Then it’s off to dinner, perhaps a soak in the hot tub on an upper deck, a group sing-along with the piano player, and bed, before another island experience the next day. Back on board, after the day’s adventures are done, they dress up before delivering surprisingly engaging lectures about the islands, accompanied by cocktails and addictive bar snacks. Perhaps its greatest asset is its deeply knowledgeable, deeply passionate expedition guides, who take you onto these strange and wonderful islands via the Zodiacs-always using a sailor’s grip!-to share their expertise about the archipelago’s creatures, landscape, ecology, and history. What the Silver Origin never does is divert guests’ attention from the true star of the show: The Galápagos themselves. Once aboard, we found an avowedly unostentatious style of luxury: A comfortably expensive atmosphere of low-slung seating and a palette of beige and taupe and cream, with lots of brassy accents generous deck space for leisurely alfresco lunches 51 cozy suites, each of which comes with a balcony and a butler a hardworking little gym and a spa with a terrific masseuse a stargazing platform that is also a prime vantage point for those epic Galápagos sunsets, not to mention the occasional dolphin sighting or distant lava flow. Returning from an adventure among the blue-footed boobies and sea lions, we would be greeted with a smile from Juan Altamirano, my ship’s hotel director, and a drink that always seemed to be what we needed right then: a perfect hot chocolate or a fragrant canelazo, a traditional drink from the Ecuadoran Highlands made with cinnamon and cloves. It looked like a sanctuary, and that’s what it proved to be, unfailingly, throughout our weeklong voyage. By then, the crisp white lines of the ship’s eight decks had transformed into a mere frame for the windows’ reflected drama of the cloud-flecked sunset over calm Pacific waters. Squalls on San Cristóbal, the easternmost island in the Galápagos, meant my fellow guests and I couldn’t reach the Silver Origin until dusk, after a full day of travel that had begun in Quito. Eleven-night cruises from $19,450 per person. Spend your days hiking snow-dusted landscapes dotted with snoring sea lions and a cacophony of emperor penguins hang out by the heated indoor pool with a fresh juice from the detox bar or simply while away your day in the light-filled Observatory Deck while vast bright blue icebergs float silently past the panoramic windows. The ship herself is a joy to experience: The public spaces are layered with custom-made furnishings-some with book-filled shelves and black-and-white photographs of the polar regions-and the staterooms are polished bolt-holes with tactile natural materials, curvilinear walls and ceilings, and concealed lighting that creates a warm ambiance. The French cruise brand’s first Polar Explorer, she is kitted out with some superlative technology that promises minimal impact on the environment alongside a suite of exclusive offerings, from a promenade deck that has benches heated by recycled energy to a fine dining restaurant created in partnership with Alain Ducasse. Leave it to Ponant to up the ante with the unveiling of Le Commandant Charcot.
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