Live: Nov 18 2023 Xpedition Galapagos Southern Loop

[mahdnc]

Here is today's lecture on snorkeling and kayaking.  One thing note, because of the limited number of kayaks, they can only take 16 passengers per kayak excursion.  It sounded like they will make sure that the opportunities are distributed evenly for those that want to do it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sandiego1]

Awesome photos! Thanks for the menus - I can download them 🙂 much appreciated.

 

I love seeing the photos of the lecture too.

 

Hope you are enjoying your trip!

[mahasamatman]

What do they consider "experienced" for snorkeling and kayaking? I'm not worried about the snorkeling since we're both certified divers, but just curious on that one (and as a reference for others). As for kayaking, we've done it before, but we don't do it regularly, so is that good enough?

[prmssk]

27 minutes ago, mahasamatman said:

What do they consider "experienced" for snorkeling and kayaking? I'm not worried about the snorkeling since we're both certified divers, but just curious on that one (and as a reference for others). As for kayaking, we've done it before, but we don't do it regularly, so is that good enough?

You need less experience than you think. Can you swim?  Have you ever kayaked or canoed before?  We had people of all abilities.

 

If your naturalist asks if you want to paddle with or against the current, I suggest choosing with the current which is still enough of a workout but will give you moments to pause and admire the scenery. 

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, mahasamatman said:

What do they consider "experienced" for snorkeling and kayaking? I'm not worried about the snorkeling since we're both certified divers, but just curious on that one (and as a reference for others). As for kayaking, we've done it before, but we don't do it regularly, so is that good enough?

 

The "experienced" description caught my eye, too.  But during the kayak part of the briefing, we were told that "experienced" = you have done it at least once before.

 

It has been a great day today.  I haven't felt this tired since we did a 3 tank dive at the Great Barrier Reef.

[TBfrPH]

5 hours ago, mahasamatman said:

I see a dance floor!

Is live music being offered for dancing in the evening?

[gardenbunny]

May I have a clairfication of Northern - Southern please.  We are doing Flora May 10, 2024 and it just says Inner Loop.  Is that North South or neither?

Thanks much.

 

Love your detailed info and photos!  I prefer the hikes and some kayaking.  DH likes snorkleling and really appreciated your slides of the info.

[mahasamatman]

9 minutes ago, gardenbunny said:

May I have a clairfication of Northern - Southern please. We are doing Flora May 10, 2024 and it just says Inner Loop.  Is that North South or neither?

 

All three itineraries are different (and there's also a Outer Loop itinerary on Flora). Check the Celebrity website for the maps.

 

 

 

Edited November 20, 2023 by mahasamatman

[zgscl]

1 hour ago, gardenbunny said:

May I have a clairfication of Northern - Southern please.  We are doing Flora May 10, 2024 and it just says Inner Loop.  Is that North South or neither?

Thanks much.

 

Love your detailed info and photos!  I prefer the hikes and some kayaking.  DH likes snorkleling and really appreciated your slides of the info.

Galapagos regulations require that every ship has 2 unique itineraries so as to minimize the impact to each site.
 

While I haven’t been yet, my understanding is it doesn’t make a huge impact which one you pick as they are all similar and you will see the same or very similar wild live and have the same or very similar activities. If someone has been and thinks one is better than the other please correct me as I’d love  to know your thoughts! 

[mahdnc]

3 minutes ago, zgscl said:

Galapagos regulations require that every ship has 2 unique itineraries so as to minimize the impact to each site.
 

While I haven’t been yet, my understanding is it doesn’t make a huge impact which one you pick as they are all similar and you will see the same or very similar wild live and have the same or very similar activities. If someone has been and thinks one is better than the other please correct me as I’d love  to know your thoughts! 

 

There are variations in the different itineraries, but there appears to be some overlap

[mahdnc]

Here is the orientation lecture for tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mahdnc]

A couple photos from today:

 

 

[bjahil47]

Great review and pictures!  Thanks!

[gardenbunny]

2 hours ago, mahasamatman said:

 

All three itineraries are different (and there's also a Outer Loop itinerary on Flora). Check the Celebrity website for the maps.

 

 

 

Thanks for the replies.  I booked this Galapagos with Machu Picchu on our Alaska cruise August 2022.  They did a feature destination presentation one day and we decided to book!  They had limited information due to the delay of Flora from Covid.  So we visited the Future Cruise office when we did a transatlantic this year in April and they printed out for us the itinerary with some good detail.  

So I just wanted to be able to compare my itinerary with what you and the other poster that did a Live report.

It all looks fantastic, as you said, with either route.  Will be reading your posts every day.  

[ecslady]

Your pics of the daily briefings are so informative.  First time I've seen anyone post those.

[Texed]

Thanks for posting.  😊

[dani negreanu]

10 hours ago, zgscl said:

If someone has been and thinks one is better than the other please correct me as I’d love  to know your thoughts! 

 

When I was there, we had itinerary A & B (different from the time I've booked, when there was just one itinerary, alternating between 2 weeks, so it was just a matter of the date you choose if you had any constrains ...).

 

For me, the most amazing experiences were North Seymor and Elizabeth Bay.

[Poconolady]

Following along, we are on the Flora in Aug, so I am very interested in seeing how the daily activities are presented. We will be onboard with our family, including two teens, and admittedly a number of dietary restrictions and some mobility issues between the six of us. Its great to see how Celebrity works with those, it will make the whole trip a lot smoother and more fun!

[peanut head]

Thanks for this informative and fun review.  Your commentary and pictures are outstanding.  Enjoy!!!

[mahdnc]

All 3 of yesterday's activities went well.  The snorkeling was good, but the visibility was not impressive to me--something like 20 feet.  We saw 2 sea turtles, a dozen spotted eagle rays, and half a dozen sharks.  There were several schools of fish, too.

[mahdnc]

According to our welcome letter that was in our Xpedition Suite, we are entitled to these two perks:

1. One complimentary bag of laundry (20 items max) per guest.  This is a perk for being in suite.

2. One 30 minute complimentary massage per guest.  This is a perk for being Captains Club Elite.  I was permitted to "give" my wife my free massage so she was able to book a free one hour session for herself.

 

Edited November 20, 2023 by mahdnc

[mahdnc]

Here is today's talk about tomorrow's activities at Floreana Island.  It will be a busy day.  A couple things to note:

 

1. Celebrity provides the post cards in case you want to participate in the tradition of dropping off a post card (no postage stamps needed).  You can pick one up, if you like, to personally deliver it to an addressee near you.

 

2.  There was some confusion on my part on how to sign up for one of the limited spots available for kayaking tomorrow that I want to pass along.  When this evening Floreana lecture was over, you could walk up to any one of 3 Celebrity people on the ship to sign up for the different excursions at Floreana.  However only one of them could take your name for kayaking--that was Cristina, the Expedition Director, who was seated at her desk just outside of Guest Relations.  So by the time I lined up in the correct line, the first 16 spots for the 8:15 am kayaking was full and Cristina was now taking names for the 16 spots for the alternate kayak time of 10:30am.  BTW, the 10:30am kayaking was only offered if the 8:00 spots were all taken. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 21, 2023 by mahdnc

[mahdnc]

So we had our informal Cruise Critic roll call gathering this morning.  @rickb (Rick and Laurie) are the only other two people on this sailing's roll call.  I sat next to Rick yesterday on the zodiac ride back to the ship and we talked a little.  Neither one of us at the time recognized each other.  However we both figured it out this morning and made a point of seeking each other out while we were lining up to be called for our zodiac. 

 

So I'd say the informal and impromptu Cruise Critic gathering took about 1 minute long before we went on our separate zodiacs.  However it was enough time for me to give Rick and Laurie their Meet and Greet name tags.  Here is the 4"x3" name tag design (front and back) for this sailing:

 

 

[Dancing Shoes]

Thanks for the memories.  We were on the Expedition when deck 3 had cabins in 2010.  They only had one loop.  Best trip ever.  Enjoy the sights.

[mahdnc]

This morning we saw one of three breeding centers in the Galapagos for Giant Tortoises.