This coming Friday, I was supposed to be boarding a jet bound for Ecuador, where I would board the new Silver Galapagos. However, about two weeks ago, Silversea Cruises presented me with an offer that I could not refuse: Would I consider cruising instead to Antarctica on Silver Explorer?
I’d look forward to an opportunity like this one for as long as I can remember. Galapagos could wait. Antarctica was calling. It took me all of two seconds to say yes.
The backstory. After some wrangling, Silversea’s public relations department had managed to accomplish the unthinkable: convince the company’s controllers to open space for media. Understandably, Silversea wants as many revenue guests on its sailings as possible, so giving up coveted space for journalists wasn’t high on the priority list for the number-crunchers. To this day, in fact, no journalist has ever been invited on Silver Explorer’s always-full Antarctica sailings.
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Two slots were granted for the December 2 sailing, Voyage 7326. I couldn’t make that one because of a commitment to A-ROSA and what promises to be an enjoyable Christmas Markets Cruise on the Rhine River. So instead of being the first journalist to sail to Antarctica on Silver Explorer, I’ll be the second when Voyage 7327 begins on December 12.
I’m reading lots about Antarctica and gearing up for an exciting adventure. I hope you’ll join me on our sister site, Live Voyage Reports, beginning December 12 for what I can only imagine will be the adventure of a lifetime: a voyage to the end of the earth on Silver Explorer.
An avid traveler and an award-winning journalist, Ralph Grizzle produces articles, video and photos that are inspiring and informative, personal and passionate. A journalism graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ralph has specialized in travel writing for more than two decades. To read more cruise and port reviews by Ralph Grizzle, visit his website at www.avidcruiser.com
