Celebrity ships in the Galapogas, thoughts from previous cruisers

[Poconolady]

Looking for some feedback from cruisers who have sailed the Galapagos with Celebrity. Things like which  ship, how were the cabins, food, ease of shore excursions, etc. are the shore excursions included in the fare or are they additional like on standard ships? Would you recommend this as a trip with teenagers? Any advise would be helpful.

Thanks in advance!

[prmssk]

All shore excursions are included.  The cruise/cruise package itself is very inclusive.  

 

I don't have any personal experience yet to answer your other questions but we sail away on the Xpedition in 36 days and I cannot wait.

[Tom47]

We were on the Xpedition in 2015 and recommend it.

  Teenagers might like it if they enjoy outdoors activities.  Not much entertainment on board.   Food & cabins were very good. 

[Ken the cruiser]

We were on our first Galapagos cruise on the Xpedition back in 2016 and it was awesome! So many different species of wildlife to experience which many times are literally at your feet. Everything is included, to include 2 excursions a day, with one in the morning at one stop and then one in the afternoon at a different stop. At each stop there is a short excursion and a long excursion, but in all cases you will be taking a zodiac to and from the ship as there are no docks for the ship to tie up to.

 

As far as teenagers go, I believe only two people are allowed per cabin, and as you know the fares are not cheap and there are no reduced fares for children. So you’ll need to figure that strategy out when you book the cabins. Also, since this is an expedition cruise, there are no teen programs on the ship. But if your teenagers enjoy being wowed by all the wildlife they’re going to see, then they will have an awesome time!

 

As far as food goes, it was tasty when we were on the Xpedition.
 

BTW we had such a great time, we’re going back in early December, only this time we’ll be on the Flora where I will be posting to a Live From thread which will, of course, include a variety of photos from each of our two excursions every day.

 

Hope this helps.

[Suzanne123]

I was on the Flora, 10 day inner loop, in January.  I can honestly say that I would not have changed one thing from the suites (we had a regular balcony, cabin 515), to the food, the staff, naturalists, and the way that Celebrity took care of us from the minute we landed at Quito.  
Everthing was included, even nice backpacks and sun tan lotion. Excursions were explained the night prior and ran like clockwork. 

The ship was very stable, and I had no trouble with seasickness. 
I would love to go back and do the outer loop on Flora.

 

 

Edited October 6, 2023 by Suzanne123

[mahdnc]

7 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

As far as teenagers go, I believe only two people are allowed per cabin, and as you know the fares are not cheap and there are no reduced fares for children. So you’ll need to figure that strategy out when you book the cabins. Also, since this is an expedition cruise, there are no teen programs on the ship. But if your teenagers enjoy being wowed by all the wildlife they’re going to see, then they will have an awesome time!

 

As far as food goes, it was tasty when we were on the Xpedition.
 

BTW we had such a great time, we’re going back in early December, only this time we’ll be on the Flora where I will be posting to a Live From thread which will, of course, include a variety of photos from each of our two excursions every day.

 

Hope this helps.

We had an XS cabin booking that included our daughter as a third passenger several years ago. So it can be done. 3rd passenger listed fare is the same price as 1st/2nd. However since we had a Captains Club promotional discount for 1st/2nd passenger, the 3rd passenger fare was actually more expensive!

[mahdnc]

8 hours ago, Poconolady said:

Looking for some feedback from cruisers who have sailed the Galapagos with Celebrity. Things like which  ship, how were the cabins, food, ease of shore excursions, etc. are the shore excursions included in the fare or are they additional like on standard ships? Would you recommend this as a trip with teenagers? Any advise would be helpful.

Thanks in advance!

I think your teenager(s) would love coding there Galapagos. Here is a brochure from Celebrity marketing there Galapagos for families: link

 

 

[lurkernj]

We went on the Xploration 1/22.  It was fantastic.  The Xploration is a much smaller ship than the other two.  There are only 8 guestrooms.  We liked the more intimate ship.  The food was a small buffet for every meal, nothing like what I see on the Flora, but no one starved.  Flora looks beautiful but was was twice as much as Xploration, and we were barely on the ship (had hikes/snorkels etc from 8am til dinner with a break for lunch, short rest).  

[mahdnc]

11 hours ago, Poconolady said:

Looking for some feedback from cruisers who have sailed the Galapagos with Celebrity. Things like which  ship, how were the cabins, food, ease of shore excursions, etc. are the shore excursions included in the fare or are they additional like on standard ships? Would you recommend this as a trip with teenagers? Any advise would be helpful.

Thanks in advance!

 

Here is a bunch of Celebrity Cruises information on their Galapagos offerings.  It will take some time to plow through them all: link1 and link2

 

Here is a link to Celebrity's 82 page Galapagos e-brochure.  It is also downloadable into a pdf as well.

[Ken the cruiser]

3 hours ago, mahdnc said:

We had an XS cabin booking that included our daughter as a third passenger several years ago. So it can be done. 3rd passenger listed fare is the same price as 1st/2nd. However since we had a Captains Club promotional discount for 1st/2nd passenger, the 3rd passenger fare was actually more expensive!

It was probably that way prior to the pandemic. However, I just tried to do a mock booking on either the Xpedition or the Flora and the option to increase the Children count from 0 on either online booking was grayed out as well as the ability to increase the Adult count to 3. However, I could reduce the Adult count to 1 with no problem.

 

We also actually tried to book a family of 10 cruise early last year that included two grandchildren under 17 and were told an adult would have to be the #1 guest in each cabin with one child when booking the 5 cabins for the 4 families. Now, once we got onboard, no one was going to check who was sleeping in each cabin. 

 

[Boston lab girl]

We did the Xpedition. Best trip we ever had. The snorkeling is unbelievable. Unfortunately once you do snorkel here all other snorkeling is  somewhat disappointing.As for teenagers it truly depends on the teenagers. If they have expressed interest in going they will love it. We had one preteen on our trip who loved it. And had another teenager who  was bored. As for tips, make sure you bring good water shoes that you can also hike in. Not flip flops. Pack them in your carry on. The airline lost One family’s luggage and everyone on board donated items to help but water shoes are hard to fit. 

[mahdnc]

58 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

It was probably that way prior to the pandemic. However, I just tried to do a mock booking on either the Xpedition or the Flora and the option to increase the Children count from 0 on either online booking was grayed out as well as the ability to increase the Adult count to 3. However, I could reduce the Adult count to 1 with no problem.

 

We also actually tried to book a family of 10 cruise early last year that included two grandchildren under 17 and were told an adult would have to be the #1 guest in each cabin with one child when booking the 5 cabins for the 4 families. Now, once we got onboard, no one was going to check who was sleeping in each cabin. 

 

 

You cannot book three through the website.  You have to call the Galapagos desk to do it.  They have to talk to someone else (revenue department?) to get permission before the manual booking is made.

[Ken the cruiser]

3 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

You cannot book three through the website.  You have to call the Galapagos desk to do it.  They have to talk to someone else (revenue department?) to get permission before the manual booking is made.

Ah, the old side door trick. Well, I hope you're right. I guess our TA didn't know about that when we tried to book our family cruise early last year.

[Ken the cruiser]

9 hours ago, Suzanne123 said:

I was on the Flora, 10 day inner loop, in January.  I can honestly say that I would not have changed one thing from the suites (we had a regular balcony, cabin 515), to the food, the staff, naturalists, and the way that Celebrity took care of us from the minute we landed at Quito.  
Everthing was included, even nice backpacks and sun tan lotion. Excursions were explained the night prior and ran like clockwork. 

The ship was very stable, and I had no trouble with seasickness. 
I would love to go back and do the outer loop on Flora.

 

 

If I might ask as my DW has to eat dinner early for medical reasons, so we'll probably have Room Service deliver dinner to our cabin every night between 5:30 and 6 pm. Regarding the afternoon long walk and optional swim/snorkel excursions. If we choose to do just the walk and pass on the optional swim/snorkel, or just walk around the area on our own, can we get on a zodiac and head back to the ship early or will we have to wait until everyone on the excursion is ready to go back to the ship?

[prmssk]

27 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

You cannot book three through the website.  You have to call the Galapagos desk to do it.  They have to talk to someone else (revenue department?) to get permission before the manual booking is made.

I suspect this is because the Galapagos has strict capacity limits on the ships.  If they put 3 in one cabin, another cabin either has to sit empty or be left only for a solo traveler.  

[Suzanne123]

Some excursions are set up to let you return to the boat if you don’t want to continue with a walk, but I know that you are not allowed to just walk around on your own.  The zodiac groups are very small.
I can tell you that they were more than willing to accommodate my daughter’s vegan and vegetarian requests - egg free noodles, vegan pancakes, etc

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, prmssk said:

I suspect this is because the Galapagos has strict capacity limits on the ships.  If they put 3 in one cabin, another cabin either has to sit empty or be left only for a solo traveler.  

 

Yes, I am sure this analysis is made--again, I think the Revenue Dept ultimately had to sign off on it.

 

I will be on the Xpedition sailing right after yours.  I look forward to seeing previews through your D500. 

[prmssk]

17 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

I will be on the Xpedition sailing right after yours.  I look forward to seeing previews through your D500. 

I won't commit to a full live thread but I'll try to find some time to post a bit during the trip.  

[mahdnc]

3 minutes ago, prmssk said:

I won't commit to a full live thread but I'll try to find some time to post a bit during the trip.  

I totally understand.  Experiencing the trip and taking killer photos are top priority.  Posting and reporting back are second priority.

[Joker54]

Another vote for the Flora, we just returned from an outer loop cruise and it was amazing. We used Celebrity Air so all transfers were included.

 

It couldn't have been any smoother.

 

Cheers

[UnorigionalName]

22 hours ago, Poconolady said:

Looking for some feedback from cruisers who have sailed the Galapagos with Celebrity. Things like which  ship, how were the cabins, food, ease of shore excursions, etc. are the shore excursions included in the fare or are they additional like on standard ships? Would you recommend this as a trip with teenagers? Any advise would be helpful.

Thanks in advance!

 

If mobility is an issue definitely go with flora.  Those zodiacs with stairs and ramps are like cheating.

 

Depends on maturity level of teenagers.  Both for their enjoyment and the quiet enjoyment of your fellow passengers.

[ohiolovescrusing]

We went on Expedition in 2022 and loved it. We were in Jr suite w balcony. Family was in Outside cabin.  All enjoyed, but they mentioned after the week so many wet clothes and no fresh air it was a bit bit damp in their room.  Loved the room of 48 passengers on ship made for 100. Various options on hikes/snorkels/zodiac rides.  Food was good, service fantastic.  I would say helps to be more active, love nature, and water, and it is my favorite vacation!

[mahdnc]

I think the unique advantages of each of the 3 Galapagos ships have been detailed out in the prior posts:

 

1. Xploration is the smallest and most intimate with only 8 cabins.

2. Xpedition is a large ship designed for 99 passengers but is only licensed to carry 48.

3. Flora is the newest and most luxurious ship and was specifically built for the Galapagos.

Edited October 7, 2023 by mahdnc

[NoWhiners]

We saw the Galapagos from the Flora in early July. yes, it was bit pricey but everything was included and done for us--the first time we have ever left everything to anyone else!

 

It was terrific. Everything was so nice, organized, and fun. I can't say enough good things about this cruise, crew and the Flora.

 

We did the Macchu Picchu extension after and it was spectacular. The hotels, transportation and especially the Hiram Bingham train back from M-P were all first class.

 

Also, we had a few youngsters on the ship with us--one middle schooler and a few teens. From what I saw, they all seemed to be enjoying the cruise, especially the middle-schooler. The crew all gave her a lot of extra attention 🙂

 

Edited October 7, 2023 by NoWhiners
typos

[Poconolady]

Are there any opportunities for fishing on any of the different islands?