SFtraveller

THANK YOU SO MUCH. I was following along at the end and found myself really looking forward to your posts. I especially loved playing the trivia! Hoping your body heals quickly.

If you do not go to these ports. South African health authority will not accept the yellow fever waiver if you went ashore. Letter that was given to passengers dated Dec. 2, 2022, , page 95, post #2371, on Journey, sailing to West African countries and disembarking in Cape Town. "South African health authorities informed us that in order to enter South Africa, all guests who visit Angola, Gambia and Ghana, which are reconsidered high-risk destinations for yellow fever, must be vaccinated against yellow fever in order to enter South Africa."

@earth117Can you ask why Journey could not dock in some of these ports? Your ship and a few others lost most of these ports. HAL Zaandam was able to dock in all: 11/30 Luanda, Angola, 12/4 Takoradi, Ghana, 12/5 Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, 12/8 Dakar, Senegal.

You can easily google if Madagascar requires YF, off hand, I believe it's no. FYI Azamara passengers HAD to have the YF vaccination. They sailed from Lisbon, some islands, Western African countries, to Cape Town, South Africa. Many did not board and 23 disembarked in Gran Canaria. Those that are not vaccinated, other option, is so stay on board the ship until Namibia and South Africa. South Africa Health Authority will NOT accept the YF waiver. Who knows if this will change in the future. @ScrapnanaScrapnana, I'm really enjoying your posts. It's great to see that you went to Angola, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal. The same Azamara ship (and other ships) lost most of these ports. Could someone ask on your ship, why you could dock and other ships couldn't?

I've been on CC for weeks looking at Western African ports. A few ships dropped some of these ports. Could not find out why. But that is not my main point here. In September, we were told by one Azamara rep. we could not board our ship in South Africa unless we had the Yellow Fever Vaccination, as the Ghana Port Authority requested it. A very similar itinerary but in the opposite direction is dealing with the YV requirements. Nov. 29, pax boarded in Lisbon. They took many passengers somewhere to get the YFV. Many did not board. I will conclude they may not have wanted to take the YFC, but I do not know. On board the ship pax were asked for various documents. Dec, 1, delayed due to ship pilot strike, the ship set sail for its end destination of South Africa. Dec. 2, letter given to pax that South Africa Health Authorities will NOT accept the YF waiver. (Look for Azamara on board now post #2371, page 95.) https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2812089-anybody-onboard-currently/page/95/#comments 1 option: remain on board and do NOT get off in any Western Ports then you can get off in South Africa (same with Namibia). 2 option: disembark in Gran Canaria. 23 pax choose this option. I have been speaking with a 21 years as a travel nurse working in my city's public health department and she has NEVER heard of these problems. She told me the waiver is a legal document that must be accepted. I just found a person flew in several times to Ghana recently and was only asked to show YF once. After age 60, there is more of a concern for one to receive the YF vaccinations. Though many over that age have gotten it. If you cannot receive a YFV then you can get a waiver. In summary, you can get a YF waiver, but in the end it will be up to each individual country what their rules are for entering their country. Remember to check all visa and health requirements when visiting other countries. Safe and happy travels.

Hi All. We had a AZ rep tell us that we could NOT board the ship in Cape Town due to the requirement to have the YFV from the Ghana Port Authority. And that if we were on board the ship would not be able to dock in Ghana. We could not get the YFV and unfortunately, gave up on the cruise. But with ports being cancelled and the currently situation, we really dodged a bullet. I feel for those that had to fly home. When I asked a long time travel nurse about the waiver. She said it was a legal document and that they had to honor it. I reached out to many places and some were surprised to hear about the Ghana requirement and other places didn't get back to me. So, if YF spreading a lot this year? As for losing Senegal, on Nov. 5 WHO registered ZERO cases. Anyone find out why Senegal was cancelled? Thanks all for reporting.

LOL, I'm visualizing a donut. Or a bull's-eye. Just playing with semantics 🙂

You can buy a bus pass on MUNI and use the public transportation to get around. Don't bother with a HOHO. The city is just under 7 x 7 miles. You dock in the upper right quadrant. The vast majority of things to see are in this quadrant. So 2.7 miles walk one way. Use Google maps and plot out a route. Going straight does not mean easiest as there are hills. So select the bike option that will easiet route. You need to find a bike map that shows the hill grades. You do NOT need to take a tour. "The ship docks in the middle of the City." That wouldn't be possible. LOL. I've never heard it described this way before. LOL.Think of SF as an island. And you dock on the side that's close to downtown.

No they wouldn't change the port times. From my little research the locals are changing their eating times. So please don't eat or drink in front of them. They accommodate Westerners by putting clothe up on the restaurant windows or put up a screen.

But...if Panamanian immigration gets all the passports and stamps, then Honduras will want the vac. (I don't think you could tell them not to stamp your passport.) Also, it isn't that you did not get off the ship. You are now surrounded by passengers who got off in a YF area. It may turn into a Spa week cruise. I would check to see if you can even embark on your cruise. We were told - unsupported documentation - that we could NOT even board our cruise unless we had the YF vac. We cancelled.

As of now, only 1 ship at a time in Jan.

The Chancellor at Union Square. Don't know about the smell though. $91 in the last week of November.

I've seen Bounce mentioned a few times. I do know of a Union Square hotel in SF, The Chancellor, pre-pandemic and the General Manager was kind enough to let non-guests use their baggage storage. And the advice from others was to tip the bellman well.

Great advice Thank you much!

A few people have said there is not much in Damman. A souk, for me, would, I assume be like other souks. Al Ahsa is a tourist site. Go to visitsaudi.com to review. I haven't figured it out yet. There are pictures of structures and the word oasis and I'm finding Al Ahsa in 2 very different locations. I personally would do the longer day to see more nature.If you do it, please give a report here.