Galapagos Xpedition anything to spend onboard credit on?

I am looking into a Galapagos cruise on the Xpedition and have an offer that includes $750 of onboard credit.

 

Also - do all cruises include the 2 nights pre-cruise and 1 night post cruise? So if I am booking for a cruise that leaves on a Sunday, I should find flights arriving to Quito on Friday and departing Monday?

I am looking into a Galapagos cruise on the Xpedition and have an offer that includes $750 of onboard credit.

 

Also - do all cruises include the 2 nights pre-cruise and 1 night post cruise? So if I am booking for a cruise that leaves on a Sunday, I should find flights arriving to Quito on Friday and departing Monday?

 

There is very little you can use OBC for on Xpedition; it is pretty much an all-inclusive experience. The only possible use of OBC I can recall is a small gift shop and massages (if you are Elite or higher in Captain's Club you might receive a free massage as a perk). There is not a full spa, excursions are included, gratuities are included, beverages (including booze) are included, no specialty dining etc. etc. The travel agency I booked with offered as a perk $750 credit towards airfare (only negative was it required use of Choice Air to redeem - generally I prefer to book my air direct with the airlines, but for $750 I did opt for Choice Air).

 

Not all Galapagos cruises included the pre/post night package, but I do recommend the 10 night package. Celebrity does a good job with the logistics of this; booking the 7 night on your own would not save you much money and would involve a fair amount of work and some hassle. Yes, you would fly in Friday and leave Monday with the 10 day package for a cruise departing on a Sunday.

 

Galapagos was one of my best vacations; amazing experience.

Don't they charge extra for scuba diving? I believe there is an upcharge if you want top shelf liquors or a bottle of wine....maybe you could drink your way through the Galapagos? If nothing else and it's not refundable, give the crew a great tip....don't just leave it for Celebrity. If the OBC is from your TA, then it's refundable so don't worry about it....

Don't they charge extra for scuba diving? I believe there is an upcharge if you want top shelf liquors or a bottle of wine....maybe you could drink your way through the Galapagos? If nothing else and it's not refundable, give the crew a great tip....don't just leave it for Celebrity. If the OBC is from your TA, then it's refundable so don't worry about it....

 

I believe scuba diving is only available through an outside vendor; the ship offered to help link anybody interested to the vendor on the sailing I went, but I think (though am not certain) payment is made direct to the vendor rather than to one's on board account. Not sure if there was top shelf liquors or wines available for charge; if so I did not notice it and never observed anybody take advantage of such an option. The selection of wines/beer/liquor was much less than of a normal Celebrity ship, but not bad considering the size of Xpedition; I particularly enjoyed the local beer they had on tap but was not in love with any of the wines or spirits available (though they were adequate). I should have inquired if some higher ends brands were available, as I would have considered paying for better red wine with dinner and/or whiskey at the bar).

Go for any extra days Celebrity offers. They do an amazing job of it. Quito is a fabulous city and Ecuador is a very interesting country with wonderful people.

 

The gift shop has really nice expedition wear, zip off pants, shirts to match, hats. Not sure you would want to blow all that money on that.

I am looking into a Galapagos cruise on the Xpedition and have an offer that includes $750 of onboard credit.

 

Also - do all cruises include the 2 nights pre-cruise and 1 night post cruise? So if I am booking for a cruise that leaves on a Sunday, I should find flights arriving to Quito on Friday and departing Monday?

 

Be very careful booking flights if your flights leave around midnight....some folks have booked the wrong days by accident. Check the calendar on Celebrity's web site for the days...don't try to figure it out yourself. And yes, do the 10/11 day option with Celebrity...they take care of everything and at the altitude of Quito, you don't want to be carrying luggage around, etc.

Expedition was our best cruise ever. Wish I was in shape and could afford to do it again. If they are still using the Marriott Hotel in Quito they were top drawer. This was not my first trip to Quito and yes, it is an interesting city.

My travel agent gave me a credit back on my credit card after my cruise in place of OBC since there is nothing to spend it on...

My travel agent gave me a credit back on my credit card after my cruise in place of OBC since there is nothing to spend it on...

My TA also gave me a credit.

Be very careful booking flights if your flights leave around midnight...

Especially note that the DL flight from Quito that arrives in ATL a little before 6am leaves on different days depending on whether the US is on Daylight time. When it is winter in the US and not on Daylight time, the flight arriving ATL Tuesday morning leaves Quito 30 minutes after midnight Tuesday morning. When the US is on Daylight time, the same flight leaves 30 minutes before midnight Monday evening. This trips up a lot of people...

You could spend a little OBC on laundry. I think laundry and a hat were my only charges. I didn't see anybody purchase upgraded liquor.

 

Agree with the rest - definitely worth doing the 10-day Celebrity option (and I'm a DIY person in general).

We had an OBC for booking onboard. Used it for internet. Also, tbe gift shop had a sale on local jewelry so I now have a silver, turtle necklace!

My TA diverted the OBC from this cruise to a different one, because she knew I wouldn't be able to use the OBC on Xpedition. You can buy massages, and there is a small gift shop (with NO blue-footed-booby items!) -- but you will be hard-pressed to spend money on alcohol because the wine flows very freely (and if you ask, bottles suddenly appear in your cabin!) and likewise the cocktails of the day. [bTW, the cruise is absolutely worth it!!!]

We booked on board for OBC then transferred to the big box TA we usually use. We used the X OBC on the cruise we were on. The TA said we would receive a gift card to use on a future purchase instead of their usual OBC. You may want to check with your TA to find out what they suggest.

I doubt that anyone could EVER use that level of OBC on an all-inclusive Galapagos.

 

Our cruise was a few years ago. If they still have the same supplier, the T-Shirts offered in the little gift shop were first-rate quality. As I recall, they weren't cheap, but if you're looking for souvenir gifts, these T-Shirts were really, really nice.

 

We also purchased some silver jewelry and ceramic tile art while on board. However, these items were not from the gift shop. One morning, local vendors came on the ship and set up retail space. Their wares were extremely popular, and sold out quickly.

As has been said, EVERYTHING was included...tips, drinks, Internet, excursions...and, being Elite Plus, we each got a complimentary massage...

 

There really wasn't that much in he little gift shop I thought worth buying...

 

Work a deal with your TA to put it on another booking or cash you out in some other way...

 

As to the 10 day thing, we did that but also booked an extra night pre-cruise at the Marriott and flew in an extra day early...so we were very relaxed...pretty much had two days on our own in Quito before the festivities started. Did the HOHO bus...which took us all the way up the hill to the angel statue--something the included tour doesn't do...Might have also had time to do a private tour to the Volcano, but opted to do some shopping and rest at the hotel instead...

 

We did our air through Choice Air...Same choices in flights and same price...only real difference is Celebrity was involved in the whole thing...

Flying n early, we did have to arrange our own taxi from the airport to the hotel...only about $25, no big deal...

 

Enjoy...great trip.

We (four of us) flew in 10 days early, rented a SUV, and spent time at Otavalo, Riobomba, did the Devil's Nose train, etc. Xpedition travelers are encouraged to leave extra baggage at the Marriott during the cruise since luggage is tendered to the Xpedition. Given this, I asked and the Marriott stored our "beach" luggage while we were in the Highlands, and our hiking clothes while we cruised. Made logistics much easier for us.:)

 

Thom

Definitely the gift shop had some very nice tshirts, wish I had bought some rather than thinking there would be more elsewhere, also the Baltra airport had things worth looking at.

 

We only had a couple of vendors come on board, too bad there weren't more.

 

I wish Celebrity would have more opportunities like the Xpedition, so amazing, so well organized. Truly like camp for adults, expensive camp but worth it.

 

Thats a good new topic.

Edited January 5, 2016 by norwegianwood57