Silver Origin Cruise Ship

This Epic Cruise to the Galapagos Gets You Up Close to Penguins, Sea Turtles, and Reef Sharks

"On the Silver Origin, the first site-specific expedition ship from Silversea my fellow shipmates and I saw the sorts of juxtapositions that set Darwin's brain awhirl — penguins swimming alongside tropical parrotfish, sea lions playing with reef sharks. We even got a glimpse of the archipelago's Wolf Volcano erupting on the equator, beneath the North Star and the Southern Cross. Every one of the Silver Origin's 51 suites comes with butler service, and the ship itself exudes what Silversea CCO Barbara Muckermann describes as "whisper luxury" (breezy white curtains, low-slung couches, gallery-size prints by Silversea partner photographer Steve McCurry). The ship claims to have the islands' highest guide- and Zodiac-to-guest ratios. Led by Silversea's expert naturalists, almost all of whom are Galapagueños, we saw the iguanas that inspired the 1998 Hollywood remake of Godzilla; climbed into collapsed calderas that looked like the crowns of giant ogre kings; and floated on the tide in the company of 30-odd green sea turtles. This was beyond a bucket-list trip; it was a life peak." - Travel + Leisure Editors