Celebrity Xpedition Food

click images to enlarge

Food onboard Celebrity Xpedition was as plentiful and as good as on the large ships within the Celebrity fleet. When we'd return from our activities, there would be fresh juices or soda and snacks waiting for us.

Our initial afternoon onboard Xpedition was similar to any other cruise ship. A welcome aboard lunch was served in Darwin Restaurant on deck 3. There are no pre-assigned seating arrangements throughout the cruise. This is a great way to meet new people and make new friends.

Breakfast and lunch were served buffet style in Darwin Restaurant. In the morning, coffee and light breakfast was also available out on deck at Beagle Grill. There you could sit on the aft enjoying your food and drink while taking in the scenery of the Galapagos.

Lunch was usually served in Darwin's Restaurant and Beagle Grill (weather permitting). The lunch buffets included Oriental, Italian, Around the World, Mexican and Galapagos cuisines.

Dinner was served in Darwin's Restaurant. These were sit-down meals where you ordered from the menu just like you would on any traditional dining room onboard a ship.

The menus consisted of appetizers, soup, salad, main entree, desserts, ice cream, and cheese selections. Click on the pictures for sample menus from two evenings.

One evening we had a barbecue out on deck at Beagle Grill. The chefs were cooking steaks, shrimp, ribs, and other items. We had a fabulous meal under the stars complete with your choice of red and white wine or beverages of you choice. All liquor is included as I've mentioned before, so don't be afraid to ask for what you like.

We enjoyed the majority of the meals. There was only one evening where the chicken in wine wasn't to our liking. Just like on other cruise ships in the fleet, you can order whatever you want and have as much as you want with your meals. If you don't like something ask for a replacement; the crew went out of their way to make sure you enjoyed your meals. They are very hard working and pleasant. One of our waiters had just started that week. He was one of the best waiters we've had on a cruise ship. We even complimented him telling him we wouldn't have known this was his first time onboard.

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

Additional Photos can be found on our Exotics Shutterfly page

Connect With Us On

        

Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers

Galapagos - Onboard Celebrity Xpedition

click images to enlarge

Before we depart the Celebrity Xpedition, I'd like to tell you more about the ship and life onboard during the past seven days. She is small compared to the mega ships that are being built today, like Celebrity Solstice for example. Xpedition weighs in at 2,842 Tons and has a capacity of 92 Passengers. It is 296 feet long (about the size of a football field).

Despite the small size, there still are multiple locations to gather with the crew and your fellow passengers. Because of her size, and the size of the passengers and crew, you can't help but become a n extended family by the end of the cruise.


The first location that you'll become familiar with once you board the Xpedition is Discovery Lounge. It is the hub of the ship serving as meeting room, cocktail party room, and entertainment center. For those wishing to stay in contact with the outside world, it also serves as the internet cafe.

Before dinner each night there was a cocktail party in Discovery Lounge along with a briefing about the next day's activities. Unlike other ships, you don't have to pull out your cabin key to pay for your drinks - they are included in the cruise price. You can try the special of the day or enjoy your favorite drink. Mine drink of choice while cruising is a chocolate martini. I am happy to report that the bartenders made excellent martinis (as well as many other drinks).


For the past ten years, one of the first things we do is check out the spa once we get onboard. Xpedition does have a spa and fitness center. There is a hot tub, sauna, and massage room along with treadmills, stationary bicycles and other fitness equipment on the Sunrise deck. My husband and I both booked Swedish massage appointments for one of the afternoons.

Later in the week we spent some time on the Sunrise deck in the hot tub and laying on one of the lounges. We didn't use the exercise equipment since we figured we were getting enough of a workout on our activities. Whether you want to relax or workout, the facilities on the Xpedition should be satisfactory.

Safety is an important concern on any cruise ship and the Xpedition does have lifeboats in addition to the Zodiacs which provided transportation for all our activities.

You may be wondering about the restaurant facilities. We'll talk about food in my next post. For now suffice it to say that this cruise had all the amenities of larger ships including parties, musical entertainment, and several enrichment opportunities.

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

Additional Photos can be found on our Exotics Shutterfly page

Connect With Us On

        

Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers

Galapagos - Final Night on Xpedition

click images to enlarge

Saturday night and it's time to say farewell to the crew of Celebrity Xpedition. Captain Fausto Pacheco hosted a Farewell Cocktail party in Discovery Lounge before dinner.

As is customary on all Celebrity cruises, the staff is called on stage to be recognized by the passengers with a round of applause. Our Cruise Director, Jorge, served as MC for this event.

The farewell greeting was from the heart: "During these past 7 days, we have sailed with you around the Enchanted Islands, covering a total distance of 611 nautical miles. It has been a pleasure to host you in the beautiful and unique Galapagos Islands. We sincerely trust that you have enjoyed this experience on board the M/V Xpedition and we wish you a happy and safe journey home. Thank you for being with us."

At the conclusion of the captain's greeting, the entire staff of the Xpedition circulated through Discovery Lounge personally thanking each of us for sailing with them. It was a very emotional experience for all of us. We've been on many cruises, but never before have experienced a farewell like this.

Farewell dinner was served following the cocktail party. The meal consisted of steak and lobster. The wait staff concluded the meal by parading through Darwin Restaurant with flaming baked Alaska.



The evening concluded with a Local Folkloric Show in Discovery Lounge. Local folkloric performers had come onboard to treat us to music and dancing complete with colorful native costumes.

Many of the passengers joined in the dancing as the evening progressed. It was a very enjoyable conclusion to a wonderful week in the Galapagos Islands. We were truly sad to see this cruise end.

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

Additional Photos can be found on our Exotics Shutterfly page

Connect With Us On

        

Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers

Galapagos - Santa Cruz Highlands (Day 9 Afternoon)

The afternoon activity consisted of a bus ride to the highlands of Santa Cruz to observe giant tortoises in the wild. Both the Charles Darwin Research Center and this tour were offered in the morning and afternoon. We opted to do the research center in the morning.

The Zodiacs dropped us off at the landing pier in Port Ayora where we made a short walk to a waiting mini-bus. After a short drive through the highlands, we arrived at a farm. There was a light rain falling, so we were happy we had our nylon jackets and walking shoes.

We began walking along a path which was muddy from the rain that had fallen earlier. Since we had our walking sticks with us, we didn't have any problems navigating along the path. The first thing we saw was the entrance to a lava tunnel. We made our way down the path and went inside. After a few photos, we exited the tunnel and started on our quest to find giant tortoises who were roaming the farm freely.

It didn't take long before we saw our first tortoise grazing in the grass. He was just laying in the grass pretty much ignoring us. After a while, he lifted his head to look at us, but then went back to his original position, resting in the grass.

We headed further through the grass and before long we saw one giant tortoise and then another. There were about five of them in a relatively short distance. Some of them were moving slowly through the grass, others were just resting in the grass, and a couple of them were eating the vegetation.

There is a fenced in area on this farm, but the tortoises have plenty of room to move about freely. Below is a video taken near the fence of a giant tortoise having lunch. It consisted of a ripe grapefruit that had fallen from one of the trees.

This was a fitting conclusion to our excursions in the Galapagos Islands. The giant tortoises are probably the most widely known creatures of the Archipelago. It was amazing to be able to observe them in their nature habitat without any barrier between them and us. They were not bothered by us at all. We have several photos and videos to remember them by.

Galapagos - Charles Darwin Research Center (Day 9)

click images to enlarge

Day 9 (Saturday, Sept. 6th) finds the Celebrity Xpedition anchored at Puerto Ayora, the largest town in the Galapagos. It is located on Santa Cruz Island, the second-largest island in the Galapagos and hub for tourists.

 2009 marks the 50th anniversary of the Galapagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Foundation

 In 1959 (the centenary year of Darwin's publication "The Origin of the Species"), the Ecuadorian government declared all the islands, except areas already colonized, as a national park. In the same year, the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) was founded with a primary objective of ensuring the conservation of the unique Galapagos ecosystems and to promote the scientific studies necessary to fulfill its conservation functions.

We took a short bus ride through the small town of Port Ayora, arriving at the entrance of the Charles Darwin Research Station. It was quite a walk to the actual start of the research station from where the bus dropped us off. The path was patio blocks at first but then changed to a dirt trail. We were concerned because one of the passengers in our group was on crutches and we didn't think she'd be able to make the walk. We were happy to see her waiting for us at the end of the path - there is
vehicle access for handicapped and official vehicles.
 
One of the naturalists took us inside the tortoise conservation building where we saw displays on tortoise exploitation, conservation, and ecology. She also explained the captive breeding program which began in 1962. Since that time many tortoises have been repatriated to their original islands. Wardens of the Galapagos National Park Service collect eggs and hatchlings from tortoise nests on Pinzon, Santiago, San Cristobal, and Santa Cruz Islands and bring them to the center for protection and rearing.

Eggs from the nests of Espanola tortoises at the center are also gathered. Eggs are placed in incubators. The hatching process usually takes about 3 days. After an incubation of about 4 months, a tortoise finally breaks free of its eggshell. A yolk sac attached to its stomach provides nourishment to the hatchling in its first few weeks of life. Upon emerging from the egg, hatchlings are kept in dark boxes for two to four weeks, which simulates the time spent in the natural nest chamber. Each tortoise is given a colored identification number. The colors represent each tortoise's "home island". Baby tortoises are weighted, and measured for length and girth. The hatchlings are then moved to outdoor corrals, where they live and grow for up to two years. You can see these corrals in the photos above.

  Lonesome George - rarest creature in the world Lonesome George is the last known individual of the Pinta Island Tortoise, one of eleven subspecies of Galapagos tortoise native to the Galapagos Islands. He has been labelled the rarest creature in the world, and is a potent symbol for conservation efforts in the Galapagos and internationally. It is thought that he was named after a character played by American actor George Gobel.

 George was first seen on the island of Pinta on 1 December 1971 by American snail biologist Joseph Vagvolgyi. The island's vegetation had been decimated by introduced feral goats, and the indigenous tortoise population had been reduced to a single individual. He was relocated for his safety to the Charles Darwin Research Station. George is estimated to be 60–90 years of age, and is in good health, however efforts to get him to mate with two females of a different subspecies from Wolf Island have failed. Research continues to date, and it is hoped that a pure Pinta tortoise lives among the 2,000 tortoises on Isabela. Will George's subspecies become extinct? Hopefully not, but regardless of what happens to this one animal, let him always remind us that the fate of all living things on Earth is in human hands.

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

Additional Photos can be found on our Exotics Shutterfly page

Connect With Us On

        

Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers