Our group of 8 friends decided to splurge and choose Haugan Cruises and the Ocean Spray to explore the Galapagos Islands for an entire week. We only have good... read moreOur group of 8 friends decided to splurge and choose Haugan Cruises and the Ocean Spray to explore the Galapagos Islands for an entire week. We only have good things to say. The crew was friendly and courteous, the food was excellent, cabins are roomy, and most important of all, the natures guides that Haugan Cruises hire are outstanding (based on our experiences and other friends who had a different guide in a previous year). Our nature guide (Morris Garcia) was extremely knowledgeable and entertaining, speaks very good English and simply made our trip memorable. Every day we were busy with 3 to 4 activities (nature walk, dingy boat ride and snorkeling) and Morris was happy to share more of his time in the evening to describe the night sky of the southern hemisphere. read less

I recently returned from a great trip to Ecuador. Paola from Haugan Cruises helped set up a trip to remember for years to come - Thanks Paola! ... read moreI recently returned from a great trip to Ecuador. Paola from Haugan Cruises helped set up a trip to remember for years to come - Thanks Paola! We started with a few days at the Hotel Mama Cuchara in Quito and then flew to the Galapagos for an 8 day cruise aboard the Camila. Every aspect fo the trip was taken care of for us and the crew aboard the yacht was there for every need. After the cruise, we flew back to Quito for a few more days before heading to La Selva deep within the Amazon. Everything about the trip was great. I've been on other expedition type vacations to Antarctica and Svalbard aboard other luxury cruise lines, but the service with Haugan was far superior! read less

We visited the Galapagos aboard the Ocean Spray in late January-early February. It was an incredible experience. The cruise director, Sebastian was absolutely delightful. The attention to detail, the readiness... read moreWe visited the Galapagos aboard the Ocean Spray in late January-early February. It was an incredible experience. The cruise director, Sebastian was absolutely delightful. The attention to detail, the readiness to help, the informative and pleasant conversation and the discretion he demonstrated were only some of his qualities. He and the wonderful crew made this an incredible trip, worth every dime we spent. Also, our guide on the Islands, Josie, was just as wonderful. Knowledgeable, pleasant, well organized, excellent communicator and passionate about her work are qualities that she has in spades. She was also very patient with some of our co-travellers who had difficulty in the "getting organized" department. We were two of only 4 passengers for this trip with a crew of 12, so we did not lack for attention. A small group like this has its advantages for sure, but also some downsides. I will not get into the downsides as they had nothing to do with Haugan cruises or Sebastian, Josie or the crew. They were all marvellous. Visiting the Galapagos is a trip of a lifetime that few people get to do. Haugan cruises and, mostly, the crew of the Ocean Spray made it that much more special. Thank you Sebastian, Josie and the crew. You will be forever in the fondest part of our memory bank. read less

I chose the Ocean Spray based on itinerary, but I think I ended up with the best boat in the Galapagos anyway! The trip was amazing, the service was... read moreI chose the Ocean Spray based on itinerary, but I think I ended up with the best boat in the Galapagos anyway! The trip was amazing, the service was excellent. Everyone on the crew was friendly and great. Many thanks to Sebastian our cruise director and Josy our Naturalist guide for a really top-notch experience. It was like living in a David Attenborough documentary!

For me, specific to the Ocean Spray, I found the food, especially the local touches such as locally caught fish to be exceptional - I had a plan to eat very lightly on this trip but I was unable to restrain myself. I also found that the cabins were very nice and the bed was really comfortable. Also, while the crew was always there when you needed something, they were hardly underfoot, and never in the way.

I wanted to offer some advice based on the complaints from other reviews. While every experience is not the same I have some general notes, which probably everyone already knows already isn't really specific to Haugan, but maybe I can offer advice anyway. This is not meant to "call out" anyone.

First, I have read some of these reviews that criticize the lack of downtime and while I empathize with that idea it should be noted that a Galapagos cruise is not a sit around the boat cruise. This is not limited to Haugan, at least from my observations of the other boats and conversations I had with crew who had been on other boats. They are all going to be active, there are logistical and practical reasons for this. All of that said, noone is going to criticize you for skipping an activity or two if you would rather sleep in, etc.

Second, on smaller boats, understand that rough seas are going to be uncomfortable. If you are uncomfortable on boats, generally, then you may want to seek larger boats. Or, this might mean Galapagos is not for you, or you should look at trips where you stay on land overnight.

Third, I probably did upwards of 40 hours of research to make sure I was going to get a trip that I wanted. While I think there is high value in any trip to the Galapagos, you should at least do some research if there are specific things you want to see, as animals are migratory, and don't come to every island. As a side note to this, being honest my group got really really lucky with wildlife activity. This isn't going to happen all the time. Nature is nature, no cruise ship is in control of what you might see.

Fourth, being quite honest, Unless you are booking the whole boat for a big family trip, these boats are going to be a little boring for kids. I would not pay the higher "luxury" price if I were traveling with kids, I'd likely look at the bigger boats which might have more on-board entertainment (though I don't know about those either).

Anyway, I can't do anything but recommend the Ocean Spray. I can't speak for the other Haugan boats but if the standards are equally applied then I would imagine they are quite similar. read less