Galapagos National Geographic or Holland America?

[jjeffjb]

Anyone with experiences on both the Xpedition and the National Geophrafic ships? Can you compare the experience?

[RuthC]

Xpedition is a Celebrity line. You might have better luck asking on that board.
I don't believe HAL has any cruises that go to the Galapagos Islands.

Good luck making a decision. This sounds like a fabulous place to visit.

[woody73]

Anyone with experiences on both the Xpedition and the National Geophrafic ships? Can you compare the experience?
No firsthand experience, but we have met with and talked to a dozen or so people who have cruised on the Xpedition. Everyone we talked to had fantastic experiences, and said it was a "trip of a lifetime."

My DW researched the Xpedition, Lindblad/National Geographic, and others, and chose the Xpedition. Next month, she'll be on the Xpedition 10-night land and sea tour (2-nights in Quito, 7-days on the Xpedition, and 1-night in Quito).

Good luck on whatever you decide.

Woody

[JJPacer]

We took the Celebrity Xpedition. It was wonderful. Well organized, great naturalists, good food, all inclusive, including tips, alcoholic beverages, etc.

We saw the National Geographic ship at several of the same ports. The ship loked much more basic, not as nice as the Xpedition. The NG cruise costs considerably more. We also followed some of their tour groups on the islands. They didn't seem to be as well organized.

These are our thoughts on the differences.

[lorekauf]

We took the Celebrity Xpedition. It was wonderful. Well organized, great naturalists, good food, all inclusive, including tips, alcoholic beverages, etc.

We saw the National Geographic ship at several of the same ports. The ship loked much more basic, not as nice as the Xpedition. The NG cruise costs considerably more. We also followed some of their tour groups on the islands. They didn't seem to be as well organized.

These are our thoughts on the differences.
Great information. I also want to tell you that every time I see your avatar it makes me smile. It's so cute!

[EGCruisers]

I can't give you a comparison as I have only done the Xpedition trip. It was a trip of a lifetime and I would go back in a heartbeat. The naturalists were great and the shore excursions were wonderful. It is a very different experience than a "big ship" cruise, but we enjoyed every minute of it.
One reason that we chose the Xpedition over a smaller ship is that they have a doctor onboard and we actually needed to use her, so I was very pleased we had made that decision. Nothing serious, but something that needed treatment fairly quickly.
Another thing to check is which islands each ship goes to. Some of the smaller ships/boats don't seem to have the ability to get to some of the islands that are further away from the embarkation point, usually the Island of Baltra where the airport is.
If you have the opportunity to go to the Galapagos, don't pass it up!

[Harry1954]

Xpedition is a Celebrity line. You might have better luck asking on that board.
I don't believe HAL has any cruises that go to the Galapagos Islands.

Good luck making a decision. This sounds like a fabulous place to visit.
HAL doesn't have cruises to the GI, but they offer several packaged excursions .. on last year's WC, a couple hundred folks went on them.
harry

[RuthC]

HAL doesn't have cruises to the GI, but they offer several packaged excursions .. on last year's WC, a couple hundred folks went on them.
Might be worth looking at at least a segment some day. There are still stops on the "to do" list.

[George C]

This is on the very top of my bucket list, maybe we will do it whan I retire in a couple of years.

[jschm27]

This is on the very top of my bucket list, maybe we will do it whan I retire in a couple of years.

This is at the top of "my" bucket list too, but the wife's and her mother's lists seem to take precedence! :eek:

John

[whogo]

Does it have to be one or the other? We were glad we took a 12 passenger boat for our Galapagos trip in 1986. Visiting an island with 11 others is a different experience than being part of a parade of 48 to 90 people.

[woody73]

Does it have to be one or the other? We were glad we took a 12 passenger boat for our Galapagos trip in 1986. Visiting an island with 11 others is a different experience than being part of a parade of 48 to 90 people.
It all depends on what you want to see.

Woody

[lorekauf]

This is at the top of "my" bucket list too, but the wife's and her mother's lists seem to take precedence! :eek:

John
Happy wife, happy life:D;).

[Jade13]

We went on the Santa Cruz with Metropolitan Touring in Galapagos.

To this day is is our number one favorite vacation.

[JJPacer]

Those are our fur babies. The Papillion is sitting in my lap, helping as we check out CC!

I thought of another point about the differences asked about by OP. The National Geographic groups were quite large. Much larger than the groups from the Xpedition. A larger group would make it difficult to hear the naturalist.

I'd also like to add that some of the hikes were quite challenging. Age and physical agility will make a difference. They did offer an easier excursion and a more challenging excursion for the AM and PM. The naturalists were very helpful. My advice is to take this cruise while all body parts are working well! ;)

I'll post some of our pictures.
<https://picasaweb.google.com/110325464155216343324/2011_Thanks_Galapagos?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCN-s-56915rAIA&feat=directlink#> (https://picasaweb.google.com/110325464155216343324/2011_Thanks_Galapagos?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCN-s-56915rAIA&feat=directlink#)

Enjoy! :D

[SusieQQQ]

I went with Lindblah and had the trip of a life time! But, there is a big difference between their ships and a cruise ship. They use expedition ships which do not have the luxuries of a cruise ship.
But, I whole heartedly recommend Lindblah.

[George C]

Those are our fur babies. The Papillion is sitting in my lap, helping as we check out CC!

I thought of another point about the differences asked about by OP. The National Geographic groups were quite large. Much larger than the groups from the Xpedition. A larger group would make it difficult to hear the naturalist.

I'd also like to add that some of the hikes were quite challenging. Age and physical agility will make a difference. They did offer an easier excursion and a more challenging excursion for the AM and PM. The naturalists were very helpful. My advice is to take this cruise while all body parts are working well! ;)

I'll post some of our pictures.
<https://picasaweb.google.com/110325464155216343324/2011_Thanks_Galapagos?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCN-s-56915rAIA&feat=directlink#> (https://picasaweb.google.com/110325464155216343324/2011_Thanks_Galapagos?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCN-s-56915rAIA&feat=directlink#)

Enjoy! :D

thanks for sharing the very cool photo's

[B&J1]

We did a small 20 passenger boat & loved the small group not having to limit our time so the next group could come ashore and more personal attention. You do, however, lose all the amenities of a larger ship.....so it depends what's a priority to u. But seeing the Galapagos was a trip of a lifetime!:)

[kyriecat]

I have to agree w/ JJPacer. Hubby and I took the Xpedition Galapagos trip in Sept. 2007. We thought it was the trip of a lifetime. Fabulous!! Agree that it's something to do while all the body parts are working. We had problems with a few people who would sign up for the challenging excursions but weren't physically capable. We had an excursion that involved climbing over loose/uneven rocks and a couple using a cane and walker signed up for it. The evening before, the guides would show photos from the various tour offerings so it wasn't a surprise to anyone that the trail was very rough. I was shocked that the guides let them come on that tour since it was obvious that they would have problems. It was frustrating for us since our hike was shortened due to their inability to keep up. Several times they had to be carried over rough areas by other passengers. After that time, we made sure we were not in their group since they signed up for several of the other challenging excursions.

Hubby and I enjoyed Xpedition so much that we decided to go back in April 2013 while we are still relatively young and mobile. We experienced "dry" season in Sept so thought we'd try "wet" season so we could see the islands blooming.