Hello Jaime: 

We were on the Millennium from April 30 – May 3, 2007. We had a very positive experience.

We chose the boat due to size, class, and itinerary. In spite of seasickness worries, we still opted for a smaller ship due to intimacy of the experience. For us, this was the correct choice. As it turned out, the seas were mostly calm, except for the 1st night when those on board without medication suffered a bit. I wore the patch (only one who did), and my wife (very prone to seasickness) took Marezine the first night, which worked perfectly for her.

We booked through Galasam, who provided good service, including airport transfer from our hotel in Quito on the morning of our departure, and a follow-up phone call after our cruise just to confirm our satisfaction.

The cabins were comfortable, with two twin beds, balcony, a bathroom with sink and toilet, and separate room with full tub and shower. Bring earplugs to overcome engine noise at night.  Public areas on board are more luxurious, including indoor lounge & dining area, covered mid-deck, and partially covered upper deck.

We had twelve passengers, with a good international mix – Ecuadorian, Columbian, French, , Israel , American, South African, Russian, German, and Dutch! Be aware that smoking is permitted in outdoor public areas, which drove us indoors several times.

Meals were better than expected, with all passengers choosing seats among three tables, served buffet style. Bar service is available at a reasonable surcharge. Plenty of bottled water is available for free.

There are generally two outings per day to the islands, with the vessel in transit overnight and/or in early afternoon. These were all excellent – Floreana, Bartolome, N. Seymour, Santa Cruz , Champion Island , Santiago . We saw tortoises, flamingoes, penguins, marine iguanas, land iguanas, lava lizards, blue-footed boobies, frigates, sharks, rays, pelicans, sea lions, fur sea lions, lava herons, dolphins, and more. Don't get too hung up on the itinerary, as it can change at the last moment at the whim of the park service (ours did). It was still all good. The tortoise reserve on Santa Cruz was a little disappointing due to the crowds (access is not restricted as within he National Park boundaries). The guide (Billy) was good, and I suspect might have been excellent if he'd had the cooperation of all members of our group. A couple seemed like they would rather not be there, complained about the early wake-ups, and strayed off often on their own.

The guide did a good job of trying to coordinate our outings with the schedules of other boats (especially the larger cruise ships) so as to minimize interference with other groups. The big ships send out passengers in small groups of 16, but only a few minutes apart. Once on the island, they may merge into an uber-group, making it seem more like a zoo environment than a natural one. A good thing to avoid!

Bring sunscreen (lots), a wide-brimmed hat, a swimsuit (the snorkeling was a highlight, and I'm not an avid snorkeller!), zip lock bags, lots of film/memory cards, a couple of disposable under-water cameras ($12 at Target/Walmart), seasickness meds, hiking shoes or GOOD sneakers. You can easily and safely do the wet landings in bare feet, as the water is very shallow and the bottom soft sand.

This is a very nice, comfortable vessel with a well-run program, and at a good value. Recommended

Jamie
Just letting you know that we have returned to Australia and had a wonderful
trip to Ecuador
The Galapagos, Paradise huts and Cotoapaxi were all fantastic.
We love your country and thank you so much for your patients with me in
organising the trip
Regards
Gill
Gillian Taylor
Four Corners Investment
(formerly Pooginook Merino)
email fourcornersgill@bigpond.com
Natural Instinct Wool Co
www.naturalinstinctwool.com
PO Box 3111 Albury NSW 2640
ph 0260234011 fax 0260234022 mob 0428696724
Bibbaringa Wymah Rd Bowna via Albury 2640 phone 0260203244

Dear Jaime,

We finally came back home.

To summerize , we had one of the best trips in the pat two years and we travelleed a lot lately.

The highlights were Machu-Picchu and obviously, Galapagos.

We would like to thank you and your partners and all the arrangements. We appreciate very much your attention and care while we were around Ecuador .

Please do not hesitate to forward people to me for explanation and recommendations. Obviously I recommend you to my friends who are planning to travel to your area.

In case you may have Israelis that are looking for guidance forward them to me and have them call my local mobile: 0544-394026.

Again thank you on behalf of Bar Henia and myself.

best regards

Samuel.

We want to thank-you so much for our wonderful time in the galapogos and our
stay on Estrella del Mar 2. The whole trip was incredible, we saw more than we ever
could have imagined.
Our guide Carlos while in Quito was so knowlegeable, he made our trip to
Otavalo and area very enjoyable and unforgettable.
Our stay at Hotel Rio Amazonia was very good, we enjoyed our tour of the
city as well.
Once back in Calgary at the end of August, we will send you some photos of
our trip.
Thanks again for everything you have done for us to make this trip
unforgetable.We are now off to Peru for a few weeks.
Talk to you soon

Cindy

Estimado Jaime,

Nuestro regreso a Guayaquil y vuelo de vuelta a Francia se pasaron perfectamente bien como todo nuestro viaje en Ecuador y en las Galapagos.

Regresamos encantados de estas 5 semanas en su bellissimo pais. Encontramos tambien ecuadorianos y ecuadorianas muy amable durante todo nuestro viaje y estuvo un placer de discutir con ellos.

Con toda mi familia le agredezco mucho para la perfecta organisacion de nuestra estancia en las Galapagos y queremos decirle que no olbidaremos esta semana nunca: "Estrella del mar II" fue un muy agradable barco, la tripulacion como la guia Fatima estuvieron excelentes ( muy professionales y atentas). El ambiente en el barco estuvo "super"...

Muchissimas gracias ,

Adios

Loïc, Véronique, Camille y Coline Gérard

Dear Jaime,
We arrived home yesterday after spending a couple of weeks in the USA .

The entire group wishes to thank you and Galasam for organising what was a
fantastic trip. The Amazonas Hotel in Quito , the Estrella del Mar II and its
crew, the weather (although you can't really take too much credit for that
!!), the trips aound Quito and the two Guides and the bus driver who looked
after us, and most of all our Guide in the Galapagos, Billy!! We all agree
that he must be the best there is !!

Personally I appreciate the way you dealt with me from the first email to
your final phone calls in Quito . You demonstrated a superb level of
understanding and organisational ability and ensured that our trip was
perfect.

Thanks again, and if we should ever consider Ecuador and the Galapagos again
in the future, you will be the first person we will contact !!! There will
be plenty of positive comments about Galasam and Jaime to all we meet !!

Regards,

Mike

Hola Jaime,

We absolutely loved our trip on the Estrella del Mar 2.  Thank you so much for coordinating all our logistics.  We had a great group, a fantastic crew and Fatima was a very informative and dynamic guide.  Thank you again--we will never forget it!

Jessica

"Galaplus ( Jaime Pinchevsky)" <galaplus@gye.satnet.net> wrote:

DEAr Jessica

How was your Galapagos experience aboard our Estrella del Mar 2  ??

Regards

Dear Jaime,

The vessel Estrella del Mar 2 was excellent. We had a superb time and loved every minute.

Thank you for all your help for sorting it out for us.

The staff and service were TOP QUALITY, the food superb too and Fatima the guide was brilliant. Dawn and I had the best week ever.

Tha Galapagos Islands were amazing and prbably the best holiday we have ever had.

It more than lived up to expectations and we would not hesitate to recommend Galasam to anyone who asked us about our trip.

Thank you again

Have a good day

Best regards

Ralph Gosling

Jaime:

I am sorry that it has taken me so long to get back to you.  I have been very busy at work and at home.

I finally have a chance to sit down and compose my thoughts about the trip.  What an incredible nature, cultural, and lifetime experience we had!

First of all, the Quito experience and tours were phenomenal.  Rio Amazonas was a wonderful hotel - especially with the suites.  La Canoa was a really nice place to eat.  We liked that it was close by and open 24 hours!

Mr. Sierra was wonderful.  He was always on time and was very helpful in making our transitions worry-free.  In addition, the side trips that he scheduled contained - perhaps - some of the most memorable experiences.  We really enjoyed Wilmel on the Quito city and equator tour.  Carlos was also phenomenal on the Mindo and Otavalo tours.  I really do not know how we could have navigated through the city and countryside without our guides.

The Galapagos experience was unforgettable.  The Millennium was a wonderful yacht.  There was plenty of space in our bedrooms.  The crew was very nice and accommodating.  We especially liked the bartender, Carlos!  We had two guides while we were on the ship: Sara and Billy Lucin.  I got the feeling that all of the passengers really liked Billy.  He was very knowledgeable, funny, and entertaining.

The Galapagos Islands themselves were amazing.  I think that the most memorable experience was - swimming with sea lions.  We also really enjoyed the blue-footed boobies.  There were so many sites and animals to be seen to even elaborate further.  My favorite island that we visited was Bartolome because of the scenery, snorkeling, and penguins!

Finally, none of this experience could have happened without you.  When I was researching different vacation spots last August, I really did not think that a Galapagos trip was a possibility (because of the cost for four people).  You really helped me to bring the cost within my budget.  You answered all of my questions in very rapid fashion.  It was certainly an honor and a pleasure to work with you.  Thank you!

I am attaching a few select photos from the trip.  (I will send the pictures over several emails.)  Let's stay in touch!

Muchos saludos,

Roberto Bober

Jaime,
Gracias por todos, fue increible! De verdad que fue la experiencia mas impresionante en mi vida! Solo le queria decir gracias por todos, y todo era perfecto el Los Galapagos.

Brandon Russell

Hi Jaime,

Just wanted to say a big thanks for helping us to go on the Galapagos
Islands cruise. We had a fantastic time and really enjoyed ourselves. The
boat was fine, the staff were lovely and the food was fantastic!!

We will be recommending you to other travellers.

Thanks once again.

Zena and John