I have not been on a cruise in 20 years so this was a trip of a lifetime for my multigenerational family. We did spend one night in Equador, at the Hotel Colon, prior to our last flight to the islands. It took 1.5 days of travel to get there with lunch and an excursion to an island scheduled for the same day.

Unfortunately, 25 of us lost our luggage via American airlines errors, and the sweet people of Lindblad/ Nat. Geo took us to a town to buy some clothing. I mention this because we have a story about not finding much available in Mucho Grande Pantaloons size. The Ecuadorians are a much smaller people than Americans. A size 12 to 14 is a mucho grande. The hotel manager did everything he could to supply us with essentials including laundry for our paultry supplies. They were such gracious people.

Although the ship may be small compared to the super cruise liners it was comfortable and charming. We became a small family of explorers. My grandaughters and I had a two room cabin that was nicely size (300.) My daughter and SIL had a much smaller room for 2 (206) Gifts were left in the bathroom for us to use during the trip including a reusable water bottle, loofah etc. Of course the chocolates left on our bed were a nice treat left after beds were set for nite time. Read more