Xploration to Galapagos going out of commission?

[catspaw1]

Hi All, We booked a Galapagos cruise next year on the Xploration but the TA said Celebrity was phasing this ship out. Anyone hear of this & if so when?  we booked cruise only so would like to know if they will switch us to another ship. We chose the Xploration because of it's small size.

[mahdnc]

On 3/23/2024 at 4:45 PM, catspaw1 said:

Hi All, We booked a Galapagos cruise next year on the Xploration but the TA said Celebrity was phasing this ship out. Anyone hear of this & if so when?  we booked cruise only so would like to know if they will switch us to another ship. We chose the Xploration because of it's small size.

 

We took an Xpedition sailing last Nov and did not hear any chatter about Xploration being phased out.  We saw Xploration several times and met some of her passengers.  They seemed to enjoy the ship.  

 

When Flora was built in 2019, Celebrity transferred Xpedition's 100 passenger permit to Flora.  Celebrity also planned on transferring Xperience's 48 passenger permit and Xploration's 16 passenger permit to Xpedition and then sell/dispose of Xperience and Xploration.  However the Ecuadorian government did not allow the combining of permits.  So Xpedition is permitted for 48 passenger (Xperience was sold) and Celebrity retained Xploration which is where we are today.  That was all pre-COVID, I don't know if anything has changed today that would allow Celebrity to merge Xploration's permit with Xpedition.  I am sure that Celebrity would still like to do that because it is certainly cheaper to operate 2 ships instead of 3 (with the permitted passenger capacity staying the same).

 

When the Galapagos sailings were restarted after COVID in the 2nd half of 2021, it was a phased restart among the 3 Celebrity ships.  However there was a delay in getting Xploration started up which forced the cancellation of 4 sailings.  Here is a link to the thread on that subject and you can see the compensation that Celebrity offered to the affected Xploration passengers.

 

Xploration anchored at Baltra, Nov 18 2023

[catspaw1]

Thanks so much - I had no idea. The TA I use said a Celebrity rep told her agency that Xploration would be going out of service. No date. We are going cruise only so that could mean you are stuck with plane tickets if they cancel your cruise. We are redeeming marriot points to stay in Quito & would get a refund on that. We were going to stay 3 nights in Puerto Avoya before the cruise so will look into cancel policies.  I will look into using FF points for the airfare instead through points with my sapphire reserve card. I don't think Celebrity treated those who were already booked well.  They should have given them 125% FCC. Thank goodness we already purchased travel insurance also. We got a full cash refund on a Celebrity Cruise when cruise with confidence was in effect & we got COVID within 10 days of departure. 

[catspaw1]

Thanks so much - I had no idea. The TA I use said a Celebrity rep told her agency that Xploration would be going out of service. No date. We are going cruise only so that could mean you are stuck with plane tickets if they cancel your cruise. We are redeeming marriot points to stay in Quito & would get a refund on that. We were going to stay 3 nights in Puerto Avoya before the cruise so will look into cancel policies.  I will look into using FF points for the airfare instead through points with my sapphire reserve card. I don't think Celebrity treated those who were already booked well.  They should have given them 125% FCC. Thank goodness we already purchased travel insurance also. We got a full cash refund on a Celebrity Cruise when cruise with confidence was in effect & we got COVID within 10 days of departure. 

[catspaw1]

On our cruise 7/8 cabins already booked for early June 2025. We chose the Xploration as we wanted a smaller ship. It was also cheaper than the Xpedition. We wanted the more personal attention of a smaller ship. 

[mahdnc]

4 minutes ago, catspaw1 said:

On our cruise 7/8 cabins already booked for early June 2025. We chose the Xploration as we wanted a smaller ship. It was also cheaper than the Xpedition. We wanted the more personal attention of a smaller ship. 

 

We originally booked on Xploration for exactly the reasons you cited (cost and onboard experience).  And I think those are still great reasons.

 

I ended up changing to Xpedition because I was fearful of getting seasick and so I wanted a bigger boat (but we couldn't afford to go on the biggest boat--Flora).

 

Xpedition also has an unique advantage because she is built to carry 100 passengers but is only permitted to carry 48--less than half of her true capacity.  So the public spaces on Xpedition are quite generously sized for the number of passengers she is allowed to carry.

 

You are also saving quite a bit of money by going "cruise only". We had a few passengers on our Xpedition sailing that bought only the cruise through Celebrity and made independent arrangement for everything else.  It worked out quite well for them.

 

When June rolls around next year, you are going to have a fantastic time.  Celebrity does an excellent job.

[catspaw1]

We are different from most people as we are experienced live aboard blue water sailors. We lived & cruised full time for 7 years. & yes I still get seasick but after 3 days on a long passage (our longest was 15 nights with just the two of us onboard)  I always get my sea legs, but am still able to get through the first three days. Of course we always had the luxury of watching  the weather & would not sail if conditions were bad. We learned that after battling 40 knots of wind with higher gusts in the gulf stream on our way to Bermuda. Left because we had a full crew & everyone had schedules. Never did that again - watched weather for every passage after. The problem with the Galapagos is it seems to have a lot of confused seas- those coming from different directions. Anyway, I use bonine & ginger candies & watch what I eat on passage. Peanut butter & Raman noodles work great! Nothing greasy or heavy.  Looking forward to the Galapagos but we have a number of trips before & after that. Going back to hike Great Smokey Park for 10 days at the end of April, going to CO, WY& SD for 17 nights late May & Celebrity Cruise to Bermuda in July.  After the Galapagos we are going on a bear viewing trip in AK for several nights,  touring AK again by car & than a cruise south. So hope we can get to the Galapagos next year. It's been on our bucket list for awhile. How did you like the cruise & did you do a TR? Would love to read it. Thanks for your helpful info. Booking cruise only was a lot cheaper than the 10 day package 

[catspaw1]

For seasickness IMHO - don't go down below, look at the horizon, no booze, light food, ginger & bonine. Majority of people get their sea legs within 3 days. But I get sick a lot before then if in heavy waves or pounding straight into heavy winds. 

[PhD-iva]

Try scopolamine patches (Rx needed). They are very effective and are non drowsy. I am very prone to seasickness and now only the worst weather affects me.

Enjoy your cruise!

[mahdnc]

15 minutes ago, catspaw1 said:

We are different from most people as we are experienced live aboard blue water sailors. We lived & cruised full time for 7 years. & yes I still get seasick but after 3 days on a long passage (our longest was 15 nights with just the two of us onboard)  I always get my sea legs, but am still able to get through the first three days. Of course we always had the luxury of watching  the weather & would not sail if conditions were bad. We learned that after battling 40 knots of wind with higher gusts in the gulf stream on our way to Bermuda. Left because we had a full crew & everyone had schedules. Never did that again - watched weather for every passage after. The problem with the Galapagos is it seems to have a lot of confused seas- those coming from different directions. Anyway, I use bonine & ginger candies & watch what I eat on passage. Peanut butter & Raman noodles work great! Nothing greasy or heavy.  Looking forward to the Galapagos but we have a number of trips before & after that. Going back to hike Great Smokey Park for 10 days at the end of April, going to CO, WY& SD for 17 nights late May & Celebrity Cruise to Bermuda in July.  After the Galapagos we are going on a bear viewing trip in AK for several nights,  touring AK again by car & than a cruise south. So hope we can get to the Galapagos next year. It's been on our bucket list for awhile. How did you like the cruise & did you do a TR? Would love to read it. Thanks for your helpful info. Booking cruise only was a lot cheaper than the 10 day package 

We did the 11 night Quito package that was built around the Nov 18 2023 Xpedition sailing (Southern Loop). Here is the link to the “Live” report.  I tried to pack it with information useful to people trying to plan a Galapagos trip with Celebrity. 
 

As I have gotten older, I’ve become more motion sick prone. I used the prescription ear patch with much success for the Xpedition trip and she rocked a lot during our cruise. But it sounds like you are quite experienced with the subject. 
 

I like your trips that you have planned especially Alaska. I’m not a big fan of the Smokeys as I loved being above tree line and so the Sierra Nevada is my passion. At least it was when I was younger and enjoyed the life of backpacking. 

 

My wife and I are hoping to do a big national park trip to Alaska one day. I’ve even decided to ditch a cruise so we can spend more time at Katmai, Lake Clark, Denali, Kenai Fjords, and Wrangell St Elias. I would really like to get up to Gates of the Arctic but I’m not sure if we will have the time for it.

 

i hope you find the info on my Galapagos report somewhat useful. If you have any questions, just post them on the thread. 
 

[mahdnc]

21 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

Try scopolamine patches (Rx needed). They are very effective and are non drowsy. I am very prone to seasickness and now only the worst weather affects me.

Enjoy your cruise!

I got a prescription for the first time specifically for our Galapagos cruise. It worked well as Xpedition rocked a lot and i had no problems. 
 

There was a young woman that we met onboard that was really seasick. She knew she would get seasick, but decided it was the price of admission for the trip. I lent her one of my patches and she was instantly cured. She thought it was a miracle. But the patch wears off after three days and so the miracle was over after three days upon which she became seasick again. But I’m pretty sure she will get her own prescription before her next cruise. 
 

So she’s a patch convert as am I.

[cruiseerf]

Keep in Mind that Ecuador is as corrupt as most countries.   Each ship must have a permit for X amount of people and each line gets X amounts of permits etc.  This is to protect the environment. When RCL bought Silversea, there was a "situation" as Silversea and Celebrity held too many permits.....Certain cruises were cancelled while they worked this out....Silversea has new expedition ships coming out.....I am sure this is all connected to permits.... 

[catspaw1]

Mahdnc, I'm reading your Galapagos TR & it's awesome! Loved the pics! Can you PM me the contact info for your guide in Quito?  Loved the pics of the JW Marriott. My husband is lifetime Titanium so we usually get treated well. We always have suite night rewards so will save some for then. I always get a good laugh when people who get seasick say they have a cabin high up in the ship. If you are prone to seasickness the best place is the lowest deck midship. Get out in the fresh air if you are starting to feel seasick & don't lay down - that seems to make it worse. Back to reading your great TR ....

[mahdnc]

48 minutes ago, catspaw1 said:

Mahdnc, I'm reading your Galapagos TR & it's awesome! Loved the pics! Can you PM me the contact info for your guide in Quito?  Loved the pics of the JW Marriott. My husband is lifetime Titanium so we usually get treated well. We always have suite night rewards so will save some for then. I always get a good laugh when people who get seasick say they have a cabin high up in the ship. If you are prone to seasickness the best place is the lowest deck midship. Get out in the fresh air if you are starting to feel seasick & don't lay down - that seems to make it worse. Back to reading your great TR ....

 

Here is our guide's website: https://www.lincolnjabra.com/

 

Yes, I recognized being high up was not a good thing, but I wanted to book a balcony and that is where they were!  There actually is another deck above with balconies, but I avoided that.  But with the patch, it was a non-issue for me.  Zero.

 

The JW Marriott Quito was an excellent hotel and I commend Celebrity for using them as part of their Quito land package.  You will find the rates there to be reasonable whether you use points or pay with cash--and, yes, very cheap compared to getting it through the land package.  We paid in cash for our first night there before the land package took over.  Being lifetime Titanium is great for you guys.

 

Thank you for your nice words about my Live thread.  Be sure to read @prmssk's live thread for the Xpedition sailing immediately before mine--it covered the Northern Loop, so between our two Live threads you have all of Xpedition's landing spots covered.  Here is the link to her Live thread: link.  Her wildlife pictures are excellent and her writing style is enjoyable to read.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

David

[catspaw1]

David, can you give me the contact info on your guide in Quito? Normally we get around fine ourselves touring, but with security issues increasing in Ecuador we would rather get someone to pick us up from the airport & tour us around for a day. I'll read the other posts also. We are sailing on Eclipse to Bermuda in July. Did this cruise pre Covid & we haven't cruised since. We also sailed our own boat there  & spent some time in Bermuda- love it there. Thanks so much for taking the time to post- I know its a lot of work! 

[mahdnc]

12 minutes ago, catspaw1 said:

David, can you give me the contact info on your guide in Quito? Normally we get around fine ourselves touring, but with security issues increasing in Ecuador we would rather get someone to pick us up from the airport & tour us around for a day. I'll read the other posts also. We are sailing on Eclipse to Bermuda in July. Did this cruise pre Covid & we haven't cruised since. We also sailed our own boat there  & spent some time in Bermuda- love it there. Thanks so much for taking the time to post- I know its a lot of work! 

Our guide’s name is Lincoln Guaman. His commercial website address is https://www.lincolnjabra.com/. His email address and mobile number are in there. 

[catspaw1]

6 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

Our guide’s name is Lincoln Guaman. His commercial website address is https://www.lincolnjabra.com/. His email address and mobile number are in there. 

Sorry I just saw you posted it before. I just woke up so didn't read the post throughly. Did he charge $100  for the day sround Quito?  We would like to spend a few nights in Mindo too depending on the security situation. We would like to see the telefrico also but from having been to Peru, we know it's very important not to go to a higher altitude until you acclimate for a few days.  I had to get the onsite medic give me oxygen at the Marriott in Cuzco because I got altitude sickness. Excellent marriott in Cuzco BTW.

[mahdnc]

18 minutes ago, catspaw1 said:

Sorry I just saw you posted it before. I just woke up so didn't read the post throughly. Did he charge $100  for the day sround Quito?  We would like to spend a few nights in Mindo too depending on the security situation. We would like to see the telefrico also but from having been to Peru, we know it's very important not to go to a higher altitude until you acclimate for a few days.  I had to get the onsite medic give me oxygen at the Marriott in Cuzco because I got altitude sickness. Excellent marriott in Cuzco BTW.

No problem!  Lincoln quoted us $100 for a day tour around Quito. $135 for a day tour to Mindo. His rates are primarily influenced by the gasoline required for the tour and less by the amount of time required. 
 

I am also altitude sickness prone and learned the importance of acclimatizing when I backpacked at altitudes above 10,000 feet In the Sierra.  Our trip flew straight into Quito twice from Loire altitudes which meant no acclimatizing unless sitting in a lower pressure aircraft cabin for several hours counts!

 

In addition to a prescription for the anti seasickness patch, I asked my doctor to prescribe me anti altitude sickness medication, Diamox, for our trip. Seemed to work. 

Edited March 27 by mahdnc

[catspaw1]

Thanks David for all the helpful information!

[waterbug123]

Well I guess I'm glad we are booked on Xploration this May, before she's taken out of service if that is indeed true.  We booked with a group of friends specifically because we loved the idea of such a small, intimate sailing.  We will be 10 of the 16 passengers so it's going to feel very much like a private charter!

[mahdnc]

Here are some information flyers specifically about Xploration published by Celebrity:

 

1. Deck Plans (I realize that it's not all that complicated)

2. Fact Sheet (Captain Alban is now Xpedition's captain)

3. Staterooms

4. Xploration Charter

5. Xploration itineraries

 

Lazy sea lion, Isla Santa Fe, Nov 19 2023

Edited March 27 by mahdnc

[mahdnc]

I don' t think I have posted this in this thread: here is a 2024 Galapagos Shore Excursion Brochure.  It is written specifically for Flora, but the descriptions of the shore excursion were similar to what we experience during last Nov's Xpedition sailing.  I imagine it similarly applies to Xploration.

 

Xpedition anchored off of Punta Suarez, Isla Espanola, Nov 24 2023

Edited March 27 by mahdnc

[XCXCruiser]

My partner and I just finished the 7 day Xploration southern loop from March 16th to March 23rd. We got to Ecuador early and did the tours through Quito with Celebrity. This was only our second cruise ever (honeymoon and now 10th anniversary). I have to say I was really impressed with the Xploration. We only had 12/16 people on the boat (1 group cancelled early? and one group moved to the Xpedition). It is a much smaller boat but the other 10 passengers were great. The days were very busy with similar itineraries as to what was posted for Xpedition, however we got to get in 2-3 morning and then 1-2 afternoon activities. Since it was a smaller group, it only took 2 pangas to get to shore. The wet landings were a bit difficult if you don't have proper footware. I had waterproof hiking sandles but watershoes would probably have been better as the water was quite sandy.

 

We were lucky that since it was the end of rainy season everything was green and lush (also thanks to El Nino). Our group of 12 really enjoyed snorkeling so it seems like they adapted the itinerary to allow for us to do additional snorkeling activities. Also, there have been some reports of avian flu on some of the islands, so some of the "hikes" were cut short or converted to just panga rides along the cost as we couldn't venture onto some of the islands.

 

The crew was amazing, and even made a special gluten free cake for my partner.

 

Since it was a smaller ship, we definitely felt the ocean a little bit more and honestly I didn't get a lot of sleep. They also kept the engines going 24/7 so you always had a hum. The captain did a great job of managing the sway of the ship after the first night when we let him know that we felt uncomfortable and adapted our routes to make sure to reduce the choppiness.

 

All the excursions were great except for the city ones... after visiting the half dozen shops we kind of just sat around for an hour or two until our time was up.

 

As for the Quito tours with Celebrity, they were OK, but having Celebrity deal with the airports and Galapagos paper work made the trip easy and worthwhile. The JW Marriott in Quito is really nice.

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, XCXCruiser said:

My partner and I just finished the 7 day Xploration southern loop from March 16th to March 23rd. We got to Ecuador early and did the tours through Quito with Celebrity. This was only our second cruise ever (honeymoon and now 10th anniversary). I have to say I was really impressed with the Xploration. We only had 12/16 people on the boat (1 group cancelled early? and one group moved to the Xpedition). It is a much smaller boat but the other 10 passengers were great. The days were very busy with similar itineraries as to what was posted for Xpedition, however we got to get in 2-3 morning and then 1-2 afternoon activities. Since it was a smaller group, it only took 2 pangas to get to shore. The wet landings were a bit difficult if you don't have proper footware. I had waterproof hiking sandles but watershoes would probably have been better as the water was quite sandy.

 

We were lucky that since it was the end of rainy season everything was green and lush (also thanks to El Nino). Our group of 12 really enjoyed snorkeling so it seems like they adapted the itinerary to allow for us to do additional snorkeling activities. Also, there have been some reports of avian flu on some of the islands, so some of the "hikes" were cut short or converted to just panga rides along the cost as we couldn't venture onto some of the islands.

 

The crew was amazing, and even made a special gluten free cake for my partner.

 

Since it was a smaller ship, we definitely felt the ocean a little bit more and honestly I didn't get a lot of sleep. They also kept the engines going 24/7 so you always had a hum. The captain did a great job of managing the sway of the ship after the first night when we let him know that we felt uncomfortable and adapted our routes to make sure to reduce the choppiness.

 

All the excursions were great except for the city ones... after visiting the half dozen shops we kind of just sat around for an hour or two until our time was up.

 

As for the Quito tours with Celebrity, they were OK, but having Celebrity deal with the airports and Galapagos paper work made the trip easy and worthwhile. The JW Marriott in Quito is really nice.

Very nice first post on Cruise Critic (and very nice second cruise!)!

 

For your group of 12, did you sail with two naturalists?

 

Happy 10th anniversary, btw. So next cruise is not until 2034 (10 years)?

[Jeremiah1212]

On 3/23/2024 at 4:45 PM, catspaw1 said:

Hi All, We booked a Galapagos cruise next year on the Xploration but the TA said Celebrity was phasing this ship out. Anyone hear of this & if so when?  we booked cruise only so would like to know if they will switch us to another ship. We chose the Xploration because of its small size.

Nothing official has been provided by Celebrity yet but there has been zero mention of anything other than Flora for the 2026 cruises that were just released.