Celebrity Flora Outer Loop Galapagos Expedition Blog – Pre-cruise – Quito
This summer, I got a chance to take a bucket-list trip…visiting the Galapagos Islands. The birthplace of the theory of evolution and home to a diverse biological environment, it’s not your typical tourist destination. There are no manicured white-sand beaches with padded loungers and tiki bars. It’s much more secluded. Located a two-hour flight from the capital of Ecuador, Quito, it’s extremely secluded and the perfect place for an adventure.
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 (coming soon)
- Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 1 - Baltra (coming soon)
- Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 2 - Española Island (coming soon)
- Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 3 - Floreana Island (coming soon)
- Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 4 - Isabela Island (coming soon)
- 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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