aquidneck1

6 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

We docked in front of the Ruby Princess at Railroad dock. No passengers are permitted to walk along this dock. We had to tender as it was forbidden to walk. It would be about a 20 minute walk to the helicopter place from Railroad dock. If you tell me the date you are in Skagway I can let you know which dock is yours.

Thank you.  We will be on the Jewel arriving in Skagway on the 21st of June.  From what I can see, we are scheduled to be in the same position RRA that you are in with Norwegian Sun being in front of us.  Do you know what time the tendering started.  We do not have to be at the helicopter pad until 9:30AM.  Also, do suites have priority tendering? 

Thanks so much.  Your trip sounds amazing.    

Hi,  Thanks so much for this wonderful review.  We are doing the reverse itinerary in June and I have added so many things to my list.  Can you please expand on the issue at Skagway with the rockslide.  Did you dock in the aft position at the Railroad dock and if so, was the tender the only way to get to the town.  We plan to walk to the helicopter port there for a glacier flight and I want to make sure that I have the time.  Thanks in advance for your advice.  

On 1/24/2024 at 6:51 PM, SirTomster said:

I had assumed that the cruise lines would have more requirements for the tour operators they work with to ensure their equipment is well maintained. 

I have booked the same tour operator so no difference in requirements. No one wants to be responsible for a death.    Thanks for your thoughts.  

On 1/22/2024 at 8:12 PM, SirTomster said:

Another item, if you pick a flying excursion, be careful.   That is one I lean towards going through the cruise lines. 

I am curioius.  Why do you advocate this?

We cancelled our 2021 January Windstar cruise and received the refund for the deposit less the $50.00PP cancellation penalty within a few weeks.  They did put the cancellation penalty into a FCC which was nice.  

Since then, they have cancelled the cruise but they will not refund the cancellation penalty.  They indicated that it will only be held as an FCC.  

John's Hopkins has a good site.  https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

I have not done this but am signed up for it next January.  I read good reviews and I contacted the company who indicated that the maximum on board would be 36.  Let us know what you found out.  This is what they sent me as an attachment.  

Shadowfax Cruises
• Shared luxury cruises aboard two
signature Spronk Sailing Catamarans
•6-hour Snorkeling Champagne Lobster Cruise
• Open bar including wine and
the famous Grenadian Rum Punch
• Spacious front nets for relaxing
• Top-quality snorkel equipment
• Snorkel at the Underwater Sculpture Park,
named by National Geographic as one of the
25 Wonders of the World

If you email Gail, she will send you a copy of the menu.  

4 hours ago, upwarduk said:

Why don’t they stamp passports any more?

I’m struggling to think when mine was last stamped, it was probably when we entered Russia ( St Petersburg) on a Baltic Cruise in 2015.

Or can a Passport be checked for countries visited, as it is scanned?

Its an interesting question.  We flew back from Vietnam to Boston after the airlines were required to screen US Citizens so that anyone who had been in China would have to go to certain airports for quarantine.   We had flown through Hong Kong 3 weeks prior but changed our return to fly through Seoul.  No one questioned us as to where we had been for the last 3 weeks either in Seoul or in Boston.  We were surprised.  We assumed that someone had an electronic record of our travels.  Hope so.  

On 1/22/2020 at 5:05 AM, jean87510 said:

Bequia was nice but not worth the ship excursion.

Thank you for the review Jean.  Do you remember the name of the tour operator.  Just curious as we were thinking about the same excursion next year. Thanks

Yes, I would recommend it.  We had a lovely day there.  We may decide to try another one next year but I would not hesitate to book it again.  Also, you could contact Gail a few days before to see the status of the beach that is directly in front of the property.  

Thanks!

We loved Sandcastle Beach and will probably go back again next year. 

On 1/11/2020 at 7:22 AM, PORT ROYAL said:

If you wish a totally "T'erd free" experience with a Beach, then your list for considereration  is:

Jacqui O's

Cecilia's

Catherine's Café

I would love to know which of the beaches associated with these restaurants has the least drop off this year.  

Thanks!

I will describe the beach at Beach Limerz from early the second week in December.  The beach directly in front of the restaurant was not accessible.  The sand had been washed away uncovering the rocks.  According to the owners, this happens a couple of times a year and then it fills back in again.  

We walked maybe 200 hundred feet further north on a dirt road to access the beach which was beautiful.  There were gentle waves until mid afternoon at which time they became larger but manageable.  On entering and exiting the beach there was a slight soft sand drop off of about 6-8 inches.  Getting in was definitely not a problem.  Getting out, was basically like climbing up one step.  

It will possibly have less drop of than some other beaches but obviously there is no guarantee.   The staff and the facility are excellent as described.  Very peaceful.   

Highly recommend Ato for a day in the Blue Lagoon and other places around Fakarava.  He's amazing.  

Yes, they do.  Since we are wine drinkers, that is what we always do. Upgrade, sign up for wine tasting etc. They get credit.  

Sign up for the US State Department STEP program for the countries that you will be visiting for the warning part.  Suggestions is a very broad question.  You need to give more information. 

14 hours ago, Hoyaheel said:

OK, from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap we flew Cambodia Angkor Air according to my boarding pass. I can't find the info on packing we were told on the ship, so it might have been just verbal in the daily meeting? I know I was frustrated - not by the baggage limits really; I was underweight - but by the scheduling and not being able to pack bags in the way I wanted. (husband just reminded me of this when I was asking him about the flights) We had to get on the plane, deplane and go straight to see temples. Our bags went to the hotel to wait for us. Which meant we either had to bring laptops & other sensitive issues with us to the Angkor complex or leave things "unattended" at the hotel. I'm not sure there's an ideal way to handle this - they can only do so much with the timing - but it was frustrating nonetheless...

Thanks so much for this information.  We will be flying from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh so hopefully we will have less of an issue with that but thanks for the heads up.  We might have that issue when we disembark on Ho Chi Minh City as that is the only place that we have a tour following a transfer.  

Thanks. Hope you had a great time on Oceania. We were on the Riviera in early December. Glad too hear that no one checked weight. We are in compliance for checked bags. I just have a backpack and purse for carry-on. 

42 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

What flights are you looking at?

We start our trip in Bangkok and fly from there to Siem Reap.  Bangkok Airlines is the one with the least weight allowance.  Hopefully, they will not weigh the hand luggage.  My purse would also add weight and they say that all items will be weighed.  If they are weighing,  I will just take out my raincoat and stuff the pockets.  😉  Just don't like worrying about it.  I spent a week in Africa without my luggage.  Thank goodness I had packed a decent amount in my carry on.  The only thing that I did not have extra's of were pants.  Mine could walk on their own after a week.  

Thank you for your response.  I am just trying to figure out the weight limits for carry on.  I will have a purse and a small backpack.  One airline -Bangkok Airways says 5kg and the others are 7kg.  That makes a difference when you are travelling with a couple of electronic devices and other things that you do not want to check with the airline.  

Hoyaheel,  I hope that all is well with you.  I am just wondering if you could answer one question.  What airlines were used for the plane rides during the tour.   Avalon will not give me that information so I am seeking it elsewhere.  Thanks for any help.  

Hi,  we missed each other last year? when you cancelled your Oceania cruise.  We were just on the Riviera and we took the wine by the glass with meals package as our benefit choice.  The wines were actually fine and we each found something acceptable.  There was a nice drinkable french chardonnay, a nice rose and a couple of reds that we enjoyed.  We did bring a few special bottles for some of the specialty restaurants.  It was pretty painless.  Switch your bottles from your luggage to your carry on if you think that they will sit in the hot sun for long in Tahiti.  Enjoy!  

Great - thanks so much.  Sounds like a winner.