IWantToLiveOverTheSea

I would also love to know what I can expect, although we will be doing the canal transit and then stopping in Panama City (not embarking), with an overnight with the next day for touring. (Dinah, I may be on your cruise.)

I know not that many cruises go to Lima, but I'm hoping someone can tell me a little about the port there. Do you need to take a shuttle to the gates? Is the port in as bad a location as some people say? Do cruise ships normally offer a shutle (paid or free) from the port gates (or inside) to a more central location in Lima? And if so, where were you taken? Also if you can recommend a tour guide, that would be wonderful. It sounds like a huge city, with a lot of time needed to get from the port, to the old part of Lima, and then more time to get to the Miraflores area. And how is the airport there? About how early do you need to get there? Thanks to anyone who can help!

I apologize if my post wasn't clear. But I was talking about a situation in which a person (like Redtravel) "purchased" (with credit only or $$), the required number of excursions (or more) to qualify to get "shore excursion package" prices (25% lower than a la carte). Then due to cancellation by Oceania of that critical 5th or whatever excursion, the prior purchases no longer qualified for 25% off the whole package. If Oceania had to cancel an excursion, you get credits/refunds, but may no longer qualify for 25% off unless you book another excursion. I suppose if I really want to get my money's worth, I could book all the least expensive excursions for the first half of my trip. Or I could just not worry about extra dollars I might end up owing at the end of the cruise and book what I want to book, then relax and enjoy the cruise.

Thanks. I started to answer what happens, but it was a bit complicated. Some day I'll ask my travel advisor to confirm what I was told by someone else. But I think if you lose an excursion due to port OR excursion cancelation (by vendor or O), you get the shore excursion credit back. But I was told that to maintain the package discount of 25% off the price of excursions in your package (or additional ones you may add), you must maintain the required number of excursions for your cruise. So if the package requires you to book at least 5 per person and you drop to 4, you need to book another or O might re-price the 4 you previously booked. If you paid any money to purchase excursions in the shore excursion package, you get that money back. I was told it shows up initially as a shipboard credit but you can request a refund at the end of the cruise. You can kind of use the online booking system to do tentative bookings. The advice I've read, however, indicates you should call in your excursion choices. (And yes, you or your TA may do call.) That's because there have been comments that the system doesn't calculate prices accurately all the time. I found it a little confusing, though. I have a good amount of shipboard credit from my loyalty status. So I couldn't really tell how, or if, the system was using that credit or not, and what happens when I fall below the required number of excursions. Anyway, I can't say that the above info is entirely correct, as I haven't yet cruised using Simply More. But at least I can tell you that on our last 2 cruises, both two weeks, one in February, and one a year ago, we only missed 1 port, and luckily it was my least anticipated port. So I remain optimistic that despite global warming and rising seas, wars, unrest and other challenges, cruise ships WILL likely make all or certainly most ports on their itineraries.

If you can, please let us know if the amount was adjusted by the end of the cruise. And just curious - for the last minute (I assume) "replacement" port, was Destinations able to arrange excursions in that port? Thanks.

Yes, pdf copy is the way to go. Mine was 31 pages long for a 14 day cruise, but I like to have a hard copy, so I printed the whole thing. I noticed there were a few excursions on the pdf for one port that weren't listed on the website. I'm not sure if that's because O isn't offering them on our cruise or if the website (or pdf) is oudated. But it doesn't matter to me, as they weren't anything I'm likely to book.

In February we were in one of the veranda rooms that had a longer than usual veranda. It had two loungers, plus the usual small table & two chairs.

There are plenty of people on Oceania who take ship excursions. There are also plenty of people who arrange their own, or just walk of. From my persepective, Oceania's just trying to stay competitive, and to a lesser extent, simplify some things over how those things were done in the past. Many people rely on excursions, and it seems like most cruise lines now include at least some in their price. And Oceania has ADDED some nice things (faster, free for 2 internet, new ships/restaurants, included excursions, etc.) but inevitably those things seem to get a bit ignored when it comes to comments. And some of the things that keep me coming back to Oceania (unusual and/or port intensive itineraries, wonderful/positive passengers, outdoor dining, served/combo grill/buffet dinner restaurant, free shuttles and often visits by tourist info personnel, etc.) may not even be considered plusses to others. But they are to ME, so that, plus cost, keeps me coming back for more. Just keep an open mind and I think you'll have a great time.

You can order take out? To eat in your room, on a lounger at the pool, to take on a long excursion, or whatever/wherever? Or do you just take your meal to the Terrace, out back, to join your Terrace-loving travel partner?

I don't remember, as we were in Marseille quite a while ago. However, I've been on quite a few Oceania cruises and we've never shared a shuttle with another cruise line.

Great. Sounds good. Thank you.

Yep! Just in case you haven't found it, the "Your Account/Reservation" tab is a grayish box at top left on Oceania home page. And note that 12:01 is a minute after midnight, so the "day" may be earlier than you think! Unless you're in a suite, and/or like dining late, I'd suggest sharing a table (not dining alone) and trying for a non-sea day to increase chances of getting good times.

Here's someone else's picture of the new Aquamar Kitchen.

Is Aquamar all buffet, or how does it work? Someone posted a picture on Facebook, and apparently had lunch there yesterday. But the person gave no details. I'm curious what kind of food is offered for lunch and breakfast. As for crowding in Waves, I imagine that will slack off. Embarkation day is a little crazy. Does Waves still have a few lunch time side dishes you can start on while waiting for your sandwich or whatever?

This will be my first "private island" stop, and while there are certainly many things to do in Harvest Caye, those things don't appeal to me all that much. We were in Belize once before on an Oceania cruise and we stopped at Belize City. I took a ship's tour to the Lamanai ruins and really enjoyed both the boat ride to the ruins and the ruins themselves. But Harvest Caye is in a different part of Belize and has a different emphasis (sun and fun!) But I'm sure I'll find something interesting.

Thanks, I saw this and looked at the zipline stuff, but didn't look for the excursion building. But I see it now! And I guess the boat to Placencia leaves from the Marina behind the excursion building. And I'm laughing because of course the shops are near the entrance! I'll take a look at the NCL excursions. We're on Oceania so excursions may be a bit different. But any (accurate) info is helpful.......

In many ports on a normal day (not embark/disembark day) there is a free shuttle from outside the port to a particular area in the city (tourist area, shopping mall, or whatever). There's an Oceania thread in which people report their experience with these shuttles: The current list has a report that no shuttle was offered in Dublin on a cruise in June 2023. There's no way to know why (embark day?). On our Dublin regular day visit maybe 5 years ago, there WAS a shuttle to Trinity College (Book of Kells, etc.) But I think Dublin has more than one port, or a new port, so can't even guess if a shuttle will be offered. But since it's a turnaround day, I'd guess there wouldn't be. Oceania says that, in general, a shuttle may not be provided if there are adequate taxi/public transport options at the dock. No doubt you'll see taxis that day! As for what goes on inside the ship on turnaround day, I don't remember if there were any requests/requirements/benefits. But I suppose Oceania may close the pool area or something like that as massive cleaning goes on. And I've heard that sometimes an excursion or two are announced later for pssengers staying onboard. But I don't know if that's typical or not. Someone else will likely post more information.

Thank you. I've been trying to look for good information on just what's available on Harvest Caye, but haven't found anything other than a little flyer document quickly describing excursions offered from the island. So it's good to know I can get off and find the shore excursion building ashore. I'd love to find out how much they charge for the excursions if purchased ashore, especially if they offer various zipline excursions or the boat to Placencia, but so far I haven't found that information online.

Thanks. We love off the beaten path places too. I'm leaning towards definitely going over to Placencia, probably on my own on the boat (or is it a ship tender?) You don't remember where you were dropped, do you? I'm trying to get a sense of how walkable the island is and how easy it is to get a taxi to somewhere if where you're let off isn't close to where you want to explore. And I think the village is in the middle of the island.

I know there's a port of call section for port questions, but I thought I'd post here, as many people on here may have gone to Harvest Caye and can answer my questions. We'll be visiting Harvest Caye on Oceania and I was wondering if anyone can give me information about the ziplining there. Do you have to take a ship's excursion, or is it possible to just walk over to the "Flighthouse" and book a trip? And if so, what are the prices like - same as what the ship charges, or different? Oceania is offering a 1 hour excursion, and I figure that's probably just one zip on the shorter ride in the seated position But what if you want to do the Superman ride? Also, if anyone knows how things work in Harvest Caye regarding the "ferry" to Placencia, could you let me know? Do you buy a ticket on your cruise ship, or somewhere in Harvest Caye? And while I doubt I will, if you plan an independent excursion on shore, how do you get ashore to meet the vendor? Is there tender service? Also, if you went to the ruins near the Caye, or did anything else other than enjoying the things on Harvest Caye island itself, did you feel it was worthwhile?

Sorry to go off topic, but I'm curious if anyone has suggestions for Harvest Caye, Belize. It's basically a made up island for cruise line passengers. It has a lot of ways to play, or just enjoy the the sun and water, but I'd prefer to see and photograph natural or cultural things if possible.

I haven't read that it does, but who knows? I guess if it doesn't, you might be able to get a massage on the nearby island of Placencia, which is a fairly developed, upscale, public resort area. Apparently there is a ferry or tender service for cruise passengers on NCL (and presumably Oceania and Regent) ships. One person reported it was $20 roundtrip. Another person mentioned that tickets were sold on her NCL ship, but that there may be a place to get them in the NCL's Caye area. For more info on Placenia and the ferry, you may want to ask someone on the NCL section here.

I would guess that at some times, if there hasn't been enough rain, or too much rain, a company may have to pass up a particular tubing site. You could google Caves Branch Adventure Company.

Some people on our cruise were a little apprehensive about doing anything on their own in Belize City, assuming that's where you're going. It may not be unsafe, but from what little I saw it definitely looked like a poor place, and one with few attractions for tourists. I took an excursion to Lamanai Ruins, and really enjoyed it. But there was some transportation involved....

steeldrums, here's most of page 1 of the pdf version of excursions. Sorry the copy is so bad. The other pages of the lengthy document are just the excursions listed in a more readable/printable format. Emsmom, thanks for the info. I entered my required number of excursions and everything looked good to me, although I didn't go back and run the numbers to make sure, push the button to purchase, or add more excursions above the minimum. So thanks for the explanation and the alert!