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Nobody asked us for them, but we did have print outs of our policy in case we needed them. I was injured on a trip in Peru a few years ago and needed full medical evacuation (luckily all covered by our insurance!), so I'm definitely a strong advocate of having it for these kinds of trips!!

Others definitely brought their own masks, and one couple did have their own wetsuits. We didn't eat outside, although sat in the 2nd deck bar area before and after dinner. Most nights we were moving locations and there was a lot of motion, so that might have made it more difficult to set up meals outside for our group.

The transit card you get at the Quito airport and they will check in when you board (but not at security, which is how we got to our gate without them and had to go back out to the terminal).. There's a desk near the airport entrance that issues them. You can apparently put the information in online in advance, but either way you havr to go to the desk to pay ($20 each I think) and get your card. Then there's a luggage screening area (kind of hidden behind a wall) where you go next. We weren't checking bags, but still had them screen and tag them in case we had to gate check. The park entry process happens when you land in Baltra ($100 each, cash only!!), and you'll be routed through that before you can exit.

I had lots of similar questions! Here are my thoughts: 1. Most of our days were warm and sunny and it generally stayed warm at night, but we typically spent the evenings in the dining room rather than outside (except for 2 nights when we went to the top deck to stargaze). I had a light hoodie I usually wore but definitely didn't need anything warmer. Quito was pretty warm as well, but we just had the one day there so it might vary. We traveled from northern California in our usual fleece jackets, but we didn't use them again until we flew home. The water was a little chilly, but fine with the wetsuits. 2. Yes, and you can choose short or long sleeved, or even full body. We were fine with the shortie option. You'll get fitted for them on the first morning along with your mask and fins and then it will be ready on the deck for you each snorkeling trip. 3. There was no space under the bed, but there was a closet as well as several drawers. I was able to put my carry on rollerboard under the desk/vanity area, but I'm not sure where something larger would go. 4. We saw penguins (including in the water with us) but not flamingos. The birds were amazing though, especially on Genovesa Island the last day. 5. We arrived on our own, but we flew to Baltra a day early and stayed on Santa Cruz for a night because we didn't want to risk missing the departure if we had flight delays. We actually did have some issues leaving Quito because we were confused about getting our tourist transit cards and getting luggage screened, but we ended up making our flight just fine. The other solo travelers did the same thing. Once back at Baltra, the Celebrity reps were there and they reimbursed us for the cost of the transit card and park entrance fee (it's included in the Celebrity pricing, but they can't pay it for you if you aren't on the pre-cruise tour). They got us back to the airport as well. 6. We were fine with trail sneakers instead of full hiking boots. I used Keen water sandals on wet landings, but I used sneakers for all the dry ones. We otherwise just wore long sleeve hiking shirts or rashboards and long hiking pants everyday, as well as our sun hats. I brought shorts and short-sleeve tops, but I only wore those on the boat when I could be in the shade. I was also happy to have 2 swimsuits because we usually had 2 snorkeling activities per day and I hate getting into wet swimsuits. I brought a clothing line with clips to dry clothes each night, but it was tricky to find a place to hang it. 7. I'm sure you will have a fantastic time!

Just got back from the Northern Loop! As noted above, experience was unreal and we're still trying to process everything (did I really snorkel with a hammerhead shark 5 days ago???). We also had some rough seas, but the Captain was great about explaining what was going on and we all adjusted pretty quickly. We had fantastic food, service, and naturalists and were amazed by everything we saw. There were only 13 of us on the boat, so it was fun to get to know everyone and feel like a family by the end. It feels like it's probably hard to make a wrong choice about a Galapagos cruise, but this was perfect for us. Happy to answer any specific questions about route, cabins, activities, etc.!