Seaman Yacht Review (Galapagos)

The Seaman

It's hard choosing a Galapagos Cruise because there're so many choices. Many people recommend the book Barry Boyce's Guide to the Galapagos. I managed to snag this from the library but didn't find it to be that helpful. They had reviews of some of the more established companies, but none of the newer ones. I don't remember most of the boats discussed but we liked the Samba which was highly recommended and within our price range at approximately $1350 per person for 8 days.

Unfortunately, being notorious procrastinators, by the time we got down to booking the cruise, there were no more spots left on the Samba. :( Eventually we settled on the Seaman based on recommendations from a friend in Quito.


The 5 day / 8 day cruise dilemma
Most people recommend the 8 day cruise so we were highly dissapointed that we weren't able to get on the Seaman for 8 days (sold out!). Now that we're back, we didn't feel like we missed out at all. In fact, most of our fellow travelers were glad to be off the boat. It's a rough life at sea! We were lucky that the waters were fairly calm during our trip and I didn't get seasick for the most part. However, most of us needed a little extra help going to sleep at night (dramamine) because the boats travel at night and boy is it bumpy ride!

My recommendation is to go for the shorter cruise if you're not much of a sea farer like me :) We got to see all the animals and we were pretty sick of wild life by the end of it (and we actually love animals too). We extended our stay at the Galapagos by a couple days on Isabela island. It was nice to be back on land!


Seaman Amenities
The boat was really clean and in great condition. There are 8 air conditioned cabins that sleep 2 (bunk beds). Each cabin also has a tiny window, though they warn you on the first day that these cannot be opened since water can get in when the boat is moving.

Of course I have to review the bathroom since I am all about the bathroom. :) They were really small (even for me at 5ft!) and smelled intensely of disinfectant. Not particularly luxurious. There is a sink, shower, and toilet.

There is also a sun deck on the boat. This was the place to be the first couple days since the ride is smoother and you could snooze in the sun. I thought it was funny that by the third day, we were all burned so the deck was empty!

All in all the boat was clean and well maintained, my only complaint is there was no hot water in the showers! Everyone I talked to did not get hot water. Only DH managed to have a warm shower on the first day.


Seaman Crew and Guide
The Seaman crew was excellent. They were the ones who cooked the meals, served you at dinner, cleaned the rooms, hosed down your feet after you return from a land expedition, and navigated the pangas. They even made a surprise birthday cake for one of our fellow travelors, M!

The guide, Mauricio on the other hand did not meet our expectations. Being a guide was really just a job for him, and he lacked any passion or enthusiasm. He did what he had to but did not go above and beyond. We were also quite peeved when he opened our tip envelope immediately and started counting the money infront of our faces!


Food on the Seaman
Food was good on the boat. We were given 3 meals a day and a snack upon return from our shore activities. The snacks could be empanadas, juice, or fruit. Meals were buffet style and included a salad, vegetable, carb (rice or potatos) and a meat dish (chicken or fish). Breakfast always included toast, cheese, fresh juice, and eggs or french toast. It was all clean and healthy compared to the food in Quito.

Breakfast of museli, banana, and cantalope juice:


Scuba Diving
The Seaman also allows diving. There was an average of 1 dive per day that was usually done in the mornings before any of the other activities. Something happened to one of the passengers on the boat however, that I thought was unreasonable.

One of the guys was unable to descend because his regulator wasn't working. Maurisio however charged him for the dive because he expected him to go down on his spare! I thought that was ridiculous! The guy should have asked Mauricio to switch regulators with him to see how he'd like that :p Another reason why Maurcio wasn't much of a guide.

Shore Activities
There were 2 activites per day. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. Both morning and afternoon activities typically included a land excursion and snorkeling. They're enough to tire you out so you can go to bed early. Breakfast is usually at 7am.