Xpedition - Just returned from 12/4/05 sailing

[psychboss]

What kind of food did you have for lunches and dinners? Were there choices?

[SandyR5]

Dinner was in the dining room, or out on deck twice. Dinner has a regular menu with wonderful choices. There is always fresh fish prepared wonderfully. Always appetizers, soups and desserts also. Wine keeps flowing too. Lunch is either in the dining room or on deck...your choice daily. We always ate outdoors because we would return from our excursion about 11:30, sit outdoors and have a drink and then lunch would be available at 12:00. Indoors, lunch begins at 12:30. Basically its the same food but outdoors also has a grill where they grill fresh fish, chicken, burgers, hot dogs and veggie burgers. The rest of the meal is buffet style with salads and hot dishes. There is always a dessert table also. You will not go hungry. ;)

[Susan-M]

Sandy...and all the others who have posted - thank you! What a great thread!!

 

I'm trying to decide between Celebrity's Xpedition and a tour company that uses M/V Beluga (a 16 passenger boat.) Both are 10 or 11 days long with 3 nights in Quito. After reading all of the posts here, I'm leaning towards Celebrity, because the comments are all so positive.

 

Did you find that the shore excursions via Zodiacs were well organized, i.e. efficient use of time, leaving at the designated time, etc.?

 

Did you book directly with Celebrity or through a TA?

 

thanks!

[voyageur]

The shore excursions were so well organized... always on time and no-one was left waiting for any length of time, or turned away from any choice of excursion. We still comment on how well the crew handled getting people on and off the zodiacs and to their destination of choice. The only such experience on any trip... large or small cruise ship!

[SandyR5]

Hi - I would think that with a 16 passenger boat your options for shore excursions would be limited. Each morning and each afternoon we had choices of 3 different excursions: high, medium and low intensity. There were 6 naturalists on board which insured everyone being able to go with the excursions they wanted. There were also optional snorkeling/scuba times and a naturalist was available for them. Do you think there would be at least 3 naturalist on a 16 passenger ship? You also need the zodiac drivers and zodiacs to get everyone off the ship. Just something else to consider.

[Susan-M]

Thanks Sandy, that is one of my concerns with the smaller boat... not enough options for excursions of different levels, and one of the reasons why I'm leaning towards Xpedition.

 

Voyageur - thanks for the info on excursions. I don't think I've read this many positive posts on a thread anywhere on CC!

 

Just need to figure out where to book through.... a TA or Celebrity directly.

[SandyR5]

Susan - Unless I am mistaken, this is just about the only trip that it doesn't matter where you book. Celebrity doesn't discount and since EVERYTHING is included, shipboard credit doesn't really give you anything. Our ship bill was about $45 for a massage and some hats/t-shirts. I know I use a great travel agent who gives lots of shipboard credit, but its not needed here. Maybe I am wrong and there are still discounts out there...but I don't know of any. (I'm sure others will answer.)

[CSloan]

susiesan- I probably wasn't too clear. The add'l $1977 was for both of us... so it would be an add'l $988pp. I guess that amount covers the pre/post hotels and maybe some other fees that I'm not aware of. We aren't looking at booking the least expensive, so that $$ would probably be less if we were. (hope that made sense).

 

In any case, thanks to everyone on this thread, we've given it a lot of thought and have decided on the 10-day. Thank you all for you VERY VALID points. We may as well just go for it, since we're going that far, as Dave said. No habla Espanol!

 

There was only one cabin left in the category we want, so I put a 72-hour hold on it. Celebrity offices were closed yesterday afternoon (West Coast time) and are closed today. The online process is very easy, and the price is exactly the same as what I was told on the phone. We're not sure if we should just pay the deposit online or go thru our T/A. So, I've emailed our T/A to ask her. Maybe she'll offer some onboard credit so I can get a free massage!

 

What's the difference between the 3 levels of excursions?

 

Everyone on this board is so helpful. I couldn't imagine planning a cruise without Cruise Critic!

[Susan-M]

Cathy, I've just put a 72 hour hold on a 10 day one as well. I was also thinking of just booking the cruise and doing the rest of the arrangements on my own but after reading these posts, I decided to play it safe (and save myself a lot of effort) and let Celebrity transport us between Quito & Baltra.

I am going to submit the custom air request form on-line, to see if Celebrity can provide the flights that I have found through American Airlines between Toronto and Quito.

 

Sandy, after doing some on line searching, it does seem that booking with Celebrity is the way to go on this one.

 

Nice to have the "all inclusive" arrangement. I haven't heard any complaints about quality of wine or beer, so they must be acceptable?

[SandyR5]

Congratulations to both of you for booking. You are in for a real treat. Just 2 other comments...

We booked our own air, using ff miles, with AA. Celebrity still provides all transfers at no additional cost. I suggest doing your own air because you can pick the flights. There is a flight that leave Quito EARLY and the people who had X book their flights were on this one. They had to leave the Marriott about 5:30 in the morning. The rest of us, who booked on their own, had a 10:30 departure so we left the Marriott about 8:15. The funny thing is when we got to the Miami airport, some of the early people still hadn't gotten on their connecting flight. They had a huge layover in Miami and had to get up SO early in the morning. Check prices on your own. Remember, the transfers are included in the cost of the trip so don't worry about that.

Bill & I did the high intensity excursions. Only two were, in our opinions, "high". They were the two hikes up the volcanos. One had around 375 steps and the other was a steep climb also. Other than those, the only thing that makes the "high" high is the fact that you may be walking over very uneven surfaces. I just took a walking stick, which I never used before, and that made it much easier. Low intensity are basically just Zodiac rides with a short walk on the beach. Medium was a shorter hike.

[Fontaid]

Wow.... you take a day or two off from reading the Xpedition threads and it takes an hour to catch up!!! I've never been bashful about throwing in my 2 cents to try to help someone make the best decision for themselves, and I won't start now....

 

CSloan - I booked through Celebrity (I'm not suggesting you do or not), but I think (note I said "think" because I'm not sure) you can book the 10 day now... and then if you change your mind later, you can change to the 7 or the 11 day... paying more or less. Remember, you haven't changed cabins... or the sailing date, etc.... just the hotel arrangement, etc. in Quito. In fact due to Hurricane Katrina we changed from the 11 day to the 10 day just 4 weeks ahead of our trip (long after we made final payment). The only thing you have to worry about is how the fares per person have changed from the time you booked til the time you changed. The reason we were on the 11 day is because we used frequent flyer miles (and first class at that). Six months out was not long enough to get on the American Airlines flight back to Miami for us, so we were going to stay a day longer. However, we couldn't get back to New Orleans from Quito in one day because there was only one flight per day from Miami to New Orleans. We didn't want to fly the day before Thanksgiving (ugghhh), so we had Celebrity rebook us to the 10 day and had American change us to the day before (they really didn't have a choice).

 

I checked the Celebrity web site and found that the difference between a 7 day and 10 day cruise is $1000 per person... same as what you've said. Adding up additional costs from a 7 day would be the airfare to/from Quito/Baltra (~$400 per person), 2 nights at the JW Marriott (~$150 per night for 2 people if you book directly (no direct dollars if you can use Marriott points). You also get three breakfasts per person (~$10 per person) and two dinners ($50 per person). Total so far would be $630 per person. I'm not sure if the $100 park entry fee is included in the 7 day fare. You also have the tour and the lunch (but we didn't get that either as we spent the day in Guayquil thanks to the fog and American Airlines the night before). Anybody - did I forget anything? I know there's the transportation to/from the airport, but someone was quoted $4 to go from the Marriott to the airport (you can't get in a cab in the U.S. with 2 people and luggage and go to the corner for that). Anyway... just a little more info for you to help you (hopefully not hinder you) make a decision.

 

If you do the 7 day and have Celebrity do your air to/from Quito/Baltra (I wouldn't do it any other way), you'll have to find a way to get your boarding passes in Quito. If you're staying at the JW Marriott, no problem. Just pick them up in the library (La Biblioteca) on the first floor in the morning. If you're staying somewhere else, you may have to go to the Marriott to pick up your boarding passes.

 

Quito to Baltra.... all TAME flights go through Guayquil!!! Flying time is only 26 minutes to/from Quito/Guayquil (We made this trip 4 times due to the fog). The layover in Guayquil is 45 minutes and the flying time to/from Guayquil/Baltra is close to 90 minutes.

 

Susan-M - Regarding taking a smaller ship... there are pluses and minuses. I don't know them all, but... here's what I do know.... There's a maximum of approx. 16 tourists per naturalist, so you'll probably only have one naturalist. That means you will have one "choice" of a tour in the morning and one in the afternoon. I think most of these excursions will be more like "medium" or "high" intensity excursions on the Xpedition. I'm virtually sure there won't be many, if any, "low" intensity excursions. I hope you like the Naturalist they have that week. You'll have him/her the whole week. On the Xpedition there were 6 Naturalists. After a couple of days I did notice that when Jason announced who the Naturalist was for the next Zodiac, a few people would decide to wait and take the next Zodiac with a different Naturalist. Actually, I did that one day because I had been with the same naturalist for my first 3 excursions and I wanted to experience the others. Also, with only 14 other people, you're "stuck" with the same people (for better or worse). I know these seem like a plus for the Xpedition, but on the other hand, the smaller ships anchor much closer to the landing area, i.e. they seem to anchor in the small coves... whereas the Xpedition was always much further out (typically a 5 - 6 minute ride... although one "rough" one back from Puerto Arroyo was 12 minutes). It wasn't unpleasant and not very rough, but the Zodiac driver had to slow the Zodiac down to get through the waves. The typical Zodiac ride on a small ship was probably more like 1 -2 minutes.

 

CSloan - 3 types of excursions - they were rated as "high intensity", "medium intensity", and "low intensity". The low intensity excursions were almost always just a Zodiac ride (with an optional landing and short walk). You didn't have to land. I took a couple of those and they are good. In some cases you'll see more on the low intensity tour than on a high intensity tour. The high intensity tour was typically a mile to two mile hike... sometimes over pretty rocky terrain with very sturdy shoes needed. The medium intensity tour typically is a shorter hike than the high intensity.

 

Susan-M - All of the excursions were very well organized and always left on time.... including the 7am excursion (this is an extra... read that 3rd excursion of the day... just a Zodiac ride) around Kicker Rock... this one is not to be missed... catch up on your sleep later. Hmm... I guess I could say don't miss any of the excursions, but you have to make choices.... Also, a couple of times someone wanted to change excursions at the last minute... or forgot to sign up. Jason (the CD) always made sure that everyone who signed up got on their proper excursion, then he put the others on. I never saw anyone who didn't get the one they requested (even at the last minute).

 

I don't drink beer, but I didn't hear about any complaints. The wine at dinner each night was quite nice... and different each evening... no complaints here either.

 

CSloan - And as Sandy mentioned, shipboard credit doesn't do much for you on this ship... other than the massages and the small gift shop.

 

Susiesan - If you fly back to Quito from Baltra, I'm almost positive you'll have to spend another night in Quito. I don't think there are many (if any) flights back to the U.S. in the afternoon. You might have better luck trying to catch a connecting flight in Guayquil back to the U.S. I haven't checked the possibilities, but that would be your best bet.

 

Sorry for jumping around so much... just trying to "catch up."

 

Dave

:) :) :)

[CSloan]

We don't have any ff miles. American Airlines isn't going out as far as Nov yet, but the Oct dates are about $92pp less booking directly with the airline. Since we have to fly from San Francisco, it's going to be a bit pricey!

 

I think we'll book air thru Celebrity, then keep our eyes on the fares. We're not real familiar with Celebrity, but I think we can cancel the air portion anytime prior to final payment date, right? For Oct, there are a couple of nice flight schedules. Even if we keep it with Celebrity, I'll ask for these flights.

 

Thanks for the info- again!

[susiesan]

The shore excursions were so well organized... always on time and no-one was left waiting for any length of time, or turned away from any choice of excursion. We still comment on how well the crew handled getting people on and off the zodiacs and to their destination of choice. The only such experience on any trip... large or small cruise ship!

 

On our sailing there was a couple from Singapore and their 2 bratty young kids. After a few days, the word was out that you do not want to get on the zodiac with them and be stuck with that family for 2-3 ours. So when Jorje would board the zodiacs no one wanted to get on that specific one if the brats were on it. We managed to go the whole week without doing one single excursion with the brats. It would suit me fine if Celebrity would not allow children below a certain age to do this trip-it's not for kids and can spoil it for those of us who paid a lot of money for this once in a lifetime vacation. Thankfully there were only 2 young kids on the week of Dec. 11.

[thmpsn]

We used Celebrity's Custom Air and picked specific AA flights from St. Louis. Last week AA had flights posted for Nov 2007. Custom Air is free for Captains Club members and we paid an extra $59 for specific flights.

Jim

[soje]

I am just joining this thread. thanks for the wide range of info.

 

I have seen that scuba is mentioned (not to be confused with snorkeling!). Is scuba available on these trips? Can anyone comment on how often/

[SandyR5]

Scuba was available...at additional cost. I am 99% sure it was additional cost. I know of one person who did it and I think only once.

[susiesan]

I am just joining this thread. thanks for the wide range of info.

 

I have seen that scuba is mentioned (not to be confused with snorkeling!). Is scuba available on these trips? Can anyone comment on how often/

 

On our week there was no one who went scuba diving. Based on what we saw while snorkelling, I don't think it would be very good. The water is kind of dark and murky and there aren't many colorful fish like in the Caribbean or Tahiti. If you want to scuba, that's what the small charter boats are for. Xpedition isn't set up for scuba.

[CSloan]

OK - it's a done deal. We've paid our deposit and are booked on the 11/24/06 10-day! We had a Tahiti cruise booked with our TA, which we canceled to do this cruise, so we gave this booking to her as well.

 

Now I can obsess about the Galapagos for the next 11 months!!

 

Regarding the excursions, are good hiking shoes recommended for the high intensity, or would regular sports shoes (like New Balance) work?

[NCtom]

I wore New Balance shoes the entire time and did most of the high intensity hikes. There were a few times when crossing very uneven lava that I would have preferred hiking shoes. But, on balance (excuse the pun), it isn't worth the extra weight to bring hiking shoes in addition to other shoes. Basically, you pick your way.

[SandyR5]

Hi - I agree with Tom. Bill and I both used good leather sneakers. We were fine. I used a walking stick after the first hike and loved it. It was a great help when I had to jump down from one rock to another. It was like a third hand. :) We wore the sneakers on the plane ride because we just brought 2 duffle bags and carry-ons and the sneakers take us too much room. What we took was all we needed...and when I pack for a regular cruise I take lots and lots and lots of stuff. Not needed here at all.

[CSloan]

What about dinner? Is there any kind of dress code for dinner?

[Meribeth]

Sandy,

 

Did you take your own walking stick or were they available to borrow there? Thanks.

[SheilaNC]

On our trip, there were about 6 scuba divers and they all came back raving (we went in May - don't know if that makes a difference). They saw sharks, sea turtles, lots of sea lions and boobies diving as well as the requisite fish, etc. We snorkeled and had some great days with very clear water and lots to sea and other murky days (the only time I saw a turtle :( ) with strong current that was very tiring - I'm not a particularly strong swimmer. The best was from the beach where we swam with sea lions. At one point, there were 5 babies turning circles in front of and around me...amazing.

[Fontaid]

We didn't have anyone who was interested in scuba the week we went, so I can't comment on what they might offer. The water was a little murky and visibility wasn't anywhere near what I've experienced in the Caribbean. So, unless there's something you specifically wanted to do during a scuba adventure, I'd leave that for another cruise. Note: While riding the Zodiac to/from Puerto Arroyo, I did see a boat that was specifically set up for scuba diving, so obviously there are some "specialty" dive boats out there. It looked like it would hold 16 - 24. I don't remember the name of the boat, but I'm sure you can find something on the internet.

 

I brought some sturdy soled low top hiking shoes... and was glad I did. I have tender feet and my regular sneakers would not have given me enough support for the bottoms of my feet (particularly on the rocks and lava). Note: I didn't bring any dress leather shoes. You just don't need them.

 

The Xpedition provides very nice walking sticks.... different lengths are available. They have T handles at the top, so they're not just some stick that someone cut and called it a walking stick. Note: I didn't use a walking stick because I was carrying my camera gear and wanted to be able to take a pic at a moment's notice. But, there were a few times when I wish I had had one with me.

 

CSloan - There's not much of a dress code for dinner. Somewhere I read something that said that men must wear a shirt (no kidding). Most men wore long pants (and a shirt!!!), but there was one guy who wore shorts (blue jean cut offs) every night for dinner. That included the last night in Quito at the Opera House dinner where they tell you "no shorts." Nobody said a word.... and nobody cared. Wear what you want when you want. The "attire police" are nowhere to be seen on this cruise.

 

Regarding Celebrity doing "air". I think they mostly use American Airlines (through Miami... and maybe New York - not sure about NY though) and Continental Airlines through Houston. It's a 4 hour flight from Miami to Quito and a 5 hour flight from Houston to Quito. These flights have typically arrived in Quito in the evening... some of them around 1030 or 1100 pm. I would suggest trying to book the earlier of the flights. For most folks it's a long travel day... and it would be nice to have a little extra time to rest in Quito and try to adjust to the altitude.

 

Susiesan - I'm glad we didn't have any young brats on our trip. We had one young gentleman approx. 14 yrs old. He was well behaved the entire time and was welcomed by one and all. I agree with you that there probably should be a minimum age... I would think 12 - 14. But, I doubt that Celebrity will do it. I know that they recommend that young children don't go on the cruise, but.... that's as far as it goes.

 

Dave

:) :) :)

[Susan-M]

Dave....many thanks for your in-depth replies! And Sandy too, for additional info. It sure makes planning a lot easier with all of this good advice!

 

We have a tentative booking for November, but I keep reading about how nice it is in May (we like to snorkel and the warmer water in May would be a bonus.)

Sheila...what was your weather like in May (air and water temps, rain?)

 

Also, I originally booked a balcony but when looking at the additional cost of it over an OV on Deck 4, it is hard to justify the extra cost. With such active days, I wonder how often we would get to use the balcony? Any thoughts or recommendations on this?

 

thanks,