goat rancher

we're on Caribbean Princess--January 3-13 partial transit...

We signed up for the excursion that includes a short cruise in the harbor, with samples of coffee and food, followed by a walking tour of the Old City. The best information that we could get is to "ask at the shore excursions desk" after we get on board to see if we could actually go on this tour with a rollator and some mobility issues (mainly having to do with speed at which people are expected to go to keep up with walking tour)...

I guess we will have to just play it by ear........

Liz

We are trying to find an interesting tour while in Cartagena that will not overtax my husband. Have already seen  the Fort and the churches/monastery and the folkloric show and really just want some time in the Old City, with the goal of getting to Las Bovedas. We prefer ship tours, and did find a few that included a walking tour of the old city,  but they did not SPECIFICALLY say how long of a distance the walking tour in the old city might be---only stated that the tour was 1 hour.Husband has to use a cane or a rollator if going any distances and his pace is NOT very fast. Not so much worried about the cobblestones, it is just he might need stops as we go along and can't go fast. We don't want to get into a situation of not being able to keep up with a tour and having no options on how to handle it.

Also, we are looking at a tour on Princess that includes a cruise in the harbor, followed by the old city tour. It mentions a 15 minute (AGAIN, no distance, just time) walk to the boat they use for the cruise. Anyone go on a tour like that and have any idea what we are talking about distance wise?? I have called Princess a few times with distance/logistics questions and the stock answer is "I don't know...you will have to ask onboard" ...which is basically no help at all 😞

Thanks for any help/advice/suggestions!!

Liz

Thanks---know it'll be a while before Summer 2021 comes out, but at least it is another way to keep tabs on things :)

Thanks everyone for your responses. The Cuba thing makes sense---my concern was if Tahiti was a one time event for 2020 or not and, if it was going to be a reintroduced and continued itinerary, when the next group of sailings might be (just in GENERAL). I realize Fall 2021 won't be out for a YEAR---but I wanted to see if anyone knew if OTHER times of the year might pop up too--I don't know what times of the year they USED to do the Tahiti route. I'm not trying to be "over eager"---it is just an itinerary we'd really like to do and it would be really pushing it for us to go on the dates currently released, so we are trying to figure out if we need to push our limits to go at that time, or whether to figure they'll release more sailings later....

We were very excited to see Princess is restarting some Tahiti cruises, but noticed they only showed cruises for October/November 2020 and nothing showed past that.  Didn't know if it was simply that the cruises would only go in FALL (so too early to release 2021) or whether it was kind of a "one time deal". Anyone with inside info on that? And if they will continue to offer this itinerary in 2021 and beyond, are there any hints as to what season they would be offered? 

Thanks... Liz

Not sure if OP's question was completely answered. We have same dilemma--we are in port on a Monday and I like to shop .If Almacenes San Jose market is closed, ARE other nearby smaller stores/stalls open? In particular around the tourist sites that the cruiseship tours go to and more than just the "junk filled" stalls ie. ones selling original items not all made in China?

Thanks

and as an "aside", if the best markets nearby in town are or may be closed on Mondays, what kind of products are available IN the cruiseship terminal area itself...are there shops there like there are in a lot of other ports or is strictly a terminal?

Found a write up/review on another site where my question was inadvertently answered---yes the tv is on a swivel...

Not that we plan to spend much time watching tv, but this was one of the things we DID want with this level of cabin.

We are already compromising in other areas compared to other suites we have had (on other ships)….we like a wider balcony and this one, though long, looks narrow and we also like a separate shower...so the tv, though rather trivial when all is said or done, would have been the breaking point...

Thanks:)

Does anyone know if the television can be turned to face the bed when desired (ie is it on a swivel??)

Saw a video for one of the other ships (the Horizon I think) that mentioned that it was on a swivel in their

grand suite but just wanted to confirm if this was so for the Breeze..

I know this seems silly...but it is a real dealbreaker if we can't watch tv from the bed when we want to instead of just from the sofa.

Thanks :)

For dis1277

so you're saying that if we want to keep the SAME cabin we have----like cancel booking and IMMEDIATELY rebook that same cabin, that we might be able to take advantage of a sale??

I think I would be afraid to do that online in case someone was trying to access that cabin right when we gave it up....but if it was possible to do it directly with Princess, then that would be something....

Right now, of course, there is no waiting list BUT if a sale came on later, when things are more booked up, would they actually honor the immediate rebooking to you of a cabin you just gave up, or would they instead give that cabin to the first party on the waiting list??Does ANYONE know the answer to that one???

Our cabin is something like 1200 MORE expensive than the same cabin on the same ship on the same itinerary and time of year in 2019....so a sale would be nice...but the cabin selection trumps the price

Hi,

We booked an aft suite super early for the very same reasons...

husband HAD to have an aft cabin

HAD to be a suite

there are just not that many ships that have full aft suites (not counting the monster over the top suites)…

oh...and they also have to be going somewhere we want to go

and....they have to be sailing MORE than 7 days (but not more than 2 weeks)

and (new "rule") I can't cheat and book two B2B cruises--he doesn't want those either

:rolleyes:

so we are ALSO booked on the Caribbean Princess for February 2020 in an aft suite

on Dolphin D736 I think

not sure if is the same sailing date...but certainly sounds like for similar reasons haha

kinda upset that fares went up so much, but "choosers" can't be "beggars"....not very likely that this category will have spare comparable cabins when the sales come....but at least I know we have a cabin we will really enjoy.... IF we can round up the money to pay for it (keep looking for that money tree to plant in my yard, but the nurseries where I live don't carry them)...

Thanks everyone for your insight and advice....

I think my main decision is--do I want to commit to the cruise or not. If so, book now.....

I was kind of hoping the deposits weren't as high as they are right now.

I am paying on a cruise for 2019 so would have rather kept the deposit on 2020 low, but the deposit for the cabin I am looking for is a bit over $1100 right now. (I had been figuring on about $800 deposit if there were no promotions going on for low "non-refundable" deposits so the $1100 down was an additional sticker shock). I know that doesn't seem like a lot in the full scale of things, but when you're on a budget and paying on another cruise, well it pinches a bit :rolleyes:. Now if that lucky lotto ticket would just come in......

Thanks again...it really helps to get all this input:)

Hi,

I know this question has been asked in different ways but I am still struggling with the best solution.

We are hoping to book a Vista cabin on a cruise in early 2020 and know there are very limited numbers of them.

My concern is whether to "bite the bullet" and book now or wait for the next promotional sale.

The cabins were just released a couple of days ago and so of course there are no sales/promotions associated with them right now. The prices are SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER for the cabin we want in 2020 compared to the same cabin and itinerary in 2019---by about $1200 more expensive (OUCH)

For those who are "used to" all the ins and outs, do you see any trends that the initial prices ARE inflated and that it pays to wait a bit to book or do they pretty much stay at whatever amount they were first listed? I guess I was just shocked at the price differential between years, If I just need to wait till the next promotion then I will, but if it ultimately doesn't make that much of a difference (ie..add a perk, but raise the base price) then I guess I should just get the cabin while it is available.

Thanks for any advice

Thanks...that's why I was asking....

I did a 3 week driving vacation both islands in 1984 but NOT with current husband....and of course pricing was MUCH MUCH different way back then....

I am just trying to weigh whether it is worth it to show my husband these things, since he has never been...and since it is very unlikely we would be able to do a driving vacation on our own now or in the future....

Just not sure what the experience is on these shore tours vs. what I was able to do and see so many years before on my own....and if I can still give my husband a chance to appreciate the beauty of New Zealand if we opt out of these chances to explore the interior....

Liz

For those who have cruised New Zealand itinerary before....

These two excursions both sound very interesting, but BOTH are very expensive (somewhere around $1200 for two for Queenstown--- Dunedin to Milford Sound overnight trip with stop in Queenstown overnight---and around $700 for two for daytime train trip in Akaroa)

If you could only do ONE of these excursions, which one would it be? Which one gives you the best view of inland South Island and which gives you the most variety and quality of stops along the way?

Would you recommend somehow "hocking the farm" to do BOTH tours???

Liz

....ha ha....

I will have to tell DH to watch out....they'll be taking away his drink, giving him his warm milk and slippers and sending him to bed....lol

I do "get" restrictions based on physical ability...we purposely AVOID the tours listed as strenuous, and screen even those of moderate level to make sure it is something we can handle... Believe me we do NOT want to choose tours with a lot of stairs, for instance. We know our limits...However physical ability is a function of so many other factors than age alone that it is hard to understand why there is an age limit..

Liz

We are on the same cruise (Costa Rica to San Diego Jan 26, 2017) and found age limitations for other things as well....ex: we wanted to go horsebackriding and it was a "no-go" due to age....Well I could go, but my husband couldn't...

On a previous cruise on Princess, there were several excursions in the Caribbean that also had the age restrictions, even ones where we couldn't really figure out what the physical stress was supposed to be....

We don't exactly LOOK for super strenuous tours anyway, so finding ones we considered tame (but off limits to us) was a bit disappointing....especially when some other tours we went on were just as, or more, "daunting" than the ones we couldn't go on...GO FIGURE....just getting into the riptide at the Baths in Virgin Gorda, for example, SHOULD have an age/health warning considering how many people get scraped up/knocked down getting in and out of the water there, but no restrictions for THAT tour....

Liz

"You are only as old as you feel"

yes, that would be true BUT I was on my own booking and the American Flag was at the top right of the website...and I didn't change it to another country or denomination...

anyway, as long as the prices are back where they should be, I am going to not worry any more about it and get on with my tour plans:)

Well this is weird, but I went back to the cruise personalizer/book shore tours and the land discoveries guide sites for our voyage again....And the prices are back to the original ones...

Example: Tours I was looking at that were $99 per person went up to $128.75 per person...and now are back to $99 again....and pretty much all the tours for each day were increased and then decreased by those same increments...A big tour to Tikal (at Guatemala stop) went from around $514 to $700+ and now is back to the original $514....

I know I wasn't just "seeing things" because I had downloaded all these figures...

so I guess they were updating something on our voyage and someone must have "pushed the wrong button"...

anyway, I am relieved (and not crazy:p)

Liz

Hi,

Hoping you can help me on this one. We are booked on the Quest for January 26, 2017 (Costa Rica to San Diego) and have been making plans for booking several of the shore tours through Azamara. I have been keeping track of the prices based on the land discoveries brochure for our voyage and figuring out my budget. I had totals last week of what I was going to do, and decided this week to book some of them. I nearly fell off my chair when I saw that all the tours had gone up significantly in price..I am talking about $30 per person per tour increase....

I don't recall anything like that happening on the last cruise we took with Azamara in 2015...

Is it possibly a computer glitch, or did they really increase the prices on all the tours on this voyage (and if so, WHY????)

Thanks.

Liz

We are very interested in the Cuba itinerary, however cannot sail until January 2018. Does anyone have any idea when Celestyal may release the early 2018 schedule/bookings?

Thanks:)

:(Re: "Penney's" (department store).....

I guess I am just NOT in the same class as some people on this ship, because I shop at Penney's all the time...and wear the clothes I buy there when I cruise including in the MDR and on formal nights....

Some folks may have unlimited funds, but we work hard just to save to go on cruises...Yes, we have gone on a lot of cruises, but it has been "at a price" which others in our wage bracket might very well say is "too much" .It really pushes the budget HARD but our feeling is that we should experience what we can experience NOW while we are physically able to do so. We don't live in a fancy neighborhood or have fancy cars or fancy ANYTHING, but where there is a will there is a way ..we do not have extra money to buy from the more exclusive stores or labels....We don't go to those shops in our regular lives and we can't afford to go to them for a cruise either...

and we'll try not to offend people by appearing on deck after 7 if we are not dressed "to the nines"....NOT...and OMG:eek::eek: we may be wearing what we wore in the buffet (shorts and shirts and tennis shoes, oh my)...We do promise that we will not go into the nicer lounges or to the show like that (even WE have limits)...but just because we are not rich and fancy does not mean we need to hide or be looked down upon for not meeting others expectations of how we should look and what we should do.

OMG...No Kippers, he says....:p

All I could think of was Monty Python's Fish Slapping Dance....

We've never eaten in MDR for breakfast so any menu/pictures would be great...even if it is pictures of fish that AREN"T Kippers:)

Well, when the time comes (2017), if it is possible to switch without "messing up" the reservations and the offers we bought in for, we would be very happy to trade with anyone who needs a bathtub....

We are fortunate that the dimensions etc. of tub vs. shower don't make any big difference to us....We don't use the "tub" part anyway...too hard to get up and down... but are able to step into it for a shower....

Hopefully, we will know soon at least WHICH cabins will be shower and which tub....

We are more concerned about the SEATING in the room and storage space...

2 comfortable chairs and putting back more drawer space (oh and the mirror:p) would definitely make us happy campers....

Liz

thanks :)....

When you get something free, you don't look too close at the price tag...

I remembered the _ 95 part, just wasn't absolutely sure the FIRST part...just knew for sure it was under 500...Anyway, it was a lot of fun....

Liz

did NOT mean for that first:eek: to show up with "open for anybody"....

Darn computers...

but yes, you can be in ANY cabin category and have an opportunity to sign up for this....