Galapagos – WOW! What a trip!!! (Cabin 506)

[drfun48]

[quote name='Lube']To all interested in the Xpedition trip to the Galapagos Islands, we just returned and it was fabulous! Any questions?:D[/QUOTE]
Since there is no entertainment to speak of,is it an early to bed-early to rise group?
Is it a more social (hang out with your fellow cruisers) type experience?
Have the GI problems been addressed and or ameliorated?
I've also heard it suggested, that since they must rely on local sources,the food is below Celebrity's usual standards. If so what is good? How are the breads and pastries?
Is the ship brightly lit or are there good stargazing opportunities?
Is dinner seating open or assigned...do cruisers "stake out" territorial domain if open seating?
We are booked June 26,room 304.

[SheilaNC]

jruth,
I posted a message some time ago that I'm reposting here. I'm an RN and went to the [url]www.cdc.gov[/url] web site to get the best advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They have a site just for Traveler's with good info.
Check it out at [url]http://www.cdc.gov/travel/diarrhea.htm[/url] - there is other info besides this site but it seemed to address the issues raised by those who had the problem.

Our plan is to take PeptoBismol prophylactically and to have plenty with us as well as the obvious -- only bottled water, no salads and friuits unless we peel them ourselves, hand sanitizer, etc. I'm also planning to take Chlorox wipes. I'm not an alarmist but I certainly don't want anything to stand in the way of this once in a lifetime trip.

Hope this helps

Sheila

[Cruisergal1208]

SandyR5, The "gadget" is MicroSolutions RoadStor. It is an all in one Photo to CD Burner, Digital Photo Viewer, DVD Player. Can be used with or without a computer.We were able to look at the slide show on our cabin's TV with it. It is available at Wolf or Ritz Camera stores and maybe at others.

Regarding all the hype on the GI problems, I used Pepto some but not every day. Used a lot of bottled water but also drank regular water served at meals. We did not get sick while on the Xpedition but I was sick for only one day upon returning home. I feel it was something on the flight from Quito. I think some folks are a lot more sensitive to changes in food and water as they travel. It can happen anywhere.

Some people stayed up late but I think most went to bed early because you really needed the rest. All meals are open seating and while some seemed to be with the same ones all the time, we never had a problem of finding a place to sit. It was a good way to meet others each day. Food was a good variety and if you needed something special, it could be handled. Lots of fish dishes, soups, salads, good desserts, good bread - you will not go hungry!! The only thing I missed was a good cheese omelet. They have an egg station but no cheddar cheese.

Hope this helps. It is an amazing trip.

We had one night set aside for a special stargazing session. It was special.

[goldendaze]

SandyR5,

I am going to jump in here on the digital camera storage issue. I think cruisergal's husband used a Roadstor device (cruisergal correct me if I am wrong). We brought a nice device called an Archos G mini 400. It is like a jazzed up Ipod. Has 20 gig of storage and accepts compactflash cards directly (others with an adapter). It has a small color screen so you can review your pictures. My husband downloaded our card each evening to this unit so you don't need a lot of cards. Some people do like the hard copy of a cd. Once we got home we downloaded all the pictures from the Archos onto our computer. The unit also will hold lots of music and come with headphones. It is small enough to fit in a pocket.

Just another option.

Cruisregal, I hope you had a good cruise and a happy New Year. By the way its 22 degrees here in NJ....

[Cruisergal1208]

Hi Goldendaze, Thanks for the input on the "gadgets". Yes, we had a nice cruise over the holidays. Quite different celebrating on a ship but we enjoyed it. We are leaving on the 21st for a 7 day cruise of the E. Caribbean then we should be home for a few months. It is 34 here right now. Only about 40 for the high today. BRRRRR!!

Still working on organizing our pics and hope to post some soon. We received a DVD from Bette and Jerry, you may have also. It was a very good job and the pictures were great.

Take care and keep us posted on your travels.

[SandyR5]

Thank you both again for having the answers! Just think of all those folks who don't use this site and how much they don't know.!

[Emdee]

Gillian or any of you who did the Machu Picchu trip with Galapagos - can you send me some details of your trip. I am booked to go to Galapagos in august and would like to go to Peru as well but havent been able to find a reputable agent/package.

Thanks
Miriam

my email is [email]miriamdcunha@yahoo.ca[/email]

[Janman]

Gillian2,
We are also interested in doing a side trip to Machu Pichu. Was your trip booked through Celebrity or another company or all on your own? How many days? If you could give some basic information here I'm sure there are others who would also appreciate it.
Emdee,
We were supposed to cruise with you a couple of years ago on the Tahitian Princess but you had to cancel. Did you ever rebook it? Someone on that cruise got us interested in the Galapagos so that will be one of our next ones.
Janet

[Lube]

[quote name='CruiserJen']Lube,

Were all of the naturalists certified divers or just the lead naturalist? My brother said that when he went on this trip a few months ago, they weren't able to scuba dive because they were told there wasn't a dive master on board. Maybe the naturalists who are divers weren't working the week he was there. Which naturalist did you have for scuba? If I schedule this trip, I definitely want to go diving. I know my brother was disappointed that he wasn't able to go. Any suggestions on how to find out in advance whether you will be able to go diving?

Thanks, Jen.[/QUOTE]
[size=2]With respect to dive masters, I'm not sure how to answer. We had a cruise director named Jason who was a dive master. He arranged for scuba diving through an outside vendor. A boat picked four of us up at the back of the ship on Wednesday morning. (There is a four-diver minimum.) The trip cost $120 for two tanks. Since he has years of experience diving in the islands, the tour operator may be a personal contact. The problem is, Jason is on a two-weeks on, two-weeks off schedule. I’m not sure if the other cruise director will make the same arrangements.

[/size]

[Lube]

[quote name='voyageur']Just my opinion... The 500 rooms are in the quietest part of the ship, but whether it's worth the extra money to have a balcony??... I think not on this particular cruise. I can't imagine when or why you'd use it. They keep you very busy outside all day. And it's a very social group. I would choose a 400 room, but go down the hall a bit more to be sure of quiet, not right by guest relations.[/QUOTE]
I disagree, We were in 508 and in the "down" periods, we sat on the balcony and watched for wildlife. We spotted, whales, many dolphins, a shark and a couple of sea lions, not to mention the birds. The cabins are small and the wall of glass gives a much more outdoor feel. You are on the ship from around 11:30 to 4:00. The balcony is wonderful for star gazing too.

[Lube]

[quote name='drfun48']Since there is no entertainment to speak of,is it an early to bed-early to rise group?
Is it a more social (hang out with your fellow cruisers) type experience?
Have the GI problems been addressed and or ameliorated?
I've also heard it suggested, that since they must rely on local sources,the food is below Celebrity's usual standards. If so what is good? How are the breads and pastries?
Is the ship brightly lit or are there good stargazing opportunities?
Is dinner seating open or assigned...do cruisers "stake out" territorial domain if open seating?
We are booked June 26,room 304.[/QUOTE]
[size=2]When in Quito, we met several people who were going to be on the Xpedition with us. We stayed friends with them and met many others on our tours who we "clicked" with. In the evenings, the briefings for the next day were at 7:45, then you usually walked down to the dining room and sat with familiar faces. Out of 72 on our cruise, we felt very comfortable with about 50 people. We were very lucky and fortunate to meet such wonderful people, who we are keeping in touch with. We spent many evenings with friends on the top deck watching sea lions , sharks, and pelicans. We also had some quiet times to star gaze or visit the bar if we wished. In all, we had a lot of fun too.

The food was good The variety was not as extravagant as the Celebrity big ships, but it was appealing. The breads and pastries were wonderful. We had breakfast in our room every morning, since I am not a morning person. You have to spell out exactly what you want or they guess at it. We even had goat for lunch one day.....there are always many choices.

It is open seating and no one cares where they sit. We were at a different table each night. Some nights we asked people we met to have dinner with us and other nights we took pot luck so we could meet more people.

You can choose a table for 2, 4, 6, 8, or even 10.

There are usually enough dark areas on the top of the ship if you wish to stargaze.

Every once in a while someone was feeling poorly, but you are straight out from the time you get off the plane until about the 4th day when you have to pace yourself or get a little run down. Tours are designed so that if you feel less energetic one day, you still won't miss anything.

The guides are biologist, naturalists, and one was even in her last year of law school. They were wonderful people, well informed, and helpful. We found out on the last night that we could have invited any one of them to have dinner with us. They are not allowed to eat in the dining room unless invited. We had our favorite and finally had lunch on the last day with her.

By the way, the Marriott was beautiful and filled with roses. They made us feel like royalty. No problem was too big for them to solve. They also have suggestions if you experience any altitude sickness. We had a little shortness of breath and a slight headache on the second day which cleared up with ibuprofen. I suggest taking ibuprofen every 8 hours or so. My doctor suggested this and it seemed to help. I had no real problems and am headache prone usually.

I can only tell you that the group we hung around with were not an early to bed, early to rise group, but then again, dinner is usually not over until about 10:30 because of the socializing.

HAVE A WONDERFUL TIME!

[/size]

[drfun48]

[quote name='Lube'][size=2]When in Quito, we met several people who were going to be on the Xpedition with us. We stayed friends with them and met many others on our tours who we "clicked" with. In the evenings, the briefings for the next day were at 7:45, then you usually walked down to the dining room and sat with familiar faces. Out of 72 on our cruise, we felt very comfortable with about 50 people. We were very lucky and fortunate to meet such wonderful people, who we are keeping in touch with. We spent many evenings with friends on the top deck watching sea lions , sharks, and pelicans. We also had some quiet times to star gaze or visit the bar if we wished. In all, we had a lot of fun too.

The food was good The variety was not as extravagant as the Celebrity big ships, but it was appealing. The breads and pastries were wonderful. We had breakfast in our room every morning, since I am not a morning person. You have to spell out exactly what you want or they guess at it. We even had goat for lunch one day.....there are always many choices.

It is open seating and no one cares where they sit. We were at a different table each night. Some nights we asked people we met to have dinner with us and other nights we took pot luck so we could meet more people.

You can choose a table for 2, 4, 6, 8, or even 10.

There are usually enough dark areas on the top of the ship if you wish to stargaze.

Every once in a while someone was feeling poorly, but you are straight out from the time you get off the plane until about the 4th day when you have to pace yourself or get a little run down. Tours are designed so that if you feel less energetic one day, you still won't miss anything.

The guides are biologist, naturalists, and one was even in her last year of law school. They were wonderful people, well informed, and helpful. We found out on the last night that we could have invited any one of them to have dinner with us. They are not allowed to eat in the dining room unless invited. We had our favorite and finally had lunch on the last day with her.

By the way, the Marriott was beautiful and filled with roses. They made us feel like royalty. No problem was too big for them to solve. They also have suggestions if you experience any altitude sickness. We had a little shortness of breath and a slight headache on the second day which cleared up with ibuprofen. I suggest taking ibuprofen every 8 hours or so. My doctor suggested this and it seemed to help. I had no real problems and am headache prone usually.

I can only tell you that the group we hung around with were not an early to bed, early to rise group, but then again, dinner is usually not over until about 10:30 because of the socializing.

HAVE A WONDERFUL TIME!

[/size][/QUOTE]Thanks Lube-You've been a big help.

[Emdee]

Hi Janet/Janman, we never did go on the TP. Cancelled at the eleventh hour and then went on the Paul Gauguin. Liked it so much we went again within 6 months.

Always wanted to do Galapagos and MP so hopefully that will work out this summer.

Miriam

[Trobrah]

Lube,
My DW and I are going on the 9/16/2005 trip. Was there a telescope onboard for stargazing? Should we bring binoculars and why?

Drfun48,
If I read your address right you are from Middletown. I lived on Conover Lane for 18 years and moved to Tinton Falls a few years ago.

Jay

[drfun48]

[quote name='Trobrah']Lube,
My DW and I are going on the 9/16/2005 trip. Was there a telescope onboard for stargazing? Should we bring binoculars and why?

Drfun48,
If I read your address right you are from Middletown. I lived on Conover Lane for 18 years and moved to Tinton Falls a few years ago.

Jay[/QUOTE]
We live on Dwight near Borden--small world--the dry part anyway.

[thrpy]

Lube:::
Ifn I remember right, you are into photography? Any particular problems getting the picx? Any word on getting acess to a CD burner? How was the diving. We snorkel a lot, but I tend to free dive to 25-35 feet.

[Lube]

Celebrity has 140 wetsuits on board, so I am sure you will find something suitable. I wore a medium {I am 5'5", and 135 lb}and it was very comfortable. I never heard comlaints from any of the other women either.

[Lube]

[quote name='Trobrah']Lube,
My DW and I are going on the 9/16/2005 trip. Was there a telescope onboard for stargazing? Should we bring binoculars and why?

Drfun48,
If I read your address right you are from Middletown. I lived on Conover Lane for 18 years and moved to Tinton Falls a few years ago.

Jay[/QUOTE]
I don't remember seeing any telescopes. Celebrity provides binoculars for the balcony cabins, but they are not very powerful. We brought our own and were glad we did.

[Lube]

[quote name='thrpy']Lube:::
Ifn I remember right, you are into photography? Any particular problems getting the picx? Any word on getting acess to a CD burner? How was the diving. We snorkel a lot, but I tend to free dive to 25-35 feet.[/QUOTE]
Photography was great.... no problems. No CD burner for use that I know of. They do have one somewhere for the Naturalists.

Diving was great. For scuba, it is advanced only. They want experienced divers due to cold water, currents etc. Most of the snorkeling is in deeper water along cliffs. Free dicing ability is a plus. If you can stand it (I did a few days), go with a t-shirt rather than a wetsuit. You can get down farther since they don't have weights.

[thrpy]

To the best of everyones memory, is there USB connectivity on the computers onboard. i.e., possible to use a thumb drive to store digital pics?

[goldendaze]

thrpy,

When we went in December there were no onboard computers for passenger use. We brought an Archos G mini 400 which is a unit very similiar to an IPOD but it has a color screen and you can download a compact flash card directly to the unit which has a 20 gig capacity and holds photos and MP3s. We brought some digital memory cards and downloaded them every evening onto the Archos.

Also, my husband was able to get a weight belt w/weights from the ship so he was able to free dive with the shorty and a .5 mil skin he brought. As I am always cold I brought a full 7mm/5mm wet suit - no freediving with that but I could stay in the cool water for a long time.

[thrpy]

Lube::
I'm shooting digital, but my wife uses stuff called film. Her question is - what speed film did you use, do you wish you had had something different - film wise? Lastly, any problems with getting the film thru airport scannig without harming the film?
Anybody remember where the bottled water was bottled?

[jruth]

[quote name='spengle']jruth,
I posted a message some time ago that I'm reposting here. I'm an RN and went to the [url="http://www.cdc.gov/"]www.cdc.gov[/url] web site to get the best advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They have a site just for Traveler's with good info.
Check it out at [url="http://www.cdc.gov/travel/diarrhea.htm"]http://www.cdc.gov/travel/diarrhea.htm[/url] - there is other info besides this site but it seemed to address the issues raised by those who had the problem.

Our plan is to take PeptoBismol prophylactically and to have plenty with us as well as the obvious -- only bottled water, no salads and friuits unless we peel them ourselves, hand sanitizer, etc. I'm also planning to take Chlorox wipes. I'm not an alarmist but I certainly don't want anything to stand in the way of this once in a lifetime trip.

Shelia,


Hope this helps

Sheila[/QUOTE]

Sheila,
Thanks for the professional info about what to do to avoid GI system problems. I think I can do what you recommend without any problem
-Judith

[Lube]

[quote name='thrpy']Lube::
I'm shooting digital, but my wife uses stuff called film. Her question is - what speed film did you use, do you wish you had had something different - film wise? Lastly, any problems with getting the film thru airport scannig without harming the film?
Anybody remember where the bottled water was bottled?[/QUOTE]
[i]I am holding a bottle of "Galapagos" brand water in my hand that I brought back with me. It says "processed with USA's technology" Santa Cruz-Galapagos-Ecuador. I wouldn't worry about any of the bottled water. That is all I drank in Quito and in the Islands {and brushed with}and I was fine, considering I usually have a sensitive stomach. As far as feeling ill goes, most of what we saw was a cold that traveled like wild fire through the ship because so many people were over tired. A few people who were not careful with ice or water had the usual results.[/i]

[i]As for film, we used 200 and 400 ASA. The 200 was for the "point and shoot" camera, the 400 was for the 35mm with a 500mm zoom lens which requires more light. After going through the metal detectors six time, the pictures were fine (to the surprise of our photo shop owner). He sells bags made for transporting film. They may be a good idea.[/i]

[newhips]

Thanks for the review. I'm going to have to look into this.