catspaw1

I have followed a number of your cruises & really enjoyed them. I'm looking forward to hearing about this cruise also. We are interested in diving & snorkeling around those islands so would love it if you can post any info on that. Smooth sailing! Also, can you comment on Celebrity compared to your prior trips about a decrease in service & food if any? Many people on CC are commenting about that. Thanks & have a great cruise!

Thanks Kiwi. We sailed with a lot of Kiwis & they always told us how beautiful NZ is. Can we get around as an independent traveler without renting a car? Driving on the left is hard for me. The cruise sounds great. We thought we would get a one way cruise & see NZ by ourselves after the cruise

Thanks so much..Can you do it via the app?

How do you cancel & rebook at a lower price? I already bought the upgrade to premium at 25% off but hoping it will go lower. I watch daily.

Southernmost on TripAdvisor they say the good places to see NZ are further from the cruise port. Their advice was to take a land tour. We want to go to NZ also so would like to hear comments about this. We have never taken a European cruise as I can't imagine going to Rome for a few hours! We spent 5 days there on our own & didn't see everything

So accounting for time to get off the ship at 10am & last boarding at 230pm- you have less than 4 hours to see Napier. That's not good. Was this a tender port also? Is there anything to see close by the port? O have enjoyed reading your blog so far as we were thinking about the same cruise. On TripAdvisor many people suggested a land tour was preferred as they said the "good stuff" was too far from the cruise ports to get a really good feel about NZ. Can anyone comment on this?

I would probably go that time also. Maybe ask Celebrity or the Marriott in which order you need to do things between passport control, luggage inspection, check-in & bag drop. Plus no TSA precheck so might take longer to go through security. Will Celebrity help at the airport since you are flying independently? We speak Spanish although not fluently - we can get by fine. Also please let us know what happens when you have to pay the national park fee upon landing. Celebrity has said its included in our price but I'm not sure what happens if you already paid. You are lucky to go now as the park fee is increasing to $200 from $100 with no grandfather for those of us who already booked & gave deposit.

yes I know about the time difference & I always hate it as it's so confusing. We got to Bangkok once & it was 35 hours bed to bed after flying in business class. We kept getting up at 3am & my husband said the only people up at that hour were us & the prostitutes! It took almost a week to get adjusted to the time difference.

waterbug that's a really early flight but I would rather get there early & not miss the ship! I am sure the Marriott will know what time you need to leave for the airport but considering it's a 45 minute drive to the airport, that means leaving around 5am or maybe earlier. I am always early for flights! I would rather pay more for a refundable ticket, seat selection & higher baggage allowance also. Please let us know when you return where they can stow a large suitcase for each of us onboard. Rolling duffel bags are probably better but the big duffels we have don't roll so hard to carry. I like to carry my own luggage, so I know where it is & not depend on anyone to carry. I don't like to drag them on the floor. I'll see.

waterbug,good idea on the wipes. Let us know if flying out the same day as the cruise works as we might consider doing that also. Getting to Puerto Ayova will transferring on a ferry bus & taxi seems like a schlep with luggage so leaving right from Baltra would be better. I haven't look at flights yet since it's 15 months away. what time does your flight leave Quito & arrive? & how much was flight?

waterbug- about going up the teleferico... remember that's at a much higher altitude than Quito which is already high. Altitude seasickness is a real possibility. I got it in Cuzco & we had already been in Machu Pichu & surrounding areas for almost a week. With altitude, it's better to go up gradually. So let us know how that works out. At the teleferico in Merida VZ once, I got it so bad I had to immediately descend. Let us know how you like Mindo. We would like to stay 2 nights to see the birds at dawn. If the boat is rolling around so much, 2 pieces of luggage won't stay upright. will they store it somewhere? We really don't want to buy more luggage!

I have splashguards & was going to buy a neoprene pants. We are going to Bermuda in July so will test them out. Did you bring sunscreen & bug spray?

I am concerned about putting 2 large pieces of luggage in that small room. is there anywhere else to store them?

waterbug, would appreciate your doing a TR when you return also. We are also independent travelers so getting to Baltra on our own. We thought we would spend anywhere from 1-3 nights in Baltra before our cruise so please let me know what you think & how many days. My current plan is arrive day 1 probably pm. Day 2 walk around & look for a boat ride the next day. Day 3 snorkel trip. Day 4 go to the ship. How does that sound? It's still a lot cheaper to DIY than Celebrity wants even paying for air, food & 2-3 nights hotel in Baltra. We will also get our own guide in Quito. Please let us all know if the current situation in Ecuador affects your tip at all. We would like to go up to Mindo for a few days prior to the cruise also if it's safe.

Thanks XCX. Really appreciate the information as there is not much posted on the Xploration. How was the food? Normally at anchor, boats face into the wind. With a smaller boat they can usually hide behind an island to minimize boat movements. Did they do that or was it cross wave & wind action that caused all the rolling? I wonder why they needed to keep engine on 24/7 but maybe they don't have a generator? How were the cabins? Any other pros & cons to the Xploration? Thanks for taking the time to post.

We sailed our own boat to Bermuda & have cruised there before. Let me know if you need any local info. We love horseshoe bay beach & tobacco bay beach in St. George's. The island is very pricey. September is prime hurricane season although Bermuda rarely gets a direct hit.

We went to the Acadia birding festival last year & it was great. We would definitely recommend it. Unfortunately a noreaster came through for several days so they had to cancel numerous days of boat trips.

Thanks for the helpful information. How about hiking sticks? We have really good ones we regularly use hiking. Looks like the Celebrity ones are wooden & won't grip as well as mine with rubber tips. My husband took a photo workshop in Yosemite NP last year & is taking one next month in Great Smokey Park. We usually go to GSMNP 1-2 weeks a year. Look at Silver Salmon Creek lodge in lake Clarke National Park in AK for fabulous bear watching & salmon fishing. We are staying 3 nights late July next year. Very very expensive but my husband wanted to do bear photography. It got great reviews. We went to AK 30 years ago &:loved it but I understand it's much more built up now. Be aware that most of Denali park is closed as a bridge fell down & won't be repaired til 2026. We are heading to GSMNP for 10 days in April, going to SD, WY& CO for 16 nights starting in late May & then a Celebrity Cruise to Bermuda in July.

That's great to know that we don't need long wetsuits. We have our own shorty wetsuits. Should we bring our own or use theirs? Ours are easy zip up the back- we use them diving. Your pictures were awesome! My husband is an avid photographer & bird watcher so he has loved your pictures. We have good binoculars- should we bring them? I know the cruise said they have some but don't know their quality. Thanks for the fast reply! We decided to go next year due to the El Nino affecting the Galapagos this year. Next year is supposed to be a LA Nina. We booked the Xploration as we wanted a smaller boat with less people. We are blue water sailors so are used to small boats. Any other gear you can think of? What shoes did you bring? We have keen water shoes, & dive booties. We have hiking boots & shoes but think we will just bring the hiking shoes. Slip ons like cross for the boat? What type of underwater camera did you see used? We were thinking of buying a go pro. We are also going to a bear lodge in AK July next year so could use it then also. Did anyone dress up at night or is shorts/shirts or sundress ok?

Thanks so much for posting the outstanding TR & photos. We have booked the Xploration for June 2025 & got the last lower priced cabin. Your very detailed report really helped a lot! I know it was a lot of work but very much appreciated! We are heading out on the Eclipse back to Bermuda again in July- no where near what we expect on the Xploration! Question- I know the cruise supplies shorty wetsuits. Did you feel you needed a full wetsuit? We will be bringing neoprene pants &splashguard but 70 water is cold for snorkeling. We used to dive in Bermuda & when the water was below 80 we felt it was freezing. Do you think we should bring a full wetsuit? We are bringing our own snorkeling gear as we know it works. We have dive booties & the fins easily snap in. Thanks!

Thanks David for all the helpful information!

Sorry I just saw you posted it before. I just woke up so didn't read the post throughly. Did he charge $100 for the day sround Quito? We would like to spend a few nights in Mindo too depending on the security situation. We would like to see the telefrico also but from having been to Peru, we know it's very important not to go to a higher altitude until you acclimate for a few days. I had to get the onsite medic give me oxygen at the Marriott in Cuzco because I got altitude sickness. Excellent marriott in Cuzco BTW.

David, can you give me the contact info on your guide in Quito? Normally we get around fine ourselves touring, but with security issues increasing in Ecuador we would rather get someone to pick us up from the airport & tour us around for a day. I'll read the other posts also. We are sailing on Eclipse to Bermuda in July. Did this cruise pre Covid & we haven't cruised since. We also sailed our own boat there & spent some time in Bermuda- love it there. Thanks so much for taking the time to post- I know its a lot of work!

Mahdnc, I'm reading your Galapagos TR & it's awesome! Loved the pics! Can you PM me the contact info for your guide in Quito? Loved the pics of the JW Marriott. My husband is lifetime Titanium so we usually get treated well. We always have suite night rewards so will save some for then. I always get a good laugh when people who get seasick say they have a cabin high up in the ship. If you are prone to seasickness the best place is the lowest deck midship. Get out in the fresh air if you are starting to feel seasick & don't lay down - that seems to make it worse. Back to reading your great TR ....