catspaw1

We are booked on the Xploration next June & like you, will do independent flights & hotels. So any advice will be appreciated. We are Bluewater sailors so picked the Xploration as we wanted a smaller ship & since we lived aboard our sailboat for 7 years while sailing, we are used to small spaces. So any tips? Did you arrive early to Baltra or same day? Our thought was to come to Ecuador early & go up to Mindo- if safe security wise & see Quito, than get to Baltra & Puerto Ayova a few days ahead & take it easy before cruise starts. We will stay at a Marriott in Quito as we have lots of points& are Titanium lifetime. How was the ship itself? Were can you hang up wet clothes- cabin only or outside? Do we need clothes pins? How was the wetsuit quality? Was a shortie warm enough? We plan on getting neoprene dive pants to combat the sun. How was the food? Any helpful hints?

I thought it was in excess of 25 knots. That's not a lot of wind but if the seas are confused or if it's hitting the ship broad side, that can cause the rolling. We hit a gale storm in our AK cruise 30 years ago. We are Bluewater sailors so it didn't bother us as much but the dining room was about 80% empty! AK weather can be temperamental. Hope the weather improves for you.

Is it better to check in on the app or on a Laptop using cruise planner? Can we check others in that are linked to our reservation? How? Via the app or laptop? We checkin in another week. Thanks everyone! I can just get my checkin time & do the passport info later right?

What direction & wind speed have you been experiencing? Confused seas? For the ship to be rolling & moving so much, it seems like it must be over 25 knots & higher- 30-35??

I would recommend a 7 day cruise followed by an independent tour on your own. Very easy to rent a car. I would recommend going up to Denali national park for 3 nights in case the weather is bad. Lots of hiking also. The drive to Seward down the Kenai peninsula had awesome views.

We have been to Seward before 30 years ago when our HAL ship left from their. We spent several days in Seward prior to our cruise. It's very easy to make reservations yourself to take a boat tour of Kenai Fjords National Park. I highly recommend the 8 hour tour. Be aware it does cross open ocean water & it can be a rough crossing. However, the day we went in mid August, the seas were flat calm. Seward is a big tourist destination because of the park. I doubt you would have any injuries so not sure why you wouldn't just book it yourself.

Thanks for the helpful comments. One thing I would like to comment on is hiking boots. We are very experienced hikers- just returned from 10 nights in Great Smokey National Park where we go to yearly. Anyway, hiking shoes are like low cut like sneakers where hiking boots cover the ankle. Both give great traction on rough surfaces. It seems like it's more important here, with uneven terrain, to have good hiking poles though with rubber tip bottoms & collapsible to put in your suitcase. We are definitely bringing our hiking poles but haven't decided if we are going to bring the hiking shoes or boots. I usually use the boots when the terrain is tough, with tree roots or rocks but I'm leaning towards bringing the boots. To show our hiking experience, 1 day in Great Smokey we did over 21000 steps with 162 flights of steps & almost 10 miles- that was far beyond our usual 5 miles per day! Hope this helps. We already have the keen water shoe.

Agree that wet suits are heavy so we were thinking of using Celebrity. So let us know what you think of theirs. I'm bringing a neoprene leggings & rashguards also. We have dive flippers & boots which make it easy to get them on/off in the water. The flippers are bulky though. Just got back from 10 days in Great Smokey Mts & even though we drove, we minimized our suitcases so we could see if we could pack less & it was a success! We did use the hotels washer/dryer though. I think I'll have to hand wash in the Galapagos to minimize weight.

Thanks for the wonderful TR. Really enjoyed following it. Did you use the gopro underwater? I may have missed it if you did. Is it worth buying one for underwater photography? We are going to the Galapagos next year with Celebrity.

Thanks habendic, would really appreciate any tips you will have for the Xploration as we are booked for the room without the balcony. We booked cruise only as we will arrive in Baltra a few days early on our own. Plan on seeing Mindo (if safety allows) & will hire a private guide to see Quito. I love to snorkel so am interested in that. Also if you can tell us if you used celebrity wetsuits or should we bring our own? We are trying to reduce weight & may leave some things at the Marriott in Quito. Should we bring our own binoculars?

We sailed 30 years ago on HAL AK southbound. We are going to AL next year so are thinking of adding a cruise on & are debating between HAL & Princess. So we are anxious to read your TR. Thanks for taking the time to post. We would be doing southbound again.

I just checked & our June 7 cruise is not showing so I assume that means it's full. Same thing with our celebrity cruise to Bermuda.

The prices for the Xploration next June are now higher than when we booked this January. There are only balcony cabins left. All other dates in May - June are more expensive now. So glad we booked it already. I think the Flora would have been great but it was 8G higher than the Xploration so that pays for the flights & hotel/ meals 3 nights in Baltra. We will stay in the Marriott on points in Quito. My husband is lifetime Titanium so hopefully with suite awards, will get a suite. We are at a Marriott now in Pigeon Forge TN. Just did 20,000 steps today hiking. I haven't done that much in a long time. So we will try to stay in shape for the Galapagos!

Sorry I meant magnetic door hooks

Thanks Fedic, I was confident the boss would know where shopping was the best!! We are in Great Smokey park right now & have been doing over 12,000 steps per day with 1000 feet elevation max. We come here once- twice year so have hiking boots & shoes. Each are used differently depending on terrain. I think the hiking shoes will be fine in the Galapagos & will bring my collapsible hiking poles. Wooden hiking sticks that celebrity has, do not have the traction our poles do. We already have keen water shoes- bought some lightweight neoprene socks but haven't used them yet. We are bringing our own snorkeling equipment as we have good equipment & dive booties. We are PADI advanced divers. We are returning to AK next year also - going into Lake clarke NP on a 3 night bear lodge journey, independent travel inland & finally on a HAL cruise southbound- we did that 30 years. Did you think the Flora was worth the premium price? I like your suggestion to bring magnetic book hooks. We don't have a balcony though but will on the Eclipse. We will be on the Eclipse to Bermuda July 7. At the end of May, we are going to SD, WY & CO for 17 nights. We will be here in the Smokeys for 10 nights. We are very used to going to altitude- out west & to Peru. We know not to drink alcohol, drink lots of water & to take it easy for a few days. At the Marriott in Cuzco, they pump air into the room & I still needed to get extra O2 from the on-site paramedic! I've never had to take any meds.thanks for all the help!

Loved your TR. Can you ask the boss AKA your wife about where the best prices are for shopping- the airport or Puerto Ayova? Would there be anything you would do differently? Or any suggestions on what to bring or not? Bug spray? suntan lotion? Thanks so much for taking the time to post. It really helped a lot. We are looking forward to going there next year & your information & pictures were very helpful.

Thanks so much for posting the great TR. We are going on the Xploration next year so got a lot from your review. We chose the 7 day Xploration. Our plans are to spend a few days in Quito & Mindo (if safe) & arrive in the Galapagos a few days early so we can be well rested before the cruise starts. Can folks please post their Xploration TR?

I doubt that would be true as I have a policy. They charge 1.5% more for the policy if you don't have the travel booked with costco. So, since I paid more for nonCostco travel, I think your fears are unfounded. I think when word starts getting out about the costco insurance for non costco booked travel, a lot more people will start using it. I have confidence in Costco having been a member since the early 1990 that they will do the right thing- at least I hope!

We sailed full time for 7 years in the islands. Sea salt was a problem all the time as its very corrosive. It helps to wash with fresh water immediately but not always possible. We loved the summit & would cruise on her again anytime

I called them directly. I got insurance for 2 cruises from them. But you can't book directly online unless part of the travel was booked through Costco. No parts of our trip was booked through Costco, so I was able to get it only by calling them. Be prepared to have your Costco number available. The insurance is through Zurich. There's a phone number on costco travel insurance to call them. Don't call on a Monday as I was on hold for close to an hour. They are closed weekends. Hope this helps. They were cheaper with better coverage than most of the other insurance quotes I got. Plus you have the costco fall back if anything goes wrong

Ken, AK is awesome so I'm glad you are going for a longer time than just 7 days. For me, 7 days is just too short as AK is just too huge to see in 7 days. Free laundry sounds great as I usually have to do hand laundry. On a HAL cruise we took 30 years ago they had self serve washers & dryers which was great. You don't see that much anymore. Have a wonderful time & I will be following you along. Hope you have great weather!

I should clarify, we are going to a bear viewing lodge for 3 nights, will have around a 10 day independent land travel followed by a southbound cruise. Am watching cruise prices for a sale.

Ken, please let us know how you like Princess compared to Celebrity. Have a great time & have fun. Will be following along.

Thanks Ken for the reminder. We are going to AK next summer to a bear watching lodge & want to go back on an AK cruise like we did 30 years ago. Haven't decided on HAL which is who we went on the last time, or Prncess so will be watching your TR. Have a great time & enjoy!

The Xpedition was I think around 3-4G more than the Xploration we booked. For us this cruise is more about the ports & activities than the ship. From what I have read, many people are exhausted at night from all the daytime activity so we don't need the glitz & glamor. Sure the Xploration is not as glamorous as the Flora or Xpedition but we will use the money saved to fly to Baltra early before the cruise starts & see more of Ecuador by going up to Mindo & Quito for a few nights each. That's just IMHO.