I suppose I should talk about the ship and Silversea in general. We chose Silversea because once you paid for your trip, everything was included so plane reservations, hotels, transfers, tips, drinks, and activities as well as the wet suits you might need. We couldn’t be more pleased. The Silver Galapagos is an older ship but is being replaced by a new one in 2020. It is the largest (along with Celebrity) ship in the Galapagos. It holds 100 passengers and about 80 staff.
The nicest thing about being on a small ship is everyone knows who you are in a rather short time. The captain, the hotel director, all of the servers, the housekeeping people, the front desk folks all say hi by name. It is a gift that they remember you since it happens every week for them. They remember your likes and dislikes for everything especially wine. I drank a bit of Bordeaux each night.
Breakfast was buffet style but they took orders for eggs and brought it to you. They had healthy shakes, vegan options, as well as eggs and whatever else you may want. Lunches were usually outside under a covered deck and we thought it was the best meal because they always had grilled fish. Again, it was semi-buffet. They brought the cooked food out to you. The fish was prepared exceptionally well. There were salads, a pasta, and some Ecuadorian dish as well as Ecuadorian ceviche and desserts as well as ice cream. Turns out Ecuadorian ceviche is cooked first and put into a sauce made from peppers, onions, cilantro, lime juice, and coconut milk as opposed to the raw fish that is cooked in an acid of some kind. We even had a ceviche cooking class one afternoon by the head chef. It was fun and delicious. I knew I would make it when I got home.
The only real entertainment was a piano player. We didn’t really know what he was playing for the first few bars but the crowd seemed to like him.
The Chef taught a ceviche class that was fun. Ecuadorian ceviche is not like the ones we typically eat. The fish is cooked for a couple (and I mean, a couple) of minutes before they put it into the lime mixture. It was delicious and we loved having it each day.
The rooms will all suites. They were all very nice. We had a balcony and spent time watching the islands from the ship.
The other thing about a small ship is you get to meet and talk to people. While most of the people on the trip were older (not old but older), there were a few families. I guess I was surprised because they didn’t have things for kids to do but they could go on all of the adventures and they did!
If I had to do it over again, I would choose the Silversea cruise line again. The service was as good as you could wish for.
