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

[Fedic]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Fedic]

            Once back on the Flora, we had about an hour to shower, change, download our pictures and get back downstairs for the excursion briefing at 7:00.  This usually consisted of two parts:  First, a presentation about the conservation/restoration activities in the Galapagos and then a detailed description of the options for tomorrow's excursions.

 

 

            As soon as the briefing had completed and we signed up for the next day's excursions, a member of Guest Services collected us and escorted us up to Deck 7 for our Glamping experience.  

 

 

 

            This menu was actually brought to our cabin earlier in the day in case we had any requested changes.  There are two cabanas: one with a table and chairs for dinner and breakfast and the second with the bed, as circled below:

 

 

 

 

 

            Andres (the Hotel Director) and Boris (the Maitre D) came by to check in and welcome us to Glamping and introduce Zarella, who would be our waitress for the evening.  She was wonderful and took great care of us!

 

 

 

            After dinner, we placed our breakfast order with Zarella, then moved over to the cabana with the bed and enjoyed looking at the stars and listening to the sound of the waves.

 

 

 

Final step count for Day 4:

 

[Barwick Cruiser]

I’m assuming there was an extra charge for the glamping experience? So glad you got your camera back…phew! 
Cathy

[PhillyTravelBug]

This trip looks spectacular so far and the Flora looks so sleek. Do you find enough time for rest and relaxation? I love excursions, but appreciate some down time to sit and enjoy the scenery and watch the world go by.

[Fedic]

1 hour ago, Barwick Cruiser said:

I’m assuming there was an extra charge for the glamping experience? 
Cathy

 

Yes.  I believe it was $299.

[Fedic]

1 hour ago, PhillyTravelBug said:

This trip looks spectacular so far and the Flora looks so sleek. Do you find enough time for rest and relaxation? I love excursions, but appreciate some down time to sit and enjoy the scenery and watch the world go by.

 

Your days are absolutely packed, if you want them to be.  But as long as you can get over the fear of missing out, you can elect to skip some of the excursions.  There were a couple of days when we didn't go on an afternoon session just to relax on the ship.

[Fedic]

Day 5 – Floreana Island

Tuesday, April 9

 

 

            We were up again this morning before dawn, had coffee at 6:00AM when they opened, then ate breakfast and got ready for the day's first excursion.  We selected Option 1, Long, easy walk, but skipped the optional swim/snorkel so that we could get back to the ship in time for my wife to go on the Advanced deep-water snorkel at 10:30.

 

Long walk at Punta Cormorant:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Fedic]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JackE]

Fantastic photos!

[Beachlover1989]

Pictures are great!  I'm just a little freaked out by the spiders 😐

 

Are those Nazca Boobies in post #26?

[Oville]

Unbelievable pix, you have a talent.  Love the 🦩🦩🦩

[Fedic]

37 minutes ago, JackE said:

Fantastic photos!

 

Thanks!

 

29 minutes ago, Beachlover1989 said:

Pictures are great!  I'm just a little freaked out by the spiders 😐

 

Are those Nazca Boobies in post #26?

 

Thanks.  As for the spiders, I'm using a 700mm zoom lens.  We weren't as close as it may appear.  I only remember a couple of times when webs were across the trail and the naturalist had to gently re-locate them.

 

I believe the black and white birds in 26 are indeed Nazca Boobies.  My wife would know better, though.  She took notes on all of the animal names.  I was mostly like, "Oh, look!  Bird!"

[Fedic]

7 minutes ago, Oville said:

Unbelievable pix, you have a talent.  Love the 🦩🦩🦩

 

Thank you.

[Fedic]

Day 5 continued:

 

            We were back on-board by 10 with plenty of time to make the 10:30 snorkel, which took place around Champion Island:

 

 

 

            Wifey got back from snorkeling about 12:30 and we made our way down to the Seaside restaurant, where today's theme was Italian.

 

 

 

 

 

            After lunch, we had about an hour before we needed to report back to the Discovery Lounge for our afternoon excursion.  We selected Option 4, Tender ride and beach walk.

 

Post Office Bay:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            Hundreds of years ago, sailors would leave mail in the barrel at Post Office Bay and if another sailor happened to be headed in the right direction, they would take the mail from the barrel and deliver it.  In continuing with the tradition, tourists now leave post-cards in the barrel and when groups visit, they sort through the post-cards and take any that are from somewhere close to their home and then hand-deliver them after the trip.

            We were back onboard the Flora at about 6:00, which meant we had less than an hour to get back to the Discovery Lounge for tomorrow's excursion briefing.  Notice a pattern here?  This is a very active trip with not a lot of downtime.

             We attended the briefing, selected our excursions, then went to eat in the Seaside restaurant with our new friends that we had dinner with back in Quito after the city tour.  There was great food and great conversation and when we finished up at 9:00, we all decided to go up to the "Stargazing" area on Deck 8 forward:

 

 

 

            By 9:45, we all decided we were worn out from the day's activities, and headed to our cabins.

 

Final step count for Day 5:

 

[sushraya]

Love the trip report, especially all the details.  I know this is an expensive cruise - been on my bucket list.   Are all the excursion options you mentioned included as part of the cruise or is all that additional?  Trying to figure out how much to budget for this cruise 🙂

[Fedic]

37 minutes ago, sushraya said:

Love the trip report, especially all the details.  I know this is an expensive cruise - been on my bucket list.   Are all the excursion options you mentioned included as part of the cruise or is all that additional?  Trying to figure out how much to budget for this cruise 🙂

 

All excursions, food, drinks (including soda, alcohol and specialty coffees) and even laundry service is included in your cruise price.  The only thing on the Flora we paid extra for was the Glamping and Massages.

[Fedic]

Day 6 – Isabela Island

Wednesday, April 10

 

 

            As was becoming our routine, we were both up early, got coffee at 6:00AM, then made our way to breakfast, followed by check-in for our morning excursion.  Today we had chosen Option 1, the long walk and short tender ride.  The entire walk was on lava rock with very uneven terrain.  We saw at least two people fall and need first-aid (lava rock is sharp!)

 

 

Punta Moreno:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

White Tipped Reef Sharks:

 

 

 

 

 

[Fedic]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

             The long walk and the tender ride ended being over 3 hours long in the hot sun.  Once back on-board, we showered and changed out of our sweaty clothes, then went for lunch.

              We were originally signed up for the 3:30PM short walk and swim at Urbina Bay, but we were still exhausted from the morning activity, so chose to skip this excursion in favor of an extended nap.

              We went back downstairs for the 7:00PM briefing, then had dinner in the restaurant again with our new crew.  We were in bed by 9:30PM and we tried to watch one of the free documentaries on the Galapagos Islands, but didn't make it 15 minutes before we passed out!

 

Final step count for Day 6:

 

[1Virgo]

just amazing photos!    You certainly have a talent. Thank you for sharing

[airhose]

Could your wife please give some description of the snorkeling?

We're avid snorkelers (in Bonaire the last few years), looking forward to next year on the Xploration.  Thanks!

[Fedic]

20 minutes ago, airhose said:

Could your wife please give some description of the snorkeling?

We're avid snorkelers (in Bonaire the last few years), looking forward to next year on the Xploration.  Thanks!

 

Sure.  She snorkels everywhere we go.  Her previous favorite was in Hawaii, but she said this was the best and by far.  She saw a sea lion zipping around playing with her, multiple giant tortoises, sting rays, iguanas and a ton of fish.

 

She said the only negative to the snorkeling is that they try to keep the entire group confined to a relatively small area and she almost got hit in the face with a flipper a couple of times.  But she still loved it and would highly recommend.

 

The advanced snorkeling requires you to get into/out of the water from the tender.  They also request that you are a strong swimmer.  Someone showed up to one of the advanced sessions with the yellow snorkeling vest;  they let her get into the water, but then she needed to be rescued.

 

Let me know if you have any specific questions and I'll ask.

 

[BuckeyeMark]

Tremendous posts and review and photos! I feel like I'm right there with you! Great job!

[Fedic]

1 hour ago, BuckeyeMark said:

Tremendous posts and review and photos! I feel like I'm right there with you! Great job!

Thank you!

[Fedic]

Day 7 – Isabela and Fernandina Islands

Thursday, April 11

 

 

            After specialty coffee and breakfast, we arrived at the Discovery Lounge promptly at 8:15 so we could check in on the earliest possible tender for Option 2 this morning, which was the short walk.  We needed to be back in time so wifey could make the advanced snorkel at 10:30.

 

Punta Espinoza, which I nicknamed "Iguana Island":

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Fedic]