My wife and I, experienced cruisers, had heard that the Galapagos cruise was "the trip of a lifetime," and expected the islands to be fantastic. We had known others who had been on (more)expensive tours than ours, and although they loved the tours had less than enthusiastic things to say about the ship they were on. We had never cruised on a ship as small as the Expedition, and thus did not expect much of the shipboard experience itself. Boy, were we positively surprised by the ship, and on board experience!
The Expedition is a 5 year old ship designed originally for a different purpose, but purchased by Celebrity a few years ago. It had just returned from dry dock before our boarding, and was "spic an span" with new carpeting and upholstery. The rooms are GREAT--roomy and nicely appointed for such a small ship. We were in the least expensive cabin on the ship, but it was as nice and comfortable as more expensive cabins. All are outside, and the more expensive cabins had a larger window, but ours was "just fine." There are a few balcony cabins (more expensive), but the tours are so wonderful,and the ship is so small there is little need for the extra expenditure.
The food is "exceptional" and the dining room very nice. There is no reason to "dress up" for dinner, with slacks and polo shirts just fine. There is a large lounge with bar--super. There is even a small gift shop with most everything you might need, including sundries, clothing, dvds, and even galapagos jewelry. There is an outside eating area as well. One night we even had dinner under the stars, and one night a special Ecuadorian dinner.