La Pinta Galapagos

The 1982-built La Pinta yacht is a year-round Galapagos-based expedition cruise ship owned by the Ecuador-based company Metropolitan Touring Galapagos. This luxury boat exceeds all basic travel requirements to introduce well-off, pretense-free travelers to the region's unique sceneries and wildlife.

The vessel (IMO number 8112897) is currently Ecuador-flagged (MMSI 735058068) and registered in Guayaquil.

Since 2022, La Pinta is seasonally chartered by UnCruise Adventures.

Shipboard facilities and amenities

The luxurious yacht La Pinta was built as a Bahamas-based casino ship. In 2008, the vessel was completely drydock rebuilt and transformed into a modern expedition ship. Some of the onboard amenities include outdoor shower heads, public-use dryer, goodie basket of Dramamine, snorkel gear (wet suit, snorkel, mask, fin), sea kayaks, glass-bottom boat, briefing room with audio-video equipment as well as a crane delivering a trio of pangas to sea (inflatable water taxis which shuttle passengers to uninhabited islets).

Touches like Wi-Fi, a glass-bottom boat and in-cabin showers, are welcome inclusions. After a long day trekking under the equatorial sun or peeking under the Pacific, guests can chat in the top-ship hot tub or have fun before dinner in the lounge as they swap pictures and stories.

The overall experience on La Pinta Galapagos cruise tours is almost military-like and highly structured. In an effort to maximize time spent on land, scheduling is precise. If guests participate in every activity, they have to expect 2 hours of downtime tops and to be charmed but a little bit exhausted by debarkation day. A good idea is to have something more casual post-cruise (a beach stay, for example), as a counterpoint to hyper-scheduled pace and to spend time in a place which starts to feel like a dream the moment of returning to civilization.

La Pinta has a total of 24 staterooms, of which 20x are Double Outside (sized 180 ft2 / 17 m2) and 2x are Triple Outside (sized 235 ft2 / 22 m2).

The boat has 5 decks, of which 3 are passenger-accessible and 2 with cabins.

Signature facilities are located on Deck 2 (Restaurant, Lobby/Reception, Shop, Infirmary/Doctor's Office), and Deck 4 (Observation Bar Lounge, Library, Gym, Sundeck) while Deck 3 houses most of the cabins.

The Dining Room Restaurant has a seating capacity to accommodate all passengers at once. All but 1 or 2 meals are served in the indoor dining room. Breakfast is buffet-style and begins at 7:30 am. A cooked-to-order omelet station is a daily offer. Lunch options include light salads, a few hot dishes, and obligatory soup. The diner starts at 7:30 pm and is the lone offering that is not served buffet-style. The 4-course dinners feature an appetizer, soup, a choice of entree and desserts.

The Boutique sells a selection of necessities.

The Observation Lounge & Bar also serves as a Lecture Room/briefing room. It features 270-degree panoramic windows, as well as one of two TVs onboard the ship (while the other is in the lobby).

The Natural History Library has two computer terminals and a coffee machine, alongside a few containers with a rotating lineup of cookies, crackers and tea biscuits.

The Exercise Room has Lifestyle-brand equipment (exercise bike, treadmill, elliptical machines), along with several assorted free weights/dumbbells.

The aft Sundeck area has a Jacuzzi (whirlpool hot tub accommodating 6 passengers), sunbathing area (with padded loungers) and shaded seating (4-seat tables, garden sofas). The Sun Deck is served by the Outside Sky Bar.