Louise22

It's been about 8 years ago now but I booked a cruise through a U.S. east coast company for a Croatian cruise.  The company went out of business just a couple days before we were to leave.  My insurance would not cover because the company needed to declare bankruptcy for coverage to be in effect.   And, that is what was stated in the policy.  Unbelievable!!

A friend and I were on the Caledonian Sky from Easter Island to Tahiti 5 years ago.  It was a fabulous trip which included the Marquesas.  We could not land at Henderson because of the weather but Ducie and all the birds was amazing.  Not so amazing was the amount of trash on the beaches - so sad.

Our landing at Pitcairn was almost a disaster.  There was a new landing area in the process of being built but our landing was at the old and very rough.  We were transferred in the ocean from the ship's zodiacs to the boat used by Pitcairn to get goods from ships.  Basically just a raft with a motor and we sat on the floor.  No one fell in the water fortunately.

We were treated to a buffet lunch prepared by the local women in the building that was used for the school.  They were so wonderful to us.  My favorite souvenier from anywhere in the world I got there.  It is a carved wooden tortoise 6" long and 4" high.  Kind of funky looking but on the stomach area the elderly man I bought it from wrote "Best Wishes from Pitcairn Island, Reynard Warren".  (I think that is the last name).

Our trip was mid October to November 1st and the weather was very good but for around Pitcairn.

Hi, gnome 12 - I had my travel agent check on our mutual trip also. Same story you got but it does make me nervous as you are that the price deduction is no longer in effect.

Nope - there are two of us. I am bringing my adult niece. We travel a lot together. She lives in Vancouver and I live just south of the border. So, should I look for a gnome-like person. Sorry, couldn't resist that.

You are correct - we are southbound. I was looking at a map with an airplane going north and upon checking my paperwork I was completely offbase. So all is good and it is great we will cross paths.

Hi, again, gnome12. We fly northbound Yangon to Bagan and cruise to Bhamo then fly back to Yangon. It is the 14 day cruise rather than the 16 day you are doing. So, maybe just a wave as we pass each other.

Bangkok is Nov.5-8, Yangon 8-10, cruise 10-20 and trip ends in Yangon on the 21st.

I am hoping to maybe use Alaska air miles. I can fly out of Seattle or Vancouver.

Appears we are not on the same cruise as we are northbound. Opted to do the 4 day Bangkok extension instead of the longer cruise with Inle Lake.

I'm a bit confused about the dates - I thought they only had the one ship. But you are southbound and we are northbound with overlapping dates. Our onboard starts the 10th through the 20th.

I just booked last week for November of 2018 with Avalon. The itinerary appealed to me and there is the opportunity to add a 4 day land extension in Bangkok. The ship is only 2 years old and looks lovely plus it only carries 36 passengers. I read very good reports from people who have done the cruise.

You can't go wrong with either ship. I sailed on the Explorer 2011 in the Baltic and later up the west coast of Europe. The Orion was previously owned by an Australian company which I cruised with about 5 years ago. It was sold to National Geographic/Lindblad who will put together an excellent cruise for you no matter where you want to cruise in the world.

I believe the poster is talking about the Silver Explorer

Too bad Komodo has become so overrun with tourists. It was 12 years ago on the Clipper Odyssey that I was there and also Torajaland.

Hi, Tony - for the Philippines I was with a company who leases the Caledonian Sky frequently.

I did a bit of searching for East Africa and the only small ship I came up with for the Christmas season was the Serenissima with Noble Caledonia. Silversea has a very large ship cruising the area at that time.

Louise

I feel like I keep hi-jacking this post. I loved cruising in the Philippine islands two years ago by small ship. The people were so welcoming and on the different islands they traveled for miles to greet us. Indonesia was years ago but it was great to start in Brunei visit Sulawesi, Komodo and Bali plus other small islands. One of my favorite places ever is Torajaland on Sulawesi.

Fletcher, I have also previously done the New Guinea trip on the Orion but I think a little different itinerary. I can sympathize with the problem the Caledonian Sky has had as we had a problem in the Raja Ampat area also. Not near as bad as it involved getting stranded on an island with no zodiacs to return to the ship. The tide went out way quicker than expected and they had to take them out of range so we had to walk quite a distance out to them over the reef and in the water.

February I will be going from Rabaul to Palau on the Caledonian Sky. Second time for that trip also - I love to snorkel and Raja Ampat is my favorite.

T&C Fulham - have you thought about the east coast of Africa? One of the places on my wish list to visit Madagascar and the Seychelles.

Louise

Thank you, Fletcher, for the information. People were pretty brutal about the accident for sure.

What a shame - I was on the ship in November doing a cruise of New Guinea. It was leased to a company other than Noble Caledonia. Probably the same captain and crew though. I love the ship and have done other cruises aboard as a leased ship which happens frequently. Couldn't find any other info about the accident by searching the net.

I am sorry if I posted way to much info about another company - it just happened to dawn on me. Another thing is that the ship used to be the Clipper Odyssey and was owned by Z at one time.

I have cruised with Silversea a number of times on their expedition ships and they are a great company also.

I cruise with Zegrahm quite often. November I was on their New Guinea trip. My second trip to that area - the snorkeling in Raja Ampat is the best in the world (my opinion). There are some who have done 50 trips with them - I have probably done 15. I can absolutely say nothing bad about my experiences around the world with them.

It is very expensive for sure but everything is included and I love never having to open my wallet even for tipping. Well, except for the bar.

BTW, the "M" in Zegrahm is Mike Messick not Mike Moore. The company was sold a few years ago I believe to an English firm. The operations out of their Seattle office and staff have not changed and what I like about cruising is meeting up with the same staff and quite a few passengers. They lease different ships but they are always first class.

My first thought also was why you didn't just go back to the hospital to have Medjet arrange transportation. Then I reread your post and it said you left the hospital to have the ships' personnel help you arrange the flights home and it sounds like that was before you contacted Medjet. Could be I am misreading.

We were in 213 Category 6 in April/May and only one set of window/doors opened.

I am a big fan of Viator. Just returned from Prague where we prebooked a day tour out of town and everything went smoothly. Previously, I have booked a taxi from the airport to my hotel in Russia, Vietnam and Portugal. Always someone waiting for me with a sign and my name on it. Paying ahead saves having to have the local currency immediately on hand. And, because you have prepaid, no fare uncertainty.

Do be sure and book way ahead of time - a year if you can do it. The higher categories book up very quickly and I would think it would be the same with the singles. Great opportunity for sure.

Sorry - should have said PDT.

I had the same problem about 6amPST. During the day, it only happens when I go to this website for the first time. I don't touch anything and immediately turn my computer off and all is well when I go back to CruiseCritic. The problem is gone for the day only to appear the next morning when I turn my computer back on.

Do call Tauck and specifically ask them about the cheaper cabins. I did a cruise on the Emerald 5 years ago and chose one of the less expensive cabins. The noise was horrible but I seem to recall rather than engine noise it was the thrusters going through locks. The people in the other 3 cabins had the same problem. In May, I was on the Savor and it was a wonderful trip.

Sorry if I made it seem like the crowding was a negative. It was a very enjoyable evening with good food and wonderful entertainment. I just found the tables a bit too close together - my own opinion for sure.

We had another "gala" dinner at the Lobkowicz family palace which was in a very large elegant room with windows on 3 sides and an amazing view of the city of Prague. Not all the men wore jackets for this event either.