On the whole this was a good trip. we saw lots of animals in their natural habitat. However we did have a 'wasted day' on the change over day, 24th March(day 4). The only activity arranged was 45min trip to the Interpretation centre and a short visit to Frigate Hill, on San Cristobel Island. We spent quite a few hours on board with little to do. There should have been more activities such as snorkeling...This day was also made very fraught for us by the boat staff and captain. From day one, our air con system malfunctioned, after several attempts to repair it we were promised another cabin with a working air con during the change over, day (4). As you can imagine it was very uncomfortable to be in a small cabin near the equator, without air conditioning. As day 4 progressed and the new guests arrived, it became more obvious that we were not going to change cabins. The Captain assured me that someone was going to come to fix our machine and pleaded with me 'just to wait'. By late afternoon nothing had changed. I contacted Andean Travel, who contacted Onric who organised a different cabin at about 6pm as one other passenger was going to be late and we could transfer to his. Emails were received pleading with us not to disclose the problem with other passengers. I agreed to this but pointed out that the saloon was now full and we would be transferring our baggage through the saloon. We received a letter from Onric apologising about not reaching their 'expectation of making us comfortable' on half of our trip, with a bottle of house wine. Considering the cost of this trip, a bottle of house wine hardly recompenses us for those 4 days, half our trip, in a stiffling cabin. I have kept the letter. In view of the angst of having to 'fight' for a change of cabin was I disappointed to find on our last night, 4 envelopes (2 per person), on our bed, in which to place our tips. Two were for the guide and two for the crew. The suggestions for the amounts would have added about $500 to the cost of our trip (which is a very significant cost and should be mentioned by Explore at the time of advertising the trip). It was suggested that the tip for the crew should be $20 per day per person ($40 per couple). I have one of these envelopes. I feel that Andean Travel should offer a financial recompense for the very uncomfortable 4 days, half our trip.
