Silversea Endeavour Review - My Arctic Experience
- ParadoxTravel
- 4 days ago
- 19 min read
Updated: 22 hours ago
A Luxury Travel Review of the 2025 Baffin Island and Greenland Arctic Cruise Itinerary
This year I turn 60! How in THE heck did that happen? So Nic and I decided to celebrate in our favorite way - with luxury-adventure travel. So I picked three extraordinary trips to celebrate this milestone year. And our trip with Silversea to the Arctic was one of them. Many of you have already read a review I wrote about my first experience with Silversea in the Antarctic. It's a trip I truly recommend everyone experience once in their lifetime. And when you do, the Antarctica and South Georgia itinerary (IMHO) is a 'must'. That being said, this time we went north because having been to Antarctica, we now had to see the Arctic region and all the wonders it had to offer. And of course, Silversea was out first choice.
On this cruise, we also had our first trip on the Endeavour - one of the brands newest and most modern ice-class cruise ships. And let me tell you, this ship is something else! Below, I do my best to cover our ship experience, my thoughts on the itinerary and all the on-board experiences we loved. And....share a truly remarkable experience I didn't think I'd be fortunate to have on this trip. So, since I like to provide a lot of honest details, this post is a bit longer read - perhaps best suited over Sunday coffee. But when you're ready, let's me tell you about our fabulous arctic adventure on the Endeavor.
NOTE: we paid for this cruise entirely on our own and were offered no incentive for this review. As with all my reviews, this is simply my experience and information I wish to pass on, to make it that much easier for readers looking to travel to this area. And... (because I get asked frequently) except where noted, all photos were taken by me with my Iphone 14)
So..how is it since the Royal Caribbean takeover?
So before we jump in, let's address the 'elephant' in the room and one of the most common concerns I've read from Silversea loyalists. Royal Caribbean finished its ownership buyout of Silversea in 2020. And the rumor mill turned on with full fury."Was it going to become a homogenized brand? Would the level of service decline? And, and, and" ....the Silversea fan club was definitely concerned. Well, although I'm a relative newbie, I've been on a Silversea cruise both before the acquisition, just after the acquisition and more recently, 5 years post acquisition. So let me assure you that although it may have been a bit 'bumpy' in some areas of the transition, this most recent trip not only had the same level of service and excellence it had before, but in some areas it was even better.
The first most obvious improvement was leading up to the cruise. The detail and frequency of preparatory pre-cruise information was so much better. In the past, it felt like pulling teeth to get a few simple questions answered. On this trip, any email questions I had were answered quickly. AND I even got a personal phone call from a really nice representative (Raymond) before the trip, to see if I was excited and had any last minute questions. I love that! The second reassurance I can give you is on the service quality. Silversea won my heart on my first pre-RC cruise because of it's signature effort to know the passengers by name and their genuinely friendly interaction. Immediately post-RC acquisition, there was perhaps a bit of an adjustment period for all staff and this area may not have been as stellar on that particular cruise. But this most recent trip on Endeavor (5 years post-RC takeover), they are back in stride and I felt as special and as 'seen' as I did on my first voyage. And that level of interest in passenger enjoyment was a throughline the entire voyage. Rooms service was delivered promptly, nothing was too small a task for any staff member to respond to and everyone just looked....happy! Nicely done.
Pre/Post hotel and charter flight
This years arctic cruise started in Nuuk, Greenland, crossed over to Canada and went up the east side of Baffin Island. Then we crossed back over to Greenland and returned to Nuuk via the west coast. But our journey really began in Montreal. This is where Silversea provided an overnight hotel stay at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth hotel on both ends of the trip, as well as a private charter flight between Montreal and Nuuk. My husband and I opted to get our own flights to Montreal, but the hotel was included as part of the port-to-port package. This hotel is lovely, has a terrific location downtown and offers a nice coffee shop and market-style cafe. The room that came with the port-to-port package was fairly standard - a basic Fairmont room with very comfy beds. The stay included a breakfast buffet provided by Fairmont which to be honest, wasn't that memorable to me. On the return, I chose to skip it. This was our first time in Montreal. So we booked (through Silversea) one additional pre-cruise night in the same room. They were able to get us a much better price than what was offered online at the time. We spend the day prior to our departure walking old town Montreal.
TIP - We typically arrive two days ahead of cruise departure to leave room for any baggage mishaps, flight delays and to see the local area.
The Charter flight was with Chrono Aviation and the transportation to/from the plane was handled smoothly, and at reasonable hours. Because it was a private charter, we didn't have to go through the Montreal international terminal again. We simply went directly to a small waiting area near the plane. The plane seats themselves are standard economy plus size. But they put two people in a row of three seats, leaving the middle seat vacant so there's more room. There is a meal served on the flight. But it's not a Silversea level of meal. It was a simple hot wrapped sandwich served with side rice dish and plastic cutlery. But I saw this more as a reflection of the Chronos Aviation, than Silversea.
Silversea was very organized with their pre and post-cruise logistics, which I can only imagine is as daunting a challenge as the cruise logistics itself. When you check in at the pre-cruise hotel, they are very clear about which boarding group you are in and how to handle baggage. There were two flights, about 4 hours apart. This certainly made navigating Nuuk's small airport and boarding the ship a lot faster and smoother. We were unpacked and able to make dinner by 7pm. However the second flight group arrived and got to their rooms really late. The same happened on the return: a reasonable hour of departure, well-organized with entertainment and food provided to fill the time. But there were two flights on the return as well. We were again lucky to be on the first flight. But although the time change was in our favor this direction, it was almost 9pm by the time we were back and checked into to our hotel room. So the second group was obviously much later. I'm not sure there is really a better solution for this given the time zone change, the size of the arrival airport and Silversea's commitment to smooth onboarding. And I'm not sure how they select who goes on which flight. But I did notice that many in the first group had early return flights the next morning. So perhaps this was a factor. However, Nuuk is a rapidly growing port town. So I wouldn't be surprised if Silversea eventually builds there own pre-expedition hotel there one day, like they've done in Puerto Williams for Antarctica.
The Endeavour
Okay, let's get to the fun part! Where do I begin? Sleek, modern and thoughtfully designed, this ship is quite fabulous in many areas and the decor is quite beautiful. On this ship the general layout and decor were a nice upgrade to previous ships we'd cruised on. In lieu of the large lecture and briefing auditorium I'd seen on previous ships (which were rarely full), the smaller Explorer Lounge served as a cozier option for the nightly pre-dinner recap. In addition, this ship allocates more space for the spa and gym, as well as the fantastic addition of the Arts Cafe - a sort of lounge, coffee shop and snack area where guests love to read, mingle and play cards.
Here, you can get something to eat most hours of the day, take your pick of gelato (new flavors made on ship daily!), speciality coffee or hand crafted cocktails. We were lucky (?) to have a room on the 5th floor, just a few steps away from this delightful cafe. If my waistline serves as testimonial, I typically can resist over-indulgence. But....the fresh pastries, the mini potpies, the small serving dishes of empanada, peach cobbler, sliders and mini-slices of key lime pie...well, let's just say my typical self-control went out the nearest porthole by the second day. The Spa, gym and the Grill restaurant is also on the 5th floor. So although it has the fewest rooms, I personally thought this was the best floor to be on.
The observation lounge itself was beautifully decorated. But because of the ships design, the best views are from the scattered sofas and chairs on the side of the lounge. Nonetheless, this area was the hub for trivia, late night socializing and even a chocolate party (complete with chocolate martinis!) one night.
Dining and Drinks
On Endeavour, La Dame restaurant is larger, the main restaurant is more beautifully decorated and Il Terrazzino - although its main dining room is small and some tables are oddly situated in the hall entering the main dining area - is really quaint on this ship. Another difference on Endeavor was that the Grill restaurant is enclosed in floor to ceiling glass windows. I admit, part of me missed sitting open-air in an odd mix of dinner attire and down parka eating my hot-rock steak in the cool air. But it also was nice to sit comfortably and view icebergs floating by as I ate my perfectly cooked lobster and ribeye. The main dining room is punctuated with velvet chairs and modern chandeliers and we enjoyed several delicious meals there. If you can't find something you like on a particular days menu, the chef will make you something else. Just ask.
One new addition on this cruise (to me) that I really enjoyed was the wonderful champagne brunch we had on one of the sea days. Complete with caviar, seafood, sushi, steaks, sweets as well as a brunch menu from which you could order freshly-made items, this was an unexpected and thoroughly enjoyable treat!
So since we're speaking of food, a big question I see asked on different travel forums is,"Is La Dame worth paying extra for?". Well, based on our experience on two expedition cruises where the additional price was $60 per person ($120 USD total), my answer is a resounding YES! However, I've also heard that other ships charge far more. And I don't know if the menu differs. But we enjoyed our meal so much the on our first expedition voyage, that we reserved a table on the first day restaurants were available to book for this cruise. I suggest you do the same. Granted, considering how great our meals were at all the other included restaurants, if the price had been higher we may opted to save our money for something else. But we did have a lovely meal at a price point we felt comfortable with. And as a testament, we even considered booking a second meal on the same voyage as one of the courses was truly sublime.
However, food and dining is such a individual, opinionated subject that whatever I say will no doubt get disputed by someone. But to us, the food was fabulous. Granted, I don't hold the same expectation for cruise ship dining as I do for a city restaurant. But everything we had at each restaurant was delicious. And the variety of dishes offered was pretty amazing. Were some dishes a bit over-seasoned, needed more of one thing or less than another? Sure, maybe a few times with a few items. But even 5-star luxury cruise lines are run by imperfect humans. So to me, when I'd hear occasional, unsolicited knit-picking about some tiny part of the meal, I couldn't help but wonder who it was really was serving. Voicing chronic dissatisfaction may give some people a sense of power and 'recognition' for their 'vast culinary knowledge'. But for me, I was a happy diner the entire voyage. Below are some of my favorite meals.
The Guest Rooms
The guest rooms on Endeavor are beautiful and far better equipped for modern technology. Our room was a deck 5 Classic Veranda suite. We didn't need an adapter as there were USB outlets as well as outlets suitable for several types of plugs throughout the room. The desk area was well-equipped and there was reading lights on the headboard and ambient lighting behind the sofa. The bed and linens were so incredibly comfortable, we struggled to get out of them for early excursions! The bed frame itself is elevated on this ship. Which means you can store luggage underneath the bed, leaving more room in the closet. The closet is large with ample hangers and drawer storage for two people. And you'll probably be discovering new cupboards and hidden sliding drawers in many areas of the room throughout the entire voyage. In fact, there we so many hidden places to store things, that I forgot where I put things as I was repacking at the end of the trip!
Each room had a set of binoculars, a stocked mini-fridge (with whatever you want, just request it in advance), glassware, an espresso machine, hairdryer, lotions and hair product.
While we're talking about the bathroom, holy cow - the shower! The rain shower head in our room was better than almost any luxury hotel I've ever been in! Perfect temperatures, strong pressure and much larger than I remember having on other ships.
TIP - If you want easy access to the gym, the spa, the Arts Cafe and the Grill on the Endeavor, deck 5 is for you. If you are a hot tub person however, you want deck 6. The only working hot tub on the Endeavor during this arctic voyage was on the front of the ship, deck 6. This is only floor you can walk from your room to the hot tub in your robe without passing through common areas.
TIP - If you book a 5th floor room early but don't select a specific room number, you may get an upgrade as more guests booking closer to departure want that same room level.
TIP - Keep in mind that most suites are the same size and layout. Many of the pricier rooms are simply for a higher floor, until you get up into the larger suites. So compare square footage when selecting a room. Higher floors feel the 'sway' of a ship more when water is rough. So keep this in mind if you are prone to seasickness.
The Gym and Spa
On the Endeavor, more space has been allocated for both the gym and the spa. We used both and loved it. The gym in well-equipped with a few machines, a good set of hand weights and plenty of room for bar or mat work. I used the spa twice, both for massage treatment and a facial with Asanda and both were wonderful! There's even a nice relaxation area, dry sauna and steam room available for use.
TIP - any guest can access the relaxation area and use the sauna or steam room without having a treatment booked.
TIP - for some reason, the internet is stronger in the relaxation area. (AND, they have these really tasty chocolate truffles that I rarely saw elsewhere on the trip. Shh.)
Amenities and WiFi
The pool and one of the hot tubs were not available on this Arctic Voyage. The pool was covered to allow for more indoor seating at the Grill, and so the hot tub in the same area was also closed. However, there's a second hut tub at the front of the ship on Level 6. It doesn't get service (unless you ask your butler). But it was quite enjoyable the two times I went. And we had it to ourselves. The only downside is that the only access to this hot tub is through the L6 guest hallway. Which meant I had to walk through the Arts Cafe in my robe to get to the stairs/elevator to access it. Not a big deal for us. But if you're a hot tub lover and are a bit shy, get a room on level six.
The basic Wifi was free to access for each guest (no limit on devices) and you could pay extra for premium. But unless you are needing to stream something, the basic Wifi on Endeavor was good enough for email, social media and research.
TIP: Certain times of day are busier than others. Meal times and early morning had quickest Wifi response. There are also some areas of the Arctic circle that there is little to no satellite coverage, even if you pay for premium.
The Laundry room and mud room are both huge on Endeavor! There are several washers and dryers freely available for passenger use, as well as irons, ironing boards and detergent.
The mud room has boot / glove warmers and every suite was assigned a small locker.
Gear / What to Pack
Since our cruise was in August, I initially wondered if an Arctic cruise would be as cold as our Antarctic cruise we did in December. It was. And I'm glad I brought the layers I did. Here's why. Although the ambient air temperature was rarely below 40 deg F by the displayed thermometer, once on the water and in a zodiac, it was much colder There was more humidity on this arctic voyage and it was windy, foggy and drizzly at times. This made our zodiac experiences a lot colder. The provided parka had a thermal layer inside. But I also wore a smart wool base layer and additional sweater underneath. I also had two layers under my rain pants, brought goggles (that I actually wore 2-3x) and thick gloves.
TIP- Check your day-by-day excursion itinerary. For this particular cruise, there were mostly zodiac cruises or dry dock landings. There were only 1-2 times that we did a semi-wet landing. So for this particular cruise, we opted not to rent or bring traditional thermal boots as we had in the Antarctic. Instead, we wore a thick pair of socks with waterproof hiking shoes and packed these waterproof boot covers. (FYI - I don't get paid a commission for this. This is simply what I ordered and used). This combination is not as warm as the thick neoprene boots you can rent. But it was warm enough for me for the zodiac rides. I even did a water landing and a few short hikes using them, and they held up just fine over my hiking shoes. The biggest bonus is that they were very packable and saved room and weight in my luggage. So something to consider if your itinerary doesn't have a lot of water landings.
The Service and the Staff
I don't need to spend too much time on this subject, as the service and staff were again excellent. Our experience on Endeavor was truly representative of the Silversea 'signature' guest-oriented service style. All the staff made intentional effort to greet us individually by name (no small feat even with digital/photo assist in many places), we were continually checked on and although we're not overly demanding passengers, every request was made to feel easy.
We were assigned a really nice butler (Marco) and room steward who provided twice a day room servicing, taking time to fold clothing items that were left out, wrapping charger cords and keeping us updated on the days events. There were several small touches and sweets left each night at turn down. I'm probably not the best resource for 'how to optimize your butler'. We're pretty self-sufficient and didn't have many usual needs or requests other than popcorn for a movie night. But I got the impression they can do just about anything for you.
The expedition staff was fantastic. They all were engaging, knowledgable and just looked like they enjoyed their work! I was also so impressed by the level of effort each guide made in their daily presentations. The education topics varied from landscape to geology and from local culture to social awareness. On this cruise in particular, I was really impressed by the courage many of the staff had to speak on challenging social topics in front of a mixed group of strangers. But what they shared was relevant, important and brought to light the reality and complexity of our history as humans.
A Special Honor
My husband and I are moderately social and enjoy meeting people on cruises as well as talking with the staff. On this particular trip, we had many pleasant interactions with the hotel director Oliver Dsouza - including my husband sharing some of his trip photos with him so he could send them to his family. Over the course of the 15-day voyage we interacted with Oliver several times. And so we were pleasantly surprised when he invited us and one other couple to join him and the director of fleet service excellence, Hoda Msabri at the farewell dinner. We both felt honored. The menu itself was of course superb, with the chefs coming out to our table to check on our enjoyment. And the conversation was easy, approachable and sincere. Both Oliver and Hoda have such interesting backgrounds and different reasons for choosing their careers with Silversea. Yet they both shared a common dedication to service, luxury and personalized experience. They both were also very interested to hear of our experience (and in case you're wondering, I don't tell anyone I am a travel writer while I'm on the cruise, because I don't want any special treatment), and they were very receptive to ideas and easy to converse with. It was one of the highlights of our trip.
TIP - Another really interesting experience was getting a bridge tour with the captain and his crew. Just ask your butler to arrange it. They do it in small groups a few times during the voyage.
Setting Expectations - Arctic vs Antarctic
So as I start to wrap this up, I want to set some expectations about what to expect on Arctic expeditions compared to Antarctic expeditions, specifically related to wildlife viewing and land excursions. That way you can appreciate and enjoy all that your arctic experience offers, with less comparison - which as we all know, is the 'thief' of joy.
The Antarctic - Here you will see lots of penguins, several whale species, sea lions and an abundance of aquatic life. And you'll see them up close! In fact, if South Georgia is on your itinerary, you will be no doubt surrounded by them as soon as you hit land. Many of the king penguins and sea lion pups come right up to you! This is because very few people live in the Antarctic, so they have no reason to fear humans. In addition, most of the land animals either are not life-threatening to humans, or move slower than we can run. (Ex: sea lions are known to chase you, and can bite you, if you get too close). In addition, there are fewer and less stringent regulations about how close you can get to land creatures. Obviously, a respectful, non-threatening and unobtrusive distance is honored by most guests and staff. But you can get some amazing, closeup wildlife shots in the Antarctic.
The Arctic - By now, you probably know there are no penguins this far north. But here you have an opportunity to see walrus, certain whale species unique to the area, narwhal and of course polar bear! But this also means that land excursions are understandably limited in areas where bears can be found. Any land hikes you do in the arctic are short, pretty easy and close to shore. And they're accompanied by armed polar bear spotters. But bear sightings are few and far between and a good distance.
In addition, Inuit people still live and hunt in the Arctic. Although there are enforced regulations around sustainable hunting and fishing, you understandably won't see pods of whale or sea creature swimming as freely and opening as you do down south. AND...to add to that, wild-life distance regulations have changed in the last few years to protect both humans and certain species in the arctic - including northern Canada, Greenland and Svalbard. Which means once spotted, cruise ships and zodiacs are prohibited from getting too close to locations where walruses or bears are hanging out. Polar bears are fast on land and great swimmers! So all of this combined means not only will you not see the abundance of wildlife you do in the Antarctic, but you'll need good binoculars and a zoom lens to capture photos of the ones you do see. The photos above were with cameras with a long zoom lens. Most phone cameras only magnify up to 20-25x max. My Iphone photos of polar bear looked like white blobs on a rock. But don't let this discourage you from exploring this region! The Arctic has fabulous landscape to enjoy and a cultural aspect you don't get in the Antarctic. So when you book your Arctic cruise with Silversea, go to embrace the the landscape and to learn about the environment and a new culture. Then when you do spot polar bear, arctic fox or whale it will be the 'icing on the cake'. And if you're really lucky like we were, you might even see Narwhal! After decades of reading about and watching documentaries on these near mythical creature, this truly was a thrill of lifetime for me.
The Itinerary itself
So although this arctic experience was terrific overall, there were a few disappointments related to the itinerary itself. Below (on the left) is a map of the initially planned itinerary. And next to it (on the right) is what we ended up doing.
As many expedition cruises can go, Mother Nature had her say in the matter and fog and late summer icy conditions altered much of the plans on our initial itinerary. The expedition leader of course did a terrific job at finding alternative stops and places to explore. And we did have a few fabulous weather days as we got further north. But a few of the advertised stops on the planned itinerary were greatly anticipated by the passengers, especially those who like my husband were landscape photographers. We specifically selected this cruise and itinerary to photograph certain locations that are difficult to access by land - namely Auyuituq National Park and the UNESCO world site of Ilulissat. So when it was announced twice on the voyage that late summer icy waters prevented the ship from getting into these areas, the entire ship was pretty quiet with disappointment. There's nothing that can be done about how much ice a large, active glacier dumps into an area on any given day. So..
...this trip was gentle reminder that when we can let go of expectations (or at least loosen my 'grip' on them), an entirely new and wonderful experience may emerge. And for us on this trip, it was the experience of seeing narwhal!
And lastly, because we started in Nuuk, Greenland and crossed back over to Canada, the ship had to go through Canadian customs. Silversea staff stepped up and collected all of our passports and did this mundane task for all the guests while we stayed onboard and enjoyed the ship. Nice touch. But the procedure took 4-5 hours! So after already spending a day at sea to get there, and then finding out we had an extra sea day added to our itinerary because of a late-notice land-access closure and the fog and ice limitations...this delay was another mildly deflating aspect of this particular arctic itinerary. But we moved through it and viewed it as gentle reminder that Life (or any true adventure) goes perfectly.
The Takeaway
Overall, Silversea as a luxury expedition cruise line is exceptional. The Endeavour as a ship is exceptional. And the staff and service are exceptional. And although I'd recommend different expectations for any arctic itinerary, than you'd have for one in the antarctic, the arctic region truly is beautiful. We are already researching a future trip back to see the southeastern part of Greenland and Svalbard.
My overall rating on this expedition cruise
NOTE - a 10/10 to me doesn't mean perfection. There is no such thing when human beings are involved. So for me, it represents a standard of consistently striving for - and delivering - excellence.
Food - 10/10
Staff - 12/10
Service 12/10
Room - 10/10
Ship - 10/10
This specific itinerary / weather - 7/10 (as described above)
Pre/Post hotel (Fairmont) - 9/10 (rooms were nice, but standard breakfast buffet provided by hotel was 'average'.
Charter flight (Chronos) - 8/10 (seating was roomy but standard and the food was just 'okay'.
Overall: 9.75 (because the staff and service made up for any lower scores!)
Happy Travels!
If you'd like to preserve Greenland's beautiful landscape, support the study of climate change effects and protect it from excessive environmental exploitation, please check out the Greenland Climate Research Center and the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources
Feel free to check out some of our other travel itinerariesÂ
from all other world! As well as our experience in the Antarctic.
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