Celebrity ships in the Galapogas, thoughts from previous cruisers

[Ken the cruiser]

40 minutes ago, Poconolady said:

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

No, as the whole area is a national park where the wildlife rules.

[maryogreen]

@Poconolady My husband and I were on the Celebrity Flora's Inner Loop in May 2022. I can't begin to say enough great things about the trip. From the Quito pre-tour to the ship and expeditions to the crew and Celebrity staff, everything was just wonderful. Here's a link to the review I wrote for Cruise Critic, which may answer some of your questions:

I also have stories and photos on my travel blog from each day in the Galápagos, which you might find helpful. Here's a link to the Ecuador archives:

https://www.themodernpostcard.com/category/ecuador/

 

Happy planning and best of luck with your decisions!

Mary

The Modern Postcard

 

[mahasamatman]

For those people who have flown between UIO and GPS with Flights by Celebrity, do they use commercial flights or charters? And are you able to use status benefits at the hotel in Quito?

[Ken the cruiser]

18 hours ago, maryogreen said:

@Poconolady My husband and I were on the Celebrity Flora's Inner Loop in May 2022. I can't begin to say enough great things about the trip. From the Quito pre-tour to the ship and expeditions to the crew and Celebrity staff, everything was just wonderful. Here's a link to the review I wrote for Cruise Critic, which may answer some of your questions:

I also have stories and photos on my travel blog from each day in the Galápagos, which you might find helpful. Here's a link to the Ecuador archives:

https://www.themodernpostcard.com/category/ecuador/

 

Happy planning and best of luck with your decisions!

Mary

The Modern Postcard

 

Do you remember if the laundry service on the Flora was free to everyone, or just “free” based on your X loyalty status? For example, we’re elite+ which means our 2 bags each would definitely constitute free laundry on a 7-day cruise.

[Tom47]

On our 2015 trip, we had the 10 day package, including Quito hotel(3 nights) and Quito-Baltra rt  flights.  Celebrity chartered a plane..

[kathynorth]

15 hours ago, mahasamatman said:

For those people who have flown between UIO and GPS with Flights by Celebrity, do they use commercial flights or charters? And are you able to use status benefits at the hotel in Quito?

 

Celebrity flew us via a regularly scheduled charter flight. It was a smallish plane and there were other passengers who were not on our cruise. We were able to access status benefits at the Quito Marriott back in 2016.

 

I'm not sure about the Flora laundry question, but we did receive 2 bags each of free (CC benefit) laundry on our Xpedition trip. We also recieved a free massage and had a scheduled Officers Cocktail event where we had the opportunity to chat with the captain.

Edited October 8, 2023 by kathynorth

[maryogreen]

18 hours ago, mahasamatman said:

For those people who have flown between UIO and GPS with Flights by Celebrity, do they use commercial flights or charters? And are you able to use status benefits at the hotel in Quito?

For our May 2022 Flora cruise, Celebrity flew us non-stop on a chartered Avianca Airlines A320 from Quito to Baltra. There were no other passengers except our group. The return flight was handled the same way. It takes about two hours.

Mary

The Modern Postcard

[maryogreen]

4 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Do you remember if the laundry service on the Flora was free to everyone, or just “free” based on your X loyalty status? For example, we’re elite+ which means our 2 bags each would definitely constitute free laundry on a 7-day cruise.

We didn't use the laundry service and do not have loyalty status, so I'm not sure whether it is free. I would guess that your elite+ would apply, and I do remember a number of people using the service. There is no laundry on board.

[mahasamatman]

6 hours ago, kathynorth said:

We were able to access status benefits at the Quito Marriott back in 2016.

 

Did you provide your Marriott number at checkin, or were you able to add it to your reservation in advance?

[kathynorth]

55 minutes ago, mahasamatman said:

 

Did you provide your Marriott number at checkin, or were you able to add it to your reservation in advance?

At check in. We arrived 2 nights early to tour the area on our own. We had to check out and check back in for the Celebrity portion. One of the flights also gave us frequent flyer miles, but I can’t recall which flight or airline at this point.

[Poconolady]

We just booked the Flora for next Aug, three generation trip to celebrate our g’son’s Bar Mitzvah. 2 grandparents, two parents and 2 teens, 16 & 13, my credit card is gasping for air tonight! It should be a great experience, both g’kids are avid snorkelers and obsessed with turtles and wildlife! It was a tossup between an African safari and Galapogas and the lure of the ocean won out!!

[NoWhiners]

17 minutes ago, Poconolady said:

We just booked the Flora for next Aug, three generation trip to celebrate our g’son’s Bar Mitzvah. 2 grandparents, two parents and 2 teens, 16 & 13, my credit card is gasping for air tonight! It should be a great experience, both g’kids are avid snorkelers and obsessed with turtles and wildlife! It was a tossup between an African safari and Galapogas and the lure of the ocean won out!!

 

Just a quick note. We didn't snorkel but talked to people who did. They saw 1 turtle. You never know what will happen but it might be a good idea to start preparing the grands for this possibility. Lure of the ocean would always win for me too!

 

They will give you a thumb drive that has a ton of pix before you disembark. Many are their stock pix of the Galapagos and they mix in pix of all the excursions/groups for your cruise. There are definitely turtles in some of them.

 

Have a great time--and give that CC a rest 🙂

 

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, Poconolady said:

We just booked the Flora for next Aug, three generation trip to celebrate our g’son’s Bar Mitzvah. 2 grandparents, two parents and 2 teens, 16 & 13, my credit card is gasping for air tonight! It should be a great experience, both g’kids are avid snorkelers and obsessed with turtles and wildlife! It was a tossup between an African safari and Galapogas and the lure of the ocean won out!!

Congrats on your decision. Sounds like a marvelous family trip. Your credit card may need to be resuscitated when final payment arrives….

Edited October 10, 2023 by mahdnc

[ohiolovescrusing]

Wow. We went Apr 22 and saw MANY turtles. The snorkeling was great - tons to see…

[NoWhiners]

2 hours ago, ohiolovescrusing said:

Wow. We went Apr 22 and saw MANY turtles. The snorkeling was great - tons to see…

 

I'm sure it varies. Isn't April when there is still some rain and many of the animals are breeding? Maybe that's why. It may also depend on which island and food availability. We were there in early July, which is the dry season.

 

I know turtles are common but I wouldn't want the youngsters to go expecting to see lots of turtles and then not see them. I'm just suggesting that expectations should be managed so the kids are ready for anything.

[prmssk]

On 10/8/2023 at 7:22 PM, mahasamatman said:

 

Did you provide your Marriott number at checkin, or were you able to add it to your reservation in advance?

On other groups I am in, I have heard of others calling the Galapagos desk ahead of time with their Marriott number.  And so that is what I plan to do in the next week or so.

[TimidTrav]

 

Hi.  My husband and I are going to the Galapagos Islands in December, on Celebrity Xpedition.  I'm trying to understand recommended footwear.  For water landings - should we bring water shoes and then change into hiking shoes, or just wear waterproof hiking shoes.  Thanks - we are looking forward to an incredible adventure!!

[NoWhiners]

14 minutes ago, TimidTrav said:

 

Hi.  My husband and I are going to the Galapagos Islands in December, on Celebrity Xpedition.  I'm trying to understand recommended footwear.  For water landings - should we bring water shoes and then change into hiking shoes, or just wear waterproof hiking shoes.  Thanks - we are looking forward to an incredible adventure!!

 

We were there in July, here's what I did. I wore crocs for water landings and changed into a sneaker once we were on land. I don't think we had to do that--the trails were mostly well-maintained and ok for crocs. I did notice that most of our guides wore crocs.

 

If you want to change shoes once you're on land, bring a small towel to dry/wipe your feet. Also, there are no places to sit when you change shoes, so you'll have to do it all sitting on the beach. Sometimes there is a rock or old tree stump you can use, but not always.

 

If you are used to walking in crocs all the time, you could probably use them on the trails with no issues.

 

Lots of people wore hiking boots but I think they weren't required. Maybe it depends on your feet--some people need the extra support from a hiking boot. But whatever you do, wear something with a nice 'grippy' bottom. The lava rocks are slippery!

 

Have fun, you will love it there.

[TimidTrav]

Thanks for this very helpful info, NoWhiners.

[mahasamatman]

With a package, does Celebrity handle the tourist transit card or should we get them ourselves? And are the park entry fees included in our fares, or do we need to pay those upon arrival ourselves?

[mahdnc]

33 minutes ago, mahasamatman said:

With a package, does Celebrity handle the tourist transit card or should we get them ourselves? And are the park entry fees included in our fares, or do we need to pay those upon arrival ourselves?

 

We just got our cruise docs for next month's 11 night cruise tour on Xpedition.  The Guest Ticket Booklet on page 7 (1st screenshot) says that our package includes the $100 pp entrance fee to the Galapagos as well as the INGALA Tourist Card Fee.  The Park Entry Voucher was on page 26 (2nd screenshot).

 

In case you are interested, here is a link to our Guest Ticket Booklet with any pages with private information removed (including the the Park Entry Voucher on page 26).

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 28, 2023 by mahdnc

[Tom47]

Hold on to to those park entrance & tourist cards.  One of them must be presented when leaving the park at Baltra airport.  Omne person in our group put it in a checked bag and she had to pay again..

[MMsteffey]

On 10/6/2023 at 11:04 AM, Ken the cruiser said:

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?

Expedition cruising in the Galapagos is very different than most cruises.  The entire area is a closely managed national park, and you will not set foot on the ground, nor snorkel, without supervision by a Ecuadorian certified guide.  There is no walking around on your own,    Groups stay together with a guide at all times.  Please be sure you are in good physical condition, able to board a zodiac that is moving in swells, climb a steep staircase, and walk at least 1/2 mile on uneven terrain. 

[mahasamatman]

On 10/28/2023 at 10:44 AM, mahdnc said:

We just got our cruise docs for next month's 11 night cruise tour on Xpedition.

 

Thanks - that's awesome. We leave for our trip on 06 Dec, so I'm looking forward to our packet.

[Barwick Cruiser]

On 10/28/2023 at 1:44 PM, mahdnc said:

 

We just got our cruise docs for next month's 11 night cruise tour on Xpedition.  The Guest Ticket Booklet on page 7 (1st screenshot) says that our package includes the $100 pp entrance fee to the Galapagos as well as the INGALA Tourist Card Fee.  The Park Entry Voucher was on page 26 (2nd screenshot).

 

In case you are interested, here is a link to our Guest Ticket Booklet with any pages with private information removed (including the the Park Entry Voucher on page 26).

 

 

 

 

 

Hi David, will you be doing a “live from” on your cruise? 🤞

Cathy