Good start..
Thank you for taking the time to post!

Thanks for starting your posting Eschew.

Glad you went to the Equator Museum ( Mitad del Mundo).

Were you able to go to the top of the Hill where the Winged Virgin is.?...if not I know you saw her perched up on the hill almost in the middle of Quito.

Another question:

A new airport was suppose to be opening in a few years . ( I was there a couple years ago.... so were you at a new airport, because the one I flew into was in the middle of Quito, and it was scary flying in almost "clipping" the tall buildings.

Looking forward to more,Thanks again for posting.

Great report thanks great info was there last year

Saw where they were building the new airport but not open

smartours.com excellent packages for Galapagos/MP right now

Got my best deals discounts with www.guanguiltagua.com

Dennistourguide@gmail.com was great had a wonderful time.

Good discounts on Galapagos cruises from $600 on Galaven

Ecoventura.com for more upscale careful MANY cruise scammers.

particularly the "experts" on TripAdvertizer who are secret

spouses of agents and will book a bunk on the roachie Samba

or Archipel for thousands of $$$ more than you have to pay.

So Caveat Emptor!

Great deal and very low rates thank for sharing with us.

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If you really want to enjoy the travel being single, Europe River Cruising is the best way to enjoy. It is not like just other cruise where the passangers are for family reunion, couple and families. It is the best way to enjoy being single and a chance to know the another single. It doesn't even matter which age group you are. Here you get the chance to visit real side of the life of the ports that you visit in to soak in the culture.

We landed on the Quito Mariscal Sucre Airport, which I am quite sure that it is the "old" airport as it doesn't look new at all. I thought the approach to Cusco airport was more hair rasing. We were upgraded to frist class on the flight from Lima to Quito so we were a bit busy being pampered and didn't spnet too much time looking out the window.

We saw the winged Virgin right from our hotel window. I have a great picture of the statue on top of the hill with the catheral on the side in the foreground as a weather system rolling it. (Took it from the hotel window)

We never made it to El Panecillo, but we were at Itchimbia on the opposite side and we had a great view of the city, especailly Centro Historico, the historical part of town.

The day we arrived was Nov 3, Cuenca Independence Day, the day after their Nov 2 All Soul's Day. Being an extra long weekend, we tried to avoid all the potential congested areas.

BTW, the full name of Quito is actually San Francisco de Quito.

Back to the TR ...

We flew from the Quito airport with a stop-over (same plane) at Guayaquil to the Galapagos. It was all arranged through the ship. Every piece of luggage has to pass through a special inspection area, and received a clean bill of health, and tagged before they can be checked at the check-in counter. The process is long and is done at a special area of the airport. Some bags were even opened and hand searched. We were told that all carry on must be on the overhead bin and nothing can be stored under the seat. Later, we found out why.

On the final approach to Baltra Island airport, the crew opened all the overhead compartments. We found it very strange as the usual routine would be checking to make sure the overhead compartments are secured and closed. After all the compartments are opened, the crew member came around with a spray and sprayed all the overhead compartments, and closed them after the spraying. We are not sure what the sprays were; but we speculate that they are bug sprays and let’s just hope that they are not too harmful.

We were greeted by the ship’s staff at the Baltra airport, and off we went to the waiting buses taking us to the dock. Our luggage had been checked through to the ship from the Quito airport and will show up at the cabin before the ship sails.

The ship was anchored away from the dock and we were transported by the zodiacs to the ship. It was the start of many journeys on and off the zodiacs.

Once we were on board the ship, we were greeted by the Guest Service Manager and her staff and offered a refreshing cleansing towel. We were given our cabin “key”. The “key” (a plastic card) is not magnetic and the cabin number is printed right on it. We were also asked not to take the key-card with us when we leave the ship. They have a “box” (with rows of slots on it to hold the cards) at the front desk counter. You leave the key when you leave the ship for shore activities. I asked about security measures and the reply was there are hidden cameras all over the hallways and the public areas. Don’t worry, your personal items will be safe.

A crew member ushered us to our cabin and explained all the amenities. He stressed the importance of using the “WC” properly. Please, and he repeated more than once, no TP in the toilet bowl. He pleaded. There is a lined trash bin (with a lid) and please deposit your soiled TP there, it is all for the environment (and the plumbing system). The bin will be emptied at least twice a day, he promised.

Since all human waste has to be somehow removed and treated, the TP or any other foreign object will add to the challenges. I am beginning to wonder if the other 2 similar luxury ships (National Geographic’s Endeavour & Celebrity Xpedition) in the area made the same requests. (I would love to hear the answer from you if you have been on those 2 ships.)

“TP not in the WC” is nothing new to us as we have seen it in Europe; and more recently, throughout Peru, even in the higher end hotels (Casa Andina Private Collection Hotels, just to name one). We grudgingly complied throughout the trip and the cabin steward was diligent in emptying the bin at least twice a day. I speculated that my next door cabin mate may not have been as diligent as us in compliance. We can hear the vacuum going multiple times next door in rapid succession.

Our cabin is their standard cabin with ocean view. The cabin size is generous with 250 sq. ft. (typical Mega ship cabin is under 200) We have a full size couch (that can be pulled out for an extra person), coffee table, a couple chairs plus the usual compliment of furnishing. There are 2 drawers to secure personal items at the desk/make-up table. It is made of metal and looks quite secure. We needed only one to secure all valuables, and it included our lap top, a full size SLR camera and accessories etc.

The cabin is nicely decorated and looks new (it was dry docked in August) There were 2 large built-in wardrobes; they could have installed a few more drawers in them without affecting the usability of the space. Lighting is sufficient, with 3 accessible plug-ins. The ship has a massage therapist, a doctor and a hospital. Internet access is available for a fee, there are computer work stations available as well as wi-fi throughout the ship. There are actually lots of common area, including a piano bar, a patio bar on the open deck, an entertainment room (like a theatre/show room?) that was used mainly for the daily conferences (and karaoke once). There is also the usual gift shop, and no casino.

As we arrived at ship right at the lunch hour, we visited the dining room after checking out the cabin. The lunch buffet selection is more than adequate but not quite as extravagant as the mass market ships. While we were having lunch, the Maitre’d gave us the dinner menu to look over and returned later to take our dinner order. I asked what happens if I changed our mind, he laughed and said not to worry, they are simply finding out roughly how much of each item to prepare. That would be another daily ritual. Again, the menu choices are not as extensive as the mass market ships but they are more than adequate.

As soon as the luggage came on board, the ship departed and we are heading off to our first landing at Cerro Dragon at the Santa Cruz Island. En route, we had our orientation and ship board emergency drill. At the orientation, they spoke extensively on the rules and regulations of the Galapagos National Park and the need to follow the rules.

To be continued … next up, the daily grind

I love reading this, it brings back fond memories .

Thanks Eschew.

Did you bring your daily dinner menus home ( I did) and the intinerary sheet for each day's activities.

I put them in a three ring binder as a keepsake.

Waiting for more. (I know the daily grind, wet landing , dry landing !!)

Thanks for explaining your room and the yacht in detail.

Thanks for posting this Island list Eschew. I appreciate your forum, you have written brilliantly. There are many other forums which are being giving very helpful list of Islands, cruise, etc. only on cruises forums.

Percy, which ship were you on? Did they have the "no TP in the WC" rule as well? The Galapagos Explorer II is the largest ship in the area. It is bigger than the National Geographic Endeavour and much bigger the Celebrity Xpedition. For ships cruising the Galapagos goes, I have been told multiple times by the locals (and other travellers) that this ship is the biggest and the best.

We have always kept the daily schdules as a keep sake but never the dinner menus. If you sail with the same mass market cruise lines often, the menus are the same throughout the system.

Our standard souvenirs from each cruise are the daily schedules (newsletters, patters or whatever they are called) and the ship's passengers (activity) dvd or picture cd.

Gracie01, thank you for your comments, if you have specific questions about an island, please ask. There are 13 larger islands and about 30-40 smaller islands/rocks(?). I think there are only 3 where there are major human settlements. The Galapagos vacation are more about nature and wildlife than the local settlements. By no means did we stopped at all the islands. It will take months, if not longer. We made 3 separate landings on the Santa Cruz Island as it is the largest.

A fellow passneger had been to the Galapagos on multiple occassions (I thought he said more than 10) and he hadn't been on all the islands yet; and even on the spots where he had been on multiple times, he saw different things on each and every occassion.

O.

M.

G.

Had to google zodiac, it's a small inflatable boat, right? Great beginning, please post more!

And the daily grind .... all the days start with a wake up call at 6:30 a.m.; but we were up earlier than that if you want to watch the sun rise on the horizon. Besides, breakfast is being served starting at 6:30 a.m. You want to be there early and beat the crowd.

For this TR, I am not going to review extensively each landing or excursion. Unless you landed on the islands in the same time frame and about the same time of the day, what you will experience with the wild life and what you will see will be very different. (Example: morning versus the afternoon, hatching season versus mating season etc.) Also, the guides said that there will be an all new excursion itinerary being introduced later next year as more and more tourists are showing up at the same spots. If you have specific questions on a specific excursion on a specific island, and if we were there, we may be able to answer some questions, if we still remember what happened. We made 2 to 3 excursions a day, and honestly, there was so much action and happenings, things came and gone so fast, it’s a blur unless it is totally memorable (good, bad or otherwise).

Believe it or not, we have the first excursion on our day of arrival, about half hour after the emergency drill. I think we were behind schedule as we did not depart on the zodiacs until almost 4 p.m. We finished our first excursion around 7 pm and it was getting very dark. With the volcanic rock, it is hard to see where or what you are stepping on. A flashlight would have come in handy. There was a briefing before dinner, and dinner did not start until 8:30 p.m.

We liked to have early dinners so this is getting very late for us. We will soon get used to our new dinner schedule. Dinner starts around 8:15 p.m. daily, and there is only one seating. We have met a handful of fellow travellers in Peru and they had a very similar itinerary, coming on board with us at the Galapagos. We got together and had dinner together on the first night. That would be our ritual for the remainder of the trip. The seating was not pre-arranged and it was open table.

All the passengers on board were divided into 6 landing (tour) groups, with each group having no more than 16 people. Each group was given a name, named after local wild-life, and in alphabetic order, starting with Albatross. As we were the second group, we were called the “Boobies”. Needless to say, we have a lot of fun with our group name. Some of us even bought the “we love boobies” t-shirt to show our solidarity. We never paid attention to what the subsequent groups were called after us. They might have been Cormorans, Dolphins …

They have a team of naturalists / local nature guides on board. The head naturalist would host two conferences a day. He was also available on specific time twice on a daily basis at the Library to answer any questions. The local guides took turn (in rotation) leading the groups so we won’t be with the same guide all the time and we get to know all of them. Disembarking the ship to the zodiacs was also by rotation as well so it was a very fair system.

For the entire duration on board, the daily routine pretty much stayed the same: 6:30 a.m. wake up call, off the ship on an excursion by 8 a.m.; depending on the landing and the activity, it could be either back on board by 11:30 a.m.; or back on board by 10 a.m., changed into swimming/snorkeling gear and off the ship again by 10:30 a.m. and don’t return till about noon.

Lunch is available starting at noon but the naturalist also hosted his daily lecture from 12:15 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. for those interested. It was a nice way to break up the “rush” to the buffet. The crowd was almost half and half, and when the conference was over, there would be no line up at the buffet. The lecture topic varies, from geo formation to wild life habitats, Darwin’s evolution “proposal” (He did say he did not want to start a creation versus evolution argument) etc.

The afternoon excursion started after 2 p.m., and ends sometime after 6 p.m. The social hour starts at 6:30 p.m. at the top deck where the hot tubs and open deck are located. There were welcome aboard receptions, happy hours, a celebration of crossing the equator (we crossed the equator at least 4 times while we were on board), among other things. The naturalist would host the second conference at 7:15 p.m. so the social hour is limited to maybe one or two drinks. Although all sessions are optional, almost every one attended this one as the talk is about the next day’s activities. You don’t want to miss this.

Dress code for dinner is country club casual, no shorts and no sandals please. Breakfast and lunch are even more relaxed. There was no formal night, but Galapagos Lobster was the feature on our last night on board. I didn’t know there is such a thing as Galapagos lobsters. There are social activities after dinner as well (such as Karaoke), but in general, we were too tired for anything after dinner. We would retire to our cabin; rest up in preparation for the next morning’s 6:30 a.m. wake up call.

There is only one dining room and it has enough seats for everyone all at the same time. There is a coffee station at the library (by the open deck up top) that is available 24 hours with a jar of cookies available. Each passenger was given one bottled water when we board the ship and we have the option to buy more bottled water, or refill them at the 2 water coolers available.

Ice tea, coffee and tea were complimentary. Alcoholic beverages and soft drinks were extra. Juices and milk were available during breakfast but not any other time, pretty much the same as the mass market ships.

Breakfast was very similar on a daily basis. The usual selection of local fresh fruit, the usual cold selections, cheeses, bread, cereal and so on. The hot selection was good with some minor change ups daily. Pan cakes, French toasts, waffles in rotation. An omelette station was also available and cook to order.

Lunch was a buffet and the selection varies. A combination of local favorites and some western standards: nothing spectacular, but more than adequate. You don’t come here for the gourmet food anyway. In comparison to what our friends had on their Galapagos cruise on a much smaller ship, this is luxurious in comparison as they only had 2 choices: eat what was cooked or nothing.

Dinner was well beyond our expectation and although the selection was limited, the choices were more than adequate; and the food quality very good. They were at least on par with the mass market ships, if not better. The table service was spotty but very friendly. A note to shrimp lovers: the shrimps here are HUGE!

To be continued …. The “excursions”; or as their competitors called it: the “expeditions”

Hi Eschew:

To answer your question I was on the Isabella II.

It was a 40 passenger luxury Yacht,and I got it at a good deal because I was the last one to take the last cabin which was in an excellent location.

I dealt with a tour company directly out of Quito...but the owner was from Canada and lived in California before moving to Quito.

My whole trip including extra days in Quito before and after the Galapagos went seamless and they really did a good job.

I had private tour guides in Quito , for the five days I was there.

I remember very well as I was being water taxied to the Isabella II , I pass right by the Yacht that you took.

Our guides told us that the week before we boarded, Morgan Freeman was on the Isabella II for 10 days...doing a documentary.

Made us feel good that a known movie star was here !!!

Our Intinerary I am sure ,was about the same as yours.

We were told that the higher the quality of the Yacht , the more knowledgable the guide.

All of our three guides had Master Degrees in Zoology/Marine Biology.

You are doing an excellent job of explaining your adventure.

Keep up the good writing. Waiting for more

Enjoying your trip report, Eschew!

I was also on the Isabela II, and I recommend it highly.

Regarding the toilet paper issue, I asked specifically and was assured that it was no problem on the Isabela II -- flush away to my heart's content. I had assumed that a ship as "big" as yours (yes, 100 passengers is *big* by Galapagos standards! I think that's the size of the biggest ships that do real Galapagos cruises) would have no problem flushing toilet paper...

I think the early starts and late excursions are to get the best lighting and wildlife sightings. On my trip, we didn't get going as early as you did, but the evenings were magical, and I would always try to dawdle on shore as much as possible.

I agree with SelfPropelledTripod

Thank you Percy and SelfPropelledTripod, we have came across the Isabella II a couple times while we were in the Galapagos and it is one fine looking ship.

The Galapagos Explorer II is the largest size ship allowed (and available) in the Galapagos. I was sort of surprised at the no TP in the WC bit and I knew a lot of the passengers did not comply. Even DW and I had an oopsie every once in a while. So, maybe they are being overly proetctive and cautious?

On this forum (cruising), most talked about the mega ships and mass market cruise lines. People seldom TR or even wrote anything on smaller ships, and when they do, they usually gave them unfavorable reviews as they were trying to compare them to the mega ships.

We travelled on a smaller 600 passenger ship (30,000 tons) last year and it was our first time not on any mega ships. DW was really worry about the lack of amenities, the motion sickness potential, lack of choices for entertaining venues, what to do on board duirng a sea day etc. Her anexity was created because of a lack of knowledge (or information) available. As it turned out, we went on board, we explored, and it was great on a smaller ship.

Our previous smaller ship (if you can call it that) was the 70,000+ tons Carnival Senation from almost 15 years ago, which at that time, was the largest one around! How things have changed and how much bigger the cruise ships has become. To put things into perspective, the largest US aircraft carrier (Nimitz class) is less than 100,000 tons, fully loaded.

I am trying to write this TR with a slightly different perspective so that people (like my DW and me) who had mainly cruised on the Mass market ships would alter their perspective and expectation when cruising on a smaller craft. I am trying to outline the difference, best I can.

Did we expect to get a ship wide wake up call at 6:30 a.m. daily? Nope, and we read about it for the first time when we receive the ship's itinenary. Is the daily routine that much more action packed? Even the ship's itinenary didn't describe how much was squeezed into the routine. We didn't expect that either.

How about the food and the rest? We have heard stories from friends who were on a much smaller 12 person boat where the crew would cook something and that was it. No choices. Eat it or leave it. We really have no idea and what to expect on food.

We really really hate to be surprised when we travel. We like to plan and anticiapte potential problems so that our travels would be less stressful. So we tried to find reviews and such, but really we found nothing useful, at least not on the perspective that we were looking for. Hopefully, this TR will give someone a taste of what travelling on a smaller ship, to the Galapagos, would be like; for the uninitiated, if you want to call it that.

We were pleasantly surprised by the level of service, the quality of the food, and especailly the size of the cabins. The cabin we were in was almost comparable in size to a mini suite on a typical mega ship. We didn't expect that.

And yes, both of you are right that the bigger and more luxurious the ships are, the guides are more qualified, and they do make a bit more money. All the guides (8 of them in total including the naturalist) on board are very knowledgable and friendly. They are all highly educated, and they made the trip very memorable, more so than the crew on the ship. Even the ship's photographer was highly educated and is actaully a professional photographer, none of the mega ship's photographers that I have encountred come nowhere close to her level of professionalism, and her quality of work. She captured moments, and not just trigger happy and snapping away. The shots that she took were thoughtful, and carefully framed.

On most of the Trs and reviews I have read, especailly on the mass market ships, the ship's staff is what most people say make or break their holiday, and not the sight and sound of the shore excursions. Go figure.

I will be posting the next segemnt tomorrow ...

Thanks Eschew , another good informative posting.

I too was surprised with quality of food , service and the size of the cabin.

You are correct when you say , the cabin size is comparable to a mini suite of a large cruise ship.

Even though the Isabella II was labelled a luxury yacht, you always have your doubts , as to what they are calling luxury.

But once I stepped on board the Isabella II and into the Foyer of the ship......I said "Oh my goodness".

I did not expect it to be this nice.

So it is very good that you are pointing out to the Fodor readers that, are contemplating going to the Galapagos,

...that the Yachts are really nice with good food and a big cabins.

I have to add though , that a friend of mine went a year later, on a 16 passenger Yacht, and found it cramped and the food average.

Good Trip report,I am truly enjoying reading and following you.

Percy, as I have said earlier, my friends were on a 12 person boat and the crew cooked something and that was it. Average is not even the right word. As to cabin sapce, it was more like a closet with a bed in it. Mind you, based on what they had paid, I wasn't totally surprised.

But then again, they had a great time. They liked the guide and the excursion were good. They just didn't enjoy the accomodation and the very plain and basic food as much.

I agree Eschew.

Fodorites planning on a Galapagos cruise should pay a little more and have nicer accommodations, food and guides.

I am not trying to insult the 12 passenger boat cruises.

This place is usually one of the "Once in a Lifetime Trips".!!

I was at the Galapagos for a week ...personally I would not have wanted a 12 passenger cruise boat.

Keep the excellent information coming.

Hi Eschew, thanks for the additional info! I think it's fantastic (and very thoughtful of you) that you're writing to help others on this board, and hence comparing from a baseline of a "normal" big ship cruise. I hope my comments didn't come across as criticism.

I've only done a big ship once (Liberty of the Seas in the Caribbean), Windstar once, Akademik Ioffe in Antarctica (100+ passenger research vessel), and the Isabela II in the Galapagos. All were great, but each was radically different from the others. Forewarned is forearmed, and it'd be really sad if someone showed up in the Galapagos expecting Labadee with Boobies.

am enjoying reading ur trip report eschew, thanks for sharing ur experiences. we were considering a galapagos cruise for next year but have now decided on iceland and norway, though i still hope to visit the galapagos, maybe in 2013? anyway, looking forward to the next instalment...

Interesting trip, and you have a talent to describe it, Eschew!

Thank you everyone for all the comments to date. Please Keep them coming.

SelfPropelledTripod, I couldn't have said it better myself when you said compare to the "baseline". I think that is the reference point I am trying to create as more than 90% of the posts here are about the mass market cruise lines and ships. (And they are popular and being mass marketed for good reason)

As to your other commets about "expecting Labadee with Boobies". Well, all I can add is that they would probably spot them in Labadee, just won't be the blue footed variety, unless that was the color of the footware ...

Back to the TR ....

Since I was talking about food on the last segment, I should have mentioned that one of the ship's favorite was the Ceviche served during lunch.

Ceviche is a local favorite and they have different variety on different days. The best one was the Ceviche de Calamar. They have also served a vegetarian version, the mixed seafood one was good too. We put loads of freshly popped popcorn on top. I asked the chef for the recipe and we are going to try to duplicate it at home, except I don’t know if we can find the same “large” corns.

The other local favorite that we saw in both Peru & Ecuador is “Cuy”. There are usually served oven roasted and are for special occasions. There were absent from the ship’s menu.

At the daily conference prior to the dinner, the naturalist outlined the next day’s activities. Slides or videos would be shown, how physical the activities would be, what type of terrains and wild life you may encounter, what precautions to take and what options (typically a panga sightseeing tour) are available for those who may not want to attempt the physical challenges; and the type of “landing” we should expect. They rated the activities as Easy, Medium or Hard. As an example, one hike was rated hard and the tough part was climbing up approximately 360 rocky steps. Another was rated medium but the walk was on uneven volcanic rocks, making people who cannot steady themselves without the use of a cane a challenge.

There is only one way to get on or off the ship, via the zodiac. We have an older lady (we think she may be in her late 80s or early 90’s) in our group of 16. From time to time, she needed to stable herself with her cane. We all thought she was not going to make it on board the ship. She used the ladders on the side of the ship and the zodiacs just like the rest of us. She would receive a little bit of extra help on and off the zodiacs and extra time, but that would be it. Our group members sort of keep an eye on her, and she did not participate in all the activities; but I think she made it to at least one landing every day. To make sure no one was left behind on an island, the local guide would take a head count prior to each departure from the ship.

Before each departure for an excursion, we were asked to “sign out” on our “group roster sheet” before heading out to the departure waiting area, and to “sign-in” after we return to the ship. The list would have our group name as a heading, our individual names, the dates, the excursions etc. and we just have to check off the box. As previously mentioned, we put our room key (key-card) in the slots (the box at the front desk) and we picked the card up on our way back. I am amazed how well the system worked and I have not heard if anyone had picked up the wrong key or go into the wrong cabin, or things missing.

To go ashore on the zodiacs, there are two types of landings: a dry landing or a wet landing. Dry landing, in theory, would mean you will get off the zodiac and your feet should touch dry ground. Wet landing, on the other hand, would mean getting off the zodiac feet first into the water, probably mid-calf deep if you are average height, and a certainty to get somewhat wet. We have heard rumors that some of the wet landings maybe into much deeper water. It is strictly rumors. More on that later. Depending on the terrain, the activity and the type of landing, you dress for the occasion and select proper foot ware for the occasion.

Every time you get back on board, they will rinse (and sanitize?) the bottom of your shoes if it was a dry landing and they will hose your feet (the water was warm) if it was a wet landing.

There are only two types of activities: Hike or snorkel. With a hike, you will see wild life in their habitat, and of course, natural sceneries. With snorkeling, you will see wild life in their water habitat. We were surprised to find out that some of the snorkeling is “deep water”, meaning you start off from the side of the zodiac and directly into open water (maybe 15+ feet deep). Maybe that’s where the rumor of the wet landing into the deep water came from.

Snorkeling gear rental is available on board and the fee was reasonable. For about $50 for the entire duration, I have the use of a full set of gears: including fins and wet suit. You can rent individual items as needed. I was surprised to find out that float vests were optional; I thought that would be mandatory. However, a dive master was in the water with us at all times. The crew would outfit you into the proper sized gears on the first day and you were given a bag with a number, so you will have the same gears for the entire trip. We were also told that if you rented the equipment, and decided not to use it any more after the first time, you can return it and there will be no rental charge for the single use. Some people took advantage of this offer just to try it out. After each use and after you get on board, you were led to a washing station where they have several large pails with soap and water (I hope there are sanitizers in there as well) available for cleaning the gears and hang up your wet suits.

In my opinion, a wet suit was not necessary and it was an extra charge. Almost everyone rented one though and I did used mine most of the time. On the occasions where the activity was a hike and a swim/snorkel immediate after (without going back on board first), I did not use the wet suit as I thought the water was quite warm and decided to maximize my in-water time.

Most of us have probably snorkelled around the sandy beaches or corals around the Caribbean. The deep water snorkeling here at the Galapagos offers a totally different experience. First off, I have never seen schools of fish that swam right around you, literally in the hundreds, and they didn’t even scatter. Secondly, I don’t recall ever having sea lions playfully swam with us, and penguins diving into the water among us as if we were not there! Sea turtles, sting rays, sharks, they were all there.

Did I mention sharks? Yes, we saw black fins and hammerheads; they were about 4 to 5 feet in size. We didn’t try to avoid them nor did they try to avoid us. It was certainly a different experience. We should have known there were sharks, because at night time when the ship was anchored, we can see sharks swimming around the ship, especially near the aft with the bright lights. The naturalist’s explanation was that the lights from the ship attracted the fish and the sharks were attracted by the fish.

There were all sorts of wild sea life sightings on board. We saw dolphins, and whales at a distance. The whale watching was really a non-event as they were so far off and all you can see was just the “spray” when they come up for air. Alaskan whale watching is still tops in my book.

On one of the snorkeling excursions, we slid off the side of the zodiac and swam / floated along the side of a cliff. It was an amazing experience. Unfortunately, only less than 30 of us took part on this activity. Although it sounded dangerous, it was actually quite safe. They had 3 zodiacs keeping an eye on us, one in front of the group, one behind, and one on the open ocean side to make sure we did not stray away or get caught in the current or the sea swell.

Best snorkeling: Punta Vicente Roca at Isabella Island, the cliff off North Seymour would be a close second.

Best scenic view on a hike: Bartholomew Island.

Most interesting (or curious) “novelty” nature sighting: Darwin’s toilet. I can’t explain it. You have to go there to experience it.

Most interesting wild life sighting: The Blue footed Boobies courting ritual at North Seymour Island. We were maybe less than 10 feet away. The puffed up red pouch of the male Frigate birds vying for attention from the female was interesting as well.

Rare wild life sighting: snakes! A fellow traveller had visited the Galapagos many times, and he claimed he had only saw snakes once before. We saw snakes twice on the same day and on two different islands.

General Wild life sightings: It was all over the place, everything were plentiful and all there as “advertised”. On some places, you will have to try hard not to step on the marine iguanas, or not see anything at all. If you don’t like lizards, this is not the place for you.

We have also visited the big lava tunnel, the giant land tortoise at the highlands (Primicias ecological reserve), and the Interpret center at San Cristobal.

To be continued … next up: finally, the final chapter

Ho-Hum another great report !!

Glad you mentioned those 360 steps.

I never saw any snakes ( so put me in the not seeing snakes group)

You had quite the adventure under water snorkelling !

Good explanation about the wet and dry landing.

Thanks again for the great addition to the trip report...waiting for the finally chapter.

( Did you get to see Lonesome Goerge , or has he died ?)

OMG! What an adventure you had. You Canadians are hardy sorts, eh. Keep it coming.

Eschew do you live in Canada!?

Lonesome George is alive and well and is kicking. They estimated that he will still have at least another 50 good years left. Early this year, they just found him 2 new young females from the nearby Spanish Island. Those 2 were closer genetically than the last pair and they are hoping that George might be a father one day. For those who doesn't know who Lonesome George is, he is the last living member of the Geochelone abigdoni species.

This is a true but funny story that happened while snorkelling at Punta Vicente Roca. A fellow on our group was known to be a joker and likes to "play". While he was underwater, someone (or rather something) kept tugging on him or swam right past him and brushing the inside of his legs. He thought someone was getting even with him. The truth was a young sealion nipped at his fins and swam right between his legs. We told him it was a sealion but he wouldn't believe us. He said what sealion. We told him it was behind him and he turned around. In the meantime, the sealion had swam around him and is now on his back side. It looked straight out of a Laurel & Hardy movie.

There were so much wild life around Punta Vicente Roca that is truly amzaing. There were at least a dozen sea turtles swimming around us, among other things, all within the small confine of the secluded cove.

If you recall, I had hurted myself earlier in Peru. While snorkelling, I really couldn't move my right arm without enduring sharp pain. I was steering, swimming with my left arm only and kept my right arm fully extended.

There is one good thing that came out of all this. Since my right arm was fully extended anyway, I strapped an underwater camera on my right wrist and I got a lot of great underwater video shots. The shots were much steadier than anything I have ever taken before because of the "fixed" arm. I think I will do the same when I snorkel in the future even when my arm is not hurt.

Loving your report!

Regarding unlocked cabins: on my ship in Antarctica, they said they kept all cabins unlocked for safety reasons, which made a lot of sense to me (in much harsher conditions), and everyone was very respectful of each other's privacy. So, when we had a similar system on the Isabela II, I didn't give it much thought until I came up from lunch on my first day two married couples peering covetously through my cabin window and about to walk inside to look around! I was a single and had the smallest guest cabin, but one of the couples had gotten a cabin with two twin beds, so they were envying my double bed. They were actually wonderful people, and I know they would not have taken or disturbed anything in my cabin (I think they were just contemplating whether to ask me to switch), but I did find this rather off-putting.

The snorkeling was wonderful, wasn't it? I chill easily, so I brought my own full-length wetsuit (the ship rented shorties and farmer johns). It was a 3/2mm and was perfect most of the time, a bit chilly once or twice. I think water temperature varies a lot depending on season, and I was there between seasons.

I'm envious you saw penguins underwater! I saw them on-shore, but never swimming. Nor marine iguanas underwater (saw some swimming from the panga, though). I guess I'll have to go back.

I did get to see a snake, which the guides also noted was quite rare. It was actually one of the pangueros who spotted it.

I'm glad to hear your guide's explanation of the sharks at night. One of the other passengers clued me in to this, and it was magical at night, watching sharks chasing seals chasing flying fish, all with bioluminescent glow in the water. But in the back of my mind, I was suspecting that maybe the crew was dumping kitchen waste overboard after dinner (which would be very out of character for a very eco-conscious operator). Glad to hear it was the lights...

Hope your arm is better!

SelfPropelledTripod, I guess we came across almost the same things and probably made a lot of the same stops. I don't know if your trip included snorkeling at Punta Vicente Roca but I was told by the guides that it is their favorite snorkeling spot as the wildlife is plentiful. There was a cave right next to the cove and apparently, they are not allowed to take groups there anymore, not even the zodiacs.

The pengiuns were in the water swimming among us, and they are fast! The other birds (like pelicans) were diving in and scooping fish out of the water. There were so many different species of birds around that area. We were almost afraid that the birds are going to hit us the way they are diving down into the water.

The marine iguanas were all over on the rocks, not many were in the water though; and they don't typically go "underwater". The baby sealions are very playful. They were nipping at the marine inguanas' tail. The guide said they don't eat them, just play with them. That sort of explained why the sealion was nipping at the fins on the story that I told earleir.

The marine inguanas typically get into the water to feed and then they will layout on the rock in the son to get heated up. I don't recall actually seeing marine inguanas while snorkeling but we saw them in te water often, especailly in the mornings.

In comparison to the mass market ships, leaving keycards on a public accessible front desk counter is unimaginable. The typical rule for a mass market ship is to keep the cabin door wide open if any staff is working in there (like cleaning etc).

Percy, to answer your question, yes, although most of my siblings are still in the Boston area. I peeked at your profile, it is blank! And Larry was making fun of my lack of "clarity" on my profile pic ...

Thanks Eschew , glad Lonesome George is still around.


They also tried to mate him with a "lady " from Australia.!!

Lonesome George would have nothing to do with her.

You know this guy is over 160 years old...maybe he forgot how !!

Thanks for and extra report on the Galapagos.

Percy, I think Lonesoem George fertilised the two ladies back in 2007 or 2008 but the eggs didn't work (failed to hatch? or did not develop?) They think it could be a genetic incompatibility. So we will see what happens with the two new mates. They were moved there sometime earlier this year.

So Percy, you are in the Edmonton area?

ttt

The final chapter to this TR is a collection of miscellaneous things that didn't really fit into anywhere. Here they are:

What to bring and miscellaneous ramblings:

Insect repellents: We bought the strongest (and most expensive?) type we can find at home. Did it work? We don’t know. We did not even open the package. We didn’t encounter any flying nuisances and therefore, we did not use any insect repellents. There wasn’t any problem although others had told us that bug spray is a must. It could be just the time of the year.

Swim suits: If you want to take part in all the water activities, bring 2 swim suits. There are possibilities of water activities both in the morning and in the afternoon. You can definitely get way with one suit but once you get the wet stuff off from the morning, I really hate to put it back on again a few hours later unless it is dry, especially if you have to wear dry clothes on top. Laundry service is available but 24 hours is needed. There is no self-laundry facility available.

Outer wear: Believe it or not, the best outer wear is a long-sleeve t-shirt. We have been told that and we have brought with us two each. It worked great. One of the local guides carries something that looked like tube socks and wore them on his arms. Sun tan lotion and a hat (that can cover and shelter your neck from sun burn) is a necessity.

Footwear: Comfortable shoes with thick bottom and good grips. The volcanic rocks can be very sharp. For wet landing, you will need “waterproof” shoes. Flip flops are not an option and would be dangerous and hazardous. Some local guides wear “Crocs”, and after the hose down back on board, would dry fast. The holes on them can be a challenge with volcanic ash or sand; plus they are not for everyone. DW had her “fashion” Crocs which doesn’t have holes on the side and worked well. I took along my Vivo minimalist shoes and similar to the Crocs, worked well and dried fast. The 5 fingers shoes worked extremely well but they attracted everyone’s attention. I used them for both hiking and wet landings. You can always get away with only a pair of good hiking boots or running shoes, but you will have to take them off for wet landing and putting them back on, and then take them off again when you have to climb back in the zodiac from the water.

Binoculars are useful and handy unless you have a powerful tele-zoom camera and did not want to carry the extra weight. A bird watcher binocular would be good. A local bird watcher guide is available at the ship’s gift shop for under $5. Buy one. It is laminated and came in very handy when trying to ID the various species. Can you get away without the binoculars? Absolutely! They are all over the place and so close that you can almost touched them. (Resist the temptation as it comes with a hefty fine!) It’s just that a pair of binoculars will give you more options.

Are underwater cameras necessary? All I can say is we are glad we have them with us. I borrowed mine from a diver friend and let me tell you, the shots made for great memories. If you plan to snorkel, find one.

The waves and sea swells can be quite strong, if you are not a strong swimmer, a partially inflated float vest would be necessary. I saw most people made the mistake of “fully” inflated their float vest to look like an inflated life jacket. It is actually harder to snorkel when it is fully inflated like that, and you can’t go deep. What is the right level? You inflated it to a point where you can float up-right without any arm or leg movements and your head is still above water. For me, it was less than 10 or 20% of air and looking at it, you probably think it was not even inflated. I always wear a float vest for snorkeling, especially in open water. Even if you are a strong swimmer, you can get tired, you can have a cramp, you may get caught in underwater tow, there are always chances of something unforeseen and it is better safe than sorry. I know, it doesn’t look “macho”, but I prefer alive than dead.

Bleeding hearts: You have to leave it at home. Several times, we came across dying animals (and birds) that appears to be suffering. There is nothing you can do about it. It is part of the natural process. You are not allowed to approach them, or touch them or anything else for that matter. You have to ignore them and move on, and let nature runs its course. Sometimes it is hard to see a baby sea lion dying from hunger or whatever the causes maybe. You hear the “crying” and all, but you will have to leave them as they were.

The smell: From time to time, the smell in the air was unpleasant. It could be from the pools of stagnant sea water, or droppings from the wild life. Get used to it. By the way, if you see lots of birds circling overhead, don’t look up and say “wow” with your mouth wide open in amazement. You might get lucky. More reasons to bring a washable hat.

Speaking of hat, I lost mine 3 times. But I was lucky enough to get them back every time. I have learned to take it off and tuck it in while on board the zodiacs. I thought I had lost it for good when it blew off my head (and into the water) when I was climbing the ladder getting back to the ship. A crew member fished it out of the water for me.

Tipping: The ship did not add the daily tip on your tab. You were given 2 envelops, one for the crew and one for the guides. They offer a recommended amount of about $12 per day for the crew and a lesser amount for the guides. We have always tipped extra to those that provided excellent service so we tipped the waiter (who served us at breakfast and lunch but not at dinner) and a few of the guides separate (extra) as well. Some of the guides are exceptional. César was our favorite.

They closed off your on board account at 10 p.m. the night before departure. They lock the mini-fridge around that time while you were at dinner. You can’t pay up your account until the next morning and it was a challenge. They would slip the bill under your door sometime during the night. The front desk didn’t open until 6 a.m. I was there at 6 a.m. sharp and I was the 5th person in line. By the time I had my bills paid, it was past 6:30 a.m. There were 2 staff members working, but only one computer. The first two persons in line had questions about the charges on their bills and that was it, everything stopped. After they had solved their problems, the lines moved a bit better. If you pay by cash, be aware that they hand wrote the serial numbers from every $100 bill on a list and you have to sign for them. Obviously, it took a bit of time.

On the day that you depart the ship for good, you still have one more excursion to go. Your luggage will be delivered to the airport and checked-in for you. They will give you your boarding pass and luggage receipts at the airport. After breakfast, at 8 a.m. you got on the zodiac one last time and went ashore. At the pier, you will be greeted by a white truck and they will keep your hand luggage for you and deliver them to the airport. You board the bus and go to the interpret center for the morning. After that, you will be bused back to town and have an hour or so of free time to explore on your own and do some souvenir shopping. A bus will take you to the airport when you are ready to go. At the airport, you will be greeted by the white truck, and you retrieve your hand luggage. A local guide from the ship will called for the passengers and you get your boarding pass and luggage receipts from them. You board the plane and that’s it!

Were the National Geographic’s Endeavour and Celebrity Xpedition much different from the Galapagos Explorer II? I can’t tell for sure as I was not on those 2 ships. But the following was what I discovered, some by personal observation, and others by asking questions.

Interesting enough, the Endeavour was alongside to us for about 3 days. They landed on the same islands and doing the same hikes. We came across their zodiacs and their passengers often. I asked our guide about the Endeavour and the answer did not surprise us. The Endeavour made the same stops, do the same tours, except they called them “expeditions”. There really isn’t any difference as they must hire the same guides from the same local pool available but they have the “brand”. Most of the top local guides had worked on all 3 ships at one point or another. The guides also mentioned that the Endeavour carries slightly less passengers and the cabins are smaller. Food and services are about the same.

When asked about the Xpedition, the guide’s comment was that it is an even smaller ship (less than 3,000 tons), and the cabins are much smaller, and they are certainly not different from the Explorer II and eth Endeavour in terms of the “expeditions”, food, services and amenities.

My impression from talking to people was that the “big 3” here are the Galapagos Explorer II, the Celebrity Xpedition and the National Geographic’s Endeavour. The Explorer II and the Xpedition are here year round. Most of the local guides worked their way up from the smaller boats and getting the contracts to work at the biggest boats are very good for their pocket books. You can certainly get to more far off places with the smaller boats, but if you want the amenities and the “luxury”, you have to stick with the big three.

Would we do it again? The answer is maybe. We were glad that we did it, and thoroughly enjoyed it. If we were at least 10 years younger, we would definitely want to do it again. Would we opt for a smaller boat? Probably not. We like our “luxury” too much and we are not the roughing it type, at least not any more.

Any comments or questions welcome.

Thanks for a great report and great information. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all your comments.
Yes, I am in Edmonton.

Eschew, how did you book your cruise?

Your report was very informative--especially this last entry.
Thank you for such a useful report.

Hello Eschew,
Your list helped me a lot. And I would really like to thank you for this through which I made my trip with my family. The remaining tips and points I collected from the cruises forums.

Hi Eschew! I just wanted to say thanks again for the great trip report. (I've been traveling so haven't checked Fodor's in over a week.) I laughed aloud with your comment about not looking up at birds directly overhead and saying "Wow".

Percy, if you want to catch a World junior game coming up, let me know. I have 2 crappy seats, some games are spoken for, espcially all the Canadian games.

JaneB, I book my cruise through my local TA. She gave me a choice of 4 or 5 ships and we (with her help) narrowed down to this one. She knew our "quirks" and likes and dislikes.

I found out after the fact that the Galapagos Explorer II has their own web site and you can book direct, not that it is any cheaper. I would still suggest you talk to your local TA and see what they recommend.

Gracie01, if there are any questions, ask. I will try to answer, or steer you to the right direction. I try to check-in here (Fodors) at least weekly, but sometimes I just can't find the time, especially if I am out of town or get busy with other stuff. There are things that I may have thought unimportant but it might turned out to be important to someone else.

SelfProprllrfTripod, other than Peru's Ballestas Island, I have never seen that much birds overhead (exception: seagulls overhead on the local garbage dump). At Ballestas Island, you are almost guaranteed to have at least one hit from the birds overhead. I have pictures of people looking up in shock with the bird "diving" in.

As you could have imagined, I have taken quite a few pictures on this trip. I hope to have some posted on the web in the near future. I will put the photo albumn link here.

Eschew:

Thanks for the offer but the games start right here in my City next weekend.

I hardly go to hockey games. Use to be a season ticket holder during our Golden Heydays with Gretzky.

Hi Percy, I will be there boxing day catching the Can-Fin game, and the Can-US game on New Years Eve as well. I still have the Fin-Cze game (27th) and Den-Fin (30th) available.
I knew the Oilers team well on their Godlen years. I was in the building with all those cup wins. Those were great years.

Finally ... I have pictures from the Galapagos posted. The pictures of the ship, the food, the zodiacs, the landings, the wildlife and so on. All comments welcome here or at webshot.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/582034887dLHsDS

Eschew:

Yes those were the golden years,never to been seen again !!!
You must live in Alberta if you are catching all those games

Have to go now and look at your pictures.

Nice pictures, it sure brought back pleasant memories!!,like the wet and dry landings.!!

That "ball of Fluff" is that a baby Blue Footed Boobie, because the chick gets as big as the mother with all those fluffy feathers.!

Nice to see Pinnacle Rock again.

Nice pictures of the Blue Footed Bobbie in flight and also yuou captured a picture of the Galapagos Hawk..neat !!

Thank for posting
(will see the games on TV )

Hi Percy,

Yes, that ball of fluff is a baby blue footed boobie. I have managed to capture a few different species of birds in flight. Right place, right time I guess.

The one with the 2 blue footed boobie facing off each other, they were doing the courting dance.

The Hawk was a rare fine as well. We were lucky to catch so many difference things, including the grasshopper.

Now that you have seen the picture of a Galapagos snake, you can now joined the "unofficial" seen-it rank.

And you are right that I am just another red neck around this nick of the woods, and better yet, I choose to live here.

Watching the game live is so much better than watching it on the tube. Offer is still good for Fin-Cze game (27th) and Den-Fin (30th). They are cheap seats and it would be my treat. Let me know if you are still interested in going.

Eschew :

Thank you for the most generous offer.

Unfortunately I have to decline due to Christmas Company and for December 30th ,I will not be in town for the29th and 30th.

But I thank you most kindly, not often I get an offer for free tickets.

Yep ,I have now have seen the Galapagos Snakes.

Never saw the hawk though , but I saw the short eared Galapagos Owl.... in fact out of our group I was the one that spotted.

Our guide said "Good eyes man !" .
I was just lucky to be looking where I was at the moment. It looked like a small rock until I saw it move.

Merry Christmas

And yes you got some good pictures of the Birds in flight.

Just looked at your pictures again.

Once you have been there you never tire of seeing pictures of the Galapagos.

Percy, it's too bad taht you can't make it to any of the games as the quality of teh play has been great.

At this point, I don't think I will post a TR for our time in Peru (Lima/Machu Pichhu/Puno). Too much time has past and things are getting busy. I may still post some pictures though.

Glad that you enjoy the pictures. It was a great trip, the sight and sound are incredble. Wishing you (and everyone else here) a happy and prosperous New Year!

Hi Eschew:

Right now the Canada / Denmark game is on but I stopped watching after 3-0 lead.

Will be back late December 31, just visiting here in my home province.

Yes, I would like to see pictures on your Lima/ Cusco/ Machu Picchu Trip.

I know you told me it rained when you were in Ollantaytambo at the Inca site.

Happy New Year to you also ( and all who are reading your great Trip Report on the Galapagos)

Happy New Year Percy,
Thank you for your word of encouragement. Once I have the pictures uplaoded. I will let you know!

Happy 2012 E and P. Look f/w to those pics amigo.

Eschew - Great report.

You might have mentioned it above, but, if you don't mind, can you tell me your ages? (You said something like if you were 10 years younger you might consider going again.)

Hi Kenav, we are a relatively young couple of 60+, living a rather active life style and in in reasoanble good physical condition.

I still play sports competively, train and enter into competitions regularly, competiting and playing against people young enough to be my children. (My youngest is only 24).

We did not find the activities around the Galapagos Islands too challenging, but the schedule is way too "dense", with very little time left to relax and enjoy otehr things. If we were to be 10 years younger, we probably can handle the "dense" schedule much better. We are not tired by the activities as much as it was too much "go go go".

Being through Peru on land and Macchu Picchu Inca Trail etc just prior heading off to Galapagos certainly did not help, plus my injury from the fall certainly affected my ability to swim. Physically, we can and may do it again, but we will be looking at a more relaxed schedule.

To Larry & Percy, I will let you know when I post the Peru pictures. Maybe I'll have a chance to do it this weekend.

cool. Thanks.

That would be nice, I would love to see them

I'm guessing that November is considered the "high season"? Been looking at sites to see what they all say about the weather in Ecuador. Seems rainy season is Jan-April. But the topography is so varied that it can be hard to get a one-size-fits-all weather report.

What was the average temperature while yo were there?

Hi Kenav, for the Galapagos Islands, it was nice and comfortable through out the whole time we were there and the temperatures varies very little.

Sunrise is always at 6 a.m. and sunset is always at 6 p.m. (within minutes anyway) as you are right on the equator.

Day time tempertaure were about 70, and after the sun set, maybe a degree or 2 cooler. They really don't have "seasons" but it does rain more from January to April. Interesting enough, the air temperature and the water temperature are very close and doesn't varies much.

The reason why November, December etc are considered "high season" is because most tourists are from North America and Europe where November and December etc are relatively cold and people wants to take winter vacations.

It would be a supply and demenad thing, there is only so much capacity and the more people wants to go, the more expensive it gets. Based on my observation and speaking to the locals, the Galapagos is a year round destiantion and weather is nice year round.

As to Ecuador weather, it is tougher to generalize as it depends on where you are, but typically, they are warm most time of the year and the temperature does not get too extreme in any part of the country except for the high mountains.

Finally ... as promsied .. pictures!

South America:
http://travel.webshots.com/album/582177142tXDpsg

Galapagos Islands:
http://travel.webshots.com/album/582034887dLHsDS

Main Album (if you want to see other pictures)
http://community.webshots.com/user/e_s_c_h_e_w?action=publicAlbums

Enjoy! All comments welcome here and over there too. Feel free to download the pictures.

Hey , was waiting for them.

Very nice ,Thanks for posting.

I was checking to see if you got your feet wet at the Wet Landing in the Galapagos.

Any one going to Machu Picchu and/ or the Galapagos better look at these pictures.

Awesome photos! Although I do have to say that a lot of your photos are exactly the same as mine -- even including the giant tortoise droppings with the shoe in the photo to show scale. Those are GIANT tortoise droppings! I didn't get to see all those adorable seal pups, though. And where was that cave / lava tube?

I am checking them out now and thanks for the effort it took to put the album together. As a watch enthusiast I do appreciate the Tissot shot.

Percy, of course I get my feet wet. There is no getting around it.

SelfPropelledTripod, yes, those are BIG droppings and they were all over. You need the foot there to show the scale. Those were baby sea lions ... and unfortuanely, we saw the dying ones too. Now you understand the "leave your bleeding heart behnd" comment.

There are many Lava Tubes / Lava caves. They are all over and spread out on quite a few islands.

The one we went to is located at the Santa Cruz Island, not too far from the Tortise Santuary. I think it is one of the biggest one. The farmer charged $3 per person and will provide boots when it is raining.

It is almost a mile long and there are some lights but not too much (or too bright). Some sections had collapsed but is still passible. I think the majority of the sections are safe.

Larry, the shot was taken at over 13,000 feet. I had that Tissot T-touch for many years. I bought one of the earliest one when it first came out and it was my hiking and travelling watch. It served me well until 3 yeras ago when it was exposed to -20 temperture for an extended period of time. (Don't wear it skiing or hike in sub-zero weather for extended period of time anymore.) I had to sent it back to the factory for repair (out of warranty). What they did was replaced everything on the inside and call it a day, so I pratcially get a new watch when I got it back. But they charged me like buying a new one too ...

Thanks for all the kind words, everyone, ,much appreciated.

One fianl comment. You really should be in decent physical shape to truly enjoy the Galapagos even if you are in a luxury boat. On my post in the South America forum regarding the Machu Picchu trip, I came across people stating that they plan to take their 80+ year old parents (who tghey claim is in good physical conditions) to Machu Picchu first and then to the Galapagos island or the Amazon jungle.

Understanding that there is a daily 6:30 a.m. wake up calls plus daily physical activities, a cruise to the Galapagos is really not for those who is not in good physical conditon, and that include those who maybe very out of shape or with disabilities.

Don't get me wrong, you can still enjoy it, but it will be discounted by the fact that you cannot take part in all the activities. As long as you know you had paid for it, but can't particiapte, then it's okay.

Belief it or not, DW "trained" for this trip. My son took her to the pool to get her more comfortable with the water activities, and she get into better physical shape by walking lots prior to the trip. At the end of the day, she still needs oxygen at Cusco, but she was part of the group of only 5 that made it to the Sun Gate. She took a pass on the deep water snorkelling as she was not comfortable with the idea of sliding off a dingy into the ocean with sharks around.

I can't imagine us doing this trip (and enjoyed as much activities as we did) without some of the preparations that we had gone through before hand.

Just had to look at your pictures again.

How can anyone get tired of looking at Machu Picchu or the Galapagos!!

Thanks Percy ... I am getting a lot of hits on those pages. It is in the thousands of views weekly since I posted them. I think my Alaska pictures were more popular still but they had been posted there much longer so more accumlated hits.

Keep re-visiting and feel free to download them if you want. We were lucky to be at the right place at the right time with the mating season. Those male frigate birds close up are lucky shots, as were the courting dance of the blue footed boobies.

I just saw this thread and thought I'd drop in a comparison. I did the Galapagos with Lindblad who now partners with National Geographic, so my observations are regarding the differences between Nat Geo and Explorer II.

In general, I think you're right that they'll go to the same places, do the same hikes, and cruise the same waters. One notable difference I can tell from your TR, is that Lindblad tends to be more all-inclusive. I noted that certain things, like the wet suits and snorkeling gear, were an extra charge on your cruise, whereas with Lindblad these were all included.

Also, the organization of the excursions were different in that we weren't put into groups upfront. They let people self-select for each excursion dependent on what it was. For example, there could be a "fast" group, a "slow" group, and a "photographers" group for a hiking excursion. The fast and slow group are pretty self-explanatory. The photographers group would usually skip right ahead to the photogenic locations and spend more time there.

Also, I've noticed that Lindblad tends to carry specialist guides, like pro photographers, who focus on certain aspects of the trip.

Hi Lifelist, thank you for your comparison which is most helpful as a lot of people are actually interested in the NG ship.

First question I have about the NG ship: Is there a "no TP in the WC" policy on the NG ship as well?

The wetsuit and gear rentals is mimial. I think I paid less than $50 per person for the duration and those who used it once and returned it did not get charged at all. On the last off zodiac snorkelling, only 30 showed up (out of 100 passengers). I sort of like the idea of paying for what I need. I knew people who brought their own personal gears.

Once the groups were formed, you are free to "trade" or move, within reasons. The "slower" passenegers were given options for alternate activities, and there were only a handful of them.

I like the fast and slow group idea. But who will decide who is fast and who is slow? Very Interesting that they have a "photo" group as well.

From a practicality stand point, I would be hard pressed to make a choice. I would like to be on the fast group, and also on the photo group as well. Yet my wife will not be interested in the "photo" group and we don't want to ahve separate excursions.

The Explorer II have a very competent photographer on board and she took very good pictures of us (and teh scenes and wildlife too) throughout the entire trip. She is also very personable and more than willing to take our cameras and took pictures of us with our camera. She wasn't too concern with selling us her pictures. (We bought her CD of pictures anyway as they were good) She is going to Madrid after her 1 year contract is up and further her studies in photogrpahy.

The Explorer II has a "head" naturalists and a team of 8 gudies. We had the various guides in rotation. It appears that they all do the same job but each have their own specialties as during conversation with them, some were more knowledgable on certain aspects than others, where the naturalist hosts the daily talks, and get into the Darwinism and the finch migration and otehr developemnt of the various species etc.

I am not sure what the NG ships charges but they were quite high in comaprison. So the question would be what you get for the extras. Reading other people's posts, I am finding that on a smaller boat, you are more dependent on the competency of one or two individuals whereas on the bigger boat, you won't have that problem as you have multiple staff members doing the same job (example: stuck with a bad local guide)

Do you plan to share your experience with a TR?

I honestly don't remember if I could flush the TP down the toilet or not. I would guess probably not - I'm pretty sure I would have remembered if I couldn't.

The fast and slow groups were self-selecting. Basically, you decided for yourself. One thing about Lindblad/National Geographic is that the demographics for their customers skews older. I saw an article today where they mentioned that over 40% of their passengers are over 65. So, I think the emphasis on the "slow" group was for those passengers who had difficulty moving over rough ground. The "fast" group really wasn't that fast - more like a normal, walking pace.

The photo groups were specialized. Lindblad/National Geographic has professional photographers who serve as photo guides. The group would have the regular naturalist to guide and explain the flora and the faunta, while the photo guide would help people with their photography - giving them tips on the function of their camera, composition, etc as well as, getting people to the most photogenic locations. Additionally, there was a videographer who captured video of the passengers during the cruise.

My trip was a number of years ago, so I don't think I could construct a trip report from memory, I'm afraid. I will say that the cruise was exceedingly well organized and I enjoyed it very much. I was able to take advantage of multiple last minute discounts, so I didn't pay too much of a premium for this trip.

Hi lifelist, thank you for your update. The grouping makes a lot more sense to me now. On our cruise, there were probably less than a handful of people that would fit into the NG "slow" group, and the ages were much more diversed and definietly much younger on our cruise.

On our particular cruise, there were a couple teenagers or young adults, a few between 35-45 and I would say a majority were between 45-65, and maybe 20% were 65+.

It is unique to have someone on board for a special interest group for photographer on teh NG ship. If I was a solo traveller, I might be interested in the group but definietly not when I have a travel companion.

We are mass market ships cruisers and I suspect a lot of people who cruise through the cruise forum here are mass market ships cruisers as well.

The Galapagos is such a different and unique cruising experience from the customary mass market ship cruises, that I thought a TR that highlite the differences would be a fun thing to post.

It is such a great destination that regardless which ship you travel on, it would be a great experience anyway.

Can anyone who has been to the Galapagos tell me when they went? We were thinking about end of August, but now I see on some weather site that the seas are very choppy then. And it's cloudy. Wonder if we'd still be able to snorkel.

(The temperature drops too, which is not a bad thing to me, especially if we want to hike.)

Hi Kenav, we were there in early November.

The Galapagos Islands are lcoated along the equator, in the middle of the ocean. They really don't have any distinctive seasons like summer or winter. The ocean currents plays a very large part in affecting their weather.

Being right on the equator, you can expect sunrise at 6 a.m. and sunset at 6 p.m., daily. Days don't get longer or shorter.

The air temperature is very consistent as well. It will be between 70 to 80 during the day, closer to 70 when it is cloudy or rainiing and closer to 80 when it is sunny.

The water temperature is very similar to the air temperature, maybe a degree or two lower. You can snokel in cloudy weather, just that the visibility will be not as good in deeper water (below 15 feet). I wouldn't snorkel if the water current is too strong, but if you are close to shore, that should not pose any problems.

January to April is consdiered to be their "rainy" season, and the rainy season can start as early as late November and may go well into late May.

In terms of the sea being choppy, it is open water (ocean) so if there is any kind of a wind, it will be choppy regardless of time of year.

Hope this helps.

Hi Kenav, I was there in May, which is between seasons. It was fantastic. I get the impression that any time of year is a great time to visit.

Eschew is right on the button regarding the equator and therefore no variation in sunrise and sunset times throughout the year. However, due to the changing ocean currents, all climate charts I've seen show a bit more variation in temperature between the cool/dry season and the warm/wet season. E.g., here's a chart with average air and water temps:
http://www.galapagosislands.com/galapagos-resources/galapagos-weather.html
And this one is more detailed showing average highs and lows for air temperature:
http://www.galapagosisland.net/galapagos_islands/climate.html

I totally agree with Eschew that the snorkeling should be great whether its cloudy or sunny! As for choppy conditions, I'd expect the boat operators to know of sheltered places for snorkeling, so you should be fine unless things are particularly rough for some reason. In the cool/dry season, a wetsuit would make things more pleasant. I think most ships have them to borrow or rent.

I went at the end of August and the weather was terrific.

We never had a bad or cloudy or raining day.

If you go at the end of August I hope your weather will be as trouble free as mine was.

SPT - Can I ask about packing for May - did you need any cold weather type gear at all for your time in Quito? I'm really trying to pack light for this trip and get that the temperature doesn't change much even in Quito due to being on the equator. What I'm seeing says 60-70 degrees there but at that altitude I'm thinking jeans and fleece - anything more than that needed do you think?

Leslie_S

I do not know if this will help, but in August when I went , I remember how coool it was in the evening.

We were touring the Old Town so we did a lot of walking about.

I remember saying, "I should have brought my sweater...it is no good to me in the hotel room."!!

You can always bring a warm sweater... if it gets a bit too warm , you can take it off...but if you are cold... well I guess you just look at the goose bumps on your forearm .

Let's see what SPT says about May !

We were told that the cruise we're considering supplies snorkeling equipment for free but that wet suits are $40/pp. If the water is 70 degrees I'm figuring a wet suit would be necessary. I've never worn one so that should be an adventure in itself.

For those who spent some time in Quito, what neighborhoods did you stay in? Pluses and minuses? We'll probably be there for 2 days. Will we need air conditioning in the room? (End of August beginning of Sept.)

We know that mountain areas, no matter where and what time of year, get cold at night and in the AM. We'll be bringing sweaters and light jackets.

@Leslie_S -- I don't quite remember, as I had very little time in Quito, but what I do remember was basically the same as Percy's comments: very pleasant in the day, but cooling off quickly in the evening. I wear long pants, a t-shirt, long-sleeved shirt, and TravelSmith travel blazer (used to prefer LL Bean's travel blazer, but they stopped making them) across a wide temperature range. I'm guessing that's what I wore, with maybe a light windbreaker shell (which I had packed in case of rain) on top. In the Galapagos, I'd wear the same thing, minus the shell except when it rained, and the blazer (no need for convenient pockets for cell phones, passports, and boarding passes! )

@kenav -- I stayed in the Radisson. Nice hotel, I'd happily stay there again. But the area wasn't particularly distinctive -- just a business district in a big city. Old Town was charming and atmospheric, but I'm not sure if I'd want to stay there, as it was very crowded when I was walking around, and I usually prefer a bit quieter surroundings. (I'm sure I would have been happy had I been there, though.) My trip was very Galapagos-centric, so part of my decision to stay outside Old Town was to make sure I wouldn't run into traffic problems getting to the airport at some unpleasantly early hour in the morning.

We packed really light on our trip. I had one carry on (25 pounds limit) and that was it for 3 weeks!

I had a light weight wind breaker and that's all the clothing I had for cooler weather (and rain as it is water proof). It could be folded into a small 3 by 6 pouch. If you looked at my packing list posted earlier, long sleeves t-shirts are must and I wore them daily. The wind breaker and long sleeve tee combo would be sufficient for the cool evenings at Quito and the Galapagos (air conditioend ship).

At Quito, it cools down to about 60 at night and that's about it. We stayed at the Hilton Colon, and make sure you get a room at the tower building, facing the park and the hill.

I have a link on this thread to some pictures I have posted on line (just look back on the older messages above), The view from my hotel window is the first picture on the South America album. A storm was rolling in when I took the picture from my room.

It was safe to walk around the hotel (and we did) and cabs were cheap. We took a cab to a restaurant recommended by a friend of ours and it was only $3 for a 15 to 20 minutes cab ride. make sure you know the fare before getting into the cab.

Quito has one of the largest colonial quarter and make sure you spend time there. The churches are magificent. The Equator Museum (privately own) is definitely worth a visit.

Make sure you made it up to one of the hill and have a panaromic look of the city view.

I did snorkel without a wet suit on one occassion but I had a wet suit on teh rest of the time. If you cehck back on my post, on the "deep water" snorkel, you will get sea swells and waves. Be safe and wear a float vest, infated properly.

Percy - "
"I have to add though , that a friend of mine went a year later, on a 16 passenger Yacht, and found it cramped and the food average."

Do you remember the name of the yacht? We are considering the Millennium, which also carries only 16 people, but it's a catamaran.

Hi kenav

I have a friend from Toledo Ohio who went on a 16 passenger yacht and she also said the whole trip was rather mediocre.

I went on the Isabella II, it is labelled as a luxury yacht.

It takes 40 passengers only, but we had only 36 because some people came in groups pf threes.

I can say that the Isabella was absolutely terrific.
The food was excellent and the guides were top notch.... all University graduates with Biology,Zoology and Marine Biology degrees.

I booked with a tour company out of Quito.

As I boared the Isabella II, I learned that a week prior Morgan Freeman was on this same yacht doing a documentary.

Thanks for the info on packing for the weather. Boy, this is hard to do on my blackberry - I'll read your report again when I get home to my desktop next week and look for more tips.

Thanks to you too Percy and SPT!

Percy, can you tell us the tour company that you booked with?

JaneB

I booked with Martin Slater at

martin@amazandagos.com

I just e-mailed him to find out if he is still doing bookings

for the Galapagos and if he is still with the same company.

I have not heard from him in over a year. We used to e-mail each other about 3-4 times a year.

I for sure will let you all know if I here from him.

kenav, I think we crossed path with the Millennium in the Galapagos. You'll be amazed at how many ships you come across on a daily basis, and some ship almost daily. (example: the NG ship has almost identical itinerary and we saw them everyday). One of the guide used to work on the Millennium and he mentioned that it is about 10 years old. It is a catamaran but didn't look like one, especailly when you see it from the sides. He said it was quite nice inside when he worked there, but was quite a few years ago.

Leslie, feel free to ask more questions. The TR was posted a couple months ago so I might have forgotten what's there and what's not. Between Percy, SelfPropelledTripot, myself and others, I am sure you will get an answer here.

Jane, have you consider booking with the ship directly? Both the Galapagos Explorer and Isabella have their own web sites and they will look after everything for you, from air travel to and from island, transfers, accomodations etc. I am quite sure other ships will do the same. Your local travel agent may also be able to offer you suggestions.

Back to the weather a bit ... the weather charts shows average temperature and is not a true indication of how hot or cool it is. There are other factors in play such as dew point, wind speed etc.

As I have said earlier, the ocean currents affects the weather and temperature the most. Since it is near the equator, they don't have distrinct seasons like winter or summer. They have wet and dry season, and that's it. Wet season is generally from January to April, and is slightly cooler when it is raining or cloudy.

The only rule of thumbs I can offer is that it would be hot when the sun is out and cool when clouded over. I honestly can't remember if I ever checked the temperature daily while we were there.

We wore the same "set-up" everyday: a pair of long pants (with zip-off pant legs that can turn it into a pair of shorts), cotton long sleeve tees, a hat, a light wind breaker and a small back pack that carries the accessories (sun screen, bottled water, small face cloth for sweat, and storing anything that we took off when it gets too hot)

Just heard it's El Nino year. Does anyone think that will effect a cruise at the end of August?

Nope.

JaneB:

Boo Hoo, my e-mail was returned .

Now I have to wait for Martin to e-mail me when he thinks of me...hey that could be never

Hey, I was on the Isabella II, too! Like Percy, I give it a big thumb's up. On my trip, I lucked out with only 27 people guests on-board. I booked via expeditiontrips.com, whom I recommend highly because they took great care of me when my Antarctica trip got disrupted.

Eschew is exactly right about the currents dominating the climate. A really bad El Nino year can change the timing of the season changes, the food available for the wildlife, etc. I recall reading and hearing from the guides that... ah, check this webpage out, last few paragraphs near the bottom:
http://www.geo.cornell.edu/geology/GalapagosWWW/GalapagosClimate.html
If it's a really bad El Nino, the land animals do well with more rain, but the sea life suffers due to the lack of the nutrient-rich cold Humbolt Current. Even with an extreme El Nino year, I'm sure it'll still be an amazing trip -- don't let this stop you!

When we return to the Galapagos, I got to take a serious look at the Isabella now ...

Before we depart, the head naturist told us that they are working on a brand new itinerary for the Galapagos Explorer as the stops that they are making now are getting too crowded as other ships are all stopping at the same places, hence keep running into the NG ship and their groups, and other smaller crafts on an almost daily basis.

We probably will look at a return to the Galapagos around February, March, April or May, the opposit time of our earlier November visit.

We were lucky in that we were there during the bird's mating season, and nursing season for the sea lions. We saw a lot of things quite by accident, not knowing that it was the "right" time to go if you want to experience that sort of things. The weather, was not part of the equation or consideration on when to go. We escaped our North American winter, if that counts towards weather consideration.

Before we return to the Galapagos, I would probably look at timing such as sea turtles laying eggs, hatching season and other "timings"; experience what we couldn't experience the first time around.

Standing there up close watching the courting dance of the blue boobies for almost half an hour was definitely a highlight, we would have stood there for another half hour if it wasn't for the local guide who ushered us along. But then, it was he who made it interesting by whispering in detail what the birds were doing and why they are doing it.

We saw the puffed up red chest of the male frigate birds, and how several of them were jockeying for position and attention of the female.

Those were, for me, a once in a life time experience. Unless we went back around the same time, I doubt it that I will see it agian.

So, what are some of the the nature's finest that we would like to see at the Galapagos? Next, we find out what months those events occur and then we plan the travel around that. Would that be a better strategy or just book it when time convience, pricing, or weather come into play?

Eschew, eagerly awaiting your future trip report!

I read that the Galapagos national park authorities have forced all ships to abide by new rules to spread out the visits and reduce crowding. This also means new sites to visit! I think the new rules are supposed to be something like that each ship can't return to a site more than once per week, so ships can't just do the same weekly itinerary over and over again.

It'll also be great to hear your comparison of two different ships. I wonder sometimes whether I should splurge for a big name operator (National Geographic, Lindblad, Quark, etc.)

I have heard rumors that Punta Pitt is closed. However, I was just assured by my agent, after he consulted with captains of other vessels as well as the Millennium, that it is open to those vessels that have permission. Just wanted to let people know.

SelfPropelledTripod, if the Galapagos National Park forced all ships to spread out the visits, it would be curious to see the compliance rate. Some of the stops are almost "must see". Can you imagine going to the Galapagos and didn't see the pinnacle rock, or the land tortise etc?

I came across this web site recently and it is quite interesting. Kenav, it listed the Millennium as a "first class" boat. The Isabella and the Explorer are listed as "luxury" boats. I am not sure what are the classification difference. There are other lassifications: superior", "toursit" and "economy". There are also ship reviews. You might want to check them out.

http://www.galapagos-travel-advisor.com/

eschew - The luxury boats (vs the first class) are more expensive; that's the difference I see.

Eschew - I re-read your great TR. I think I read it a while ago on cruisecritic. I just realized that we'll be on the same ship so it was interesting to read about the specifics of the daily routine.

I don't think you talked about this above but some people have said when they got back on their ship after a landing they had to leave their shoes/sandals at the rear of the boat and not just rinse them and keep going. It sounded like your experience was different - you rinsed them but then were allowed to wear the same shoes around the boat - is that correct?

Also when you say no sandals in the dining room at dinner - that seems very strict since most women even if wearing a skirt or dress would wear sandals with it in warm weather. Do you mean no sandals only for men? And if so, what did most men wear, boat shoes or running shoes or? My husband will not be taking wingtips to the Galapagos!

Kenav, when we book, we did not spent too much time looking at rates as we are "mass market" crusiers and wanted to be on the bigger boats. All we did was check prices on 3 ships, the Explorer II, the Xpedition, and the NG ship. The reason why we picked those 3 as they were similar sized, holding the same number of passengers (max 100 allowed).

We picked the Explorer II for a number of reasons, but the most important one was the timing (sail date and end date) and how it was seamlessly merged with our Peru land tour prior to the crusie. As it turns out, it was the cheapest of the 3 but not by much. I am not sure what the smaller ships would charge so I can't comment on price comparison between the "luxury" and "first class" or what are the differences between them.

Leslie, when will you be sailing? My trip was in November 2011 so it was relatviely recent and was after the Aug 2011 refit of the ship. I don't recall posting this particular TR on cruise critic, and if I did, it would be after the TR was totally completed here as it was written in segments. I like the interaction on a TR here as oppose to the crusie critics where your post and that's it.

They used warm water to hose down your feet and footware after a wet landing. You wore your wet shoes or walk with wet feet up the steps and go to either the back of the ship to drop off or clean your wet gear, or into the lobby (where they put towels on the floor to help keep the floor dry).

Once you get your cabin key from the front desk, you typically will return to your cabin and change into dry shoes.

You are correct in saying that you were allowed to wear the same shoes around the boat. I certainly wouldn't be wearing them anywhere if they are wet.

On a dry landing, they have a mat/tray with running water that you must stepped on so your shoe shouldn't get too wet, and it should be dry when you get up the steps.

I cannot stress the importance of proper footware. You may want to revisit the footwear section on the type of shoes that we used and what the guides used. You certainly wouldn't want to have shoes that stay wet for any period of time, or flip flops for any type of excursions on the Galapagos.

Proper attire was requested for dinner in the dining room, the usual no tank top, cut offs, shorts etc. Breakfast and lunch is pretty well anything goes. To be honest, I can't see them refuse service even if you were not dressed "appropriately".

When I said no sandals, I was thinking about flip flops. Men typically don't wear flip flops with dress pants or even jeans going to a restaurant anyway. I see the dress code for dinner (smart causal or country club casual) is a guide line; see the paragraph above about refuse service.

Back to the shoes one more time. In the dining room during dinner time, I typically saw dress shoes (with dress pants), or running shoes (with jeans); there were more men wearing dress pants than jeans. Dress shoes does not equate wing tip in my books so a pair of loafers, or walking shoes probably would do the trick, and they are probably comforatble worn thru-out the ship.

Some, like me, wore cheater shoes that looks dressy but was really hiking shoes or wet shoes. Again, refer to the footwear section in the TR on what DW was wearing and what I brought along. Those shoes may take some time to get used to, so if you intend to wear them, buy them now and break-in.

I have posted some pictures of the trip on line. All the links are in the TR but here is one of them.
http://travel.webshots.com/album/582034887dLHsDS

Lastly, thank you for your kind comemnt about the TR. I hope you find the info useful and helped you with your planning and setting the expectation.

I did not go into the detail of each stop and each excursion as what you will see is rally dependent on the timing. We were lucky that we were there during the bird's mating season. You go at a different time, you may see the same wild-life, but the settings are different, and what they are doing are also different.

Thanks again eschew for the explanation of what happens with shoes. I think we have the kind of footwear we'll need for wet & dry landings.

I must have gotten confused about cruisecritic, I could've sworn I read your TR there -- oops.

I really enjoyed your pictures - how cool to have sea lions swimming so close to snorkelers! Since we'll be there at the opposite time of year (if that makes sense) in May I imagine we'll have quite different experiences. I'm getting excited - only 2 months to go now!

Leslie, post a TR after you are done. Would love to hear about your experience. We are looking at possibly going back in a few years time, and looking at a May Juen time frame so it would be great if we knew what your expereince were.

If you are going to be on the Explorer II, say hi to Cezar (local guide) and Daniella (photographer) if you come across them.

Cezar has a great sense of humor and he is extremely helpful. He is the "lead" guide but not the head naturalist. As to Daniella, she is leaving the ship after her contract is up and she was planning to go to Spain to further her studies. She will take your pictures for you with your camera if you ask. That doesn't happen on the mass market ships as they want you to buy their pictures. She does sell her pictures and she will seek you out and get you the pictures you ordered and collect the money. The ship will have pictures she took shown on the TV in your cabin. If you want to buy a certain puicture, go talk to her directly.

She also sell picture CDs on the last day but I knew of a couple situations where the CD was faulty, and I have not heard back about the results of their request for replacement. Unless you can check the CD and see if they work, I will say be careful. The CD I bought worked fine. The resolution of the pictures on the CD, however, is not hi-res.

By the way, Daniella's nick name is tinkerbell. You will have to find out on your own why she was called that. If you still don't know after you get back, I will tell you.

Internet. It is available but you should buy a package unless you get it included as part of your cruise fare. Check out your cruise contract and see if internet is included or you were given a credit for internet. If it is nit, ask your TA ans see if the ship is willing to throw in some credit. The wi-fi works good all over inside the ship.

I'll do a trip report when I get back. I say that and will TRY to force myself to do it. By the time a few weeks has passed after returning from a trip I sort of move on to the next one in the planning pipeline and never get my energy back up for the previous one's report.

It's nice to hear the staff gets two thumbs up. I'll keep an eye out for Cezar and Tinkerbell.

Leslie, have a great trip. Just rest up before you go. The daily early wake up calls and the daily excursion can be very tiring. As long as you know wha the challenges were, you can try to avoid them or make the best of it. I really want a TR so that we know my experience isn't one off.

Thanks, Eschew! I'll take lots of notes so I can give you a TR to compare with your experience.

Part of the reason we chose this particular trip is my mom's great experience last spring with the same company/same ship. So I think if she has the energy required to keep up I'll be okay

Her tour continued on after the Galapagos to Machu Picchu but since we've been there already we're only doing the 8 day Galapagos/Quito tour. Quick and limited, I realize. I'm not used to such short trips - it does seem wasteful to go all that way and not see more but the international air was included with the tour price and dates are set in stone so you can't extend on either end -- so we're going with the flow on this tour and will tack on a visit to my mom on the Gulf coast of Florida on the way home.

Anyway, thanks again for your great report and advice. Look for mine in June!

The ship has been renovated since last Spring (Dry docked last August) sp the ship should be in even better shape than what your Mom experienced.

Take lots of pictures and post them!

Oh, good to know as she thought it was a lot nicer than she expected. I'll take pix. The problem will be narrowing them down to a postable amount but that's a chore I look forward to

Hi Eschew,
Thank you for such a in-depth description of your time in the Galapagos on the Galapagos Explorer II! My sister and I will be leaving for Peru and Ecuador in 2 weeks covering some of what you did on your trip. You answered so many questions that I had about what to expect!
I have to say that I'm really curious about what happened to you in Ollantaytambo. You mentioned that you hurt your arm--did you hurt yourself while looking at the ruins? Is there something about visiting the ruins that we should be careful of? I hope your arm has healed by now.
P.S. Great photographs!

Librarylass, thank you for your comments.

My "injury" at Ollantaytambo was a total accident, and I blame myself for being a bit careless. At the time of our visit, it was the start of the raining season and it had been raining for a few days prior to our arrival at Ollantaytambo.

We walked up the steps to the top and the rocks were wet and slippery. It was raining steadily te whole time. The grounds were muddy and water was running down from the top, through the trail and the steps.

Two of us decided to take the terraces' steps to go from one terrace to terrace, to experince what the Inca people had done for years. Those "steps" were rocks that just stick out on the side of the wall of the terrace. (You will know what I mean by the terrace steps once you see it in person, and it is hard to show it on a picture.) That was fine as we were extra careful on those steps.

Once we were done with our "stunts", we got back to the regular path (and steps). On our way down, I slipped and started to slide down the side (not good) so I extended my right hand to break the fall (and slide). I ended up jamming my thumb and my right arm all the way up and to the shoulder very hard. It was quite a jolt, especially cosnidering my "advanced age" .

What to watch out for? Slippery steps when it is wet.

I was careless as I thought it would be nothing after racing through the Terarce steps. I was sort of "hurrying" to catch up to DW so that might have added to my extra opportunity for the mis-step.

I was okay the first day other than the bruises on my rear end and the back side. DW took a picture of the black and bruised rear end for "posterity" but it wouldn't be suitable for pubic viewing. (to Percy & Larry, you can hold back your laughter now)

The day after, my palm and my thumb started to swallon up (I can't even hold a pen to sign my name to check into the hotel). My neck and my shoulder get realy stiff and I lost some movement. i can only turn my head up to about 15 degrees (not very much) and I only have limited range of motion on my right arm becasue of the stiff neck and shoulder. As of to date, I am almost back to normal (as ormal can be).

By the way, I have added a handful of pictures to the Galapagos albumn. the additions were snorkelling with the sea turtles, the land bridge, and the "shell" game. I was surpirse that I did not post them earlier.

Have a great trip and I would love to hear about your adventure on a TR here!

Ouch! Oh Oh Eschew --it sounds like something I would do. Last November--( perhaps while you were falling down ruins in Peru) I was in Kauai--running to tell my DH about the amazing whale spout I just spotted-tripped over a small lava rock planter and landed on a cement patio--fractured wrist (still bothering me) and ended up sporting multiple bruises and pizza-skin patches as well. I have a history of falling down while excited about seeing swell stuff. Now will make extra effort to be careful at Ollantaytambo/Peru ruins.
Enjoyed your added photos. We leave for Peru/Ecuador in 8 days!

Librarylass, I had good hiking boots on at the time. The combination of mud on my shoes, slippery rocky steps, and steady rain did not help.

If you are adventurous on your footware, you should check out the footware selection that I had worn at the Galapagos. At this point, we may return to thr Galapagos in May (in 2 to 3 year's time) and stop in other islands.

Are you going to make stops at Puno (Lake Titicaca) or Pisco/Ica to see the Nazca lines?

What shoes did you wear while on land in the Galapagos?

My Vivo minimalist or the Vibram 5-fingers depending on the terrain. If it is strictly hikes, Vibram. If it is hike & beach or snorkel, Vivo.

Vivo are very easy shoes to get used to. The Vibram, on the other hand, take some getting used to. You can definely use Vivo for all ocassions (except for sharp volanic rocks, you want a thicker bottom layer for that.) If you don't want to try Vibram, normal hiking shoes will do for the sharp volcanic rocks.

If you do not wear fins for snorkelling, the Vibram will work fine for beach & snorkelling as well. You can defineitly get both shoes wet with no issues. They are meant to get wet,a nd dries relatively fast. The Vibram may takes longer to dry than the Vivo (depending on which Vibram model you bought).

If you are not adventureous with your footware and do not want to try minialist shoes, Crocs would certainly do the trick for all wet landings and comfortable.

Hi Again Eschew,

Yup, I have light hiking boots (Merrill waterproof)for walking the ruins and the rough parts of Galapagos. My trusty old Teva's will work for wet landings in the islands.
Do you recall if you did wet landings and rough terrain walks in the same panga trip? If so I may attempt barefoot landing and take my boots with me. I hate getting pebbles and stuff in sandals while on trails==ugh.
Oh, unfortunately we won't go to Lake T or see the Nazca lines--sigh. Really fun to see your pix of those spots!We are traveling with a Smartours itinerary so will not see as much cool stuff as you did. Thanks again for taking the time to give us such a comprehensive report--it was sooo helpful!
Chow for now!

Librarylass -- Hope you enjoy your rapidly approaching trip. Will you be writing anything up when you return? We're also doing a smartours Galapagos trip (not until May) and would love to hear your opinion (unless it's awful - then I don't need to know!!).

We're only doing the Ecuador portion because we've been to Peru recently.

I'd be especially interested to hear about the shoes you end up using & would recommend. Some make it sound like real hiking boots on lava are good to have but some have done it in flipflops (I would never do that) so there's quite a range when you read about other people's thoughts on footwear.

Hi Leslie S,
We are flying to Miami tomorrow! I'm not much on keeping a journal--so don't plan to do a comprehensive review--but certainly will be willing to respond to questions! We will return home (CA) on 4/24--so will check back then and let you know what I see re: shoes. My sis plans to wear her regular walking shoes--not hiking boots--so we will make a comparison. She also has Tevas for wet landings.
Chow for now!

Librarylass, we have done wet landing and then hike (landed on the beach with volanic balck sand) If you plan to remove shoes, go barefoot when borading the zodiac, bring a small towel. Wet landing, wipe feet, put on shoes. That's where the minimalist shoes and Croc shoes comes in handy. I hope you catch this reply before you leave. Have a great trip!

Hi all,
Just back from my SmarTours trip to Machu Picchu and Galapagos (5 days 4 nights) "cruise" on the MV Explorer II..and I'm still in the "wow--did all that really happen?!" stage of adventure travel. If you have any particular questions--ask me soon--I didn't have the time or energy to keep a journal--so don't know how long the gray matter will hold on to it all--and it was truly an action-packed and amazing journey! wow!

Welcome back! Sounds like you had a great trip from the little bit you wrote above. Did you think smartours did a good job? No problems with the hotel in Quito or the touring there?

Can you give me a hint about the level of "dressiness" on the ship for dinner? I'm hoping to be very casual - or did people get done up in the evenings?

Also - can you tell me what kind of shoes you wore? The whole wet landing thing perplexes me. I have some teva-like sandals that are waterproof but will I want to change out of them after getting on land into something sturdier and covered up? Should I take for example running shoes in my backpack and switch once we land?

Should I be doing research on Quito as far as restaurants near the Hilton (assuming you stayed in the same hotel we will be in a couple weeks) or are there good options close by?

Thanks for any answers or other advice!

Hi Leslie S! Yes SmarTours did an excellent job of taking care of us--that's the way you will feel--well taken care of. I hope you get William Arevalo for your Ecuador Tour Guide--he is excellent! We were surprised to discover that he was to go with us to the Galapagos as well--and it was so good to have him there with us. He really filled in all the little blanks for us and made sure we were happy with everything. Oh the hotel in Quito is really nice--the Hilton Colon--right? Just like Eschew we bingoed with a view of the park and mountains from our 9th floor room on the first go around--but didn't get that view on our second visit--however the room and service were still excellent. We left our big luggage in the hotel storage(free service through smarTours) and took a duffel bag of appropriate clothing with us to Galapagos. When we returned from the islands our big luggage was already waiting for is in our new room---great service. Some folks decided to take their big luggage with them--which is OK if under 44 lbs. We didn't want to be bothered with our clothing from the Peru part of our trip. There are a couple good restaurants in Quito that William recommended and several folks went to and were very pleased with the food, etc. Be sure to only use taxis that are approved by the hotel and verify the fare before you get in the taxi. When you leave the restaurant to return to hotel have them get a taxi for you--then you know it will be an honest driver. A couple ladies had a bit of a problem with a taxi driver they waved down on the street --he wanted to keep the fare open to reveal at the end of the trip--not! Frankly, my sis and I ate in the hotel--the food was fine... and we were too exhausted at the end of each day to bother with finding a restaurant, etc.
On the ship-- dinner is about 8:00-ish each night and the most dressed woman up I saw had a dressy top with sparkly bits on it. Nothing anywhere near cocktail dressy. I wore white capri pants and nice tee shirts and sandals. There were no " appropriate clothing police" and some folks even wore their tevas or sneakers to dins. A couple ladies wore summer dresses--but nothing really fancy.
As far as footwear to/on the islands --I wore teva sandals for the wet landings--I'm glad I didn't go barefooted because there were small rocks even in the sandy parts and I personally didn't want to take chance with bruising my feet.
Once we had a wet landing with a hike--and they recommended that we take walking shoes along if we wished. I opted to just wear my tevas for the landing and the walk and later regretted it. I should have done as Eschew suggested--taken my walking shoes with me to put on after the landing. The tevas just didn't give me the stability I needed for parts of the hike. I thought the hike was going to have a smooth path--but it didn't--silly me. My sis wore her regular walking (tennis/running) shoes for all the hikes and the dry landingd. For the dry landings I wore my lightweight hiking shoes (Merrills) because I really appreciate the extra stability they give me. A couple of the dry landing hikes (especially on Espanola)you are walking on lava rocks (seemed more like boulders to me sometimes!)--I felt that the potential for me to twist my ankle was high ( I will be 70 in a few months--and just not as nimble on my feet as I wish I could be!) the hiking shoes gave me confidence and stability--that and watching nearly every step I took!
Oh-- when we returned to Quito our guide William offerred an optional day trip to the cloud forest for the last day there. Since I'm not a big shopper (anymore) and love to do birdwatching, and other nature stuff-- so me and my sis took that trip ( most of our group did) and wow! was it wonderful--if it sounds like something you might be interested in doing--let me know and I will tell you more about it. Some people opted to stay in town and shop, etc and they had fun too.
Have you received your final itinerary from SmarTours yet?It will have the name of your guide for the trip.
Chow for now,
Librarylass

Hi Librarylass -
Wow thanks for all of the helpful info. We have a different guide, Henry Teran the itinerary says, so hopefully he'll be as good as yours.

I'm thrilled to hear smartours came through - the prices on their trips are so cheap it seems way too good to be true. I've taken one trip with them previously to India/Nepal and thought it was fabulous so I was willing to take a chance on the Galapagos trip with them.

So glad to hear dinner on the ship is not dressy. I'm trying to pack super light and that'll be much easier if I don't need frou-frou clothes and shoes. I think we'll each have one small roll-aboard piece and a backpack so maybe we won't leave any luggage behind in Quito. We're not doing the Peru portion of the trip so we'll have less than you guys did.

And I'm happy to have the low-down on footwear. I'll wear the waterproof sandals I have but take my trail shoes - running shoes but a little sturdier -- to change into for hikes.

How did you do with snorkeling? Was the water an ok temperature? Any up close & personal experiences with critters -- sharks, penguins, sea lions? I'm a little bit wimpy but I'm going to force myself to snorkel unless I see sharks and then I am outta there!

What about the temps in general - I'm imagining in Quito we might need some warmer clothes - will a fleece be enough do you think? I remember Cuzco, Peru at night being very
chilly so I want to make sure to be prepared. Once you're in the islands was it cool in the mornings or night - any need for warmer clothes there too?

The cloud forest trip sounds great - I'd rather do that than shopping. I'm glad to know it's worthwhile from your firsthand experience. I hope it's offered to our group also.

Again, I'm so glad you had a wonderful time!

Leslie

Hi Leslie S,
Oh I'm sure your guide is going to be super--SmarTours contracts with South America Tours for the guides and they have all been excellent. Yup, we had a small group of 22 and then 4 more joined us in Quito for the Ecuador portion. Our group had several birders (birdwatchers) so we asked our guide for a chance to bird in the mountains and that's how the cloud forest tour happened for us. Your guide will have some good options for you as well. BTW no one opted for the Quito at night w/dinner tour for $49.00 that was offered in the written itinerary.
Snorkeling--well, I am used to bobbing around in a protected cove to snorkle (ala Hawaii) so did rent all the gear only to discover that the currents were a bit rough for me--I'm not a strong swimmer. My sis,however, is a good swimmer and she did snorkle. She said the best snorkeling was the Ribida tour--she saw tons of colorful fish. She was bummed because she wanted to do the snorkle where you jump of the boat--but her mask was leaking and the snorkle tube wasn't working right so she had to cut that trip short. The pangas/zodiacs are right by you most of the time and watch you very carefully. Be sure to take 2 swimsuits unless you don't mind putting on a wamp/wet swimsuit the next day--it takes a couple days for suit to dry in the cabin and water stuff is offered once each day.
Critters?--oh the sea lions are plentiful and curious and fun to watch ( the babies are so cute). We did not go to an island that had penguins--but saw pretty much everything else that you anticipate seeing. Also saw Albatross and Swallow-tail gull hatchlings--what a treat. Rabida also had two "scout" flamingos that gave everyone a treat to see. I was a bit surprised that many of the islands reminded me so much of the dry sides of the Hawaii islands--but of course they are all volcanic islands.
Warm clothing? You should do fine with a fleece and windbreaker. Out guide said to expect four season--in one day! and that was about the way it went. My windbreaker was waterproof--and we did get rained on a few times.
Oh--also, if you have a camera and or binoculars--be sure to put them --and any other easily damaged items --into a plastic bag before putting in your backpack when you are taking the panga/zodiacs to the islands. Waves can hit you and also it may rain. A couple folks in our group killed their cameras when a wave washed up into the pangas.
Better run for now--chow!

Thanks again!
I have a waterproof backpack so we'll have that for the cameras in the zodiacs.

Ah, I forgot about renting the snorkel gear - do you guys also rent shortie wetsuits or was the water warm enough to not need them? If you choose not to snorkel do you have another option during that time period?

Fleece + rainjacket sounds like it should cover it then. 4 seasons in one day - that makes it challenging to pack light!
That plus the fact that washing clothes in the sink is probably not going to work if it's so damp that stuff doesn't dry. I have some great wool t-shirts that I travel with that dry overnight but maybe not in this kind of environment.

Not sure if you live in Hawaii or have just visited there but either way, lucky you!

Oh--weather-wise I forgot to mention--it was REALLY HUMID in the Galapagos--and I was pretty happy with cotton and lightweight breathable clothing...some I did wash in the sink and they got about 2/3rds dried in one night--but not the swimsuits. Oh I just flopped around in the shore water while my sis snorkeled. One day there was an option to take the little glass bottom boat --for folks who don't want to do any water stuff. Be sure to go to the front desk and sign up immediately if that becomes available. I toyed with the idea and waited too long --and the 2 glass bottom boat trips offered on the same day filled up. The folks who did it said it was fun (aka better than nothing, I think) OH--don't forget insect repellent! Yikes the mosquitoes were pretty heavy on a couple of the islands. I know Deet is nasty stuff--but at least bring it along on the islands to use if you feel you need it.
Nope, don't live in Hawaii--yet! But we have thought about it... a lot! We live in San Francisco Bay Area and try to make it to Kauai (our favorite island) at least once a year..sigh.
When do you leave for Ecuador?

PS. I doubt if you will use the fleece in the Galapagos--it never really got cool enuf--however, you most likely will need to use a rain jacket/windbreaker/rain poncho at some point --either on the zodiac or the hikes. I don't recall ever feeling cold in the Galapagos...but it did get a bit cool in the evenings in Quito--and that's where you might need the fleece.
Oh, and a wetsuit for snorkeling? They do have them to rent--but the water was pretty nice--there were a couple people who had on their own shorties but most folks did not.

How nice to get to Hawaii once a year - we've not been yet - it's definitely on my list.

We leave mid-May so I have a little time left to sort out my packing list. You're tips have been very helpful!

Hopefully I'll have the time/energy to write up a little report when I get back but I usually have neither after returning from a trip. I'm usually just on to focusing on the next one.

Thanks again

Librarylass, glad you enjoyed the trip and found the post here helpful. If I knew your age earlier, I would probably recommend different footware, and definitely not the Vibram!

I can't wait to get back there again in a few years time. But then there are so many places on my bucket list.

Leslie_S, we found a nice restaurant in Quito called" Rincon La Ronda". It is not located in La Ronda. It is only called La Ronda. Make sure you tell the cab driver it is the restauarnt ou are going to. It is only $3 cab fare away from the Colon Hilton. Great service, great local music and great local cusine. The ceviche langostinos del Pacífico is highly recommeded as an appeitizer. Warning: portions are big and spliting an order is quite acceptable. They will even do it for you in the kitchen. Most staff speaks Spanish only but there are staff that speak good enough English.

If you have time, visit the equator museum while in Quito.

Wet landing, it's really nothing to worry about. Go look at the picture posted. The links is somewhere on this thread above.

Good luck on your trip!

Thanks!
Getting close now. Once we get packed (maybe this weekend) I'll really be excited!

Hi Eschew,
BTW, I thought about you while we climbed through the ruins at Ollantaytambo--and was so careful I didn't even trip once!What a beautiful place it is. Later our guide told us that a few days after we were there a woman who was so focused on taking photos of those ruins took a terrible fall. Unfortunately there was speculation that she might not live. I tried to find any news about it on Google--but no luck. Sad.
About shoes? I do think those toe shaped shoes are really fun looking- but perhaps not the best thing for me. hee hee. However, I must tell you that I did manage to do the early morning climb to the Sun Gate at Machu Picchu--in the rain, mind you! So where there is a will...well, you know what I mean! Thanks again for the great review of the Galapagos cruise--it was so helpful--yup, I would like to go back as well--however, like you--my Bucket List still has many other wonders on it that I hope to see.
Leslie S--have a wonderful trip--I know you are going to have tons of fun and many adventures!Oh do try to check in when you return--OK?

Thanks - I'll definitely report back.

Hi Librarylass,

Glad that the report on the Galapagos was helpful. Did you find Cezar and Daniella (Tinkerbell) as described?

My fall was totally my fault as I was trying to "run" down to catch up to my wife. It obviously could have been a whole lot worst if I didn't managed to stop my slide after the fall. I hope whoever that lady the guide refered to is okay. I saw a lady slipped on the last step when she was getting off her tour bus. I found out later that was taken to the hospital to Cusco by ambualnce. So anything could happen.

Good for you that you made it to the Sun Gate. It wasn't really that bad a climb. We went early in he morning as well. There was only 5 of us (plus a local guide) and we didn't encounter many people on our way up or down. We stopped many times and admired the view and took many pictures.

Hi Eschew,
Just checking to see if Leslie S. has returned from her trip--and here you are!
Oh, on the Explorer-- I did like Cezar lots--he was one of the more friendly guides. However, we were not graced with Danielle/ Tinkerbell. No one around to take our pix--too bad--it sounded like she was a fun lady. What a wonderful trip it was--starting to feel like it was all just a dream! The one piece of advice I have been giving younger folks who have MP & Galapagos on Bucket List is--don't wait--do it now or asap--while you have your youthful energy and before they start limiting how many people can be there at any one time. Our guide in Peru told us there was an ongoing discussion about starting to limit the number of people on the MP site each day--and we heard speculation that a similar process may be in the future for the Galapagos. The beat goes on.

Librarylass, nice to hear from you again. Too bad Danniella is gone. Maybe she took some time off? They do not have a photographer on staff to take pictures and sell you the pictures and CDs afterward?

The Galapagos limit is already happening. The ships are not allowed to stop at the same place twice within a certain time frame (it was 9 days) but I heard it will be expanded to 14 days so everyone is looking for new spots.

It is understandable taht they ahve to set limits. Too many tourist will ruin teh eco system and it has already affecting many world heritage sites by too many (and unruly) tourists.

They have put a limit on number of people trekking through the Inca trail but not to the MP site itself but I heard it is coming.

Yup, do it now while you are still youthful and have the energy. Walking with a cane is tough at the best of time and MP and Galapagos will be even more challenging.

Yep, do it while you can and you can still get around well.

I did the Galapagos, and Machu Picchu 4 years ago when there were no restrictions, but it seems with each passing year, restrictions are creeping in.

Four and a half years ago I paid $20.00 ( my tour guide got me a ticket ahead of my visit ) to climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

I here now the Italian Government has and is clamping down on the number and the frequency of people climbing the Leaning Tower.

Maybe it is already forbidden.?

Yes sir do as much as you can while you can.

I am waiting for Leslie and her husband's trip report on the Galapgos.

Hi Everyone

Hello -- just back from our wonderful Galapogos adventure. I'll try to write up a little trip report next weekend (in a separate post) but in the meantime I wanted to say thanks to you folks here for the advice you gave me beforehand. It was super helpful - fodorites are the best

We had a great time and I thought smartours did a fabulous job. This was my second trip with them and both were A+. I realize most fodorites are DIYers but in case anyone is looking for a group to go with I'd recommend them.

Anyhoo, more on all that later but a big thank you to Eschew and Librarylass!

Weldome back Leslie, I guess I will have a bit longer before I can read it as we are leaving this weekend for the Baltic.

Percy, we have booked with Alla (I can never spell her last name) for 4 different cities. I'll let everyone know how it went after we got back.

Eschew:

Okie Dokie!!!

Her last name is Ushakova

Enjoy your Baltic cruise - another beautiful area - very different from the Galapagos!

Just got word that my foreign currency is in. The Baltic will be a more relaxed trip. No more 6:30 am wake up call and probably a whole lot more sitting than walking.

Percy, we ended up booking to Berlin rather than Rostok. Gotta keep peace in the family. Happy wife = harmony in the household?

Personally, I am not looking forward to the 3 hours train ride there and then 3 hours back. I will have my eye-covers and headphones with me so I hope I can sleep all the way both ways. I ended up getting a 25% discount from the ship for the Berlin excusion so I booked it through the ship instead of Alla as I do not have to worry about traffic jam and not getting back to the ship on time. Paying a bit extra for "insurance" purposes. BTW. I have been told no AC on the train.

On a seprate note, on the Galapagos trip, LAN cancelled the flight back to the US and we were stranded in Guayaquil overnight and missed all the conenctions going home. We finally received the insurance settlement yesterday.

We ended up staying at Miami for overnight as well and rebook all our flights. All in all, costed us almost $1,000 extra. We bought travel interruption insurance but they won't pay us until LAN told them why it was cancelled and LAN is not replying to me or them. So I was surprise to see the pay out. I knew my TA was working on the background trying to help. So, this is the one time that travel interruption insurnace pays off.

I think what what saved us was the pictures I took of the board for the flight cancellation and a picture of the boarding pass that had "cxl" written on top and then the new flight info was written on top. The insurance comapny wanted us to show proof of cancellation before they will do anything so the 2 pictures were what I used to intiate the claim. Happy ending, but it took 7 months to get my money back.

Eschew :

Have a nice trip.

Yeah ,I know , keeping peace in the family!!

Enjoy Berlin, the tour guide from the cruise ship , of course will know where to take all of you for the best sites.

When you see that TV Tower almost in the middle of the city... I waited a good hour in line to go to the top. Great views of course.

In the same Square as the TV Tower is the Old Red City Hall.

This is where President Kennedy stood and said, " I am a Berliner", as the German crowd went crazy !!

It is really something to see where the Berlin Wall once was.

A part of the Wall remains for tourist to see.

If no Air Condition on the Train,let hope it is a cool day.

Oh , yes , you can buy a postcard with a piece of the Berlin Wall under a bubble pak.

Bon Voyage

That was smart to take pictures of the flight cancellation notice - I'll keep that in mind for the future. I've only had to submit a claim twice for travel insurance but both times I got reimbursed with no hassles.

But I want to look into getting an annual policy just for travel medical insurance and taking a chance on the other - flight delays, etc. Trip insurance is becoming a big part of my budget!

Hi Leslie S!
Great that you are back and that you had a good experience with Smartours. Looking forward to any observations you may have about the Galapagos Islands and G. Explorer II ship!
Cheers!

Leslie S posted a Trip Report, maybe you missed it.

Just scroll down , it is on the left hand side.

Thanks, Librarylass. As Percy mentions above I did do a little trip report titled "Cruise on the Galapagos Explorer II" if you want to relive any of your trip or see how ours was different.

I was just reading above and saw about the ship photographer on Eschew's trip but not yours. We didn't have one either -- and it would have been nice because my photos are all quite amateurish. The one I like best of my husband and myself was taken by another passenger & has our feet cut off so we look a bit dwarf-like. A pro on board to help us and also to buy good shots from would've been great.

Hi Leslie S!
Very nice review on your Galapagos and ship board experience. You are pretty much right on the mark with our experience as well. It all seems like a dream now...sigh.
We would have no problem doing another SmarTours--and yes, I would love to see more of the Galapagos Islands, however, there are so many more places we have yet to see. We signed up for a cruise in 2013 that goes around South America (49 days!) including a visit to the Falkland Islands --that will tick many of our Bucket List travel dreams. Life is good.
Chow for now!

Obviously, they lost Daniela (who we have nicknamed Tinker Bell for the Tinker bvell back pack that she carries).

We bought 2 CDs from her. One CD conatins shots that she took of wild life and vegetations, the other were candid shots she took of the passengers. Each CD conatins a few hundred pictires, which are not high resolutions but still decent enough quality if you print 4x6s. I think might have paid $15 for each CD which is very cheap.

She also sold full resolution full size pictures but there wasn't too many takers as they did not have a display area for her shots (like the mass amrket ships) so what happened was the passengers would approach her and she showed them the shots on her laptop, people pick the picture, she printed it and collect the money after and I think it was a token $5 to $7 for each picture, which is also cheap.

I am not sure what the deal was between her and the ship. I didn't know if she was an employee or free lance on her own and the ship provided "space".

She also used our camera and took picture of us (she did it for anyone who asked) which was veruy nice, but didn't make business sense. Can you imagine the mass market ship's photographers taking your picture with your camera?

In small talks, she said she is leaving at her end of her contract to go to Spain and pursuit studies in photogrpagy. She did gave me a date but I didn't remember when it was but it would have been in early 2012.

Maybe they have not find a suitable replacement yet. May be it is a business decision. By her taking pictures of us with our camera, there really isn't any compelling reason or incentive to buy pictures from her candid shots of us, unless the shots are amazing, which I admit, they were.

But even for those that bought the picture, what was charged wasn't a lot of money and with only 100 passenger and each couple buying 1 photo on average, it is still not a lot of money generated for her or the ship, especailly when the CD has most of the shots anyway and the CD wasn't that expensive eitehr. Again, with 100 passengers, she might have sold 50 sets maximum. I knew our group of 9 bought 4 sets of 2 CDs in total. Based on revenue generated, I can see the photographer position may be a luxury that the ship cannot afford.

It is too bad taht they didn't ahve a photographer for your trip.

Percy, did they have a photographer on teh Isabella?

It is with great sadness to report the passing of Lonesome George, on Sunday June 24, 2012, near a watering hole at the Charles Darwin research center. He was the last of of a 10 million year old tortoise subspecies.

Hi Eschew

No we did not have a photgrapher on the Isabella II.

I was saddened to hear about Lonesome George.

I was saddened also by LG's passing. And glad to have seen him just a few weeks before...

LibraryLass...49 days around S. America...that is awesome. You'll get to see so much in 7 weeks. That much time on a cruise ship would require some amount of discipline as far as eating goes. I've gained weight on every cruise I've taken and the longest was only 2 weeks. I guess after a while you figure out how to regulate or even get sick of looking at all that food!

Leslie, we have managed not to gain weight on our last few cruises and we have to thank a certain lady that we have met on the ship a while back.

Tip #1 - walk everywhere and do not take the elevator.
Tip #2 - breakfast and lunch at the dinning rooms rather than buffet.
Tip #3 - avoid snacks and midnight buffets!

We have followed this guidelines maybe 70% of the time and we managed to keep our weight in check. We have breakfast in the dining room maybe 50% of the time but lunch in the dining rooms or pub (not buffet) 100% of the time. For dinner, we select lighter items and avoid eating the potatoes and heavy desserts. We did not avoid food that we like, nor did we skip out on our favorite desserts and fattening items such as lattes. Okay, we don't dip too much in the cream sauce either but I have been known to sneak into the buffet later in the evening if they have the cream of wild mushroom soup!

Very Good , I always following your three tips.

And I do the deck walk about 6-10 times a day, especially on Sea Days !

Good tips! We do #1 and #3 and also workout in the fitness center as often as possible.
If you do lunch & breakfast in the dining room doesn't it take a lot longer? We'll have to try that on our next cruise (not until Oct. 2013).

Breakfast/ Lunch in the Dinning room is actually faster.

While you are having coffee,oatmeal, danish, orange juice or whatever ...your omelette is being made.


I use the Dinning room rather than buffet about 90 % of the time.

When I have to be off the ship early , I go to the dinning room ...order and tell them I have to be out of here in half an hour...never had any problems ever.

Good to know! Now I'm ready to book a 49 day cruise

We did come across newbie servers from time to time, especially at breakfast time. It appears that Princess uses the brekfast setting as a training ground for their potential future dinner servers. By and large, it is 45 minutes max but some newbies did managed to stretch it out to 1 hour.

Bonus: No line ups, don't have to hunt for a seat with plate in hand, food more fresh and made/cook to order, well portioned, and the coffee is better (stronger) than the buffet for whatever reason.

By the time I polished off the juices, fresh cut fruits and fresh pastries, my eggs arrives.

49 day cruise Wow !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Percy, just to make sure you know i was kidding and only referring to LibrayLass's post up above about having booked a 49 dayer herself.

Maybe after retiring we can do that but right now I'd certainly be laughed at if I asked to have 49 days off! Or fired.

I'm definitely interested in the dining room b'fast now - sounds like all pros no cons even if newbies in training are waiting on us. I like the portion control element most of all.

Hi Leslie_S

To me there is no cons to having breakfast in the dining room.

I usually have coffee ( of course) , orange juice ,oatmeal and a choice of some Dainish...I also order my Omelette and brown bread toast.

Beats waiting in a buffet line and then getting stuck behind someone who is trying to make up their mind, which piece of bacon to take ...
then you have to walk around with your plate to find a table ..

Yep, the dining room is better , faster, and more personal.

But hey, nothing wrong with a buffet if you have time to linger.

Percy, you mean how high they can stack the bacon on the plate without falling, and not which piece of bacon to take ...

If you want really fast service and extra attention, have a few dolalr bills ready. They will remember you and your preference real quick!

Leslie_S, the freshness of the food makes a bigger difference. It actually tasted better. My freshly cooked soft poached eggs beats cold greasy overcooked fried eggs sitting on a warming table for 15 minutes any day!

Your right Eschew , it is more as to how high they can pile the bacon !!!

Yep you are right again by having a few dollars bills and tip them right after breakfast.

I usually get the same waiter each morning ( and noon if I am there for the noon lunch), when I leave breakfast in the dining room, the waiter usually says , "see you tomorrow morning".

So I assume he has his eye out for me the next morning.

After a day ot two he knows exactly what I want ,unless I alter the order.

Awesome!! We also went to Galapagos on a Great Cruise. We booked through http://www.galapagoscruises.com

And on the news today ... Galapagos to eradicate 180 million rats with 22 tons of rat poison. Did I read it right?

http://www.montrealgazette.com/travel/Corrective+GalapagosRat+Kill+story/7555908/story.html

Eschew - For some reason this link is taking forever to come up, so I didn't read the story.

Guess the Galapagoans (?) like their birds and sea lions, but not their rats?

How would they know the poison would only kill rats and not other animals?

Here are a few excerpts from the link


"A helicopter is to begin dropping nearly 22 tons of specially designed poison bait on an island Thursday, launching the second phase of a campaign to clear out by 2020 non-native rodents from the archipelago that helped inspire Charles Darwin's theory of evolution."

"The rats have critically endangered bird species on the 19-island cluster 600 miles (1,000 kilometres) from Ecuador's coast."

"The goal is to kill off all nonnative rodents, beginning with the Galapagos' smaller islands, without endangering other wildlife. The islands where humans reside, Isabela and Santa Cruz, will come last."


Seems like a necessary evil .

Intetresting enough, feral cats were introduced years ago to help control the rats but they have to eradicate the cats (just like they did with the goats and pigs which are not native to the islands) as they are harmful to the local ecosystem.

The rats were originally introduced to the islands back in the 17th century by the buccaneers and whaling ships. With few natural predatror, they just multiple to the point of 10 rats per square meter on Pinzon Island (7 square miles in size and there is no human population there).

The current operation is limited to Pinzon and an islet near by. They have trapped and remove hawks and iguanas for their protection as they may eat the poisoned rats.

#kenav, This link is from NBC. Hopefully it will load better.
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/16/15218670-180-million-rats-on-galapagos-island-targeted-with-poison