Galápagos Cruise News — Silversea And Celebrity

Small Ship Galápagos Cruise News

By Anne Kalosh

For expedition travelers who require plenty of creature comforts, the two most glamorous Galápagos cruise ships are now scheduled to start sailing in June and July.

These add to the vessels that are resuming, slowly, as the archipelago seeks to rebuild the tourism business that supports conservation and islanders.

The bird on every Galápagos traveler’s checklist, a blue-footed booby. * Photo: Celebrity Cruises.

Silversea Cruises

Delivered on time — incredibly — during the thick of the pandemic last June but repeatedly delayed entering service for health safety reasons, Silversea Cruises’ spanking new Silver Origin is to embark on its inaugural Galápagos season June 19.

Silversea requires all crew and passengers to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19.

The 100-passenger Silver Origin is Silversea’s first purpose-built expedition ship, with the kind of stylish features one would expect from this top luxury brand.

Galápagos Cruise on the new Silver Origin

Silver Origin’s sleek styling. * Photo: Silversea Cruises

Celebrity Cruises

And the plush 100-passenger Celebrity Flora will be the first of Celebrity Cruises’ three Galápagos ships back in service, starting July 4. It will be followed by the 48-passenger Celebrity Xpedition on July 24 and the 16-passenger Celebrity Xploration on Sept. 18.

The sailings will carry crew and adults vaccinated for COVID-19 and under-18s with a negative PCR result.

Celebrity Flora, which debuted in 2019, was built by the same shipyard as Silver Origin, De Hoop in the Netherlands. Designed specifically for the Galápagos, these two vessels are the newest and fanciest in the archipelago.

Celebrity Flora is scheduled to resume Galápagos expeditions in early July. * Photo: Celebrity Cruises

Silver Origin’s Features

Silver Origin has all balcony suites, light-filled interiors and “whispered” elegance, along with ample expeditionary features. Basecamp comprises a large portion of the lowest deck where passengers rendezvous with their expedition leaders.

There, an expansive, interactive LED screen is loaded with images, videos and information from the Galápagos National Park and the Royal Geographic Society of London.

Silver Origin carries eight Zodiacs, or one for every 12-13 people, has a 1:1 crew to guest ratio and one guide for every 10 guests.

Wet suits and snorkeling gear will be provided. There are eight double sea kayaks for passengers and two for guides.

The Explorers Lounge is Silver Origin’s living room, with intimate seating groupings, a fire pit powered by liquefied petroleum gas, a library, grand piano and terrace. Lectures and briefings will be held there, taking advantage of a large video wall and HD screens in the seating areas. The Observation Lounge provides a vantage point with 180-degree views.

There is plenty of dining capacity for everyone indoors and out, with 120 seats in The Restaurant and 100 in the top deck Grill. Ecuadorian cuisine will be featured (think ceviche, fish, rice and regional vegetables), and the Grill will offer hot rocks cooking.

New to Silversea suites are windows in the bathrooms or shower stalls/tubs with glass walls or doors to the balcony, depending on the category, so travelers never have to miss the views.

The owner’s suite measures a whopping 160 square meters/1,722 square feet and has a whirlpool tub with ocean views.

Silver Origin suite for views of Galapagos

With a bathroom like this, Silver Origin suite travelers don’t have to miss the scenery while bathing. * Photo: Silversea Cruises

Five Maiden Calls

Silver Origin will operate two alternating itineraries that incorporate five maiden calls, including the island of Santa Fe. Both itineraries will visit the iconic Fernandina and Isabela, regularly described as the must-see destinations.

On the western itinerary, Silver Origin will sail from San Cristóbal to Baltra. Destinations include Kicker Rock, Isla Bartolomé, Buccaneer Cove (Santiago), Punta Vicente Roca (Isabela), Punta Espinoza (Fernandina), Tagus Cove and Elizabeth Bay (Isabela), Post Office Bay, Champion Islet and Punta Cormorant (Floreana), the Santa Cruz Highlands, Fausto Llerena Breeding Center in Puerto Ayora, Cerro Dragon, Bahía Borrero (Santa Cruz) and Isla Guy Fawkes.

The north-central itinerary begins in Baltra and ends at San Cristóbal. Destinations are Daphne Major, Prince Philip’s Steps and Darwin Bay (Genovesa), North Seymour, Sullivan Bay (Santiago), Punta Mangle (Fernandina), Punta Moreno (Isabela), Fausto Llerena Breeding Center in Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz), Isla Santa Fé, Gardner Bay and Punta Suarez (Española), Rodriguez Breeding Centre and Cerro Brujo (both in San Cristóbal).

The otherworldly landscape of Bartolomé Island, a highlight of Galápagos cruising. * Photo: Silversea Cruises

Celebrity Airfare Offer

For a limited time, Celebrity Cruises is including airfare in the purchase of a Galápagos vacation package. Seven-night cruises are combined with all-inclusive land-based accommodations and activities to create 10- to 16-night vacations. The offer is valid for round-trip economy or business class airfares departing from U.S. or Canadian gateways and is valued at up to $750 per person including air taxes and fees.

It applies to sailing dates between July 3, 2021, and Dec. 31, 2023. Air travel must be booked via Flights by Celebrity by June 30, 2021.

Cruise pricing bundles in unlimited Wi-Fi, drinks and tips, with vacation packages adding luxury hotel stays and flights between Ecuador and the islands.

Lindblad, UnCruise & Others

After a year away from the Galápagos, Seattle-based UnCruise Adventures is just starting to send travelers on weeklong trips with Ecuadorian partner Metropolitan Touring aboard La Pinta. A negative COVID-19 test is required within four days of arrival to Ecuador and on-board protocols include mask use, distancing and heightened sanitation.

According to UnCruise, La Pinta, which has been operating since August 2020, has carried approximately 15,000 travelers without a single COVID case (at least, as of two weeks ago as per the line’s website).

Lindblad Expeditions, as earlier reported, plans to resume its Galápagos expeditions June 4 with a 10-day trip on the 96-passenger National Geographic Endeavour II.

Lindblad requires full COVID-19 vaccination for travelers 16 and older for voyages departing through July 31. For sailings from Aug. 1, the vaccination requirement drops to travelers 12 years and older.

National Geographic Endeavour II on a Galapagos cruise

National Geographic Endeavour II. * Photo: Ralph Lee Hopkins for Lindblad Expeditions

Lindblad’s 48-passenger National Geographic Islander. * Photo: Stewart Cohen for Lindblad Expeditions

Hurting For Tourists

Every ship that resumes service will be embraced by Galápagos residents.

Eighty percent of the economy relies on tourism, which has plummeted during the pandemic.

According to Santiago Dunn, CEO of Ecoventura, tourism normally contributes $600 million annually to the Galápagos economy, with expedition cruising accounting for $400 million of that.

In 2019, there were 270,000 visitors, of which 80,000 traveled on ships, Dunn said, so cruises punch above their weight in economic impact.

Truly Small Ship Cruising

Dunn counts 77 ships in the Galápagos, a national park where capacity is limited to 100 passengers. Just five ships there can carry that many, five hold between 32 and 48 passengers and 67 between 16 and 20 passengers.

Kayaking & snorkeling is a big part of a Galapagos cruise experience. * Photo: Michael S Nolan for Lindblad Expeditions

Tourism & Conservation can be Complementary

Some people think tourism and conservation are in conflict, but in the opinion of Edwin Naula, president of the scientific and technical consultancy Factoria Ambiental, they complement each other. He said half of the National Park budget is financed by the mandatory visitor entrance fee. This has supported such projects as the recovery of Galápagos tortoises.

Since the park is so well-managed, visitors today can see pretty much what Charles Darwin experienced on his historic 1835 trip aboard the Beagle, according to Fernando Delgado, vice president of Canodros/Silversea Cruises Ecuador.

Funds for The Galápagos

Silversea has a fund for the Galápagos and is trying to create vocational schools to train workers for jobs on ships or in local hotels and restaurants. Royal Caribbean Group, its parent company (and the parent of Celebrity Cruises), has donated more than $500,000 for emergency medical needs during the pandemic.

Delgado said he’s talking with growers in the islands to encourage them to produce more quality foodstuffs Silversea can purchase and to educate about farming without the use of pesticides, which would also help support the local population’s food needs.

“All operators have a responsibility to the Galápagos, not only with the conservation of the islands but also the well-being of the inhabitants, because that is the key to the future,” Delgado said.

Lindblad Expeditions is helping, too. Together with Island Conservation, an international nonprofit organization, they launched the Galápagos Island Relief Fund.

Sven Lindblad launched the Galápagos Island Relief Fund.

Sven’s “special note” is HERE.

Micro-Loans

Donations enable local nonprofit Fundación Un Cambio Por La Vida to disseminate micro-loans, providing immediate financial relief, addressing the basic needs of vulnerable families, allowing children to stay in school and helping sustainable businesses survive, grow and develop new income sources.

“The people of the Galápagos are struggling more than I’ve seen in my 53-year relationship with the islands,” Lindblad Expeditions Founder and CEO Sven Lindblad said in late 2020. “Stimulating the local economy through community micro-loans has the power to activate a thriving system, helping entrepreneurs and small business owners develop new ideas to complement sustainable tourism, and meeting the needs of the local community long after the pandemic is over.”

Sven and Kristin Lindblad’s Wanderlust Fund, Lindblad Expeditions and the Lindblad Expeditions board of directors, matched the first $50,000 donated to the Galápagos Island Relief Fund 3:1.