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

[goldendaze]

Hi everyone on 12/5. We are Dara & Andy. We are not getting any type of shots. I am trying my best to stay away from sick people as we too cannot get the flu shot. I almost want to walk around with a mask so I won't catch anything before the trip! All that time breathing recirculated air on the long flights won't help. I think the Galapagos will be a cure for anything that ails! As far as altitude sickness we are not doing anything special. I read somewhere that walking prior to altitude exposure helps prevent symptoms. I guess that means hitting the treadmill.

Looking forward to meeting everyone.

Dara

[Gillian2]

I looked up the World Health sites and the US advisory and no shots were recommended even for our travels in Peru. We got Cipro and meds for altitude, but we will be over 14000 feet in Lake Titicaca. I'm not concerned about Quito.
On a different note..how was South Africa? We are going next year.

[Cruisergal1208]

Tom and I did get the flu shots and did not catch a cold on our last cruise as did several others. We also use Zicam swabs when travelling to help prevent colds from the plane trips.

Gillian2, S. Africa was awesome, beautiful, wonderful, etc. Words can not do it justice. We started in Cape Town and worked our way inland, back to the coast several times. Saw so much!! Had a 3 night stay in a safari camp just on the border of Kruger. We saw the "big 5" plus lots of other animals. We were so close to elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos, hippos , it was unbelievable. Our travel agent and her husband were our escorts and there were only 8 in our group. She takes groups of up to 12 about 4 times a year. We may try to go back next year with her. You will love it!!

I too checked the CDC and WHO sites about shots or meds for this trip and found that none were required. Have been looking for some of the books mentioned by X but have not found them locally. Have ordered one from Amazon.com.

Mary Ann and Tom

[Eliot]

[quote name='Judy S']Does anyone know if the dress of choice during excursions is bathing suit or shorts? This may sound odd, but do they bring a portapotty ashore, or are we not there all that long. [/QUOTE]
Hi Judy and Jim, Most people just wore shorts and if snorkeling a bathing suit underneath. No portapottys on the uninhabited islands. Most of the excurisons are not longer than a couple of hours. I think folks were fine without a bathroom.

Have a wonderful time!

[Eliot]

[quote name='Prewelli']We may not be ableto afford a blacony cabin - what were the others like?i[/QUOTE]
I think that they all are pretty nice - more or less the same. Ours just had the balcony so the room may have seemed a bit larger. I think you'll love it with or without a balcony!

Enjoy!

[ngaude]

We are leaving for the Galapagos Oct/2005 - how was the weather? Did you go in Oct?

[ngaude]

Any pictures of the Xpedition or cabin 401? We booked this one for Oct/2005.
Am really not too concerned though about the ship. All Celebrity ships are great and to me this trip is all about the islands and the wildlife.

[Trobrah]

Hi,
We initially booked an XO cabin but I changed it to an XD # 305 for 9/16/05. We can't wait. We get into Quito the first night very late. Should we change our 10 night reservation to an 11 night so we have two full days in Quito, 1 before and 1 after?
Thanks,
Jay

[Trobrah]

I apologize for misspelling your name!
Jay

[Eliot]

[quote name='Trobrah']I apologize for misspelling your name!
Jay[/QUOTE]
Oh Gosh - don't worry about it! We were happy with the 10 package. We did get up at the crack of dawn (well actually pre-dawn) for our flight but besides that the time in Quito seemed fine.

Enjoy your trip!!

[Twojacks]

[quote name='curisergal']YAHOO!! Got our docs yesterday and have read them several times. This is going to be so exciting. Up to date, our land tour of South Africa last Sept. has been the trip of a lifetime but this one may out rate it. The docs really answered a lot of my questions. Will any of you be getting shots of any kind and will you be prepared for altitude sickness while in Quito? Looking forward to all being casual dress and not packing all that formal stuff. Judy, thanks for listing all of us that has posted so far. Our real names are Mary Ann and Tom. Looking forward to meeting you all at the Marriott.

Ken and Carole, were you on the Infinity last March for the South America cruise? We met a couple with the same names and were wondering if it was you.

Going to the book store to purchase some books to read and highlight what we will be doing and seeing.[/QUOTE]
We were not on that particular sailing. Sure wish we had been, though :) This is going to be an excellent trip! We'll see you all in Quito!

Ken and Carole

[sheeng]

I have a couple of things to add having recently returned.

If hot tea is important to you then do take your own leaves or bags. It was impossible to get a good English cuppa as they offered only herb teas and fruity teas.

We flew into Quito early and were so glad. On the 10 night package you hit the ground running and it can be quite exhausting. We used our extra time museum going and leisurely shopping and strolling.

[SandyR5]

Hi - You said you flew into Quito early. Do you mean the day before or just early in that day? If you flew in the day before, did you book the Marriott on your own for that extra night? Thanks. Just looking for lots of opinions before we book. :)

[Gillian2]

Sheeng:
Thank goodness you wrote! I couldn't be without my English breakfast tea so I will make sure to take lots of bags. Although, I will have to limit ny usual 4 cups at breakfast due to the non-existant facilities on the islands.
AAgghhh, for anyone from England a vacation without 'regular' tea would be very difficult!!!! :eek:
We arrive at 2:30ish on the Friday. Any specific suggestions of what to do then and all day Monday when we return as our flight leaves at 9:30pm. We don't want to duplicate the Celebrity tour. Any suggestions for a restaurant Friday night as Celeb. does not provide that meal?
Ta very much.
Gillian2 :) :)

[TheReadBaron]

We will be getting into quito at 9 at night on Friday, so I guess we'll just eat on the plane. However - has anyone eaten at the Marriott restaurant? Figured wed just eat there on Saturday night. I am hearing mixed reviews about going out at night in Quito. Could someone tell me about the neighborhood around the hotel? Safe? Nightlife? Restaurants?

Plunked down the rest of deposit. It's official - we're on the Feb. 13 sailing. Thanks for the help!

[SheilaNC]

[quote name='TheReadBaron']We will be getting into quito at 9 at night on Friday, so I guess we'll just eat on the plane. However - has anyone eaten at the Marriott restaurant? Figured wed just eat there on Saturday night. I am hearing mixed reviews about going out at night in Quito. Could someone tell me about the neighborhood around the hotel? Safe? Nightlife? Restaurants?

Plunked down the rest of deposit. It's official - we're on the Feb. 13 sailing. Thanks for the help![/QUOTE]
Hi,
we booked additional days at the Marriott on our own...got a good rate online. We're using freq flyer tickets and could only get them if we go 2 days early and leave 1 day late. Works out much cheaper even considering the extra nights at the hotel and meals. Only thing we seem to be missing out on is the Celebrity transportation to the hotel and since Marriott covers that, no problem. FYI, we're booked on the 3/25/05 10 day trip....can't wait.

Sheila

[SheilaNC]

Hi, We're in 318 on the March 25th cruise. Do let us know how your cabin works out when you get back. We're excited....

Sheila

[kcsc]

I need some advice. My wife and I are booked on the Xpedition for April 22. We found out today that she is pregnant but we don't know if we should cancel our trip or not. She will be about 6 months pregnant when its time to go. We don't want to cancel, but we are both worried that this trip might be too physically demanding for her. This is our first child so we're not sure just how much activity she can or can't have at 6 mo. Please give us some advice on what we should do. Thanks for everyone’s help!

Scott

[socrmom]

I don't know if I would want to travel out of the country. I think that is more of a concern than the physical intensity. If it were me, I would look into going earlier in the year when she is 3-4 months along. Just a thought.

[socrmom]

We are booked for a June 2005 trip (6/26)on the Xpedition. I just read a review by someone, not on this board, that there are also 3/4 cruisers on the ship. That is, on the 3rd or 4th day the ship drops off and picks up passengers at the airport on its way to another stop. Some people will actually take a 3 day cruise and some will take a 4 day cruise. Does anyone know if this is true?

Also, are wetsuits provided and if so what condition are they in? Do you need them?

We have two rooms in the front of the ship (419 and 420). Is the anchor a problem?

[SandyR5]

Hi KC.. If it were me, I wouldn't want to be out of the country in my 6th month. I also think you'll miss out on many of the excursions you would like to do. I would postpone this trip. Just my opinion. More important...CONGRATULATIONS. !

[TheReadBaron]

All that I have read (and I am a travel writer too), the excursions are physically demanding. Wet landings could be dangerous if she slips too. Better to wait. Congrats though!

[TheReadBaron]

[quote name='socrmom']We are booked for a June 2005 trip (6/26)on the Xpedition. I just read a review by someone, not on this board, that there are also 3/4 cruisers on the ship. That is, on the 3rd or 4th day the ship drops off and picks up passengers at the airport on its way to another stop. Some people will actually take a 3 day cruise and some will take a 4 day cruise. Does anyone know if this is true?

Also, are wetsuits provided and if so what condition are they in? Do you need them?

We have two rooms in the front of the ship (419 and 420). Is the anchor a problem?[/QUOTE]
but I called Celebrity and they told me that wasn't the case. You can only take a 7 night cruise. why it stops then I have no idea.

[Eliot]

[quote name='socrmom']We are booked for a June 2005 trip (6/26)on the Xpedition. I just read a review by someone, not on this board, that there are also 3/4 cruisers on the ship. That is, on the 3rd or 4th day the ship drops off and picks up passengers at the airport on its way to another stop. Some people will actually take a 3 day cruise and some will take a 4 day cruise. Does anyone know if this is true?

Also, are wetsuits provided and if so what condition are they in? Do you need them?[/QUOTE]
Only 7 day cruises and actually most people do the 10 package. We had an older couple who missed the boat and little fishing dighy brought they a couple days into the trip but otherwise noone did anything less than the full trip. I think that prior to this ship being a Celebrity ship it may have done 3/4 night trips - that approach seems popular on the other ships in the Galapagos.

Yes, wet suits and all snorkeling equipment is provided - very nice quality stuff.

Cheers!

[snorklinbarb]

Great info here! Makes the waiting till Jan. 14th a bit easier.

spengle,

Like you, we are using FF miles to Quito and will be looking to just spend that 1/12 night at the Marriott. Did you just book on their website or go somewhere else for a better price?

Also, I'm a little confused about the "transportation included airport to Marriott". A couple of posters seem to suggest that it is included even if it's not on the "normal" day flights would be arriving if arranged by Celebrity. How do you go about that, since we will be arriving a full 2 days in advance of our "tour" group.

Or spengle, you seem to say that the Marriott is covering yr transport? How did you arrange that?

We are planning a 1 night stay in Otavalo prior to our group tour beginning with the city tour of Quito. Has anyone done that? Where have you stayed? We would not be there for the Sat. mkt, but still thought it worth a visit...true?
All of these Galapagos threads have given me so much great info - a big thank you to all of you! Anyone else on the 1/14/05 sailing? See you!:D