Celebrity Xpedition Review

Incredible trip to the Galapagos on Celebrity's Xpedition

Review for South America Cruise on Celebrity Xpedition
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tomnmary2
First Time Cruiser • Age 90s

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Sail Date: Mar 2010

This cruise had been on my "bucket list" for quite some time, so it was approached with much enthusiasm. I have to say that it met my every expectation -- and then some. We selected the 10-day package with Celebrity, two days in Quito, pre-cruise, and one day post-cruise. The package included the J. W. Marriott Hotel in Quito, which was a first-class hotel. It also included transfers to and from the hotel, and air to Baltra in the Galapagos, as well as the cruise.

We did our own air, using miles with Delta. Everything about the trip went well, except for the Delta portion. I had read in posts here on Cruise Critic that the Delta flights can be late getting into Quito, and ours was no exception. We were scheduled to arrive in Quito shortly after 11 p.m., but delays in Atlanta changed our arrival time to 1 a.m. When Delta started delaying our flight, I contacted the Celebrity's Xpedition desk to find out if we would still be met on arrival at the airport and to ask if there were any other passengers on our flight. I was told that the airport rep did not work after midnight, so we would have to get to the hotel on our own, probably by taxi. They also told me that we were the only cruise passengers on that flight. It turns out that those answers were incorrect. We were both delighted and relieved to find the Celebrity rep waiting for us as we exited the customs area. We were also surprised to find that were almost a dozen other cruise passengers on our flight. Our luggage was taken from us and loaded on a bus, with us, to go to our hotel, which was about a 15-minute ride from the airport. Hotel check-in went quickly, thank goodness, as we were all exhausted by then. Because we belonged to the Captn's Club with Celebrity, we were given access to the Executive Lounge at the Marriott, which was a wonderful benefit. Note: you need to bring your Captn's Club membership card with you, as they do ask for it.

All meals in Quito were included in our package, as were tours of Quito. All were excellent, and our tour guides were wonderful. Chilled bottled water was very plentiful, always available on our bus. Everything about the package went well, and I would highly recommend doing that.

Cabin Review

We had a cabin on Deck 3, which was very convenient to the dining room and only one floor up to everything else. Cabin was small but efficient. The shower was actually larger than those on most large cruise ships. We had two closets that were small, but adequate for two ladies. Every evening was quite casual, so dress clothes were not ever needed.

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