Hi. I went with Klein Tours to the Galapagos in winter, 2008. I was on the Legend. I had my doubts- my traveling companion had chosen the trip and then asked me if I wanted to join in. I had never done a cruise before. I ended up being very impressed the Klein. The guides were first-rate, and I loved the crew. Even though it was a bigger boat, it didn't feel that way. The other passengers were interesting and fun.

We used a budget travel agent here in the U.S. She demanded we pay in full in advance with a cashier's check. (she wouldn't accept credit cards because of the fees) I was half-convinced we were getting scammed, but everything turned out fine.

I did talk to Klein directly about booking an extra day trip out of Quito. Their price was higher than a competitor, so we took the competitor's day trip to Otavalo. (Klein supplied an individual guide, while it's competitor had a chartered bus-trip.)

I would book with them and pay in advance again. But I would price-check any add-ons out of Quito.

Hope this helps!

Indiana Marie -

I also do not accept credit cards. Given that your commission on a trip is a modest percentage of the cruise cost component (nothing on flight to Galapagos, hotels or anything else we may book for the client), and that credit card companies, on top of a high monthly fixed fee, charge up to 3% on the TOTAL cost of a transaction, our benefits shrink considerably! Some travel agents accept the credit cards, but hike the total cost of a trip by 3% or more (on a $3,000 trip, that's $90) to cover this.

Glad you had a good time on Klein!

Warmes regards,

Heather Blenkiron

Hi Indiana Marie,

After the cruise, I'm planning to stay in Quito for an additional 4 days. Which company did you use to book your additional excursions?

Any recommendations on what to see and do around Quito and the surrounding area?

If you haven't seen it already, I did a long review on the Coral I over on Cruise Critic. Click on 'Boards' in the upper left, in the 'A-O' section you'll see 'Other Cruise Lines'. From there, my Coral review on the second page (now). Last I tried it, the Search feature on CC wasn't working for the boards.

In Quito, we found the best hot chocolate on the planet at a place called Kallari. You HAVE to experience this if you even remotely like chocolate. We also had dinner at Cafe Mosaico on our last night there. Spectacular view of the city and very good food. Touring the churches and old buildings was interesting, but I wouldn't be able to make more than two days out of it. Also a cool find was a museum attached to the newest (the 3rd) Coffee Tree Orellana, called Museum Mundalae (our pictures say it is Mindalae.) Dinner at the penthouse restaurant La Terraza del Tartaro was a bit expensive for Quito, but the food and view were worth it (note they only open late so don't go early for dinner, which is how we ended up at Kallari!) For relaxation, the massages at the Marriott are 1/2 the cost in the U.S.

Hi tropicgirl,

Thank you for guiding me to your comments on cruise critic. I found your comments very insighful.

Regards,

Adrian

This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity.