Review: Celebrity Flora 04/07/24 - 04/14/24 : Galapagos Outer Loop

[Fedic]

58 minutes ago, slewis7 said:

I just found this thread and really appreciate all the details as my wife and I will be on the Flora this September.  There are a lot of helpful tips and it will be very helpful in setting our expectations.  Thank you, OP!

Thanks.  Happy to answer questions if there is anything I didn't cover.

[Fedic]

Day 9 continued:

 

            We finally made it back to the pier, and somehow on time, but I realized that if I got onto the bus to the Highlands, I would be locked into this excursion until after 3:30.  I wasn't feeling like I was going to be able to make it another 4 and a half hours in the sun, so I asked if it would be possible to return to the ship instead.  

            Fortunately, one of the tenders was at the pier and they were actually taking some other people back, so I headed that way.  I tried to talk my wife into continuing on without me, but she refused and came back with me (which was a very sweet thing.  Also, the credit card was probably maxed).

            We returned to the Flora before 11:30AM, and I debated going to Medical, but I was convinced that I was just dehydrated and could resolve my issue.  I finished the Gatorade, drank a Ginger Ale for the nausea, and continued drinking as much water as I could take.  For the next several hours, I slept and sipped water and started to feel better...  Until.  Look, this is a happy little travel blog, and I don't want to dip into the realm of TMI, but a certain pea soup scene from The Exorcist comes to mind (if that scene happened to go on for like 5 minutes straight).

            That was the turning point where I decided to give in and schedule an appointment with the doctors.  We spent the next 4 hours in Medical, where I was subjected to blood work, multiple EKGs, and several tests.  Finally, they decided I was probably just dehydrated, so I was given an IV with a bag of fluids and some Tylenol. 

 

 

            At 8:30PM, having missed the Departure Briefing and dinner, they told me to eat some chicken soup and see if I could keep it down and report back to Medical at 10:30PM to make sure I was feeling better.  My wife ran into Zarella, our waitress from Glamping and asked her about the soup.  When they brought it to the cabin at 9:15PM, I realized that chicken soup is not on the menu for the Flora.  And they didn't just open a can of Campbell's and heat it up.  No, I'm fairly certain they whipped up a batch of chicken soup from scratch just for me.

            Thankfully, I felt much better and when I reported back to Medical at 10:30, they checked me out and decided I was going to live.  They asked wifey if she had eaten anything, which she hadn't since lunch, so they called Boris (the Maitre D) and gave her the phone.  She said she would just order room service, which normally runs until 11PM, but apparently it stops earlier on the last day of the cruise.  Boris asked what she wanted and said he would take care of it.

            We got back to the room and about 45 minutes later, there was a knock on the door and Boris himself delivered her order.   I think maybe he got someone out of bed to cook it.  Just incredible service from the Flora team.     

 

      

 

 

Final step count for Day 9:

 

[JackE]

54 minutes ago, Fedic said:

Day 9 continued:

 

            We finally made it back to the pier, and somehow on time, but I realized that if I got onto the bus to the Highlands, I would be locked into this excursion until after 3:30.  I wasn't feeling like I was going to be able to make it another 4 and a half hours in the sun, so I asked if it would be possible to return to the ship instead.  

            Fortunately, one of the tenders was at the pier and they were actually taking some other people back, so I headed that way.  I tried to talk my wife into continuing on without me, but she refused and came back with me (which was a very sweet thing.  Also, the credit card was probably maxed).

            We returned to the Flora before 11:30AM, and I debated going to Medical, but I was convinced that I was just dehydrated and could resolve my issue.  I finished the Gatorade, drank a Ginger Ale for the nausea, and continued drinking as much water as I could take.  For the next several hours, I slept and sipped water and started to feel better...  Until.  Look, this is a happy little travel blog, and I don't want to dip into the realm of TMI, but a certain pea soup scene from The Exorcist comes to mind (if that scene happened to go on for like 5 minutes straight).

            That was the turning point where I decided to give in and schedule an appointment with the doctors.  We spent the next 4 hours in Medical, where I was subjected to blood work, multiple EKGs, and several tests.  Finally, they decided I was probably just dehydrated, so I was given an IV with a bag of fluids and some Tylenol. 

 

 

            At 8:30PM, having missed the Departure Briefing and dinner, they told me to eat some chicken soup and see if I could keep it down and report back to Medical at 10:30PM to make sure I was feeling better.  My wife ran into Zarella, our waitress from Glamping and asked her about the soup.  When they brought it to the cabin at 9:15PM, I realized that chicken soup is not on the menu for the Flora.  And they didn't just open a can of Campbell's and heat it up.  No, I'm fairly certain they whipped up a batch of chicken soup from scratch just for me.

            Thankfully, I felt much better and when I reported back to Medical at 10:30, they checked me out and decided I was going to live.  They asked wifey if she had eaten anything, which she hadn't since lunch, so they called Boris (the Maitre D) and gave her the phone.  She said she would just order room service, which normally runs until 11PM, but apparently it stops earlier on the last day of the cruise.  Boris asked what she wanted and said he would take care of it.

            We got back to the room and about 45 minutes later, there was a knock on the door and Boris himself delivered her order.   I think maybe he got someone out of bed to cook it.  Just incredible service from the Flora team.     

 

      

 

 

Final step count for Day 9:

 

Glad you felt better! What a relief! It's a good lesson for all of us to stay hydrated! Now enjoy the last bits of the trip in good health.

[Ciaranaman]

Just tapped in a read your review in one shot.  Excellent read!  Thank you for taking the time to write about your adventures, and all those fabulous photos.  I felt so bad for you at the end when the nausea got the better of you.  So glad you were starting to recover by the end of the day.  Kudos to the chef for whipping up that batch of chicken soup!  Says so much for how they care for their guests!   Your review really has us thinking about how we can work this trip into our future travel plans.  The Galapagos has been top of my bucket list (the not-very likely bucket, that is), and now, I think DH is starting to ponder how many hockey games he'll need to ref to make this a reality 😅.  Here's to hopes and dreams!

~Bernadette

[catspaw1]

Thanks so much for posting the great TR. We are going on the Xploration next year so got a lot from your review. We chose the 7 day Xploration. Our plans are to spend a few days in Quito & Mindo (if safe) & arrive in the Galapagos a few days early so we can be well rested before the cruise starts. Can folks please post their Xploration TR? 

[Fedic]

Day 10 – Cruise End and Travel to Quito

Sunday, April 14

 

 

            I woke up the next morning feeling rejuvenated and ready to roll.  Unfortunately, the cruise was over and rolling meant checking out of our cabin for the last time by 7:30AM and then sitting around waiting for 2 and a half hours to leave the ship.  But we had some catching up to do with our friends and Celebrity played a Galapagos documentary narrated by David Attenborough, so the time went by fairly fast and then we were called up to be assigned a group and given our boarding passes for the flight back to Quito.

 

 

            After the tender ride and the short bus trip back to the Baltra airport, we located our bags and wheeled them inside, checked them with Avianca, then passed through security.  At this point there are multiple shops with merchandise from local vendors.  My wife had no interest in these (HA!).

            So after we went through every. single. shop in the Baltra airport, we made our way to the VIP lounge, which everyone from the Flora has access to;  the flight to Quito actually leaves out of Gate 4, which is inside the VIP area.

 

 

 

            Special mention to this little guy, who was also here to greet us when we arrived a week ago:

 

 

            Old school boarding from the rolling stairs at both the front and back of the plane:

 

 

            For lunch, we were given caprese salad, a choice of either Cobb salad with turkey or Ecuadorian shrimp, and dessert of a fig cheesecake:

 

[Fedic]

            After the 2-hour flight, we collected our luggage in Quito at baggage claim.  Most people with the Celebrity package go back to the JW Marriott, but because our flight out the following morning was at 6:00AM, we were assigned to the EB Hotel at the airport.  

            We found the Celebrity guide with the EB sign, loaded onto the bus and quickly arrived at the hotel (it's about a 5 minute drive as opposed to about an hour for the Marriott).

 

 

 

            The EB Hotel doesn't exactly look fancy on the outside, but it actually is very modern and nice inside.  We were pleased with our room, the dinner and our stay.

 

 

            Like the Marriott, there was a special check-in desk just for Celebrity guests.  We quickly received our room keys and this welcome letter:

 

 

Our room on the 4th floor:

 

 

 

 

Pool area and hot tub:

 

 

There is a grass walking path around the outside of the hotel:

 

 

            I'm guessing the airport area where the EB is located is not the safest location?  I've never actually seen an electrified fence around the perimeter of a hotel before!

 

 

Dinner at the hotel's restaurant was included as part of our package.  Here is the menu:

 

 

 

            After dinner we walked around the outside of the hotel a little more, but then decided to call it a night since our bus to the airport was scheduled to leave in the morning at 3:30AM.

 

 

Final step count for Day 10:

 

[Fedic]

Day 11 – Travel home

Monday, April 15

 

            We managed to roll ourselves out of bed, shower, get ready, pack everything back up and make it downstairs before 3:30AM.  Here are the flights we chose to get back to Tampa.  The American Airlines website kept warning me to note the "Long" layover we had in Miami (one hour and 36 minutes).  Apparently, whoever wrote the algorithm that calculates that has never actually flown internationally into Miami before!!

 

 

            Wifey wanted me to note that (surprise!) there are shopping opportunities at the Quito airport (and you don't need to keep your checked luggage under 44 pounds on the way back).  Rejoice!

 

 

            We landed in Miami right on time, but the promised long layover was a lie.  We made it onto our flight to Tampa with literally minutes to spare.  Miami, even on a Monday, was a horror show of a 40-minute long Customs line, followed by walking about 2 miles to 1) collect your checked bags so that you can roll them 200 ft and 2) put them on a conveyor belt to go to your next flight.  Why?  But wait, you're not done yet.  Now you stand for 40 more minutes in a TSA line.

            As awful as the experience was, I guess I should actually be thankful.  I read the next weekend that the line in Miami the following Saturday was over 6 hours long!

 

WRAP UP:  The Galapagos trip was absolutely amazing; the islands and waters teeming with wildlife, the beauty of the stars in the pitch-black night, the crystal clear waters.  Plus the Celebrity team is top-notch and took care of us from the minute we landed in Quito throughout the entire experience.  I wouldn't hesitate to do this trip again, or to choose Celebrity Cruises for the Galapagos Islands.

 

Final step count for Day 11:

 

 

 

Final step count for this trip:  126,528 (67.5 miles)

 

[peanut head]

Thank you for the detailed trip report and so sorry about being unwell.  Out of curiosity, why did you pick this itinerary and time of the year?  Not being familiar with the Galapagos, was there something special about the itinerary and was the weather more favorable for you doing it when you did?

[Fedic]

2 hours ago, peanut head said:

Thank you for the detailed trip report and so sorry about being unwell.  Out of curiosity, why did you pick this itinerary and time of the year?  Not being familiar with the Galapagos, was there something special about the itinerary and was the weather more favorable for you doing it when you did?

 

I would have sworn when I did my initial research in 2022 that April was the beginning of the dry season, but looking at it again now, I must be mis-remembering.  

 

From https://www.nathab.com/know-before-you-go/galapagos-islands/best-time-to-travel/

 

 

We wanted the warmest possible water temperature for snorkeling, which narrowed it down to Feb-Apr.  

 

The general consensus seemed to be that you can't really go wrong with either the inner or outer loop, but the outer loop seemed to be slightly favorited.  I don't believe the inner loop visits the Post Office barrel.

 

We ended up only having rain for a little bit in Quito and none at all in the islands.

 

[BuckeyeMark]

Tremendous report and really helpful. This one will stand here on CC for some time as the "go to" resource when someone wants to investigate Celebrity and the Galapagos Islands. Well done!

[catspaw1]

Loved your TR. Can you ask the boss AKA your wife about where the best prices are for shopping- the airport or Puerto Ayova? Would there be anything you would do differently? Or any suggestions on what to bring or not? Bug spray?  suntan lotion? Thanks so much for taking the time to post. It really helped a lot. We are looking forward to going there next year & your information & pictures were very helpful. 

[Fedic]

2 hours ago, BuckeyeMark said:

Tremendous report and really helpful. This one will stand here on CC for some time as the "go to" resource when someone wants to investigate Celebrity and the Galapagos Islands. Well done!

Thank you very much!

[Fedic]

50 minutes ago, catspaw1 said:

Loved your TR. Can you ask the boss AKA your wife about where the best prices are for shopping- the airport or Puerto Ayova? Would there be anything you would do differently? Or any suggestions on what to bring or not? Bug spray?  suntan lotion? Thanks so much for taking the time to post. It really helped a lot. We are looking forward to going there next year & your information & pictures were very helpful. 

 

Boss lady says best prices were at Puerto Ayora,  Of the two airports, selection was better at Baltra since they have local vendors.  Quito airport had more mass-produced items.

 

As far as doing anything differently, I would have had altitude sickness meds on standby for Quito and drank even more water on the cruise.  I also probably would not have picked the 6AM flight coming home from Quito.  I could have used some sleeping-in time that morning.

 

You definitely need jeans and a light rain jacket for Quito since the temperatures in the mountains are 20 degrees colder than the islands.  There's absolutely no need to pack any fancy dress clothes.  This trip is very casual.

 

I would recommend having the close-toed Keen water shoes for the wet landings.  They're so popular that the excursion director called them out by name in the nightly briefing several times:  "If you are wearing Keen water shoes for the wet landing, those are fine for the entire walk.  No need to change shoes on the beach."

 

I've seen lots of debate on whether or not you need hiking boots.  We had purchased new Salomon boots last year for Alaska and packed them for this trip and I'm glad we did.  I saw three or four people fall on the lava rock and every one of them were wearing tennis shoes.

 

Do pack bug spray.  We had some issues on a couple of the islands and I'm glad we had spray.  Celebrity provides a tube of sunscreen when you get to the Flora and said they would replace if we ran out.  You'll need some for days before you get to the ship, though.  I packed reef-safe spray sunscreen that I bought from Costco and ended up using an entire can on this trip.

 

Oh, one last thing...  Get magnetic hooks and/or chair clips.  Wet clothes take a long time to dry fully and there aren't a lot of places to hang.  We clipped ours to our balcony chairs and that worked well.

[catspaw1]

Thanks Fedic, I was confident the boss would know where shopping was the best!! We are in Great Smokey park right now & have been doing over 12,000 steps per day with 1000 feet elevation max. We come here once- twice year so have hiking boots & shoes. Each are used differently depending on terrain. I think the hiking shoes will be fine in the Galapagos & will bring my collapsible hiking poles.  Wooden hiking sticks that celebrity has, do not have the traction our poles do. We already have keen water shoes- bought some lightweight neoprene socks but haven't used them yet. We are bringing our own snorkeling equipment as we have good equipment  & dive booties.  We are PADI advanced divers. We are returning to AK next year also - going into Lake clarke NP on a 3 night bear lodge journey, independent travel inland & finally on a HAL cruise southbound- we did that 30 years. Did you think the Flora was worth the premium price? I like your suggestion to bring magnetic book hooks. We don't have a balcony though but will on the Eclipse. We will be on the Eclipse to Bermuda July 7. At the end of May, we are going to SD, WY & CO for 17 nights. We will be here in the Smokeys for 10 nights. We are very used to going to altitude- out west & to Peru. We know not to drink alcohol, drink lots of water & to take it easy for a few days. At the Marriott in Cuzco, they pump air into the room & I still needed to get extra O2 from the on-site paramedic! I've never had to take any meds.thanks for all the help!

[catspaw1]

Sorry I meant magnetic door hooks 

[sonnycruises]

Thanks so for such an informative blog! We leave Wednesday for the 11 night Flora inner loop. I had a question on staying hydrated on the land excursions. Are there toilets available?

[Fedic]

13 hours ago, catspaw1 said:

 Did you think the Flora was worth the premium price? 

 

Tough question to answer without having experienced the other two ships. 

 

I will say I think the amount we paid was a fair price based on everything that Celebrity provided for the 10-day package.  Just took a quick look at pricing and the 10-day on Flora for April 2026 is still about the same price we paid.  So it appears Galapagos cruises have been spared from the price hikes so far.

[Fedic]

8 hours ago, sonnycruises said:

Thanks so for such an informative blog! We leave Wednesday for the 11 night Flora inner loop. I had a question on staying hydrated on the land excursions. Are there toilets available?

 

Toilets are available during the two full-day tours (Quito city tour and Santa Cruz).  Although, some require you to pay to get out and some have no toilet paper. 

 

No facilities of any kind on the other islands. 

 

Typical morning and afternoon excursions are in the 2-3 hour range.  If you need to go, they just ask that you let your naturalist know you are stepping off behind a bush so they don't think you've wandered off.  

[sonnycruises]

Thanks so much. I kind of thought it would be that way.

[catspaw1]

The prices for the Xploration next June are now higher than when we booked this January.  There are only balcony cabins left. All other dates in May - June are more expensive now. So glad we booked it already. I think the Flora would have been great but it was 8G higher than the Xploration so that pays for the flights & hotel/ meals 3 nights in Baltra. We will stay in the Marriott on points in Quito. My husband is lifetime Titanium so hopefully with suite awards, will get a suite. We are at a Marriott now in Pigeon Forge TN. Just did 20,000 steps today hiking. I haven't done that much in a long time. So we will try to stay in shape for the Galapagos!

[catspaw1]

I just checked & our June 7 cruise is not showing so I assume that means it's full. Same thing with our celebrity cruise to Bermuda.

[habenicd]

On 5/3/2024 at 9:20 PM, catspaw1 said:

 Can folks please post their Xploration TR? 

It is our plan to do a thorough TR for our Xploration trip that starts in 10 days.

Edited May 6 by habenicd

[habenicd]

Quick question.  When Celebrity says a 20lbs carry-on for the Baltra flights, do they mean shoulder-bags or backpacks only or is a small to midsize roll-a-board bag ok? Do you have to manage the tender with it if you do have the smaller roll-a-board or any bags (other than checked bags of course.)  Backpacks and life jackets really don't work well together. Making the last of the decisions before "stuff goes in bags."

[Fedic]

1 hour ago, habenicd said:

Quick question.  When Celebrity says a 20lbs carry-on for the Baltra flights, do they mean shoulder-bags or backpacks only or is a small to midsize roll-a-board bag ok? Do you have to manage the tender with it if you do have the smaller roll-a-board or any bags (other than checked bags of course.)  Backpacks and life jackets really don't work well together. Making the last of the decisions before "stuff goes in bags."

 

Avianca definitely weighs your checked bag.  Neither one of ours was over 44lbs, so I have no idea if they would have stopped us or not, though.

 

They do not weigh your carry on.  I had a backpack, my wife had a hard-shell roller bag.  Celebrity had her roll it down to the Zodiac dock in Baltra.  Then they loaded it (to the center of the Zodiac) and unloaded it once we got to the Flora.  I carried my backpack, but they would have taken that, too, if I wanted.  I would imagine the procedure would be similar for the Xploration.