Like all the other Cruise Critic correspondents, we had a great time in the Galapagos - we have done 37 previous cruises and this was probably the best.

We Brits can fly from Europe to Quito direct, via Madrid or Amsterdam, but we prefer to take more time so we booked the cruise and stay package separately and then sorted out our own flights - London/Miami by Virgin Atlantic and Miami/Quito by American Airlines. We stopped off in Miami for two nights on the way out and one night on the return.

Ecuadorian immigration was very efficient at Quito and the Celebrity staff met us at airport arrivals. A bus then transferred us to the nearby JW Marriott hotel for a two night stay which included a full day tour of Quito and lunch and dinner in local restaurants. The flight to Baltra was by local airline 'Aerogal' on a brand new Airbus 320 chartered by Celebrity. The only problem everyone had was the luggage allowance. The brochure says a maximum of 30 lbs each for checked in luggage and 14 lbs for cabin bags - the reality is that checked in luggage can be 45 lbs each and the carry on baggage is usual airline standard - so all that careful packing was unnecessary! Read more