Galapagos Islands,

  Wow, what an incredible adventure! We had the time of our lives in the Galapagos. Initially, I was a little hesitant since GoGalapagos was extremely late in getting us our... read more vouchers and flight info (literally didn’t get it till we were on our way to Ecuador). That turned out to be the only downside to our trip though. Our guide Jorge was INCREDIBLE. He is literally an encyclopedia of knowledge and he always had an answer to our questions, whether about wildlife, geology, botany, history, anything at all. We were a small group of 10 so it made for a really intimate and fun experience. Compared to other groups, Jorge took us on longer walks, explained more, spent more time in the water or on the zodiac with us. We were the first group to leave and the last to come back at the end of the day. Our days were packed, snorkeling, zodiac rides, hiking, walks, every minute was filled. The Coral I was a great boat, very spacious and comfortable for us. Santiago was so great as head waiter, Andres was the best chef ever, cooking up delicious meals for us, and Diego as deckhand/cabin attendant was the best, just so much fun and I had a blast getting to know them. Our rooms were meticulously cleaned every time we left the boat and we never had to worry about asking for anything at all. Andres even made a special dish for one of our group members who asked for it. This was truly the trip of a lifetime, thank you Jorge, Santiago, Andres, Diego, Pescadito, Bedele, Eric and the entire crew of Coral I!

  This looked good and initially promised to be excellent and the whole trip would have been except the guide and tour manager decided to insult us with the very last... read more presentation and this left a bad taste. A previous reviewer had mentioned this and I did try to avoid it but was unsuccessful. First the minor problems - the kayaks could not be used, no mention of this until we were on board; it's advertised as a 4 night 5 day tour but the whole cruise actually lasts less than 4 days..ie. 4x24 hr.
The tour manager was a waste of space. He had so little to do he must have been bored to tears. The guide was a nice man but he waffled and repeated himself regularly. We have had better guides.
The most important problem was the haste to get rid of us. We had not finished eating. The last talk was scheduled for 8pm but they were desperate to start at 7:45. Then they insulted us by telling us how much in tips we should give them and calculating the total amount. In my culture if you ask for a specific amount in tips you will get nothing. But it left us very disappointed.

  I work as a travel advisor and would highly recommend the Galapagos Legend for clients with a moderate to high-moderate budget. Rooms were bright and clean, bathrooms larger than expected... read more for a cruise ship, food was delicious and the drinks were great. Special shout out to Diego the bartender, who we spent way too much time with—he was so much fun, so personable, and could make any drink we asked for perfectly (and we asked for a lot). He was probably the best bartender I’ve seen on a cruise—we’ll order drinks at a bar now and it’s a running joke that none are “as good as Diego’s.” I at one point mentioned to my friend that the staff forgot to put towels in our room and Diego overheard and was immediately on the phone asking someone to take care of it. It was little touches like that that really made a difference throughout the trip. The schedule was packed (to the point of exhausting) but you could choose which excursions to go on. Billy was our guide and he knew everything under the sun and answered all of our questions and more. All the staff was attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable. We learned so much and had such a wonderful time—I wish we did the 8 night tour.

  We had a room on the top deck with a balcony. Lots of swaying on the trip. I didn't get sick but had difficulty moving about and sleeping.... read more The announcements and loud speaker in/close to our room made sleeping difficult as well as there were ship announcements at 6am sometimes. No flushing of toilet paper. Wife was not happy.

Food was good but not great. I liked the made to order omelets in the morning the best. Service on board was very good with the stewards and serving people very busy but accommodating. There appeared to be some issue near the end with our engines and the boat didn't leave on time early evening. No word to the passengers on what happened or why.

The islands were amazing! The naturalists were amazing! The marine and land wildlife were amazing! The crew operating the RIB's were safe and efficient. The ship was clean but dated. I think it is almost 60 years old. The itinerary was good and we often made it off the ship first and beat the other tour groups to the island we were visiting. When we were with the rest of the crowd it was way too busy and felt crowded at times.

WiFi expensive and often has issues.

  Legend cruise for 3 nights. Not luxurious but good, clean accommodations. If you can, splurge for a balcony to sit outside in the early mornings or evenings to watch... read more the birds and sea life. Excellent customer service and fresh food; all staff so very friendly from the yoga instructor @ 6 am to the waiters to the excursion guides. And, do go on all the excursions! That's what it's all about. There's only 1 guide per group and I noticed the more elderly folk were left way behind at times. That is a concern if you're not used to uphill treks or crossing lava rocks. Nighttime entertainment is minimal, but after being outdoors for 12 hours every day, it's all good.

  Our family booked our family reunion on the Coral II for an 8 day tour in August. It was perfect! The boat and staff were fabulous. The staff... read more really went above and beyond to make our trip special. They took extra care with my 91 year old mother. And our guide - Cornelia - was absolutely amazing. We all fell in love with her knowledge, passion and enthusiasm for the Galapagos! We honestly went into this holiday with high expectations and they were surpassed! The staff who helped book our passage and answered out million emails were also great and very much appreciated. Every step was well thought through with staff to meet us at the airports etc. NO stress and SO MUCH FUN! Book it! You won’t regret it.
We also spent 5 days at Sasha Lodge in the Amazon and loved it almost as much!

  We are on our way home from an incredible trip on the newly refurbished Alya! Our guide, Carlos, was professional, charming, and provided depth of detail for every... read more aspect of our adventure. Our group, avid snorkelers (a few of us were SCUBA certified and we had a free diver) were offered the opportunity to explore 5 underwater locations teeming with wildlife and beauty. Carlos took the time to get to know each one of us, our interests, and then tailor the schedule to our wishes. He was terrific on our hikes, underwater, and on board the Alya. William and the crew were top notch. William met me with a latte every morning! Expressing my interest in the history of Floreana, they even offered popcorn and the Floreana movie. We were always safe, carefully monitored, and couldn’t have had a better trip. Gracias.

  Southern islands tour: What an incredible adventure! This is a great tour and to see all to see in the Galapagos! The boat is very comfortable and roomy (including cabins)... read more the food was great!, the hikes and wildlife encounters were AWESOME! The guides (Loli and Billy ) were fantastic. I highly recommend this trip.
rooms for improvement:
1) Better defined meeting location at Quito Airport: Have a large sign
2) Suggest a group social activity after dinner (a meet/greet icebreaker on first day is always welcome)

  we took our grandson to Galapagos on the Legend using Adventure Life (go Galapagos/Klein tours) as our travel agent. We liked the fact that they're here in the United States.... read more Kevin and Rose Marie did an outstanding job, rebooking us twice because of Covid, arranging for a Covid test in Guayaquil during a short layover before our flight to the states, and most exceptional was their intervention in getting our luggage to the boat after our airline removed our bags in Fort Lauderdale.

The legend offers 4 tours. We selected South because we wanted to see the albatross in Espanola during their breeding season, giant tortoises in the highlands of Santa Cruz and flamingos on Floreana. We also took the north central tour so we could see the red footed booby's on Genovesa.

The 8 days were packed with activities. Every day offered 2 excursions, one early in the morning and one late in the afternoon, each lasting about 2 hours. In addition, supplemental activities like glass bottom boat, kayaking and zodiac rides were available. It was an extremely active and exciting adventure.

For those who wanted more leisure time, there are massages, gym, hot tubs, pool, library, chaise lounges in the sun and inside, games, contests and bar.

All of the people were exceptional. The naturalist guides . . . we were fortunate to have Cesar. . . the head chef Andres, who was so accommodating to those of us with special dietary needs, and all of the crew. Very competent and personable.