We just came back from Galapagos. It is a wonderful trip. Everything went smoothly and we saw literally all the birds and animals on our checklist (which is not a short one). As a bonus, we also saw sperm whale, minke whale, 50+ pilot whales and dolphins. Now we have to organize our 1000+ pictures.
We would like to thank all people here for answering questions. We are also happy to tell you anything you want to know now.

Will you posting your pictures on the Internet? I'd love to see them. What boat were you on? How long?

Just saw your other post... the Eden. Will you be posting a trip report of what you saw and did?

The trip took 8 days. A typical day is like this. We had breakfast at 7. Then we went on an island, hiking while seeing birds around and then snorkeling. Sometimes we snorkelled twice, one near beach and the other in deep water. Once we got back, our ccok had some snack ready for us. Lunch happened at 12pm or so. Then another hiking nad snorkeling in the afternoon. When we finished dinner aournd 7pm, the boat started to navigate to next island.
We did do a few times daytime navigation, and quite some people got seasick including myself. But gnenrally they did it at night and we felt fine.
I am organizing the pichtures - which will take a while since there are so many. I will be happy to share them once I am done.

Thanks so much for posting! My husband and I are booked on the Eden in late August. How did the Eden compare to the other boats you saw? What did you do for snorkelling equipment? Was it available for rent and, if so, how much did it cost? We've gotten conflicting information about that. Also, did the boat have wetsuits available to rent as well? Any particular advice you would give for someone going on that boat? Thanks so much!

As for the boat, I think most of first-class boats look quite similar. Eden is not a brand new boat, but I think it is pretty good.
They have anorkeling equipment on the boat for free. We brought our own but most others just used the ones on boat. One lady did have the problem that there is nothing for her size. So I will suggest you bring your own.
No wet suit is available on boat. If you want to wear wet suit - which I will suggest for some islands - you have to bring your own.
We are very happy with Eden. The crew are really freindly and if you have the first cook we had (the second one is not bad, but not so great), you will be amazed by his cooking, just like everybody in our trip did. Do prepare for being sea sick, sometimes the navigation was bumpy.
If you have any particular question, just ask me more. The more specific it is, the easier I can answer.

Cheerful: nice screenname! I, too, just returned from the Galapagos, from a June 5-12 trip on The Explorer II ship. The ship was incredible. Great great crew, well above average meals which were artistically presented; and a guide who was beyond terrific (Walter). We visited all but two islands, and for those thinking of going, keep in mind, the trips are physically demanding, especially the excursion to Genovesa (Tower)Island. But it is a terrific experience. I strongly recommend the 7 day trip rather than a 3 or 4 day trip.

Cheerful, thanks very much for the information. We look forward to our trip and will try to bring our own wetsuits now.