Grand Queen Beatriz

Trip Report: Queen Beatriz

ITINERARY: Quito - Baltra - Santa Cruz - Isabella - Floreana - Santa Cruz (Puerto Ayora) - Espanola - San Cristobal (Punta Pitt, Kicker Rock, Isla los Lobos, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno) - Quito.

THE EXCURSIONS: Honestly, with the exception of the handover days, the excursions were, hands down, stellar. Intrepid/Peregrine seem to run a 14-day cycle, with stops in either San Cristobal or Santa Cruz every 4 days (to accommodate those people on a "five-day" tour). On those days, you're shuttled through yet another tortoise breeding center, and left with free time to "explore". In Puerto Ayora, that free time is quite nice. On San Cristobal, it was boring as heck.

Every other excursion was great. We got lucky and saw pretty much every single creature you're supposed to see on the Galapagos with the exception of hammerheads. Most days, you're doing three or four things (sometimes more)...often two snorkels and two land-based treks. Nothing is physically strenuous--in fact, you almost wish for more (especially given how much you're eating). It takes 2 hours, sometimes, to walk 3/4 of a kilometer. That said, it's often because you're watching frigate birds steal food from a tropicbird, red-footed boobies watching their eggs.

Be prepared that the southern ocean is actually quite cold. The boat provides wet suits, snorkels, masks, and fins, and most of us needed the wet suits. All of the equipment was in good condition (though some of the wet suits looked a little old).

THE BOAT: Incredible. I'm not sure why, but I didn't expect how well-run everything was. The crew worked constantly. Our room was cleaned twice a day. There were fresh towels in our room almost always, and fresh towels any time we finished snorkeling. The boat was super clean. It had just been out of service for a month to be refurbished, so all the public spaces felt very new.

THE SAILS and SEASICKNESS: The long sails happen at night (one of the benefits of being on a boat-based tour...This saves a lot of time and lets you do a lot more). As for seasickness: Let's be honest. You're on a small catamaran in the middle of the ocean. The "gentle" sails are still rough unless this is something you're used to. And the rough sails--essentially anything heading south, as well as the sail from Espanola to San Cristobal--are tough. We had scopolamine patches, which I'd highly recommend. They, plus some ginger pills, worked like a charm on all but the roughest of sails.

THE FOOD: Also incredible. There are two (!!) chefs on the boat, and they seem to be constantly whipping up something. You have three very full meals a day, plus two snacks. Fresh fruits and vegetables every day, and on New Year's Eve, we had a full turkey, carved tableside. Also, the barman makes a mean caipirinha.

Source: https://bit.ly/2UzjsER

Enokimushroom - New York City, 17th July 2018

The Wonderful Grand Queen Beatriz

The boat was immediately fantastic, and continued to be for the entire trip... I'll just go through the boat amenities first and then the itinerary...

The boat: very nice...clean, modern and spacious. 3decks.. 2bars... A hot tub (which no one used) ...etc etc...definitely luxury compared to some others I saw. Really... The common spaces were incredibly comfortable and clean. The dining area had 2 large family style tables and a large buffet as well as a coffee and tea station which was always available. All meals were served inside which I didn't like at first but totally understood after a day of watching one of the crew members hauling plates in and out of the kitchen.

The bedrooms were very large and clean....and cleaned frequently. I dont know how they managed to sneak in and clean so much, but everything always felt fresh. We had a room with a private balcony that was next to the kitchen... Noise from anything other than the motor was not an issue at all. The bathroom was small and no, you can't throw toilet paper in the toilets but they cleaned and changed the trash so much it was a non-issue.

The food....very good. A first, I tried to eat a little of everything. That was a mistake because there really was a LOT of food! Too much for me... I'm not used to eating three large meals a day. The selection was really good so you could just have some fruit and yoghurt for breakfast or a hot, big meal. Lunch and breakfast were buffet, dinner was plated... There was a lot of fish and meats in between. I'm allergic to shrimp, which wasn't a problem for them. There was another woman on the boat with serious dietary restriction.... Also, not a problem. Snacks, water, tea and coffee were always available.

The crew members were really sweet... I speak some semi intermediate spanish which helped engage some of the guys.... Only the boat director and the nature guide spoke fluent English.. The others couldn't speak English which was fine with me... The guys who drove us on the dinghies from the boat to the islands were fun and still interacted with the non Spanish speakers quite a bit which some people really enjoyed. The only female staff member, Jessica, was really such a lovely girl who tended the bar and served all the meals... She was especially sweet and tried so hard to accommodate everyone's needs.

Day to day activities.... 2 landings on islands per day and snorkeling in between. Some days had 2 opportunities to snorkel which i rally loved. Wetsuits and snorkel gear were included In The price. I wore a wetsuit one day and regretted it because the water was beautiful and I prefer to swim without one.

None of the walks on the islands were hard....the terrain was rocky and uneven, but nothing was particularly strenuous for anyone in our group. It was hot, but I didn't find myself to be winded even once during the week. Unless you need ankle support, leave your hiking boots at home! I wore merrell sandals the entire trip... I never wore a pair of socks. This was totally fine for me. Sneakers would be fine, but heavy boots are a no...more bathing suits..less footwear! You can't even wear shoes on the boat... Leave them at home...

Walter, our guide, was unbelievable. He grew up on the island of Santa Cruz and had so many interesting things to talk about. To be honest, I really wasn't expecting to get into all the birding...I absolutely love animals, I just thought I'd rather spend a week immersed in culture. Walter proved me wrong! He was so compelling, interested in what he was talking about....interested in us....patient for photos...even taking his own! We never felt rushed ...in fact, his pace, tone and delivery were quite relaxing. I think everyone on the boat thought the world of him as our guide for the week.

My fathers favorite part about Walter was his nightly briefings about the next days activities. He'd prepare us for the next itinerary and make us go around the room and name our favorite experience of the day. This gave us a chance to reflect and hear others' experiences. It was a really nice way to keep people involved and talking about the wildlife and the landscape.

We did a couple of long sails at night, so sleeping wasn't perfect but hey, it's a boat! We seemed to visit some great spots and although we didn't hit up Isabella or fernandina, we got a great sample of some incredible animals on land and under water. It was s good itinerary for what we needed...an overview.

We did pick up new passengers mid way through. I loved both groups, but it would have been nice to have the same group foe the whole time. I enjoyed the time in puerto ayora and almost wished an option to stay in town for dinner was given...seeing the giant tortoises in the wild was really neat..so the Santa Cruz day was well worth it! Some other comments questioned that piece about picking up passengers.....we didn't really even notice because our day was packed with other activities.

Source: https://bit.ly/2CiD1KF

Lovintheworld17 - Boston, MA, 11th March 2018