Galapagos on Eclipse A&K, Tauck's Isabella 2 or Nat Geo Islander

All hold 48 people. Sounds like Eclipse/ A & K rooms are bigger as Nat Geo Islander is around 120 and Eclipse is around 175 or 180 Sq Feet....I am guessing all food is the same level and naturalist are all level 3. So what's the difference? All seem high end but prices really range.....I would like to go this year!

Please let me know your good and bad! thanks. jo

We went on Celebrity last August & we would rate everything as excellent.

We went on Celebrity last August & we would rate everything as excellent.

What is the difference with going with Celebrity with a capacity of about 90 and the smaller ones with less capacity. Not being a wise guy but I am interested in seeing the Galapagos and would like information.

If you are looking for extra safety, amenities, stability, and more options for visits, panga rides and snorkeling, larger ships may be the ideal way to visit the Galapagos. The Galapagos National Park sets a limit on ships to 100 passengers and on-land tours to 16 people per group.

Celebrity Xpedition does have 92 to 96 guest - for tours the guest will be made up in groups of 16 - each group with a professional naturalist as a guide.

The bigger ships does offer more spacious and often more comfortable standards in service and accommodations, for example, most have a buffet style breakfast and lunch, with dinner served in a more formal atmosphere.

Often, there will be greater variety in choosing when to disembark for the islands and when to snorkel. Also access to internet along with intercom system announcing the day's schedule in advance. The cabins are spacious and the size of the boat provides for less rocking.

See my review at traveltogalapagos.info with links to pictures and videos. see galapagosexpedition.info for travel preparation tips .

hallasm,

Thanks so much for your review. We are planning a trip to the Galapagos & November works for us. It appears that you had good weather and saw lots of animals. We are also planning on booking on Celebrity. Would be interested in knowing which sites you visited after you left the ship.

Jan

We found the weather in November very pleassant - did have light rain Friday morning - other days clear skies and 20C (68F) to 25C (77F).

Pre- /post-cruise we did stay in Quito - here is a link to my Quito Review.

3 days prior and 4 days after - city tour as well as Otavalo Market and Cotopaxi Volcano.

We did choose to stay in Quito due to the relative long traveling from Denmark.

If November 2014 you better have to make your reservation now - selling out fast.

Thanks so much for all the information you have provided. It is much appreciated! We are not going in 2014 but hopefully in 2015 so lots of time for planning.

Jan

Thanks for the wonderful website you set up. We will be on one of those small 16 passenger boats in late May 2014. Rooms have twin bunk beds and are nowhere as luxurious as NatGeo or Celebrity, but we have private bathrooms. I hope the waters will be relatively calm or I'll be on seasickness meds 24/7.

We are sailing the "Western" itinerary and more than half of our stops are "wet landings". From your experience, what is the best type of footwear for those occasions? We have the "Teva" sandals, are those okay for the more volcanic islands? Did you have any problems with mosquitos?

We did use our Keen sandals for all landings - I found them fine for the volcanic islands as well. Our tour was in November - no mosquitos, however it was at the end of the dry season - I would expect mosquitos in May, which is at the end of the wet season - but not 100% sure. Enjoy the

Hard to find any cruise critic threads on Galapagos cruises other than the larger ships such as Celebrity Xpedition. There is quite a bit more info on Trip Advisor. I am so excited as we have booked our return flights to Quito for end of January 2015. Just finalizing details to book an 8 day cruise. Looks like it will probably be Coral I and II (20 and 36 passengers) for their combined Western and South Eastern itinerary. :)

we just cruised on M/V Eclipse from May 3 - May 10 in Galapagos. First the good: excellent guides (especially Martin); very will organized activities; good food; professional and accommodating passenger support staff (with one exception noted below). The Galapagos Islands are fascinating and beautiful.

Second, the bad: some of the cabins on the lowest deck have a serious noise problem that the cruise company has not been upfront in disclosing. There are two water treatment machines on the ship; one is under cabin 12 and the other is under cabin 11. One of the machines is running at all times and if it is under your cabin, it is similar to sharing your cabin with a fast-idling city bus. The cruise director handled the noise problem in a clumsy and offensive manner. Definitely do not book cabins 11 or 12 and it is possible other surrounding cabins on the lowest deck are also affected. The cruise company should be providing full disclosure about this issue to anyone who considers booking these cabins -- in fact, this problem is so bad they should get a written acknowledgement and consent to an excessively noisy cabin before selling these to anyone. It will be hard for you to enjoy all the good things this ship has to offer if you cannot get any sleep!

Interested in doing Celebrity for 2016 and wondering what the difference is between Inner Loop and Outer Loop?

Interested in doing Celebrity for 2016 and wondering what the difference is between Inner Loop and Outer Loop?

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1504555 Follow this link to all things Xpedition (Celebrity). Lots of info including discussion on their 2 routes.

Got it down to these two ships in May 2015. Any suggestions? Best cabins or worst cabins info? Have Islander cabin 303 and Isabella cabin 30? Any words of wisedom as I have both of these on a 24 hr hold......jo

We are on the Tauck Peru and Galapagos tour on the Isabella II, cabin 9 departing on Sept 9. Will report back when we return. We have high expectations of the service that will be provided by Tauck but know that the cabins will be somewhat spartan.

We did MP A FEW YEARS BACK. We were on a regent cruise an went into Lima. After mp! Amazing. I can send u a few pics. Can't wait to hear about the Galápagos Islands!

would love to hear about your trip to the Galapagos on the isabela....we are leaving May 24....very excited...anything you would have done different?