catspaw1

waterbug, would appreciate your doing a TR when you return also. We are also independent travelers so getting to Baltra on our own. We thought we would spend anywhere from 1-3 nights in Baltra before our cruise so please let me know what you think & how many days. My current plan is arrive day 1 probably pm. Day 2 walk around & look for a boat ride the next day. Day 3 snorkel trip. Day 4 go to the ship. How does that sound? It's still a lot cheaper to DIY than Celebrity wants even paying for air, food & 2-3 nights hotel in Baltra. We will also get our own guide in Quito. Please let us all know if the current situation in Ecuador affects your tip at all. We would like to go up to Mindo for a few days prior to the cruise also if it's safe.

Thanks XCX. Really appreciate the information as there is not much posted on the Xploration. How was the food? Normally at anchor, boats face into the wind. With a smaller boat they can usually hide behind an island to minimize boat movements. Did they do that or was it cross wave & wind action that caused all the rolling? I wonder why they needed to keep engine on 24/7 but maybe they don't have a generator? How were the cabins? Any other pros & cons to the Xploration? Thanks for taking the time to post.

We sailed our own boat to Bermuda & have cruised there before. Let me know if you need any local info. We love horseshoe bay beach & tobacco bay beach in St. George's. The island is very pricey. September is prime hurricane season although Bermuda rarely gets a direct hit.

We went to the Acadia birding festival last year & it was great. We would definitely recommend it. Unfortunately a noreaster came through for several days so they had to cancel numerous days of boat trips.

Thanks for the helpful information. How about hiking sticks? We have really good ones we regularly use hiking. Looks like the Celebrity ones are wooden & won't grip as well as mine with rubber tips. My husband took a photo workshop in Yosemite NP last year & is taking one next month in Great Smokey Park. We usually go to GSMNP 1-2 weeks a year. Look at Silver Salmon Creek lodge in lake Clarke National Park in AK for fabulous bear watching & salmon fishing. We are staying 3 nights late July next year. Very very expensive but my husband wanted to do bear photography. It got great reviews. We went to AK 30 years ago &:loved it but I understand it's much more built up now. Be aware that most of Denali park is closed as a bridge fell down & won't be repaired til 2026. We are heading to GSMNP for 10 days in April, going to SD, WY& CO for 16 nights starting in late May & then a Celebrity Cruise to Bermuda in July.

That's great to know that we don't need long wetsuits. We have our own shorty wetsuits. Should we bring our own or use theirs? Ours are easy zip up the back- we use them diving. Your pictures were awesome! My husband is an avid photographer & bird watcher so he has loved your pictures. We have good binoculars- should we bring them? I know the cruise said they have some but don't know their quality. Thanks for the fast reply! We decided to go next year due to the El Nino affecting the Galapagos this year. Next year is supposed to be a LA Nina. We booked the Xploration as we wanted a smaller boat with less people. We are blue water sailors so are used to small boats. Any other gear you can think of? What shoes did you bring? We have keen water shoes, & dive booties. We have hiking boots & shoes but think we will just bring the hiking shoes. Slip ons like cross for the boat? What type of underwater camera did you see used? We were thinking of buying a go pro. We are also going to a bear lodge in AK July next year so could use it then also. Did anyone dress up at night or is shorts/shirts or sundress ok?

Thanks so much for posting the outstanding TR & photos. We have booked the Xploration for June 2025 & got the last lower priced cabin. Your very detailed report really helped a lot! I know it was a lot of work but very much appreciated! We are heading out on the Eclipse back to Bermuda again in July- no where near what we expect on the Xploration! Question- I know the cruise supplies shorty wetsuits. Did you feel you needed a full wetsuit? We will be bringing neoprene pants &splashguard but 70 water is cold for snorkeling. We used to dive in Bermuda & when the water was below 80 we felt it was freezing. Do you think we should bring a full wetsuit? We are bringing our own snorkeling gear as we know it works. We have dive booties & the fins easily snap in. Thanks!

Thanks David for all the helpful information!

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.

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, 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 ....

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Pelican, DHS did that as normal travel is not allowed into Cuba with some exceptions- yours being one of them. They wanted to know why you were there. Once you explained, it was ok.

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I hope you get it back before the cruise - please let us know.

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.

Hi all, The Galapagos has increased their national park fee from $100 to $200 PP effective this August, 2024. We booked already for June 2025 but no one is grandfathered with the new fees so be aware. Also, final payment is 150 days before the cruise & not the normal 90 days so that makes a huge difference. We are doing the cruise only (Celebrity was a lot more expensive for the 10 day than what we can do on our own. We can stay at the Marriott redeeming points for free so didn't need their hotel portion - plus you don't get points or nightly credits for going with Celebrity. We also have use of the Concierge lounge as a lifetime titanium. The only thing Celebrity did was have the flights included in the price but we decided to just fly to Baltra early & chill for a few days before starting the cruise. Celebrity would not let us pay for the flight to Baltra only. We have a private guide a friend used a few years ago that we will use for a tour. We were not interested in the group tour or lunch as we would rather do it on our own). Anyway, the national parks fee has to be paid upon entry at the airport. Celebrity gave us a letter indicating this was already paid with our cruise but I am anticipating problems with customs on this since we are not on the Celebrity chartered flight. Has any cruise only passengers been asked to pay the national park fee at Baltra when Celebrity said it was included in our cruise price? FYI the Galapagos requires mandatory medical evacuation insurance. Costco had the best insurance prices even though we purchased the trip through a TA.

Thanks for the tip on bringing your own wetsuit. I have one but it's a shorty. Do I need a long sleeve pants & shirt wetsuit- it's one piece? I was planning on bringing my own snorkel gear. We are divers so have good equipment. I hate to use a snorkel someone else has used! I have dive booties ( we are PADI advanced divers) with flippers using the boots.

Did you send it for expedited processing paying the extra $60 fee?If within 3 months of an international trip, that would be what I would recommend. Spring is the busiest time of year for passport renewals & new passports so always needs more time to process. It could take another week after it's been mailed. I would not expect them to process it that quick. BTW on my renewal, right after the pandemic, it always said "in process" but it never changed & I still got my passport back. Government IT has a lot of issues.

Hi all, The Galapagos has increased their national park fee from $100 to $200 PP effective this August, 2024. We booked already for June 2025 but no one is grandfathered with the new fees so be aware. Also, final payment is 150 days before the cruise & not the normal 90 days so that makes a huge difference. We are doing the cruise only (Celebrity was a lot more expensive for the 10 day than what we can do on our own. We can stay at the Marriott redeeming points for free so didn't need their hotel portion - plus you don't get points or nightly credits for going with Celebrity. We also have use of the Concierge lounge as a lifetime titanium. The only thing Celebrity did was have the flights included in the price but we decided to just fly to Baltra early & chill for a few days before starting the cruise. Celebrity would not let us pay for the flight to Baltra only. We have a private guide a friend used a few years ago that we will use for a tour. We were not interested in the group tour or lunch as we would rather do it on our own). Anyway, the national parks fee has to be paid upon entry at the airport. Celebrity gave us a letter indicating this was already paid with our cruise but I am anticipating problems with customs on this since we are not on the Celebrity chartered flight. Has any cruise only passengers been asked to pay the national park fee at Baltra when Celebrity said it was included in our cruise price? FYI the Galapagos requires mandatory medical evacuation insurance. Costco had the best insurance prices even though we purchased the trip through a TA.