We spent 18 days in Ecuador in September 2009 bird watching in 3 locations; i.e., Quito metro area, the Galapagos Islands and the Tandayapa Valley.
This review covers bird watching on the Celebrity Xpedition cruise of September 6 to 13, 2009, and some info on the pre and post cruise activities.
On our first morning in Quito, we walked around the Marriott Hotel (0.197S 78.489W) and were surprised to see a very long-tailed hummingbird nesting outside the hotel entrance. Our tour guide that day confirmed that is was a Black-tailed Trainbearer. We also saw a Sparkling Violetear hummingbird in the bottle bushes by the pool. Rufous-collared Sparrows were flying in the lobby, and several Glossy-black Thrushes landed on the roof outside our room.
The rooms were slightly smaller that other cruise ships we had been on, but more than adequate with plenty of storage and a nice bathroom. The beds were fine, but we couldn't see how they would make into a comfortable double bed since the foot of the bed tapered down a few inches - plus someone would be trapped against the wall.
Didn't miss having a balcony on this trip.