Military Historian (Gordon), a wonderful Medieval Historian (Imogen - Gordon's wife), and an incredible wildlife photographer, Sue Flood. Gordon and Imogen were invaluable in making the highlights of the trip - the Normandy beaches and Many St Michel come alive. Sue was charming, enthusiastic, and her short lecture on photography was excellent. Unfortunately here talents were squandered by under-use on this trip. Instead we were saddled with the ship's photographer (see above).It will be a while before we consider the Silver Explorer again - an only then if it is for a true expedition. The ship was Food: Always subjective. My complaint is not with the quality of ingredients but in the preparation and temperature control. How are bacon and ham on the buffet in the morning cold? How is a caramelized onion and mushroom tart served at or below room temperature? Fresh fish was the best choice, but often the other three members on our group had to go off the menu for steak or a chicken breast to find something that appealed at dinner. The pastas were lackluster and that is really disappointing. I will say desserts at lunch were better than last time. All in all, average to good is the best I can rate it.Service: On the whole, very good. Our butler, Lorenzo, was excellent as was the cabin attendant, Dipan. I am still not sure why we need to have a butler and cabin attendant. Bar service and dining room service was quite good. The assistant restaurant manager was terrific, but the restaurant manager on this cruise, Debbie, was awful. She rudely butted in while a server at the carving station at lunch was going back to get another turkey to slice since he was out of white meat. She did not want him to go get it because there was dark meat there and gave my girlfriend a hard time. With that type of attitude, she should not be employed in a service industry, especially as a manager.Competency of the bar staff to make drinks was variable. For instance, how good a Pina Colada was depended entirely on who made it. Also, the wincne service was a little disappointing. On the last night, we ordered an expensive dessert wine. The wine staff came back twice to verify he order before the Sommelier (after a total of 10-15 minutes) came over to apologize and told me the last bottle had been sold during the cruise. Why was it still on the wine list?This cruise was not a good value for money and I cannot recommend it. It will be a while before we consider the Silver Explorer again.

The Expedition Cruise That Wasn't

I recently returned from an amazing foodie experience that included tasting ports in Portugal, tapas and seafood in Galicia, oysters in Brittany, Calvados in Normandy, grand Cru wine in Bordeaux and regional cheeses, fish, sausages, pastries and wine all along the way.  This was offered on the Silver Explorer, an expedition ship better known for penguin sightings in Antarctica and walrus and seal viewing in the Arctic.

The cruise line's culinary trainer, Chef David Bilsland, the director of culinary development, Chef Rudi Scholdis, the Silversea wine ambassador, Lawrence D'Almeida and historian Imogene Corrigen gave Almost daily lectures, demonstrations and tastings.  The chefs led tours of local markets and bought fresh fish, shellfish and regional specialities back to the ship for us to taste.  Several times the chefs cooked in the center of the dining room, preparing paella, bouillabaisse, mussels marinara and Breton galettes.  We felt totally spoiled by all the extra emphasis on food and wine in addition to the normally excellent Silversea dining experience.

The Silversa team was joined by Tom Badcock, a cheese educator and expert who teaches at London's Cordon Bleu school. Tom purchased local cheeses at several ports and held well attended tastings four or five days. Eileen Crane, CEO and winemaker at Napa's Domaine Carneros spoke to us about sparkling wines as we tasted several examples.  A group of her wine club members were on board enjoying it all.
Food and travel writer, Sharon Hudgins, from Dallas, also gave interesting food related talks on sea days.

The service is friendly, many staff people know you by name after a day or two, they are well trained and seem to go the extra step for their guests.  This ship is small, we were only 110 passengers with a crew of 120.  The maximum is 134 guests.  There are not as many public rooms or dining options such as offered on their larger ships, but the decor, atmosphere and service is equally fine, as is the food and beverage offered.

Gastronomic adventures in Portugal, Spain, and France

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