That’s part of the plan for a new cruise development in Freeport on Grand Bahama Island. MSC Cruises is working on a project that could completely change the port experience, with plans for an inverted coaster, a water coaster, and a variety of other attractions.

And the coasters are only part of the story. The plans also include a water park, swimming pools, splash pads, fountain entertainment, restaurants, bars, and shopping.

These are just a few of the things mentioned in a recent Environmental Impact Assessment report for the site, revised and released two weeks ago. Tucked into those documents are attraction masterplans and concept sheets that give us a much closer look at what MSC has in mind.

What Is MSC Building in Freeport?

The new Freeport Cruise Terminal is planned for Billy Cay, a 54-acre site of reclaimed land within Freeport Harbour. MSC Cruises and Freeport Cruise Terminal Ltd. have proposed a $400 million development that can accommodate up to four ships at once, along with a new district for dining, shopping, entertainment, and attractions.

The proposed layout calls for three berths along the northern side and a fourth on the western side, potentially accommodating four ships simultaneously. The final number and configuration of berths will depend on further engineering studies.

The northern berths are intended to accommodate some of the world’s largest cruise ships. Interestingly, the engineering study specifically references Royal Caribbean’s Oasis- and Icon-class ships as design examples, rather than MSC’s own World-class ships.

The western berth would accommodate smaller ships. The study illustrates possible docking arrangements for MSC Seaside and Carnival’s Dream-class ships, although those examples are used for planning and do not establish that Carnival or Royal Caribbean will call at the terminal.

For cruise passengers, the plans point to a port with plenty to do close to the ship. The proposal includes restaurants, bars, food stands, a local vendors market, and a transportation hub offering connections by land and water.

Preliminary estimates allocate approximately 8 acres to the attraction park and 14.8 acres to the retail, dining, and entertainment district.

Billy Cay Is Not an MSC Private Destination

Billy Cay won’t be another private destination like MSC’s Ocean Cay or Royal Caribbean’s Perfect day at CocoCay. Although MSC is behind the project, the terminal is intended to serve multiple cruise operators. Both the environmental assessment and the government’s January announcement describe a facility for multiple users.

Billy Cay’s terminal and attraction park are separate from MSC Beach Club, which MSC is developing on a 20-acre beachfront portion of the Grand Lucayan Resort in Lucaya. That beach club is planned for MSC Cruises and Explora Journeys guests, while the Billy Cay terminal is intended to serve multiple cruise lines.

Two Coasters Are in the Plans

The most attention-grabbing details appear in the illustrated attraction masterplans. The fourth drawing labels two proposed rides that caught our attention: an inverted coaster and a water coaster.

An inverted coaster would be a first for a cruise ship destination. And while some private islands have water coasters in their water parks, this would be the first cruise port to have a stand-alone water coaster at a cruise terminal.

The actual coaster models haven’t been selected yet. The drawings show the proposed layout, but they also make it clear the plans are still preliminary and that manufacturers, ride models, heights, speeds, and prices have not been disclosed.

While the coasters are probably the most attention-grabbing part of the study, they’re the final step in a four-stage attraction plan, after other rides, dining, and entertainment.

A Water Park Is Also Planned

But they’re not building just a theme park. The preliminary site plan identifies a water park area, while the construction documents describe water slides, swimming pools, water features, splash pads, and aquatic play facilities.

Concept landscape sheets call the water park area Paradise Waters. They describe lush tropical landscaping around the water slides and water features, with the sheets stamped “Future Phase.”

One detail gives a sense of the size of water facilities being considered: the assessment estimates that 3-5 million gallons of water would be needed to initially fill the pools and water park attractions. For perspective, that’s enough water to fill roughly five to eight Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The documents do not give the water park its own opening date or explicitly tie it to one of the four illustrated attraction stages.

How the Attractions Could Roll Out

The four masterplans offer a useful look at how the destination could develop over time.

Stage One: A Promenade and the First Rides

The first drawing calls for a shaded promenade, arrival gateways, the main pedestrian pathway, and roughly 50% of the buildings. Its initial rides include a carousel and two other rides: Wave Swinger and Twist & Splash.

Wave Swinger likely refers to the popular swing attraction manufactured by Zierer. It’s a classic boardwalk attraction found at many theme parks around the world.

Twist & Splash is likely a ride by Mack Rides and a bit more unique. The manufacturer describes the ride as an interactive water ride with boats, water cannons, and family-friendly fun.

The report notes that the rides depend on procurement timing.

Stage Two: Fountain Entertainment and More Rides

The second stage adds a few more attractions.

The map shows Big Wavez, a drop-tower ride by Zamperla Rides that lifts guests 50 feet into the air before dropping them, creating a huge wave at the bottom that splashes nearby guests.

It also shows a swinging boat ride. You’ve probably seen these at many theme parks as well. They’re typically themed as pirate ships and swing back and forth, taking guests 60 feet or higher into the air.

A new section labeled “Fountain Spectacular” also appears in this phase. The drawing shows a large circular fountain feature and also labels a fountain maze.

At this point, the plan calls for 80% of the retail offerings and 50% of the food and beverage offerings.

Stage Three: More Places to Eat, Drink, and Play

The third drawing shows a mirror maze and venues labeled Pool Bar and Splash Bar. According to the drawings, 100% of the food and beverage offerings would be open at this stage, and the rides would be operational, although the coasters would come later.

Stage Four: The Coasters Arrive

The fourth drawing adds the inverted coaster and water coaster, with a caption stating that the signature coasters would be operational.

Why Freeport Needs a Fresh Look

It’s easy to see why some cruisers push back against destinations that feel more like theme parks. But Freeport is also a place where an investment in the guest experience could make a real difference.

The current harbor’s industrial setting is part of the challenge. If you’ve sailed to Freeport in the past, you’ve seen that the waterfront is filled with cranes, warehouses, container yards, and dry docks. That is a very different first impression from stepping off a ship into a beach resort, and MSC’s plans would add more dining, entertainment, and attractions right at the terminal.

There’s also not a ton to do in the immediate area in terms of activities and excursions. How do you get guests excited about a cruise to a port when you can’t point to great experiences they shouldn’t miss?

Improving the Bahamas Experience for Cruisers

Concerns about the experience in Freeport, and the Bahamas in general, are not new. In an April 2023 interview with The Tribune, former Bahamian Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar called for new excursions and activities, saying, “Freeport is the worst and Nassau is three from the bottom” when discussing cruise-port rankings.

Royal Caribbean’s Michael Bayley raised a similar concern about Nassau that month. He said Nassau ranked in the bottom 10% for guest satisfaction, explaining, “They’ve come here many times before and there’s nothing new, fresh or innovative.”

While his comments concerned Nassau, they highlight the broader challenge of giving repeat visitors something different to do. Other cruise lines have already taken steps to address that challenge. Royal Caribbean launched Royal Beach Club Paradise Island, its private, extra-fee beach club directly across from the cruise port. According to comments on investor calls, this new initiative has been very successful.

Likewise, Carnival took a “build something” approach elsewhere on Grand Bahama. Just a 23-mile drive from this new complex, Celebration Key opened in July 2025 with freshwater lagoons, a beach, dining, shopping, and waterslides. It can now accommodate up to 4 Carnival Corporation ships and they’re working on a second phase of attractions.

MSC’s plans would bring a different mix of attractions to the harbor itself. Noticeably missing from the plans, though, is any kind of beach experience.

When Could MSC’s Freeport Development Open?

Billy Cay’s first phase should open in the second half of 2028.

The environmental assessment, which was revised October 9, 2026, outlines the following earlier construction schedule:

• January 2027: Planned construction start.
• September 2027: Target completion of the first berth and initial shoreside development.
• Mid-2028: Earlier target for phase-one completion.
• 2029: Target for full project completion.

But in an address this week, Prime Minister Philip Davis spoke about the separate MSC Beach Club at Grand Lucayan and said it is planned to open alongside Billy Cay’s first phase in November 2028.

Still Early Plans

It should be noted that these are still early plans. These documents are different from an official press release or marketing piece from MSC or Freeport. Plans may change based on the environmental assessment, budgets, or other factors, but overall, they show what’s being envisioned for this destination.

But the documents already paint a picture of a Freeport stop with far more to do at the terminal, from dining and fountain entertainment to water attractions and, eventually, two proposed coasters.

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Celebrity Flora Day 4 Overview

• Celebrity Flora Day 4 Schedule
• Breakfast in Seaside Restaurant
• Switching Excursions
• Top Deck of the Flora
• Wildlife Tender Ride at Punta Moreno
• How Our Ship Moves Talk
• Azteca Lunch Buffet in Seaside Restaurant
• Enrichment Presentation: Sea Life of the Galapagos Islands
• Short Walk at Urbina Bay
• Pool Time on Flora
• Next Cruise Presentation
• Excursion Briefing
• Dinner in the Seaside Restaurant
• Stargazing
• Late Night Entertainment

Celebrity Flora Day 4 Schedule

Breakfast in Seaside Restaurant

We returned to the Seaside Restaurant for breakfast around 7:30 AM. Like the previous days, it was peaceful and quiet, with the restaurant maybe only 1/3 full. With the sun pouring in through the large windows and the calm morning atmosphere, it was always a great way to start the day.

The breakfast options were still similar to the previous day. Unlike on a normal cruise, I was always careful not to overeat for breakfast because it’d feel awful to have to hike while stuffed full of bacon, pancakes, hash browns, and pastries (also, there are no bathrooms on the islands).

Switching Excursions

Originally, I signed up for the “Long, Uneven Lava Rock Walk,” which was a 2-mile walk across rough lava.

But last night, I wasn’t feeling great, and today, while I felt better, I still wasn’t at 100%. I didn’t want to miss out on any stop on this vacation, though, so I went to the Discovery Lounge and asked a naturalist if I could switch to the “Wildlife Tender Option.” They were really accommodating and let me switch. Usually, as long as the tender had room, switching wasn’t too much of an issue.

The tender ride I signed up for was the third option, so it wasn’t leaving for another 45 minutes. I was going to go back to my cabin, but the cabin steward was already cleaning the room, so I used the time to explore the top decks some more.

Top Deck of the Flora

The top decks on Flora were really the perfect place to take in the beauty of the islands. I hadn’t spent much time here yet because we were always busy on the islands, attending presentations, or showering and getting ready for the next excursion.

This morning gave me the perfect opportunity to check out these areas, though. The air was crisp and cool, which helped offset the powerful equatorial sun beating down on the deck. In the distance, you could see the islands rising out of the water. The ship usually stayed about a 15-20 minute tender ride from shore, so things were close, but never “very close.”

The back of the ship had a lot of comfortable chairs, tables, and sun loungers all over the deck. It felt similar what you’re see in The Retreat areas on other Celebrity ships.

I also really have to give Celebrity credit here for the design of the hot tub. Most hot tubs on ships are sunken down into the deck, or sometimes you’ll find an infinity hot tub looking over the side of the ship. In this case, the hot tub was actually raised. And because it was higher than the railings around the top deck, it gave you unobstructed 360-degree views while in the hot tub. Such a smart move. And while it looked kind of small, this hot tub could hold 12 people (I never saw more than 4 people in it at once).

At the front of the top deck was The Observatory, right above the bridge. It kind of reminded me of the Observation Lounge on Norwegian’s Prima Class ships, with comfy chairs, tables, and a selection of board games and books (although there was no bar in here). The panoramic windows offered such impressive views, and the powerful air conditioning kept the room cool despite the direct sun. Because this was such a busy cruise, I doubt this space got much use, but it did remind me how much I love these types of lounges (Celebrity got rid of the front-facing lounges for general guests with their Edge Class ships).

Wildlife Tender Ride at Punta Moreno

At 8:30, I headed down to the Discovery Lounge to check in for my excursion. I was always early for everything on this ship because it was so small. I was so used to giving myself 5-10 minutes to get around a cruise ship, but on Flora, I could easily make it from one side of the top deck to the other side of the lowest deck in 2 minutes.

The Wildlife Tender Ride was the least popular of all the excursions offered today. They were only running two tenders for it. Since the tender would be the whole experience, not just transportation to the activity, they said they usually try to have fewer than 10 people per tender to give everyone space to move around. I was assigned to the first tender, which only had 9 people.

Honestly, I was kind of bummed about the excursion. I really wished I felt good enough to do the hike. Sitting on a boat and zipping around rocks seemed like it’d be boring to me. But I thought it’d be better to take it easy than push myself too hard and ruin the rest of the cruise.

We put on our life jackets and immediately headed out. It was a beautiful day, but the sun was strong, so I opted for a long-sleeve sun shirt and long pants to avoid having to put on another coating of sunscreen so early. It also helped because there were some splashes from the ocean during the ride.

Our guide, Ivon, and driver, Darwin, took us into the shallows along the black volcanic rock to see wildlife up close.

How close can you get to the sea life while on a boat? Plenty, actually. Darwin would actually jam on the throttle and get the tender right up onto the rocks themselves. At some points, we were just 8 feet away from the wildlife. I didn’t expect that at all.

The shallows were filled with animals, and Darwin and Ivon were constantly looking around and zipping over to interesting sights.

We spotted a penguin posing on top of a pile of rocks. Ivon explained that, unlike in the south, you’ll see most penguins here by themselves or with just one partner because they don’t need body heat to survive the moderate weather here.

Along another set of rocks, we saw twenty or thirty dark marine iguanas sunning themselves to warm up since it was still early in the day. It was amazing watching them seamlessly slip into the water, moving like crocodiles with their tails propelling them, and then slipping right back onto land. Right next to them were vibrant red crabs along the rocks. It’s funny, they were the only animals that reacted to us. They’d always scatter if you got near, but the rest would just ignore us completely.

Further away, we saw a blue-footed booby perched atop a mound of rocks. The dark rocks made the bird’s blue feet seem even more vibrant and surreal. Ivon let us all move around and take turns at the top of the tender’s stairs to take better pictures and get a photo with the bird. The booby almost seemed to be posing.

Across the way, we saw a sea lion on top of the rocks, throwing an octopus in the air. Apparently, sometimes sea lions like to play with their food. Over and over again, he was throwing it a few feet into the air and then catching it, as if to show off to everyone.

Overall, the excursion was an hour and 15 minutes and far exceeded my expectations. I got just as close to the wildlife as I had on any hike, and it felt adventurous navigating through the shallows filled with wildlife.

How Our Ship Moves Talk

I got back onboard, again welcomed by the pan flute and some fresh snacks.

Since I was wearing sun-protection shirts and pants, it was the first time on this cruise I didn’t have to shower after the first excursion. It was actually kind of nice.

Tip: Long-sleeve sun shirts and pants are helpful if you don’t want to burn. You don’t have to spend a fortune. I purchased a few of these from Amazon, and they worked great, both in the water and on land. They weren’t too clingy, which is what I usually hate about those kinds of shirts.

At 11:15, we went down to the Discovery Lounge for a talk called “How Our Ship Moves.” The talk was well attended; I counted about 50 people there, roughly half the ship. They had fresh cookies waiting for us as we arrived, and waiters circulated throughout the room for drink orders.

Hotel Director Lauren kicked off the presentation and introduced two of the marine officers who would tell us all about Flora and what makes it unique. The staff who do these talks trade off all the time, so you could tell both were nervous about giving technical presentations to guests in their second language, but they really were quite interesting.

Lorena Balarezo was in charge of both navigation and security, positions usually held by several people on larger ships. She explained that since Flora was built specifically for the Galapagos and designed to have as little effect on the environment as possible, it had a unique dynamic positioning system that would allow it to stay in place without an anchor.

While anchors are handy and do have to be used in some ports or conditions, they damage the seabed below and can affect sea life. Instead, Flora can use a system that’s almost like GPS, along with bow thrusters and azipods, to stay in the same spot as guests zip off the ship and head to the islands. Flora is one of only two ships in the Galapagos with that system (Silver Sea origin has it as well).

She also explained that due to an earthquake in Colombia on the second day of this cruise, it was difficult to position the ship, so on this sailing, we did have to anchor a few times.

One of the engineers, Francisco Ubilla, also came on to talk about the ship’s systems. Like most other cruise ships, Flora makes its drinking water from seawater using reverse osmosis, but they make 100% of it (Royal Caribbean’s new Icon Class makes only 93% of its own water).

They also explained something I didn’t understand: the dedicated water refill taps in the cabins. Water in the bathroom of every cruise ship is safe to drink, so why does Celebrity Flora have a dedicated filtered water tap for bottles? It’s because they use a charcoal filter to take out the chlorine taste.

He also talked about fuel. They said Flora uses 10,000 gallons of marine gas per week, which is less than a ship this size would usually use due to the environmental protections and efficiencies they put in place. For example, that roof on the top deck where the Ocean Grill is that shades us? Mounted on top is a 15 kW solar array that can power part of the grill station.

They also talked about the tenders. Flora has two built-in garages that hold the six tenders onboard. They get loaded in and are held in hammocks down on Deck 3. If you go to the guest services area, they have windows so you can look into the garages.

Overall, it was a really enlightening talk, and I definitely recommend it if you care about the “how-to” of cruise ships.

Azteca Lunch Buffet in Seaside Restaurant

Today’s buffet lunch had an “Azteca” theme, which wasn’t a type of cuisine I’d ever heard of before. It was mostly Latin-inspired flavors, with dishes like beef arrachera and Azteca-style chicken. There were a lot of roasted meats and veggies with flavorful sauces. It was a nice chance to try food I’d never had before.

Enrichment Presentation: Sea Life of the Galapagos Islands

After lunch, we headed to the Discovery Lounge for a presentation called “Sea Life of the Galapagos Islands.” Led by one of the naturalists, the presentation took us through all the different creatures that are endemic to the Galapagos, meaning they are unique and can’t be found elsewhere in the world.

I continued to be impressed by how many people showed up to these talks. It shows that they really do have an interest in wildlife and the Galapagos. I counted about 40 people here, which is 40% of the ship.

Because this talk was halfway through the cruise, we had already seen a lot of these animals on our adventures. It was great to actually hear more about them, their proper names, and what made them special.

So far, we’d seen some marine iguanas, but we learned that they could get up to 4 feet long, and their noses were usually white because they sneeze out excess salt.

They also went over the differences between the land tortoises and sea turtles and which islands have which.

Short Walk at Urbina Bay

Our next excursion was a “Short Walk” at Urbina Bay. This was THE place to see land tortoises on our cruise. There was also an option to swim at the beach afterward, but we skipped that since we had already spent plenty of time in the water.

We arrived at the Discovery Lounge at 3:45 and checked in for our 4 PM excursion. This was a wet landing, meaning the tender would be pulling up right onto the black volcanic sand, and we’d get our feet wet. So I wore my aquatic hiking sandals again (see them on Amazon). They really did come in handy compared to people who either had to change their shoes once on land or wore aquatic socks that were awful on rough terrain.

We jumped off the tender and climbed up the black sand to take off our life vests. Then we headed into the thick, forest-like landscape of the island. It was so interesting how each island had a completely different feel.

This one was older, so it was filled with overgrown vegetation and trees. The marked pathways established and maintained by the national park service made it easy to walk around, though.

Within the first few minutes of our walk, we saw a large land tortoise hiding in an overgrowth of thick plants. He was so big, way bigger than any turtle or tortoise I’d seen before. Even though he was about 10 to 15 feet away, I was still excited to get to see him this close. But it turns out that was just the beginning.

Five minutes later, we encountered a bigger tortoise camped out on the main path. Without the brush covering him, you could really appreciate how magnificent these creatures were. Their shells were intricately textured, with rings on their plates, and their skin looked scaly, almost reptilian. The naturalist guessed that this one was probably 300 pounds, so big, but far from the biggest (they can get up to 500 pounds).

Because he was right on the path, we had to break the 6-foot safety rule to get past him. One by one, we quietly slipped by him as he slept on the path. Our naturalist let everyone take pictures behind him. The forced perspective of the photos makes it look like we’re really close, but in these cases, we were 6-8 feet away, as per the rules.

After the tortoise, we continued on our walk. We saw a lot of large land iguanas. These were different from the Christmas iguanas we saw a couple of days ago. Instead, they were much fatter and yellow-toned. Apparently, the color comes from their diet, which, on this island specifically, consists of a lot of yellow flowers. And because there are so many that are easy to access, these guys get pretty fat. They actually looked kind of cute.

Towards the end of our walk, we saw other tortoises in the brush, munching on some branches.

Overall, the walk was a little over a mile and took an hour and a half. I didn’t think we’d see so much wildlife on this “short walk,” but we were really lucky.

Pool Time on Flora

We got back on the ship around 5:45 and had some time to kill before the presentation. Since we skipped the “swim” part of the walk, we decided to check out the pool on Deck 4. With some downtime, we quickly switched into our bathing suits and jumped in.

The pool is small, holding only 8 people, but it’s perfect for a ship this size. In fact, it’s probably the least-used pool of any cruise ship in the world. Again, not because it isn’t good, but because you’re so busy.

Because of the high glass around it, it felt a bit less “in nature” than the hot tub upstairs, but you could still enjoy the views. As we sat, one of the bartenders from inside came out and offered us a drink, which I didn’t expect since the pool deck wasn’t used much. The water was cool and refreshing. While the walk wasn’t oppressively hot, it was a bit warm out, and it was nice to cool off a little.

Next Cruise Presentation

We ran back to the cabin, showered, and at 6:45, we headed to the Discovery Lounge again for the excursion briefing. Today’s drink of the day was the Pink Flamingo. I always find it odd that they don’t say what is actually in the drink, but since everyone has a drink package onboard, if you don’t like the drink, I guess you just don’t drink it.

We sat down, and a waitress came over, gave us a small bowl of mixed nuts, and took our drink order. Oddly, after 25 minutes, we still hadn’t gotten our drinks, so we ordered again when another waiter came around.

It was the third time this had happened on this sailing. You could tell the setup was hard for the staff. Nearly all 100 guests would show up at the Discovery Lounge within 20 minutes, and the staff had to take orders and bring all the drinks out as quickly as possible. They seemed to have a method, putting down napkins where orders were given, but then sometimes they would forget to actually bring the drinks.

It was probably the only complaint I’d have about service on the ship, and even then, it was relatively minor because I could always flag down someone else. You could tell it was just a lot to keep up with at once.

Before the briefing, there was a brief 15-minute next cruise presentation. Like on every other Celebrity ship, you could book your next cruise onboard and usually get some extra onboard credit. If you booked through a travel agent, you’d still get the extra credit, and the booking would still go directly to your travel agent, who would get full credit. In fact, that’s how we booked this sailing, when we were onboard Celebrity Reflection 6 months earlier (follow that here).

It wasn’t a hard sales presentation at all, but more of an awareness campaign. They asked who had sailed Celebrity before, and surprisingly, it was maybe only about 1/3 to 1/2 of the people. So they were making guests more aware of all the opportunities.

Because this cruise was destination-focused, they focused on that. They weren’t talking about Caribbean cruises here, but cruises to Japan, Egypt, Greece, and more. They also talked a lot about the upcoming Celebrity River ships, which were custom-built for the destinations, just like Flora.

Excursion Briefing

After the 15-minute talk, Expedition Director Gio came on and started to explain all the adventures we’d be able to pick from for tomorrow. You could actually do 4 different excursions, so we knew it’d be a jam-packed day.

While he was giving the presentation, I couldn’t help but notice one of Celebrity Flora’s biggest, and possibly only, design flaws: the large screen in the Discovery Lounge.

The video screen is impressive. Floor-to-ceiling, vibrant photos and videos are displayed throughout the day, and it’s used for all presentations. But the floor-to-ceiling format, combined with the flat floor of the Discovery Lounge, meant that only the first couple of rows of people could see the bottom third of the screen.

People in the middle and back would have to stand up to see what was on the bottom of the screen, and that space was used quite often. They had one TV screen that mirrored what was on the main monitor, but it was on the back wall, so you actually had to look backward to see it.

I’m sure it’s something they never realized would happen when designing the ship, and if they ever made a second one, it’d be an easy fix. But I’m surprised they didn’t just tell people not to put information on the bottom 1/3 of the screen when making their presentations.

As usual, Gio gave lots of good insights into the excursions for tomorrow. He really did a great job explaining what each would entail. But as one of the younger guests on the ship (i.e., in my 40s), I noticed a lot of it was geared toward telling older people what they could do, mentioning slick surfaces, rocks, and uneven pathways.

I’m sure that’s their usual audience, and it makes sense, but anytime I heard “strenuous,” I had to remember to put it in that context.

Dinner in the Seaside Restaurant

After we signed up for our excursions, we headed across the way to the Seaside Restaurant for dinner. The room was about 1/2 full as people were still signing up. It was funny, as the cruise went on, you saw more and more of the four-tops and larger tables being used as people met new friends onboard and would have dinner together.

I went a bit overboard with dinner tonight. I love a crab cake, so when I saw that as a starter, I had to get it. But that wasn’t the star. I also got the Potato & Cheese Soup, which was my favorite.

I was surprised how much I loved the soups on this trip. Ecuadorian cuisine just knows how to do soup well, I guess. It was a creamy, smooth soup with fresh cilantro, chunks of avocado, and cubes of cheese. It was really good.

For dinner, I opted for the pan-seared salmon, which was tasty.

For dessert, I got the Chiquita Napoleon, a “thousand-layer” cake with banana and a dark chocolate sauce. I continued to be impressed with the desserts on Flora. I always thought Celebrity had decent dessert offerings, but on Flora, they seemed notably better (to me at least).

As we were eating dinner, the captain and some of his officers came in and enjoyed dinner as well. It was nice seeing them among the passengers.

Celebrity really does one of the best jobs, in my experience, of making captains and senior staff visible and accessible to guests. And on a ship as small as Flora, it was even more noticeable, with the captain greeting guests coming back from excursions and giving private bridge tours to some groups.

Stargazing

After dinner, we headed up to Deck 8, the highest deck on the ship and just above The Observatory I was in this morning, to check out the stars. We walked up the stairs, past the Ocean Grill, where several tables were enjoying dinner al fresco, and continued to a stairway at the front of the ship.

As I walked up the steps, I entered almost complete darkness. This area was made specifically for stargazing, so there were no artificial lights anywhere in the area. Soft music drifted in from the grill next to us, creating a relaxing ambiance.

Once my eyes adjusted, I could see the large wooden bench along the back of the area, so I sat down and looked up.

Being at the equator and so far away from light pollution meant we’d have some of the best views of the night sky in the world. The sky was absolutely amazing. Hundreds, if not thousands, of stars were spread across the dark night sky.

We were lucky that our sailing was during a new moon, so it wasn’t creating any extra light in the sky. You could see parts of the Milky Way galaxy with its stellar dust. It was so impressive.

I’ve seen unobstructed night skies in places like Iceland while looking for the Northern Lights and while at sea in Bali, miles away from lights, but I had never seen anything this impressive.

We tried using our cameras to capture some pictures of it. I have a Google Pixel phone, which has a dedicated astrophotography mode made for photos like these. Unfortunately, you have to hold your phone really still for it to work, and since the ship was constantly moving, the pictures weren’t coming out clear. Switching to night mode fixed that, though. The iPhone took better pictures, although they were a little more intense than what we actually saw.

As we were up there, two women we had sat next to and chatted with at dinner came up as well. Funnily enough, though, because it was so dark, I don’t think they saw us up there. They talked among themselves and took pictures as we sat on the bench without being noticed at all.

I was afraid that if we made any noise, they’d be startled and fall right over the edge.

Late Night Entertainment

It was another pretty full day, and by 9:30, I was ready for bed. That’s way earlier than I’d go to sleep at home or on any other cruise, but I wasn’t pushing it.

This evening’s activity was karaoke. I stopped by to grab some Oreos (they also had Oreos, saltines, electrolyte powder, and some candies available in the Discovery Lounge).

For karaoke, it was a family of 6 (grandparents, parents, and two teenage girls) and some staff singing along with them. I do love that the staff gets in on the entertainment as well. It feels much more relaxed on Flora than on the rest of the fleet.

Follow Along on Our Galapagos Adventures

• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Pre-Cruise - Quito
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 0 - Quito
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 1 - Baltra
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 2 - Española Island
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 3 - Floreana Island
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 4 - Isabela Island
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 5 - Fernandina and Isabela Islands (coming soon)
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 6 - South Plaza and Santa Cruz Islands (coming soon)
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 7 - Santa Cruz Island (coming soon)
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 8 - Baltra and Disembarkation (coming soon)
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 9 - Quito and Home (coming soon)

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Celebrity Flora Day 3 Overview

• Celebrity Flora Day 3 Schedule
• Breakfast in Seaside Restaurant
• Excursion 1: Long Walk at Punta Cormorant
  • Preparing for the Excursion
  • Tendering to Punta Cormorant Beach
  • Walk Across the Island to the Beach
  • Encounter with a Sea Turtle
  • Flamingos
  • Blue-Footed Booby
  • Back to Flora
• Excursion 2: Advanced Deep-Water Snorkel at Champion Island
• Italian Buffet Lunch
• Excursion 3: Kayak and Beach Walk at Post Office Bay-
  • Kayaking in Post Office Bay
  • Beach Walk and Post Office
• Back on Flora: Life at Sea Panel and Wine & Cheese Gathering
• Dinner in Seaside Restaurant

Celebrity Flora Day 3 Schedule

Breakfast in Seaside Restaurant

Days start early on Flora if you want to get the first excursions in. So I was up at 7 AM, just after the sun rose. Thankfully, the amazing blackout curtains blocked it out, so I didn’t wake up until my alarm went off. I slept slightly better than the previous night, but I was still surprised by how loud the cabin was, with knocking and creaking.

I went down to Seaside Restaurant for breakfast and got a table by a large porthole window to take in the view. It was a gorgeous day, with the sun glistening off the water and pouring into the room.

The breakfast buffet here was largely the same as the day before, with a few swaps. Today, there were banana pancakes instead of regular ones, along with some new fruits and pastries. The freshly made juice of the day was tree tomato juice, which I really enjoyed. Tree tomato is the local name for tamarillo, a smallish fruit that has a sweet and tart taste, kind of like if you combined a regular tomato, guava, and passionfruit.

The dining room was maybe half full at this point, with no lines and plenty of open tables. It was a far cry from a port day that you’d experience on a normal cruise ship. I could get used to vacationing like this.

Excursion 1: Long Walk at Punta Cormorant

Today, we were exploring Floreana Island. The first excursion we picked for the day was “Option 1: Long Walk and Optional Swim/Beach Snorkel.” This included a walk across the island, followed by time to swim or do a beach snorkel near some cliffs. If you were doing the Advanced deep-water snorkel afterward, you couldn’t do the beach snorkel because there wouldn’t be enough time.

Preparing for the Excursion

We finished breakfast and walked across the hall to the Discovery Lounge around 7:45 AM for our 8 AM excursion. This one seemed to be the most popular, with at least half the ship signing up for the Long Walk option. During the briefing, Gio, the expedition director, explained that it wasn’t as strenuous as the previous day’s excursion, with fewer hills and slippery surfaces.

We went up to a naturalist and checked in, and they assigned us to the first tender. Then we sat down at a table and waited for 8 AM, when they promptly started loading the tenders. I was consistently impressed with how smoothly the tender process went for a ship of 100 people. In my research beforehand, I kept seeing people recommend the smaller ships for the Galapagos because you supposedly spend more time waiting around on larger ships, but I almost never felt that at all.

Tendering to Punta Cormorant Beach

They called Tender 1, and we headed down to the Marina to put on our life jackets and board the tender. It felt like I was traveling light today. Since this wasn’t a very strenuous walk, and we weren’t snorkeling from the shore, I just brought the Celebrity backpack they gave us to hold my sun hat and water bottle. I could have easily skipped it altogether.

The tender bounced across the water, and the driver threw it into high gear and landed us on shore. This excursion was a “wet landing,” which meant there was no dock. The tender would end up on the beach, and you’d have to get out and walk through maybe 6 to 8 inches of water.

Because it was a wet landing with hiking, I wore my aqua sandals, knockoff versions of the popular TEVA sandals that people recommended (see them here on Amazon). They were fine in the water and drained quickly, but they were also sturdy with a solid toe for hiking. I much preferred these to flip-flops and changing on the beach, or thin water shoes that would be awful for hiking because you’d feel every rock.

Walk Across the Island to the Beach

The guide took our life vests, and we started walking across the island. Floreana feels completely different from the island we were at yesterday. This landscape had many more trees and shrubs.

Even Floreana itself was diverse. We started on a beach covered in “green sand,” which is relatively rare in the world. The color comes from olivine, an olive-green mineral. When the island was formed through volcanic eruptions, it crystallized into this mineral, and erosion eventually turned it into the coarse, greenish sand covering the beach.

This excursion was the first time I wished they grouped people by skill level a bit better. One woman in our group had trouble walking, so she moved a bit slower and struggled. Since the rest of the group was more mobile, she missed explanations from the naturalist while trying to catch up. If she had been in a group that moved a bit slower, it wouldn’t have been as much of a problem.

Tip: Groups for excursions are assigned mostly by the time you check in. If you know you like to travel with certain people, or would prefer not to be in a group with certain others, pay attention to who is checking in when. While everyone on the cruise was amazing, some were more enjoyable to be on excursions with than others.

Encounter with a Sea Turtle

We arrived at the second beach, covered in much more typical fine, white sand. This is a spot where sea turtles come and lay their eggs. And we were in luck. Just as we turned the corner, a large sea turtle was slowly making its way from the dunes back to the ocean.

I never realized how physically draining that must be for these animals. Sea turtles have very little mobility on land, and it takes so much energy for them to push themselves with their flippers up and down the beach. You could tell the turtle was tired, taking breaks after every few scoots down toward the water.

We approached carefully, staying about 15 feet away, and the whole group watched in complete silence. It was amazing to see this magnificent creature slowly wade into the surf before disappearing completely. It’s something I never could have expected to see, and I don’t think I would have guessed how awe-inspiring and impactful it would be for me.

Flamingos

We headed back along the hiking path to where we came from, then just past it to a brackish pond. Here, depending on the time of year, you could usually see flamingos feeding on the brine shrimp living in the muddy water.

Most of the flamingos in the water were American, but our guide also noticed some Chilean flamingos as well, noticeably different in their color, at least to him. The flamingos were on the far side of the pond, so they were a bit far away, although still closer than you’d probably see them at most zoos.

Blue-Footed Booby

As we walked back to shore, a blue-footed booby sat high on a dune on the beach. Going to the Galapagos, I knew we were likely to see them, but oddly, it wasn’t the top thing I was interested in. “It’s just a bird,” I thought. But seeing one in person, with those aqua-colored feet against the beach, was something totally different. I’d never seen a creature like that. It felt almost like it was out of a CGI movie.

Like all the other animals we encountered, the bird was completely indifferent to us. It was neither afraid nor excited to see us because these animals are never harmed or fed by humans. It stretched its neck and almost seemed to pose for pictures.

Back to Flora

After about 2.5 miles and nearly 2 hours of walking, we got our life jackets back on and headed back to Celebrity Flora.

Back on board, we had to scrub our sandals because the green sand and large pebbles got stuck in the treads.

Our next excursion was at 10:30 AM, so we had about 30 minutes to grab our things, change into our bathing suits and wetsuits, and meet back in the Discovery Lounge.

Tip: Celebrity provides reef-safe sunscreen that was actually quite nice. If you run out, just ask your attendant for some more.

Excursion 2: Advanced Deep-Water Snorkel at Champion Island

At 10:15, we showed up at the lounge, checked in, and got our tender. This excursion had 4 different tenders, so at least 30 people were doing it. Because it was an “advanced” snorkel, groups were closer to 10 people or fewer so the naturalist could keep track of everyone.

We grabbed the snorkel bags already hanging up by cabin number, grabbed a towel, and jumped into the boat.

For this snorkel, we were again with naturalist Ivon. He told us the ride to Champion Island, where we’d be snorkeling, was a 25-minute tender ride each way.

The water was rougher today, so boarding the tender was an experience. The tender would literally bounce up and down at least a foot and a half as you tried to board it. But the staff knew what they were doing. They’d be right at the stairs, and each time the Zodiac’s stairs approached the deck of Flora, they’d give you the signal to go so you could quickly make the jump onto it.

The tender pulled away, and we quickly made our way over to the snorkel area. The landscape was beautiful, with massive islands rising out of the pristine blue waters. It felt like a scene out of Jurassic Park, the beginning parts when you’re amazed by nature, not the end when dinosaurs terrorize you.

This was an “advanced” snorkel because we’d be dropping in the middle of the water. There was no shore or land. The currents were also a bit strong, not enough to suck you out to sea, but enough to make swimming a bit more difficult.

We arrived at the snorkel spot, and Ivon gave us our instructions. We’d go as one group and stay together the whole time. We’d swim along the shore of Champion Island, and then the tender would pick us up at the end. Ivon wore a yellow face mask, which made it easy to spot him among everyone else in the group. The driver would be alongside us in the tender in case anyone needed help.

We suited up and jumped into the water one by one. It was brisk, but not overly cold thanks to El Niño, which made the water 3 to 4 degrees warmer than usual for this time of year.

The water was so much clearer than the previous day, and the bright sun made it easier to see everything. I saw so many more fish here than the day before. You’d see massive schools of fish swimming all around you.

Swimming along the island’s rocks, we saw sea lions relaxing on the rocks and swimming around. Ivon had his own GoPro and was diving deep to get good pictures of the fish and some turtles. There was so much wildlife here, and it felt completely different doing it in deep water where you couldn’t touch the bottom.

Tip: At the end of the cruise, you get a USB drive and download all the photos and videos the naturalists take. The video is one large compiled video of the whole trip, though, so if you want more detailed videos, consider bringing your own GoPro. This entry-level model worked great for me. (See on Amazon)

As we got to the end of the snorkeling stretch, the tender pulled up, and we all loaded back in and headed back to the ship.

Italian Buffet Lunch

Back on board, the staff welcomed us again. We washed and hung up our wetsuits and snorkeling equipment and headed back to the cabin. It was time for the second shower of the day before heading to lunch.

The buffet lunch in the dining room today was Italian fare: pasta, pizza, caprese salads, etc. It was pretty decent, and I would say that the pizza was actually better than what’s served on normal Celebrity ships, which I don’t care for at all.

If you didn’t like Italian food, though, there weren’t many other options in the dining room. So after I had some pasta and a slice of pizza, we headed up to Ocean Grill for something different. This time, I tried the quesadilla, which was delicious and jam-packed with flavorful chicken pieces and gooey, melted cheese.

The weather was beautiful, and I really enjoyed eating al fresco out here, getting the fresh ocean breeze while staying protected from the sun. I do wish this area was self-service rather than table service, just to speed it up a bit. It could get a bit crowded, so it could take some time to get the food. But then again, why did I need to eat faster? I had nowhere else to be before our excursion in 2 hours.

Excursion 3: Kayak and Beach Walk at Post Office Bay

After lunch, we had a couple of hours to relax before heading back out for another excursion. We chose the Kayak and Beach Walk.

Kayaking in Post Office Bay

We boarded the tender and headed back out into the blue waters. Kayaks were in high demand for this sailing, so much so that they asked anyone who kayaked the previous day to wait until everyone else signed up so everyone had a chance. They eventually accommodated everyone, though, by splitting into two kayak groups.

After about 10 minutes of speeding away from Flora, we arrived near some small islands in the water. Another Zodiac pulled up alongside us, towing the kayaks behind it. The kayaks all held two people, so group by group, we slid out of the tender and into the kayaks. It was harder than I thought, but I was impressed that no one fell in. It looked like everyone wore swimsuits anyway, just in case.

I’d only kayaked once before at a resort, so it took a bit to get our bearings, but surprisingly, staying balanced wasn’t hard at all. For the most part, navigating was fine too. We headed out as a group, following our naturalist along the islands.

The water was crystal clear and calm. As we paddled along, he’d point out sea turtles swimming underneath us or birds landing on nearby islands.

Tip: Since most phones now are splashproof, I didn’t worry about a phone bag for this excursion. The photos through phone bags are always cloudy, and I wanted high-quality pictures. Instead, I bought this tether that slides into the phone case and keeps it attached to you. I used it any time I was in a tender so I could take photos without worrying about my phone flying out of my hands if we hit a bump.

At one point, a sea lion playfully swam beside us. We were next to a grandmother and her 12-year-old niece, and their expressions at seeing this playful animal right next to them were priceless.

After about 20 minutes or so of kayaking, we climbed back into the tender and headed to the island. It really was a lot of fun, and not a tough workout at all.

Beach Walk and Post Office

Post Office Bay was also a wet landing, so I wore my aquatic hiking sandals again. The sand here was fine white sand again, and the landscape was overgrown with trees and bushes.

We made our way to a makeshift “Post Office” here in the Galapagos. Apparently, in old times, pirates in the area put a box here to use as a “post office,” leaving messages and packages for others to pick up and take with them.

Today, the tradition continues, though it uses a newer mailbox next to the old one. Visiting tourists can stop here and leave a postcard to be delivered by someone else. Celebrity left postcards in all our cabins the night before, in case we wanted to leave one.

The naturalist gathered all our cards and put them in a Ziploc baggie in the mailbox. Then the group started going through the postcards that were already there to see if there were any we wanted to deliver. Tradition usually says you hand-deliver them, not take them back to the U.S. and stamp them.

The group asked everyone which states they lived in and then started going through the postcards and picking ones that were close by.

We ended up taking a postcard that was going to a town about 45 minutes from us. Luckily, we had friends in that area, so we figured we’d visit them at some point and could drop it off. A few weeks later, we drove through that area, so we dropped it off.

To my surprise, the card we left was delivered about 5 weeks later. I guess I didn’t think people would actually go out of their way to deliver one, and I wondered how many people from New Jersey even visit this mailbox. Apparently, it’s more than I thought.

Tip: Everyone said the post office could be “buggy.” It might depend on the time of year. On this August sailing, one biting bug kept going after one woman, but everyone else seemed fine. I bought two whole boxes of bug spray wipes for this trip, but only needed them on the last day.

Once we were done, we headed back to the tender to get back to the ship. The walk here wasn’t really scenic. The whole point was to visit this Post Office. It was a short walk, less than 0.1 miles each way and about 10 minutes back and forth.

Back on Flora: Life at Sea Panel and Wine & Cheese Gathering

We arrived back on board Flora around 6 PM. They were already setting up a wine and cheese gathering for 6:30, but instead, I opted for a shower to get all the sunscreen and salt off of me, the third shower of the day.

At 6:45 in the Discovery Lounge, they held a Q&A about life on board Flora, which is quite different from life on other large cruise ships. Most of the staff on the ship were from Ecuador, and a good portion of them were from the islands themselves. It added a different dimension to the trip because they were sharing their culture and country directly with us. There was much more passion behind everything than on a Celebrity cruise somewhere like Norway, where almost no one working on the ship may have ever been before.

Because the ship is based in Ecuador, they’re subject to Ecuadorian labor laws, so it works quite a bit differently from other Celebrity ships. For example, the contract lengths are much shorter than on ocean cruises. A normal Celebrity ship has contract lengths of 4 to 6 months. On Flora, it was more flexible. The executive chef worked 8 weeks on and then 8-9 weeks off. His staff had 6 weeks on and 3 weeks off. It’s probably why you didn’t see any staff looking burned out like you might on other ships.

They also shared that the team of expert naturalists on board aren’t officially Celebrity staff, but rather work for the Galapagos National Park Service. However, naturalist Javier had worked on Celebrity ships since 2009. They get to choose their schedules, usually 4 weeks on and then 2 or 3 weeks off, but they have some flexibility. They’re also trained extensively. Most of the naturalists had degrees in ecotourism. In addition, they have to go through a dedicated Galapagos course and then 6 months of training to get certified to work for the National Park Service. English was also mandatory.

Dinner in Seaside Restaurant

Tonight, Seaside Restaurant had a new set of dishes. I wasn’t feeling great this evening, so I skipped dinner, but here were the dishes available.

Day 3 Wrap-Up

I didn’t know how anything could top my experience from the day before, but Day 3 at least matched it.

I was just so surprised by how much nature we got to witness right in front of my eyes. Playful sea lions, sea turtles returning to sea, blue-footed boobies posing. It was amazing.

And it was all so varied. We had 3 excursions, and each was completely different. Some were a bit physically demanding, some more intellectual, some scenic. It was something new each time.

Follow Along on Our Galapagos Adventures

• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Pre-Cruise - Quito
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 0 - Quito
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 1 - Baltra
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 2 - Española Island
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 3 - Floreana Island
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 4 - Isabela Island
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 5 - Fernandina and Isabela Islands (coming soon)
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 6 - South Plaza and Santa Cruz Islands (coming soon)
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 7 - Santa Cruz Island (coming soon)
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 8 - Baltra and Disembarkation (coming soon)
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 9 - Quito and Home (coming soon)

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Celebrity Flora Galapagos Outer Loop Day 2 Overview

• Day 2 Schedule
• Starting a Little Tired
• Breakfast Buffet at Seaside Restaurant
• Preparing of our Excursion
• First Excursion: Gardner Bay Beach and Snorkel
  • Tender Ride to Espanola Island
  • Walking Among the Sea Lions
  • Snorkeling at Gardner Bay
  • Getting Back to the Ship
• Back on Flora
• Lunch at the Ocean Grill
• Bird Identification Talk
• Rough Seas
• Excursion 2: Punta Suarez Boulder Walk
  • Dry Landing at Punta Suarez
  • Nazca Boobies and Waved Albatrosses
  • The Blowhole and Christmas Lizards
  • How Strenuous Was the Walk?
• Back to Flora
• Excursion Briefing
• Dinner in the Seaside Restaurant
• Day 2 Wrap Up

Celebrity Flora Galapagos Outer Loop Day 2 Schedule

Starting a Little Tired

I usually sleep pretty well on a cruise, but I didn’t sleep the best the first night. I’m not sure why. The bed was very comfortable, the air conditioning was super strong, and the blackout curtains kept all light out, but I still struggled to sleep.

I think the biggest problem was the rocking overnight. This was my 18th cruise, and I don’t think I’ve had that much rocking since my first cruise on an older, small ship, the original Carnival Celebration, in 2004. While rocking usually helps me fall asleep, it felt more unsettling this time, perhaps because the bed faced the windows so I’d rock head-to-toe instead of side-to-side.

In addition, the rocking made the cabin very noisy. It creaked, and items knocked against the walls any time the ship bobbed up and down in the water. Flora does have stabilizers, but its small size meant it still rocked more than the megaships you see now. On Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas, the largest in the world, I didn’t feel any movement at all. But on Flora, movement was very noticeable.

On the plus side, the bed was extremely comfortable and I loved that with one push of a button, the curtains would open to reveal the ocean views. Today was a bit drab, but hopefully it’d clear up a bit.

Breakfast Buffet at Seaside Restaurant

After getting ready, we headed down to the breakfast buffet at 7:30 AM. It’s in the Seaside Restaurant, the same place we’ve already had lunch and dinner. The large windows in the dining room let bright sunlight pour in, washing the room in light and giving it an airy feel.

At this point, it was pretty empty. I’d guess that only about 25% of the guests were here, which I found surprising. Breakfast on a cruise ship is usually really busy, especially before port days, so I thought it’d be a bit more crowded.

Breakfast on Flora is buffet-style, like lunch. We sat at a window table and set our stuff down. The waiter offered coffee, and then we headed to the buffet.

It’s a smaller buffet, but it has all the staples you’d expect. There was a pancake of the day, French toast, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, cereal, pastries, and a toaster. You could order an omelet, which they’d make to order and bring to your table. They also had a large selection of fruit and fresh fruit juices, which changed each day. I tried the bacon again, and it was just as tough as at the two previous hotels. This is when another guest told me it was just how the bacon is raised in Ecuador.

I didn’t want to overeat, but I also wanted to make sure I had enough energy for today’s two excursions.

Preparing for our Excursion

For this morning’s activity, we booked the “Beach Walk and Optional Swim / Beach Snorkel.” We were torn between that and the kayak and beach walk options, but we thought it’d be a good idea to try a snorkel from the beach before trying deep-water snorkels later on in the cruise.

The excursion meeting times are staggered, usually around 15 minutes apart, so you were never waiting around with 100 people. In fact, you rarely felt like you were in a line.

All excursions left from the Discovery Lounge, and they asked us to arrive 15 minutes before our excursion left. We arrived at 8:30 AM and checked in with one of the naturalists by giving our cabin number. He told us which tender we were on, and we sat down and waited for them to call our number.

Tender assignments weren’t based on age or fitness level, but solely on when you arrived and how much space was left. If you are traveling with a group, you should wait until everyone arrives to check in so they can assign you all to the same tender. Each tender held 10 to 14 people.

At 8:30 AM on the dot, they called the first tender, and we exited the Discovery Lounge and headed down the stairs to the Marina. We grabbed our assigned bags and snorkel equipment from the storage area, then checked out by swiping our cabin card on the console.

Then we started putting on our life vests. Every time you get on or off Flora, you must wear a life jacket. And while it’s not difficult to put on, it usually meant taking off your backpack, putting on your life jacket, and then putting your backpack back on. It took a while the first time, but doing two to four excursions a day, people had the whole tender embarkation process down by the last day.

First Excursion: Gardner Bay Beach and Snorkel

Tender Ride to Espanola Island

Our tender drove up to one of the ladders at the Marina, and we started loading one at a time. The tenders are sturdy, with solid floors and stairs with handrails to help you get in. The driver would jam on the gas to keep the tender pressed against Flora, and then you could step down. It’s a much sturdier process than I’d seen on larger cruise ships that had rickety walkways to board tenders.

Our naturalist for this excursion was Ivan, who introduced himself and our driver, Darwin.

We held on as the tender zipped its way across the water to the island for a wet landing. In a wet landing, the tender drives up to shore rather than a pier, so your feet get wet. Because of this, most people wore water hiking sandals. In my research, everyone raved about the Teva brand, but I got these knockoff sandals on Amazon, and they were perfect although they ran a bit large (see on Amazon). They worked well in water but were solid enough for walking, so I wouldn’t have to change shoes after a wet landing.

As we started to head over, a light rain started to hit us. It was a misty kind of rain that felt like it was nothing, but also everywhere at the same time. Since the weather seemed fine when we left just a couple of minutes earlier, no one in my group had ponchos or raincoats.

As we approached the white-sand beach, I quickly realized the large rocks dotting the beach weren’t rocks, but sea lions. The beach was covered in them.

We jumped off the Zodiac and headed to the top of the beach to take off our life jackets and drop off our backpacks and snorkel equipment. We’d walk back here to start the snorkel portion. Of course, right next to the area, a large sea lion was trying to sleep.

Walking Among the Sea Lions and Birds

For the first part of the excursion, we walked along the beach to see the landscape and learn about wildlife. As we stood there, the rain got heavier, and we were getting quite wet. Since it was a swim excursion, we didn’t care that much, but I could see the reef-safe titanium dioxide sunscreen that everyone had on running off our bodies. The tenders that arrived after us all had light ponchos on, thoughtfully provided by Celebrity.

Tip: The backpacks Celebrity provides have a little waterproof cover at the bottom that can come out and protect your bag’s contents if it’s raining.

Even with the rain, it wasn’t hard to appreciate the opportunity. There had to be at least 30 sea lions on the beach all around us, not paying us any attention at all. It was so surreal.

Ivan explained the sea lions to us and how they operate. Most of the sea lions here were females, and a couple of males on the beach fought over control. In fact, while we were there, two males fought over control of the beach. It was amazing to witness the fight in person, just 30 or so feet away. Their barking echoed all across the shoreline; I never realized male sea lions could be so loud.

We then walked down the shore line to see the local birds. Of course, the birds were the reason the Galapagos are so famous; with Darwin studying the extensively. Here, the birds were mostly small and not afraid of humans at all.

Snorkeling at Gardner Bay

By the end of our walk, the rain let up, and it was time to snorkel. We all suited up in our shorty wetsuits and grabbed our gear. Because this was a “beach snorkel” where you could still touch the ground if you wanted to, it was less supervised than the deep-water snorkels we’d do later on. You also didn’t have to wear the fins, but most people did. It was a good time to get comfortable with the equipment.

The water was surprisingly warm for this time of year. Usually, it’s around 68 to 72 degrees in the water in August. But thanks to El Niño, the waters were warmer, around 76°F most days. I still wore a wetsuit, but I really didn’t need the long-sleeve rash guard top I bought to wear under the shorty, although it was nice to have the sun protection.

Even with the higher temperature, the water felt brisk. As I walked in past the crashing waves, I looked underwater only to be disappointed. There was almost no visibility. Between the rough seas and dark skies, it was just murky water. But Ivan suggested that, if you were comfortable enough, there was a rock formation out in the water that provided the best experience, so I headed out that way.

As I glided through the water with the flippers towards the formation in the distance, the water started to clear up, and fish started to appear. Without the strong sun, I couldn’t appreciate the vibrant colors, but all the sea life was perfectly visible.

Tip: If you want to record while snorkeling, a phone case just won’t do. Once submerged, the screen gets too many false touches. Instead, consider a GoPro or knock-off. I had the entry level GoPro Hero and it worked well (see it on Amazon). it can go up to 16 feet underwater without a case (just make sure to rinse it as soon as you’re back).

Out here, the water was too deep to stand, and the currents were light, but it wasn’t too bad for snorkeling. Two tenders circled the rock formation, watching to make sure everyone was okay and ready to assist with any issues.

I took the time just to relax and observe this underwater world through the dive mask. I could see all the active fish swimming around the reefs and rocks. It was so peaceful. I could see why people love to scuba dive, which would be even more amazing (scuba is not offered on this trip).

At one side of the rock formation, we saw a sea lion sitting on the rocks. Then, a second later, he was in the water with us. He wasn’t necessarily playing with us or coming right toward us, but he was playfully swimming near us.

I couldn’t believe my eyes as I saw him spinning and sliding through the water between the few of us who braved swimming that far out. He was trying to catch some fish below us, but without much luck. My heart was racing being so close to this animal. I did my best to stay the required 8 feet away, but he kept swimming nearby. Then, after a few minutes, he zipped away deeper into the water.

On the other side of the formation, we spotted a sea turtle gracefully swimming through the water. He was a beautiful color, a mix of yellows and greens with hints of red. I recorded him with my GoPro, and when I reviewed the footage later, it caught something I didn’t: a white-tipped shark right next to the turtle. I’m kind of glad I didn’t see it at that point.

We kept exploring the rocks and had more encounters with a different sea lion. It really was unbelievable.

Getting Back to the Ship

I lost track of how much time we were out there, but eventually the Zodiac pulled up, and the driver had us get back in to take us back to shore. I was confused by that, but later found out it was because a man in another group was bitten by a sea lion while coming back ashore.

He wasn’t violating the animal’s space or antagonizing him, but a dominant sea lion saw the guy swimming back up on shore and bit his knee from behind. It was the same male who was fighting earlier. Luckily, it was a minor wound, two puncture wounds with 4 stitches each, and the guy was a really good sport about it.

We grabbed our bags and headed back onto the tender to Flora. The weather cleared up, and it was actually a beautiful day.

Back on Celebrity Flora

I was on cloud nine as we headed back to the ship. Already, this experience gave me more than I expected, and it was just the first of so many that we’d be doing.

We got back on board Flora and started washing and rinsing. To avoid cross-contamination between islands, every time we returned, we had to wash our shoes in one bucket, our wetsuits in another, and dunk our whole snorkel mesh bags in a third bucket.

You can really tell Celebrity thought about everything when they designed the ship. They had 3 full showers and 3 foot showers with large brushes to scrub your shoes and remove any sand or stones. I was surprised that it was actually warm water, which felt great as we cleaned up.

Once everything was disinfected, we hung it back on our dedicated hooks for our cabin, so we didn’t have to bring wet equipment back to our cabins.

As we headed up the steps from the Marina into the ship, the captain welcomed us, and nearby a crew member played the pan flute, creating a relaxing atmosphere.

Nearby, they had a station of ice water, flavored water, and fresh-pressed juice. Next to it, there was a small display of sandwiches for a light bite. It was a perfect way to end the trip and, again, blew me away with Celebrity’s attention to the guest experience.

We went back to the cabin and showered before lunch. It’d become a common occurrence. I had more showers on this vacation than any other one I’ve taken.

Tip: When packing, don’t forget clothes for the time between excursions. Usually, it’s from around 11 to 3, so you just want something comfy and casual: plain shirt, basketball shorts, sweatpants, leggings. It’s very casual.

Lunch at the Ocean Grill

For lunch today, we could do the buffet on Deck 4, which was an Ecuadorian buffet, or go to the Seaside Grill on Deck 7 for al fresco dining.

When I heard the name, I thought it would be similar to the Mast Grill on other Celebrity ships, with grab-and-go burgers and hot dogs, but it ended up being casual wait service. Celebrity doesn’t seem to like to have suite guests stand up and get anything themselves, from bars to food, so you sit down and wait for someone to come to you. I’ve noticed that on the big ships too. They focus more on table service rather than going to bars, which I don’t prefer. I have no problem getting up to place an order for my food or drink, but I know some people would consider that offensive.

The upstairs dining area is really nice, with comfy tables and a large awning to protect us from the direct sun. It was great to be outside so that I could enjoy the views and sea breeze.

I started with a chips and guacamole appetizer and had the burger. The burger itself was just “okay,” but I’ve heard it’s because their beef in Ecuador isn’t as high quality as the beef we’re used to in the US. It was cooked well, but just not as flavorful as I was used to.

Bird Identification Talk

After lunch, we relaxed a bit before heading to a bird identification talk at 1:45 PM led by one of the naturalists. I’ve never been all that interested in birds, but I thought it would be good to know what I’d be seeing on the many islands. It seems like many guests had the same idea. About 40% of the ship came down to the Discovery Lounge for the talk.

The discussion was only 30 minutes but covered all the birds we’d be seeing, how to identify them, and why they’re important. While finches usually come to mind when people think of the Galapagos thanks to Darwin’s studies there, we focused more on larger birds like albatrosses, Blue-footed Boobies, Frigatebirds, and Flightless Cormorants.

The talk was actually way more interesting than I thought it’d be, and it really came in handy in the coming days.

Rough Seas

Today was pretty rough on the ship. At times, it felt like I had to walk uphill to get out of the cabin, and when I showered, the water went everywhere because of the cabin’s tilt. Apparently, part of this was due to the earthquake in nearby Colombia that had just happened, but we hadn’t heard about it yet. Even with complimentary and good internet, we were pretty unplugged this trip because we were so busy.

Punta Suarez Boulder Walk

Our activity that afternoon was the “long, strenuous boulder walk,” which the excursion director, Gio, said was the most difficult walk on the trip. It was hard to gauge how “difficult” things were, though, because his audience was vast, from a 12-year-old girl to an 85+ year-old man with mobility issues. For other talks later on in the cruise, he did a great job explaining why things might be difficult, such as slippery terrain, sharp rocks, large inclines, etc., but this one we didn’t get much insight as to why it was “difficult.”

Apparently, people weren’t too put off by that description. About 50% booked the long, strenuous walk. But even though it was about 50 people doing the excursion, it never felt that way because we were with our individual group. We were naturally staggered out by the availability of the tenders.

Dry Landing at Punta Suarez

We showed up 15 minutes before the excursion in Discovery Cove, put in our names, and were assigned Tender 1. Promptly at 4 PM, they called our tender, and we boarded along with the other 10 people in our group.

The sky cleared up from this morning, and it was a beautiful, sunny day with bright blue skies. The Zodiac skipped along the water as we headed over to the makeshift pier. This excursion was a dry landing, meaning we could wear our sneakers. In reality, it was less of a pier and more of a jetty with an asphalt walkway. Getting off the tender, you had to do a bit of a jump over slippery rocks, and then the walkway itself was slick from the waves crashing over it.

Once we got to the beach, our guide took our life jackets, and we started our walk. The beach was littered with sea lions and dark land iguanas. Both blended in so well that you could easily not notice you were walking right next to wildlife.

The walk started heading among boulders to the other side of the island. As we walked, our guide pointed out the wildlife. Frigatebirds flew through the air, their profiles looking stunning from the ground.

At the far side of the island, we had to scale down some boulders. This was probably what Gio meant by the strenuous part. It really wasn’t physically taxing, but if you were unsteady, it was easy to slip and fall on the rocks.

Nazca Boobies and Waved Albatrosses

At the bottom of the rocks, we saw rocks covered in Nazca Boobies and plastered with white bird poop. It definitely smelled like a zoo, with bird waste littered among the rocks.

Then we headed back up, where we were lucky enough to see a pair of albatrosses nesting. The Waved Albatross is the largest bird in the Galapagos, with a wingspan of up to 8 feet. They’re only in the area from March to September and, even then, not consistently, so we were lucky that we got to see them.

Further in the distance, we saw two albatrosses dancing together in a courtship dance. It was really cute. The birds’ coloring and shape made them quite striking.

The Blowhole and Christmas Lizards

Then we hiked back up to some rocks for a stunning view of the ocean and a blowhole. We stopped here for a while for a water break and to take in the scenery. It looked like something out of a movie, with the deep blue waters and the cloud of white mist contrasting against the green fauna.

As we continued on, we saw “Christmas lizards,” which had beautiful green and red coloring on their skin. They lazily relaxed on the rocks, enjoying the warm sun.

We finished the walk by having to pass by two sea lion babies who were lounging on the walkway. They had no concern or care about us at all. We might as well have been invisible.

How Strenuous Was the Walk?

Overall, the walk ended up taking 1 hour and 45 minutes and covered 1.3 miles. My tracker recorded 2,100 steps. We had an elevation change of about 50 feet over the hike, roughly 5 stories. As a relatively fit person in my 40s, I don’t think I’d use the word “strenuous,” but it was more than a walk in the park.

It was a beautiful walk, though, filled with not only animal life all over the place, but stunning landscapes.

Back to Flora

As we returned from the excursions, the hotel director, Lauren, was at the top of the stairs. She greeted us by name without the assistance of a computer and seemed genuinely excited to hear our stories. It was another way the staff of Flora continued to impress me.

They also provided ice water and juice before I headed back for my third shower of the day, before our excursion briefing and dinner.

Excursion Briefing

At 6:45, we headed down to the Discovery Lounge for this evening’s excursion briefing that would start at seven.

Being used to big ships, I’d always allocate extra time to get to the place we’re going and to find a seat, but that wasn’t necessary on Flora. From the cabin to any of the venues was maybe a 2-minute walk at most, and there was no waiting for the elevator because, with just one or two flights of stairs, people just walked. You also didn’t have to get to Discovery Cove early because there was more than enough seating for everyone onboard.

But by getting there a bit earlier, we had time to order the drink of the day. I love trying new drinks and looking at drink menus when on cruise ships, but although all drinks are included on Flora, they don’t have any drink menus. But each day, they did have a drink of the day. Today’s was Blue-Footed Booby, a layered drink. I have no idea what was in it, but it was tasty.

Excursion director Gio came out and explained all our options for excursions tomorrow. In addition to the morning and afternoon excursions tomorrow, we’d also have two snorkeling options so that we could have 4 different excursions in one day.

We picked our excursions, signed up with the naturalist, and headed over to dinner.

Dinner in the Seaside Restaurant

Once we put our names in, we headed over to the dining room. Like Hotel Director Lauren said the previous day, there wouldn’t be any lines, and service would be much smoother because people naturally came at different times as they decided on their excursions.

We walked right up, and the maître d’ greeted us and showed us to a table. It didn’t really matter where you sat because it was always dark outside by the time we had dinner at 7:30 PM, so a window view wasn’t important.

Again, we were greeted by a waitress who brought a selection of three breads and dips, although again, they didn’t say what they were like they do on every other Celebrity ship, and asked if we wanted the red or white tonight.

On top of the Celebrity staple dishes, tonight offered a whole new selection of Galapagos-inspired cuisine. I got the Spiced Shrimp Soup, which was really delicious. Shrimp is a specialty in Ecuador, so I figured they’d know how to do it well, and they did. Although it was “spiced,” it wasn’t “spicy,” just flavorful with cumin, black pepper, and fresh cilantro.

For dinner, I got the Roasted Galapagos Cod Fish Supreme. When I ordered, the waitress asked if I liked garlic because it was “very garlicky.” I love garlic, so I said it was fine and thought she was checking because people had sensitive palates, but no, this thing was a garlic bomb. The fish was smothered in a thick garlic aioli that was absolutely delicious, but if you don’t love garlic, I can see it being a problem.

For dessert, I ordered Grandma’s Chocolate Cake, which was a pretty decent offering, but nothing that blew my socks off.

Dinner took about 55 minutes, and service was much smoother this evening.

Day 2 Wrap Up

After dinner, we headed right back to the room. The entertainment this evening was a BBC documentary, “Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life.” We’d already had a really active day and had 4 excursions planned for tomorrow, so we thought it’d be best to head to bed. It was a popular sentiment, as most people seemed to turn in right after dinner.

Overall, today was an amazing day. This was the reason I came on this trip. I literally swam with sea lions and sea turtles and walked among some rare wildlife you won’t find anywhere else in the world. The scenery was mind-blowing, and even the light morning rain couldn’t put a damper on it. And on top of that, the ship, which was almost an afterthought for me on this trip, exceeded expectations with some of the friendliest staff I’ve ever encountered and just every single thing thought through so Celebrity could provide the best Galapagos experience to the guests.

Follow Along on Our Galapagos Adventures

• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Pre-Cruise - Quito
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 0 - Quito
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 1 - Baltra
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 2 - Española Island
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 3 - Floreana Island
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 4 - Isabela Island
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 5 - Fernandina and Isabela Islands (coming soon)
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 6 - South Plaza and Santa Cruz Islands (coming soon)
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 7 - Santa Cruz Island (coming soon)
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 8 - Baltra and Disembarkation (coming soon)
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 9 - Quito and Home (coming soon)

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Celebrity Flora Galapagos Cruise Blog – Quito Overview

• Full Day Tour of Quito
• Included Buffet Breakfast at Botanica Restaurant
• Meeting the Tour Group
• Virgin of El Panecillo Statue
• La Compañía – Jesuit Church
• Basilica and Convent of San Francisco
• Mistelas
• Ecuadorian Lunch
• Intinan Equator Museum
• Dinner at La Gloria
• Preparing for Tomorrow’s Travel
• Quito Wrap Up: Celebrity Excellence

Full Day Tour of Quito

The day before, Celebrity gave us a paper with a rundown of what to expect over the next two days, but for today’s activities, it was a pretty rough outline. It felt so odd, though, that I didn’t have to plan any of it. I’m normally a big planner, so having it all laid out for me was pretty different from what I’m used to.

I got dressed and prepared for the day. I was really surprised how chilly it would be in Ecuador in the mornings. Today, it was only in the 40s to 50s until closer to 11 AM. I wore a light pair of hiking pants and a long-sleeve button-down UV-protection shirt. It wasn’t supposed to be overly hot, but it would be sunny, and since I didn’t know if I’d have time to reapply sunscreen, I went with a long-sleeve shirt.

Tip: Bring your water bottles and backpacks. You can leave them on the van/bus, so they’re not that annoying to carry around, but they’re handy to have around.

Included Buffet Breakfast at Botanica Restaurant

We started our day with an included breakfast buffet at the Botanica Restaurant at the JW Marriott Quito. It was open from 6 AM to 8:45 AM. Located on the bottom floor and at the back of the hotel, the space felt like a garden. The restaurant opens onto the indoor solarium with palm trees and a koi pond, and it has massive windows overlooking the garden. It made for a very relaxing, calm breakfast as we fueled up for the day.

The buffet had all the stuff you’d usually expect: omelets, pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausages, cereal, and pastries. I always like to try local foods and fruits while visiting another country, and the buffet had a good assortment of fresh fruits and freshly squeezed juices.

Overall, the food was pretty good, although I think it was the first time in my life I didn’t eat the bacon. It was cooked properly, but the texture was almost like shoe leather. I eventually learned that this is how bacon is in Ecuador, and as a result, it was the least bacon I ever ate on vacation.

As we sat, I looked around at the other people at the restaurant. It was only half full, but I was wondering how many were in our group. I couldn’t figure out what the age range would be or the other kind of guests we’d be sailing with. At one point, I saw an older woman arguing with a hostess, complaining that the table she was sitting at wasn’t good enough. I thought, “I sure hope she’s not on our cruise.” About 5 minutes later, her granddaughters came down with their Celebrity backpacks and dashed those hopes. I’d run into that family a lot on this sailing.

Meeting the Tour Group

We were asked to meet in the lobby at 8:45, where they’d assign us to our groups for the next two days. Then, at 9 AM, we’d head out in our individual groups.

The whole thing was very well orchestrated. The groups were all around 10 people, small enough to make them feel very personable and to make it easy to get around the city. I can’t be sure, but it felt like they assigned the groups a bit according to age ranges. It could just be how it worked out for us, but it seemed that people in the same groups were roughly the same age or fitness level. Some people weren’t as mobile or maybe a bit older, and they were assigned to the same groups.

At 9 AM sharp, our guide came to our group and introduced himself to everyone. Before we started, Pedro checked in to see if we were experiencing any altitude sickness. We were at 9,400 feet at the moment and going up to 10,000 feet. No one in my group reported having any problems. I had a slight headache, but it could also have been from lack of sleep on the red-eye flight. It was nothing that stopped me, though, and we made sure to stay hydrated.

Once that was done, we headed out to the bus. Some groups had smaller shuttle vans, but our group went onto a larger, tourist-type bus with another group.

Virgin of El Panecillo Statue

Our first stop was climbing even higher to a statue of the Virgin Mary called the Virgin of El Panecillo. It was still very early; the local vendors and shops hadn’t opened yet, so we basically had the site to ourselves.

I’m not usually one for statues, but I had to admit, it was way more impressive than I thought. At 135 feet tall, it towers over the city. Its aluminum composition, which makes it the tallest aluminum statue in the world, meant it shined in the powerful equatorial sun. The statue depicts the Virgin Mary with wings and taming a serpent; not your usual way to see her.

During the visit, Pedro explained how this was important to the city, and also a bit controversial (the back of this impressive statue faces the poorer part of the city).

We spent about 30 minutes here, learning about the statue and taking in the views of the historic district it overlooked, before getting back on the bus.

Quito Historical District

We headed back onto the bus, and it made its way down into the heart of the historic district. Here, the city had so much more personality than the financial district where our hotel was. Buildings were colorful and had ornate details, a far cry from the concrete and glass construction in the hotel’s part of Quito. Here, it felt like the city was more alive with little shops and street vendors.

As we got closer to our next sites, the streets became too narrow for the bus, so we got off and headed on foot. At each stop, we were escorted by our guide Pedro and one “security officer.” He was in charge of keeping the group together and making sure pickpockets stayed away from the group. When I first read about having a “security officer,” it made me a bit apprehensive about the town, but in reality, it was a second-in-command to help with the group and watch us, not an armed guard or anything like that.

La Compania – Jesuit Church

Our first stop was the Church of the Society of Jesus, also known as La Compañía by locals. Construction began in 1600, and it took over 160 years to finish.

We walked through the massive wood doors and turned the corner to see a golden room. Nearly every surface of the walls and ceilings in this church was covered in 23K gold leaf. I’d seen pictures before, and I’ll post one here, but none of them do it justice. To walk into such a massive room that’s coated in gold is just a completely unique experience.

Pedro walked us through the history of the building and how it was built in the Spanish Baroque style with intricate carvings and art. Of course, when it was built, candlelight was the only light source, so they built small windows along the top to let the sun shine in and illuminate the gold. It was a really smart design.

Paintings hung around the walls of the church. The most interesting to me was this massive painting they used to educate the locals on what sins were and the punishment…hell.

Basilica and Convent of San Francisco

Our second stop was the Basilica and Convent of San Francisco. It’s larger and older than the previous building, with construction starting around 1535, but the outside actually felt newer because of the whitewashed walls.

We walked across a large, busy public plaza, which was filled with the bustle of locals and some tourists. It didn’t feel like a typical tourist area. In fact, we got many strange looks because of the listening devices we had on our ears. I’ve used them in other cities around the world and never saw reactions from people in the streets, so it must be fairly uncommon.

Currently, the facility is a Franciscan monastery, but it was originally designed as a convent. Inside the complex is a beautifully maintained tropical garden dotted with palm trees and sculpted shrubs. It felt like a calm, tropical retreat in the middle of a bustling city outside the walls.

Our guide took us up the stairs for a look at the large cathedral from the choir level. The space had a completely different feel than the previous cathedral, being longer and a bit more ornate. It was darker since there wasn’t an active service in progress and they were preparing for a wedding, but the skylights still let us see all the artwork.

Mistelas

The streets were so much busier at this point. I have to say, this part of Quito was probably the loudest city I’d ever been in. Music played from several restaurants, and people shouted out the goods they were selling, “agua, meringue.” It almost made New York City seem quiet.

On the way to lunch, Pedro stopped by a small shop in Quito that sells Mistelas. These are sugary candies with a hard sugar shell filled with real alcohol. They were invented during the colonial period when it was frowned upon for women to drink alcohol. These candies were a more acceptable way of doing it.

Biting into one of the candies was certainly a unique sensation. I’ve had liquor-filled chocolates, but they had a soft outer shell and a creamier center that would ooze out. Biting into these was more like puncturing a hard shell and getting a straight liquor shot.

Tip: Be careful if you want to bring these home, as they’re a bit fragile. We got a box of 16 for only $5, but only 3 of the 16 survived the trip home after being packed in our luggage.

Ecuadorian Lunch

At 12:15 PM, we arrived at yet another convent called Convent of Saint Augustine, but this time, not for sightseeing but for lunch. A long reception room was lined with tables for each tour group, while the buffet tables were just outside.

Tip: Make sure to bring your water bottle if you want to fill up. It was the only midday stop to get more filtered water.

The staff here was extremely welcoming and suggested you try all the different specialties of the area. Ecuador is known for its seafood, so there were plenty of seafood options, but you also had grilled chicken, empanadas, etc. Any food allergies and restrictions were already passed on to the staff.

A favorite of many was the shrimp ceviche, which you put popcorn on, but my favorite was the potato soup, which they served with avocado and cubes of cheese.

Soft drinks and soda were included in the meal, or you could pay for wine or beer. It was $5-$7 for a beer and $7 for a house red or white wine.

They gave us a full hour, which was plenty of time to have a relaxed meal and talk more with your tour group you were seated with.

Intinan Equator Museum

At 1:30, we left lunch and headed back to the bus for a trip to the Intinan Equator Museum. We had a 50-minute trip to get to the museum from the city. Pedro filled us in a bit about the city for the first 10 minutes, and then we got to rest for the remainder of the trip.

The Intinan Equator Museum is not your typical museum. It was originally built as a museum about the local culture, but years ago, with the advent of GPS, they realized the equator ran right through the museum, so it became a dual-purpose museum. It’s all outdoors, not some massive dark building you walk through.

Our guide turned us over to our local guide, who would take us through the museum. It took about an hour, with about 40 minutes learning about culture and natives and 20 minutes about the equator.

It was really interesting. Cacao is a big part of Ecuador, and they’re known for having some of the best cacao in the world. In fact, some of the best Belgian chocolate makers will only use Ecuadorian cacao. In one hut, we watched as a woman chopped a raw cacao bean and let us each taste the raw product. I’ve been to plenty of chocolate-making demonstrations, but never one where I tasted the raw cacao. It was slimy and really sweet, not chocolatey at all. I have no idea how an ancient person figured out that by roasting and grinding them, you could turn them into a completely different product.

After we learned about the culture, we went to the equator itself. Here, we could stand on both sides of the equator and try some experiments. In one, you’d balance an egg on the head of a nail, supposedly made easier at the equator (I could not do it).

In another experiment, you’d see the difference in the way water swirled at the equator and north and south of it. The Coriolis Effect works differently in the two hemispheres. While most people think the best example is how toilets flush, in reality, the jets and pipes affect the direction more than the Coriolis Effect. Here, though, they had a tub of water to show you the differences. In reality, it’d have to be much larger bodies of water to show the real Coriolis Effect, but it was a good illustration.

We finished at the museum at 4:10 PM and were back at the hotel by 5 PM. It was a long day, but very interesting and didn’t feel too rushed. Overall, I walked about 4.8 miles.

Dinner at La Gloria

As part of the tour, Celebrity arranged a private dinner for us at a local restaurant, La Gloria. We met in the lobby at 6:10 in our same tour groups and headed out. The local restaurant was a quick 10-minute bus ride away.

Because Celebrity rented out the whole restaurant, we could wear whatever we wanted. The menu here was a 3-course prix fixe meal of Peruvian and Ecuadorian dishes. Soft drinks were included, but wine cost extra.

The space actually felt like how Celebrity would design some of its own dining rooms, with dark burnt-orange walls lined with bottles of wine and yellow chairs. The space was a bit loud with 80-some people and few soft furnishings, but it still felt intimate.

I started with the grilled Ecuadorian shrimp since that’s one of the country’s main exports. They were tender and seasoned perfectly, with the avocado mousse adding a nice texture to the bite. For the main dish, I got the “Slow-Braised Beef Hind in a Clay Pot.” It was quite tasty as well, flavorful but not spicy.

For dessert, everyone received the same 3-dessert sampler with crème brûlée, banana flambé strudel, and chocolate cream.

Preparing for Tomorrow’s Travel

On the bus ride back, our tour guide let us know what we had to do this evening to be ready for the flight to Baltra.

First, we had to bring our checked luggage down for inspection. Normally, if you’re going to the Galapagos, all your luggage must be checked at the airport for things that may contaminate the islands. This can be quite a lengthy process, apparently, so Celebrity arranges to have an inspector come to the hotel at 5 AM to inspect the bags before the flight.

Tip: While Celebrity Flora doesn’t use the Celebrity app and you don’t need your boarding pass, having the luggage tags you get when you check in online is useful. If you don’t have them, they’ll just tag your bag manually.

We could bring our bags down to the lobby between 8:30 PM and 10:00 PM. There, the staff would sign off that they received them, zip-tie them, and lock them in a room. The next morning, the inspector would cut the zip ties, inspect the bags, and re-tie them for the rest of the trip. What they’re looking for is to make sure people aren’t bringing fruits, nuts, or seeds that could contaminate the islands. They also frown upon spare plastic bags, as they could float into the ocean, but they had no problem with my garbage bag of dirty clothes or the baggies for sunscreen.

In your carry-on/backpack, you’d keep your clothes for the next day, any medications, tablets, chargers, etc. Because it was a domestic flight to the Galapagos, you could bring liquids onboard, which made packing for one night a lot easier.

After that, Celebrity told us to fill out a form using a QR code that we’d need at the Galapagos Airport. They told us everything we needed to fill out on it and to take a screenshot of the approval QR code in case cell phone reception wasn’t working. It was impressive how well they walked us through the entire process of traveling to the Galapagos.

Quito Wrap Up: Celebrity Excellence

I couldn’t help but be blown away by Celebrity’s pre-tour excellence. They have thought of every little thing you need on your trip and take care of it. From greeting you by name at the airport, to providing quality meals, to shepherding you through all the sites of the city, the team took amazing care of everyone. It was a well-oiled machine, but it didn’t feel too rigid at all.

Quito really wasn’t on my radar as somewhere I wanted to visit; it was just a destination on the way to my ultimate goal, the Galapagos. It turns out I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It had so much history, and I didn’t realize how much I didn’t know about the country of Ecuador. And while people say Quito can be dangerous, in Celebrity’s hands and on my own the day before, I felt perfectly safe. In fact, I felt more unsafe walking to my car in NYC at 1 AM when I got home from this trip.

Follow Along on Our Galapagos Adventures

• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Pre-Cruise - Quito
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 0 - Quito
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 1 - Baltra
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 2 - Española Island
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 3 - Floreana Island
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 4 - Isabela Island
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 5 - Fernandina and Isabela Islands (coming soon)
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 6 - South Plaza and Santa Cruz Islands (coming soon)
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 7 - Santa Cruz Island (coming soon)
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 8 - Baltra and Disembarkation (coming soon)
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 9 - Quito and Home (coming soon)

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Since it was hard to find a lot of information about these sailings, I’m going to give you a play-by-play of my experience on this amazing vacation.

Celebrity Flora Galapagos Cruise Tour – Day 0 Overview

• Picking the Right Tour Operator for the Galapagos
• Celebrity Cruises 10-Day Tour Cruise
• About Me
• Arrival in Quito
• First Impressions of Quito
• Checking Into the JW Marriott Quito
• Exploring La Carolina Park and Quito Botanical Gardens
• Trying Some Local Food
• A Quick Stop at the Mall
• JW Marriott Pool
• Dinner at JW Marriott

Picking the Right Tour Operator for the Galapagos

There are several options for picking a tour operator if you want to visit the Galapagos. You can fly to Baltra and do it yourself. But that usually means taking a speedboat back and forth to the individual islands each day. A cruise provides a much more immersive experience where you stay on the ship, and it goes between the islands, with it never docking in between.

While there are a few cruise tours out there, I chose to go with Celebrity, mainly because I’ve had great cruises with them in the past and the experience looked amazing in the videos and brochures. I loved their Edge Class of ships, and their dedicated ship for the Galapagos uses the same design language. I also had the benefit that it would count towards Celebrity’s loyalty program, or in my case, I could use Points Choice and reassign them to Royal Caribbean, where I have higher status.

Celebrity also has one of the largest ships operating in the Galapagos, holding 100 people (the most the National Park will allow). Some other options are ships that hold around 15 or 50 people, but in this case, I wanted a larger ship. Because Galapagos cruises tour tend to skew to older clientele, having more people onboard meant a better chance of having some more active people on board with us (more people means more diversity of guests).

Celebrity Cruises 10-Day Tour Cruise

Celebrity’s Galapagos expeditions have a few different options.

Your first choice if you want to go on the Inner Loop or Outer Loop sailing. Both sailings are 7 days, but they differ in the islands they visit. The biggest difference between the two is the types of animals you might see. But, for me, I didn’t find a difference that would sway one way or the other; it was more about a time that worked for me.

Once you pick your cruise, you can extend it with a Cruise Tour. A 10-day option includes 2 hotel nights in Quito before the cruise, an extensive city tour the day before the cruise, and 1 hotel night in Quito after the cruise before flying home. The 11-day option adds an extra day at the tail end, during which you can pick your own excursion for the last day. They also offer an option to combine it with a trip to Machu Picchu, extending it to 16 days.

With the cruise tour options, Celebrity takes care of almost everything. They pick you up at the airport in Quito, check you into the hotel, handle all the paperwork and requirements you need to enter the Galapagos, and put you on a private charter flight from Quito to Baltra to start your cruise. They take care of everything, every step of the way. If you book the 7-day version, you need to figure out how to get to Baltra yourself for the cruise departure. And while it’s not impossible, it is much more of a hassle according to those I spoke to.

For this vacation, we did the 10-day version of the Outer Loop cruise. I booked it only 92 days before it left because other vacation plans fell through. That meant I didn’t have a ton of time to figure out all the logistics; going with the cruise tour meant Celebrity would just take care of everything for me.

About Me

Before I got into the meat of the article, I wanted to briefly explain who I am so you can understand where I’m coming from for this article. In all my research before this cruise, I had trouble really understanding where people were coming from when they gave feedback. If they said the hikes were hard, would I agree? If they thought the food was amazing, what were they comparing it to?

So for my background, I’m in my 40s, and this was my 18th cruise. I’m from the Northeast in the U.S., and I first cruised in 2004 and have cruised with almost all the main North American brands. I’m a pretty low-maintenance cruiser. I usually book a standard balcony cabin (or interior if I’m trying to save cost). I rarely purchase specialty dining, and while I do enjoy food, I usually find the main dining rooms on most sailings meet my needs.

When it comes to excursions, every once in a while I might book a beach visit, but more often I prefer ones that explore local culture, nature, or wildlife. Excursions that let me see unique places in nature are some of my favorites. I have no problem with cruise line excursions, but I’m also just as likely to book something and explore on my own.

This just gives you a lens through which I saw this sailing.

Arrival in Quito

Finding direct flights from the NY/NJ area to Quito was a struggle, and the only one was a red-eye landing at 6 AM Quito time. We booked Avianca, an airline I’d never heard of before, but soon learned it was a budget airline from Colombia; similar to Spirit Airlines or Frontier in the USA. Because of that, legroom was very tight.

The plane only had 28-29″ between rows (United and American average 30″ while Delta is 31″). On this plane, upgrading to plus didn’t get you any more space. The only options with more legroom were exit rows, but you had to speak fluent English to sit in those seats. Thankfully, the plane was clean, and service was great. Like other budget airlines, the seats reduce the padding (in order to save fuel costs), so I purchased this inflatable pillow that really helped (see it on Amazon).

The flight was uneventful; just 6 hours, not much more than a flight to the West Coast from JFK airport in NYC. We arrived at 6 AM, and I was pretty worn down. I have a terrible time sleeping on planes, so I got maybe 20 minutes of sleep on the flight, meaning I’d been up for nearly 24 hours at that point.

We deplaned and went through passport control, a simple process that took about 25 minutes due to the queue. Then we grabbed our bags and went through a customs X-ray scanner. Once we exited the customs area, we immediately saw a well-dressed gentleman in a tailored navy jacket holding a Celebrity sign.  

The host, Pablo, greeted us by name and took us to meet two other people who had also just arrived. Then we took a short walk outside to the arrivals lane to meet our shuttle.

Tip: We booked our flights through Celebrity so they already had our flight information. If you book your own flights and are on the 10- or 11-day cruise tour packages, you’ll receive an email a month or so before the cruise to input all your information so they can pick you up.

As we stepped outside, I was surprised by how cold it was. This was the beginning of August, and it was only 43 degrees at 6:45 AM. I regretted not having a light jacket or sweatshirt with me (they were in my luggage). The air was crisp and fresh, which helped wake me up a bit as I looked out at the towering mountains and volcanoes around us.

A 12-person shuttle pulled up and the four of us plus Pablo got into the van. The seats that were much more comfortable than the discount seats on the Avianca flight. Once the driver turned on the heater, I was so much more comfortable.

With that, we were on our way to the JW Marriott in Quito, Ecuador, the official hotel of the cruise-tour version of the sailing. It was a 50-minute drive to the hotel. Along the way, Pablo explained in detail what we could expect for the next two days in Quito. For the first day (Friday), we had the day to ourselves, with no official tours, meetings, or meals scheduled.

The very first thing he did was explain possible altitude sickness. Quito is the highest capital in the world, and at 9,350 feet in elevation, it’s nearly double that of Denver, Colorado. To combat that, his main tip was to stay hydrated, take it easy, and avoid alcohol while you acclimate. He gave us a big bottle of water to get us started. Thankfully, while I felt some minor effects (it could also have been from not getting enough sleep), the altitude didn’t impact me too much or affect my time in Quito.

Along the drive, Pablo shared tons of details about Quito and Ecuador: the history, the culture, and the people. I didn’t know much about Ecuador or Quito going in, so it was interesting to learn all about it.

First Impressions of Quito

He also shared some information about the safety in Quito, which I had read about a lot in my research before the cruise. Overall, the biggest danger in Quito is pickpockets, much like you’d experience in other touristy cities around the globe. Because the area the hotel was in had a bunch of tourist hotels, he cautioned us to be alert if walking around, as it could be a target for pickpockets. The risk was much lower in busier areas populated by locals.

For those who didn’t feel comfortable walking, he said the hotel could arrange a driver if you wanted to visit places, and they could wait for you and bring you back if you wanted. Since it would be arranged through the hotel, it could be paid by credit card or even charged to your room. Quito also uses Uber, which was safe. He did say not to use local taxis as they can scam you.

Checking Into the JW Marriott Quito

We arrived at the JW Marriott around 8 AM. Quito is huge (25 miles long), so you can’t say it’s in the heart of the city, but it is nestled in the Iñaquito neighborhood, near the city’s financial district. It’s a very industrial-looking part of the city, not particularly different from any other business district in a metropolitan area. It’s next to a McDonald’s and across from a car rental place; not the most picturesque of neighborhoods.

As we arrived, two impeccably dressed doormen welcomed us and then grabbed our bags from the van while Pedro showed us into the lobby. I was immediately impressed by the open and airy feeling of the hotel lobby. It was constructed almost like a greenhouse, with huge glass panels forming the walls and ceiling and trees living inside. The city’s industrial feel seemed to melt away as we entered this little private resort paradise.

Tip: For those worried about traveling abroad and not knowing the language well, everyone at the JW Marriott spoke very good English and made you feel right at home.

Pablo told us to check in but warned that rooms might not be ready this early, as the hotel was fully booked. The desk attendant checked us in and said if we wanted, we could check in early for $45. Otherwise, we’d have to wait until 1 PM for a room (which is still earlier than the 3 PM they usually publish). Because I desperately needed some sleep, I opted for the early check-in, which also got us an upgrade to an “executive suite,” although I’m not sure what that actually meant.

Once we got our room keys, Pablo gave us Celebrity backpacks and metal water bottles that were labeled with our cabin numbers. We’d use both of these a lot on the trip. He suggested not drinking the water in Quito to avoid stomach troubles, so the hotel provided two large bottles of filtered water in the room, and the lobby also had a refill station.

Pablo also pointed out Celebrity’s dedicated hospitality desk that we could stop by if we had any trouble. Other cruise lines were also in the lobby with their own desks as well, so this hotel must be the base of operations for quite a few tours each week.

Tip: all the backpacks look alike, and when they’re piled on the beach in the Galapagos, it can take awhile to find yours. Consider bringing a ribbon or unique identifier; I used these bright green luggage tags from Amazon.

We headed up to our room, and the bellman brought out bags a few minutes later.

The room itself was spacious and well-appointed. Rich brown wood floors and expansive windows let in lots of natural light gave the room a very homey but still distinctly vacation-like feeling. This room had a view of the beautiful pool located behind the hotel.

For a city hotel, the size of the room was quite large, with plenty of space and a really big bathroom. The hotel had a good number of outlets (they use standard US outlets) as well as a min-fridge and coffee maker.

Exploring La Carolina Park and Quito Botanical Gardens

After a quick 2-hour nap to recharge, we decided to explore the city a bit. Celebrity’s cruise-tour package included a fairly comprehensive Quito tour on Day 1, so there wasn’t a ton that was on our list to do in Quito. One thing we had on our list to kill time was their botanical garden located in La Carolina Park.

The park was located a short 20-minute walk from the JW Marriott. It didn’t feel unsafe while we were walking, and the path from the hotel to the park was a designated walking lane that felt safe, at least in bright daylight.

Quito Botanical Gardens was in the middle of the park, and signage was a bit lacking, so we had to wander a bit to find it. Once we found the entrance, we headed to the ticket booth, but figuring out the cost was a bit confusing. General admission to the garden was just $6 per person, but they also offered a limited-time dinosaur-themed exhibition for an additional fee.

Tip: Ecuador uses the US dollar, so there’s no need to change money. Make sure to bring a lot of smaller bills like 5’s and 10’s; things are relatively inexpensive in Ecuador, so if you bought a $1 soda and gave them a $20, it could be hard for them to make change.

The Botanical Garden was a good size, with paths all leading through different areas. Staff greeted us upon entry and gave us a large, laminated map to navigate the space. She also gave us some “tips,” but I only understood about 25% of them because my high school Spanish classes were only minimally helpful 20+ years later.

The garden was well-maintained and had a lot of local species. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the right season to see everything blooming, but there was still lots of plants. About half the signs were in English and Spanish, which made it easy to fully understand what we were seeing. For the remaining signs, I used Google Translate, which did a great job.

Some of my favorite sections in the garden were a room with carnivorous plants, a well-designed cactus garden with massive cacti, and a whole bonsai section.

Overall, we spent about an hour in the garden. It was a worthwhile little side trip and got us up, moving, and acclimated to the altitude.

Trying Some Local Food

We exited the garden and walked around the park a bit. On the path right next to the park stood a bunch of food stalls manned by locals, so we grabbed a quick lunch there.

We tried some delicious ice cream that was $1 a scoop. Ecuadorian ice cream is much more fruit-focused than what you’d see in the US. It was more like sorbet, but still had dairy in it. The flavors were incredibly fresh and used way less sugar than you’d expect, providing a really refreshing dessert.

We walked farther into the park, where I saw more food stalls offering lunch options. For some of the meats, I couldn’t understand what they were, and Google Translate wasn’t processing them properly. I’m guessing that meant the food was more local names than generic types of meat. I was a bit cautious because I didn’t want to accidentally order guinea pig (an option in South America) or another meat I didn’t know what it was.

I ended up finding a special French Fry place where you could get fries with fried eggs or chopped meat on them. I ended up getting French Fries topped with a fried chicken breast. The chicken was really moist and flavorful; it must have been marinated in something, but I couldn’t place it. The shopkeeper suggested I try the guava ketchup,, which was sweeter than our ketchup; it was closer to a sweet-and-sour sauce at a Chinese take-out restaurant. For $2, it was really tasty and impressive.

While I understand and speak some Spanish, I’m far from fluent, but everyone we interacted with at the shops was very friendly and helpful. Even if they didn’t speak English, they were understanding and didn’t give dirty looks when we encountered a language barrier. I always appreciate that. I don’t expect people to know English at all; after all, I’m in their country, but I appreciate when locals have some grace when I butcher the language goes a long way.

For example, at one point I was trying to get a Diet Coke. I asked “Tienes Coke Light?” which is what they call Diet Coke in Mexico. Apparently, they don’t call it that in Ecuador. So I tried saying “Coke Zero,” which is apparently much more popular everywhere else in the world. That didn’t work either. Thankfully, another cashier saw me struggling and said: “Coca sin azucar” (Coke without sugar), and the problem was solved.

A Quick Stop at the Mall

After lunch, we headed to a mall located right next door to the park, Mall El Jardin. It was just like a mall as you’d typically find in the U.S. (well, until they all go out of business), with some familiar chain stores and some local ones as well.

If you were in Quito and realized you forgot something, there was a large pharmacy and a chain grocery store in this mall. I always like going into a local store to see what kind of foods they have and what they offer. Sometimes you’ll find unique fruits, snacks, or desserts that we don’t have at home (also, they make cheap gifts for those at home).

Because we were going to the Galapagos next, which had very strict restrictions on what we could bring, we opted not to stock up on much. We did find some unique craft beers for just $4.

JW Marriott Pool

We got back to the hotel around 2 PM and decided to try out the pool. The JW Marriott’s pool is quite large with a waterfall in the center, a hot tub, and lounge chairs all around. The bar wasn’t staffed at this point, but you could use a QR code to order drinks or light food bites, and someone would bring it out.

It was only 70 degrees and breezy, so a bit too cold for reading a book in a chair. The pool was heated, but only minimally. When the sun went behind a cloud, it became too cold to be in the water. We only spent about 45 minutes in the pool, but it was refreshing.

Dinner at JW Marriott

The JW Marriott has a few onsite dining options if you don’t want to leave the hotel. Fogo de Chão is a Brazilian steakhouse with all-you-can-eat meat, and Kaori is Japanese sushi. There’s an executive buffet downstairs called Botanical Garden, and Raíces, an Ecuadorian restaurant. All the places were probably average prices for what I’d see at home in the NY area, but since things are cheaper in Ecuador, they could be considered pricey dinner options.

We planned to have dinner at Raíces to try some local food, but we didn’t think to make a reservation. When we stopped by around 6 PM, they said they were booked until 8:30 PM. Normally that would be fine, but I was still running on too little sleep, so we opted to try another place.

On the website, they list the restaurant downstairs as Kaori, Japanese/sushi, but in reality, it’s “The Exchange,” basically the hotel bar with normal bar foods and then a small sushi counter at one side. The decor was modern, but they didn’t really have regular dinner tables; it was more lounge-style seating. You could tell it was catering to the tourist market with American pop music playing in the background and football on the TVs.

At 6 PM, the place was empty, but it quickly filled up as the night went on. The staff was super friendly, though they got a bit overwhelmed when it got crowded closer to 6:30/7. The food and drinks were reasonably priced: $10 for a cocktail, $7 for a beer, comparable to what we’d see at home (again, it’d usually be cheaper in Ecuador, so we’re paying for convenience).

After that, we turned in early so we’d be ready for the next day, as it’d be a full-day tour followed by a group dinner.

Follow Along on Our Galapagos Adventures

• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Pre-Cruise - Quito
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 0 - Quito
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 1 - Baltra
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 2 - Española Island
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 3 - Floreana Island
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 4 - Isabela Island
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 5 - Fernandina and Isabela Islands (coming soon)
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 6 - South Plaza and Santa Cruz Islands (coming soon)
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 7 - Santa Cruz Island (coming soon)
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 8 - Baltra and Disembarkation (coming soon)
• Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 9 - Quito and Home (coming soon)

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While Carnival still has a handful of Princess Cays visits scheduled for 2027, Princess Cruises currently has no visits scheduled after October 2026, raising some questions about the future of the private destination.

What Is Princess Cays?

Princess Cays is a 40-acre private cruise destination on the island of Eleuthera in The Bahamas. Unlike many cruise line private destinations, it’s not actually a private island. Eleuthera is an inhabited island with a local population. It’s also home to Disney Cruise Line’s newest private destination, Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, which opened in 2024.

The Princess Cays destination itself is private, though, and is owned by Carnival Corporation for use by its cruise lines, primarily Princess Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, and Holland America Line.

Princess Cays Replaced With RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay

Last week, notifications started to go out with itinerary updates.

Looking at the current schedule, Coral Princess appears to be the last Princess ship scheduled to visit Princess Cays, with a call on October 30.

In November, six Carnival cruises and one Princess cruise were scheduled to visit Princess Cays. In December, there were another four Carnival cruises and four Princess cruises scheduled.

Those itineraries will now visit RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay, Carnival Corporation’s other private destination in The Bahamas. Unlike Princess Cays, Half Moon Cay is truly a private island with no local population. It’s also just undergone a massive expansion.

Carnival Corporation previously announced an estimated $80 million investment in the destination, adding a pier capable of docking two ships, new food and bar facilities, additional beach space, and tram transportation around the island.

Previously just known as Half Moon Cay, the expanded destination is now officially called RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay. Before the expansion, most of the developed areas were concentrated on the southern portion of the island. Now, the entire west coast of the island is usable by guests.

At the northern end is the new pier, with two berths that will typically be used by Carnival ships, along with new facilities built as part of the expansion. The southern end contains the original facilities and will typically serve Holland America ships.

So for guests being moved from Princess Cays to RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay, the change is an upgrade. They’re being moved to a destination where Carnival Corporation has just invested heavily in expanding the facilities and increasing capacity. The pier will make it easier to get on and off the ship, and the beaches have much softer, white sand compared to Princess Cays’ more rocky beach.

Carnival Corporation Is Putting More Focus on Its Paradise Collection

The change also comes as Carnival Corporation is putting much more emphasis on what it calls its Paradise Collection.

Introduced in 2025, the Paradise Collection brings together Carnival Corporation’s exclusive Caribbean destinations. These seven spots are Celebration Key, RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay, Isla Tropicale in Roatán, Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic, Grand Turk in Turks & Caicos, Puerta Maya in Cozumel, and Princess Cays.

And these destinations are becoming an increasingly important part of Carnival Corporation’s Caribbean strategy.

The company expects more than 9 million guests to visit Paradise Collection destinations in 2027. It also says 90% of its North American cruise brands’ Caribbean itineraries will visit at least one exclusive destination that year, while roughly half will visit two or more.

Interestingly, Princess Cays is still officially part of the Paradise Collection, even as Princess Cruises itself disappears from the destination’s schedule after October 2026.

What’s the Future for Princess Cays?

Right now, Princess Cruises has no cruises scheduled to visit Princess Cays after October 30, 2026. Carnival still has some sailings with Princess Cays on their itineraries. The first is Carnival Freedom, departing March 27, 2027.

After that, there are some sporadic visits, including Carnival Conquest’s May 31 sailing, Carnival Paradise’s August 30 sailing, and Carnival Valor’s June 12 and August 7 sailings. Of course, those cruises are still months away, so their itineraries could potentially change as well.

So what’s happening with Princess Cays?

Right now, we don’t know. Princess Cruises has traditionally been the primary cruise line visiting the destination, with Carnival Cruise Line also making regular calls. But Princess’ Caribbean deployment is changing. The cruise line currently has no Caribbean sailings scheduled from May through August 2027, instead focusing its ships on other regions during the summer.

That means there would already be significantly less traffic headed to Princess Cays during those months.

At the same time, Carnival Corporation suddenly has much more capacity at RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay. The new pier can accommodate two ships, and the expanded destination can handle significantly more guests than before. Princess is also beginning to visit Celebration Key, giving the cruise line another Carnival Corporation destination in The Bahamas.

With Carnival Corporation investing heavily in its Paradise Collection and giving its cruise lines more exclusive destinations to choose from, Princess Cays may simply no longer be as essential to its Caribbean strategy as it once was. Or maybe they’ll looking to give it a similar upgrade to increase the strength of their portfolio.

For now, though, Carnival Corporation hasn’t announced any plans to close Princess Cays, and those handful of Carnival visits currently scheduled for 2027 suggest the destination isn’t disappearing entirely.

But with Princess Cruises itself completely absent from the schedule after October, it’s certainly something worth watching.

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Catalina Sugar Beach Will Open in November 2026

The new destination will be called Catalina Sugar Beach and is scheduled to open in November 2026. It is not a completely new development, but a significant renovation and expansion of an existing beach area on Catalina Island.

The project is being developed through a partnership between CTL Maritime and Casa de Campo Resort & Villas, a luxury resort located near La Romana. Catalina Island is designated as a Natural Monument under Dominican law, meaning the projects must follow local environmental regulations to help preserve the island’s natural beauty.

You won’t find a massive water park, towering slides, or zip lines here. The whole point of Catalina Sugar Beach is to offer what MSC calls a “premium Caribbean beach experience.” Guests will find turquoise water, pristine white-sand beaches, coral reefs, and palm trees, with the new facilities designed to make a day at the beach more comfortable without overwhelming the island’s natural setting.

Catalina Sugar Beach will include:

• An open-air beach pavilion buffet offering international dishes and local specialties
• A shaded outdoor dining area overlooking the water
• Two bars, including an open-air palapa bar
• A water sports center with equipment available to rent
• Daybeds and cabanas available to rent
• Upgraded changing rooms, showers, and restrooms
• A walking path through the island’s natural landscape

The pathway will wind through the island to a scenic viewpoint, with educational signs along the way highlighting some of its different tree species. Elevated clearings will also offer views of the beach and surrounding landscape.

There are still some important questions that MSC has not answered. We do not yet know exactly what will be included for cruise passengers or what additional costs guests should expect once they arrive. MSC has confirmed that cabanas, daybeds, and water sports equipment will cost extra, but it has not said whether the buffet will be complimentary or whether its onboard drink packages will work at the two bars.

Guests will also be able to book shore excursions to take advantage of the surrounding area. Options will include snorkeling, catamaran trips, boat excursions to Saona Island, and visits to the Cave of Wonders and Altos de Chavón.

MSC Opera Will Visit on Every Sailing

For now, the main ship scheduled to visit Catalina Sugar Beach is MSC Opera. Beginning in November 2026, the ship will sail year-round from La Romana. Every sailing of the MSC Opera will include a visit to Catalina Sugar Beach.

However, the destination will not be exclusive to MSC Opera or even MSC Cruises. Guests sailing with MSC Group’s luxury brand, Explora Journeys, will visit on select Caribbean itineraries, and guests staying at Casa de Campo Resort & Villas will also have access. MSC’s original announcement in April also said the destination would be open to passengers from other cruise lines and private clients.

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We have seen tons of renderings, but now, just one month before the official opening, we are getting our first look at what it actually looks like.

What Is Great Tides Waterpark?

Great Tides Waterpark will be the second cruise-owned private waterpark in North America, with the first being Thrill Waterpark at Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day at CocoCay, which can be seen directly from the island.

The 6-acre waterpark is located on the northern side of Great Stirrup Cay, opposite the new pier and heated pool. Admission costs extra and is dynamically priced, meaning it will vary by sailing. However, we have seen prices ranging from $79 to $99.

The park will officially open on September 4, 2026, but it is currently open for previews. Norwegian will have an extensive influencer campaign covering the waterpark over the next couple of weeks, so expect to see plenty of TikToks and Reels about the new destination. Since we are not influencers, we were not invited.

Great Tides Waterpark’s Photos Do the Renderings Justice

When cruise lines release preliminary renderings of new ships or destinations, you can never tell whether the final product will live up to the hype. However, based on these photos, Norwegian has certainly delivered.

The waterpark has a different feel from similar parks, which are usually bold, colorful, and loud. The muted color palette and natural rock formations give this waterpark a much more premium feel, in line with the “premium family” market Norwegian Cruise Line is now targeting, according to its investor calls.

The waterpark has a total of 19 slides, a lazy river, a huge kids’ splash zone, and the tallest slide tower in the area.

• Tidal Tower, a 170-foot slide tower
  • Breakaway Blasters, water coasters with downhill drops and uphill blasts
  • Whitewater Dash, two body slides
  • Rapid Mat Racers, featuring headfirst racing
  • Two inner tube Nautilus slides

• An 828-foot-long “dynamic” river with multimedia effects and a swim-up bar

• A 9,000-square-foot kids’ splash zone with nine slides and an oversized tipping bucket
  • For guests with younger children, a smaller complimentary kids’ splash park is located near the heated pool outside the waterpark.

• Cliff-jumping areas

Food at the Waterpark

Great Tides Waterpark will also offer some unique dining options for the island, provided you are willing to pay even more.

Low Tide Smoke serves barbecue favorites such as St. Louis BBQ Riblets, BBQ Pork Nachos, and Crispy Buffalo Cauliflower.

Catch of the Day offers “premium cold-water seafood,” with dishes such as Crispy Shrimp Rolls, Golden Fried Shrimp Baskets, and Chilled Seafood Rolls.

Tidal Treats is the go-to place for handcrafted desserts such as the Strawberry Red Velvet Sundae and Ultimate Chocolate Brownie Sundae, served in a bubble waffle bowl.

Guests will also have access to the complimentary buffet-style food.

Drinks at the Waterpark

Guests with a Free at Sea Unlimited Beverage Package or Free at Sea Plus package will still be able to use it at Great Stirrup Cay, allowing them to grab a drink without paying extra.

Norwegian originally planned to remove drinks at Great Stirrup Cay from its beverage packages, but it reversed that decision following public backlash and delays in completing the new pier.

Guests will have two places to grab drinks inside Great Tides Waterpark. The Grotto Bar is located underneath the cliff-jumping area, allowing guests to watch people attempt the 10- and 15-foot drops while enjoying a beverage.

There is also Floataway Bar, located in the middle of the lazy river, so guests can grab a drink without even leaving the water.

Cabanas Are Also Available

Great Tides Waterpark will also have private cabanas available for rental. Each private cabana can accommodate up to six people and includes admission to the waterpark.

Comparing Norwegian and Royal Caribbean’s Waterparks

It is hard to talk about Norwegian’s new waterpark without comparing it with Royal Caribbean’s Thrill Waterpark at Perfect Day at CocoCay, especially since you can literally see one while standing in the other.

Norwegian’s overall waterpark footprint is smaller, covering nearly 6 acres compared with Royal Caribbean’s 9 acres. However, Norwegian has more slides, with 19 compared with 14 at Thrill Waterpark.

Norwegian’s slide tower also takes the crown, pun intended, from Royal Caribbean. The 170-foot Tidal Tower is taller than Royal Caribbean’s Daredevil’s Peak, which stands at 135 feet.

There are a few other differences. While Royal Caribbean’s Thrill Waterpark has a wave pool, Norwegian instead has an 828-foot-long dynamic river.

Great Tides Waterpark also has the highest cliff-jumping platforms in the Caribbean, where guests can attempt 10- and 15-foot plunges. The area also features eight children’s slides in the splash zone, while Royal Caribbean’s Thrill Waterpark does not focus as heavily on younger children. Instead, Royal Caribbean offers two complimentary kids’ splash areas elsewhere on the island.

The big question will be whether Great Tides Waterpark feels like a worthwhile add-on once guests are already on Great Stirrup Cay. However, on paper, Norwegian is clearly trying to go head-to-head with Royal Caribbean’s Thrill Waterpark, and in a few areas, it may even have the edge.

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The cruise line has extended its suspension of visits to its private destination in Haiti through June 2027. Royal Caribbean had previously removed Labadee from itineraries through the end of 2026.

In a statement, the cruise line said the decision was made as it continues to evaluate conditions in Haiti and its ability to operate visits responsibly.

“As we continue to evaluate conditions in Haiti and our ability to deliver the best vacations responsibly, we have decided to extend the suspension of ship calls to Labadee through June 2027,” Royal Caribbean said. “This decision was made with the safety and well-being of our guests and crew members in mind.”

The latest extension means Royal Caribbean ships will not return to Labadee until at least July 2027.

Guests Are Being Moved to Other Ports

Guests began receiving notifications about the itinerary changes this week, and social media was soon filled with posts from travelers sharing their updated plans.

Replacement ports vary depending on the ship and sailing date. Some itineraries are being updated to visit destinations including Nassau, Costa Maya, Puerto Plata, and Grand Cayman. Other cruises may receive an additional day at sea.

Any prepaid Royal Caribbean shore excursions booked for Labadee will be automatically refunded.

The changes could be disappointing for guests who specifically selected an itinerary because it included Labadee. Unlike Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Bahamas, Labadee is more nature-focused and has less of a theme park feel. The private destination offers several beaches, an alpine coaster, zip lines, water activities, private cabanas, and complimentary dining.

Labadee Has Been Closed Since April 2025

Labadee is not a private island, but a destination located on the northern coast of Haiti.

Royal Caribbean has not visited Labadee since April 2025 as security conditions throughout Haiti have continued to deteriorate. Currently, the United States has Haiti under a Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory because of risks involving crime, kidnapping, terrorism, civil unrest, and limited access to health care.

Although Labadee is located more than 100 miles from the capital of Port-au-Prince and is separated from surrounding areas, Royal Caribbean has continued to evaluate whether visits can be operated safely.

This is not the first extended disruption for the destination. Royal Caribbean temporarily suspended visits during periods of unrest in 2024 before eventually returning. Calls were paused again in 2025 and have not resumed.

Royal Caribbean Says It Remains Committed to Labadee

Despite the extended closure, Royal Caribbean has not indicated any plans to permanently abandon Labadee.

The cruise line said it remains committed to supporting its employees in the area and keeping them informed as conditions are evaluated.

Royal Caribbean has operated the private destination since 1988 and has also supported projects in nearby communities. According to the cruise line, those efforts have included education programs, clean water and sanitation projects, infrastructure improvements, and food donations.

For now, Labadee will remain absent from Royal Caribbean itineraries for nearly another year.

Whether ships will finally return in July 2027 will likely depend on how conditions in Haiti develop over the coming months.

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