Celebrity X-pedition Flights to Quito

[katiebeth]

Greetings,

 

I just recently made a deposit on the 10 night Galopagos package sailing on June 21st. We had originally been booked on the Azamara Journey for June 6th Norway and Iceland, but the timeframe did not work out for us. We had a scheduling conflict for that particularly time. While I was really looking forward to the Norway and Iceland cruise, the Galopagos looks very interesting. The ship and entire experience seem to great rave reviews.

 

I have a couple of questions about flights. The first is that we are looking into flying with Delta. We are frequent flyers and may be able to use points for two of the tickets. We are a family of four with two children ages 13 and 15. However, the return flight from Quito to Atlanta does not depart until 11:00 p.m and I am wondering how that works with the Celebrity package in terms of hotel and transportation to the airport. From what I have read, Celebrity provides transportation to the airport, but it appears that it is in the morning. I really would not want to wait all day at the airport for an 11:00 p.m. flight.

I am also wondering if I would need to purchase the 11 night package and just use the room as a "day" room that last day and arrange my own transportation to the airport.

 

American Airlines has more convenient flights, but we are not frequent flyers with them. I am wondering if it is beneficial to use Celebrity and book custom air for us, if we decide not to use points with Delta. Do you think their pricing is better?

 

Finally, how is the flight from Quito to Baltra? I understand that Celebrity charters a plane from TAME airlines. I am not sure about the safety record of the airline, although, I would assume it is good, otherwise, Celebrity would not use them. From what I have read, it appears that the plane makes one stop prior to Baltra which I am not sure why since it is a charter. How long does the flight take and how is the service.

 

Any information you could provide would be of great help.

 

Thanks so much.

 

Nancy

 

P.S. I have read conflicting comments about whether or not Elite members receive 10% off the price of the cruise package. Does anyone know if this is true?

[waterlizard]

Yes Celebrity provides 10% Elite discount for Galapagos sailings but the discount only applies to the Elite members. If you are traveling with others in the same cabin who are not Elite, they do not receive the discount.

 

.

[smtcan]

The flight to Baltra from Quito is excellent. The service is reminiscent of the old days of flying - a meal served on "real" plates, not plastic trays and attentive flight attendants. The reason for landing in Guyaquil (sp) is that because Quito is so high the plane doesn't take off with full fuel tanks, so must top up. (This is what we were told, although some of the guides boarded there - most of them live on the mainland)

 

As for the cost of Celebrity Air, for us it was cheaper and we were routed through Miami just as we expected. Our flight returned to Miami because of an instrument problem, so we arrived in Quito after 3am, but the Celebrity rep was there to meet us. They seem to go out of their way to look after you. However, in the event that they do not transport you to the airport for 11pm, the hotel offers a shuttle service.

 

Not being Elite members, I can't comment on pricing, but all Captains Club members are upgraded to the executive floor in the hotel, which offers several perks.

 

Sheila

[Susan-M]

Hi Nancy,

It's been a couple of years since we did Xpedition, but just thought I would pass along some comments that might be helpful to you.

 

Re the hotel ... if you choose the 11 p.m. flight, I think it would be well worth it to keep your hotel room for an extra day since you won't need to leave for the airport until approx. 7:30 - 8 p.m. The hotel has a beautiful pool/garden area with a very large pool...a wonderful spot to relax on your last day of the trip. (It is nicer than the ones we've had at AI's in the Caribbean...and there is so little, if any, time to enjoy it pre and post cruise on the 10 day itinerary.) It's also safe to walk in the vicinity of the hotel, so you could do some exploring there if you wanted to. There are a couple of restaurants across the street if you don't want to have all of your meals at the Marriott on that last day. I would suggest comparing the cost of the room for that last day if booked directly with the hotel, vs. booking an 11 day trip with Celebrity (we did the 10 day and booked a room on our own at the Marriott for an extra 4 days.)

 

The hotel provides an airport shuttle (free when we were there & hopefully still) so no need to worry about Celebrity's shuttles.

 

We also booked our own air (with AA) as it was less expensive than Celebrity's air (also AA). Celebrity picked us up at the airport on arrival in Quito on the Friday night (they asked for our flight arrangements in order to include us... no extra charge for this service.)

 

Agree with the comment above re Tame Airline ... here's a link with some flight times (scroll down to the bottom and look at the schedules for Tame). If I remember correctly, we flew direct from Quito to Baltra, but stopped briefly in Guayaquil on the return trip. http://www.galapagosonline.com/predeparture/Transportation/Travel.htm

[katiebeth]

Thanks so much to everyone who took time to post. I appreciate all of the great information. I did check with Celebrity today about the 10% discount for Elite captains club members. They do offer the discount on the Xpedition cruises and applied it to my fare. It was a significant savings and even lowered the cost of insurance. I would not have known about the discount if it wasn't for these boards!

 

smtcan: thanks for the good information about the flight from Quito to Baltra. I am not the best of flyers to begin with, so it is good to know that the plane is nice and provides good service. I haven't been on a plane that uses real plates in decades, that should be a treat in and of itself.

 

Susan M. Good to hear from you. You were a great help when I was planning my Med. cruises. We sailed the Azamara Quest last summer on the Greek Isles and Turkey cruise and the Millennium in 2006 from Barcelona to Venice. We loved them both, but were particularly happy with the Quest. We loved everything about Azamara. I see where you were on the Quest last summer, as well. Did you enjoy it? Do you have any plans for this summer?

 

Thanks for the tips regarding the Xpedition. Did you enjoy this cruise? It will be a different cruising experience for us, but I think we will really enjoy it. It sounds like Celebrity really "pulls out all the stops" and everything is taken care of. I do like the small ship experience (although this is significantly smaller than the Quest) and I think our children ages 13 and 15 will love the wildlife.

 

Also, I think that I will take your advice and book a room directly thru the hotel for the last day. When I spoke to Celebrity today, they said they would provide a "day" room at no additional cost. I was surprised to hear that. I am not sure if that is a room that is shared by other guests waiting for later flights, or if its private. However, it may be worth booking a room with the hotel and then we could hopefully stay in the same room the last day.

 

Thanks to all.

 

Nancy

[Susan-M]

Hi Nancy,

Good to hear from you too!:) Yes, we loved Quest and really feel that this is 'our style' of cruising. This year we are focussed on land trips so hope to be back on Azamara for 2010. The Millennium Med was tops for itinerary though! We're on the same wavelength because I gave very serious consideration to the June 6th Journey cruise, and had they had more than one Norwegian Fjord and a 14 day itinerary, I would have been sold on it.

 

The Xpedition trip is a fantastic experience and I think your children are at a great age for it. Do they enjoy snorkeling?

 

I'm not sure what the 'day room' from Celebrity would be ... but just to be on the safe side, having a room reserved that you could cancel on a few days notice would give you time to figure it out once there. Another thought that came to mind after I posted earlier - when we were there, we did two day trips with a driver from the hotel. That's another alternative to spending the day at the hotel, but it makes for a long day if you are flying home at 11 p.m. The cost of the driver is very reasonable (approx. $130 U.S. for the day when we were there and it was the same for 2 or 4 people.)

 

Good luck with your plans!

[marne-c]

My wife and I will be going to the Galapagos next January. Our week on the Xpedition will end on a Sunday. Officially, we're to stay overnight in Quito, then fly home on the following Monday. But it would work better for me if we flew home on Sunday.

 

I've been looking for U.S.-bound flights from Quito which depart significantly later than our approximately 3pm return from the Baltra. I haven't found a single one.

 

So I'm VERY curious about the 11pm flight on Delta that OP Nancy talks about. I can't verify the existence of that flight. It's not listed in the official Delta flight timetable, which on page 172 shows only morning flights departing Quito.

 

Does this (or any) late-night flight exist???

 

 

--Marne

[The_Big_M]

It looks flight DL680 leaves 23:00 in their mid-year schedule (when Nancy is flying), but not in their year-end schedule, when it switches to 0930.

[jagoffee]

Can I book the cruise now and receive a 10% Elite discount if I obtain Elite status at a later date? Obviously before the Xpedition cruise.

 

Thanks