Galapagos Planner: Life on the Boat

We booked the Estrella Del Mar which is consider a 3-star (superior?) boat. It was comfortable enough and functional but definitely not a luxury yacht experience. Remember, your there to see the animals.

Some things to expect:

You never wear shoes on the boat. You can bring flip-flops or some other footwear for the boat but the shoes you wear on land come off as soon as you return to the boat.
The boat provides coffee, tea, and filtered drinking water pretty much all day.
All of the boats operate a bar with some rather expensive drinks. A bottle of Pilsener beer was $5 (probably $2 on land) and a full bottle of red or white wine was $40 ($15 on land).
Our boat allowed guests to bring their own wine on board. This came up because they actually ran out of red wine. Literally the same bottle they sell for $40 can be found for $15 in a shop. I doubt all boats go along with this but you might as well ask.

I have a bad back so the bunk mattress was a bit of a struggle for me.
Our boat's cabins were not designed for tall people. I'm 5'9" tall and I could feel my hair touching the ceiling in our bathroom. Anyone who is 6-foot or taller may want to investigate.
There is no laundry available on the boat. Everyone did some amount of sink laundry. Our sun deck had a limited number of clothespins and rope where you could try to hang something. Getting anything to truly dry was a struggle.
We were each given a towel an our linens were changed every day. There was body wash soap in the shower but nothing else in terms of toiletries. Bring a small hotel soaps to wash your hands and anything else you need.
Our cabin had a lockable drawer but we did not have a key to lock the door. This allowed crew members to come in and change the linens. We put our passports and cash in the draw but never bothered to lock it.
Our guide spoke fluent English but none of the crew members did. Most of them knew essential words and it wasn't a problem.

Our boat.