Galapagos for Seniors

[LargeTexan]

My parents (77 and 78) are considering a Galapagos cruise. I am concerned that shore excursions might be physically strenous. They get around fine, but I have images of lots of uphill walking and walking over boulders.

 

Hopefully I am wrong. Dad really wants to go. Can anyone comment?

[Scotswoman]

Hi,

If they are keen to do it, by all means let them go for it! My husband and I took his mother on a Galapagos cruise when she was 81. We used a small cruising vessel (Coral II), and mum-in-law was able to do most of the land trips. although she had had several hip and knee operations. The crew on board were pretty good about judging what might be too strenuous for her, and if she couldn´t join the rest of us, they took her for a jaunt on the dinghy to see something else. I´m not sure what it would be like on a larger cruise ship - hopefully someone else will answer that one. On a small vessel, there are sometimes wet landings, which means literelly stepping off the dinghy into the water and wading ashore. If they can manage that, they should be fine. A Galapagos trip is something they´d treasure for the rest of their lives.

All good wishes from Bavaria.

[CRUISERTN]

We went on the Celebrity Xpedition Galapagos cruise last Spring. It was the vacation of a lifetime!! EVERYTHING is included in the price, including pre and post hotels in Quito, tours, all meals, all shore excursions in Galapagos. The offer a high, medium and low intensity excursion for each of their excursion. They show a slide show in the lounge the night before the next port and show what the difference is in the high, medium and low intensities. Usually high intensity was walking a mile to mile and a half on uneven surfaces over a period of an hour to 90 minutes, so a very slow pace....but also uneven surfaces on some islands. They even provide walking sticks. The medium intensity involved walking but less distance and you see a little less. The low intensity is doing the sightseeing inside the zodiac (or panga). Even if they did the low intensity each time (they have two excursions each day - one after breakfast for 1-2 hours; then you return to the ship for lunch and relaxation and then the afternoon excursion is from somewhere around 3pm for about two hours) - they would still get to see almost all of the wildlife, except possibly the waved albatross and the giant frigate birds....as long as they could get on and off the zodiac, they should be OK, and the staff is very helpful at assisting those who need assistance. The Xpedition ship is only a few years old and state of the art - about 100 passengers and cabins are like standard cruise ship cabins...make sure they purchase the travel insurance since it is in such a remote location and is a must if ever needed for any type of medical assistance. If they do this trip, they may have trouble with the altitude (headaches, nausea, fatigue, etc.) in Quito pre and post cruise. I would recommend they do the trip but, unless they just HAD to see Quito, try to fly into Guayaquil and fly to the Galapagos from there. Many older people on our tour had a great deal of difficulty with the altitude in Quito. Guayaquil is at sea level as opposed to Quito at 10,000 feet. Why don't you go with them - we have traveled the world and the Galapagos is one of the most wonderful and unique places we have ever seen!! Let me know if you have any other questions!! Have them take a good camera with a good zoom for them, especially if they do some of the excursions from the zodiac.....get a digital with a 10X or 12X optical zoom and they will be able to get some wonderful photos from the zodiac; a smaller number optical zoom (3x, 5x, etc.) would be OK if they planned to do the walking excursions because you are literally right up in the faces of these wonderful animals!!! I wish them a wonderful trip - !!!;)

[tobes]

There were some 80+ seniors on the Xpedition last summer and they chose the activities that they felt comfortable with. There were enough choices for all energy levels!

 

My parents (77 and 78) are considering a Galapagos cruise. I am concerned that shore excursions might be physically strenous. They get around fine, but I have images of lots of uphill walking and walking over boulders.

 

Hopefully I am wrong. Dad really wants to go. Can anyone comment?