Galapagos Cruises-- where find on CC?

[Fattony]

Not just about shore excursions: where on this site could I find info, including reviews, about Galapagos Cruises? I've found a new threads through searching, but wondered where to go to see all available at once. My wife was leaning towards a cruise starting and ending in Guayaquil, but I was concerned about the small ships they use going over such a distance on the open sea (sea sickness concerns), and am wondering about cruises just in the islands themselves (e.g., starting and ending in Baltra). Cruises I found out of Guayaquil so far are very expensive, though the flight between Quito or Guayaquil and Baltra is not cheap.

Will be careful in any online flight ticketing, since the airport code for Baltra (GPS) is so close to aht of Greenfield-Spartanburg, South Carolina (GSP), and landing in SC could really complicate our trip plans.

[Bowie MeMe]

The ships in Galapagos are so very small that there is very little on the CC boards about them. I have seen some on the ECO thread under special interest cruising but no activity the last few months.

My husband and I are going to Galapagos Islands in August with International Expeditions which is in Alabama. Go to their web page and you will see the tour offered. We will be on a 32 passenger boat with all meals, snorkeling or touring options, water, transportation etc. as part of the fee. You get to Guayaquil Ecuador and from there on out you are taken care of beautifully. We have not gone to Galapagos before but we have used the company for Amazon River cruise (awesome) with Macho Pichu extension and a safari in Tanzinia with Zanzibar extension.

The small boats are pretty luxerious and they do not go to the mainland. Your fare includes rt air from the mainland to meet the boat. You are allowed a bag with 43 pounds plus a carry on. This is for the small planes that land you in Galapagos.

We are so excited about this trip. The reading material and suggestions from the guides that will lead you on your walks, swims, boat rides are great. www.ietravel.com/central-south-america/galapagos-islands

Come join us and we can start a roll call! Yahoo!

[MightyQuinn]

You're in the right place right here! But you do have to do a search for Galapagos and track down every thread.

We used Ecoventura for a 7-nite Galapagos cruise back in 2005. We sailed on a small 20-passenger yacht, M/V Eric, to some of the more remote and less visited Islands. Part of the fun was doing zodiac landings accompanied by on-board naturalists. Each day was something different - whether exploring the Islands on foot, snorkeling with sea turtles, swimming with hammerhead sharks or bird-watching. We also did pre and post-cruise land extensions, including a lodge stay in the Ecuadorian Amazon. All arrangements for our Galapagos cruise and land trip were made thru Metropolitan Touring, a well established in-bound tour operator in Ecuador.

Good luck in planning your Galapagos trip. It's a magical destination.

[Jade13]

Originally Posted by MightyQuinn

You're in the right place right here! But you do have to do a search for Galapagos and track down every thread.

We used Ecoventura for a 7-nite Galapagos cruise back in 2005. We sailed on a small 20-passenger yacht, M/V Eric, to some of the more remote and less visited Islands. Part of the fun was doing zodiac landings accompanied by on-board naturalists. Each day was something different - whether exploring the Islands on foot, snorkeling with sea turtles, swimming with hammerhead sharks or bird-watching. We also did pre and post-cruise land extensions, including a lodge stay in the Ecuadorian Amazon. All arrangements for our Galapagos cruise and land trip were made thru Metropolitan Touring, a well established in-bound tour operator in Ecuador.

Good luck in planning your Galapagos trip. It's a magical destination.

We went with Metropolitan Touring as well in 2005! We were on the Santa Cruz and it is our favorite cruise to date (We love reptiles). We hope to go back. The airport was closed in Baltra for renovations, and we missed some other stops because of a volcano. The substitutes were all great.

[brazilgirl]

Fattony-

There is a "monster thread " of over 400 pages which discusses the Celebrity Xpedition cruise to the Galapagos.

Although it is a specific thread for the Celebrity cruise , it offers a wealth of info for anyone thinking of making the trip. There are discussions on weather , attire , wildlife etc.

We will be doing the Xpedition cruise in July and I have also found a great deal of info on Tripadvisor http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum...3-Ecuador.html

There is a lot of discussion about the smaller ships on TA.


Kim

[marazul]

Originally Posted by Fattony

Not just about shore excursions: where on this site could I find info, including reviews, about Galapagos Cruises? I've found a new threads through searching, but wondered where to go to see all available at once. My wife was leaning towards a cruise starting and ending in Guayaquil, but I was concerned about the small ships they use going over such a distance on the open sea (sea sickness concerns), and am wondering about cruises just in the islands themselves (e.g., starting and ending in Baltra). Cruises I found out of Guayaquil so far are very expensive, though the flight between Quito or Guayaquil and Baltra is not cheap.

There are NO cruises out of Guayaquil. All cruises involve a flight to Galapagos from Guayaquil and the cruise is there only.

[Fattony]

Thanks for the info. Xpedition cruises sold out for July, the month we were interested in (yes, it is last minute, especially in terms of such specialty trips), but will keep looking, and even consider it, or another ship, for next year. Lonely Planet guide does caution that, while July is low season (one other site said otherwise), and the daytime temps are pleasant and rain low, the water is also colder and seas potentially rougher during the island-to-island passages than during the high season.

[Jade13]

Originally Posted by Fattony

Thanks for the info. Xpedition cruises sold out for July, the month we were interested in (yes, it is last minute, especially in terms of such specialty trips), but will keep looking, and even consider it, or another ship, for next year. Lonely Planet guide does caution that, while July is low season (one other site said otherwise), and the daytime temps are pleasant and rain low, the water is also colder and seas potentially rougher during the island-to-island passages than during the high season.

We went in July and there were no problems. Contact Metropolitan Touring as they own multiple ships in the Galapagos. They can arrange a package with the flights to Baltra.

[dileep]

Originally Posted by MightyQuinn

You're in the right place right here! But you do have to do a search for Galapagos and track down every thread.

We used Ecoventura for a 7-nite Galapagos cruise back in 2005. We sailed on a small 20-passenger yacht, M/V Eric, to some of the more remote and less visited Islands.
Good luck in planning your Galapagos trip. It's a magical destination.

We used Ecoventura too in 2008. Their small ship (20 people) was one on few that went to Genovesa Island where you see red footed boobies. We were on the Letty.

[greyhound101]

We are using Ecoventura in just a matter of days. Suggest you check out www.tripadvisor.com go to Ecuador Forums and there is much information. BUT FIRST go to www.ecoventura.com and check them out. We booked a year ago and they have been great with correspondence, and they are even customizing the menus to meet our dietary needs. As you probably saw two other posters here have used Ecoventura, and frankly Dileep above put me over the top when it came time to make our decision. Ecoventura also provides pre-and post cruise adventures if you are interested.

[Bowie MeMe]

Just got a promotion from International Expeditions and they looked like they had July openings. Google International Expeditions Galapagos and the page will pop up. We did the Machu Pichu extension with them from the Amazon River cruise and everything was wonderful. A fascinating trip. We are going to Galapagos Islands with International Expeditions in August Come go with us

[Bowie MeMe]

Oh by the way don't need visas, shots, or malaria pills for Galapagos. They use the US $ as their money.

[dileep]

Originally Posted by greyhound101

We are using Ecoventura in just a matter of days. Suggest you check out www.tripadvisor.com go to Ecuador Forums and there is much information. BUT FIRST go to www.ecoventura.com and check them out. We booked a year ago and they have been great with correspondence, and they are even customizing the menus to meet our dietary needs. As you probably saw two other posters here have used Ecoventura, and frankly Dileep above put me over the top when it came time to make our decision. Ecoventura also provides pre-and post cruise adventures if you are interested.

Glad to be of help. Enjoy your cruise!

[MightyQuinn]

Originally Posted by Bowie MeMe

...Google International Expeditions Galapagos and the page will pop up. We did the Machu Pichu extension with them from the Amazon River cruise and everything was wonderful. A fascinating trip. We are going to Galapagos Islands with International Expeditions in August ...

We went to Galapagos with Ecoventura and arranged everything thru Metropolitan Touring in Ecuador. But we also have first-hand experience with International Expeditions. They are an award-winning nature travel company that offers a first-class experience in many destinations. Maybe not as close on the ground as some local operators, but they do provide superb guides, excellent accommodation and unbeatable itineraries. Definitely worth a look.

[dileep]

one hour long video of our experience
http://www.vimeo.com/10895446

[clarkovitch]

I really wouldn't worry about using the smaller yachts in the Galapagos - the quality is good and because you have a dedicated guide aboard with you, I think you get much more out of it than you do on one of the larger cruise ships - these can't dock at most of the islands anyway so you have to transfer to a smaller boat to go ashore for all the island visits.

There's also the fact that the smaller yachts are much more environmentally-friendly, which is very important in such a fragile ecosystem...

[Bowie MeMe]

I agree with the OP. The rules and regulations for entering the Galapagos Island Reserves are very strict and if the rules are broken the ship is not allowed back in the reserves which effectively sinks the business. All the ships must follow the schedule and itenerary set forth for that ship with no exceptions. The guides are under the authority of the Reservation. All the tours and arrangements come to a group of certified boats/guides and so I think the experiences would be very similar. The billing experience, food selections, yacht ammenitites might vary some on the surface but basically the seller of the trip rents the boat for the week and the boat delivers the product. The organizer puts it together, does the customer billing, advertising, insurance etc and can bundle in pre and post trips to one package. I did not know this on my first trip with eco tours but I do believe that this is the way the business works. You need a trust worthy group as they pay off the boat.

I am really looking forward to our trip in August -- hard to imagine what we will see but I bet it is going to be wonderful.

[jms2362]

Originally Posted by clarkovitch

I really wouldn't worry about using the smaller yachts in the Galapagos - the quality is good and because you have a dedicated guide aboard with you, I think you get much more out of it than you do on one of the larger cruise ships - these can't dock at most of the islands anyway so you have to transfer to a smaller boat to go ashore for all the island visits.

There's also the fact that the smaller yachts are much more environmentally-friendly, which is very important in such a fragile ecosystem...

On Cruise Critic go to Celebrity connections board. Then go to Expedition, then go to first thread (it is over 400 pages of people who have gone on this mega yacht to the Galapagos Islands and all of their experiences. This trip on the Expedition is all inclusive you only pay one time for the cruise fare. We are doing an 11 day trip starting in Quito Ecuador, then fly to baltra to get on the boat. Our fare is $3,499 each for a trip in this coming December. Celebrity owns the yacht and it will hold up to 90 people, but they book less than that on this boat. They have several naturalists onboard to have one in each zodiac (panga) boat for the 2 different tours each day. You fly from Quito on a charter airplane to Baltra, Galapagos. Starting Sept of this year the Galapagos National Park changed routes for all boats that go on tours in the Galapagos Islands. They did this accoring to what I have read is to conserve the islands and animals and birds. The environment there is so fragile and probably it will come about that we will not be able to go there. They have very strict rules for the boats and visitors to the islands. Read the threads I have mentioned and you will not believe how much useful info you get from thousands of reviews from people returning from this trip.

[4spring9]

My MIL & 2 sons leave in about 2 weeks for the Galapagos. They are using GoAhead tours & stay in Quito before & after. They are on a larger ship I believe, so they probably have to be ferried to the islands. If you want any info on their itinerary, let me know & I'll write out some specific.

[ddcruisers93]

Thank you for the info. We are thinking of doing the Celebrity ship in a couple years.