National Geographic Endeavour II Galapagos Kreuzfahrt

Trip Of A Lifetime

Fabulous trip on Endeavour II with National Geographic. Great naturalists, excellent food, lots of activities. Ship holds about 96 passengers - nice size. But some random travel pointers for those of you who like tips:
Get a room on the 3rd floor -- you're closer to the lounge and the doorway/platform for loading people onto zodiacs (the little boats), and you're in between the dining room (below) and the library (above). The ship provides water bottles and continual fresh water. Be prepared to get up early every day (including the day you arrive to get on the ship) -- activities are typically early morning and late afternoon.
The ship is very air-conditioned; you'll want long sleeves or sweaters inside. For outside, expect to wear a lot of sunscreen or long sleeve shirts even if it's hot. I didn't use my sleeveless shirts at all, and everyone wore long pants most of the time.
The guides help you get in and out of zodiacs, but getting off a zodiac onto an island can be tricky. If you don't have the best balance, be sure to ask for a lot of help. If you're told the walk is not on a level surface, the ship has walking sticks - grab one for support.
Even though it felt like I was bringing a lot of shoes, I found that having water shoes, flip flops, waterproof sandals like Tevas, and sneakers was helpful.
For those who aren't trying for professional photographs, our point-and-click camera was dandy, and the Droid and I-phone pics were fine too. (You can get very close to most animals.) The ship offers a lot of snorkeling, so if you love fish, bring a little waterproof camera. The ship provides a slide show/video of what you saw (or might have missed) at the end of the trip that's quite nice.
On our trip, the group was mostly couples, average age was 60-65, with maybe 6 people under 40. If you go as a couple, it's easy to do separate activities (say, one of you wants to do deep sea snorkeling and the other wants to just swim or snorkel a little from the beach).

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Peter D From Cambridge, 12th December 2018

Greatest Cruise Ever

I just got back from the Galapagos with my family (National Geographic Endeavor) and can't stop thinking about our trip! Photos and reviews are nothing like being there. It's impossible to review the experience with words. One thing I will say, as we were leaving to come home, my (15 year old) daughter said "This vacation was so different from the others we have taken. All of our trips to different beaches are now blending together in my mind - it's difficult to remember what we did in Turks & Caicos, versus Grand Cayman, Bermuda, the Bahamas, etc. For the most part, we just sat on different beaches, went snorkeling and swam at the hotel pools. This trips was SO different, and I will never forget it. This was the best vacation!!"

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Lynn L From New Jersey, 15th August 2018