www.ecuadors.org

[Zandile]

Hi,

They have a 20 person first class boat. (Fragata) They agreed to reduce the fee from $1750 to $1650 for each of our 4-person family. They also have a 14 person catamaran, also first class, that they agreed to reduce from $2000 to $1850 each. (Nemo II) They said it can go to Isabela Island, which the others don't go to. They also said they don't think it makes that much difference. Of course we also have to hay for flight to islands and $100 park fee. Do you have an opinion about these boats or catamaran vs 20 passenger boat?

thanks

[Wynona]

I just returned from a trip to the Galapagos in October. I spent a lot of time researching boats and picked the Fragata because the boat looked very nice (especially for the price) and had an itinerary that I wanted (it went to Genovesa). I'm not sure when you plan to go, but you may want to check around. I was quoted $1450 for the Fragata, which included the airfare from Quito to the Galapagos.
I booked the cruise, had it confirmed, and paid for it in May. In late September, (about a week before my cruise) I was notified that "due to an unintentional error" I was bumped from the Fragata and "upgraded to the Beluga".

As a 4-person group, you probably have less chance of getting bumped than a single person, but I was disappointed that the Fragata did this. The Beluga - which was an extremely nice ship -
had an itinerary that overlapped with the Fragata at a couple of islands. The Fragata looked nice from the outside and the passengers at that time looked mostly like 20-something backpackers.
Isabela and Fernandina were on my new itinerary, and they were quite nice. It had very different scenery from some of the more central islands, and these two islands (plus Espanola) are probably my favorite parts of the trip.

I saw one catamaran while I was there (I don't remember if it was the Nemo II or some other ship) and the amount of deck space was very small compared to the Fragata.

Good luck and enjoy your trip!