cruisellama

I booked the optional Chocolate Museum and Cable Car tour.  Given it was a private tour I was able to pick the time.
My tour guide would be Corina and she was waiting for me in the hotel lobby when I went down 10 minutes early.
We start with a short walk to the Cable Car station.

Corina explained that many cars are empty due to the high cost of the gondola service compared to other options like city busses.  At $1.40 round trip it may not sound like much but for a typical blue collar worker the $0.60 that the bus charges is easier on the budget even though the bus takes a lot longer especially in traffic.

I found it quite enjoyable, much more so than I think I would in a bus.

A cemetery we pass is watched over by a statue of Jesus Christ on the hill behind it. 


Corina explained a lot about Guayaquil and I enjoyed the full attention and interaction that a private tour offered.  She talked alot about the city, it's beginnings in the 1500s and things like the first modern hospital we passed along the way. 

Soon enough we approached the Guayaquil river.

We passed the Malecón 2000.  She explained that would be included in the sightseeing tour later offered by Silversea and we would also explore parts of it after the cable car ride.

The tallest building in Guayaquil called The Screw.

Once across the river in Duran we didn't venture far from the cable car base as it isn't the best area for tourists.  There was a bathroom available at the cable car station for those that need one. 

We got back on and made the return trip across the river all the while Corina talked about more than I could ever recount in this post.  It was all very informative.

Buffet breakfast in the hotel's 'El Patio' restaurant is included. 
Hotel internet has been good enough for several wifi calls and is also included.  
Dinner last night was a burger and a couple of beers that came to $25 USD including tip.  The burger was $17 and the beers were $4 each so not bad as hotel pricing goes.
As someone who doesn't speak Spanish I've had no issues so far.

SilverSea has a hospitality desk in the hotel lobby. 

Upon entering the hotel they had us sit down and walked us through some paperwork including waivers for snorkeling and kayaking.   They also explained the schedule for the next two days here in Guayaquil and the charter flight to the Galapagos Islands.

Luggage goes through an agricultural check the morning of the flight to the Galapagos.  

In addition to the included group sightseeing tour offered at 4pm on Friday they also offered private tours at a cost.  This is private to your group with an english guide.

I cannot believe this! There has not been a @twangster blog in forever, and I am late to the party on this one. My apologies. I did not even notice it hidden here. Like everyone else, I cannot wait to follow this one. I am sure beautiful pics will follow, but more so to see and experience this cruise through you. I too have long been curious about these sailings but I don’t know if we would ever do one of these. Happy sailing my friend! 

Hotel Oro Verde two night stay is included. 

Guayaquil airport was smooth and frictionless.  Short line at immigration and outside in 15 minutes. 

Complimentary hotel shuttle. 

 
 

I flew Business Class on Copa.   Gotta say I think the US airlines could learn a lesson in service from Copa.
Both meals were better than US airlines and they took time to talk about the choices of wines and beer.   No hard liquor though.  
Their newer planes feature lay flat seating.   This is an "older" plane.

 

Waiting to take off from Panama on the way to Guayaquil, seeing the mountains of Panama makes me wonder why the French were set on making the Panama Canal a sea level waterway. 

 

They literally would have had to move mountains.  
 

Smooth flight to Panama.  
It was cloudy coming in but we crossed over from the Atlantic side to the Pacific and did a big loop around.
Flying in to Panama gave me a whole new perspective compared to cruising here.
On the Caribbean side:

Somewhere over the middle of Panama:

We did a big looping flight path to join the pattern of aircraft arriving.  That brought us around on the Pacific side so I could see the Panama Canal and the Bridge of the Americas.

Ships at anchor waiting their turn.



New locks on left, original locks on the right.  Culebra Cut in the distance.


Panama City on the right is pretty close to the locks on the Pacific side.



The Pacific coastal waters are more shallow and you could see the effect of the tide going out.  

The survey is not in-depth and quite generic IMO.  They doesn't seem they want true opinions.  I do not buy that they are having the highest ratings ever.

I've shared your experience of the differences, but never heard one bad review regarding food prep is applied to wait staff.   Although recently on Allure, when something was not right with the food, the wait staff was VERY vested making it right - offering a re-do or something else to replace..    

As Allure is the original configuration, and not as many toys as the newer ships, it seems there was a lower percentage of families with children sailing on-board the times we sailed.  This is NOT a quantitive assessment, but didn't seem as crazy as Wonder, Symphony, Oasis....  Could be the times we sailed, but seemed tamer.  Not sure if others have this subjective observation.  

It's Fly Day!  
First time flying Copa Airlines. 
Connecting in Panama to Guayaquil.    I'm hoping to see the Panama Canal from the air but it depends which way they are landing. 
Airport gate announcements were only in Spanish while so far on board they are in Spanish and English. 
If all goes well I'll be in Guayaquil, Ecuador mid-afternoon.
The hotel stay was included in the cruise cost.  

I hope you will use small words.  I can't even decipher the cruise itinerary map.  😔
SOOO excited for you.  I would be like a kid in a candy store.  Have a GREAT trip.

The itinerary:

This isn't going to be a typical cruise.  Much of this thread will be updated once I'm home.  
With typically two stops per day it's an active cruise where the focus isn't the ship with sea days to read a book and ponder life.  
While the ship may have an internet connection it's not something I plan to use like I would during a typical cruise.  
I may post an occasional update but I hope to be too busy doing other things to run this thread live a live trip report.

The Galapagos Islands are subject to a lot of tourism restrictions for all the right reasons.  This drives some of the approach to a cruise ship visit.  As a result part of the fare includes a two night stay on the mainland of Ecuador and the flights to and from mainland to the Galapagos Islands.   Basically you fly to Ecuador which becomes a staging area for the charter flight to the Galapagos islands and the return flight after the cruise.
Normally they use Quito, Ecuador to stage the arrival of guests before the cruise.  After the cruise guests return to Guayaquil, Ecuador for a port cruise staging area before flying home.  As luck would have it the airport in Quito is being closed certain days this year for maintenance.  Consequently my trip will use Guayaquil for both the pre and post cruise staging.  

The Galapagos Islands have always fascinated me.  I'm not entirely sure why I'm drawn there but it has always been a bucket list destination I wasn't sure I'd ever get to.
Perhaps it was the remote location and overall difficulty getting that added to the attraction.  Maybe it's too many National Geographic type episodes on TV or the idea of so much wildlife to see and photograph.  Maybe it's knowing Darwin himself formed so much of his knowledge right there on the Galapagos Islands.   To walk in the footprints of Charles Darwin.  Can there be a better excuse than that?
Many decades ago I once took a marine ecology course during my high school years.  It was in the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas.  Although life and my career went in another direction the exposure and knowledge acquired has stayed with me over the years.   Perhaps that opportunity so many years ago lit a small flame that has piqued my interest in a small island chain several hundred miles off the coast of Ecuador.  
This is a reboot cruise for me.  Originally booked in the fall of 2020 unfortunately the world had other plans.  As a solo cruiser SilverSea was attractive at the time since they offered a solo fare on their ship specifically built for the Galapagos Islands.  In the aftermath of the pandemic and immediate restart those Galapagos those solo fares disappeared, until I recently found one. 
YOLO!  Booked.

Wouldn't say it's "worse" - it is the only one with the original Oasis configuration.  I would agree it needs updating - would really like to see Playmakers installed.
 

Probably don't want folks taking pictures of their new Hideaway adult only beach area under construction so they grounded it.  
The other thought is that sea air probably corrodes the mechanicals a lot faster than the same balloons at Disney in Orlando and other places around the country that are inland.  Salty sea air destroys even the best stainless steel in short order.

Very weather dependent related to wind conditions.    I've done it once, but other times the breezes closed it down.  Of course could be for other reasons.   World helium supplies have been very low (hence very expensive) since the pandemic and it might actually might not be cost effective for operate at this time - that's just a guess.  

I’m hoping someone (or more) on this blog is from San Antonio as I’m looking for a few tips.  
This year I began a “Grandma/Grandchild memory trip” and since I have 5 grandchildren that means 5 trips will happen.  I started with the oldest, Gia (15) and let her choose what she wanted to do.  She chose Portland, Oregon so we spent 5 days there in April visiting waterfalls, hiking in a few awesome areas, and even drove to Cannon Beach…which was AMAZING!  I used Viator for a couple of our tours and we were quite pleased!  She keeps telling me how awesome the trip was and I am now in the process of making a memory book for her.
OK that brings me to my next grandchild!  Chloe (she will be 15 when we travel in February) has chosen San Antonio, Texas!  Lol her main reason is steak!  She LOVES steak!  😆. So I have our airfare booked (very reasonable on SWA from PVD to SAT!) and I am now trying to find a decent hotel on the Riverwalk…any help will do.  I also booked a Viator tour which includes a River cruise, 24 hour hop on hop off bus with 18 stops, and tickets to the Tower of Americas.  I bought tickets to attend the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo (she is soooo excited)!  I’m renting a car and would love to find a place to take her horseback riding (simple trail walking would be great).  Oh, the Alamo is also on our list!  How does that sound so far?
So…I’m hoping for some help on choosing a hotel…some really good restaurants for us to check out…and horseback riding place maybe with an hour’s drive of the Riverwalk.  I’ve spent hours online looking up things and a few recommended restaurants are Boudro’s on the Riverwalk and Saltgrass Steak House?  I know there are plenty of Mexican restaurants and she loves that food too so recommendations?
Thanks for any help anyone can provide.  She and I are really looking forward to this memory vacation!

Despite the show, I continue to be impressed by the skills of the skaters on such a small rink.  There are times it looks like they might end up in the front rows.

Just a follow up.  We just saw blades. I totally enjoyed the show. If you like the music, which I did, you will really like it.

Despite the show, I continue to be impressed by the skills of the skaters on such a small rink.  There are times it looks like they might end up in the front rows.