A very good Galapagos cruise

I chose this cruise and itinerary in order to see the Galápagos Islands in comfort  on a celebrity cruise ship

I chose the seven day cruise which meant I had time to arrange my own itinerary in Quito As well as staying for a couple of nights on the islands prior to embarkation 

I spent two nights in Quito at hotel Casona to La Ronde which is a lovely colonial hotel in the old quarter

 I undertook a day tour to see volcanoes hummingbirds and the cloud forest which was a brilliant experience

I then spent two nights at hotel Solla Verde Santa Cruz Island

The hotel is located in the highlands  A 20 minute taxi ride into Puerto Ayora

 Very clean comfortable boutique hotel with lush vegetation and a pet giant tortoise

 Day trip to North Seymour Idlsnd which the hotel advised  having looked at the itinerary for expedition

Amazing wildlife including Sally Lightfoot crabs seals blue footed boobies and many other species

The trip include snorkelling the highlight of which was seeing turtles Which were inquisitive swimming around us

Embarkation was smooth

There is no pier side check in as individual travellars we were met at the airport  where there was a short wait in a reserved area with other guests on the seven day itinerary

Most  of The passengers who were on charter flights were delayed by some hours and we had the privilege of being taken onto Xpeditiob after a short wait   At the airport

The only way to embark is by zodiac so this would not suit any passengers with significant walking difficulties the same is true for all visits to the islands  from Xpedition

The ship seemed clean with a very friendly crew

There is no elevator which is not a problem  for passengers that can manage to get in and out of the zodiacs

 I had an suite which was a good size with a small balcony but cannot comment on the size of the routine cabins which I understand are quite small

The only problem with the cabin was the wardrobe doors were difficult to shut and opened spontaneously which could not be fixed during the cruise

The cabin  was otherwise clean and was more than satisfactory

The only slight problem was the dining which is not all celebrities fault

Meat has to be partly precooked  before import into the Galapagos Islands  which affected the quality of the meat

Fish alternative was somewhat over cooked especially the shellfish but I guess they have to do this to avoid Gastro intestinal upset

 Every evening the cruise director informed us in a very entertaining way about the next days activities giving everyone a choice

 The activities   In groups of up to 16 passengers were  excellent with well informed guides

Prior to activities most passengers would have  assemble  in the lounge and there was some disorganisation as passengers vied to go into the  first  groups 

 Selection by giving passengers  ticket  numbers as they do on the tendering process on the larger ships would’ve made for a more organised procedure that this is a minor complaint

The extent of wildlife seen was amazing and overall the trip was very enjoyable and  fulfiilled my expectations

Celebrity Xpedition Review

A very good Galapagos cruise

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