catspaw1

We booked the the Xploration for that reason & it was a lot cheaper!

I just did a mock booking for 2026- only the Flora is listed. Anyone know why they are not listing the Xploration or Xpedition?

They spoke about the Flora but I didn't hear them mention the other 2 ships that I heard. They also kept pushing the 10 & 16 day trips & it wasn't until the very end where they said you could do only a week. I thought the presentation could have been better. Can anyone confirm if only the Flora is going in 2026? We are booked on the Xploration next year

Sorry my fault! You are right

Just finished watching the Galapagos presentation to get captains club points. Apparently they aren't sailing the xploration or Xpedition in 2026.

We have had them for years & still good. Next week we are going to CO, WY & SD for hiking & the national parks. They are coming with us as well as my packaged soap.

We have been using them for years. Never put in the dryer. Just came back from hiking in GSMNP. One day we did almost 10 miles, 165 flights steps & almost 22000 steps. Darn tough socks used every day when hiking- love them.

Don't buy it. What happens if it removes the UV protection because of it? Will you pay for My clothes? Pants are over $100, darn tough socks $25, shirts over $60. So yes good clothes are expensive bur last a long time if you take care of them. That's why I only use a dryer for a few minutes on low just to remove the wrinkles. Do you do all this when washing your clothes?

We cruised on our sailboat for 7 years full time so I understand Grey water & environmental rules.

I usually use delicate cycle & woolite, cold water & yes I have hand washed it a lot. I have had the clothes for years because of this. I put in dryer for less than 5 minutes & dry on a line. But harsh chemicals will wear away the clothes. I also just use about 2 tbs of woolite. Wirecutter had a recent review on washing you may want to read. This is just me & I'm fussy about laundry like I said.

Maybe we want to use our detergent because harsh chemicals ruin expensive clothes. I always use woolite detergent on the clothes & darn tough socks. So that's why I wanted to use my own. The clothes also have special UV protection. So I hope the clothes don't get ruined using their laundry detergent. So before you comment on people not wanting to comply, listen to our feedback & understand without making a snide comment.

I am fussy about the laundry so will bring the soap anyway as we will be spending more time in NZ than just the cruise. They are small pkg anyway.

I bought the 85lb hooks for our July Celebrity cruise so will test my clothesline on that cruise!

Why can't you use your own soap? I think I have woolite pkgs also. With expensive traveling clothes we have, you can't use cheap soap. I enjoy doing laundry but hate folding clothes! Our MBR is on the first floor steps away from the laundry room- so convenient!

But they have a DIY laundry room right? Is there a charge & do we need soap? I usually bring packaged soap - packaged like eye cleaner removal. Think it's tide & it works well. I don't use commercial machines to dry clothes so do the walls hold magnetic hooks like Celebrity?

Columbia & REI has convertible pants. I've had them for years & love them

We are considering a NZ cruise for next year. Is there anywhere to see the prices of excursions before we book?

I just checked the Elizabeth RI- $25 plus tax probably- for parking. Hotel was more expensive also- around $50 plus taxes. Woodbridge only 15 minutes further away. Since I'm coming from the south, Woodbridge is first. I'll keep staying at the RI in Woodbridge as its just one night pre cruise so we don't have to drive up from DC the day of the cruise. That's what we normally do.

The RI Woodbridge is only a few miles off the Tpke so I really haven't hit much traffic. We stop at wegmans in Mt. Laurel on the way up to get dinner so we don't leave the hotel once we are there. No traffic leaving early am. I come home to NY via NJ every other month. Lived over half century in metro NY area. I'm happy with Woodbridge & don't have to pay the higher hotel prices that were in Elizabeth.

My husband is lifetime marriott Titanium also & we stay at a lot of Marriotts. We stay so many nights we routinely get suite award upgrades. The RI in Woodbridge is fine - have stayed there before with many cruises. Our first cruise was in the 1980s. Elizabeth Marriotts charge for parking but Woodbridge doesn't. Woodbridge 30 minutes from cruise port. I am coming to NY again tomorrow. I still have family there so come up frequently.

The Xploration only holds 16 passengers, the Xpedition & Flora hold close to 50. Flora is all suites & much larger rooms. Flora has an elevator, not sure about the Xpedition. We cruised on our 44 foot sailboat for 7 years so are used to small spaces. Flora was around 8G more expensive. We know we won't be spending much time in the cabin as we will do every excursion possible so wanted a smaller & cheaper cruise. The other 8G we didn't spend we used to return to AK next year!

Me too about getting older. I too have hiked in RMNP & lots of other NP. We are big hikers. Just came back from 10 days hiking in GSMNP. After memorial day, we are heading to SD, CO & WY for 17 nights & hitting more NP. But it can't hurt to get a scrip for Diamex. As we get older, the body doesn't react as well as when we were younger! Thanks so much for all your wonderful hints. Sounds like you had a great time. We are looking forward to it.

Thanks for posting. We are on the Xploration next year so we are following your posts. Any tips would be helpful. We are doing cruise only. Enjoy!

thanks Waterbury for your helpful comments. I'm so glad you included the other 6 people in. Not everyone would do that! I hope if there's a group on our trip, they would do the same as there is just the 2 of us. We are very familiar with altitude sickness but have never taken meds. I had to get extra 02 by the medic at the Cuzco Marriott. I have learned if I just take it slow, lots of water & no booze I am ok. But I don't take any meds & within a few days am ok. We have done extensive hiking at elevation also.

Airbase, celebrity already told me to be at the airport by noon. But confirm with the celebrity galapagos desk - they have a separate number so hold time usually just a few minutes