Hero of the Seas Broadway Musical

While other cruise lines have been cutting back on Broadway shows, Royal Caribbean has been doubling down, introducing new shows on each of its Icon Class ships. Icon of the Seas has “The Wizard of Oz,” Star of the Seas has “Back to the Future,” and Legend of the Seas has “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” Everyone was wondering what the next production might be for the fourth Icon Class ship, Hero of the Seas.

Today, they announced that the show coming to the Royal Theater will be “The SpongeBob Musical.” It’ll be the first production of the show at sea and will be imagined for the cruise audience.

“The SpongeBob Musical” Isn’t Just for Kids

Before you start complaining that there’s too much of a focus on kids, “The SpongeBob Musical” actually ran for 327 performances at the Palace Theatre on Broadway from 2017 to 2018. During that time, it was nominated for 12 Tony Awards, tying “Mean Girls” for the most nominations that season, and won the 2018 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical.

The musical is based on the hit Nickelodeon show “SpongeBob SquarePants,” which debuted in 1999 and is still running today with more than 300 episodes under its belt. The musical features original songs written by artists including Cyndi Lauper, Sara Bareilles, Panic! at the Disco, John Legend, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, The Flaming Lips, and They Might Be Giants.

In the show, the underwater town of Bikini Bottom is threatened by the impending eruption of a nearby volcano, throwing its citizens into utter chaos. To save their home from total annihilation, the ever-optimistic SpongeBob SquarePants must team up with his friends Patrick and Sandy to find a solution before time runs out.

Other Entertainment Will Be Announced

Of course, like all the other Icon Class ships, it’s not just about what’s in the Royal Theater. The ship will also have shows in the AquaTheater inside the AquaDome and Absolute Zero, the onboard ice skating rink. These shows typically feature acrobatic stunts, high-diving, aerial performances, and world-class skating talent.

The names and themes of those shows have yet to be released.

Hero of the Seas Will Debut Summer 2027

Hero of the Seas is scheduled to debut in August 2027 and will sail from Miami. The fourth Icon Class ship will offer 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises, with every sailing visiting Perfect Day at CocoCay in The Bahamas.

Western Caribbean itineraries will include destinations such as Cozumel, Mexico, and Roatan, Honduras, while Eastern Caribbean sailings will visit ports such as St. Thomas and St. Maarten.

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Margaritaville at Sea just released a big batch of new sailings for 2028, with 30 distinct itineraries visiting 25 destinations. While Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian are increasingly running the same itineraries to many of the same Caribbean destinations and private islands over and over again, Margaritaville at Sea is offering some more unique options.

The newly announced sailings focus on Margaritaville at Sea Islander from Tampa and Beachcomber from Galveston, with everything from overnight stays in New Orleans to the ABC Islands, Panama, Costa Rica and even Veracruz, Mexico.

Of course, there are still plenty of typical Caribbean and Mexico sailings in the mix. But several of the new itineraries caught our attention.

Mardi Gras Overnight in New Orleans

Margaritaville at Sea Islander will leave from Tampa and head to New Orleans for the 2028 Mardi Gras celebration, including an overnight stay in the city.

That overnight is what makes this itinerary particularly interesting. Rather than heading back to the ship in the late afternoon or early evening, guests will have much more time to experience the parades, beads, brass bands, and unmistakable energy of Mardi Gras.

New Orleans isn’t exactly a common port call from Tampa to begin with, and getting an overnight stay there during Mardi Gras makes this one of the more unique sailings on Margaritaville’s 2028 schedule.

Costa Rica and Panama Are New for Margaritaville

Margaritaville at Sea is also going somewhere it has never gone before.

Islander will offer new eight-night cruises from Tampa that visit Limón, Costa Rica, and Colón, Panama. Both will be first-time destinations for the cruise line and allow guests to visit lush rainforests and tropical landscapes. The itinerary also includes Grand Cayman along with four sea days.

These are the types of ports that really caught our attention. Margaritaville at Sea has historically been heavily focused on the Bahamas, Mexico and the Caribbean, so adding Costa Rica and Panama gives repeat guests something genuinely new to choose from.

Signature Halloween Cruise

For the third year, Islander will also offer a special Halloween sailing. For 2028, it’ll include an overnight stay in New Orleans.

Sailing from Tampa, the special Halloween and Día de los Muertos itinerary gives guests more time to experience the Crescent City’s legendary mystery and after-dark energy before continuing to Progreso, Mexico, for the color, culture, and traditions surrounding Día de los Muertos.

The overnight in New Orleans should work especially well for a Halloween sailing. It’s a city already known for its haunted history, cemeteries, voodoo culture, and nightlife, so it feels like a much more natural fit than simply taking a normal Caribbean itinerary and adding some Halloween decorations onboard.

More Adventure From Texas

As we shared before, Margaritaville at Sea’s newest ship, Beachcomber, will move from Miami to Galveston, Texas, in October 2027. Once there, it’ll offer even more itinerary combinations, including a Mexico trio featuring Cozumel, Progreso and Veracruz.

Veracruz is the destination that really stands out there. It’s not a port you regularly see on mainstream cruise itineraries from the U.S., especially compared to Cozumel and Costa Maya, which appear on seemingly endless Western Caribbean sailings.

Beachcomber will also offer a mix of other itineraries from Galveston, giving Margaritaville at Sea a chance to differentiate itself in a market that has gotten much more competitive over the past few years.

All Three ABC Islands From Tampa

Another interesting option aboard Islander will visit Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao on the same cruise.

According to Margaritaville at Sea, it’ll be the only cruise from Tampa visiting all three ABC islands in 2028.

That’s a pretty significant departure from the typical Western Caribbean routes you see sailing from Tampa, which tend to rely heavily on Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Belize and Roatán.

International Parrothead Day in Key West

What would a Margaritaville cruise schedule be without a sailing specifically for Parrotheads?

Timed around International Parrothead Day on June 28, this special five-night sailing aboard Islander will visit Key West and Bimini and depart Tampa on June 25, 2028. The timing means guests will actually be onboard for International Parrothead Day, and it’s hard to think of a more appropriate destination to pair with it than Key West.

Margaritaville at Sea says the voyage will bring together island culture, tropical destinations, and plenty of opportunities for Parrotheads to flock together at sea.

The cruise line hasn’t announced exactly what the special programming will include yet, but considering how closely Margaritaville is tied to Jimmy Buffett and Parrothead culture, we’d expect this one to have more going on than a typical Islander sailing.

Special Holiday Sailings Year-Round

Margaritaville at Sea’s announcement also highlights special holiday sailings throughout the year, mentioning events like St. Patrick’s Day, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, and the Fourth of July.

Looking at the sailings during those weeks, the itineraries themselves aren’t overly unique or special. In most cases, they look similar to the cruises Margaritaville at Sea is already offering throughout the year.

That doesn’t necessarily mean there’s nothing special about them, though. It sounds like the cruise line may be doing more onboard to celebrate each holiday, whether that’s themed parties, entertainment, food and drinks or other activities. Margaritaville hasn’t provided many details yet, so we’ll have to see what actually makes these sailings different.

More Music on the Horizon

According to Margaritaville at Sea, they’re also “leaning into Margaritaville’s musical DNA” with more music-focused specialty sailings.

These cruises will feature chart-topping artists and exclusive performances at sea, although the cruise line hasn’t announced who those artists will be yet. More details and artist announcements are expected in the months ahead.

Music cruises obviously aren’t a new concept, but they make a lot of sense for Margaritaville at Sea. Live music is already a big part of the onboard atmosphere, and few cruise brands have music built into their identity quite as much as Margaritaville does.

My Take: Margaritaville Is Mixing Things Up

What stands out about Margaritaville at Sea’s 2028 schedule isn’t just the number of itineraries, but how much variety they’re getting out of Islander and Beachcomber.

You’ll still find plenty of Cozumel, Nassau, and other familiar destinations. But there are also overnights in New Orleans, new ports like Veracruz, Costa Rica, and Panama, sailings to all three ABC islands, event-focused cruises, Parrothead sailings, and more specialty cruises still to be announced.

For a cruise line that’s still relatively small, it’s a much more varied lineup than I expected.

One thing that stuck out was that Margaritaville at Sea Paradise wasn’t mentioned at all in the press release. The cruise line’s original ship is scheduled to continue sailing shorter cruises from Palm Beach until December 2027, but Margaritaville didn’t detail its 2028 plans as part of this latest itinerary rollout. Could that mean changes ahead for the fleet?

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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 (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)

Want to Stay Up-to-date on Celebrity and Other Cruise News?

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Starting October 13, Princess Plus and Princess Premier will each cost $5 more per person, per day. Unlike Princess’s last package price increase in 2025, though, there don’t appear to be any new benefits coming along with the higher prices, at least based on what has been announced so far.

Princess is also making some bigger changes to its standalone Wi-Fi options, including eliminating its four-device package for guests who don’t have Princess Premier.

Princess Plus and Premier Are Going Up $5 Per Day

Princess Plus and Premier allow guests to make their cruise experience feel more “all-inclusive” by bundling dining, drinks, internet, and even daily gratuities into one package. Depending on how much you use the included benefits, they can offer a lot of value, but both will see a price increase starting in October.

The increase will be $5 per guest, per day, which works out to roughly a 5% to 8% increase depending on the package.

Like before, pricing for Princess’s newest Sphere Class ships, Sun Princess and Star Princess, will be $5 more per person, per day than the rest of the fleet.

What Do You Get With Princess Plus and Premier?

It doesn’t appear that the benefits themselves are changing with this latest increase.

Princess Plus Includes:

• Plus Beverage Package, covering drinks up to $15
• MedallionNet Max Wi-Fi for one device per guest
• Four casual dining meals per guest, per cruise
• Crew appreciation (daily gratuities)
• OceanNow delivery fee waived
• Complimentary room service delivery

Princess Premier Includes:

• Complimentary room service delivery
• Premier Beverage Package, covering drinks up to $20
• MedallionNet Max Wi-Fi for four devices per guest
• Unlimited casual dining
• Unlimited specialty dining
• Shore excursion credit of $100 to $300 per guest, depending on the length of the cruise
• Crew appreciation (daily gratuities)
• Unlimited digital professional photos, plus three prints
• Reserved seating for theatrical shows
• OceanNow delivery fee waived

Princess Wi-Fi Prices Are Also Increasing

The more interesting changes may actually be happening with Princess’s standalone Wi-Fi.

Currently, guests without Plus or Premier can purchase MedallionNet Classic separately. Princess lists the current pre-cruise starting price for a single-device plan at $24.99 per day.

For cruises booked on or after October 13, the single-device plan will increase to:

• $27.99 per day pre-cruise
• $33.99 per day when purchasing a full-voyage plan onboard
• $39.99 for a single day onboard

That means the pre-cruise price is increasing by $3 per day, or about 12%.

For a seven-night cruise, that brings standalone Wi-Fi to $195.93 for one device.

New Two-Device Wi-Fi Plan

Princess is also introducing a new two-device Wi-Fi plan.

It will cost:

• $39.99 per day pre-cruise
• $47.99 per day when purchasing a full-voyage plan onboard
• $55.99 for a single day onboard

For someone who travels with both a phone and a tablet or laptop, the new two-device option could make more sense than having to switch one connection between devices.

Four-Device Wi-Fi Will Be Exclusive to Princess Premier

There is one significant reduction in choice. Princess currently offers standalone Wi-Fi packages for either one or four devices. Under the new structure, the four-device standalone plan will no longer be available. Instead, guests will choose between one-device and two-device standalone packages.

The only way to get Wi-Fi access for four devices per guest will be through Princess Premier, where four-device MedallionNet Max remains an included benefit.

Another Princess Package Price Increase

Princess has increased the price of its packages several times over the past few years.

Princess Plus has now increased from $60 to $70 per person, per day, or about 17%, since 2023.

Premier has gone from $80 to $105 during the same period, an increase of just over 31%.

Of course, Premier today includes considerably more than the original version of the package, particularly unlimited specialty dining, unlimited casual dining, and shore excursion credits. So it’s not quite an apples-to-apples comparison.

Princess Cruises explained the price increase in a letter sent to travel professionals:

“We periodically review our offerings to ensure they continue to provide meaningful benefits while reflecting changes in our operating environment…We believe both packages offer strong value.”

Princess Cruises’ website has not yet been updated with the new pricing at the time of publication. The new pricing is scheduled to begin for cruises booked on or after October 13.

Our Take: Still a Surprisingly Good Value

Normally, I’m not a big fan of these add-on packages. I find they usually include “benefits” I never use, and it’s cheaper for me to purchase things à la carte. But the enhanced Princess Premier package makes a lot of sense.

One thing that really helps is that the daily gratuities, which range from $18 to $20 per person, per day, are included in the package. Because of that, the value is even greater.

To see how it compares to the competition, we looked at a March sailing on Celebrity Xcel. Celebrity’s pricing is dynamic and changes by sailing, but these were the prices available when we checked.

Here are the daily prices to put together a package similar to Princess Premier:

• Premium Drinks and Wi-Fi: $116.99 per person, per day (drinks up to $19)
• Unlimited Dining Package: $66.99 per person, per day
• Tips: $19.50 per person, per day

That comes out to $203.48 per person, per day, and it still doesn’t include some of the extra benefits Princess Premier offers, like professional photos, reserved theater seating, and the shore excursion credit.

At $105 per person, per day when purchased pre-cruise, Princess Premier is roughly half the price of putting together a similar package on the Celebrity Xcel sailing we checked.

Of course, it’s not a perfect apples-to-apples comparison. Celebrity’s prices vary by sailing and can change based on sales and promotions. But it helps put Princess’s pricing into perspective. Even after another increase, Premier can still offer a surprising amount of value compared to purchasing similar amenities separately on another cruise line.

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Celebrity Flora Day 1 Overview

• Celebrity Flora Outer Loop Cruise – Day 1 Schedule
• Breakfast at Botanica Restaurant
• Travel to Quito Airport
• Flight to Baltra
• Baltra Airport – The Gateway to the Galapagos
• Boarding Celebrity Flora
• Celebrity Flora First Impressions
  • Celebrity DNA on a Smaller Scale
  • Designed Explicitly for the Galapagos
• Standard Verandah Cabin on Celebrity Flora
  • Every Cabin is a Suite
  • Bathroom and Storage
  • Balconies on Celebrity Flora
• Lunch in Seaside Restaurant
• Muster Drill
• Top Decks on Celebrity Flora
• Ship Wi-Fi
• Our First Expedition Briefing
• Picking Excursions for Tomorrow’s Adventure
• Suiting Up
• Welcome Toast and Boat Familiarization
• First Dinner Onboard
• After-Dinner Plans

Celebrity Flora Outer Loop Cruise – Day 1 Schedule

Breakfast at Botanica Restaurant

We started our day by heading downstairs to Botanica Restaurant for the included buffet breakfast at the JW Marriott Quito. It was open from 6:00 AM to 8:00 AM.

The options were pretty similar to the ones the day before, with dishes like pancakes, waffles, omelets made to order, fresh pastries, and lots of fruit. They also had more savory options like cold cuts, soup, and rice.

The fruit and juices rotated each day, and I got to try more local selections. My favorite local fruit to try was “tree tomato,” technically called a tamarillo. It had an interesting flavor profile, equally tart and sweet, with notes of kiwi, guava, and passion fruit.

The buffet was slightly busier than the previous morning, but it was still only about one-quarter full, with no lines.

Travel to Quito Airport

At 8:10 AM, we met at the same meeting point in the lobby as the previous day. You could tell energy levels were much higher, with everyone buzzing with excitement to get moving. Since people had become friends with their tour groups, they talked much more than the day before.

Our guide, Pedro, gave us our boarding passes and the forms required to get on the flight. He told us the airline representative had already inspected our bags that morning, approved them, and put them on the buses waiting for us.

We loaded onto the same bus we were on the previous day and headed out. Although there were probably about 70 to 80 of us on this pre-cruise portion, it always felt more intimate. That’s because we were always in our groups of 10 to 14 people. It never felt like a massive group. When our group was ready, we headed out. We didn’t have to wait for other groups or coordinate with them. It was done really well.

As we started the roughly hour-long trip to the airport, Pedro explained the upcoming process in detail. Then he filled us in more about the geology of Quito, which is surrounded by volcanoes, some active and some inactive.

Flight to Baltra

When we got to Quito Airport, he walked our group over to the check-in counter. The staff had already tagged our bags for the plane, but for security purposes, we had to physically roll them about 5 feet to check them in. Then he walked us over to the domestic security checkpoint.

We said goodbye to Pedro and then scanned our passports. We headed through security, which was a lighter version of what you’d see in the U.S. There was no full-body scanner, just a metal detector, and we were allowed to have liquids in our carry-ons because this was a domestic flight.

Tip: You can carry liquids in your carry-on because this is a domestic flight.

The level of service was impeccable. I think the longest we went without a Celebrity representative with us was maybe 50 feet for the security check. On the other side was another Celebrity representative, Gabby, who’d be flying with us.

After security, we went to a dedicated airport area that was basically only for our privately chartered flight. The flight was operated by Avianca, the same airline we flew to get to Quito, but this time it was different. Celebrity booked the whole flight for guests on the 10- and 11-day sailings.

That meant every row had only two people, with a window and aisle seat occupied and the middle seat kept open. The seats were assigned by cabin number. Like our flight to Quito, the seats were pretty tight with little leg room.

I’ve never flown private or on a charter, but this whole experience felt very exclusive, even though it was a budget airline. We were sitting in an international airport with basically our own boarding gate. All the guests sitting near us were on the cruise as well, and the gate agents welcomed all the Celebrity guests in the announcements. And since the plane wasn’t anywhere near full, boarding was a breeze.

Each guest was allowed (1) 23 kg bag (just a little over 50 pounds), one carry on, and one personal item. Most of Celebrity’s official documentation said 40 pounds, but that was outdated.

The flight was scheduled for 10:19 AM and would take 1 hour and 50 minutes. Even though it was a short flight, Celebrity provided meal options along with wine and beer, which isn’t standard on Avianca. While the meal wasn’t amazing by any means, it was really nice of them to provide it and, again, brought a feeling of luxury. The food cart even had Celebrity drapery on it.

Baltra Airport – The Gateway to the Galapagos

We arrived at Baltra Airport around 12:30 PM, right on time. The airport doesn’t have a jet bridge since it’s small, so we deplaned by walking down a set of stairs onto the tarmac.

Immediately, I could see how different the landscape was compared to Quito. Baltra was much more desert-like. As we walked toward the airport, we saw several land iguanas. They seemed large at the time, but after visiting the islands, we realized they were just babies.

The next step was the part Celebrity couldn’t control much: Galapagos security. Celebrity had prepared all our forms and already paid the $200 fee for us to enter the national park, but we still had to go through the process ourselves. (If you skip the tour and just book the cruise, you have to pay the $200 fee yourself, but then Celebrity will reimburse you).

That line was a bit long. It took us about 30 minutes to get through security, with our passports checked and our bags X-rayed again to make sure we weren’t bringing anything dangerous onto the islands.

As soon as we exited security, smiling Celebrity naturalists greeted us. They gave us our room keys and directed us to a line to exit the airport and take a bus to the pier.

Tip: You don’t need to print or download your boarding pass as you do on other cruises. They look you up by cabin number.

This was probably the most frustrating part. I was ready to start the adventure, but it’s the national park’s buses that shuttle guests, not Celebrity’s private transportation, so we were at their mercy.

After what felt like an eternity, but was really only 15 minutes, our group loaded onto a bus and started the 6-minute ride to the pier.

Boarding Celebrity Flora

We arrived at a small pier, where more naturalists instructed us on how to put on our life jackets and get ready to board the Zodiacs.

Celebrity Flora never actually docks at all. The only way to access the ship is through 10- to 15-minute tender rides back and forth. Our large bags would be brought onto the ship later, but any carry-ons and backpacks would come with us in the tender.

As we waited to board, a sea lion lounged on the dock, bringing joyous gasps from passengers getting their first close encounter. We’d have so many more.

Tip: At this point, they also shared that we’d be staying on Quito time for the sailing, which is the same as the Central Time Zone in the U.S., rather than switching to Galapagos time, which is another hour earlier. Everyone adjusted their cell phones so they wouldn’t automatically change to the new time, and we’d all be on the same page.

The tenders usually hold 10 to 14 people, so it took about 20 minutes for us to board one. It felt so adventurous to get onto the tender and head out.

As the zodiac, or tender as they refer to them, bounced along the water and small bursts of mist hit our faces, I felt like I was on the first episode of “Survivor,” with a bunch of strangers sitting in complete silence as we headed out on our first adventure, surveying the landscape and sizing each other up.

Within a couple minutes, the Celebrity Flora slowly come into focus. The executive staff of the ship, including the captain, were all on the back of the ship to greet us as we arrived, waving hello to everyone. It almost felt like something you’d see in a TV show like “The White Lotus” or “Fantasy Island.”

We climbed out of the tender using steps that lined up with the deck, took off our life jackets, and tagged in by tapping our Celebrity room keys at the kiosk. Then we were given a glass of champagne and escorted to our room.

Celebrity Flora First Impressions

Celebrity Flora isn’t your traditional cruise ship at all. In reality, it resembles a mega-yacht more than one of the Celebrity ships you’ll see sailing out of Florida or in the Mediterranean.

It’s an expedition cruise ship purpose-built for the Galapagos. It’s the largest ship, by tonnage, to operate in the Galapagos and replaces the two previous, smaller ships, Celebrity Xploration and Celebrity Xpedition, which now operate under National Geographic as Gemini and Delfina.

That doesn’t mean Flora is large, though. The ship is only 5,922 gross tons, with just 50 cabins for a total of 100 guests. It’s roughly 1/15th the size of the next smallest ship in the Celebrity fleet, Celebrity Millennium, so it almost feels silly to compare it to a traditional ocean liner.

You really understand how small it is when you realize that some bars on Royal Caribbean ships can hold more people than the entire capacity of Flora.

Celebrity DNA on a Smaller Scale

Even with its small size, though, the ship still feels unmistakably Celebrity. Celebrity Flora was built in 2019, just a year after the revolutionary Celebrity Edge debuted, and you can feel that influence throughout the ship. It’s almost like an “Edge Lite” experience.

From the contemporary art and copious amounts of floor-to-ceiling windows to the highly debated Infinite Verandas, there are plenty of familiar Celebrity design elements. But they’ve been adapted for a very different type of ship. The whole ship felt very high-end without being stuffy, while still feeling incredibly open and airy.

Designed Explicitly for the Galapagos

Because Flora was designed specifically for the Galapagos, you can see choices throughout the ship that are meant to make the scenery and expedition experience the focus. As we sailed up to it, one of the first things I noticed was that you could literally see through the ship across much of Deck 4.

The interior uses an “outward-facing concept,” with the main dining room and lounges surrounded by panoramic windows so you’re rarely disconnected from the scenery outside.

That idea carries throughout the ship. On the top deck, guests can enjoy a casual meal outside in the fresh air with unobstructed views. The ship’s lone hot tub is elevated above the railings so they don’t block your view while you’re using it. Outdoor camping cabanas also let guests spend the night under the stars, one of the few extra-fee experiences aboard Flora.

The expedition side of the ship is just as thoughtfully designed. Flora has dedicated space to store the Zodiacs that serve as tenders throughout the cruise, since the ship never docks at the islands. The Marina on Deck 3 is designed specifically around getting guests on and off those Zodiacs, with space to store wetsuits and shower off before heading back inside.

It quickly became clear that nearly every part of Flora was designed around making it easier to get guests off the ship and out exploring the Galapagos.

Standard Verandah Cabin on Celebrity Flora

One of the Food and Beverage staff members immediately showed us to our cabin, and we took a short walk down the modern-looking hallways.

Every Cabin is a Suite

Let’s start off by saying I’m not a suite person. I’ve never stayed in a suite, and usually the cabin is the least of my concerns when booking a cruise. I’m pretty low-maintenance, so standard cabins typically suit me fine.

But on Flora, every cabin is a suite. In fact, you’ll never hear them say the word “cabin” while sailing. It’s always “suite.”

I tapped my room key against the door and opened it to be greeted by bright sunlight pouring through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows and glass door. I immediately noticed the size of the cabin.

The standard cabins come in at 330 square feet, 65% larger than a standard cabin on Celebrity’s Edge Class ships. The size made a huge difference. Not once did I have to shimmy or walk sideways while going through the room like you might have to in newer cruise ship cabins that have little clearance between the bed and the wall, sometimes as little as 18 inches.

The entryway is lined with dark brown wood hiding massive closets that can easily accommodate a week’s worth of clothing. Further in, the walls switch to a soft cream color. The whole color palette is muted and relaxing, a bit more subtle than the pops of orange Celebrity is using on its new and renovated ships.

Unlike typical cruise ship cabins, the beds on Flora face the balcony and windows, further emphasizing the inside-out design. Behind the bed is a large glass wall that separates the room from the bathroom. It’s completely frosted, so you can’t even see an outline of whoever is in the bathroom.

In the corner sat a comfy white couch and a driftwood-style end table, with chilled white wine and snacks waiting for us on arrival. A large TV hung on the wall across from the couch and could tilt toward the bed if needed. I never even turned it on.

Tucked under the desk was a fully stocked mini-fridge and, unlike on other Celebrity ships, everything inside was included. It had a variety of sodas, water, and the Ecuadorian beers they have onboard. I got totally spoiled by having two emergency diet sodas in the cabin at all times, and our cabin steward would restock the fridge twice a day (although it was Coke Zero, not Diet Coke, which I would have preferred).

In terms of outlets, a standard suite has two U.S. outlets on the side of the bed closest to the hallway. The counter has one U.S. outlet, one standard USB outlet, and one EU outlet. In the bathroom, you’ll find two U.S. outlets as well.

Tip: If you like to charge your phone overnight next to you but will be sleeping on the wall side of the bed, consider bringing a 10-foot USB cord that can easily tuck behind the bed to reach the other side (see the cord I used here).

Bathroom and Storage

The bathroom was just as spacious as the room, with a double vanity and a beautiful glass shower with polished river rocks embedded along the sides. Both sides of the vanity have shelves and drawers that can easily hold a week’s worth of toiletries.

On the counter, Celebrity provided high-end, reef-safe sunscreen and SPF lip balm with cocoa butter. I’m very particular about sunscreen, but it was probably one of the best mineral sunscreens I’ve ever tried (I still bought a separate mineral face sunscreen just in case). You can always ask for more of both if you run out. They also provide Q-tips and cotton balls.

Tip: Your cabin has a dedicated water bottle refill tap for the refillable bottle they give you. All water on Flora is safe to drink, but the bathroom tap has an additional charcoal filter that removes any chlorine taste you might get from the regular tap water.

Most cruise ship bathrooms feel dark and cramped because they’re in the interior of the cabin and surrounded by metal walls. A frosted glass wall in front of the vanity lets sunlight into the room and bathes the bathroom in soft light, making it feel almost like you have a window, even though you can’t see through the frosted glass.

Under the sink is an always-on, gentle blue-hued light. It’s needed because while the glass wall design is great during the day, at night, if you turn on the bathroom light, the entire cabin is filled with nearly blinding white light. I’m guessing they didn’t think that through when they designed this bathroom.

Balconies on Celebrity Flora

Flora has two main suite configurations. Deck 5 has standard, traditional balconies, or verandahs as Celebrity insists on calling them. In contrast, Deck 6 has the highly debated Infinite Verandas with a large window that can lower to provide a balcony-like experience.

Our balcony was the biggest I’ve ever had, with roughly double the space of a standard balcony on most lines. It had a comfy daybed in one corner and a regular chair in the other.

The balcony doors had large windows that blurred the line between regular windows and a door. Opening the curtains, you could see everything without even going onto the balcony.

There were quite a few days when I just relaxed on the bed with the sliding balcony door open, enjoying the breeze, ocean sounds, and views of the Galapagos. The air conditioning does turn off if you open the door, but the room cools down quickly once it’s closed.

I do wish they had a way to latch the balcony from the outside so one person could enjoy the air conditioning in the cabin while the other was on the balcony.

Tip: In your cabin will be the whole schedule for the week (rather than Celebrity Daily left each night like the rest of the fleet. You can scan a QR code so you can have the PDF on your phone as well, which is handy for planning later in the week.

Lunch in Seaside Restaurant

Even though Celebrity had already fed us on the flight over, they were serving a full lunch onboard from 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM. They served it in the main dining room on Deck 4.

I was hoping to eat outside on the top deck, as I’d heard others had that option on their sailings, but ours was just inside.

Like the rest of the ship, the dining room featured huge windows that let bright sunlight pour in. Tables were arranged throughout the space, with standard two-tops, four-tops, and larger round tables for groups.

The maître d’ said that for breakfast and lunch, you could seat yourself, and meals were buffet-style in the back of the dining room. Dinner was also served here, but it was table service.

Being such a small ship with so few people, the buffet section was smaller than what you’d see on a normal cruise ship. It felt more like the size of a hotel buffet. But they still had a large selection, including light sandwiches, salads, soup, fish, and a whole variety of other options.

Waiters came around to take drink orders and bus tables.

Muster Drill

Because Flora is so small, Celebrity still uses the old-fashioned physical muster drill for the safety briefing, rather than the newer eMuster in the Celebrity app.

At 3:30 PM, all guests had to report to Deck 7, the top-deck, open-air location for a quick muster drill demonstration.

I forgot how frustrating it was to have to wait for everyone to come up before beginning. Even with just 100 guests, it took a while for everyone to trickle up to the deck. It’s like herding cats.

Still, it took less than 15 minutes, and we got to take in the scenery as we waited.

Top Decks on Celebrity Flora

Deck 7 is a large outdoor space. At the aft of the ship is a 12-person hot tub that’s elevated above the deck to provide perfect views of the landscapes while you’re in it. It’s another great little design decision made by the Celebrity team.

Dotted across the back area are clamshells, loungers, and chairs. You’ll also find a small smoking area here.

Midship on the top deck is Ocean Grill & Bar. It’s only open for lunch, and it wasn’t available on embarkation day. Here, you’ll find tables, couches, and lounge seating you can use anytime.

It’s shaded by a curved ceiling structure with dotted openings that allow light to still pour into the seating area without exposing guests directly to the strong equatorial sun.

At the front of the ship is The Observatory. Located right over the bridge, the space provides some of the best forward views from the ship. It was filled with tables, loungers, and games, along with strong air conditioning to fight off the sun pouring into the room.

Above it is a small stargazing area that’s used at night to look at the stars with no light pollution.

I was really impressed with how well they’d designed the whole top-deck area. You can tell they really thought about how to make this space perfect for a nature cruise.

The only thing that was a shame was that it was rarely used. Cruises on Flora are so jam-packed, that you don’t have much downtime to use the ship.

While the tables at Ocean Grill & Bar were used at lunch and dinner, the loungers in the back, in an area called The Vista, almost never had anyone in them until the last day. I wish they had found a way to better utilize these spaces, maybe for cocktail hours or after-dinner parties.

Ship Wi-Fi

At this point, it was time to connect our devices on the onboard network. The Celebrity app doesn’t work at all for Flora, so unless you want internet access, there’s really no reason to connect to the onboard network.

Wi-Fi is complimentary on Flora, with each guest getting what would normally be considered the four-device Premium streaming package.

The internet connection was really good, pulling down around 15 Mbps most of the time with little to no lag. It’s some of the best internet connectivity I’ve had in years, likely because only 100 guests share the Starlink connection compared to thousands on larger ships.

Our First Expedition Briefing

At 4:00 PM, we met in Discovery Lounge, the main congregation area of Flora on Deck 4.

With plenty of varied seating styles, a bar, a massive LED screen, and floor-to-ceiling windows, it would be one of the places where we spent most of our waking hours on Flora.

It was a really well-designed space, except for the fact that when they show presentations on the big screen, only guests in the front row can see the bottom third of the screen.

This was our first expedition briefing. Embarkation day followed a slightly different schedule, but for the rest of the cruise, we’d have a briefing around 7:00 PM each evening to go over the following day’s adventures.

There, we met Gio, the Expedition Director. Flora has no cruise director; those responsibilities are split between the Expedition Director and Hotel Director.

Gio explained all the rules of the Galapagos, which aren’t necessarily Celebrity rules but are set by the Galapagos National Park Directorate. The rules include not being able to go anywhere in the national park without a guide, not bringing any food onto the islands, and staying at least 8 feet away from animals whenever possible.

The ship had nine naturalists onboard who’d be with us throughout the week, helping us explore the different islands in the Galapagos. They’d undergone extensive training on the islands and were incredibly knowledgeable.

Picking Excursions for Tomorrow’s Adventure

Gio started the presentation about the next day’s activities. On Flora, all excursions are included in the price of the cruise. Usually, there was one set of excursions in the morning and another in the afternoon. The ship would change locations during lunchtime.

For the rest of the cruise, at 7:00 PM, they would present our options for the following day, and then we’d sign up with the naturalists.

The excursions usually ranged from passive activities, like simply taking a tender ride, to a “long walk,” which could be 1 to 2 miles. During the briefing, they showed pictures and shared tips on what kinds of people could handle each activity.

You could tell they usually got an older clientele, some of whom might have unsure footing or mobility issues, so they made a point of clearly explaining the difficulty level.

After the presentation, we walked up to one of the naturalists, gave our cabin number and the activities we wanted, and we were all set.

Suiting Up

At the briefing, each cabin was given a time to go down to the Marina and get suited up for snorkeling.

Each person who wants to participate in water activities for the week goes down to be fitted with a snorkel, a shortie wetsuit, and fins. All of those items are placed in a personalized bag with your cabin number on it and hung up so they’re easy to grab before heading right out on an excursion.

If you’re unsure if you’ll be doing water activities, just go down and get fitted. It only takes a few minutes, and then you’ll be set throughout the week. Otherwise, it’s a whole process for them to get you the equipment you need later.

The whole process of outfitting all the guests was incredibly well-run. It took less than 10 minutes to get everything squared away.

Tip: When you go to the fitting, wear what you’ll be wearing when you go swimming, like your bathing suit and rash guard. That way, you can make sure everything fits properly.

After that, we had a couple of hours to ourselves before the welcome toast and boat familiarization meeting at 7:00 PM. I used that time to unpack into the spacious closets.

Welcome Toast and Boat Familiarization

At 7:00 PM, we headed down to Discovery Lounge for the meeting. Even though the whole ship was there, plenty of seats were still available.

Waiters greeted us with a glass of champagne for a toast as we arrived, and other waiters circulated, taking additional drink orders during the presentation.

Lauren, the Director of Hotel Operations, handled this briefing. On this ship, it feels like the position is much more of a hybrid role, part cruise director, part hotel director, and part officer.

She was everywhere on the ship, greeting us on excursions, checking in before briefings, and even knowing us by name as we returned. At one point, she was helping a waiter bus a table at the upstairs café. It was so impressive.

But she did mention that things are a bit different on Flora because it’s so small. Most of the crew have hybrid roles. The Director of Security was also involved in navigation, and all the servers handled meals, drinks, and bussing tables.

It meant everyone knew a little bit of everything about the ship, which I liked. But it also meant you might not get the same level of service you would on a Celebrity ship in The Retreat.

Still, our sailing had 97 guests onboard, and 90 crew members, so the crew-to-guest ratio was fantastic.

First Dinner Onboard

After the presentation, everyone headed across the hall to Seaside Restaurant for our first dinner onboard.

Lauren warned us this might be a bit harried, not because it was the first night, but because all the guests were heading to dinner at once.

On other cruise ships, there’s usually an early seating, late seating, and then anytime seating. This means service and food preparation are stretched out over four hours, helping improve service.

On Flora, there’s only one dinner service at 7:30 PM, with everyone on the ship dining at the same time. On other nights, it wouldn’t be as much of an issue since there would be an excursion signup after the presentation and before dinner, which would naturally stagger the flow of guests.

We got in the short line, and within a few minutes, they showed us to our table.

It was the same dining room where we had eaten lunch earlier in the day, but it felt so different. Sunset is always around 6:30 PM in the Galapagos, so the large windows were already black by the time we arrived.

The lights were dimmed, and the color temperature warmed to an amber hue, creating a warm, intimate feeling.

Celebrity even designed a solid wall with décor that slides over the buffet portion. If I hadn’t looked for it, I wouldn’t have realized the restaurant ever had a buffet area. Other cruise lines have tried mixed spaces with buffet service at lunch and specialty dining at dinner, but none have executed it as well as this.

Our waiter this evening was Wellington, the same staff member who had shown us to our cabin on arrival and served us champagne at the event earlier. As on other Celebrity ships, each meal was three courses. For all courses, Celebrity has a “classics” menu that stays the same each day, along with a rotating section.

For dinner, all the rotating selections had an Ecuadorian focus. All produce and meats have to be sourced directly from Ecuador, so you won’t find many of the staples you’re used to on Celebrity, like French onion soup and escargot.

They also have a much more limited wine selection. Each night, there’s typically a red and a white wine to choose from. You won’t find a wine or drink menu anywhere on the ship.

On a normal Celebrity ship, you typically have a waiter, assistant waiter, and sommelier handling each table. On Flora, you only have one waiter, so the service wasn’t at the same level you might see across the fleet.

The staff was always personable and friendly, but you could tell they had a lot to do. For example, each night you’d get three custom breads and three dips, like on other Celebrity ships, but they never explained what they were. On other ships, it’s usually part of the opening spiel.

It didn’t bother me at all, but it was noticeably different.

Still, even with everyone arriving at once, we finished dinner service within an hour, at 8:30 PM.

After-Dinner Plans

The after-dinner activities on Flora are usually pretty light. And it’s not because Celebrity hasn’t planned anything, but because people are just too tired to do much after long days of activities.

Tonight’s activity was piano music in Discovery Lounge, but I decided to skip it and get ready for bed. We’d have a long day tomorrow with snorkeling and hiking.

Overall, I was really impressed with Celebrity Flora. The ship was stunning, the staff was warm and welcoming, and the whole operation seemed like a well-oiled machine.

But as impressive as the ship was, tomorrow was what we had really come all this way for. We’d finally head out into the Galapagos, with our first hikes, snorkeling trips, and wildlife encounters of the expedition.

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 (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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And unlike some other cruise line status matches, Virgin Voyages isn’t just looking at your status with other cruise lines. They’re matching loyalty status from airlines, hotels, and cruise lines.

It’s a pretty extensive list, too. The current offer includes 12 cruise line loyalty programs, 16 airline programs, and 10 hotel programs.

There is one big catch, though. This is a limited-time offer. You have to apply for the Status Match and make a new Virgin Voyages booking using your Access Key by October 31, 2026.

About Virgin Voyages Status Match

Virgin Voyages’ loyalty program is called the Virgin Voyages Sailing Club. Unlike some cruise line loyalty programs with a long list of different tiers, Virgin keeps things relatively simple.

Once you complete your first eligible Virgin Voyages cruise, you’re automatically enrolled in the Sailing Club. You’ll receive Blue Extras on your third and fourth eligible voyages. Starting with your fifth eligible sailing, you’ll receive Deep Blue Extras.

Virgin Voyages recently confirmed that its current Sailing Club benefits will continue through 2028.

The Status Match gives qualifying travelers a shortcut, but only temporarily.

If Virgin approves your status match, you’ll receive one-time access to Blue Extras on your next eligible sailing. It does not permanently move you into the Blue Extras tier or change the number of Virgin Voyages cruises you’ve completed.

After that cruise, you’ll go back to the standard loyalty progression. That means you’ll normally receive Blue Extras on your third and fourth eligible cruises and Deep Blue Extras starting with your fifth.

What Do You Get With the Virgin Voyages Status Match?

Travelers who successfully match their status will receive Blue Extras on one eligible Virgin Voyages sailing.

That includes:

• One complimentary bag of laundry
• One specialty coffee per day
• An invitation to an exclusive onboard cocktail event
• Dedicated Sailing Club Sailor Services support

One important thing to point out is that this is Blue Extras, not Deep Blue Extras. That means you won’t get some of the higher-level perks like the $100 promotional Bar Tab, Premium Wi-Fi, or priority boarding that come with Deep Blue Extras.

Also, the Status Match perks apply only to the primary sailor who redeemed the Access Key. Your cabin mate doesn’t automatically receive their own Blue Extras package.

Which Loyalty Programs Will Virgin Voyages Match?

Virgin Voyages has one of the broadest status match programs we’ve seen from a cruise line. Rather than just trying to poach loyal customers from competitors, Virgin is targeting frequent travelers in general.

Of course, simply being a member of most of these programs isn’t enough. You need to have one of the qualifying status levels identified by Virgin Voyages. (See the full list here)

How to Apply for the Virgin Voyages Status Match

The process is relatively straightforward.

First, you’ll need a Virgin Voyages account. You can then complete the Status Match application and select the loyalty program you want Virgin to match.

You’ll need to provide proof of your current status, such as a screenshot, digital membership card, or account statement.

Once Virgin Voyages verifies and approves your status, it will email you a single-use Access Key. That Access Key is important because you’ll need to enter it when making your new Virgin Voyages reservation. You can’t book first and add the Status Match later.

Both the Status Match application and the new booking must be completed by October 31, 2026.

Existing Virgin Voyages Bookings Don’t Qualify

Unfortunately, if you already have a Virgin Voyages cruise booked, you can’t simply apply your new Status Match benefits to that reservation.

Virgin specifically says the Access Key must be entered when making a new reservation and cannot be retroactively applied to an existing booking.

Each sailor is also limited to one Status Match submission and one sailing using the benefits.

My Take: A Good Opportunity for First-Time Virgin Voyages Sailors

Rewarding loyalty is good; some brands seem to get it, and some just don’t.

If you’ve been thinking about trying Virgin Voyages, the Status Match could make that first sailing a little more appealing. Normally, a new Virgin Voyages sailor wouldn’t see Blue Extras until their third eligible cruise. With the Status Match, travelers who already have qualifying loyalty status elsewhere can sample those perks much sooner.

And because Virgin is matching airline and hotel programs in addition to traditional cruise loyalty programs, you don’t necessarily have to be a frequent cruiser to qualify.

That said, it’s a bit odd that it only lasts for one sailing. So, if you book 3 Virgin Voyages sailings over the next 2 years, you’d get Blue Extras on your 1st and 3rd sailings, but not your 2nd. That’s a strange progression for something that’s supposed to reward loyalty.

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What Does the Sandals Resorts Deal Include?

You’ve probably seen commercials and advertising for Sandals Resorts. The company owns and operates 20 all-inclusive beach resorts across 10 islands in the Caribbean, including Jamaica, Antigua, Saint Lucia, Grenada, and Barbados. The deal includes two brands: Sandals Resorts, which is adults-only, and Beaches Resorts, the family-friendly option.

Sandals properties are relatively small compared to Royal Caribbean’s massive cruise ships, with some properties having as few as 74 rooms, while most have between 200 and 400.

Under the terms of the agreement, Royal Caribbean Group will acquire a 50% equity interest in Sandals and Beaches Resorts for approximately $3 billion. The joint venture will be governed by a board led by executive chairmen Adam Stewart of Sandals and Jason Liberty of Royal Caribbean Group. Stewart will maintain a leadership role in guiding the company’s long-term strategic growth as Executive Chairman of Sandals and Beaches Resorts.

The deal is expected to close in early 2027.

Why Is Royal Caribbean Group Getting Into Resorts?

From an investment perspective, cruises are just a small portion of the travel market; land-based vacations make up a much larger portion. In fact, during investor calls, Royal Caribbean executives have indicated that their primary competition is not necessarily other cruise lines, but land-based vacations. It’s a huge market they can target, but the company only has so many ships.

In the Q2 2025 earnings call, Jason Liberty, Chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, said Royal Caribbean wanted to close the gap with land-based vacations, discussing ships, private destinations, technology, loyalty, and river cruising as ways to capture more of the $2 trillion vacation market.

According to Liberty, “We have been building a vacation platform that brings joy to millions of people around the world and creates meaningful relationships that last with our guests. Our partnership with Sandals and Beaches Resorts is an important next step on that journey – bringing together two iconic leading vacation companies to further strengthen and grow one of the most admired resort portfolios in the world.”

But the cost here is relatively modest when you consider what Royal Caribbean spends on new ships. Hero of the Seas, Royal Caribbean’s ship that’s still under construction, is estimated to cost around $2 billion. This deal, with $3 billion for access to 20 properties, is relatively low in comparison, although the capacity is much less.

What Does This Mean for Cruising?

Royal Caribbean has increasingly looked to control the whole vacation experience. By introducing private destinations and experiences like Perfect Day at CocoCay and Royal Beach Club Paradise Island, they’ve kept guests in their ecosystem much more than before. That allows them to make sure customers get the experience they expect, but also creates more revenue opportunities for Royal Caribbean Group rather than local vendors.

The partnership with Sandals will broaden that. While they have not indicated how they will implement the partnership, Royal Caribbean could add vacation experiences before or after a cruise, use them as excursions during port calls, or just merge loyalty programs. It will be interesting to see.

Could it also mean higher prices? In recent investor calls, Jason Liberty has focused on raising Royal Caribbean prices to better align with traditional land vacations. In Q4 2023, he said, “We are obsessed about…how do we close that gap? How do we compete with land-based vacation?” In Q1 2024, he reported that land-based vacations had a 25-30% premium over Royal Caribbean products. In the Q1 2026 call, he said Royal Caribbean was still trading at about a 15%+ discount to land-based vacations. If Royal Caribbean is now participating in land-based resort pricing too, will it all go up?

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But what do guests actually want to see onboard?

Carnival Cruise Line posted on its Facebook page last week, asking followers what they wanted to see on the ship. I went through Carnival’s Facebook post asking guests what they hoped to see on Destiny. Some results weren’t surprising, but they raise interesting questions about how Carnival should handle a ship this large.

For the main rankings, I counted every comment or reply as one vote and every visible reaction as another. Looking at it that way produced 590 basic votes. It’s a small sample size, but it offers some insight into what Carnival fans want.

Better Water Features

The clearest message from the discussion was water. Water features and pools represented about 22% of the requests. Guests want more pools, larger pools, more space around the pools, swim-up bars, wave pools, heated water, and easier ways to get in and out.

The biggest request was for more and larger pools, as well as more dedicated adult-only pools and hot tubs. That makes sense, as pools are usually jam-packed on sea days on many Carnival ships, and Carnival’s falling behind the competition here. Royal Caribbean’s upcoming Hero of the Seas has 9 different pools; Carnival’s upcoming ship, the Festivale, has only 6 pools, most of which are much smaller than the Royal Caribbean versions.

But a more unique feature wasn’t far behind: people are asking for a lazy river.

While some people quickly dismissed a lazy river as impossible on a cruise ship, Carnival’s sister brand AIDA already has them. Both AIDAprima and AIDAperla feature a Four Elements area with a Lazy River. While it’s relatively small on those sister ships, in theory, if Carnival wanted to put a lazy river on a ship, it likely could.

The weight of the water seems to be the biggest problem. Water is heavy, and a river would need quite a bit of it. But pools on cruise ships are already getting bigger. Royal Bay on Icon of the Seas is marketed as the largest pool at sea and holds more than 40,000 gallons of water, according to Royal Caribbean.

If Carnival designed a lazy river that contained that volume of water, it could have one that stretches around 300 feet, providing about a six-minute ride. Capacity would be an issue, though. It would only allow around 500 guests per hour. Still, that’s way more than Carnival’s BOLT roller coaster, and it would make a huge differentiator for the Ace Class.

Other popular requests included swim-up bars, adult-only pool areas, splash areas for children, and more pool shade.

Accessibility came up repeatedly too. Several guests specifically asked for steps or walk-in pools instead of ladders. Currently, most Carnival pools are deep and use ladders to get in and out. Royal Caribbean’s newer ships have zero-entry options, large steps, and shallower pools, making them more useful and accessible for older guests, guests with mobility challenges, and anyone who simply doesn’t enjoy climbing a ladder to get out of the water.

Food Comes in Second

Food and beverage was the second-largest theme, representing about 16% of requests.

Carnival has always been strong with fast-casual, included food options like Guy’s Burger Joint, Blue Iguana Cantina, and Big Chicken and guests appreciate that.

But the biggest food-related discussion centered on late-night options. In 2024, Carnival cut hours of its formerly 24/7 pizzeria on board. Instead, the pizza place now closes at midnight. While doing that, they added Good Eats: Late Night Snacks in the main buffet, which can run from midnight until 2:30 AM, although hours vary by ship and itinerary. But guests don’t seem to be loving that.

Comments mentioned bringing back the midnight buffet, extending pizza later into the night, adding tacos, and offering more substantial food after the main dining venues close. Another asked Carnival to bring back late-night pizza and add more hamburgers. There was also a lot of interest in better buffet quality, more variety, and better late-night choices in general.

But the fact that guests are still asking for a proper midnight buffet suggests this is partly about nostalgia and partly about expectations. People want late-night food that feels like an event, not just whatever happens to be available after midnight.

The other major food request was more international and specialty dining. Guests mentioned Indian, Mexican, Mediterranean, organic, healthy, and specialty restaurant options. Carnival does offer Indian food on its ships, including Indian selections in the main dining room, while its newer Masala Tiger concept is available for an extra charge.

Others asked for better overall food quality, larger bars, coffee options, and more beverage choices. For a ship carrying thousands of guests, variety may matter as much as the total number of restaurants.

More Quiet Spaces

The third-largest response seemed to come from left field for a cruise line like Carnival. At about 13% of requests, people want more quiet, relaxing spaces onboard.

That’s surprising because Carnival is a cruise line known for its energetic, very social atmosphere. But it makes sense. Even guests who enjoy the party still want somewhere to escape when the music, crowds, and activities become too much.

The largest subtopic in this category was improving Serenity, Carnival’s adult-only space available on every ship. Guests asked for more pool space, more hot tubs, more shade, more loungers, and better wind protection.

They also want Serenity to feel like a genuine retreat, not just another pool deck. On some ships, Serenity is right next to the main Lido pool, meaning you can never really escape from the dreaded “Cha Cha Slide.”

The Havana area, a dedicated section of the ship available only to guests staying in Havana cabins, was another recurring topic. Guests repeatedly asked for a Havana area similar to what is found on Vista Class ships. Those ships have a dedicated aft-deck area for Havana guests, with a large pool and hot tubs. The implementation on Carnival’s Excel Class ships was considered a step down by many guests, with a much smaller pool and less deck space.

One commenter specifically asked for, “A proper Havana area like we have on Vista class, not the afterthought on XL ships.”

The message is pretty clear. Carnival guests may like fun, but they also want to be able to relax and get away.

More Space and Less Crowding

The fourth-largest theme was space, comfort, and crowd flow, representing about 12% of the requests.

Guests asked for more room to move around, more public space, more seating, more shade, and less of the feeling that every available area has been filled with another attraction.

That could be a real challenge for Ace Class. The ships are expected to carry up to 8,000 guests, more than any cruise ship currently sailing. That makes layout and crowd flow especially important. A ship this large does not necessarily have to feel crowded, but it has to be designed smartly.

Larger venues, especially for comedy and other popular entertainment, came up a lot in the comments. On larger ships, most cruise lines still try to keep some venues smaller so they feel more intimate and guests do not feel like just another number on a massive ship. They get around the capacity issue by offering several smaller spaces or multiple performances instead of relying on one huge venue.

For example, on my sailing on Carnival Celebration, there were seven comedy shows in one night across two venues. That meant 2,100 people could see comedy on that night, but some guests might not get the time they wanted.

Several commenters discussed show reservations, and the idea was hotly debated. Some guests liked reserving seats so they wouldn’t have to wait in line for an hour. Others strongly rejected the idea of having to make reservations for shows.

Does This Echo What Royal Caribbean Learned?

This feedback has some interesting similarities to the design choices Royal Caribbean made with its new Icon Class ships.

Royal Caribbean has said its research showed that guests wanted to feel more connected to the ocean. Icon of the Seas was designed around that idea, with more pools, more ocean-facing spaces, and water features that let guests look out toward the sea.

On Royal Caribbean’s Oasis Class ships, you can sometimes feel almost completely disconnected from the sea. With Icon Class, Royal Caribbean really focused on changing that. The Royal Promenade has large windows overlooking the ocean, there are more pools than ever before, many of those pools overlook the ocean, and Category 6 is the largest waterpark at sea.

Carnival ships have traditionally had more of an ocean focus than Royal Caribbean’s largest ships, so it is likely that was already part of the Ace Class plans. But to pull off the number and variety of pools Royal Caribbean has on Icon Class, Carnival will have to design the space very carefully.

Icon Class also showed the importance of food. The class has more casual, grab-and-go options than other ships in Royal Caribbean’s fleet. There is a huge amount of included food, along with plenty of extra-fee specialty restaurants.

Oddly, where the two seem to differ is quiet space.

Icon Class ships are incredibly busy. There is loud music everywhere, bold colors, energetic sculptures and attractions, and there is not really anywhere onboard where you feel like you are relaxing.

In fact, Royal Caribbean removed the traditional adults-only Solarium found on many of its other ships and instead created The Hideaway, an adults-only area with an infinity pool, bar, DJ, and more of a Las Vegas-style resort pool atmosphere.

That could be one area where the two cruise lines take different approaches. In its marketing, it seems that they’re saying Royal Caribbean guests who want a quieter, more premium experience can also move up to Celebrity Cruises. Carnival does not have quite the same marketing position with Princess Cruises, even though both are owned by Carnival Corporation.

What Will Carnival Go With?

It’ll be interesting to see what Carnival chooses to do with the Ace Class. Although we’ve only seen a couple of preliminary renders so far, it looks like these ships will be more of an evolution of the Excel Class, and Princess’ Sphere Class, than a complete revolution.

Carnival has taken a similar route in the past. The Conquest Class was an evolution of the Destiny Class design, while the Vista Class built on many of the ideas introduced with the Dream Class.

For the Ace Class, Carnival also has a lot of different audiences to listen to: guests who want more onboard activities, guests who want quiet relaxation, and guests who want something closer to a theme park at sea.

Guests want bigger pools, but they also want less crowding. They want more attractions, but they also want more open space. And Carnival still needs to fit enough cabins onboard to make a ship this large financially successful in investors’ eyes.

The strongest concept for Carnival Destiny may be simple: a large ship that still feels connected to the ocean, gives guests room to breathe, and keeps the personality that makes Carnival different.

If Carnival can combine better water features, stronger food options, more usable adult spaces, and thoughtful crowd management, Destiny could be more than just Carnival’s biggest ship.

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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 (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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So far, we’ve seen the new restaurants and top-deck attractions. Today, they’re giving us insight into what entertainment we can expect on board.

Norwegian Aura Has a Celebration of Whitney Houston

Norwegian has moved away from Broadway productions on its newer ships and has recently focused on artist-specific tribute shows. On Norwegian Aqua, it was Prince, and on Norwegian Luna, it was an Elton John tribute.

The show on Aura will pay tribute to another artist, one of the greatest voices out there, Whitney Houston. She sold over 220 million records worldwide, with seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits, six Grammy Awards, and so much more.

To honor her, Norwegian partnered with The Estate of Whitney E. Houston and Primary Wave Music to create this exclusive new production. The production reimagines her artistry with contemporary arrangements of songs like “It’s Not Right, But It’s OK,” “I Will Always Love You,” and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me).”

The 45-minute production will take place in the Aura Theater & Club, the three-story convertible performance space aboard Aura.

Good luck to the artists who will try to pull off her songs.

“ILLUMINOX: Infinite Wonder Unboxed”

Another production debuting onboard in the Aura Theater is “ILLUMINOX: Infinite Wonder Unboxed.” The new show combines illusions, acrobatics, and visual effects with original music in a fast-moving, 45-minute production.

The Vinyl Republic

Aura will also see the debut of The Vinyl Republic, which NCL calls its “newest live music collective inspired by the legacy of vinyl records.” This band seems to replace Syd Norman’s, which does not appear on Aura’s deck plans and was not mentioned in this entertainment press release.

The Vinyl Republic’s catalog will cover everything from country and rock to funk, blues, and pop.

In the theater, they’ll have two “signature” experiences: “The Vinyl Republic’s Journey Through Rock,” which celebrates Journey’s greatest hits, and “The Vinyl Republic’s Kickin’ It Country,” which is a late-night country party with interactive line dancing.

“LunaTique: Pop Circus” Returns

The adults-only cabaret-meets-circus show “LunaTique,” which debuted on Norwegian Luna, will return to Aura with a new twist. Instead of the Improv Comedy Lounge, it’ll take place in the Aura Theater, but it’ll still deliver an immersive experience.

Like the show on Luna, it will be an additional cost but will come with unique cocktails.

Aura First Night

On the first night onboard, guests can attend this showcase to preview all the entertainment available during their sailing.

Latin Live

This is a poolside celebration with live music and dance performances, featuring Latin dance hits that will “keep guests moving all night long.”

No More Syd Norman’s?

As we mentioned earlier in the article, Syd Norman’s isn’t featured in this press release, and the deck plans now list its location as Off Key. Norwegian hasn’t made any official announcement regarding Syd Norman’s on Aura, but it looks like it’s out.

Getting rid of Syd Norman’s makes sense. The venue was way too small for the size of the ships it was on, and many of the performances by the very talented Syd Norman’s Band were moved to the main theaters because of that.

It seems like The Vinyl Republic will be the evolution of Syd Norman’s. Hopefully, they keep bringing in the same high-caliber artists they previously had with Syd Norman’s.

That said, it’s very odd that Norwegian makes no mention of the new Off Key venue. Since this press release was supposed to be all about entertainment onboard, leaving it out seems odd.

Is it a karaoke bar? A piano bar?

Aura is Coming to Miami

The Norwegian Aura will debut in Miami in June 2027 where it will sail week long cruises. It will start with Eastern Caribbean before moving to Western Caribbean in Winter 2027.

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