Galapagos Advice Sought

We have a 2017 Celebrity Xpedition Galapagos cruised booked. Looking for advice. Price actually looks pretty good for 10 day trip with 8 day/7 night cruise. But some say better experience is on smaller yachts, 16-32 passengers that are of course more expensive.

Thoughts?

Also want to do Macchu Pichu but that is very expensive on Celebrity. Has anyone done this at a reasonable price either before or after with a private tour operator?

Thanks in advance.

JackN

In general I will say that almost every Xpedition cruiser I have met have been extremely happy - and I have met many people who have cruised on smaller ships which have not been that happy - not saying that is no good small ships out there, but Xpedition is a safe choice.

Also I'll recommend the 10 day tour with hotel in Quito and transfer included. No risk for being delayed

I have not done Macchu Pichu.

I can share some of my experience - preparation is the key to a sucessful cruise.

Preparation for the cruise

Xpedition revieew

Quito pre- post-stay review

We have been twice on the Xpedition. This past January, and 10 years ago when they first started sailing. There is no comparison. This latest trip was very poor compared to 10 years ago. Most people have only been once so negative comments are not appreciated. The food was terrible and the overall attitude of the staff is not what it was.

The Galapagos are being very developed. Tourism has grown And is ruining what was once a very pristine place.

Frankly for what they charge now, I would consider an around South America cruise, or Tahiti. Just our opinion...it is a lot of $$$$$, not worth it at this point. We were disappointed . The ship is not owned by Celebrity.

We took this cruise last year on the Celebrity Expedition. I can't compare it to previous Galapagos cruises or to other Celebrity ships. We have cruised with Azamara, Oceania (favorite), Ponant, Princess and HAL and on several smaller non-mainstream ships.

I thought the Celebrity X cruise was well organized with good food. The cuisine is Ecuadorian and international. The crew is from Ecuador so is all the food stuff. The islands are a national park which controls the itineraries to avoid overcrowding in particular spots.

Since we don't snorkel and would never swim in this ice cold water, we did not fully take advantage of all the options available. A land tour is a better choice for us, but we are glad we did the cruise. We saw lots of huge land tortoises, lots of nesting frigate birds, lots of sea turtles, lots and lots of Galapagos fur seals, and many other birds and animals, all of them close up.

We took the 10 day package and were glad we did. It gave us a chance to see Quito without having to arrange extra tours. We went to Machu Pichu on a different trip with a company called Escaped to South America. They gave us a better price, adjusted the itinerary to our wishes and we had personalized tours, most of them for just the two of us.

Instead of going to Peru on this trip, we stayed in Ecuador for an Amazon trip organized by the Napo Wildlife Center, a wonderful lodge which offers unique wildlife viewing (rare and endangered giant otters!). The remote lodge is located in a beautiful and pristine environment. It still has modern comforts like your own room and bathroom with a hot and cold shower. On demand electric water heater!

We found all Ecuadorians and Peruvians to be friendly and helpful! I tried out my very basic Spanish.

We are thinking of visiting the Galapagos in 2017. At what time of the year did you see the animals as listed? Many thanks!

It was September.

We are thinking of visiting the Galapagos in 2017. At what time of the year did you see the animals as listed? Many thanks!

https://www.tribelr.com/posts/when-s-the-best-time-to-visit-the-galapagos

In September, we saw the giant tortoises return to the highlands on a ranch where we had lunch (ship excursion). They were resting and walking on the gravel road and in the grass around the ranch restaurant.

We are considering to do the 10 days itinerary with the Expedition. We have been already in Quito so we are doing it for the Galapagos cruise. It is however very expensive and we are not really sure it us worth it. Any advise is welcomed. Thanks.

As I wrote before: If you like to snorkel and swim, this is a great cruise. If you are like me, a land trip is better.

We took the 10 day package and were glad we did. It gave us a chance to see Quito without having to arrange extra tours. We went to Machu Pichu on a different trip with a company called Escaped to South America. They gave us a better price, adjusted the itinerary to our wishes and we had personalized tours, most of them for just the two of us.

Sorry to bump up an old thread, but I'm wondering if you have a URL for that company? I googled and found Escape to Peru and Escape to Latin America - wondering if it's the same or not. Of course, could be no longer existing, so.....

Husband has a wild hair to go south of the equator. I've always wanted to see Machu Pichu, possibly Galapagos....Starting to think about ideas. Thanks!

We have been twice on the Xpedition. This past January, and 10 years ago when they first started sailing. There is no comparison. This latest trip was very poor compared to 10 years ago. Most people have only been once so negative comments are not appreciated. The food was terrible and the overall attitude of the staff is not what it was.

 

The Galapagos are being very developed. Tourism has grown And is ruining what was once a very pristine place.

 

Frankly for what they charge now, I would consider an around South America cruise, or Tahiti. Just our opinion...it is a lot of $$$$$, not worth it at this point. We were disappointed . The ship is not owned by Celebrity.

So sorry to hear this, as our excellent experiences were in Jan 2009 and May 2010 and the ship and crew it was made it even more special.

Recently i was looking at present rates and they relatively r in the same ball park as our 10 day trip.

The reason I booked with X in 2008 was 1. I would not lose my deposit if I cancelled and 2. I received a 10% discount because I was Diamond on RCI.

I did not research any other companies at the time because X could accomplish my goal which was to see the Galapagos with the least amount of effort on my part....I enjoyed X so much I returned with my Children, DH said once was enough...

OP and others Go look for the giant Xpedition thread part 3 I think it is, I looked at it about a month ago and some of the people r still posting from the years i went ...a wealth of info

BTW did anyone notice my avatar a marine iguana the most amazing animal ever on my second trip my wish came true i was able to swim with and photograh one underwater.............amazing

.......... I will say one word for MP and Cusco.......Altitude Sickness!!!!!!!!!!!!

First of all X's add on was/is expensive... but does it really it give you enough time to acclimate?

I am one who does not care to be away for more than 2 weeks because i think at that point my body needs a break......

Through my travels of escorted land, sea and river cruises, i have seen to many people who r usually 10-20 years older than me try to pack to much into one trip and fall ill.....when this happens they miss out...just sayin'

Anyway in 2010 I flew to Lima and did a 2 week escorted tour with 9 travelers which included the highlights and Lake Titicaca.

And if i remember correctly the trip was not much more than what X charged for their short add-on even with my RT air from CA.

Lima is really a country to explore...I selected a tour that showed the regional diversity and learned how the organizations of the Andes differed greatly from the Europeanized Creole culture of Lima.

Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley, hiking part of the Inca trail, etc...were all very interesting but by no means were the highlight of my trip.

Now back to altitude sickness even on our slower paced trip 5 of us had it...some had to stay back at the hotel and miss some excursions.

and another positive about Xpedition, they offer 3 types of excursions at each location...on a small ship you would not get those choices.

Excursions that stayed in a panga touring the islands often saw more wildlife than those of us who landed and hiked in.

All inclusive drinks was great and so was having grats included.

Pretty much a no brainier trip in my opinion....the 2 trips were certainly not my trips of a life time....but it is all relative isn't it????

Okay that is enough of my opinion but you asked....L;)ri

OMG just saw that the post above all of mine me was a bump...and this thread started in 2015...oh well...enjoy........

OMG just saw that the post above all of mine me was a bump...

To be fair (to me) it wasn't a "bump" - I was asking a question about something that was posted in the thread earlier, since CC doesn't offer private messaging. But thank you for 6 posts on your experiences. If we opt for a cruise, I'll read your reviews in more depth.

To be fair (to me) it wasn't a "bump" - I was asking a question about something that was posted in the thread earlier, since CC doesn't offer private messaging. But thank you for 6 posts on your experiences. If we opt for a cruise, I'll read your reviews in more depth.

Yes..i saw that but u used the word bump;);)

and here I was just coming in to check out info about a cruise I am taking around the horn and could not resist responding....

Since this is such an old thread I would suggest you look at the poster's profile and see if they have posted recently and if they have go into the roll call or thread and ask them there.

Enjoy...L:)ri

have posted recently and if they have go into the roll call or thread and ask them there.

I don't think a thread a year old is all that old (considering some of the things I've seen resurrected over the years....)

Yes, Floridiana is an active poster. But I'm not going to disrupt another thread that isn't anywhere on topic to ask about a tour operator at Machu Picchu:rolleyes: [i've seen her posting in river cruises and Fashion/beauty - neither having anything to do with this, so....]

I did use bump. Oops.

Oh how I wish CC allowed messaging.....

Sorry to bump up an old thread, but I'm wondering if you have a URL for that company? I googled and found Escape to Peru and Escape to Latin America - wondering if it's the same or not. Of course, could be no longer existing, so.....

 

Husband has a wild hair to go south of the equator. I've always wanted to see Machu Pichu, possibly Galapagos....Starting to think about ideas. Thanks!

Not sure if you're found this or not, but here's the URL for Escaped:

http://escapedtoperu.com/

We just returned from a trip to Peru that we booked through Escaped. I would highly recommend this company.

We went to Machu Pichu on a different trip with a company called Escaped to South America. They gave us a better price, adjusted the itinerary to our wishes and we had personalized tours, most of them for just the two of us.

Not sure if you're found this or not, but here's the URL for Escaped:http://escapedtoperu.com/

As I noted, I did find Escape to Peru. However, my question was whether or not it's the same or different from Escape to South America that Floridiana mentioned last year.

I am glad to hear that Escape to Peru was a nice option, though:D

I checked my e-mails again. We traveled with Escaped to Peru / Escaped to Latin America "Be Inspired by Travel"

Toll Free USA / Canada 1-800-305-6543

I just read a negative review. The person who wrote it had excpected a full time round the clock tour guide. If somebody wants that, they have to book with one of the large providers like Tauck, Gate 1 etc.

Escaped to Latin America does an individualized itinerary for you. Even if you take their suggested itinerary, you will travel alone with local guides, sometimes in a small bus or boat with other individual travelers (city tour in Cusco, Lake Titicaca), sometimes in a large bus or train with other individual travelers (Cusco - Puno, train and bus to Machu Picchu ), most of the time you are alone with your personal local guide.

None of our drivers spoke English, all guides did and we always had a guide except on our breaks for which we had asked specifically before the itinerary was finalized. It's like a trip you arrange for yourself, but somebody does the bookings of hotels, transportation and guides for you.

It's like a trip you arrange for yourself, but somebody does the bookings of hotels, transportation and guides for you.

Thanks for the follow-up - glad to know it is the same company. I'm usually a DIY traveler so those sort of options sounds great - might even be too much, but we're just in dreaming stages now - trying to figure out what we might want and what our options are in different price ranges. My husband said "I haven't been south of the Equator" and that got us on a roll.....In South America, the only things I really want to do are see Machu Picchu, Galapagos, and drink wine:p We'd also been talking about Antarctica, so....So many places, so little time (and not an unlimited budget, so.... :eek:)

Hoyaheel,

We had booked our own flights and the guide in Puno called the airline to confirm without us telling him to do so. In Peru, they still call airlines to confirm your showing up for the in-country flight.

I think you should add Iguazu Falls to your list. We did this on our own. We booked the flight to the Argentinian side from and back to Buenos Aires and the hotel, that was it. We used taxis and the public bus on site. Our hotel (St. George) called the taxis for us. Americans usually stay in the Sheraton which is right in the park but much pricier. My Spanish is about 50 words and phrases.