Galapagos Islands Expedition Cruise on Celebrity Xpedition

[@smc5801]

Thanks, look forward to your videos. All informlative and interesting.

[@PrydeofTheVillages]

Thanks for watching!

[@mishelsalao954]

Thanks for sharing 🙏

[@PrydeofTheVillages]

My pleasure

[@sylvain65]

Thanks guys for another interesting and informative video.

[@PrydeofTheVillages]

Our pleasure!

[@Birdlover12345]

Great video, thank you!

[@PrydeofTheVillages]

Glad you liked it!

[@pryncesita3324]

Great video! Very informative! 😊

[@PrydeofTheVillages]

Glad it was helpful!

[@idl9ave419]

Went on this trip (Celebrity Xpedition) in 2018. The ship was licensed for a larger capacity then, but the public rooms and programming were much the same. Thanks for the great video - our itinerary was a little different, but we saw much of the same bird and animal life. Wonderful to have your record to revisit. When we visited Santa Cruz we also went to the Tortoise Center and saw the Ecuadorean folk dancing. In addition, they took us to a hilly field so we could each plant a sapling for the ecology. I was curious if they are still offering that activity.

[@PrydeofTheVillages]

No, the sapling planting was not offered. Not sure if that was discontinued or if it was just a seasonal activity. The fact that the passenger capacity license was transferred to the Flora was nice. The Xpedition was very spacious, and I am sure the crew appreciated the new quarters taking over the lower deck passenger cabins.

[@johnjanejourney]

Wow! What a great video! Will you be addressing the ballpark cost in a future video?

[@PrydeofTheVillages]

I can give you the figures that we paid. We booked this trip in August 2020 for a November 2022 sailing. It was an 11-night package which included 2 nights pre cruise hotel (breakfast/dinner) at the JW Marriott in Quito, city tour of Quito, transfer to airport, flight to the Galapagos, 7-night all inclusive cruise, flight back to Quito, transfer to Marriott, 2 nights post cruise, and transfer to airport for flight back to US. They had a promotion of giving us $750 per person to cover airfare from US to Ecuador. Total cost for the two of us was $13,400. Per the Celebrity website to do the same 11-night package in 2023 on the same boat, same cabin category and in the November time frame would cost roughly $14, 800 and you would have to pay for the US-Quito, Ecuador flights.

[@johnjanejourney]

@@PrydeofTheVillages You got a good deal! Less than we thought. Thanks so much for sharing the info. Much appreciated as are the videos!

[@cmanzare]

we were on the cruise with you!!!

[@PrydeofTheVillages]

Yes, I am guessing you were part of the Bill's Mafia. It was a great cruise!

[@cmanzare]

@@PrydeofTheVillages yes , it really was awesome. Great videos

[@Lrndemps-u4i]

Great video! Did they have any options to scuba dive while on the trip?

[@PrydeofTheVillages]

No not on Celebrity Cruises in the Galapagos, only deep and shallow water snorkeling. However, there were dive operators running boats, especially out of Santa Cruz island.

[@travelingwithrebecca]

Thanks for a great video! We will do this itinerary on the Xpedition this November and are really looking forward to the trip. What type of lens(es) did you use for the wildlife photography? I'm into bird and general wildlife photography and still trying to decide exactly what gear I will take.

[@PrydeofTheVillages]

I'm more of an action camera vlogger than a photographer. That said, I used basic gear with a Sony a6400 mirrorless with 16-50 & 55-210mm lens for the still photos. Most of the video was with GoPros to include a GoPro 10 for the underwater videos. I did not use any special housing with the GoPro as we only snorkeled and never exceeded the waterproof depths. I would say that you will be surprised how close you can get to the wildlife, sometimes they are within 5 ft of you, so you may not be using your telephoto lens that much except maybe for small birds like the Vermillion Fly Catcher. More importantly is to ensure your gear stays dry. Keeping everything in a good dry bag until ready to use would be important. Also take advantage of as many of the excursions as you can because some animals like the owls or hawks may only be seen once on the trip. Enjoy the Xpedition, the boat and crew are great and the wildlife is very special.

[@travelingwithrebecca]

@@PrydeofTheVillages Thanks for the tips! We are excited for the trip!

[@mollylatchford1877]

Hi there, Which month of the year did you go? Thanks :)

[@PrydeofTheVillages]

We went in the middle of November and was the dry season (no bugs). We did not experience any rain and the air temperatures were perfect in the Galapagos. The water temperatures are cooler that time of year, but the short wetsuit that the ship provided was warm enough for us for the deep-water snorkeling. While it was dry in the Galapagos in November, it was the rainy season in Quito. It rained every day that we were in the capital.