Live - Celebrity Flora 9/1/24 - Slow Boat to the Galapagos

[Rewind]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rewind]

Now it's off to bed so we can get moving early tomorrow to fly and board a ship.  Later all!

[Rewind]

Morning all.  Just about 7am, time for breakfast and then to the lobby at 8:15 to head out.

[Rewind]

Excuse my grammer, these are my raw notes from this morning:

 

Meet in lobby at 8:15am.
Got Galapagos docs and airline boarding passes at 8:30am.
Left hotel just after 8:40am.
Arrived at airport around 9:30am.
Carry on bags were unloaded at the curb, checked bags were waiting in front of the Avianca counter.  Grab checked bag, take them up to the counter, and continue on.
Boarding pass only needed in the airport.
Scan boarding pass through the security gates, go through baggage check and metal detectors, and then walk to the gate.
We had just enough time to stop at the restrooms before boarding began.
We stepped on the plane just after 10am and the plane is ready to Taxi at 10:20am.

 

Onboard menu:

Our plane is an Airbus A320.

 

Touchdown at 12:15pm.

 

WELCOME TO THE GALAPAGOS!

 

 

 

[Rewind]

Through immigration by 1pm, took us until about 2pm until...

 

Welcome aboard!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rewind]

Internet speed on board:

 

 

Also there is a poncho inside the backpack:

 

Tonight's menu:

[cruisetonowhere10]

2 minutes ago, Rewind said:

Internet speed on board:

 

 

Also there is a poncho inside the backpack:

 

Tonight's menu:

This is awesome.  I’m contemplating packing for almost a year out based on this.  lol.  

[cruisetonowhere10]

6 minutes ago, Rewind said:

Internet speed on board:

 

 

Also there is a poncho inside the backpack:

 

Tonight's menu:

Seems like good menu options as well.  We are adventurous eaters so the Galapagos inspired offerings seem fun but the classics all seem just fine as well if need be.  

[Rewind]

Even better than pics - PDF version of the itinerary:

Sep 1, 2024 - Inner Loop.pdf

 

[Rewind]

We were one of the last couple groups to board.  Arrived around 2pm and after a quick introduction we were escorted to our suite.  A quick change of shoes and we headed to the restaurant for a quick bite.  We had a small meal on the plane so we're still mostly full, but the buffet on the ship had salad, fruit, make your own nachos, and some desserts.

 

This had to be quick as the muster drill was at 3:15pm on deck 7.  We headed up, listened to the info, and then at 3:45pm there was the mandatory presentation of the rules and next day's excursions in the Discovery Lounge on deck 4.  We headed down to the lounge, listened to the presentation, and then signed up for our excursions with the naturalists.

 

Then beginning at 5:00pm, they were going to start assigning gear and wetsuit fittings.  They will call groups by suite number so there is no rush.  Once we were done with fittings around 5:45, we had just over an hour until the welcome toast at 7:00pm, so we walked a bit to check out the ship.

 

These pics aren't really in any order.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And in case anyone wants to know what is in the included mini-bar:

[Rewind]

Welcome reception at 7pm in the Discovery Lounge was a re-re-introduction to the officers and then an invitation to walk across the hall to the Seaside restaurant for dinner.  The wait staff are great and did warn us that the beef is local to the Galapagos and not that great.  My FIL ordered the Filet Mignon and he did say it wasn't that great;  the Maitre'D did say the ribeye up on deck 7 for dinner under the stars is better (we will try that later).  MIL ordered the Seafood Rice and kinda liked it.  My DW and I both ordered the Roasted Ecuadorian Pepper Chicken and it was amazing.  It does have some kick/spice to it, but it was delicious - highly recommend. 

 

After dinner my DW and I went up to deck 7 and experienced the night sky in the Galapagos for the first time. It is indescribable - there are hundreds of more stars that we can see that we have never been able to see at home.  There is no light pollution here and the sky is a blanket of tiny twinkling lights.  We did walk up to deck 8 briefly and it is even darker there but also windy and we didn't take a jacket with us.

 

Then we went back to the room to hit the sack before our excursions tomorrow.

 

 

Disclaimer - I took a bite of the chicken before taking the picture.  I tried to cover it up with the greens; just don't tell anyone.

 

 

 

[alexandria]

I love how they really rolled out the "blue" carpet for you at GPS.  😉

 

These are great, thanks for taking us along!

 

Fair winds and following seas my friend.  🛳️

 

 

[Rewind]

Breakfast at 7am, meet in the lounge at 7:45 to get our tender number for our 8am long walk and snorkel.

 

Here is what is provided in the bathroom - lip balm (there are 2) and one tube of sunscreen (the lotion stays):

 

 

[cruisetonowhere10]

1 minute ago, Rewind said:

Breakfast at 7am, meet in the lounge at 7:45 to get our tender number for our 8am long walk and snorkel.

 

Here is what is provided in the bathroom - lip balm (there are 2) and one tube of sunscreen (the lotion stays):

 

 

Thank you for doing this.  Super helpful!

[thebutlerdidit]

Many thanks for documenting your trip here. I always wondered what a trip to the Galapagos would be like. Your suite is beautiful!

[Rewind]

Back from our morning excursion of a long walk and snorkel.  We saw plenty of wildlife and the walk is fairly easy.  Today was a wet landing; I have both Chaco water shoes and some Keen sandals.  The Chaco shoes are more enclosed and keep sand out (which is great) but then you need to put them on after the excursion which could mean you get sand in them.  This afternoon's wet landing, I'm switching to my Keens as I think they will be much easier to deal with the sand.

 

For our long walk, we were in the first tender at 8:00, didn't look at the time we landed, walk ended about 9:45, and they said that they would start running tenders back to the ship at 10:15 and everyone would need to head back by 10:45.

 

Lunch was good, we are waiting for a talk at 1:45 before our 3:30 afternoon excursion.

 

...and out phones are now full of pics of sea lions.

 

 

 

 

 

[Rewind]

For time zone type things - being on the Equator, the sun rises and sets close to 6am and 6pm (respectfully) every day of the year.  But being on a ship with more than 30 people, they are required to observe the time of the mainland.  Ecuador is in EST and while sailing in the Galapagos, you should also be on EST.  But also Ecuador does not use daylight saving time so for our trip, even though we are in the same time zone as home, we still had to set our clocks back an hour.

 

Being in the islands though, the sun will rise around 7:00am ship time and set around 7:00pm ship time.

[lakeside42]

Following! Loving your trip report. We are on the Flora in November and I am finding your report a wealth of great information. Getting super excited to be onboard!

Have a wonderful time

 

[RichYak]

21 hours ago, Rewind said:

Even better than pics - PDF version of the itinerary:

I notice that there was no excursion on embarkation day. Is that due to the propulsion issues?

[Barwick Cruiser]

How was the snorkeling this am? 

[Rewind]

2 hours ago, RichYak said:

I notice that there was no excursion on embarkation day. Is that due to the propulsion issues?

 

Nope, that is standard.  By the time everyone boards the ship it is 2pm, Lunch until 3pm, Muster until about 3:30, REQUIRED talk from the naturalists until about 4:30, and then distribution of wetsuits, snorkels, etc from 5pm to 6pm.  You then have a few minutes to freshen up before the welcome toast at 7pm and dinner at 7:15.

[catspaw1]

We are booked for next June. Do you get more suntan lotion when that small tube runs out or do you have to buy it? Is the mini refrigerator drinks included in our  cruise price or extras? Do they have diet soda? I only saw regular soda which I never drink. The backpack looked like a nice quality- is it?

[Rewind]

1 hour ago, Barwick Cruiser said:

How was the snorkeling this am? 

 

Not too bad.  Water was a bit chilly but the wetsuits helped a lot.  I am not used to snorkeling but my wife went out a lot further than I did.  Need to review the footage from the GoPro but my tablet is underpowered.  Video might have to wait until we get back home.

[RichYak]

1 minute ago, Rewind said:

 

Nope, that is standard.  By the time everyone boards the ship it is 2pm, Lunch until 3pm, Muster until about 3:30, REQUIRED talk from the naturalists until about 4:30, and then distribution of wetsuits, snorkels, etc from 5pm to 6pm.  You then have a few minutes to freshen up before the welcome toast at 7pm and dinner at 7:15.

Ok thanks. I wish I still had the itinerary for Xpedition some years back… many years now that I think of it. 
 

i do know we had an excursion to North Seymour Island on the afternoon of embarkation day. 

[Rewind]

Just now, catspaw1 said:

We are booked for next June. Do you get more suntan lotion when that small tube runs out or do you have to buy it? Is the mini refrigerator drinks included in our  cruise price or extras? Do they have diet soda? I only saw regular soda which I never drink. The backpack looked like a nice quality- is it?

 

We bought Blue Lizard off of Amazon, reef safe, SPF50 and my DW says she won't go back to Badger anymore.

 

Mini-fridge drinks are included and will be restocked - but we have been well hydrated by the wait staff that we haven't even touched the fridge.  It is hard to tell, but the Cokes on the left in the fridge are Zero Sugar.

 

The backpack is lightweight and while I don't think it will last years, it is very nice.  It even has a cover that is zippered into the bottom you can pull out to cover the pack if it rains.