BellKat

Would love an update - we are boarding tomorrow.

On 1/20/2022 at 9:40 AM, seaoma said:

Check your Home Depot. They have N95s made by 3M- It's Aura 9205+. We ordered online and went by the same day to pick them up.

 

These are highly rated legitimate masks. Very comfortable for us to wear.

This really depends on what state you live in. We live in Washington and tests, masks, etc are pretty much non-existent. We were in CVS here in Ft Lauderdale (we sail tomorrow) and lots of tests on the shelves.

We were on the 1st Flora cruise back in action on July 4th. It was the most wonderful trip ever! We loved it so much, we are going back in 2024. We did the Outer Loop and will try the Inner Loop next. Everyone onboard was amazing. Sometimes the Captain or Hotel Manager would come to the deck and help people get back onboard from the Zodiacs. The food was very good (except the beef but they may have solved that problem by now). If you love seafood you will be in 7th heaven - my husband was. The wines are not bad, we didn’t have one that we didn’t like. You just have to remember that EVERYTHING is local (by Ecuadorean law). We were at about 55% capacity with several important Celebrity personnel onboard. One recommendation is do your flights through Celebrity. We don’t normally do this but we did this time and were glad we did. They take care of everything that way. Please check out my husband’s day by day thread from these boards 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2788623-live-blog-of-first-voyage-of-flora-in-the-galapagos-post-pandemic/#comment-61390924

2 minutes ago, redlady62 said:

Good evening all:  Well, we decided to cancel our December cruise as not sure we would be able to get a third vaccine that would be acceptable to CDC (our provincial government is rather behind with some stuff) so instead we have booked a cruise to the Galapagos aboard the Celebrity Flora for Jan 1st to 8th 2023. We will be doing the same loop that  Jim and Kathleen did this past summer.  So, this fall (ok in two weeks) we are doing a different trip and have booked the Rocky Mountaineer from Jasper to Vancouver with an overnight stop in Kamloops BC (Journey Through The Clouds).  We have car rental from Calgary to Jasper along with accommodations booked as part of the trip.  Our hope is that we can visit with my aunt and cousins while in Calgary the first day. When we finish in Vancouver will spend a few days with my sister prior to return home.  The Rocky Mountaineer has an  excursion in the  US  'Rockies To The Red Rocks' that goes from Moab to Denver with options to start or end the  journey in Las Vegas or Salt Lake City.  

That is what is happening for travel plans for us.

 

Sue & Fraser

Sue & Fraser - as you know we had a FABULOUS time on Flora - it was the best cruise ever. You are going to love it. Intrigued by the Rocky Mountaineer as we’ve heard lots of talk about how great it is. Next year (May) we are doing a coastal cruise from San Diego to Vancouver and then flying to Calgary for a few days. We will be visiting Banff, etc. We have already done this but Jim’s brother & sister in law really want to do this. No harm in doing it twice! Our Christmas Market river cruise is still on so…. Fingers crossed.

26 minutes ago, TMLAalum said:

Reunion of Silhouetters!

Last evening Jim & Kathleen gave us a tour of Seattle and Bellevue, where we shared a wonderful dinner at one of their favorite restaurants- the Seastar! 
 

It is so amazing that 5 years after our British Isles cruise, so many of us have remained in touch and reunite in person whenever it is possible.

Was great seeing you last night. We had a great time! Have fun on your cruise.

Hi - I’m DrKoob’s wife Kathleen. So glad your trip has started out well. I also had an issue with the altitude. When we got our PCR test the doctor asked if I was okay. My heart rate was way up & I was obviously having difficulties. They took my oxygen level twice. It was even worse on the way back for some reason. I’d been feeling really great for the whole trip until we got off the plane back in Quito. Within minutes I was struggling. I hardly slept that night, my heart was pounding. I checked my sleep app in the morning & my heart rate during the night was in the 90’s. I will definitely be getting meds when we go back in 2024. Have a great time! The Galapagos is an amazing place. Can’t wait to return.

14 hours ago, Traveling Library said:

We are hopeful that cruising is a viable option for late 2021 and all of 2022. Thus we have the following booked:

Crystal Serenity. Nov 19-28 Thanksgiving Caribbean. R/T Miami (this is with my mom)

RCCL Vision of the Seas. Feb 4 and Feb 14 Caribbean R/T Ft Lauderdale.

RCCL Jewel of the Seas. June 20 Arctic Circle R/T Amsterdam (this is the cruise we wanted to do in June 2020)

Holland America. Nieuw Statendam. August 2 Canada, Iceland, Greenland. R/T Boston (hooray finally a cruise from our home port).

 

Anyone else on any of these cruises???

 

Lois & Bill

Not us - sorry. We have already done our 1st cruise - Galápagos Islands! It was an awesome experience. There were no pre or post excursions in Quito or to Machu Pichu (we weren’t going there anyway) but we were going just for the Galapagos so we were okay with it. We loved it so much we will be going back to do the other loop. We have a Christmas Market river cruise in December so fingers crossed we are still going. 

On 7/13/2021 at 9:07 AM, dani negreanu said:

Jim, just curious if some of our team was also in your sailing....

Dani - these are the naturalists we had. As they add passengers, they will be adding more naturalists. 1st time adding a pic so hope it works!

9 hours ago, LordTickTock said:

Question: was all the COVID testing you had on the trip covered by Celebrity or your own extra expense?

It was covered by Celebrity. We took one test before we boarded & I believe we will take another test tomorrow. 

47 minutes ago, Sdory28 said:

I did google Ellen and now I want her to be my buddy too! Do you know how long she’ll be aboard, our cruise is 7/25

Unfortunately Ellen is leaving tomorrow with us.

Here is the link we used for clothing requirements, etc. We found it very helpful.

8 minutes ago, Sdory28 said:

I’ve got my Teva’s ready for the wet landings. I will bother you with a quick question though. Your husband has mentioned his hiking boots- Are they sneaker height or high-top height? We have both and would prefer to only bring one pair 😉

I have low ones & he has high ones. He did the most intensive excursions & I did the easiest ones. Hiking on lava rocks is not easy. He said he was glad for the ankle support. 

Just now, Sdory28 said:

Indeed! I’m still trying to decide if we should get skins to prepare for snorkeling. When we did the Great Barrier Reef we were only provided shorty suits (from what I’ve read Flora does the same) and all I can remember is how cold I was! 
 

I’ll probably buy them right before we leave and keep the tags on for return in case we are okay without. 

I did not snorkel but my husband tried it once. Most people wore the short suits but I think I did see a couple of long ones but they looked like people who snorkel a lot so brought their own. Right now is one of the coldest times in the water. It seemed to me from doing water landings that some areas the water was cooler than others (at least at the shore). Just so you know, you have to wear some kind of footwear every time you get on & off a tender (Zodiac) and a life vest.

1 minute ago, Sdory28 said:

They were told  the outer loop is more about the animals and the inner loop is more about the landscape. I hope this helps!

 

I can tell you that this topic is discussed heavily on other threads particular to Galapagos. If you want to dive deeper into learning the differences I suggest reading that thread. 

I heartily agree. We learned so much from a tagged thread in the Galapagos boards - especially about clothing & what you should bring & what you don’t need to bring.

3 hours ago, Kylie said:

 What is the difference between Northern and Southern loops?

It looks like the Southern Route is also called the Outer Loop which is the one we are on. It’s more about the animals. If you go to Celebrity’s website and check dates, they will say Southern or Northern. You can then click on View Ports and Maps. You will notice one week is Northern, the next is Southern and they keep switching every week.

26 minutes ago, CTKath said:

Thanks Kathleen, I really appreciate it.  The picture I saw was very flat with waterfalls.  Iceland was our last trip in November 2019.  We went to the Galapagos about 13 years ago and I would love to go back on a Celebrity ship.

 

I plan on reading the blog from your website later.  Happy travels!!

Ah - we went in July 2019. Sun never really set then We were touring until midnight! I highly recommend the Flora for your next trip to the Galapagos. We are seriously considering coming back to do the inner loop (we are on the outer loop now). We were told the outer loop is more about the animals and the inner loop more about the landscape. We only have 57 guests onboard so it’s a small intimate group. Most of the staff knows our names (1st and last!). We also have 3 corporate people on board since it’s the 1st cruise since the pandemic.

23 minutes ago, CTKath said:

Jim, is the top picture on your website in Iceland?

This is Jim’s wife Kathleen - hes’ processing this morning’s pics so he can take more this afternoon. The picture changes every time you go to the website but yes, he does have a couple of pictures from Iceland at the top. He’s added a couple from Galapagos also.

5 hours ago, mahdnc said:

drkoob, if you have time can you find out if a scuba diving option is offered aboard Flora?  Thank you.

 

Jim’s wife here - there is no scuba diving - only snorkeling.

4 minutes ago, cl.klink said:

 

Wow.  Sorry to hear.

 

Call in all your chits.  Get someone with some weight to advocate for you.  If there is hope, it is going to be above the level of whomever answers the phone.  

 

Consider that Elliott guy.

 

Good luck.

 

- Joel

Jim’s wife here - we would BUT our cruise is July 4 - one week from today. Talked to another Celebrity agent & there may be hope. But we are escalating anyway. Now afraid our flight home will be cancelled & we won’t know it. 

1 hour ago, Auntiemomo said:

If you've had covid and have the antibodies, why do you need to get the vaccine to protect yourself from the virus.  Doesn't make much sense to me.  I even have a couple of my local Drs who have had covid and do not feel the need to get the vaccine at this time.  

 

There seems to be too much "obey" and get the vaccine.  Not sure that one size fits all.  

Maybe because no one knows for sure how long the antibodies last?l And nobody knows how long the vaccine last. Have a friend who works for Holland America, got COVID on the flight home from the infamous Zaandam last cruise, but he still got the vaccine. His job is to travel so not taking any chances.

2 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

If the unvaccinated guest is 15 or younger they also do not have to require a mask so that takes care of some of the population also. 

 

August 1st it will be anyone under 12 that does not need a mask.

Just now, wrk2cruise said:

Is this what was discussed with the TA's today?

Yes

3 minutes ago, bajathree said:

Celebrity will guaranty all sailings to be 95% vaccinated....however FL departs will NOT require proof of vaccine at port.

True - but if you are not vaccinated, you will have to pay for an up the nose test before boarding. You will also be required (not sure how they are going to enforce this) to wear a mask at all times (except actively eating & drinking). You will also have to pay to have another test before disembarking. This is also true if you don’t bring your ORIGINAL vaccination card with you as proof. Most ports will let you disembark but that will be dependent on the country’s requirements.

1 minute ago, sanger727 said:

i think you have those two mixed up. I am planning a Galapagos trip for September so been watching this. Educator does not require a test if you are vaccinated but Galapagos does. Yes, definately get your pcr test 96 hours before you attempt to enter Galapagos.

In trying to investigate what we needed, we found mixed messages. On June 2nd Celebrity put out a statement with what we will need to do (subject to change of course) but we did not see it until after I had originally posted. So just remember what we need to do for July 4 may not be what you need to do for September. We are the guinea pigs as we are the 1st Galapagos cruise. Just keep checking. Our cruise is in less than a month and we still have not received our documentation.

6 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Why not make an appointment, just in case, and cancel if it turns out not to be needed?

That’s what we are going to do. Got updated info yesterday from Celebrity & it’s completely opposite of what we had previously seen. Just have to be very flexible right now.