Day 1 – Santa Cruz II Eastern

At San Cristobal Airport (SCY), after the Galapagos National Park control, proceed to collect your checked luggage. Please note that if your hand luggage was taken by the airline staff (either in Quito or Guayaquil, because it was too big) this is the time to retrieve it using the claim stub provided by the airlines. Before exiting the terminal, your hand luggage will be checked by authorities to ensure there are no prohibited products such as seeds, etc. The authorities will also register your arrival and ask you for the Sworn Statement of Goods form you filled out on the plane. You then hand your checked luggage to our ship’s staff who will take care of its transfer to your vessel. Please follow our staff’s instructions regarding transportation and feel free to ask them for any additional information.
From San Cristobal Airport, we board a chartered bus that takes us down to a dock before boarding the ship which is anchored in the harbour. The ride takes approximately 10 minutes.

Just before boarding the inflatable landing craft used to transport you to the ship (our staff may refer to them as pangas), you will be instructed in the correct use of life jackets and the hands-free policy, both of which are key parts of our Safety Management Certification Program (ISM) designed to ensure your wellbeing throughout your stay with us.

Once aboard the ship, check in with the Hotel Manager. This is the time to hand in the cruise voucher. Please make sure you keep all papers given to you by the local Galapagos authorities. You will need them later when departing Galapagos. All activities on board are announced through the P.A. system.

As soon as all guests have arrived we serve lunch and provide a briefing in which we share all details regarding how the expedition is handled and what will happen from that moment on. By this time, your luggage will have arrived and have been placed directly in your cabin by the Hotel Staff. An emergency boat drill is carried out within the first 24 hours of embarkation. The Naturalist Guides will let you know about your first outing, which is only hours away!