I had an amazing trip on the Elite in the last week of June. I had been transferred to this vessel as my original ship had a fault on the... read more cabin, so wouldn't normally have been able to afford such luxury - however, the guide, crew and ship itself soon won me round!

Thank you to Carlos, our guide who was knowledgeable and enthusiastic about not just the wildlife but also the history of the islands. Thanks to Francis and Sebastian for supporting this crazy panicky snorkeller (who knew you could still be scared of heights under water?!) - with their support I enjoyed my snorkelling experiences with turtles, sealions, penguins and iguanas, as well as the myriad of other sea life to be found. And, of course, thank you to Michael our Cruise Service Officer, who really did look after our every need, whether that was spraying alcohol on my knees after I cut them on rocks, or handing another passenger a cup of hot chocolate while helping pull off her wetsuit!! Nothing was too much trouble.

The food was good, the accommodation was good, the experience was fantastic.

  We enjoyed a 5 day/4 night Galapagos cruise on the Endemic in December 2018. This new ship is meticulously maintained and cared for. Everything is sparkling clean. ... read more The staff is continuously attentive. Hotel Manger Xavier is warm, engaging and energetic. He anticipates and accommodates travelers’...More

  Just came back from 8 days on the Elite catamaran. Everything about the cruise was outstanding, from the beautiful new ship to the food to the crew to the... read more guests on board to the excursions. What made the trip even more special was our guide, Enrique, who was both brilliant and fun to be with. He shared a huge amount of knowledge about the islands and its inhabitants, both animal and human. On one of our excursions while we were on the zodiac we were surrounded by hundreds of dolphins! On others we swam or walked among sea lions, turtles, starfish, stingrays and many species of birds. As others have said, this is truly the trip of a lifetime. …

  We were so very lucky to stumble upon the Endemic and Golden Galapagos for our trip to the Galapagos. Truly the best you can choose. Made only better by... read more the incredible accompaniment of our Naturalist on board, Ivonne T. A truly amazing guide with a love and dedication for the preservation of this beautiful place, and she was the absolute icing on the cake for this amazing trip. Granted, there are less expensive trips, but, if you are only able to get to the Galapagos once in your lifetime, do it the right way. We booked via Columbus Travel, and they were delightful, handling every little detail. (Thank you Pablo R.!)

Huge cabins, private verandas, amazing views, great service, tons of excursions that are meaningful and stunning. Equipment was top notch, made us regret dragging our own equipment and wet suits along. Your equipment is designated to you for your entire cruise.

To walk upon these pristine and uninhabited places as Darwin saw them, with an amazing Naturalist, is indescribable. Crew to guest ratio is fabulous with a maximum of 16 guests, and the food was awesome. I have gluten issues and can't eat seafood, and they were lovely and very accommodating. If you mention one preference, you can rest assured they will remember and provide it again. Fernando and Victoria were our favorites, as they really did an amazing job of taking care of us. I would steal them away if I could! (Don't worry Luisa, they don't seem willing to move to San Diego!)

Let me respond to some prior reviews. First, do some very minimal research and you will find that if you get seasick, you need to come prepared. (Columbus did a great job at preparing us on this!) You are on a smaller boat than a regular cruise ship, which does not come with stabilizers, so if you are extremely sensitive, book the big boat with 100 people. It's an ocean, it rocks the boat. And again, with minimal research, you will learn that the Galapagos in October is has rougher seas than most of the year, but brings you more wildlife due to the Humboldt currents. It was very manageable if you prepare. Do your homework, and you will be fine. We had one bad evening, due to trying to make the next island timely, and trying to get a sick crew member to medical assistance. (My only recommendation....inform the staff and guests of when it will possibly get rough and to hunker down. That did not occur for us.) We would wholeheartedly do it all again. As for the jacuzzi complaints, the ship uses desalinization systems for water. Depending on the harbor and other boat traffic, they may not be able to run the pumps and fill the Jacuzzi. First world problems, lol. Try to let them know your desires in advance.

The Captain (and Naturalist) did a great job of keeping us on task. The Galapagos National Park highly regulates visitors as well as the time that the boat guests can come assure, so their attention to timeliness matters! Not to worry, you can always skip excursions if you want to hang back and relax on the gorgeous ship. The Captain also invited us to visit the wheelhouse when we crossed the equator, which was very cool.

If you want to see as much as possible on your time here, this is the boat for you. We had guests of all ages and abilities, and our crew took great care of all of us. And trust me, we had one VERY difficult guest, as there is always one, right? Kudos to our Naturalist and crew for putting up with him and babysitting his rule-breaking tendencies, he was a piece of work.

Again, a great time, and Ivonne T, our Naturalist, really made the complete difference on this vacation of a lifetime! Book it! Luisa and team, thank you!

  Let me start with the positive, the crew was amazing the cabins were large and the housekeeping man was a ninja, our cabins were always clean and tidy yet we... read more never saw him. the food was excellent and every time we came back from an excursion there were refreshments, the vessel is marketed as new but it looks like it was refurbished, nevertheless it is very nice clean and comfortable. however on our departure date they scurried us off like yesterdays news, our cruise was suppose to be 4 days but it they cheated us out of over half a day. so if you decide to book with them make sure you plan accordingly so you don't get treated like the red headed step child and get woken up at the but crack of dawn so you can have your breakfast and get the f... off the boat. and btw I brought my complaint to them and they could care less and the jacuzzi never worked. …

  We spent 4 nights on the Elite yacht with Golden Galapagos and truly enjoyed this experience. The crew and our naturalist guide were all excellent and took very good care... read more of us. The accommodations were comfortable, the ship is very clean and the food was excellent. In these waters, you do have quite a bit of sea movement at night when the ship is sailing between islands, so highly recommend wearing the patch or some form of sea sickness prevention. …

  Just came back from 8 days on the Elite catamaran. Everything about the cruise was outstanding, from the beautiful new ship to the food to the crew to the... read more guests on board to the excursions. What made the trip even more special was our guide,...More

  5 nights and 4 days of happiness on the Endemic Was it … The walks The snorkeling daily The itinerary The ship being pristine The crews... read more want to please The guides knowledge The food and drinks The service The cleanliness The panga rides The fellow guests I don’t have anything to add but that the crew of the Endemic along w guide Daniel and the fellow guests made the trip with my old son very special and a real memory for us …

  A extraordinary trip with a fantastic staff. Yeah we lucked out because we were the only two people on the cruise . But needless to say I would definitely take... read more this cruise company again