Best Galapagos
luxury cruise ships

Best all-around
Galapagos luxury cruise ship

Celebrity Xpedition

Galapagos runners-up:

Endeavor
Islander

All three Galapagos ships are exceptional and worthy of your consideration. They attract an intelligent, educated, affluent, world-traveled clientele. All three also have first-rate food, spacious cabins and public spaces, well-appointed furnishings, and the Galapagos National Park’s best naturalists.

Two factors give the Celebrity Xpedition an edge over the Endeavor and Islander:

Social scene and feel

The Celebrity Xpedition guests are sophisticated, as are the other two luxury ships. But Xpedition guests are more likely to be laid back and friendlier. This is important because you will be socializing with your fellow passengers all day – at meals, on excursions, and for drinks at the bar and on the deck. And enjoying their company and making new friends is one of the pleasures of cruising.

Ambiance and comfort

The Xpedition has spiffier, more comfortable furnishings - and more spacious cabins and public areas.

However, the Celebrity Expedition is not perfect. No cruise ship is. For example, a waiter forgot to place napkins on a table he reset. He did not promptly remedy the problem, even after a new party sat down at the table and pointed out the omission. But, overall, the Xpedition's shortcomings were few and far between.

Click Xpedition to read my ten-page description of this ship.

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Best Galapagos
deluxe cruise ships

Each of these ships has its devoted fans.

Eclipse (photo)
Evolution

La Pinta
Isabela II

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Best Galapagos
first class ships & yachts

About 60 Galapagos cruise boats fall within the first class category. The quality range among these boats is broad, so book one of the better ones. Proven passenger pleasers include:

Alta  motor sail yacht
Nina  motor catamaran yacht
Galapagos Explorer II  cruise ship
Galapagos Legend  cruise ship
Grace  motor yacht
Santa Cruz  cruise ship
Sky Dancer  motor yacht (diveboat)

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Galapagos tourist and
tourist superior class boats

I cannot confidently recommend any of the boats in these two Galapagos categories. Their negatives overshadow their low fares. In essence, you'll be roughing it. Shortcomings are many. For example, cramped beds, cabins and public spaces - and a lack of amenities in general.

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Which is better,
large or small?

Both sizes have their advantages and disadvantages (though, overall, large wins). Click below to learn why:

Large vs small cruise ship - pros & cons

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About Galapagos
ship categories

There is no official Galapagos ship classification. I use the luxury, deluxe, first class, tourist superior class, and tourist class category system.

Be forewarned that many Galapagos cruise-agent websites loosely define the term "luxury", awarding that classification to numerous ships to boost sales.

Also be aware that many Galapagos cruise-agent websites list only the ships they represent. For example, the vast majority of cruise-agent websites do not list the top three luxury cruise ships (Celebrity Xpedition and the National Geographic's Endeavor and Islander). Reason: They are not official agents for those vessels. To take the place of those ships, some cruise agents add boats to the "luxury" category that most seasoned cruisers would rate "deluxe" or even "first class".

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Official organizations

The Charles Darwin Foundation promotes environmental conservation and biodiversity in the Galapagos Islands through its main arm, the Darwin Research Center. The IGTOA is a nonprofit association of Galapagos travel and conservation organizations. UNESCO named the Galapagos Islands as a World Heritage site.

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©2010 HQP / Hillman Quality Publications