Galapagos..Celebrity Flora or Silversea Origin

[PatriciaF]

Looking for a bigger ship and these two are at maximum capacity. Allowed, 100 passengers.  Both of these ships have wonderful reviews.

 

does one have a better itinerary than the other?  Flora offers inner and outer loop, Silversea offers one itinerary only.

 

Advice appreciated

[Host Jazzbeau]

The two ships are based on the same design.  If you have Celebrity status, that cruise would add to your points.  If not, Silversea may be somewhat upscale [although RCG is doing its best to ruin it] and also more formal [be sure to check the formal-, and informal-night dress codes – that came as a big shock to me on our upcoming New Zealand cruise].  Otherwise, itinerary definitely counts for a lot in the Galapagos as each island has unique features.

 

We deliberately booked cruise in May that visited North Seymour island in order to see the Blue-footed Boobies doing their mating dance – it was the highlight of the trip [and that island also had Frigate Birds with their scarlet neck pouches inflated].

 

BTW we sailed on Celebrity Xpedition, since it was the only large ship they had at the time.  Since they launched Flora they were forced to reduce the passenger count on Xpedition – but the ship remains the same size as Flora so it will sail just as smoothly.  And I believe that fares are lower on Xpedition because it isn't the 'latest and greatest' – might be a good way to save money and still have a great time in the Galapagos.

[PatriciaF]

We decided on the Silver Origin..no formal nights..thank goodness.  Thank you for taking time to respond.

[nolatravelgirl]

On 5/8/2023 at 8:53 PM, Host Jazzbeau said:

The two ships are based on the same design.  If you have Celebrity status, that cruise would add to your points.  If not, Silversea may be somewhat upscale [although RCG is doing its best to ruin it] and also more formal [be sure to check the formal-, and informal-night dress codes – that came as a big shock to me on our upcoming New Zealand cruise].  Otherwise, itinerary definitely counts for a lot in the Galapagos as each island has unique features.

 

We deliberately booked cruise in May that visited North Seymour island in order to see the Blue-footed Boobies doing their mating dance – it was the highlight of the trip [and that island also had Frigate Birds with their scarlet neck pouches inflated].

 

BTW we sailed on Celebrity Xpedition, since it was the only large ship they had at the time.  Since they launched Flora they were forced to reduce the passenger count on Xpedition – but the ship remains the same size as Flora so it will sail just as smoothly.  And I believe that fares are lower on Xpedition because it isn't the 'latest and greatest' – might be a good way to save money and still have a great time in the Galapagos.

Why did they have to reduce the capacity of the Xpedition? I have seen conflicting reports of 96 or 48 passengers on board. Have they just closed off an entire row of rooms? I was thinking the Xpedition was something in size between the Flora and the Xploration. I just got off a Silversea cruise to Alaska and wasn't all that impressed with what they deem luxury so not sure I am willing to pay the premium.

 

I know the maximum passenger count can only be 100 but does it make a difference in how many landings and activities you do in a day. Do the smaller ships do more stops/excursions per day than the bigger ships?

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, nolatravelgirl said:

Why did they have to reduce the capacity of the Xpedition? I have seen conflicting reports of 96 or 48 passengers on board. Have they just closed off an entire row of rooms? I was thinking the Xpedition was something in size between the Flora and the Xploration.

Ecuador limits the total number of cruise ship passengers among all ships.  When Celebrity built Flora they transferred their 96 passenger license to that ship.  Then they thought they could merge their licenses from their smaller ships and transfer them to Xpedition, but Ecuador said no.  So they transferred an existing 48 passenger license and somehow manage to make a profit operating the ship at 1/2 capacity.  I don't know which cabins they use and which are out of service.

[Wayfairers]

On 5/12/2023 at 2:50 AM, PatriciaF said:

We decided on the Silver Origin..no formal nights..thank goodness.  Thank you for taking time to respond.

Would love to hear how the Silver Origin was.