Review: Silversea Cruises in the Galapagos Islands

Here is our review of Silversea Cruises in the Galapagos Islands aboard the brand-new Silver Origin.

Carol and I sailed with Silversea on their brand-new purpose-built expedition ship, the Silver Origin, in the last week of May 2022.

Before we get started with our review, here are two articles that you might enjoy as a bit of background:

• Expedition Cruising: The Next Travel Megatrend
• Top 10 Reasons to Visit the Galapagos Islands

Our Silversea Expedition Cruise Greatly Exceeded Our Expectations

As I share in the two articles above, expedition cruising will be the next big thing in travel. And, I reasoned that the Galapagos Islands is the best place to try out your first expedition cruise because of its proximity to the U.S. (a four-hour flight from Miami), and the Galapagos Islands are a year-round destination as they sit right on the equator.

Here we are with Galapagos Penguins just behind us.

Silversea Cruises

If you’re not familiar with Silversea, first let me share that they are on our list of favorite ocean cruise lines.

They are a five-star cruise line and offer guests two different tiers of pricing:

• Door-to-Door: All-inclusive pricing with door-to-door service from your front door.
• Port-to-Port: This option is for those who might prefer to book their own flights. However, the cruise is still highly all-inclusive.

You can read more about their two-tiered pricing structure at this link.

Another benefit we enjoy with Silversea is that they have been very busy building new ships with even more on the way. And lastly, Silversea offers guests 5-star luxury ocean cruises and 5-star expedition cruises.

This was our first expedition cruise, so let me share our experience with you.

4 Reasons We Loved Our Galapagos Islands Cruise With Silversea

1. 

   A blue-footed boobie strikes a nice pose for my photograph

   The Destination: When we travel, we love to experience all of the things that man has created. Think beautiful architecture, exciting cities, fabulous culinary creations, works of art in museums, and so much more. However, we also greatly enjoy standing in front of jaw-dropping panoramas and a seemingly unending diversity of flora and fauna. The Galapagos Islands are a fabulous place to experience the latter. The Galapagos Islands are an archipelago of 21 volcanic islands 563 miles west of continental Ecuador that also straddle the equator. Their location on the equator makes the islands a year-round destination. And because the animals generally have no predators, you can experience unusual animals up close and personal. Further, you can experience animals found nowhere else in the world. Further, the diversity of the landscape will go from stark landscapes of lava to lush forests of mangroves and all sorts of interesting trees and plants. And as I mentioned above, Ecuador is only a 4.5-hour plane ride from Miami, making the Galapagos Islands a fabulous destination for your first expedition cruise. We loved our experience and highly recommend that you also visit these remarkable islands.
2. 

   The Silver Origin as seen from our zodiac.

   The Ship: The Galapagos Islands are protected in one of the largest marine preserves in the world. Therefore, the best way to experience these islands is aboard one of the new breed of expedition ships that are available to today’s modern traveler. We chose to sail the Galapagos Islands with Silversea Expeditions. Not only is Silversea on our list of favorite cruise brands, but Silversea has a brand-new purpose-built ship for the Galapagos Islands, the Silver Origin. The ship was stunning. It holds a maximum of 100 passengers (we like that), and you will also enjoy the fact that there are 90 crew members aboard the ship to serve your every need. We sailed with 78 passengers and 96 crew members. Nine of the crew members on our sailing were certified naturalists, so the information shared during our daily expeditions was not only informative but entertaining. I’ll write another article in the coming weeks to tell you more about this ship. For now, just know that it is a five-star experience and that every stateroom is a suite and every suite enjoys the services of a butler. We had no complaints. The ship was perfect.
3. 

   Tuna Ceviche

   The Food: We found the culinary experience on the ship to be exceptional. Ceviche is a big deal in Ecuador and we found a different delicious ceviche on the menu each day. I enjoyed a bowl of ceviche with two meals each day. And interestingly, the Ecuadorians love to put popcorn in their ceviche. It was good. At our request, our butler brought breakfast to our suite each day. We liked that. And while there is standard American fare available on the menu each day, I enjoyed sampling the local cuisine. I enjoyed a fabulous goat stew for lunch one day. We enjoyed a great variety of fresh local fish and lobster. And several nights we enjoyed dining in The Grill where we cooked our own proteins on a hot-rock lava stone. Big fun! You have three dining options aboard the Silver Origin: The Restaurant (the main dining room), The Grill (casual dining outdoors), and 24-hour room service.
4. 

   Views from a morning zodiac expedition

   Daily Expeditions: Silversea Expeditions offers guests a wide variety of expeditions each day ranging from easy to strenuous. If you like, you can simply board one of the zodiacs for a tour of the various islands several times each day. Or, if you prefer, you can also enjoy hiking and snorkeling offered at different levels of exertion. On an expedition cruise, it’s all about experiencing the local fauna and flora. And with Silversea Expeditions, you will have a plethora of available experiences available to you from dawn to dusk. And of course, if you prefer to take an afternoon off from exploring to enjoy a massage in the spa, you can do that as well.

A Giant Galapagos Tortoise

Summing It All Up

Folks, I didn’t know what to expect as we headed off to Ecuador for this expedition cruise.

Just know that our expedition cruise with Silversea Expeditions exceeded our expectations in every way. We LOVED the experience.

Carol and I are now hooked on expedition cruising. We like the smaller ships. We liked the 5-star experience we enjoyed with Silversea Expeditions.

And we now look forward to exploring the Arctic, the Antarctic, the Amazon, and other future destinations yet to be determined.

I can see a fun expedition cruise to Iceland in the very near future.

Further, I’m dreaming about polar bears, walruses, beluga whales, herds of reindeer, whales, the aurora borealis, and so much more.

And the best part, all from the comfort of a 5-star expedition ship.

How to Book a Silversea Luxury Expedition Cruise

Silversea Cruises is a part of our Virtuoso Voyages program.

This means that when you book a Silversea Cruises sailing through Roaming Boomers Travel Services, you will receive exclusive complimentary amenities on select sailings that you wouldn’t get by booking directly with the company.

Additionally, you will also enjoy our hands-on expert service and care for your booking.

And, the price is exactly the same whether you book with us or book directly with the company. Therefore, take advantage of our expertise and perks.

For more information or to book a fun Silversea expedition cruise, please call Roaming Boomers Travel Services at (480) 550-1235 or use our convenient online information request (click here), and we’ll reach out to you.

Additional Links:

• • • Best Way to Book an Ocean or River Cruise

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Virtuoso® is the leading global network of agencies specializing in luxury and experiential travel, with over 20,000 advisors. We partner with over 1,800 of the world’s best companies such as hotels, cruise lines, tour operators, and more. Our advisors use their personal connections and firsthand expertise to craft bespoke trips for clients, including unique experiences, special values, complimentary perks, VIP treatment, and rare access.