My wife and I are totally satisfied with this cruise. Silversea did an excellent job to make your experience as pleasant as possible from the moment you arrived in Quito to the last minute you catch your flight at the airport to return home.
This is not a typical luxury cruise you expect from Silversea. This is probably the best adventure cruise offered to the Galapagos Islands. If you expect Grand Dining room experience, elaborate evening show, daily fitness class and top notched spa and messages, this cruise is not for you!
Our daily routine starts at about 6 am getting up, have buffet breakfast (or 24 hours room service if you prefer) and be ready to board the zodiacs to your choice of activities by 7 am. Typically one in the morning and one in the afternoon with snorkeling, kayaking or beach activity in between. I really enjoyed the lunch on deck 5 grill after a rewarding morning adventure to see different species unique to each island. The chef did a wonderful job with special sea food menu each day. The waiters who may not have a good command in English are eager to entertain the guests by singing and dancing to the Latino popular songs played by the piano man. You can sense they are genuinely happy with their jobs! The ship usually set sails to the afternoon location while the guests are having their lunch on deck enjoying the beautiful ocean views. Afternoon activities finished around 4 pm. After showering and an occasional quick nap, we always attended the daily debriefings conducted by the Naturalists who led us to our daily adventures followed by the introduction to the activities on the next day. These sessions are very interesting and educational in a relaxing atmosphere. A perfect prelude to the dinner that followed. Although the dinner menu may not have many choices as the other Silversea's, I found it more than adequate. This is the first time I tried Cow Cheek and Scorpion fish. They are both delicious! Wine choices are mainly local selections of very acceptable quality.
This is the last year for Silversea Galapagos which is to be replaced by a new ship in 2020 so I expected the cabin would be a little run down. To my pleasant surprise, other than some rust stains on the bathroom door, everything is in good condition. The butler did a great job keeping the suite clean and well stocked with bathroom supplies, drinks and snacks. Bed, pillows and sheets are clean and very comfortable. AC control is a simple dial up and down for temperature with no temperature display, it works perfect and quietly!