Seahorse Lover

Ohhhh it would be ideal if Lindblad would do a transfer to the airport at the earliest disembarkation time. If not, I was planning to get a taxi to take us to the nearest car rental agency, but without knowing where the port is located (and Lindblad reps on the phone didn't know) I don't know where to begin looking to find the nearest rental location.

Thanks for the idea of the early transfer to the airport. I will work with Lindblad when the time gets closer.

Thank you for the thought, but the transfer goes to the airport by way of an all morning outing at the Blue Lagoon and lunch somewhere. We're heading down to Vik and seeing some sights along the way, so would like to rent the car as soon as we get off of the ship.

Sounds like the weather isn't as chilly as I thought if you were fine in rain jackets.

Thank you for your quick reply!

I have two questions for folks who have been to Iceland with Lindblad. We plan to rent a car once we disembark. Can you tell me where the ship docks, so I can figure out where to rent a car? Also, will our Antarctica parkas be overkill for this trip? We are flying to Greenland for three days prior to boarding the Explorer.

Thank you :)

We felt that the educational sessions, additional activities and more snorkeling opportunities were worth the extra money for our family. Also, the children's activities for our grandchildren were a plus. That being said, what is important is different for each individual.

Happy sailing!!! You'll love the Galapagos whichever company you choose.

Hello,

Thanks so much for your recommendations and comments on the Iceland trip. We are definitely allowing enough time before and/or after to visit the Golden Circle. I plan to rent a car and see the sights at our own pace rather than book the Lindblad extension. Sometimes we get caught up in taking the "perfect" photo and aren't ready to leave when the rest of the group is.

I have enjoyed reading the daily expedition reports from both Iceland trips this year and have printed them off for future reference. It has been enjoyable to read what was seen at each stop.

Thank you for the info on the boots. Not taking them will save enormously on packing.

I have been looking at 2 day trips from Reykavik to Greenland through Air Iceland. Did you hear any conversations on this topic?

Any other thoughts or tips you have would be greatly appreciated.

Ten and a half months to go :) Hooray!

Hello AirHog and hrprof,

How was Iceland and the trip aboard the Explorer? I would REALLY welcome any comments or tips you might have.

Thanks in advance!!!

Fellow NG Lover

Along those same lines, could anyone comment (either thumbs up or thumbs down) on any of the Wind Spirit shore excursions for the Panama Canal voyage? Does anyone have any good ship or private guide experiences they could share...along with guide recommendations?

Thank you ;)

All of our breakfasts and lunches were buffet. The first night the dinner was also buffet, but after that dinners were served. After breakfast you would sign up for one of three dinner selections on a signup sheet outside of the dining room. We soon found out that you could signup for a half portion, which my husband and I did. That was plenty of food for us! People filtered in for breakfast at different times, so the line was never long. Soup was served to you at lunch, so people finished that at different times or declined, thus the rush to the buffet wasn't too bad. Each of the buffet items were labeled, so you knew what you were getting. You are correct, Shawnino, the Ecuadorian selections were great, but even US type foods were prepared well, in our opinion. We sampled so many new to us foods and enjoyed all but a couple. I can't call my son-in-law a picky eater anymore. He (and I) were concerned he wouldn't find enough to eat that he liked, but he was pleasantly pleased with the selections and variety. Our grandkids were fairly adventuresome also, sometimes with not great results. Eventually they pretty much settled on the kids' menu with typical crowd pleasers, for dinner and did their experimenting at the buffets, where they could see what they were getting, so as not to waste food.

We also enjoyed the appetizers at the nightly wrap up sessions. Having an adult beverage and some munchies was a great transition to dinner.

Happy sailing!!!

Hi,

We didn't do the S Georgia/Antarctica trip. Since we are both working we couldn't be gone that long. Antarctica was AMAZING. We have been to the Falklands on another trip and I loved that as well. I'd love to get to South Georgia...maybe some day.

I printed the Expedition Guide off of the website. I just reread it and still don't see mention of knee-high waterproof boots. It does mention hiking boots. At least I have over a year to get the packing list refined :)

I would love to hear your observations once you return.

Happy Travels!

Yes. We went down the Columbia River in the Pacific NW on the Sea Bird, went to Antarctica and just returned from the Galapagos with the Machu Picchu extension. Every trip has been excellent, soooo since Iceland has intrigued me, we used credits from the last trip and booked Iceland :).

I think we may turn the 10 day Lindblad cruise into 2 weeks because of how the weekends hit the 10 day period. No use paying for the airfare to get there and not seeing everything that looks interesting.

Would you be so kind and report back on how the trip went for you? Also, if you are adding on days I would be interested in the extra places you visited.

Also, I am wondering if any of the landings are wet? We have our boots from Antarctica, but don't see them mentioned on the packing list as being required for Iceland.

Happy travels!!!

This voyage sounds interesting. Have any CCrs been on it yet?

Hello,

We just returned from Lima and took 3 tours with Haku tours. They were great! We did a photo tour of the lighted buildings around the main plaza at night, then went to the Fountain Park, which was fantastic!!!! The most memorable lasar-music show we have ever seen.

The following day Edwin took us to the ruins South of Lima, which were very interesting. Edwin shared so much of his knowledge about the ruins, the civilization at that time and the restoration that is taking place.

Our third tour was a walk through a nature preserve, which was interesting.

Happy Travels.

We just returned from touring the Galapagos on the NG Endeavor. We sailed the Galapagos with Celebrity in 2007. Comparing our two experiences, we found the Lindblad ship offered more snorkeling opportunities and seemed to keep us busier than Celebrity. Of course, we are 7 years older too:). Lindblad offered a Junior Ranger Program, zodiac driving lesson (issuing a drivers license) and a pizza and movie night for our Grandchildren. My vote would go to Lindblad if kids are involved. Lindblad offered the ROV camera, but I only remembered it being used one time. Still, it was interesting. The nightly recaps seemed to be more of a learning experience than Celebrity's, but in an entertaining way. Lindblad's glass bottomed boat was a draw for my non-snorkeling hubby, but he said it was more of a seasick experience. Many passengers shared his opinion, so I wouldn't let the availability of that feature sway your decision. We had read on these Boards to be prepared for less than great dining experiences. All 6 of us in our group, including the kids and picky son-in-law, found the food to be really good, not 5 star, but consistently much much better than I have experienced on several of the large cruise ships, who aren't operating within the constraints of using locally sourced foods.

Our kids and grandkids went home after the Galapagos, while my hubby and I took the extension to Macchu Picchu.

Feel free to ask any more specific questions about our experience.

Thank you for your reply. Just over 2 weeks and counting......

Thank you so much for your reply. The board was the method used on the Sea Bird/Columbia River trip too. Every corner in the suitcase and ounce counts in this packing project :)

We are in the final countdown and all of us are very excited. One question that came up during laying out what we will need, are plastic cards issued for getting on and off of the ship? I was just wondering if I need to take the larrets to hang the cards around our necks to keep track of them.

Thank you :)

Does anyone have recent news on how they are coming with clearing the rock slide? It's one month until our visit :)

Thank you for a very interesting review. We are getting ready to leave for a sail aboard the Endeavor the end of March, so I really appreciated the information on what worked for you shoe-wise, what you experienced on the various islands and your snorkeling experiences.

HAS ANYONE BEEN ON THE ENDEAVOR LATELY? CAN YOU PROVIDE SIMILAR INFORMATION?

Thank you :)

Thank you so much for all of the great tips. Our granddaughter needs her sleep, so the flight selections will be made with your reply in mind. Happy travels!!!

Thank you very much for your reply and information on the availability of snorkel gear. My husband and I visited the Galapagos with another company about 6 years ago and I've been waiting ever since for the Grandkids to be a good age to make the trip. Both of them are such nature lovers.

Any other thoughts you can share about making this trip with children (and their parents) would be greatly appreciated. What to pack and what to leave home? Recommendations of what to read before we go? Should we consider 2 or 3 rooms for the 6 of us? Does Lindblad fill the hours in Guayaquil for you or should we find a private guide to show us around?

Thank you, in advance, for any insights you are able to give to make this an extra special vacation for all of us :)

We are taking our grandchildren, ages 8 and 11, to the Galapagos next Spring. Can anyone tell me if snorkel gear that would fit them is available onboard?

Thanks in advance.

Great review. Thanks!

We were on the Lindblad ship you saw at Deception Island on Jan 25th. That was our last landing...and your first. The Drake was alittle shakey for us, but nothing like you experienced. Our Captain mentioned trying to beat the storm. So glad he did.

What a trip, eh?