Royal Galapagos

Accommodations Review

The Infiniti ship and crew were excellent. Suite on Infiniti was excellent. Room serviced multiple times a day. Could have used additional shampoo/conditioner/soap daily.  Would have enjoyed turn down service chocolate nightly (instead of occasionally).

Meals Review

Food options were excellent. Chef able to accommodate multiple vegans/vegetarians. Proteins (meat/fish) were a tad overcooked, but all meals impressive. Favorite was Italian-themed day.

Crew & Guides Review

Juan was passionate and enthusiastic about educating guests about all-things Galapagos. Carlos was a little more reserved, but still excellent.

Itinerary Review

[We most enjoyed]...the Galapagos Islands. [We least enjoyed]...Quito due to altitude sickness. About half of the guests off boarded mid-trip and another 11 guests on boarded. Average age of second half considerably younger. All passengers were great, no jerks.

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

AdventureSmith was helpful as COVID protocols changed just prior to trip.

Traveler Advice

Plan for sea sickness regardless of your past experience.

Accommodations Review

The Infinity was a smaller yacht with only 20 passengers. Great rooms with balcony, great food and crew.

Meals Review

Breakfast and lunch were buffet so there was something for everyone. Dinner was served. There was a wide variety of fish, beef, chicken, salads. Most of the food had an Ecuadorian flair but there were also pasta dishes and always great desserts.  We never went hungry.

Crew & Guides Review

The guides were extremely knowledgeable and you could tell they enjoyed what they were doing. They were like a good friend telling us about something they loved. So much fun too!

Itinerary Review

All of the excursions were all fantastic, so many different land and water animals. A one of a lifetime trip.

Transportation Review

From start to finish we were picked up and taken everywhere we needed to be. Guided every step of the way. Made our trip easy.

Fellow Passengers Review

The trip was made extra special because of the great group of passengers that were on the tour. Having a small group made it easy to get to know everyone!  We were lucky.

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

Arielle provided excellent service. I highly recommend booking through AdventureSmith.

Traveler Advice

Be prepared for rough seas and possible sea sickness.

Accommodations Review

Excellent, very comfortable and clean.

Meals Review

Delicious, lots of variety.

Crew & Guides Review

Andres and Juan were the best. We have travelled a lot in Africa and Asia and have used guides for safaris, boat/cat trips, etc and they were some of the best we have had the pleasure of traveling with.

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

Very responsive, answered all of our questions promptly and thoroughly. Would highly recommend to friends and family.

Accommodations Review

Lovely room and the boat overall was great.

Itinerary Review

All the snorkeling was amazing. We loved getting up close with the sea lions especially and getting glimpses of hammerhead sharks and sea turtles.

Meals Review

Food was an absolute highlight!

Crew & Guides Review

Our guide was awesome! He had a sunny, cheerful attitude and was very knowledgeable. I especially appreciated the video he made at the end of the trip from the clips he had been taking! Thank you!

Accommodations Review

The Camilla was a beautiful ship! Large cabins & showers. Very comfortable room. Liked the L’Occitane soap, lotion, shampoo and conditioner provided. The rooms all have individual air conditioning units, which was nice. Plenty of electrical outlets and USB ports (U.S. plugs work); In this respect, it was designed better than most hotel rooms. Not enough storage space (drawers, etc.) or hangers for unpacking for two people. Small balconies for every cabin with comfortable chairs to sit and take in the view. Brand new good quality Cressi full wetsuits, masks & snorkels were provided. The fins provided were short fitted-foot style fins. Hiking sticks were provided for people who wanted to use them. Coffee, hot tea, water, cookies & crackers available all day. The Camilla was very comfortable.

Surprisingly, our Cruise Director switched halfway though the first week, which meant we had a new Cruise Director who had to spend a couple of days learning everyone’s names, food requirements, etc. just before the week ended, which was a bit awkward and definitely interrupted the flow of service provided. Would have preferred the cruise company to pay their staff well and build it into the price of the cruise rather than rely on guests to carry a lot of cash and provide personal tips.

Meals Review

For the price, we felt like alcohol should have been included. Beer, wine & cocktails cost extra, but the bartender allowed us to buy a bottle of wine and keep it chilled to drink over a period of days (which is cheaper than buying by the glass). Excellent healthy food options, but some of the side dishes were sometimes a little salty. The variety of food choices was plentiful.  We especially enjoyed the lunches served buffet style.

Crew & Guides Review

Javier was truly an expert in his field and offered a vast wealth of knowledge on the history, geology, and ecology of the Galapagos. We learned so much from him and enjoyed getting to know him. Friendly and professional drivers met us at the airport and hotel.

Itinerary Review

We definitely enjoyed snorkeling the most. If we go back again, we'll probably do a dive boat, but on this first trip, we wanted to do the hiking and land tours as well, so we compromised with snorkeling instead of scuba diving. We loved the north and west portions of the itinerary the best, and we felt like we were able to cover a lot of ground since we booked two full weeks aboard the Camilla. Having to go a bit slow to accommodate the slowest of the group took a little patience. Also, in the sun and heat, it would have been nice to keep moving and see more, rather than stop often for lectures from the Naturalist every 10 minutes. We loved learning about all the information covered, but sometimes it was a little slow going.

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

The packing checklist and materials received prior to the trip were extremely helpful. Our travel agent, Leslie, was available to answer all our questions.

Traveler Advice

It was definitely a retiree demographic on board, for the most part, and a few struggled with some of the physical rigor of the hikes and activities. All were very nice though, and we exchanged emails so that we could share pictures and videos. You should make it clear to potential travelers that this trip requires a level of strength and physical health to hop in and out of Zodiac boats several times a day, occasionally with wet landings, as well as rigorous hikes, often on slippery and uneven terrain.