tc2344

Hi, we've visited Bay of Island several times over the years, so as we had experienced so much of it already, we chose to do the Kayak up the river to the falls offered by the cruise line (about 7 weeks ago) - and a good way to burn off some extra calories for a guilt free dinner back on board....

 

The Kayak team were waiting for us at the tender pier, and once all counted for, they walked us over the bridge to their Kayak "hut" (for lack of a better word). Kakak's were all ready placed along the beach, they gave us a demo, made sure everyone was operational, and off we all went.

 

The Kayaks are all 2 person per kayaks, and the trip up the river was about an hour up (plus stopping at points of interest for a talk). Members of the team had waterproof cameras and took pictures through the excursion and offered them free of charge at the end (showed how and where to down load off the internet from home). Waterfall at the end was nice photo opp. At the waterfall we stopped and went on shore for some complimentary snacks and drinks for about half hour. Were shown some Mauri customs and greetings and a Haka while eating, and then a 1 hour of so Kayak back to base. You could return to the ship at your leisure after that, or catch the shuttle into town if desired for a bit.

 

Hope that helps...

Lanwood, thank you, yes your input was very helpful. I am planning on kayaking around the island; however, I am going to use the waterfall as my plan B since I have decided to wait until the day of to approach the tour companies. I really appreciate the time you took to give me so much detail, which really made it difficult to decide, although I was leaning towards the island tour. I think because weather can be an issue and time (depending on the tender timeframes), I think that which ever kayak tour we do, they will both be well worth it. I wish we had more time in port so we could do both!

Agree with Roscoe - the islands are stunning, as are the beaches and the wildlife.

 

Only concern would be the weather at that time of year - probably won't be particularly warm and could be windy.

Johno1234, thank you for the weather insight, I may wait until it gets closer to book, or even wait until we reach the port of call since mom and DH, may not appreciate the winds while kayaking.

Hi., I was bought up in the Bay of Islands. It is a very beautiful part of the country.

Depending on rainfall, the falls can be anything from about 3 foot high to about 10 foot high, they are - with all due respect to my home town , not the most spectacular water falls in the country. But...the kayak up the river through the mangroves could be interesting.

 

Personally, I would do the kayak around the islands. The Bay has about 360 of them and some of them are particularly beautiful, there are also resident dolphins all through the area and hopefully you might have some interaction with them.

 

Tender drop off to Waitangi which in my experience where the tenders are now going is about 20 minutes. I think some cruise lines are met by a shuttle though whether it is supplied by the ships company or the business assoc I can't answer but it is only about a 25 minute walk to Paihia beach. Waitangi beach is stunning , it was my playground for about 18 years and is a great swimming beach. In addition to what you are considering, I can recommend a trip out to Cape Brett, or the Hole in the Rock which it is commonly referred to. And alternatively, Russell with lunch at the "Duke" could also be another option.

 

Have a great day...Roscoe

Roscoe, thank you so much! I was leaning towards the trip around the islands, so you definitely helped confirm my thoughts. I appreciate all your insights too, thank you!

We are heading to NZ in Oct/Nov and I have been trying to research kayaking excursions while we are at BOI. A few questions have stumped me from making a decision and I am asking for assistance/guidance:

1. What would you recommend, kayaking the river to Haruru Falls or paddle around the islands. I am aware that the waterfall is a shorter time commitment than the island tour.

2. Since this is a tender port and our ship is expected to arrive at 8, is a 9:30 arrival a reasonable amount of time to get from the tender drop off to Paihia Beach if we are not able to get on one of the first few tenders?

3. I have been reading that there is a shuttle to get people around the area, would this be a good way to go or would it be better to catch a car to take us to Paihia in order to make a 9:30 start?

4. Has anyone have experience on either tour and which tour company did you use? I'm looking at two companies right now, but it would be helpful to get some advice from those who have used the various companies.

Thank you in advance, we are looking forward to visiting such a beautiful country.

Cynbar: That is so funny you mentioned the dining options, and I right now we are leaning towards Select dining because our travel agent said that at least with select dining, 1. we would be able to adjust our dining time for when we return from excursion with the 2 of the 3 ports departing in the afternoon and 2. in the event we do run into others we wish to dine with as she seems to think the younger cruises (40-50) and some solos tend to enjoy the select vs the traditional. Does that sound about right? She said that we can always change it as it gets closer. Also, I have been keeping an eye on the roll call for our cruise and no one has posted anything yet (its not until 2015) and being so new I am hesitant to start one as I have seem some roll calls where they organize cabin crawls and such and keep a running roster... It intimidates me. :o

jkgourmet:I really appreciate directness, and I did not think that anyone's comments were condescending or coming from a bad place. I believe everyone was coming from a place honesty, wisdom and truly wanting to help me make the best decision for my family (especially with this being mom's first cruise). I have read a lot of threads where people take replies not in the intent they were meant, and then the entire thread becomes about defending the various positions, when the intent was coming from a good place. I see this website as a tool to learn from others experiences, especially since I DON'T have the experience...yet. :) It was funny what you said about my mom and me, because I tell her a lot that I am the person I am today because of her guidance and love. I am very fortunate that she is mom, she is a helluva lady! :)

Kesstral: I'm so excited for you! Have a wonderful trip and I can't wait to hear back on your Kayaking excursion, thank you so much!

Suzanne123: thank you for that insight, so it sounds like I should be asking the question of how far out the excursion goes or if it says towards the shoreline.

ikirumata: LOVED the photo! Thank you so much for sharing it! I have heard a lot about the Orca's Cove kayak tour and all the various wild life that is observed and that starfish was so cool!

Lois R, Mom is very happy that we will be dining together:) and so am I, I won't be so worried that she is not having a good time. Were you afraid I wouldn't come back? Initially I felt ganged up on, but then I checked myself and realized everyone was coming from a good place and giving me the best advice from their experiences and I truly appreciate that.

Happy Cruiser 6143, thank you for the info on your AQ experience, from our last cruise, we spent a fair amount of time in our room enjoying the balcony, and our room steward was fantastic, she knew about what time we would leave the room for outings and meals and we always came back to a clean room and our ice bucket and goodies restocked. I think I would be disappointed not to have that same level of service, but then again, that aft balcony was so relaxing! Then again, that was the Caribbean, this time going to Alaska, I don't know if we will be spending as much time on the balcony.

Good morning all, I'm sure as all of you can tell, I still consider myself a newbie cruiser. This is our first cruise on Celebrity (and second week long cruise) and I was basing our decision on the cabin (aft, balcony, upper deck). I am so grateful for all of your comments and insights and have researched the concierge cabins and will have our TA change our cabins. I did not realize dining was so organized, I mean I knew it is organized in order to accommodate the volume of passengers, but definitely not the way cynbar explained and that really helped me to understand it ALOT better. Thank you all so much for your input, this is one of the reasons why I am SO glad I found CC, as all your input is very valuable to me. :)

Suzanne123, Why can't they have trained wild whales waiting for us while we are kayaking:confused:? Just kidding. ;) Now, I'm torn between the straight kayaking (being able to spend more time on the kayak by a couple of hours) and the kayaking and whale watching boat ride (kayaking for 1-1/2 hours). Decisions, decisions, but these are the decision I enjoy making! :)

Thank you Lois R, I really appreciate the suggestion and you bring up a really good perspective. You also made me realize I need to bring the various options up to my mom to decide on, thank you so much because your post turned that light on in my brain! :) Everyone, please keep any ideas coming so that I can present to mom and she can decide and I can stop micromanaging this vacation for her. Actually, being her first cruise, I just want her to have a wonderful experience. :)

Thank you JNU WW&FISH, I visited their website and have it saved to my favorites since it is too early to book for 2015...drat! :)

Thank you all for the quick responses!

Jelayne: thank you for the lunch info, I didn't realize it wasn't open for lunch. As for the breakfast info, thank you, it makes sense that it is only available for Aqua class, we will probably have breakfast via room service with her on our balcony or visit the buffet with her most mornings then.

zoncom: Thank you, I sent our travel agent an email about ensuring she gets sat at a solo table. She probably already took care of it, but it is better to be safe than sorry, so thank you for the tip.

dkjretired: That is good to know and understandable as Blu doesn't look that big to be able to accommodate a lot of people.

chezmarylou: I was thinking we could dine with mom a few times during the week, but it maybe better to have her booked with a solo table like zoncom suggested and the nights we wish to dine together hit a specialty venue or the buffet.

Again, thank you all for the info! :)

DH and I are planning a 2015 Alaskan Cruise and have already booked an Aqua Class balcony. My mother is joining us as a solo and booked an inside cabin and this is her first cruise. I have a few questions. 1. I know she will not be able to dine with us in Blu, so I was thinking the first night eating in the main dining room with her and asking the maitre d' to assign us a table with other solo singles so that she can dine with them on the nights that we wish to eat at Blu. 2. If DH is not eating at Blu, does anyone know if they will allow my mother to sit in his place? 3. Would she be able to join us in Blu for breakfast or lunch if we decided to eat there during those times? Any insight, guidance, and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hello CC family, DH and I are booked for a Vancouver r/t Alaskan cruise with the ports being Icy Strait Point (3pm-10pm), Ketchikan (2pm-8:30pm) and Juneau (7:30am -8:00 pm) in mid-June (2015, I'm getting an early start) and one of the excursions we are wanting to do is kayaking in hopes of getting close to whales. There are a few videos online that I have seen for Alaska that are amazing, but are there any firsthand experiences kayaking and being successful in having the whales get close to you? If so, which port, what company and what time of day? I was leaning towards Icy Strait Point, but I am thinking I read somewhere that whales are more active in the morning and Juneau is the only port we have a morning arrival. Any thoughts, referrals? Any input is greatly appreciated!

Thank you Jaspersmommy, I'm currently holding right now for a Captain's Club representative to book an Alaskan Cruise, woo hoo! So excited! :)

Thank you C-legs, I'm sad that I waited so long and will not have the opportunity to sail on the Century. I liked the size of the ship, especially for an Alaskan cruise. Unless I can entice my husband to take another cruise this year...:)

Has anyone heard any rumors of which ship will be replacing her on the Alaska Vancouver R/T itineraries?

LMaxwell, I took your advise and I transferred the photos to Photo Bucket. Try this link: http://s1350.photobucket.com/user/krashkole/library/?sort=2&page=1 This should take you to the link of photos. Have a wonderful trip! :)

Day 3:

having trouble with pages 3 & 4

Day two:

We were on Serenades of the Seas leaving from New Orleans R/T on 1/18/2014. Here is Day 1 of the Compass (I'm hoping these come through alright, I've been trying to figure this posting pictures thing for a week) :):

Yes NYdoll1, thank you so much for sharing! Also, I LOVE the idea of the mother/daughter trips celebrating special occasions and making even more special memories! :)

Am doing a 7 day Southbound from Seward to Vancouver. Where should I spend the night in Ancorage? How should I get to the port? Any must see sights before I board?

HotRock, thank you for posting this, we are also planning a 7 day Southbound from Seward, but we are looking at 2015. I am interested in what others will be posting in response to your question. I have already noted Budget Queens advice not to hurry & considering 2-3 precruise stays between Anchorage & Seward.

Am doing a 7 day Southbound from Seward to Vancouver. Where should I spend the night in Ancorage? How should I get to the port? Any must see sights before I board?

HotRock, thank you for posting this, we are also planning a 7 day Southbound from Seward, but we are looking at 2015. I am interested in what others will be posting in response to your question. I have already noted Budget Queens advice not to hurry & considering 2-3 precruise stays between Anchorage & Seward.

Thank you Bob! That really helps, have a great day!