Reina Silvia Galapagos Cruise

Best Vacation Ever

We just returned from a trip on the Reina Silvia. It was one of the best vacations we have ever had. The crew was excellent in so many ways. My husband and I have a food allergy and they took great care to offer fabulous food that did not contain milk or cheese. The dinghy operator that took us out on the snorkeling trips always had a smile and was ever so helpful getting us in and out of the dinghy. But, what made the trip absolutely exceptional was our guide, Alejandro. His passion and knowledge of the islands was inspiring. At the beginning of the trip he quickly accessed the group and then gave us a trip of a lifetime. Most days we snorkeled twice a day and hiked twice a day. Every day far exceeded any expectations we had due to the crew and Alejandro's enthusiasm to share with us all that these beautiful islands had to offer.

TravelingJoy456, Lake Oswego, Oregon, 6th June 2017

Unforgettable Vacation Of A Lifetime

We are a couple who travelled around the Western islands of Galapagos on board the Reina Silvia in Nov 2016. This trip more than met our expectations and prompted us to write this review.

We bought our cruise just 4 days before embarking on it, having researched that prices go down nearer the date of the cruise. We secured a 50% discount though I believe it's possible to get an even better rate shopping really last minute in Quito.

As for the cruise itself, we were lucky to have a total of only 8 passengers on the Reina Silvia, a boat that usually accommodates 12. We were always well looked after - cold towels after our land trips, snacks and refreshments, free flow of soft drinks, tea and coffee, and beer! Our rooms were made up twice a day. Very impressive since there was only one person in charge of this: Ronald did a brilliant job, and also mixed the best cocktails. The rest of the crew were efficient and friendly. The chef must also be commended. One of us is pescaterian and there was always something suitable prepared. Great pains were clearly put into presentation, and the food was hearty and wholesome - I'm still not sure how they managed to whip up 3 course meals in that space.

We stayed on the lower deck which was comfortable and spacious compared to other boats. The Reina Silvia is not the newest of boats, but it has been extremely well maintained and is very clean. It has a retro vibe with lots of wood trim and warm lighting. Staterooms on the upper deck come with windows ; while on the lower deck we got portholes which was more than sufficient. There is a small library of Galapagos-related books which we browsed in-between activities. The Reina Silvia also has a long bow which we found handy on the days we observed Orcas and Dolphins!

The highlight was the activities. We felt that the Reina Silvia's Western itinerary was good because it included Fernandina, the only place we could observe marine iguanas and flightless cormorants in the water while snorkelling. We had 2 land tours and at least one snorkel every day. Walks were between one to three km long and snorkel sessions were an hour each, which was just nice. The activities were interspersed with a siesta to help recuperate between activities. For a relatively active couple, this was perfect. There was no time to be bored, although on one of the days, we had a longer siesta. We appreciated that as it gave us time to relax and reflect on what we had experienced so far.

The wildlife was amazing. We were greeted by at least one different animal everyday. We snorkelled with penguins, sea lions, turtles, rays, fur seals, galapagos sharks, flightless cormorants, marine iguanas (as mentioned of the highlights of this itinerary was that it brought us to Fernandina where we could swim with marine iguanas. Not many itineraries offered this), reef fish, even a mola-mola, just to name a few. On our walks, we came across lots of sea lions, land iguanas, tortoises, blue footed boobies, frigates, finches, mockingbirds, and many more. We also saw a pod of orcas from our boat at Canal Bolivar near the northern tip of Isabella, on 2 consecutive days - it was one of the most awe-inspiring moments. The crew was also great at pointing out wild life from the boat, and would accommodate us by stopping or going to where the action is. We had common dolphins and bottle-nose dolphins come right next to the boat a couple of times.

We had not fully appreciated how important the guide is despite reading similar comments on this forum before, so it was fortunate that we got Jan Post as our guide. Knowledgeable and patient, he answered our questions (even the most inane ones!) and kept us enthralled by his descriptions of the animals' behaviors. The Galapagos Islands attract people who are interested in wildlife and in the concept of evolution, and Jan shared lots of information in that respect. He also gave talks spanning geology, the Coriolis effect, and Darwin's life, all of which we appreciated. His easygoing demeanour and fascination with the animals (despite probably having repeated the same information hundreds of times before) helped stoke our own enthusiasm as well.

Tips were suggested for the 7-man crew as $150-$180 and $60-$80 for the guide. This was far above the tipping range others have mentioned on this forum and definitely impacted our budget, but we followed the guideline believing that the crew deserved it.

Overall the cost of our Galapagos holiday was high but at least the experience turned out to be commensurate with the price - we got what we paid for! Our cruise turned out to be a magical experience and probably the best vacation we have taken so far.

Muggsy0200, Singapore, 17th January 2017

Thank You Very Much For An Unforgettable Vacation

Dear Galapatours team,

Now it's more than a week when we returned from the cruise on Reina Silvia. We got some time to get the impressions from the trip settled a little bit.

We want to thank you, for this super trip. The Reina Silvia, the Crew the guide, everything was matching or exceeding our expectations. On top of this the support before and after the trip on the airport Quito helped us a lot.

To say it in one word. We are absolutely satisfied and will recommend the service of your company and the ship to fellow travelers.

Dirk Pötzsch, 16th December 2016