Samba Galapagos Cruise

JAY EDINGER

Samba Galapagos Cruise

Classic

The only way to describe my trip is "trip of a lifetime". I was able to snorkel and interact with Seals, Sea lions, Penguins, Sea turtles, Marine iguanas and many other animals. My trip on the Samba was a dream come true. Since the boat is small enough, we were able to turn around a chase after dolphins and blue whales. Larger boats have a hard time doing that. I couldn't have asked for a better crew to guide me through the Galapagos Islands. Our nature guide, Morris, was extremely knowledgeable with the history and the wildlife of the area. He grew up in the Galapagos before leaving for college. The food and service on the boat was spectacular. I also want to call out the travel agency for their hard work in making this trip go so smoothly.

Juan war ein unglaublicher Guide und die Samba ist ein großartiges Schiff Wir hatten eine tolle Zeit auf den Galapagos Inseln, danke für die Organisation und die Betreuung. Juan war ein unglaublicher Guide - es war nie zu hektisch. Jeder Inselbesuch war ein Highlight. Nochmal vielen Dank - wir werden euch und den tollen Service weiterempfehlen an andere Ecuador Abenteurer!

Cannot say enough good things My husband, teenage daughter and I travelled on the Samba North West trip in August. I cannot say enough good things. Our guide, Jan Post, was not only extremely knowledgeable, but able to keep everyone happy. His talks on physics of flight, ocean currents, geology and volcanic activity, Darwin were fascinating and kept everyone interested. Accounts of historical scandals were entertaining as well. The crew is so friendly and caring. It is impossible to see how the chef can prepare the variety of delicious dishes in the kitchen. Meals are terrific. All your equipment needs are met: snorkels, fins, masks, wetsuits, towels to dry your feet. They think of everything. Of course, the reason you go is the wildlife, and the opportunity to see wildlife on land and in the water is incredible. You are swimming with sea lions and turtles, lots of turtles. You are standing in arms reach of nesting frigates and watching blue footed boobies court and mate 7 feet away. You walk across a lava flow and there are 3 spectacular flamingos in a small pond. You can watch flightless cormorants dive and hunt for fish a few feet from your snorkel, and see eagle rays, parrot fish, etc. Watching a flock of boobies herd small fish, and then plunge dive to catch them. Feedback from: https://goo.gl/YJzgpb

It was amazing! Just got back from a 8 day trip on Samba (North & West itinerary), it was amazing! Best trip ever (except for the boat rocking and some sea sickness!- but this is to be expected). This boat is small and is able to travel to some places that most 1-week cruises do not. It goes to Genovesa, Marchena (the only non-diving boat to do so!!), Fernandina (which is also not a usual stop), Isabella in a few locations, and then down to Floreana before returning to Santa Cruz. We saw every animal we wanted to! Feedback from: https://goo.gl/YJzgpb

Spectacular My girlfriend and I spent 8 days on the Samba in November and it was absolutely spectacular. Amazing ship, amazing crew, amazing guide and amazing itinerary. 1. The Ship: The ship itself is about 40 years old, originally designed as a fishing boat in Holland then later turned into a private yacht and finally into a cruise ship in the Galapagos. It's not the biggest boat out there by far, but it's big enough. We found our room a bit small, but there were huge drawers under the bed to store all our stuff and the crew was willing to stow any unneeded luggage in one of their many hidden compartments. Our room might have been slightly smaller though because we were at the front of the boat where it starts to narrow. However, we didn’t spend much time in our room so it wasn’t an issue. Every room had a private toilet, shower and sink, and we never had any problems with the plumbing or hot water. For a boat, especially this size, the accommodations were great. The public areas on the boat consist of the dining room (also where the daily briefings were held), two decks out back and a large deck on the front with benches and reclining chairs. Most of the long sailing trips were done at night and you knew it. Rooms at the back are fairly loud since they're right next to the engine room. At the front, you feel the full force of the sea and get thrown about in the waves. The boat is small and moves a lot! Both of us got a bit seasick, but I would say the rest of the benefits more than made up for it (but I would bring seasickness medication even if you don't usually get seasick). My girlfriend felt really bad a few times, but she keeps saying how she would do it all again in a heartbeat if she could. Also, once you are lying down, the motion wasn’t nearly as bad, and most people found that their seasickness went away (if not immediately, it got better after the first sail for sure). 2. The guide: Our guide was Juan Salcedo. Before booking our cruise, we looked at what others had to say about him and were sold. Let me just say that he is just as good (if not better) than what the reviews say about him. Very knowledgeable about the history, plants and wildlife and speaks fluent English. He speaks with what I considered to be a very slight accent, but I don't think there was a word he said that I couldn’t understand during the trip. After listening to him talk for a while, you can tell he has a great understanding of English based on the vocabulary he chooses. Juan is very passionate about his job and ensuring every passenger gets the full Galapagos experience. He is committed to making sure you are the first guests on the island each day and the last ones off (I think there was only once where another ship reached shore before us). We watched many times as other ships arrived after us and left before us. When you're with Juan, you spend a significant amount of time just watching the wildlife to the point that you begin to blend in and the animals come right up to you. 3. The itinerary: As mentioned in pembaben's reply, the Galapagos National Park has changed its rules regarding how frequently ships can visit the same sites and the Samba will now be running two itineraries, one visiting the Southern and Western islands while the other does the Eastern and Northern islands. My itinerary was very similar to their new South and West trip. We saw essentially everything we went to see and then some: turtles, tortoises, blue-footed boobies, albatrosses, flightless cormorants, sea lions, sharks, penguins, pelicans, and the list goes on. The only thing I can think of that we couldn’t see were the red-footed boobie. The itineraries are designed to truly show you as much as they possibly can. Feedback from: https://goo.gl/3wUZxs

Samba I was on a 7 night trip on the Samba in January 2010 and had a fabulous time - excellent itinerary, food, crew, guide, etc. I can highly recommend it. However, the cabins are very small (although you spend very little time there) and those prone to motion sickness need to be aware of the fact that this boat is not as stable as some of the newer catamarans, or larger boats. Feedback from: https://goo.gl/3wUZxs