All 4 FS trips are sold out for 2019. TCS organizes all tours, ground operations, transit through airports, etc. TAG Aviation provides the plane and crew. Logistics were immaculately planned and executed with no detail overlooked. The jet crew were amazing. Because everything was run so efficiently it really did not matter if there were 52 or 16 onboard. The group was large enough that we were bound to find some people we liked. All ground transportation was mostly by car or small van so again, it didn’t matter how large the group was. Quite often we travelled in a car or van with just one other couple or we travelled alone. A few times more than 4. FS hotels were mostly lovely and the staff were always so eager to please. FS really has an impressive training program that ensures consistency.

Sounds like it was a wonderful trip. I had been curious about being stuck with diffficult people, and the small groups seem to eliminate that problem. Was there any tipping involved? Did you use any travel insurance?

We were on the Silver Galapagos for 3 nights and we sailed to several islands. We saw and swam with sea lions, we hiked and saw lots of birds, land and marine iguanas and we visited the tortoise sanctuary. No one felt like we needed more time. The ship was quite elegant and service was phenomenal. Food was very, very good but the Four,Seasons chef was involved so I’m not sure if the food was better than usual. I will say that the ship rocked heavily in very minimal seas and many people had to resort to various remedies. Even though not evident on the interior, the ship is fairly old. Perhaps newer ships are more stable in the water.
Being with difficult people was not an issue at all. The total group was large enough that we could discreetly avoid certain people when there was a large group dinner or party. When we toured in smaller groups, like-minded travelers tended to gravitate towards each other. Honestly, if the total group size were only 16 I could see the possibilty of awkward moments if there were more than a few people with whom you had little chemistry.

By the way, there was one group dinner or party with entertainment at each destination. Those events were super fun and very well-planned with beautiful decor, food, etc. The rest of the time we had a choice of on and off property restaurants or room service. You could have room service for any meal if desired and with some early morning departures it came in very handy.

Trip insurance was optional and very expensive. Because of the steep price of the trip we had to buy 2 policies per traveler to cover the entire cost. Emergency evacuation coverage was included in the trip.
Forgot to add that all tipping was taken care of by TCS or FS including for guides, drivers, bellmen, housekeeping and waiters (including off-site restaurants). Guides, trackers and porters on the gorilla trek were also taken care of by TCS. Other than personal shopping, laundry and non-included spa treatments there was no additional cash outlay. We had substantial resort credits in Seychelles and Bali to spend as desired.

Thanks for the feedback on your experience, sounds like a wonderful time. Was the length of the trip favorable from your perspective? (And for context what is your typical/ideal length)?

We have friends who travel on MIT Alumni trips, in the catalog they have around the world trips that are products of TCS and Starquests Expeditions. I further looked them up and TCS/Starquests also seems to be the provider for the National Georgraphic ATWT. Not sure if they still do the Four Seasons ATWT also, they did in 2014.

TCS/Starquests has a big selection of trips.

To Milwaukie, my husband and I frequently take 3 to 4 week trips so this one was right in the zone for us in terms of length. Many people were ready to go home at the end of the trip, though I would have liked a couple more stops.

A little more info that I learned on this trip after talking at length with the TCS personnel. The FS trips organized by TCS are on a 757 with 52 custom lie flat seats that are reserved strictly for FS. When other organizations fly with TCS and TAG the planes have 74 seats that are not lie flat. Stanford, MIT, other college alumni groups, Nat Geo, Smithsonian charter with TCS and TAG however, the Nat Geo contract is not being renewed after 2019 and I know of at least one trip in 2020 that they have booked with Icelandic air. That would give me pause. TCS also sells trips directly to travelers also in a 74 seat format. The ground transportation on the non-FS trips are larger vans and bigger busses, food is not quite as high-end, there are not as many tour options in each destination and the hotels are only occassionally FS calibur or higher. So nice quite as luxury as FS but still with excellent attention to detail.

Those are excellent points ERTraveler. It seeems the FS trips are indeed more luxurious!

Well, the pricing certainly reflects that and it is debatable as to whether it is worth the splurge. We were certainly pampered, attended some fabulous parties and came home with 2 duffle bags full of gifts received along the way all to top off a stellar experience.