Moparop

1 minute ago, LoraJ said:

 

 

My parents are on board too. They are the same way. Hope they have lots of books to read. We were supposed to meet up in Seattle when they got off the ship, but now we have no idea what will happen. Hope they can get back to the states and that no one on board has the virus. 

We just got a text from my parents saying the same info that the above poster noted. They were given free internet, probably to make sure everyone at home knows that they are fine. They’ve said the food is good and have assured us that the bar is ok, though I haven’t gotten confirmation on the ice cream status. 

They sent us a short email from Taiwan several days ago but we haven’t heard anything from them since. They’ve found HAL’s internet to be unreliable so don’t usually spend the money. I’m assuming we will hear something tomorrow. If I do, I’ll come back to share. They were scheduled to be on the ship until the 29th so I am sure they are scrambling to figure out new plans. 

Thank you to everyone who has updated the continuing saga that is the Westerdam. My parents are on the ship and are healthy and easygoing, but they are in their 70s and halfway around the world!

Where would I find an up to date list of ships that will be in port in St Maarten in January?

A large number of charter and private boats were destroyed by Irma, and since January is so close for you nrexxma44 and moparop I’d suggest TTOL as a source since many owners are there. There is also a thread with info on businesses that have reopened -

http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/postlist.php?Cat=0&Board=bvi

Thanks for the advice! We just found out today that we will be in St Maarten instead of Tortola - so a whole new port to research!

We just got switched to St Maarten over Tortola for our Disney cruise arriving on January 16th. It’s interesting that we’ve traded one rough island for another.

I saw a report recently stating that the Baths are currently closed. Anyone have info on this or know if they will be open by next month?

Answering my own question:

Just saw this on Facebook from BVI UK office

We're very excited to announce that the first ships to visit the BVI post hurricanes are now confirmed! Marella Discovery (Thompson Discovery) with a passenger capacity of 1,300 will be berthing at Tortola Pier Park on Wednesday 6th December from 8:00 am - 6:00 pm and Marella Celebration (Thompson Celebration) with a passenger capacity of 1,500 will visit on Thursday, 7th December from 2:00 pm - 8:00 pm.

#OpenForBusiness #BVIStrong

When did you go? Things might be different now post hurricane.

That was 2016. You are right. It could be very different now.

When we got out of the taxi, we set up a return time and location with our driver. It could not have been easier!!!

Any word on when Tortola will open for cruise ships? I read a report saying they were hoping to have cruise ships there by midNovember but that seems to have come and gone.

DCL switched to Western Caribbean through mid-December. Fantasy won't be back until at least early January.

Thanks! I had missed the change on the December 16th sailing. We are scheduled to board Jan 13th, I wonder if we will actually go to St Thomas.

Vinow does not show any Disney ships for December but theoretically the Fantasy should be there on Wednesdays. What gives?

We will be in Tortola on January 16 on aboard the Disney Fantasy. We are looking to spend a day at a beach while there, but I am not sure what's in good shape as far as clean up goes post Irma and Maria. I was pondering Cane Garden Bay or possibly taking a ferry to another island to spend the day at the beach. We are hoping for a not so crowded beach with amenities nearby - food or chairs mostly. We've got about 9 hours max on the island, but would be looking to spend 6-7 hours including travel time.

Suggestions?

Following this- we are going on Cruise on Royal beginning of February and supposed to stop in St. Thomas and St. Maarten as of now.. we will have an 11 month old and wanted to go to the beach (at least) and from what I am seeing most (if not all) of the RCL excursions have a minimum age of 4 or 5 sadly. Normally we do excursions from private companies anyway but I check out the RCL offers to know what might be available...

We found a private taxi at the dock that drove us out to Magen’s Bay in 2016. We arranged the time or a pickup before we got out to the beach. It was perfect!

This is from Coral World’s Facebook page:

We are planning on being open on a very limited basis for activities and general admission starting the second week in November.

Coral World isn't a submarine. It's a small, sea-related, interactive park. Kids get to touch many of the creatures under supervision of the park employees and there is a small beach next door.

According to the Coral World FB page:

We are planning on being open on a very limited basis for activities and general admission starting the second week in November.

Very interesting considering Disney just moved all cruises through 12/16 to be Western Caribbean cruises.

St Thomas is hoping to bring a ship in by November. There are some beaches that are fine while a few others had major damage from fallen trees and debris. It looks like Paradise Point wasn't damaged, and Coral World is mostly OK. Lots of restaurants are open.

Based on this Facebook post, there’s no timeline for when Coral World will reopen again.

https://m.facebook.com/?_rdr#!/story.php?story_fbid=10155651258987092&id=18852557091

Are you asking about private tours (for your group only)? Or independent tours like Godfrey that provides group tours and private charters for larger groups?

I'm open to either. Obviously I'm thinking of my family first but we've made friends with multiple families who will be traveling with us and would be willing to organize a group tour or activity.

We are scheduled to go to Tortola on a cruise in January. I realize with the current situation there it's highly unlikely that the cruise port will be open. But, if for some reason they do have it up and running, our family would rather do a tour and eat our meals from locals rather than booking with the cruise line so all of our money goes directly into their economy. If you've done a private tour that you've loved, could you please tell me about it below. We are a family of 5 but are up for pretty much anything!

Like I said, I get that we might not go this trip but maybe someone else going after me might like this list - or we could use it on a future cruise!

We are scheduled to go to St Thomas on a cruise in January. I realize with the current situation there it's highly unlikely that the cruise port will be open. But, if for some reason they do have it up and running, our family would rather do a tour and eat our meals from locals rather than booking with the cruise line so all of our money goes directly into their economy. If you've done a private tour that you've loved, could you please tell me about it below. We are a family of 5 but are up for pretty much anything!

Like I said, I get that we might not go this trip but maybe someone else going after me might like this list - or we could use it on a future cruise!

Zaandam had a norovirus outbreak the week before we got on. The one thing I didn't know about ahead of time, due to the new hygiene protocol, all of the activities that were supposed to happen in ClubHAL were canceled. You could drop your children off but all they would do was watch movies. It was like that for three days. Very disappointing for my kids.

Any of these suggestions kid friendly with tame food options for them? We have a picky 7 year old in our group.

What's the window for boarding time for the Zaandam out of Vancouver? I see the ship departs at 4:30 but I'm trying figure how to plan our day prior to getting on the ship.