Metropolitan Touring

Family Cruises

Gay & Lesbian Cruises

Romantic Cruises

Singles Cruises

Senior Cruises

Fitness Cruises

Galapagos

Excellent

Average

Very Good

La Pinta

There were many unfortunate incidences on this trip, but also some very good moments also.  The first day got off to a frustrating start.  After a long day traveling to get to the ship we were already pretty tired and late afternoon we drove about 40 minutes to a giant tortoise reproduction center.  We saw the giant tortoises on the flat ground and then we began to climb up and up to see a few baby tortoises in cages at the top of the hill.  Our naturalist walked very fast as he was used to it and when coming down he completely left 3 people behind, one that had an injury to her knee.  When we arrived at the dock to board the zodiacs to return to the ship, the naturalists came running up to us and chastised us for not staying with him. I don't know why he was so upset; he hadn't seemed concerned with us up to that point,. 

Food on board was acceptable, but not as exceptional as I had anticipated.  

Most of the crew was friendly; however, the bar server treated some of the passengers like children.  When a friend went up to the bar to ask for a drink, she was told to "sit down" and you will be served.  Seemed a bit rude.

Two other major concerns:  (1)when those that were snorkeling were told to "buddy up", no one actually did and all the divers went in the water alone.  There was no accounting for who actually had returned from the water. 2) A similar thing happened on the last day as we were were boarding a bus to go to the airport.  The bus was over crowded with people standing in the aisle.  The naturalist that accompanied us never even counted to see if we all actually made it onto the bus. All the other people trying to get on were pushing and shoving and easily one of us could have been left behind.  When we got to the airport, he had not told us where to pick up our luggage. So when I got into the airport, I didn't have my luggage and had to go back and get it.  

It just seemed a bit disorganized.  I am used to the person who is in charge always keeping an eye on everyone and making sure all are accounted for. The naturalist that was assigned to us always walked very fast and could be easily 1 block ahead of his group and he never even looked back to see if we were following.  I guess my major complaint had to do with this one staff member.  Otherwise, the trip would have been a wonderful experience.

Improvements Needed

La  Pinta is a good ship with a friendly captain and crew eager to please. The food is good but not as good as Delfin on the Amazon which preceeded our trip. Day 1 flight good from Guaquil old bus panga to ship, lunch, drill, very long presentation, back on panga and old bus and hurried climb up to see baby tortoises back to ship feeling tired and wondering why we had done all that walking to see so little! Day 2 Pitt point told it was a diffult hike to see wildlife so opted for panga ride and saw a lot. Day 3 2 km over boulders definitely beyond both of us and no alternative so 4 stayed on ship and we visited the bridge. 

Library good and so was the doctor. My wife developed back trouble earlier on the trip and we are both active and reasonably fit but others confirmed we would have not managed well. Even the beach walks were hard in the sand! Did not feel that the naturalists were that concerned about our difficulties! Never felt safe on the panga although there was plenty of help getting on and off.  

The websites are misleading talking of easy walks. This is clearly untrue. On the final evening we saw photos of the cruise and we had missed a lot of wildlife. We did not visit the Charles Darwin centre on the final day which was disappointing as we have visited Down house and read a lot about him. It is clear that the Galapagos is only for the really fit and had we known this we would not have booked at all!

Disappointed

Filters

1-2 of 2