jrm9999

Has anyone had contact with the Virgin Canopy Tour Zip Line company lately? I have tried contacting them via Whats App, Facebook, and email with no response. I am starting to wonder if they are still in business.

Does anyone know if the resort sells a day pass that allows use of the pools? I understand if you go to the beach you can still rent umbrellas and order food from the resort, but was wondering about pool access. 

No, none of the Disney ships have this. 

We have done it several times in the configuration shown in the photo by Shmoo  . But that was with small children. It would be tough once the kids are older or teens. 

Any suggestions for a tour that is half a day or so and decent for kids (8 through 13)? We don't want to make the trek to Milan which is what many of the cruise line excursions are for.

We just got off POA in an aft suite. We had all the same benefits including Concierge, Butler, and Cagney's breakfast, priority tender/embarkation/debarkation.

I believe the ship wants everyone off by 9:00. We just got off today around 8:40 and there were quite a few people left. I would guess that with waiting in line to get off its closer to 9:30 by the time the last people leave. The line moves quick though so maybe its faster than that.

For snorkeling I would recommend taking an early morning trip, like 7:30-8:00. Its much calmer then. The afternoon trips are much rougher. We did an 8:00 one and motion was fine except on the way back near the end of the tour the waves picked up a bit. We were heading back to shore and moving so not a big deal. Obviously weather is different everyday but in general even the tour companies will tell you mornings are usually calmer.

Our oldest gets motion sick very easy. We give her the non-drowsy, all natural Dramamine and it helps a lot. We actually ran out of it in Maui but I walked to Walgreens from the ship to get more. Only a 10 min walk.

With a 12, 10, and 7 year old we did the hiking to waterfalls in Maui and the Molokini snorkel tour. In Oahu a Pearl Harbor tour. Hilo a tour to volcano national park and black sand beach. Kauai we went tubing one day and Waimea canyon the next. The kids enjoyed all of it except the Waimea canyon. The view is fantastic and they did like that but its a long drive for a short time looking at the view. All the other tours they really liked.

This week on POA we went by the lava. Right at 9:45 PM. Starboard side is where you need to be.

There are a few changes. Here is the link.

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships/fantasy/dry-dock/

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Smith's Garden Luau on Kauai is my favorite. It is family run and in a beautiful natural tropical setting. If your ship docks overnight at Nawiliwili, Smith's is a good option as it is not a far taxi ride from the dock.

 

https://www.smithskauai.com/garden-luau/

If you do this are taxis readily available to get back to the ship?

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Can anyone tell me if we do transportation on our own to the Smiths Luau, are taxis readily available to get back to the port? I know we can book through various companies with transportation included, but I was thinking of taking a taxi instead so we would have some flexibility on when we arrive and depart.

Also, if you book with Roberts, it says they leave the pier at 5:00. Is there only one return time at the very end of the night or do they give you some options on when to return?

Thanks.

 

RCCL does better:

food availability

library and game room

less announcements

I was surprised to see RCCL with less announcements. Unless something has changed at RCCL in the last 3-4 years I always experienced way too many announcements.

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Agree totally on comment cards.

IMO your not missing much. We had our first Platinum check in a couple weeks ago. It actually took longer than waiting in the regular cc line. There were only 3 counters open and many of the people in front of us had large families. I suspect some were concierge guests and taking care of some additional things on top of check in. I am sure it changes each week and with who is in front of you but that is what it was like for us.

The drill is around 4 pm. The party at 5

First night dining is casual

First night show is a welcome aboard show. Not one of the big productions.

I would guess sea day 2.

The missing anchor is back. I don't know when it was pit back but we are on this week and I asked an officer if it was a new one or if retrieved. He said it was retrieved.

My wife always writes on the form they have you fill out "no products please" and they have never given us a problem.

Yes we did. The actual glow in the dark did not glow much. The kids did like the decorations though. It came with a blanket that they all wanted. If I could have ordered extra blankets I would have.

I would doubt this theory VERY much - although I agree that O probably knew about the cancellations before the current cruise (how long before - I don't know)

These people would lose all their money for cancelling just before the cruise (or past their final payment) unless they had a "cancel for any reason" policy - which generally few people have.

I doubt that too many people would be willing to part with that much money just for missing Egypt.

JMO

I don't disagree. Just passing on what I am hearing.

Who did they ask? Cruise Director? Ship's officer?

 

I doubt those of us ashore would know more than those who are there!?

 

So asking general crew, guest services, etc the canned answer being given is "corporate made the decision to alter the itinerary and cancel Egypt"

No further reason past that. If the opportunity arises those I know on board plan to ask an officer, but they have not been able to yet.

The general belief by those on board is that Oceana knew ahead of time it was getting cancelled but waited until people arrived on board to tell them in fear of a mass amount of people cancelling the cruise. No one really knows for sure, or how far in advance they knew, but one person who was on board for the first 10 day cruise prior kept asking why they had no info on shore excursion for Egypt and kept getting told "were waiting for it to download from corporate".

Marine Traffic seems to suggest that Sirena has visited two Greek ports, Thira and Heraklion instead of Alexandria and Cairo. Next stop Israel.

This is correct.

If you go to the British Foreign Office's security recommendations for Egypt, they begin their area by area assessment of the situation with the following sentence, "There is a high threat from terrorism."

 

Reading further, the British government makes some additional distinctions. They advise against all travel to the North Sinai, and they advise against all but essential travel to the South Sinai, including the area to the west of the Nile Valley and the Nile Delta. The information directly states the tourist areas around bordering the Nile -- Luxor, Qina, Aswan, Abu Simbel and the Valley of the Kings -- can be visited with the understanding that conditions can change quickly. Demonstrations often turn violent and have been associated with kidnappings, rapes, and beatings of Western nationals.

 

Tucked in among all the warnings (and I have not written everything), the web site states, "Over 900,000 British nationals visit Egypt every year. Most visits are trouble-free."

 

Oceania must make decisions for hundreds of people and a multi-million dollar piece of property, their ship. Of course, their decision is going to be more conservative than the decision of someone doing independent travel or, even, someone traveling with a small group. If I truly wanted to visit Egypt, I wouldn't go via cruise ship. I'd want to be in control of my decision to visit/not visit. The minute someone chooses to travel via ship he/she hands control to the captain and corporate security.

 

Incidentally, I'm not a UK citizen. I went to the UK site because there's a long history of the British Foreign Office's assessments being somewhat less inflammatory than the US Department of State's assessment.

 

British Foreign Office (Egypt): https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/egypt

I did see that and it may be the reason.

I just think its odd that the cruise line has not really given a reason. The majority of people understand a cruise schedule can change. But I think they are owed a reason.