Endeavor or Islander

[KC Dan]

We are looking to book a Galapagos trip in 2012 with National Geographic. The two choices are the Endeavor with 96 passengers and the Islander with 46. The Islander is a bit more expensive. Other than these two items, I wonder if there is any other consideration? I note the Islander is twin hulled and perhaps more stable. I would appreciate any feedback or observations.

 

Dan

[quelah]

You can't go wrong with either ship. We went on the Endeavor due to the lower cost and we loved it. We know some people who went on the Islander and said it was a beautiful ship. They felt it was better to travel with a smaller group. But we thoroughly enjoyed the 96 people we traveled with and neither the ship nor the excursions ever felt crowded at all. One difference is that the Endeavor has a glass bottom boat, which was used by people who did not want to snorkel. It also has large common areas including a library. But remember that this trip is all about getting off the ship and experiencing the Galapagos, which is a place you will never forget!

[NanciEA]

I to am considering a National Geographic cruise to the Galapagos, however, they seem to be catering more to families now. Their recent brochure includes numerous photos of children, even toddlers. I was thinking the Islander, being smaller, might have fewer youngsters. But then, with only 48 passengers, even a few little ones might make for a long week if they were not your own children or grandchildren. With year round schooling, home schooling, etc., booking during the "school year" does not really make that much of a difference these days. I have found it is more the target group the cruise line is marketing too. What was your experience?

[janetcbl]

We have been on 2 Lindblad expeditions. The trip to the Galapagos had only 4 children on board who were terrific youngsters and added to the adventure. The 2nd trip was through the Panama Canal and had about 8-10 children (holiday time) who were a nightmare: the parents booked the adult cabins at the bow of the ship and booked their children in cabins near the rear of the ship! Lindblad may be able to tell you how many children are booked on a specific cruise.

[MJC]

We're booked on the Islander for next week. I'll give some feedback when we return. As between the two ships, we mostly picked the Islander because the timing worked best with my semester break from teaching. We've been on small-ish ships before and always loved the experience.

[quelah]

There will probably be children on any Lindblad trip that is during the summer months, Christmas vacation, or spring break. But if you want to avoid children, just go at other times. On our February Galapagos trip there were 2 kids. On our Alaska trip in May, there were none.

[Bowie MeMe]

Not a Lindblatt but we have found to be excellent on two other eco cruises. We use International Expeditions and will be sailing on the

MV Evolution August 12. Some of the things we liked are 32 passenger boat, water ramp to snorkle and board small boats from, 2 3rd level naturalist guides so there is a more robust level (hiking to the top of the volcano) and less robust (panga ride to the penquin colony and bird walk on the beach) -- unfort. bad feet might need the lesser on occasion.

 

Our previous trips with this company was an Amazon River cruise/Machu Pichu trip that was probably our best ever and an African Safari with Park East to Tanzania/Zanzibar extension. Both had outstanding naturalists and the experience was wonderful and pretty active. Food good and service very good and entertainment was provided by Mother Nature.

 

The price break for children on IE is about $100/child so not much and they are limited to only a few cabins.

 

We go August 2011 and I will be glad to comment after we come back.

We just got the information packet/reading list/ bird list/ and activity description book and I am SOOO excited.

[scmomof2]

I just posted my review of Endeavour from last month. We had about 8-10 kids from 10 -18 yrs and they were so well behaved. One family had 4 kids, there were a few grandmothers with their grandchildren, etc. They sat at a kids table at meals, a naturalist always joined them, and had several of their own activities (like learning to drive a panga). I had heard some scary stories from trips my dad has taken with kids on board. At first, I avoided getting in line near them. By the end, I did several hikes with them. Just watching them see things through their eyes was fun (ie when they sat quietly around a crab hole waiting for it to pop it's head out). They saw some things we didn't initially catch. Now there were a group of Ecuadorian students (say 3rd grade maybe) on board with their teacher. That group we noticed as they were going outside the trails, and the teacher was telling them to pose a bit too close to the animals. They also ran through the lounge like horses dripping wet several times. I know there are family specific trips, so you can avoid those bookings.

[galapagosexpert]

Either of those options are great. I personally like the choices with a lesser amount of passengers. Some Galapagos ships only have 12 passengers!

A monohull ship will always be a bit rockier than a double-hull, but the waters around here aren´t particularly choppy. From June to Dec. there are stronger currents and slightly rougher waters.

Have a great time!

[MJC]

We did have some side-to-side rocking motion both underway and at anchor on the Islander. Personally I find it incredibly soporific and we slept very well. Neither of us has ever been seasick.

 

Out of 47 passengers, we had 8 children, which the crew said was an unusually high number. They ranged in age from about 8 to 15. They were very well entertained and had several special activities, although I wouldn't say that Lindblad was catering to families. A few were more talkative on the excursions than we would have liked, but adults can be that way too, and if you'd like a quieter experience which is less likely to disperse the animals you can always arrange your timing to be on a different zodiac from the more talkative folks. That was our experience in Antarctica as well.

 

With a small ship, at most we only had 4 groups and they were loaded and unloaded very quickly. That is a great plus if your goal is to maximize shore time. Each ship has a six hour time slot for any given landing site in the park, 6am-noon or noon-6pm, with the repositioning happening during lunch. There were several days when we had three activities before lunch because they could get everyone on and off so quickly, with the early activity at 6am being optional.

 

Our days were very full and most of our "down time" was either showering, eating, or sleeping. Even though the ship is small there are plenty of nooks to find some quiet time. Cabins are small and not conducive to hanging out, but like I said we were so active that it hardly mattered. Our previous WindStar cruises were similar, very active so the small cabin was not a consideration for us.

[scmomof2]

I hardly ever had to wait more than a few minutes to board the pangas on Endeavour. Then again, my cabin was at the end of the hall, so I would get there early. They have a great system for getting people on and off quickly. Some of the older folks took a little longer, but it wasn't an issue. These also organized several groups that would go out at designated times. The photography group usually got to go first so we could have max time ashore in the best of light. We too often had 2-3 excursions before lunch depending on which island we were visiting. On shore, the groups were staggered enough that we might see them in passing from time to time. Sometimes they would split us up. At Post Office Bay for example, half of the group would go ashore and do the mail thing while the other half did a panga ride. Then we switched. The nice thing about that was if one group missed seeing something, chances are the next group would catch it, and later share their photos.

[beavergal]

About shoes? Do you think water shoes would be ok for wet landings, then change into hiking boots.

[scmomof2]

Wet landings can be done on beaches. You can do some of them barefoot. Others you might want a shoe as there can be thorns or sharp rocks. Others are on wet, slippery rocks, so be sure you have something with good traction. They have towels for you to dry off your feet if you want to switch shoes. The towels are also provided for beach swims/visits so you don't need to bring one from home.

 

Dry landings are made on a dock or rock landing. You could still get your feet wet, so you might want something waterproof (also for muddy hikes). Hiking boots might be a little excessive, unless you want the ankle support. I wore a pair of Merrell hikers (more like sneakers) as I can't stand wearing boots. Some hikes are done over small boulders which can shift (ankle support would be nice here).

[beavergal]

Wet landings can be done on beaches. You can do some of them barefoot. Others you might want a shoe as there can be thorns or sharp rocks. Others are on wet, slippery rocks, so be sure you have something with good traction. They have towels for you to dry off your feet if you want to switch shoes. The towels are also provided for beach swims/visits so you don't need to bring one from home.

 

Dry landings are made on a dock or rock landing. You could still get your feet wet, so you might want something waterproof (also for muddy hikes). Hiking boots might be a little excessive, unless you want the ankle support. I wore a pair of Merrell hikers (more like sneakers) as I can't stand wearing boots. Some hikes are done over small boulders which can shift (ankle support would be nice here).

Thanks, mine are Merrell hikers also. So it will be those and my pool shoes. Less than four weeks to go!

[MJC]

I had my summer hiking boots, Merrill mesh maryjanes, and flipflops. I liked having flipflops on board because if you go up on deck during the day the surface is hot and you need something on your feet. Even though it's hot up there it's a great vantage point, and one day we saw flying fish. I used the Merrill's for a couple of wet landings where there was coral or rocks on the beach, and for a few of the hikes that where the paths were fairly level and smooth. I really liked having hiking boots for the lava walk on Santiago, the blowhole hike on Espanola, and Prince Phillip's steps. I liked the grip they gave me and the ankle support. That being said, many people were perfectly happy with the Merrills or Tevas on the same walks. Also saw a lot of lightweight hiking shoes, sneakers, etc. We went to Machu Picchu after and I wanted my hiking boots for that anyways. It really is an individual thing. I do think on the rockier hikes you might want toe protection. They were very specific in the briefings about what footwear they recommended and what conditions would be like, to help you make your choice.

 

We did have one hike where the mosquitos were horrific, and I was happy to have on long pants, socks and boots. All the naturalists said that it was very unusual to have them that bad. I think that was Espanola too. Once we were inland a bit they completely went away, but at the landing sight they were everywhere.

[lpslps]

Competition for Lindblad Panama cruise?

We like the idea of the Lindblad/NG cruise of panama and Costa Rica. Is there a competitor who we should look at before deciding?