Galapagos-What Ships?

[teacherman]

I know that a Century ship cruises the Galapagos Islands, but has anyone used any of the other tour/ship lines that are listed on various web sites? If so, how was the experience? I am looking at Celebrity bookings and it seems that they are booked far in advance. Any suggestions?

[Aussie Gal]

We returned just three weeks ago from a cruise around the Galapagos Islands. We did this after our 21 day cruise to Antarctica and then our trip to Cusco and Machu Picchu.

 

I booked the cruise directly with an Ecuadorian T.A. and it was handled brilliantly. We cruised on the lovely Galapagos Explorer II which was originally the Renaissance 3 and was only built in 1990 in Italy.

 

It is a lovely ship with large cabins and holds 99 people. We only had 80 on our trip and it was a good number. We were divided up into 6 groups and each group together with a naturalist visits an island. We went to 7 islands and saw so much in the 5 days. It is quite hard work, up at 6.30am, breakfast at 7am, into the zodiacs at 8am and onto the islands for up to two and a half hours. Then either a swim or snorkle and then back to the ship for lunch. Out again at 3pm and a visit to another island, back to the ship at 6.15pm for a shower and change of clothing. At 7.45pm a talk about tomorrow's activites and then at 8pm dinner. We were exhausted at about 9.30pm and usually fell into bed.

 

I believe the Explorer is one of the luxury ships that operate in the Galapagos. It is a very well organized operation and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there.

 

We booked our trip in September, 2004!

 

Jennie

[Benita]

We went in May 2002 with Lindblad Expeditions (which has since merged with National Geographic). They keep two ships in the Galapagos year round. They were the first to cruise the Galapagos and have been doing it for many years. They have excellent naturalists and it is a first class organization. We also added a Peru extension where we flew to Lima and the Cuzco and went on to Macchu Picchu. Great trip. We were so impressed with Lindblad that we have used them for two other trips - Antarctica and the Columbia River in Oregon.

[Susan-M]

Did you cruise on the M.S. Polaris? If so, just wondered what your thoughts of the ship are?

thanks,

[Benita]

Yes, we were on the Polaris. The cabins were very small, but functional. The food was good - mainly buffets, but plentiful and tasty. There is a large room that functions as bar, social hall, and lecture hall. We would gather there every day for a recap and lecture.

We were given a bag with snorkle gear and assigned hooks out on deck to hang everything, so we did not have to store this in the cabins.

This is certainly not a luxurious ship, but quite comfortable and wellsuited for the area.

Lindblad is a great company and attracts excellent guides. As the ships sail all year, they can offer constant employment and tend to attract extremely qualified personnel. Their English skills were excellent and educational levels very high-lots of PhD.'s and it showed.

[epiala]

Hi,

 

My DH and I went the Galapagos Islands in June 2004, right before Celebrity began their expeditions.

 

We were on the MV Santa Cruz and loved it! There was not a negative thing I could say about this cruise. The rooms were very comfortable, the food was delicious and the guides were excellent. I would highly recommend this ship and the Galapagos Islands in general! Here is the website of Metropolitan Touring who owns the Santa Cruz - http://www.metropolitantouring.com/

 

We booked directly with an Ecuadorian TA as well. Can't remember the name but could check my records if you are interested. I remember that the prices were quite reasonable.

 

Liz

[VancouverWeddingCruiser]

We just came back from the Galapagos aboard the Xpedition. The ship is very nice, great service, excellent food and we learned lots from the naturalists. I don't know how far in advance you would have to book. We booked last October for a May sailing since it was our honeymoon, however our friends booked in early March of this year for the same cruise. Our cruise was sailing less than full with less than 60 passengers.

 

 

Linda