Galapagos - are we going to be wowed by the Flora?

[Ken the cruiser]

We've been to the Galapagos in 2015 on the Xpedition and were totally wowed, and have never been able to come close to matching the wildlife experience we encountered there practically every day! So much so we have booked it again for Dec 2023 on the Flora. We know we're going to be wowed by all of the wildlife again, but what about the Flora? Are we going to be wowed by this ship that was solely made to cruise around the Galapagos? Just trying to build up our excitement for this upcoming cruise. 😃

[Ken the cruiser]

BTW if there is anyone viewing this thread that has never even thought of booking a cruise to the Galapagos and would like to know why they might want to consider going there, please feel free to ask. 😁

[dock]

Would love to do Galapagos on Flora but neither DH or I are good swimmers and would not do any of the swimming tours so would it still be worth going? TY.

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, dock said:

Would love to do Galapagos on Flora but neither DH or I are good swimmers and would not do any of the swimming tours so would it still be worth going? TY.

You’ll be fine. All we did on both the morning and afternoon excursions, except for one excursion, was do wildlife walking tours. The one exception was when I did light weight snorkeling right off shore in 5’ of water while my DW watched as she sat on the beach with her feet in the water playing “splash” with a seal that came up within 2-3’ of her! 😁

[prmssk]

167 days until we embark on the Xpedition (not that I'm counting).  We are definitely getting excited for our trip.  This last cruise on the Eclipse gave me two chances to practice using my new underwater housing for my iPhone so that I know what I'm doing in the Galapagos when I get a chance to snorkel.

 

I'm sure I will enjoy the Xpedition and I'm sure you will enjoy Flora.  Did you opt for a suite with an infinite or traditional verandah?

[Ken the cruiser]

17 minutes ago, prmssk said:

167 days until we embark on the Xpedition (not that I'm counting).  We are definitely getting excited for our trip.  This last cruise on the Eclipse gave me two chances to practice using my new underwater housing for my iPhone so that I know what I'm doing in the Galapagos when I get a chance to snorkel.

 

I'm sure I will enjoy the Xpedition and I'm sure you will enjoy Flora.  Did you opt for a suite with an infinite or traditional verandah?

The traditional veranda, which amazingly was also cheaper than the IV.
 

I also wanted to suggest to @dock and others to book as far out as you can. For us the cabin price per person has gone up $1700 per person since we booked it when it first became available, suggesting there is always a high demand for these itineraries.

[dock]

Thanks for the advice.

Looking at Dec 2024 / Jan  2025.

Have 2 Oceania Cruises (Feb 24, July 24 ) booked next year so trying to plan for late 24, early 2025. 
 

Will look out for a review from you in Dec 23. 
Safe Travels.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

7 minutes ago, dock said:

Thanks for the advice.

Looking at Dec 2024 / Jan  2025.

Have 2 Oceania Cruises (Feb 24, July 24 ) booked next year so trying to plan for late 24, early 2025. 
 

Will look out for a review from you in Dec 23. 
Safe Travels.

 

Thanks! I will definitely be posting to a Live From thread on that cruise! 😁

[kab407]

Hi Ken, I was on the Flora in April ‘22 with 9 friends. We did the inner loop of the Galapagos. It was a trip of a life time. The Flora is stunning. I had booked a Sky Suite. The veranda was one of my favorite place to relax after snorkeling or hiking. The cabin was spacious and beautifully appointed. The public spaces are comfortable, airy and bring in touches that remind you of the beauty and nature around you. The finishes of the entire ship reminded me of an Edge class ship. 
 

Breakfast and lunch were buffet style. Dinner was plated. For dinner there was the main dining room and a grill area. The food was amazing. The real treasure of the Flora is the staff. The Naturalists were extremely knowledgeable and were always pointing out things as were were walking, hiking or doing a tender tour. All were very good photographers who gave great pointers on taking  pictures. This was a truly memorable way to celebrate a big “0” number birthday. It was so memorable that we are booked for Oct 2024 to do the outer loop.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

28 minutes ago, kab407 said:

Hi Ken, I was on the Flora in April ‘22 with 9 friends. We did the inner loop of the Galapagos. It was a trip of a life time. The Flora is stunning. I had booked a Sky Suite. The veranda was one of my favorite place to relax after snorkeling or hiking. The cabin was spacious and beautifully appointed. The public spaces are comfortable, airy and bring in touches that remind you of the beauty and nature around you. The finishes of the entire ship reminded me of an Edge class ship. 
 

Breakfast and lunch were buffet style. Dinner was plated. For dinner there was the main dining room and a grill area. The food was amazing. The real treasure of the Flora is the staff. The Naturalists were extremely knowledgeable and were always pointing out things as were were walking, hiking or doing a tender tour. All were very good photographers who gave great pointers on taking  pictures. This was a truly memorable way to celebrate a big “0” number birthday. It was so memorable that we are booked for Oct 2024 to do the outer loop.

 

That does sound awesome! Do you by chance remember when dinner started? From what one Celebrity excursion person told us a few weeks ago after she gave a talk on Galapagos, it starts around 8 pm after the evening presentation by the naturalist.

[Sigyn]

Just a thought for those who aren't good swimmers - I'm 55 and I'm taking swimming lessons now. I took them as a kid, but always just paddled around in the pool. But I decided to brush up on my swimming skills through private lessons and after four lessons I'm already swimming laps. It's amazing how easy it's been to pick up on basic skills I thought I'd never truly learn. 

 

As for Galapagos, this is a dream trip that I will definitely do one day.

Edited May 28, 2023 by njsmom

[Ex-Airbalancer]

The Flora is about twice the price of the Xploration 

I wonder why the big price difference? 
Ken how the Xploration 🤔

Edited May 28, 2023 by Ex-Airbalancer

[Ken the cruiser]

1 minute ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

The Flora is about twice the price of the Xploration 

Ken can you do a review on both 🤔😁

LOL! Here’s a fun fact. When we booked our 10-day Dec 8 cruise on the Flora back in Dec 2021 for $8,902 pp in the cheapest cabin, a sky suite with a regular balcony, it was a tad cheaper than the cheapest Xpedition suite (which is its cheapest balcony cabin) on a similar itinerary. Like I said, if at all possible, book your Galapagos cruise as early as you can.
 

Here’s what the prices are now. Notice the price for an OV cabin on the Xpedition.

 

 

 

[prmssk]

23 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

LOL! Here’s a fun fact. When we booked our 10-day Dec 8 cruise on the Flora back in Dec 2021 for $8,902 pp in the cheapest cabin, a sky suite with a regular balcony, it was a tad cheaper than the cheapest Xpedition suite (which is its cheapest balcony cabin) on a similar itinerary. Like I said, if at all possible, book your Galapagos cruise as early as you can.
 

Here’s what the prices are now. Notice the price for an OV cabin on the Xpedition.

 

 

 

Those prices are actually pretty comparable when you consider the only cabins left on the Xpedition for that sailing are Ocean view cabins (no balcony) compared to Sky Suites with a balcony on the Flora.

 

Our November Xpedition sailing has skyrocketed in price.  An ocean view room now costs quite a bit more than we are paying for our suite.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, njsmom said:

Just a thought for those who aren't good swimmers - I'm 55 and I'm taking swimming lessons now. I took them as a kid, but always just paddled around in the pool. But I decided to brush up on my swimming skills through private lessons and after four lessons I'm already swimming laps. It's amazing how easy it's been to pick up on basic skills I thought I'd never truly learn. 

 

As for Galapagos, this is a dream trip that I will definitely do one day.

That is so awesome, but like I said going on deep water snorkeling excursions is not a requirement. However, it did remind me of a story another guest told us on our initial Galapagos cruise regarding an advanced snorkeling excursion they went on. Among other cool experiences, they had blue footed boobies diving for fish all around them while they were snorkeling in deep water! 😂
 

 

Edited May 28, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ex-Airbalancer]

53 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

LOL! Here’s a fun fact. When we booked our 10-day Dec 8 cruise on the Flora back in Dec 2021 for $8,902 pp in the cheapest cabin, a sky suite with a regular balcony, it was a tad cheaper than the cheapest Xpedition suite (which is its cheapest balcony cabin) on a similar itinerary. Like I said, if at all possible, book your Galapagos cruise as early as you can.
 

Here’s what the prices are now. Notice the price for an OV cabin on the Xpedition.

 

 

 

I was looking at cruise out in Nov 2025 , and there about twice difference in price 

I also didnt know that Flora was suite only😉

I guess I am looking at the new improve price model by Celebrity 😁

Edited May 28, 2023 by Ex-Airbalancer

[prmssk]

Just a heads up, the Xploration is a 16 passenger ship that doesn't have the same amenities of Flora and the Xpedition.  Some love that very small group experience but I'm not sure it is for everyone.

 

Also, in all I have read and interacted with others, it seems most do a cruise/land package for the convenience of the charter flight from Quito to the Galapagos.  We are on a 10 night with 2 nights in Quito pre-cruise and 1 night in Quito post-cruise.  They also have an 11 night package for 2 nights post cruise and a 16 night package which adds Machu Picchu.

[NoWhiners]

We'll be going on the Flora late next month, then on to Macchu Picchu. We aren't planning on doing any snorkeling--my DH isn't nearly as comfortable in water as I am. So, we will just do the hikes, maybe splash around on the beach , if we are allowed to.

 

This will be the trip of a lifetime.

[Ken the cruiser]

10 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

I was looking at cruise out in Nov 2025 , and there about twice difference in price 

I guess I am looking at the new improve price model by Celebrity 😁

Yup, the demand for the Flora definitely seems to be driving the price now. It appears the cheapest Flora suite is about $3000 more pp than the Xpedition suite.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

2 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Yup, the demand for the Flora definitely seems to be driving the price now. It appears the cheapest Flora suite is about $3000 more pp than the Xpedition suite.

When you see the price in CAD , it is jaw dropping 😭 😁

[Ken the cruiser]

15 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

I was looking at cruise out in Nov 2025 , and there about twice difference in price 

I also didnt know that Flora was suite only😉

I guess I am looking at the new improve price model by Celebrity 😁

Just a suggestion as @prmssk noted, you may want to look at the 10-day cruise/land package as flights to and from Baltra may be a little tricky to deal with. 

[Sigyn]

14 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

That is so awesome, but like I said going on deep water snorkeling excursions is not a requirement. However, it did remind me of a story another guest told us on our initial Galapagos cruise regarding an advanced snorkeling excursion they went on. Among other cool experiences, they had blue footed boobies diving for fish all around them while they were snorkeling in deep water! 😂
 

 

This is fantastic! I love it. 

 

 

[Suzanne123]

We were on the Flora in January.  It is so hard to go back to regular cruising after you have been on the Flora.

I am on the wrong side of 70 😊, so I chose to do no walks or snorkels, and still had a wonderful time on the zodiacs seeing all the wildlife, and being spoiled by an incredible staff including chefs, naturalists, zodiac drivers, room stewards, really everyone you meet.

I was very happy we took the three day pre-cruise extension.  Celebrity took care of absolutely everything from the moment we landed in Quito (booked air independently .)

Anyway, here are some daily schedules:

 

ETA sorry, read from the bottom up.  

 

Edited May 29, 2023 by Suzanne123

[Suzanne123]

The beautiful Flora

 

[mahdnc]

17 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

When you see the price in CAD , it is jaw dropping 😭 😁

 

Even worse in JPY