Galapagos Review

[8mma]

Gonzo, Loved your picture of the Sally Lightfoot Crab - thank you so much for sharing with us all!

[prague70]

Gonzo,

 

Thanks for the great review.

 

I am an avid sea kayaker and have researched kayaking and diving in the Galapagos. It is my understanding that there is only one company permitted to allow kayaking in the archipelago. As a side note, it is also my understanding that the companies permitted to do snorkeling can't to diving. I was told you don't really need to dive, as the snorkeling is so great, but it is actually easier in my opinion to have a regulator and be able to be under water, if only a few feet vs a snorkel full or partially full, of salt water.

 

Glad you had a great trip.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

I went with Celebrity in June and at that time the water was very clear. The water was not that deep and people were able to dive to the bottom. I did not but was able to see fine by just floating. Before you book with Celebrity, please read the information on Lindblad vs.Celebrity on this site. There was too much down time between the morning and afternoon activities, many people on our ship were ill (not seasick) and precautions weren't taken as they had been on other Celebrity ships with norovirus. Especially if you are traveling with children consider Lindblad. They have special activities-dinners, panga driving lessons, hikes, kayaking etc. for children.The dinners on Celebrity were way too late for children and the guides were not up to par. Lindblad is more expensive but at times they offer free airfare and if you can find a "Friend for Life"-2 trips with them, you can get a 10% discount. Nancy

[beachchairs2]

well maybe with celebrity, this type of cruise is not intended for children...I sure hope not...we will be on it in dec of 2016...hope all the kids stay in school...

 

have not read that people bring their kids on the expedition....now you have me worried...

[need2bespoiled]

I went with Celebrity in June and at that time the water was very clear. The water was not that deep and people were able to dive to the bottom. I did not but was able to see fine by just floating. Before you book with Celebrity, please read the information on Lindblad vs.Celebrity on this site. There was too much down time between the morning and afternoon activities, many people on our ship were ill (not seasick) and precautions weren't taken as they had been on other Celebrity ships with norovirus. Especially if you are traveling with children consider Lindblad. They have special activities-dinners, panga driving lessons, hikes, kayaking etc. for children.The dinners on Celebrity were way too late for children and the guides were not up to par. Lindblad is more expensive but at times they offer free airfare and if you can find a "Friend for Life"-2 trips with them, you can get a 10% discount. Nancy

 

Not interested in Kid's, especially on this cruise but we've also been looking at some of the very small boats (20 people).

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[skittl1321]

well maybe with celebrity, this type of cruise is not intended for children...I sure hope not...we will be on it in dec of 2016...hope all the kids stay in school...

 

have not read that people bring their kids on the expedition....now you have me worried...

 

I've read of a few people who brought families with kids. However, Celebrity does not cater to them at all, so it isn't that common. The youngest "kid" traveling with a parent on our cruise was 26.

 

Also, I'm not sure it is right to say Linblad has better guides. The guides work for the national park, not Celebrity or Linblad. They freelance on the ships for various lengths of time and get various assignments with different companies. But the company does not train the guide in anyway.

 

I found the guides spoke to the level of the group. The more intelligent questions asked, the more specific information offered freely (in addition to answering the questions.)

[herbanrenewal]

Reading these reviews and seeing the posted photos has definitely increased my interest. Thanks to original poster, and to all who added more...now to figure out how to pay for this one - I want to go!

 

oops - I just checked prices through December 2016 and there are no interior cabins listed. I need as cheap as possible for this one

Edited October 19, 2014 by herbanrenewal

[2552phxcrzr]

oops - I just checked prices through December 2016 and there are no interior cabins listed. I need as cheap as possible for this one

 

No inside cabins. Check out the deck plan. I believe least expensive is deck 3 forward. Best prices are usually immediately after the itinerary is published for the year in question; although there have been some recent last minute bookings mentioned; not sure how the pricing compared.

Edited October 19, 2014 by h2so4

[herbanrenewal]

No inside cabins. Check out the deck plan. I believe least expensive is deck 3 forward. Best prices are usually immediately after the itinerary is published for the year in question; although there have been some recent last minute bookings mentioned; not sure how the pricing compared.

 

okay, thanks

 

I was confused because the famous Celebrity website lists interiors as sold out, instead of not applicable.

[2552phxcrzr]

okay, thanks

 

I was confused because the famous Celebrity website lists interiors as sold out, instead of not applicable.

 

Considering the problematic nature of the X website ... it doesn't come as a surprise that they have no way to deal with a ship that is an anomaly when it comes to showing available cabin categories ;)

[bigpuma]

Sorry to nitpick but Lonesome George was a tortoise not a turtle. Same goes for the tortoise you are standing behind in your picture. Thanks for the great review.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Sloop-JohnB]

Hi GONZO70

 

Thanks for your Trip Report... A truly awesome read.

 

Your pics are GORGEOUS.

 

This is not my sort of vacation... But I do appreciate the concept.

 

Thanks for sharing, and taking me there with your words (lol, loved it this way cause it was bug free, not sweaty or strenuous for me :D )

 

Cheers!

Edited October 20, 2014 by Sloop-JohnB

[ecslady]

How was your weather at the beginning of October? Wondering if you thought this was a great month to go, as I have it booked for October 2016.

 

Great review with great pictures!

[Gonzo70]

How was your weather at the beginning of October? Wondering if you thought this was a great month to go, as I have it booked for October 2016.

 

Great review with great pictures!

 

Thanks.

 

The weather was generally outstanding; a bit cool in the early mornings/nighttime but warm the rest of the day (and could get hot if the sun was shining on you - and it was often sunny). As it becomes significantly hotter during what is winter in the U.S. I would not want to be doing strenuous excursions with higher temperatures. While the water temperature is a bit chilly in October, the wetsuits did a good job making it fairly comfortable for snorkeling (sometimes I got a bit chilled after being in the water for 1/2 hour at a time, but was not too bad and generally 45 minutes is the longest the snorkels last). Lots of great wildlife viewing in October too between the baby sea lions and the albatross and blue-footed-booby chicks. From what the naturalists said the wildlife is more abundant this time of year, but if you go during the wet season the scenery is more green/lush.

Edited October 20, 2014 by Gonzo70

[skittl1321]

okay, thanks

 

I was confused because the famous Celebrity website lists interiors as sold out, instead of not applicable.

 

I don't remember when it happens (the giant "anyone back thread" in roll calls might have someone who can answer)- but we booked our cruise the day they released dates for the new year- more than 2.5 years before our cruise. We took the very first forward cabin on deck 3; the cabin was very noisy, but we were happy to be on the cruise as inexpensively as possible. It is an oceanview, but I found the window to high and offset backwards to actually look out without climbing up on the counter...

 

That gave us the lowest rate on the room. I checked back multiple times in that time period (since I could cancel without penalty- I could just rebook for a lower price)- and the rates only went up.

 

The other way to go would be to book very last minute; but chances are you would spend more on a last minute flight, so that is a bit risky.

Edited October 20, 2014 by skittl1321

[MicCanberra]

Thank you for the review.:D

[Host Jazzbeau]

okay, thanks

 

I was confused because the famous Celebrity website lists interiors as sold out, instead of not applicable.

 

Xpedition has very few cabin categories compared to most X ships, and their website [surprise surprise] isn't equipped to reflect this. There are NO inside cabins. Also no "Verandas." The only categories are Oceanview [3 grades]; Xpedition Suite [2 grades; only 1 of the lower grade]; Royal Suite [1]; and Penthouse Suite [1]. All cabins are forward of midship, and the cheaper ones are on lower decks -- so you pay more but get a worse location if the seas are rough.

[jcrandle]

We were on the 10 night package ending 10/6/2014. We echo most of the comments in the original review (and thanks for your experiences). From a slightly different perspective, DW and I are in our mid to late 60's. We booked this cruise with our DD 37 and then husband a couple of years ago. Due to changes, we wound up changing our booking to include our DD as our cabin had a third bunk.

 

We are moderately fit, DD is into gym and hiking and Scuba certified. This was our bucket trip (OK our follow on trip to Machu Pichu really qualified as bucket ... or maybe casket trip) but this was her forte.

 

First our take on the food was that it was the best of any Celebrity main dining room quallty. Almost all of the food is locally sourced, due to Ecuadorian laws. We had been cautioned on Cruise Critic forums that the beef was apt to be tougher and less tasty than US palettes expected because it was grass fed. We were pleasantly surprised by the beef dishes. The seafood in our opinon was great quality, well prepared.

 

The bar staff was very attentive, and while I disappointed with my usual request for a bloody mary, or Johnny Walker on the rocks, they came through with Yellow Warblers and mudslides for the ladies.

 

The Naturalists were outstanding, and though they connected to us in different ways, they were all passionate in revealing the secrets or the islands to us, while balancing our safety and the protection of the environment. At home if I unrap a breath mint, I but the wrapper in my pocket, but in the islands, you really feel that you are in a holy place, and are careful not to damage it.

 

A quick word about three adults in a cabin. First, let your travel agent or Celebrity know that you will have a three person cabin, even if the stateroom info shows that is has a third berth. Since the Galapagos cruises are controlled by the Park Commission, they enforce the maximum number of passengers per ship, so you need to be sure that you are OK.

 

Considerations for three in a room. Always put the toilet seat down. Which leads up to the critical resource for two females and one 69 year old male in a stateroom - bathroom availability. We researched the deck plans and discovered that there were public bathrooms for ladies on our deck 3 and just one deck up for guys.

 

We were able to find storage for everything in the cabin, except for one suitcase that would not fit beneath the bed. Our cabin attendend was able to store it for the cruise.

 

In summary this was a wonderful cruise for us. Celebrity offered excursions that required varying degrees of physical ability and described them correctly. We tended to try to do as much as we thought we could because the excursions were so wonderful. We had to back off from a couple of plans, due to reality, but it was still the most wonderful cruise we have ever taken.

 

I hope that you will be able to experience this some day.

[PathfinderEss]

Great review.

[gem lady]

Anyone have any clues as to what the release price might be for the cruise with MP post trip? For August or Sept 2017? 2016 price for this trip is around $10500.00.

[jcrandle]

I have no idea, but we did MP on our own in October 2014. We were pleased with the cost and accommodations that we booked with a Peru travel agency recommended by our Cusco hotel. We flew to Cusco on the day following the Marriott day after the cruise, and spent three days in Cusco, with one day in MP. The TA arranged pickup from the hotel to train station, train tickets, box lunch at Agua Calientes (MP train station), bus tickets from Agua Calientes to MP, and return. In hindsight the only thing we would have changed would have been not to have the box lunch (which was very good), but MP rules don't allow eating in the park, so we carried the lunch up and down 80,000 irregular stone steps (OK, I'm sure it only seemed like that many) to finally enjoy it after our guided tour had completed. For this 69 year old over weight, under shape, I was reminded of Samuel Clement's quote about high school. As I recall, he said "I'm glad I did it, because it was worth it, but mostly because I will never have to do it again!"

[dani negreanu]

Anyone have any clues as to what the release price might be for the cruise with MP post trip? For August or Sept 2017? 2016 price for this trip is around $10500.00.

 

2 years ago the difference between the 10 day versus the MP add on was 3.500$ pp (I paid for the cheapest cabin 4500$ pp and the add on was 8000$ pp), so take into account 3500-4000$.

People I've kept in touch who have done the MP via X had said it was hassle free, but SHORT :mad:, everyone would've prefered a longer stay.

[prague70]

well maybe with celebrity, this type of cruise is not intended for children...I sure hope not...we will be on it in dec of 2016...hope all the kids stay in school...

 

have not read that people bring their kids on the expedition....now you have me worried...

I suggested Lindblad for people who are traveling with children because Celebrity is not as good of a choice for kids as you noted. You will not have many children on your cruise. I was on it in June when most schools are out and the few children who were on board where well traveled and well behaved.

[prague70]

I've read of a few people who brought families with kids. However, Celebrity does not cater to them at all, so it isn't that common. The youngest "kid" traveling with a parent on our cruise was 26.

 

Also, I'm not sure it is right to say Linblad has better guides. The guides work for the national park, not Celebrity or Linblad. They freelance on the ships for various lengths of time and get various assignments with different companies. But the company does not train the guide in anyway.

 

I found the guides spoke to the level of the group. The more intelligent questions asked, the more specific information offered freely (in addition to answering the questions.)

 

You are correct about the training but Lindblad has in addition to these guides their own naturalists and specialists. You are correct that there were no special activities for children on Celebrity. That is why I wrote about Lindblad for people who want to travel with children.

[lovestx]

We leave on Thursday for the Outer Loop on Celebrity. Doing Quito on our own and then on our own to Peru. We are using escapedtolatinamerica as our Peru travel agency and the cost for 8 nights in Lima/Urubamba/Aguas Calientes/Cusco/Lima is about $2600 including Lima to Cusco and back flights. The priciest part of the trip is the Quito/Baltra/Lima flights at $1600. But still much cheaper than going with Celebrity and much more ground covered. I wanted two days in MP in case the weather was horrendous . Hoping for some clearing at least on one of the two days.

 

Wish us luck! We are excited but also a bit nervous given the complexities of the travel, weather, food, altitude and language. But we are mid 50s, somewhat fit and pretty well-traveled so we're hoping for the best.

[prague70]

We leave on Thursday for the Outer Loop on Celebrity. Doing Quito on our own and then on our own to Peru. We are using escapedtolatinamerica as our Peru travel agency and the cost for 8 nights in Lima/Urubamba/Aguas Calientes/Cusco/Lima is about $2600 including Lima to Cusco and back flights. The priciest part of the trip is the Quito/Baltra/Lima flights at $1600. But still much cheaper than going with Celebrity and much more ground covered. I wanted two days in MP in case the weather was horrendous . Hoping for some clearing at least on one of the two days.

 

Wish us luck! We are excited but also a bit nervous given the complexities of the travel, weather, food, altitude and language. But we are mid 50s, somewhat fit and pretty well-traveled so we're hoping for the best.

 

I did a similar trip about 8 years ago and had a wonderful time. It's good that your agent arranged to have you get to Aguas Calientes from Urubamba instead of Cusco. It makes the train ride much better. Also, you will get to spend more time at Machu Picchu because of the overnight stay.I drank bottled water and was careful about where I ate and had no problems. The only place the altitude bothered me was in Cusco but I followed the guide's recommendations and did okay. But then again, I get altitude sickness in Colorado. Our travel agent had all the transfers, guides etc. set up and we were well taken care of which I am sure you will be too. We did Lima on our own and had no difficulties sightseeing and were careful as we would be in any large city.