TL;DR The Merak is the smallest and most affordable sailboat in the Galapagos fleet – a 52-foot French-built fiberglass motor sailer from 1985, renovated in 2006, carrying a maximum of 8 passengers in 4 double cabins that share 2 bathrooms.…
Important: The Silver Galapagos No Longer Operates in the Galapagos If you are searching for the Silver Galapagos, the vessel you are looking for no longer exists as a Galapagos cruise ship. Silversea sold it in December 2020 and replaced…
TL;DR The Grand Majestic is a 2018-built, American-designed power motor yacht operated by Royal Galapagos, carrying 16 guests in 8 cabins. At 25 knots it is the fastest vessel in the Galapagos fleet – more time at excursion sites, less…
TL;DR The Celebrity Flora is a purpose-built 100-guest all-suite luxury expedition yacht operated by Celebrity Cruises, launched in 2019 exclusively for the Galapagos. All 50 suites have a minimum 323 square feet, Infinite Veranda retractable floor-to-ceiling windows, and personal suite…
TL;DR The Elite is a 2019-built luxury motor catamaran operated by Golden Galapagos Cruises, a women-led Ecuadorian company founded by Rita Freire Jr. from San Cristobal Island. It carries 16 guests in 8 Golden Suites (all 344 sq ft with…
TL;DR The Aqua Mare is the Galapagos Islands’ first true superyacht: a 164-foot, 7-suite, 16-guest Italian-built vessel operated by Aqua Expeditions, refurbished in 2021 by designer Francois Zuretti. It carries 14 crew plus 2 naturalist guides for a 1:1 crew-to-guest…
Quick Summary The Reina Silvia Voyager is a 103-foot motor catamaran purpose-built in 2020 specifically for Galapagos cruising, making it the newest vessel in this review series. With a 40.35-foot beam it’s the widest catamaran reviewed here, producing the most…
Quick Summary The Calipso is a 115-foot First Class motor yacht refurbished in 2019, carrying 16 passengers in 10 cabins, and the only vessel in the Galapagos fleet that rotates weekly between dedicated naturalist itineraries and dedicated liveaboard dive itineraries.…
Quick Summary The Cachalote Explorer is an 88-foot First Class motor yacht originally built in 1988 in Vancouver, Canada for the rough waters of the Pacific Northwest, converted to a Galapagos passenger vessel in 2017 and refurbished in 2018. That…
Quick Summary The Beluga is a 110-foot steel-hulled Superior First Class motor yacht carrying 16 passengers in 8 cabins, one of which converts to a triple for families. At 12 knots it’s one of the fastest vessels in the Galapagos…