Celebrity Xpedition Cruise Reviews - Reviews

From the time we were met at the Quito airport until the time we departed Quito, Celebrity staff made this trip perfect.  Everything was right on time.  Service was warm and personal.  The trip was casual, yet elegant at the same time.  No need to dress up, but the dining room was lovely, staff were very attentive, the bar staff made all our drinks cheerfully and quickly.  The naturalists were with us on every shore excursions to explain all the magnificent birds, animals and plants, and always were looking out for our safety while we hiked or snorkeled.  The ship was immaculate and everything was well-organized and timely. I could not have asked for more and the whole trip exceeded our expectations in every way.

This WAS the trip of a lifetime.  With about 90 passengers, you get to know just about all your fellow travelers, and we made great friends.  The staff was also outstanding.  Special mention goes to bartender Ana, always prepared and always with a smile.

 Loved the snorkeling opportunities.  Excellent, informative naturalists (though sometimes things got a bit repetitive), and helpful presentations.  The walks can be a challenge, so invest in good trekking shoes before you go.  You may want to consider below the knee pants or knee pads, because falling on the lava rock would not be pleasant and you may want to kneel to take photos. Also loved having walking sticks available.

The ship is comfortable and enjoyable.  My only complaint is that the mattresses and pillows could be of a better quality.

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. We loved everything about the cruise. It was well organized. The staff were all OUTSTANDING! Meeting our every need. The naturalists on every island landing were all knowledgeable and enthusiastic. They loved sharing about their homeland. Monica, the cruise director, was informative every night about the next day's activities. My suggestion... Go on every panga ride a valuable. Learned so much, saw so many animals, snorkeling was so good. We used the ship's snorkel gear and did use wet suits to prevent sunburn. On and the food.... Great choices, Carlos and staff, could not have been more gracious. Everyone spoke English, but they were so helpful to us learning our Spanish. WONDERFUL cruise, way better than expected. Totally different as everything is paid for up front...drinks, gratuities and snorkel.gear. 

It is an intimate experience secondary to the 100 passengers onboard.  From the airport pick up to the hotel, the level of services was incredible.   This continued on to the cruise, the post cruise hotel and the airport drop. 

The crew and naturalists of the Xpedition were outstanding. We had a wonderful trip and they catered to our every need. They were always willing to go the extra for any of us. What a wonderful experience. Don't miss it!!

This is a once in a lifetime experience that shouldn't be missed!  Everything was included and perfect!  You will never have a chance to experience nature as it was meant to be seen anywhere else.  This is one place that hasn't been commercialized in any way.  The ship was great but now they are putting it in dry dock in a few weeks to totally refurbish it so it can only get better.  We were in a cabin without a balcony for our first time ever and I thought it would feel small in the room.  The room was perfect.  We had a window and didn't miss the balcony at all.  The staff was awesome.  

The Celebrity Xpedition was an exceptional cruise with a great itinerary and overall amazing experience of the Galapagos natural ecosystem, of the land, the geological transformation, of the range of life-forms in the water, the birds and land-animals.

There are two areas of improvement recommended:

1. No smoking should be enforced.  We were in the Penthouse Suite but a neighboring suite (602) had heavy smokers and their smoking was not curbed by the staff.  

2. Some of the "naturalists" were not very knowledgeable and also were rude or unfriendly - very unlike normal Celebrity experience.  Their boss was also grumpy, possibly unsuited for the job.

Finally getting to the Galapagos islands ended a long desire to see the unusual array of birds and animals that we had heard so much about.  We spent considerable time examining and evaluating various cruise options and based on a desire for some luxury as well as an experienced ship and crew we selected the Celebrity Xpedition, a cruise line that we had not used previously.  We also liked the inclusion of two days in Quito before and after the cruise.  From the very first excursion to an island we knew our desire to visit the Galapagos was correct and now fulfilled.  Every excursion brought new and wonderful sightings made all the more appreciated by the wonderful naturalists that accompanied us and provided amazing knowledge.

A major negative aspect of sailing on the Celebrity Xpedition that absolutely every conversation we had with fellow cruisers verified was the poor quality of the food.  Time and time again there were dishes that had little taste or suffered in other ways.  It became common practice to taste a dish, decide it was not worth eating, and then order another dish or try something else from the buffet table.  An enormous amount of food ended up as waste.  We found it fascinating that our waiter at the first dinner advised us to skip meat and chicken dishes because they were frozen and would not satisfy us.

There were no problems or surprises with our stateroom.  Though relatively small it was well designed and quite pleasant and satisfactory, with the odd feature that one person has to sleep adjacent to a wall and get into and out of bed in a strange way.

This ship rocks considerably, sometimes even when anchored.  A bridge tour provided an explanation.  The stabilizers are just too small and the ship is somewhat top-heavy because an upper deck was recently added to provide some suites.  The routine rock and rolling was far worse than previous cruises on Seabourn and Regent ships.

As we knew the ship was small with just under 100 possible passengers we did not expect a lot of things which we have enjoyed on previous cruises.  But we really appreciate the single musician that often played at cocktail times and in the evenings; he is quite a talent.  The simple "shows" offered by crew and some passengers were also pretty good.  The daily briefings on the next day's excursions by the naturalist cruise director were both informative and enjoyable.  A special treat was the bridge tour where we learned how much Celebrity does on this ship to protect the environment and provide safety to all on board.

Don't miss or stay away advice for excursions?  Everyone who goes on this type of Galapagos cruise should absolutely go on every excursion, because every one offered some unique nature watching experience.

The ship’s doctor was kept very busy, because at least 20 percent of the passengers became sick, some with digestive problems and others with upper respiratory issues, and still others had injuries because of some very difficult walking conditions on shore.

On the plus side, we were glad that we selected a Galapagos cruise that included days in Quito, because Ecuador is a unique and most beautiful country with some of the most gorgeous people on the planet.  But the disappointing food on the ship was a real negative.

Perfect ship for this type of adventure cruise. Recognize that the venue is the entertainment so don't expect same options as on large regular cruise ships

Extremely well managed especially for the agressive schedule of daily tours.

The ship was the smallest we have ever used for a cruise. We couldn't help but wonder how well the small ship could meet our needs. The ship was awesome, with almost a one to one crew to passenger ratio. The cabins were a nice size, and the layout was functional. The ship was very clean and offered all the amenities we wanted. Perhaps the most surprising and impressive factor was the quality and variety of food. Every dinner had a selection of five quality entrees.

This was our 17th Celebrity cruise and 24th total cruise. This was the most unique, the most crew and voyager friendly, the most pampering of them all. Missed the Machu Picchu portion, however, that was an act of nature. Celebrity thinks of every detail, and as an Elite Captain's Club member out does other cruise lines, by a mile.

Well, I had a complete review written, but got timed out and deleted. Not gonna do it again. We liked the ship and the cruise, hated the inept booking process.

This smaller ship and cruise itinerary provided a warm vacation experience... Enjoying not only the Galapagos Island nature/wildlife but the ship guests/staff were like on big happy family! (And this is from a couple that typically like wildlife/nature first...)

Great trip for young and old. 4 generations went and all had a good time from the snorkelling to the iguanas litterally at our feet. Spring break saw 12 pre teens on the ship and they all had fun together. Plenty of family groups and older couples. The guides were fantastic and offered 3 different levels of excursions in the am and pm. Crew was great and someone always there to help. EVERYTHING included in the price even the alcohol so NO bill at the end!! I would not take anyone younger the 10 due to the trips and walking and the smallness of the ship which does not offer any child care as it is an expedition not a cruise. Beware of staying in Quito as it is high and afew of us suffered altitude sickness. Celebrity coul not have improved this trip.

The ship is almost a private mega yacht, operated by the most highley trained, knowledgable and courtious staff at every level; one on one service throughout. The onboard nature guides are very professional, inteligent and pasionate about their careers which makes every island landing fun, exciting and truly amazing to be at one with nature and those wonderful creature on all of the Galapagos Islands, also the swin & snorkel tours are just amazing too.