Review: Celebrity Flora 04/07/24 - 04/14/24 : Galapagos Outer Loop

[Fedic]

            We made it back to the ship in time for the 10:30 snorkeling and when she got back, we had a Spanish-themed lunch, freshened up briefly in the cabin, then it was time for her to head back out again for the 2:30 deep-water snorkel. 

 

This is where the snorkeling was on Punta Vicente Roca:

 

 

            While wifey was off on her latest adventure, I sat on our balcony and took some pictures of this recent shipwreck:

 

 

            We were originally scheduled for a 5:15 Tender ride, but as you might imagine, two snorkels and a walk in the hot sun was enough, so we cancelled this one.

            We actually managed to stay awake and watch that documentary we started the night before ("The Galapagos Affair").

 

 

Final step count for Day 7:

 

[Barwick Cruiser]

Can you ask your wife if there’s a ladder of some sort to get back onto the tender from snorkeling? The water looks fairly calm and tho I’m not a strong swimmer I’m comfortable snorkeling in deep water especially with a dive suit and snorkel vest. I do float pretty well 😂. I’d hate to miss all the snorkeling due to not being a strong swimmer but of course would abide by any rules or guidelines. Thank you!

[Fedic]

36 minutes ago, Barwick Cruiser said:

Can you ask your wife if there’s a ladder of some sort to get back onto the tender from snorkeling? The water looks fairly calm and tho I’m not a strong swimmer I’m comfortable snorkeling in deep water especially with a dive suit and snorkel vest. I do float pretty well 😂. I’d hate to miss all the snorkeling due to not being a strong swimmer but of course would abide by any rules or guidelines. Thank you!

 

It depends on which ship you are on.  The Flora uses these newer Zodiacs:

 

The front section you see here lowers down and there is a flat platform to get back onto the boat.  The naturalists also help pull you back up.

 

The other Celebrity ships use different tenders, though.  Here is the one for the Xploration, which looks like it has some steps they can lower down?

 

 

 

[prmssk]

@Fedic I'm really enjoying your review!  And the photos are great!  So glad you got your camera back!  It takes me back to our trip on the Xpedition last November.

[Fedic]

1 hour ago, prmssk said:

@Fedic I'm really enjoying your review!  And the photos are great!  So glad you got your camera back!  It takes me back to our trip on the Xpedition last November.

 

Thank you so much!  I read a ton of reviews before we left for Ecuador, but I believe I got the link to the Keen water shoes from yours.

[Fedic]

Day 8 – South Plaza and Santa Cruz Islands

Friday, April 12

 

 

            By Day 8, having skipped the last two afternoon excursions, we determined that "short" walks were in order for the rest of the trip.  I did find it amusing that they waited this long to have a "long, fast-paced fitness walk" as an option, but there was absolutely no way we were signing up for that at this point!

 

South Plaza Island:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Fedic]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Fedic]

 

 

 

Wife: "You think that's a lighthouse?"

Me: "No way.  It's too small.  Maybe some kind of weather device?"

Wife to Naturalist: "What is that?"

Naturalist:  "It's a lighthouse."

Me: "..."

 

Score:  Wife 1, Husband 0

Actually, more like Wife:  104,910, Husband: 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[habenicd]

Thanks for this review.  We leave 2 weeks from today for the Celebrity Xploration. 

Your comments, information and pictures have amped up our excitement 10 fold!

[BuckeyeMark]

"Score:  Wife 1, Husband 0

Actually, more like Wife:  104,910, Husband: 3"

You're up to 3?! Impressive!  I'm still trying to get on the board!  LOL

 

[Barwick Cruiser]

When they say long walk vs short walk what are the approx distances of each? Do they give you an approx length of time for the walks? Your recent sets of photos are amazing…well done! 
Cathy

[Fedic]

1 hour ago, BuckeyeMark said:

"Score:  Wife 1, Husband 0

Actually, more like Wife:  104,910, Husband: 3"

You're up to 3?! Impressive!  I'm still trying to get on the board!  LOL

 

It's an estimate.  I definitely do not have receipts.  😀

[Fedic]

1 hour ago, Barwick Cruiser said:

When they say long walk vs short walk what are the approx distances of each? Do they give you an approx length of time for the walks? Your recent sets of photos are amazing…well done! 
Cathy

The length varies, but they do go into detail in the briefing the night before  (Example:  They'll list that the long walk is 1 mile and the short walk is 1/2 mile).  The short walk is generally about half of the long walk or less.  

 

They do occasionally go off-script, though.  We were on a short walk and saw three Flamingos flying over-head and agreed to walk further to try to spot where they landed.

 

[Fedic]

1 hour ago, habenicd said:

Thanks for this review.  We leave 2 weeks from today for the Celebrity Xploration. 

Your comments, information and pictures have amped up our excitement 10 fold!

You're going to absolutely love it.  Excited for you!

[Fedic]

Day 8 continued

 

            Then back on-board, lunch at the Seaside restaurant buffet (Theme: Asian).  There was a circumnavigation around Daphne Major island at 1:30, but we returned to the cabin to rest beforehand and promptly fell asleep.  We did manage to wake up in enough time to make our afternoon excursion!

 

Dragon's Hill:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Fedic]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Fedic]

            After the next day's excursion briefing and dinner, we walked around Deck 7 and took a few pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

            At 9:00PM, we saw people running around with the headphones for the Silent Disco, but we couldn't work up the energy to give it a go.  We decided to call it a night and went back to the cabin to relax before bed.

 

 

Final step count for Day 8:

 

[Beachlover1989]

Again - stunning photos!

[Julma]

This is a great recap and your pictures are breathtaking.  We were on in March and loved every minute.  Most pictures don't capture the beauty of this place, but yours certainly do.  Bravo.

[Fedic]

57 minutes ago, Julma said:

This is a great recap and your pictures are breathtaking.  We were on in March and loved every minute.  Most pictures don't capture the beauty of this place, but yours certainly do.  Bravo.

Thank you!

[Fedic]

Day 9 – Santa Cruz Island

Saturday, April 13

 

 

            I woke up on Saturday morning not feeling the best.  My stomach was queasy and I had no energy whatsoever, but it was the last full day of the cruise, so I decided to get ready and soldier on.  We went to breakfast and I limited my intake to coffee (for the caffeine), some toast and a little bit of scrambled eggs.

 

 

Sunrise from the Flora:

 

            Since the Flora never actually docks anywhere, I had been wondering how the provisioning process worked.  Usually, at the end of a cruise/beginning of a new one, the home port is a hive of activity with pallet after pallet of supplies being forklifted onto the ship.

            Here is the answer.  Starting before dawn, boats pull alongside the Flora and boxes are loaded via a small conveyer belt.

            The town of Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz hosts the largest population on the islands (about 13,000), so it makes sense that provisioning would take place here.

 

            We loaded into a tender around 8:00AM for the short trip over to the pier.  Next, we queued for buses that would take us half-way to the Charles Darwin Research Station.  Due to the dirt and cobblestone roads leading to the Station, we needed to hike in the rest of the way (a 10-15 minute walk).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Fedic]

            After the walk, my nausea was worse and now I was beginning to feel a little light-headed and out of breath.

            As someone who lives in Florida, I am used to the heat and humidity.  In hindsight, what I was not used to is being out in the heat and humidity for 6-8 hours a day while being fairly active.

            Even though I felt like I was hydrating appropriately, the effects of the sun are cumulative, and this was day 9.

            I tried my best to rest and stay in the shade during our visit to the Tortoise Center.

 

Giant Tortoise Breeding Center:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            After the tortoises, we stopped in at the Charles Darwin Research Center.  There is a gift shop here, which immediately made it my wife's favorite part of the excursion.  It was also inside, with air conditioning, so it might have been mine, too!

 

 

            At this point, we needed to head back into town.  No buses would be coming back to pick us up, so we had about a 20-30 minute walk back to the pier, which we had to be at before 11:00.

            Fortunately, our group took good care of me and allowed me to set the pace, which was... slow.  We found a store that sold drinks along the way and I bought a bottle of Gatorade. 

            My wife also found a jewelry store (Shocking.  Although, if we were lost in the desert, she would probably still find one of those!)  They also had a bench to sit on and a really, really cold air conditioner, so I encouraged wifey to take as long as she needed (Mistake.  This will be the last vacation we can afford until 2030).

 

 

 

[peanut head]

What wonderful commentary and stunning photos.  Thank you for sharing with us.  So sorry you were not feeling A+.

 

On another note, I was wondering how cold/warm the water was when your wife was snorkeling?

[Fedic]

57 minutes ago, peanut head said:

What wonderful commentary and stunning photos.  Thank you for sharing with us.  So sorry you were not feeling A+.

 

On another note, I was wondering how cold/warm the water was when your wife was snorkeling?

Thank you.

 

She said it was a little chilly at first, but the provided wet suit definitely helps after a few minutes.  

[slewis7]

I just found this thread and really appreciate all the details as my wife and I will be on the Flora this September.  There are a lot of helpful tips and it will be very helpful in setting our expectations.  Thank you, OP!