Galapagos Family Holiday
by Heather Blenkiron, CNH Tours
(France/Canada)
During our cruise, I had the pleasure of enjoying one of my most relaxing and stimulating holidays. I have some previous experience of Galapagos: We spent the first 4 years of our married life there, so I was experiencing the Letty, and the islands themselves, from a perspective quite out-of-the ordinary from the typical visitor.
Each morning begins with a soft voice over the loud speaker in your room:
You are in paradise…the Galapagos Islands…
That is one of my fondest memories of our week on the Letty (1st Class, 20 passengers), one of the three Ecoventura/Galapagos Network sister ships.
We were accompanied by a man from Connecticut with his 14 year old son, and a couple from Montreal with their 14 and 16 year old daughters. Because the ship wasn't at capacity, the captain brought along his children (5 and 10 years old) and his niece (8 years old).
We were lucky to have the services of 2 naturalist guides, and of a third guide in training – giving us the equivalent of a 1:4 guide per passenger ratio (even though the captain's children didn't usually accompany us on the trails).
Here is my review of the Letty's Family Departure:
Some background: Our children are 7 and 10 years old, perfect ages to get the most out of a Family departure such as the Letty's. 7 years is what I would consider a minimum age to really appreciate the islands (in terms of gross motor skills, ability to snorkel, and sheer curiosity!).
For us, a family-friendly environment was paramount. We found this on the Letty the moment we were ushered aboard. The crew's competence, friendly demeanor and warmth created a family environment. One could tell immediately that the staff took great pride in their work and in assisting us in any way possible.
It was an excellent family cruise atmosphere. Our kids had other kids to play with, the guides took time to amuse the kids, the adults had some quiet time to themselves. I particularly enjoyed having a cool drink on the top deck at sunset, with kids amusing themselves inside, while we had nice chats above.
These sister ships have an excellent itinerary – though this means a few long crossings (which took place at night while we slept). We saw what many naturalist guides consider "the big three" visitor sites – Genovesa (great frigatebirds, red-footed boobies), Punta Espinosa (more iguanas than you can dream of, plenty of flightless cormorants, fantastic vistas) and Punta Suarez (vistas, masked boobies, green and red marine iguanas, the "blow hole").
I had taken a cruise back in 1998 and in 2000, shortly after the major 1997-1998 El Niño, which had ravaged marine life in Galapagos. I noted plenty more penguins, cormorants, and marine iguanas this time.
The snorkeling was the highlight for us. Before going, I'd had my kids practice in the bathtub which hadn't impressed them. But they took right to it in Galapagos.
Waters were warm, people discarded their wetsuits.
On a few occasions, we got right up close (e.g. arm's length) to penguins, sea turtles, sea lions and even white tipped reef sharks (ok- about three arm's lengths for the sharks!). The Galapagos are known by scuba divers for the big animals (e.g. not limited to small tropical fish!). We had an eyeful.
The Letty was professionally run and in excellent working condition. The crew was on top of things, taking care our needs. We had tasty meals – too much food I would say! Even the snacks served as one returned from a land excursion or from a swim were often baked and warm.
The guides (Yvan and Gabriela) were evidently passionate about their jobs, and took them seriously. They didn't disappear below decks when on board, but remained accessible and responsive to our needs and questions. It was great to have a guide in training, who could take special care of the kids.
Overall, there was a very relaxed and laid back feeling to the cruise – giving us the impression that we were almost on our own private yacht.
The Eric, Letty and Flamingo sister ships are identical, and follow the same itinerary at the same time. They often are the only ships at a particular visitor site, and coordinate between themselves to ensure that passengers are not all doing the same thing at the same time – so we ended up having visitor sites all to ourselves on most occasions (although once I was shocked to share a site with a big fancy sports fishing boat – what is a sports fishing boat doing in Galapagos? Do they allow hunting safaris in the Serengeti??).
There are three decks on these ships, the bottom iguana deck (some cabins there can accommodate three people), the middle booby deck, and the upper dolphin deck. Prices are higher as you move upwards. But frankly, having inspected all three, I was hard pressed to notice much difference, beyond the size of the windows (big ones on the two higher decks).
The rooms were compact, meaning that soft-sided bags that can be rolled up and stowed are essential (you don't need much beyond a few t-shirts, a swim suit, and a pair of shorts during the hot season), but otherwise well organized.
Galapagos packing list...
Showers were hot and water pressure was good. All soap and shampoo was biodegradable, something we appreciated.
Having recommended so many tours to so many people, I was afraid that I would be disappointed by some small detail of our tour. I wasn't. The Letty Family departure supplied the perfect balance between planned and unplanned activities – leaving space for the children to be children, and for the adults to enjoy a moment here and there in the company of our fellow guests.
Bon voyage!
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