Cruise review of recent Galapagos cruise

[4774Papa]

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=686633&et_cid=3500453&et_rid=17221689&et_referrer=Boards

 

[NouCruzer]

Thank you for the review.  Very helpful since we depart in 2 weeks on Flora.

[catspaw1]

3 hours ago, NouCruzer said:

Thank you for the review.  Very helpful since we depart in 2 weeks on Flora.

Thanks for an excellent TR- really enjoyed it as we have been wanting to go there. We are very active seniors & wondering if given the large expense on celebrity,  if you would recommend doing this with another tour operator?  We  are bluewater sailors. lived full time on our sailboat for 7 years while cruising, are experienced advanced PADI divers & very active. Your comments would be greatly appreciated. We can also stay at the Marriott & have airline points so no need to incur that expense. We are wondering if the other guests would be as active? Or if we would be happier on a smaller less expensive cruise 

[Lastdance]

I will definitely miss my cruise on Flora; we were leaving home on 5/25, but needed to leave for Michigan for my dad's celebration of life, in early June, to accomodate family from all over the place.  I am hoping to try again in the future, but have so many other cruises booked.  

 

Thanks for sharing your review, as I know it is an exceptional cruise, unlike any other offered!

Edited May 14, 2022 by Lastdance

[4774Papa]

58 minutes ago, catspaw1 said:

Thanks for an excellent TR- really enjoyed it as we have been wanting to go there. We are very active seniors & wondering if given the large expense on celebrity,  if you would recommend doing this with another tour operator?  We  are bluewater sailors. lived full time on our sailboat for 7 years while cruising, are experienced advanced PADI divers & very active. Your comments would be greatly appreciated. We can also stay at the Marriott & have airline points so no need to incur that expense. We are wondering if the other guests would be as active? Or if we would be happier on a smaller less expensive cruise 

I compared Celebrity with other cruises of the Galapagos as well as tours.  All the cruises were expensive.  We found a very affordable tour of Ecuador for several days that included three days in the Galapagos, but not on a cruise.  The tour included days in the Amazon, Quito and coastal region.  It was less than half the price.     I am glad we did the 7 day cruise, since we got to see several islands and I believe far more wildlife than on a three day land tour.

 

Not sure about sailing yourself to the Galapagos.   We were told that the government limits the number of people that are allowed to visit the Galapagos.  

Another issue is arranging for all the COVID19 tests.  We had two at the Marriott arranged by Celebrity and one at the Marriott before we flew back to the USA.   Cost was included in the tour/cruise package.

 

 

[Dancing Shoes]

1 hour ago, catspaw1 said:

Thanks for an excellent TR- really enjoyed it as we have been wanting to go there. We are very active seniors & wondering if given the large expense on celebrity,  if you would recommend doing this with another tour operator?  We  are bluewater sailors. lived full time on our sailboat for 7 years while cruising, are experienced advanced PADI divers & very active. Your comments would be greatly appreciated. We can also stay at the Marriott & have airline points so no need to incur that expense. We are wondering if the other guests would be as active? Or if we would be happier on a smaller less expensive cruise 

Celebrity's ships and another line are the "bigger" ships that sail in the Galapagos.  We sailed with them in 2010 on the Expedition.  I did a ton of research and found information over on Trip Advisor.  You pay for what you get I believe.  There are operators that have smaller vessels at lower and higher prices.  You want to make sure that the guides that they employee to take you onto the islands speak good English.  Read up about the food too.  I wanted a larger ship so I could get away from the crowd if I wanted.  I liked that Celebrity had the full package with hotel and a charter flight to Baltra to meet the ship.  As for active guests, you get to choose which activity you want to do each time.  Also, there is a timeline for what to expect each month of the year.  We went in March.  Good luck and happy planning.

[catspaw1]

10 hours ago, 4774Papa said:

I compared Celebrity with other cruises of the Galapagos as well as tours.  All the cruises were expensive.  We found a very affordable tour of Ecuador for several days that included three days in the Galapagos, but not on a cruise.  The tour included days in the Amazon, Quito and coastal region.  It was less than half the price.     I am glad we did the 7 day cruise, since we got to see several islands and I believe far more wildlife than on a three day land tour.

 

Not sure about sailing yourself to the Galapagos.   We were told that the government limits the number of people that are allowed to visit the Galapagos.  

Another issue is arranging for all the COVID19 tests.  We had two at the Marriott arranged by Celebrity and one at the Marriott before we flew back to the USA.   Cost was included in the tour/cruise package.

 

 

Our sailing days are over as we just sold our boat. 3 days in the Galapagos is not nearly enough. Do you think 7 days was enough? We are very independent travelers & only did one tour to Turkey about 30 years ago. We usually just do trips ourselves. We lived abroad for 7 years so feel comfortable getting around on our own. We were thinking of booking a smaller boat charter like a catamaran that has a lower amount of guests. Thanks for your help.

[catspaw1]

10 hours ago, Dancing Shoes said:

Celebrity's ships and another line are the "bigger" ships that sail in the Galapagos.  We sailed with them in 2010 on the Expedition.  I did a ton of research and found information over on Trip Advisor.  You pay for what you get I believe.  There are operators that have smaller vessels at lower and higher prices.  You want to make sure that the guides that they employee to take you onto the islands speak good English.  Read up about the food too.  I wanted a larger ship so I could get away from the crowd if I wanted.  I liked that Celebrity had the full package with hotel and a charter flight to Baltra to meet the ship.  As for active guests, you get to choose which activity you want to do each time.  Also, there is a timeline for what to expect each month of the year.  We went in March.  Good luck and happy planning.

Great point about guides that speak English well. We do speak Spanish but are not fluent in it so it would definitely help. We were thinking of January- March as we know that's more settled weather with warmer water temperatures.  We would like to explore Ecuador also.

[mahdnc]

15 hours ago, 4774Papa said:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=686633&et_cid=3500453&et_rid=17221689&et_referrer=Boards

 

Very well written and detailed review! I read with great interest as we are booked on Xpedition in Nov 2023. 

 

What percentage of the passengers booked only the cruise portion of the trip thru Celebrity would you say?

 

I'm curious about how your flights went. Did you book thru Celebrity? Which carrier did you fly? What time did you arrive Quito? 

 

Did you happen to remember if any scuba was offered for passengers that are certified divers? Or just snorkeling only?

 

Anything that you would have done differently on this trip?

[4774Papa]

49 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

Very well written and detailed review! I read with great interest as we are booked on Xpedition in Nov 2023. 

 

What percentage of the passengers booked only the cruise portion of the trip thru Celebrity would you say?

 

I'm curious about how your flights went. Did you book thru Celebrity? Which carrier did you fly? What time did you arrive Quito? 

 

Did you happen to remember if any scuba was offered for passengers that are certified divers? Or just snorkeling only?

 

Anything that you would have done differently on this trip?

1) Not completely sure but I believe all or almost all took the land tour as well as the cruise.   We had a chance to socialize with about half of the 45 passengers and all of them did the tour as well.

2)  We live in Georgia and fly Delta almost all the time.  We didn't book airfare with X, but could have and still received skymiles.   We still  had a pickup arranged by X at the Quito airport when we arrived.  We arrived in Quito in the early evening (it was dark, but not late).  The one negative to flying Delta was that the return flight departed Quito at 1130 PM and was an overnight flight.  I never sleep well on an airplane.

3) Scuba was not offered, doubt if you could do it on our cruise.  The snorkeling was great.

4)  We booked the cruise a bit late, probably could have saved  $$ if we had booked earlier.  Still, X had a 20% off sale, which helped a lot.   Not sure we would have booked it without the sale.

[normalite]

1 hour ago, mahdnc said:

I read with great interest as we are booked on Xpedition in Nov 2023. 

mahndc:  I'm excited for you that you have your trip ahead of you.  You will love it!  We were on the Xpedition last September 2021.  Here's a post I made after the trip which may answer some or your general questions.  

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2809377-xpedition-trip-report-northern-loop-sept-18-25-with-pre-cruise-tour-in-quito/

To answer your specific questions:

1)  I agree with 4774Papa, most of the travelers took the land tour.  We did not for reasons explained in the trip report.  We didn't have very many passengers on board so it was still very easy to get to know most of the other passengers while on your Galapagos hikes, etc.

2)  We did not book through X but through our own TA.  We are from central IL, so flew American Airlines from Chicago via Miami to Quito.  Arrived around 9 pm.  Coming home, we flew a Delta overnight flight from Quito via Atlanta to our hometown.  It was convenient to fly right into our hometown after an overnight flight and the cost was comparable to other airlines.

3)  Our experience was the same as 4774Papa's--snorkeling only.

4) I have a few "what I would have done differently" in my trip report if you're interested.  There are also pictures of our program in the report that covers what we did each day.  I do not know if those stay the same each cruise.  We were on the Northern Loop, so obviously the Southern Loop is different but the general info remains the same.

 

You will have a wonderful trip-of-a-lifetime adventure.  Enjoy!!!

 

Edited May 14, 2022 by normalite

[sippican]

1 hour ago, catspaw1 said:

Our sailing days are over as we just sold our boat. 3 days in the Galapagos is not nearly enough. Do you think 7 days was enough? We are very independent travelers & only did one tour to Turkey about 30 years ago. We usually just do trips ourselves. We lived abroad for 7 years so feel comfortable getting around on our own. We were thinking of booking a smaller boat charter like a catamaran that has a lower amount of guests. Thanks for your help.

 

FYI - we are committed DIYers. We''ve done trips all over the world independently.  

When preparing to do a trip to the Galapagos in 2018 I researched the heck out of options (including the extension to MP).  

Keep in mind that the Galapagos National Park has very strict licensing rules. The number of guests in any given spot, the duration of the visit and the number of times a place may be visited are extremely limited. Many small tour operators do not have the permits or capabilities to visit some of the outlying islands.

We choose the Xpedition (before Flora) for a number of reasons - the number of guides and passengers allows for a nice variety of options each day, you could be as active as you wished, or sit on deck and enjoy the scenery, the number of stops/ports (this is extremely important - all packages are not created equal), the types of experiences offered; hiking for all levels, zodiac tours, kayaking, snorkeling from beach or advanced, cultural opportunities, previous reviews, etc. The fact that X takes care of you from landing to leaving was a huge factor when traveling to the GI.   I can't imagine anyone thinking the trip may be too sedate for them. We originally thought that we would travel to Peru and MP on our own following the cruise. After tons of research, we added the extension with Celebrity. No regrets whatsoever!

 

Is seven days enough - heck NO! We returned in October of 2021. It is one of the few places that I'd never get enough of. The experience was so different and just as magical. We chose Xpedition again, this time only 40 passengers onboard. 

 

If we did not have so many other destinations on our bucket list, I would love to return again, and again.

 

You get what you pay for, A trip like this is not the place to cut corners.

Edited May 14, 2022 by sippican

[catspaw1]

1 hour ago, sippican said:

 

FYI - we are committed DIYers. We''ve done trips all over the world independently.  

When preparing to do a trip to the Galapagos in 2018 I researched the heck out of options (including the extension to MP).  

Keep in mind that the Galapagos National Park has very strict licensing rules. The number of guests in any given spot, the duration of the visit and the number of times a place may be visited are extremely limited. Many small tour operators do not have the permits or capabilities to visit some of the outlying islands.

We choose the Xpedition (before Flora) for a number of reasons - the number of guides and passengers allows for a nice variety of options each day, you could be as active as you wished, or sit on deck and enjoy the scenery, the number of stops/ports (this is extremely important - all packages are not created equal), the types of experiences offered; hiking for all levels, zodiac tours, kayaking, snorkeling from beach or advanced, cultural opportunities, previous reviews, etc. The fact that X takes care of you from landing to leaving was a huge factor when traveling to the GI.   I can't imagine anyone thinking the trip may be too sedate for them. We originally thought that we would travel to Peru and MP on our own following the cruise. After tons of research, we added the extension with Celebrity. No regrets whatsoever!

 

Is seven days enough - heck NO! We returned in October of 2021. It is one of the few places that I'd never get enough of. The experience was so different and just as magical. We chose Xpedition again, this time only 40 passengers onboard. 

 

If we did not have so many other destinations on our bucket list, I would love to return again, and again.

 

You get what you pay for, A trip like this is not the place to cut corners.

Thanks for the feedback.  We too are DIY. Did a 18 night's self tour in Peru & MP  & glad we did it on our own. We too have traveled around the world - without tours. It requires a ton of research  & dedication but I actually love the planning. In Peru, it really helped that we speak Spanish but we are not fluent. I'm glad there is a lot of very active excursions because that's what we want. We didn't think 7 days would be enough as we love to watch the wildlife. We would book right now but are watching COVID. We do sail on the Summit in June so will see how that goes before we decide. We would do the other cities in Ecuador on our own. Can we do just the cruise & charter air only? We don't need air from US  or the Marriott as we have tons of points. Thanks for your helps insights 

[sippican]

5 hours ago, catspaw1 said:

Thanks for the feedback.  We too are DIY. Did a 18 night's self tour in Peru & MP  & glad we did it on our own. We too have traveled around the world - without tours. It requires a ton of research  & dedication but I actually love the planning. In Peru, it really helped that we speak Spanish but we are not fluent. I'm glad there is a lot of very active excursions because that's what we want. We didn't think 7 days would be enough as we love to watch the wildlife. We would book right now but are watching COVID. We do sail on the Summit in June so will see how that goes before we decide. We would do the other cities in Ecuador on our own. Can we do just the cruise & charter air only? We don't need air from US  or the Marriott as we have tons of points. Thanks for your helps insights 

 

You would need to get in touch with Celebrity to discuss options. For the Galapagos portions, they have 10 or 11 day packages that include shuttle from Quito airport, hotel, tours of Quito and surrounding area, meals, shuttle back to Quito, charter to Baltra, flight back to Quito, additional hotel night, and shuttle back to airport. We did our own air from US. I am aware you can do the cruise-only portion, but must get yourself to Baltra. If you make your own arrangements, and miss the ship, you are out of luck. On our second trip we skipped the Quito Tours but enjoyed the experience of getting to know our fellow passengers during pre-trip meals. Galapagos Desk #(866) 973-8466.

[Mj17ak]

Enjoyed your review of your Galapagos adventure.  Ours starts on Saturday, 28 May.  One question for you… were snorkel vests provided by the ship for snorkeling?

[4774Papa]

On 5/22/2022 at 11:00 AM, Mj17ak said:

Enjoyed your review of your Galapagos adventure.  Ours starts on Saturday, 28 May.  One question for you… were snorkel vests provided by the ship for snorkeling?

Yes, snorkel vests as well as masks/breathing tubes were provided.

[MisterBill99]

Thanks for the review.  Do you recall which restaurant Celebrity took you to for dinner the night before the cruise? We're going to be there one extra day and found someplace, but want to make sure it's not the same one they will take us to.

 

Never mind, I found it thanks to TripAdvisor reviews -- The Glory (lagloria.com.ec). Not the place I found near the hotel, so all is good.

Edited October 13, 2022 by MisterBill99