Live from the Flora, 10-night Ecuador and Galapagos Adventure, Dec 8-18

[Ken the cruiser]

 And now it's time to start the transition to "cruise mode" as we wait for Freddie to start the show day after tomorrow! 😀

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

21 hours ago, prmssk said:

 

Wet Landings included:

Rabida Island (course red sand beach)

Santiago (I think this was Egas Port) (course black sand)

Urbina Bay, Isabela (I don't remember what the beach was actually like - I think I was too distracted by the yellow warblers)

Las Bachas (softer white sand)

 

Dry Landings included:

Tagus Cove, Isabela

Punta Espinoza, Fernandina

Bartolome

North Seymour

Sullivan Bay, Santiago

Puerto Ayora, Santiago (an actual dock)

 

I don't think you go to Fernandina or Urbina Bay but I think the rest of the stops are on your itinerary.

Thanks again! Using the below link I was able to confirm our 2 stops at San Cristobal Island will be one wet and one dry landing. Punta Pitt will be a wet landing while the stop at Puerto Baquerizo will be a dry landing.

 

https://www.galapagosislands.com/cruises/ship/celebrity-flora

 

Edited December 6, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

FWIW here is an enhanced timetable for our "northern loop" itinerary which now includes whether a landing will be "wet" or "dry", or zodiac excursions only in the case of Elizabeth Bay.

 

Date	Itinerary	Arrive	Depart
8-Dec	Transfer to hotel	8:45 PM
8-Dec	JW Marriott Quito	10:00 PM
9-Dec	Quito City Tour	9:00 AM	4:00 PM
10-Dec	Transfer to pier		11:00 AM
Date	Port Location	Arrive	Depart
10-Dec	Baltra Island		2:30 PM
10-Dec	Daphne Island (no)	5:00 PM	6:00 PM
11-Dec	Egas Port (wet)	7:00 AM	12:00 PM
11-Dec	Rábida Island (wet)	3:00 PM	7:00 PM
12-Dec	Elizabeth Bay (zodiac)	7:00 AM	12:00 PM
12-Dec	Tagus Cove (dry)	3:00 PM	7:00 PM
13-Dec	Sullivan Bay (dry)	7:00 AM	12:00 PM
13-Dec	Bartolomé Island (wet/dry)	1:00 PM	7:00 PM
14-Dec	Las Bachas (wet)	7:00 AM	12:00 PM
14-Dec	North Seymour Island (dry)	1:00 PM	9:30 PM
15-Dec	Puerto Baquerizo (dry)	7:00 AM	12:00 PM
15-Dec	Punta Pitt (wet)	3:30 PM	6:00 PM
16-Dec	Puerto Ayora (dry)	7:00 AM	7:00 PM
17-Dec	Baltra Island	7:00 AM
Date	Itinerary	Arrive	Depart
17-Dec	Transfer pier to hotel	8:00 AM
17-Dec	JW Marriott Quito	3:00 PM
18-Dec	Antisana Reserve Tour	8:30 AM	4:30 PM
18-Dec	Transfer to airport		6:00 PM
18-Dec	Fly back home		11:45 PM

 

Edited December 7, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

OK, our bags are packed, and we have checked into our flight heading to Quito tomorrow morning by way of Atlanta. So without further to do, I think it's time for Freddie to get this party started! 🕺💃

 

 

[Ciaranaman]

So exciting!  Safe travels!

~Bernadette

[ringers0815]

Safe travels!

[Ken the cruiser]

And we’re on our way! One thing nice about leaving out of a small regional airport, security is a breeze to get through and plenty of seats to pick from! 😁

 

[mahdnc]

Have a nice trip, Ken.  I look forward to your posts.

[Ken the cruiser]

4 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

Have a nice trip, Ken.  I look forward to your posts.

Thanks! Hopefully my iPhone, iPad and the internet service on the Flora will be up to the task. I’m also glad I learned how to transfer photos from my iPhone to my iPad using Bluetooth because I’ll be taking a bunch of them with my mighty iPhone SE! 😂

[mahdnc]

1 minute ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks! Hopefully my iPhone, iPad and the internet service on the Flora will be up to the task. I’m also glad I learned how to transfer photos from my iPhone to my iPad using Bluetooth because I’ll be taking a bunch of them with my mighty iPhone SE! 😂

 

Xpedition was outfitted with Starlink and the resulting speeds were excellent when it came to posting on Cruise Critic including uploading photos.  

 

It sounds like you discovered how to AirDrop between your Apple devices!  

[RichYak]

Safe travels. I'll be following along!

[Ken the cruiser]

13 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

Xpedition was outfitted with Starlink and the resulting speeds were excellent when it came to posting on Cruise Critic including uploading photos.  

 

It sounds like you discovered how to AirDrop between your Apple devices!  

I did. I used to post photos to my Live From threads using my iPhone which wasn’t all that much fun, especially when I had to crop most of them first. But once I discovered AirDrop that made all the difference. 😁

[Sarah1974]

Safe travels and have a fantastic time

[Gardenbunny50]

So excited for you and cannot wait to get real time photos of Flora and all the info you share on the daily excursions.  Will be glued to alerts from Cruise Critic for your posts.  Have an awesome time.

Our TA booked our airfare with Celebrity.  We decided to fly from Miami to stay under the $1500 supplement.  Better non stop flight times using American Airlines than Delta.  We are doing the Machu Picchu extension so we have to fly back from Lima.  Will use our credit card points for no cost tickets to and from Atl to Miami.

[Ken the cruiser]

Just arrived at our 3-hour layover stop in Atlanta and were wowed when we headed to our departure gate in Terminal E. We’ve flown on a variety of international flights from this terminal over the years and never noticed a USO area next to gate E14 before, with free food and soft drinks with plenty of space to relax until it’s time to head to the gate!

 

Definitely a place to check out if you are active or retired military and have some time before heading out on your international flight. 😁
 

 

[lakeside42]

Following! Wishing you safe travels and a wonderful time.  DH and I are booked on the Flora next November, doing the outer loop cruise followed by Machu Picchu. Also booking our flights with Celebrity, could not pass up the air credit they offered. I am looking forward to your trip report, and wishing you a great cruise.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

3 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

And we’re on our way! One thing nice about leaving out of a small regional airport, security is a breeze to get through and plenty of seats to pick from! 😁

 

Update: We just talked with the hostess and she said the lounge was only open during the holidays and it’s called the Delta Military Lounge. That explains why we have never seen it before. 

[Texed]

Ken the Cruiser,

 

Thanks for your posts, pictures, and your service.  😊

[Ken the cruiser]

We arrived in Quito, Ecuador around 9:20 pm EST! 

 

  
We were greeted by Javier at the airport and once all 8 guests he was looking for arrived, we had about a 45 minute drive to the hotel.

 

 
We then checked into the hotel at the Celebrity Welcome Desk and received this information regarding our stay for the next 2 days before flying to Baltra on Sunday. All in all it was a very smooth process from going through Customs at the airport to finally getting to our room around 11 pm.

 

 

 

 

[mahdnc]

Welcome back to Ecuador.

[Ken the cruiser]

10 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

Welcome back to Ecuador.

I have to say Javier, our Celebrity guide that meet us at the airport and escorted us to the hotel, was very informative. He even handed out bottled water once we got on the bus. On our first Galapagos adventure 8 years ago, we were basically told nothing until we got to the hotel and checked in at the main desk rather than at the Celebrity Welcome Desk. It was definitely much more organized this time around. 😁
 

Edited December 9, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[mahdnc]

22 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I have to say Javier, our Celebrity guide that meet us at the airport and escorted us to the hotel, was very informative. He even handed out bottled water once we got on the bus. On our first Galapagos adventure 8 years ago, we were basically told nothing until we got to the hotel and checked in at the main desk rather than at the Celebrity Welcome Desk. It was definitely much more organized this time around. 😁
 

 

I have only gone the one time and that was last month.  My impression of the way the land tour was conducted (transfers, tour, meals, etc) was that Celebrity had this down to a science.  It was as if they made an effort to tweak and continually improve the experience over the years to the point where it is now a well oiled machine with every detail addressed. The Celebrity logo was proudly displayed throughout the land tour--on the buses, the guide's lapel pins, the dinner menu at La Gloria, even the cups on the airplane.  And the service was there to match.  At no point during the land tour did I feel like I was handed over to a 3rd party contractor.

 

Because we came in a day early and were the only ones to be picked up at UIO, I was surprised we got the full ground transportation treatment--driver, guide, van, water, and introductory education to Ecuador as we rode into town. 

 

Like you, I was very impressed.  What I experienced could not happen by accident.

Edited December 9, 2023 by mahdnc

[Ken the cruiser]

Here’s the view from our 3rd floor room before we headed down for the buffet breakfast.

 

 

 
And the weather forecast is looking quite promising for our all day tour around Quito today as well as for our flight tomorrow morning to Baltra. 😁

 

 

[prmssk]

Have a great day in Quito!

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Here’s the view from our 3rd floor room before we headed down for the buffet breakfast.

 

 

 
And the weather forecast is looking quite promising for our all day tour around Quito today as well as for our flight tomorrow morning to Baltra. 😁

 

 

Very nice.  Enjoy your tour.

 

If you think of it, ask your Quito guide how many Flora passengers are taking today’s tour. Assuming that your sailing is full (99 passengers), I’m curious as to how many passengers booked “cruise only”. 
 

During our Xpedition sailing, I estimate that 15 passengers out of 47 booked just the cruise (32%). I was surprised that the figure was that high. 

Edited December 9, 2023 by mahdnc