Too bad Celebrity is retiring this ship

Item: Celebrity Xploration
Rating: 4.6
Author: looneyjm

Celebrity Xploration Cruise Review to Galapagos

looneyjm

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 68

Overall rating:

4.6 out of 5

7 Night Galapagos Southern Loop (Baltra Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 23, 2019

Ship: Celebrity Xploration

Cabin type: Balcony

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

It is really too bad that Celebrity is moving away from the 16 person ship. We had 6 of our friends with us so we felt like we had our own charted boat. Even if just a couple, you will feel that way. We knew all the crew quickly and they knew us as well. I would definitely recommend Celebrity for the Galapagos. I don't see how another company (i.e. Lindblad) could do much better. Seems like it was a bit cheaper also.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Super simple to get to ship from the Baltra airport. Fairly easy trip from Guayaquil

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Each meal was a small buffet with lots of vegetarian options if you need/want them. We had good fish (Scorpion fish, ummmm), lobster, Beef Wellington, lasagna...you name it. When we came in from a hot excursion (snorkeling, hiking, shopping), the Fernandos (2 of them) had cold drinks awaiting us.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

This is a smaller vessel, so don't expect lots of activities. Those are done on the islands. There was a 3 person jacuzzi, a lovely outside common area uptop, and a bar on Deck 2. When you are not on the island, you just want to hang and these spots were perfect for that.

Entertainment

Our entertainment was the wildlife on the islands, the marine life surrounding us and our talks with Juan Carlos, our onboard naturalist.

Children's Programs

Again, this was not a big cruise. In fact, I would not recommend a Galapagos tour for kids unless specifically geared toward families. There are some tough hikes/walks, it's hot, no real Wi-Fi, and no kid-centric activities. HOWEVER, you should take your kids to Galapagos at some point. It is an incredible, eye-opening experience.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

The crew knew most of our names immediately. They knew I liked hot tea in the morning and preferred chocolate desserts. There are 11 crew to 16 passengers so we got a lot of one on one attention.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Cabins were very spacious and pretty luxurious for a catamaran. The boat does need a little TLC but we understand that they are de-commissioning and selling it in June.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

We were in 202 which had a small balcony and was right next to the dining room. The location was both good and bad--easy for dining and grabbing coffee but a bit noisier than others. Not a huge deal. Just something to note.

Ship tip

For Galapagos in general, take clothes to keep you out of the sun. Good hats, long sleeve fishing type shirts, at least one pair of long fishing type pants. You don't need water bottles because one is given to you on ship. Take an underwater camera. Have shoes with good treads for hiking.

Thumbs up