East to West Galápagos

Amazing experience aboard the Calipso My wife and I recently returned from the Calipso Naturalist cruise Jan. 30 - Feb. 6, 2020. We reserved well before this rebuilt boat had sailed, because we were attracted by the diverse itinerary of 10 islands. The boat has a capacity of 16 passengers though only 12 were on this cruise. The age range was from 12-70 (we were the 70) and everything in between. We wanted a small boat experience. Overall, the cruise exceeded our expectations. We were met by cruise staff in Guayaquil and San Cristobal who helped with check in and transfers in both places. The crew was wonderful-friendly, helpful and always safety-conscious. Since all of the landings (wet or dry) are by dinghy, as were all of the snorkeling trips, getting up and down, in and out safely was a regular issue. Our naturalist guide, Martin, was extremely well informed and no question was too silly or insignificant. The cabins were of good size for a small boat as were the bathrooms. Unfortunately, as a smaller craft, when seas got even slightly choppy, the boat rocked or bobbed. We did use sea sickness meds on two occasions but it was never really a problem. Most of the time, seas were calm. Food was quite good and varied, served buffet style. Lots of fresh salads and delicious fruits, as well as freshly-squeezed juices. Seafood, chicken and various meats for the main meals. There is a small bar and drinks aside from pure water cost extra. Except for one beer drinker, our group did not use the bar! The Galápagos is, of course, iconic and we loved the animals and the often stark landscapes. The itinerary allowed us to experience a wide variety of all of them. The snorkeling was really good and the water pretty clear in February. The boat provided equipment including wet suits and floatation vests at no cost. Overall, we thought the trip was moderately strenuous and could be managed by anyone in reasonably good physical condition however those with physical issues should consider a different boat Overall, we give this boat a high rating for what it offers at a reasonable (for the Galápagos) price point. Source: TripAdvisor

Calipso Cruise My husband and I were on the maiden voyage on Calipso August 8-14, 2019. We were in Ecuador for 9 days prior to boarding the ship. We had an awesome time. The boat was brand new (refurbished) and they were still unpacking. The crew was very nice. Two main dive guides at the time. One was excellent the other was safe and all but did not know how to interact with the passengers and was not as good as pointing out sea life as well as the other. He was knowledgeable but lacked in people skills. I reviewed him on their site after our trip. The food was great. Our room was fine. The diving at Wolf and Darwin were the best dives of our lives. The ship was comfortable. I would not hesitate to tell you to check out Calipso. Now that is from my trip in August 2019, I would hope that they have kept up this level of service or have been growing as any new organization would. We had a great group of people on our boat. I believe everyone was very happy. This review is short and sweat, I’m fussy about my dive trips, bottom line, they were fine on the first ever trip with real paying customers in the Galapagos. Source: TripAdvisor