Celebrity Cruises Returns to Galapagos

Celebrity Cruises Announced 

Galapagos Deployment Schedule

In a special trade webinar yesterday, Celebrity Cruises updated travel advisors on their upcoming announcement regarding their return to service in the Galapagos.   If you have been following my blog, you know that Galapagos is our all-time favorite cruise destination.  It is a Land Beyond Xpectations.

Deployment Update:

While working with health and government authorities towards this shared goal, we are evaluating all current itineraries. The determination has been made that we can safely sail in the Galapagos this summer beginning on the below dates with 7-night itineraries. 

• July 4, 2021 – Celebrity Flora® 
• July 24, 2021 – Celebrity Xpedition® 
• September 18 – Celebrity Xploration®

As a result of this deployment change, Celebrity Cruises is suspending all Galapagos sailings scheduled to depart before the above noted return-to-service dates.

In addition, they are announcing the following Offers for future sailings:

As Celebrity Cruises returns to service in the Galapagos, they will be limiting capacity to about 50% just like they are in other destinations.  In the case of Celebrity Flora that means you'll have an even more intimate cruise vacation as there are only 100 people at full capacity, however, the crew will be at full capacity providing you with an incredible experience you'll never forget.   

What's more, you can forget about your masks when exploring the various islands, as the inhabitants (iguanas, blue footed boobies, and giant tortoises) won't mind.  You'll be able to still get up close and personal to them - they won't care about social distancing either.

Now is the time to explore this amazing destination.   We still remember our experience there as if it were yesterday and we've not had any vacation like that before or after it.   Call me today to start planning your return to cruising.

Explore Galapagos in Luxury

Check out our Galapagos Diary

Celebrity Xpeditions Galapagos

10-Night Cruise Tour

August 29, 2008

Land Beyond Xpectations

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Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat

Cruising to Somewhere Exotic

What Does Exotic 

Mean to You 

Last week we shared photos on the theme of “exotic,” on #travelpics Twitter chat. We included exotic birds, animals, and destinations from our photo archives. It was difficult to pick just a few to share.

This Blue-Footed Booby was one of our favorite exotic bird species inhabiting the Galapagos Islands. 

  A Land Beyond Xpectations

Over one hundred fifty years ago, a man wrote about his quest that took him to a place where he would discover how life evolved thousands of years ago.

Our ultimate exotic destination is an archipelago of volcanic islands near the equator in the Pacific Ocean.  We were met by a team of naturalists who transported us by Zodiacs to our waiting ship, Celebrity Xpedition. 


You can see Celebrity Xpedition in the distance from our beach vantage point on  Fernandina Island in this photograph.  This isn't your typical beach as you can see.

We've written an entire series of articles, Diary of Celebrity Xpeditions Galapagos, on our journey to exotic Galapagos.  When #travelpics posted the theme for this past week, that destination was the first thing that came to mind.

Looking at the questions below, we bet that you already know our answer for Q6.

Tahiti - French Polynesia 

Our second choice for exotic destinations was Tahiti (French Polynesia & Cook Islands).  We were fortunate to cruise the Tahitian Islands on Tahitian Princess before it was renamed.   That ship is perfect for traversing the island chain.

In this image, the crew on our catamaran treated us to some fresh tropical coconut.  Exotic food, flowers and scenery made this our number two pick for this week's travel photo chat.

How Would You 
Answer These Questions



[RECAP] Questions for last Monday’s “exotic”-themed #travelpics chat: 

(3:05) Q1: What’s an exotic location that you’ve never been to, but are eager to visit?
(3:10) Q2: When you think of the word “exotic,” what do you think of? Share your travel photo interpretation.
(3:20) Q3: Share a photo of something exotic you found in the natural world!
(3:30) Q4: What is it you like most about exotic locations? Scenery, weather, people, cuisine, customs…?
(3:40) Q5: Scenery often makes a spot exotic. Tweet a shot of a stunning location.
(3:50) Q6: What’s the most exotic place you’ve ever seen? What made it incredible?

See our answers and those of other posters:  #Travelpics 2014-07-28 Recap


Do you have an exotic cruise adventure to share with our readers?  We'd love to hear about it and see your travel pictures.   Contact us for an opportunity to share your story.

The next #travelpics will take place Monday, August 4th, 2014, from 3-4pm Eastern time (8-9pm UK time). This week’s theme is “quickfire,” so get ready for a dozen fast-paced questions on photography, travel, and more!

Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC  Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc for more ideas.

Each week we post images from our trips and participate in several travel chats on Twitter.

Take advantage of these resources to assist in you in planning your dream vacations.  Of course, we are always available to answer any questions you might have about travel and the industry.

2013 In Review

2013 - Cruise Line Woes

As the year draws to a close, we'll take a look at some of the headlines from the past year. The largest stories in the cruise industry involved disasters in the majority of the cases.

Silversea's Explorer No Match for Mother Nature

Silver Explorer departed Ushuaia, Argentina, in early January, for an 18-night cruise to Antarctica.On January 12th, somewhere between Tierra del Fuego and the Antarctica,  a wave came crashing into the ship's bridge injuring four crew members.   They were treated in the medical center onboard the vessel and according to Silversea Cruises all 133 guests and 113 crew are safe. The incident caused the current and next voyage to be cancelled.  Read more ...

Carnival Triumph Engine Fire

By Mike Brantley | mbrantley@al.com

A small engine fire broke out Sunday morning February 10, 2013, onboard Carnival Triumph while it was about 150 miles off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula.

The ship’s automatic fire extinguishing systems activated and the fire was contained to the aft engine room. Fortunately, there were no casualties or injuries however the ship was adrift for several days without power and hotel facilities functioning.

Carnival Triumph Arrives in Mobile 

  

More Engine Woes for Carnival

Just one month since the Carnival Triumph fire, which left the ship without power and stranded passengers for days, Carnival Corporation had yet another problem with power onboard one of their ships, Carnival Dream.  It was followed by propulsion problems on Carnival Legend. Carnival Cruise Lines President and Chief Executive Gerry Cahill had launched a comprehensive review of its entire fleet, which may have been the reason these problems were discovered.   Eventually all these ships would return to service, but not without impacting passengers and Carnival's reputation. Following the investigation of the Carnival Triumph's fire, several improvements were implemented causing a delay in the Triumph's return to service as well as the re-entry of Carnival Sunshine which was a complete makeover of Carnival Destiny.

Read more about these stories:

• Carnival Triumph & Sunshine Returns Delayed
• Azipod Problems for Carnival Legend
• Let's Pick on Carnival Again
• More Engine Woes for Carnival

To be fair, Carnival wasn't the only cruise line experiencing propulsion problems: Celebrity Millennium Itinerary Change

Fire Onboard Grandeur 
of the Seas

Early Memorial Day morning, a fire broke out onboard Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas while it was sailing in the Bahamas.  The fire caused extensive damage to the aft mooring deck of the ship as you can see in this image courtesy of Royal Caribbean.

Fortunately, no one was seriously injured in the incident and the ship was diverted to Freeport in the Bahamas.   Passengers were awakened and instructed to go to their muster stations.  Read more ...

Severe flooding hits Europe
 
Worse flooding in 70 years hit parts of Central Europe contributing to at least 10 deaths and impacting River Cruising causing cancellations and itinerary changes.

Europe Flooding Impacting River Cruises

Lobsters Keep Cruise Ship from Entering National Park

Celebrity Xpedition Cruises Temporarily Suspended 

Probably the most bizarre causes of cruise itinerary cancellations in 2013 was due to the Galapagos National Park authorities suspending the ship's license when it was discovered that the ship was transporting frozen lobster out of season.  Read more ...

Unexpected Dry Dock Ends Alaska Sailing Season Early

Celebrity Millennium experienced mechanical problems since early August, resulting in the early termination of its latest cruise and cancellation of 4 sailings ending the Alaska sailing season early for the vessel. More details ...



Costa Concordia Parbuckling (Salvage Operations)

Costa Concordia Parbuckling (read more)

This image extracted from a live video of Costa Concordia's Parbuckling Procedure, which began mid-September in Giglio, shows the slow process of righting the vessel.

As of mid-December, the Concordia is stable and being winterized in preparation for the next phase, installation of the 15 sponsons that will be positioned on the starboard side (land side) and the remaining 4 on the right side (sea side) in order to proceed with the refloating phase and have the wreck ready for towing by the end of June 2014.  We will continue to provide updates in our Costa Concordia Salvage Begins article.

As 2013 ends, Captain Schettino is still on trial,  salvage operations are on hold for the winter, and costs are mounting with predictions for insurance payments to exceed $2B.

Cruise Lines Respond to Typhoon Haiyan Disaster

Super-typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane on the U.S. Saffir-Simpson scale, struck central Philippines early  Friday November 8th with sustained winds estimated at 195 mph (315 kph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

Many governments and organizations came to the aide of the people of Philippines in the wake of the storm.   Among them were several cruise lines who employee many Filipinos on their staffs, many of whom have been away from their families and friends for many months.  This is a hard time for those separated from their loved ones. More Details ...

Galapagos - Urbina Bay

click images to enlarge

ISABELA ISLAND - URBINA BAY

Day 7 of our Celebrity Xpeditions finds us on Isabela Island, which is by far the largest island in the Galapagos Archipelago.  It is composed of of 6 shield volcanoes - Alcedo, Cerro Azul, Darwin, Ecuador, Sierra Negra and Wolf that over the years have coalesced into one island.  All of these volcanoes are considered still active with the last volcanic eruption occurring in May 2008.

There are five different subspecies of giant tortoises spread upon their slopes; almost all of the wonderful photos of these giant tortoises you may have seen were probably taken here.   Today we had our first opportunity to find the giant land tortoises (Galapagos).

Urbina Bay, a beautiful, small bay located at the east base of the Alcedo volcano.  The bay coastal area was uplifted 12 - 15 feet along a shore line of over a mile.  The violent action happened so quickly that it trapped crustaceans, echinoderms, mollusks, and fish species inland. 

The trail starts on the beach where a wet landing is made, the tour is approximately 3200m, and runs through sand substrates, pumice rock, lava, coral and vegetable formations in a coastal area that has had a lift; in addition burrows of land iguanas can be seen.

This area is also directly affected by the Cromwell Upwelling Current.  The Cromwell is a deep water current traveling along the equatorial line form the western Pacific eventually coming in contact with the Galapagos Archipelago.  This nutrient rich, cold water comes to the surface with temperatures reaching the mid 50's (10 -13 degrees Celsius).

View our Galapagos - Urbina Bay photo album for more images of our morning excursion on the Island of Isabela.

Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

Additional Photos can be found on our Exotics Shutterfly page

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Diary of Celebrity Xpeditions Galapagos

 

A Land Beyond Xpectations

Over one hundred fifty years ago, a man wrote about his quest that took him to a place where he would discover how life evolved thousands of years ago.  Travel with us as we follow in his footsteps and discover a land that is inhabited by species that can be found nowhere else on earth.

Come with us on our Celebrity Xpeditions adventure that begins in Quito, Ecauador where we had the opportunity to visit local sites including the Equatorial Line Monument.   Here you can stand on a line between the two hemispheres.

Our ultimate destination is an archipelago of volcanic islands near the equator in the Pacific Ocean.  We are met by a team of naturalists who transport us by Zodiacs to our waiting ship, Celebrity Xpedition.  

Celebrity Xpedition recently had their license suspended as we had reported (Lobsters Keep Cruise Ship from Entering National Park) and have now resumed sailing (Celebrity Xpedition to Resume Galapagos Sailings).  We are assembling past articles, posting images, and adding new material in this diary so that you can easily follow our complete adventure.   If you have any unanswered questions, we'd be happy to answer them and also help plan your own unforgettable adventure.

	Port	Blog Posts	Photo Albums
	Celebrity Xpeditions	Packing for Galapagos Why Visit Galapagos Galapagos - Onboard Celebrity Xpedition Celebrity Xpedition Food	Celebrity Xpedition
1	Quito, Ecuador	Celebrity Xpedition - Day 1	J W Marriott Quito
2	Quito, Ecuador	Celebrity Xpedition - Day 2 - Quito Old Town Celebrity Xpedition - Day 2 - El Crater Celebrity Xpedition - Day 2 - Equatorial Line Monument	Quito - Old Town Quito - Lunch Stop Quito - Equator
3	Baltra North Seymour	Celebrity Xpedition - Day 3 - Flight to Baltra Galapagos - Day 3 - Welcome Aboard Celebrity Xpedition - Day 3 North Seymour Island	Celebrity Xpedition Galapagos - North Seymour Island
4	Kicker Rock; Puerto Baquerizo Moreno; Española Island	Galapagos - Kicker Rock Galapagos - Puerto Baquerizo Moreno  Galapagos - Day 4 Snorkeling Orientation  Galapagos - Española	Galapagos - Kicker Rock  Galapagos - San Cristobal  Galapagos - Espanola Islands
5	Floreana Island; Cormorant Point - Baroness Lookout	Galapagos - Cormorant Point (Floreana) Galapagos - Baroness Outlook (Floreana)	Galapagos - Cormorant Point Galapagos - Baroness Lookout
6	Bachas Beach (Santa Cruz); Bartolomé Island	Galapagos - Bachas Beach (Santa Cruz) Galapagos - Bartolomé Island (Day 6) Crossing the Line	Galapagos - Bachas Beach Galapagos -Bartolome Islands Crossing the Line Party - Galapagos Cruise (video)
7	Urbina Bay (Isabela);  Espinoza Point (Fernandina)	Galapagos - Urbina Bay Galapagos - Fernandina Island (Day 7 Afternoon) Galapagos Surprise - There She Blows	Galapagos - Urbina Bay Galapagos - Dry Landing Fernandina Island Galapagos Fur Seal Pups Playing (video) Galapagos - Scenic Cruising Galapagos - Zodiac Ride Fernandina
8	Santiago Island;  Santa Cruz	Galapagos - Santiago (Day 8 Morning) Galapagos - Santa Cruz (Day 8 Afternoon)	Galapagos - Santiago Island Galapagos - Snorkeling (Santiago) Galapagos - Dragon Hill (Santa Cruz)
9	Santa Cruz; Puerto Ayora	Galapagos - Charles Darwin Research Center (Day 9) Galapagos - Santa Cruz Highlands (Day 9 Afternoon) Galapagos - Final Night on Xpedition	Galapagos National Park Galapagos - Santa Cruz Highlands  Farwell Party - Celebrity Xpedition Galapagos (Video)
10	Baltra to Quito	Celebrity Xpedition - Disembarkation Galapagos - Quito (Day 10)	Xpedition Disembarkation
11	Quito	Galapagos - Mindo Cloud Forest (Day 11) Galapagos - Return Home	El Pahuma Orchid Reserve El Siete Restaurant - Mindo
	Additional Posts	Many Faces of Galapagos Hope for Lonesome George End of a Species - Lonesome George

The Many Faces of the Galapagos

click images to enlarge

Get Up Close & Personal

With the Galapagos Inhabitants

The Galapagos Islands contain a unique combination of land and oceanic ecosystems, with many distinct habitats found in each. The Galapagos are located at the point where major ocean currents meet and the islands straddle the junctions between several shifting tectonic plates.


This area is truly unlike any other place on earth.

The Galapagos Marine Reserve (GMR), one of the world's largest protected areas, has more than 2,900 reported marine species and over 18% of those live nowhere else on earth. Some of the best known coastal animals of Galapagos include sea lions, fur seals, flightless cormorants, albatrosses, three species of booby, two frigatebird species, sea turtles, the marine iguana, and penguins.

The Galapagos National Park Service works hand in hand with the Charles Darwin Research Station implementing their common goals of conservation and preservation of the natural resources with the Galapagos National Park and Galapagos Marine Reserve. The park service approves all itineraries of boats visiting the islands making sure that the tourism is distributed evenly throughout the islands. They also work as the licensing board for guides in the islands.

Meet the Inhabitants

From the time you arrive in the Galapagos until the time you depart, you will be accompanied by the naturalists who are there to instruct as well as to protect the inhabitants and the land.

Zodiac Exploration

Some of the excursions that you can select will be labeled as "low intensity".  Those trips will typically include a zodiac ride along the island exploring from the water.   The driver will get close to land, but yet the inhabitants that you'll be viewing won't be in any harm or show any concern for your presence.  They'll go about their day, most likely just resting on the rocks or looking out to sea.
 

Explore on Foot

The other method of exploration on the islands is on foot of course.   Both the low and higher intensity tours will usually include some walking.  The higher intensity excursions will have longer walks and may also include some more of a challenge.   Your naturalist can answer any questions about the destination to help you decide which one is right for you.

Stay between the white posts

You can see in this image that there is a marker to the left of the hikers.   It is marked with white and black stripes.   The group needs to stay between the markers at all times.  This protects the fragile environment.  Of course the inhabitants can go wherever they choose, so you may find some of them on your path.    Take all the photos you want, but be respectful at all times.

See More of the Faces

Many Faces of Galapagos (117 photos)

Here are some of the faces of Galapagos that you'll see when you explore the archipelago. Some of them only a mother could love while others are so cute you'll fall in love with them at first glance. Add your thoughts and we'll update the captions.

Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

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