Maligator

I hadn't considered that. I'll need to check into the move-up for Constellation next September!

With 2024 schedules trickling out whenever they feel like releasing them, my wife and I are looking at those that managed to be released and found a Japan itinerary that looks good. After being spoiled in one of the six FV aft corners on Summit a few years back, we'd really like to book one of those again, but there seems to be no way to do it on the website. 

If I recall, we had to book a different room and wait until a few weeks before the sailing to inquire about moving to a FV. Is this still the only way to do it?

Consider what's ABOVE that white area on Deck 9. Looking at deck plans, it seems to be right under the pool, which would protrude down into the Deck 9 space below. So the answer is likely pipes and/or maintenance access space to the pool.

We've been back a couple of weeks and I can confirm there isn't much around the pier. There's the standard Iceland store with souvenirs. Maybe a HOHO bus stop, but I didn't see it.

Hopefully, a search led you to my humble little post. Let me preface by saying we did this excursion through Celebrity in August 2022 and I don't think anyone on our tour was fully prepared for what it entailed and the level of exertion needed to complete it. I cannot speak for any other cruise line's description, other than Celebrity's.

We've been on numerous hiking tours and the like that carry the caveats that participants should consider their overall physical condition and fitness. Sure, some are more challenging than others. But I don't believe even these advisements fully prepared us - or anyone else on our bus - for exactly what this tour entails. I'm not knocking the tour or the operator. For reference, the day we went, the weather was mostly sunny, around 75F, and breezy.

The Gobbins Cliff Path Walk is an independent organization from the coach service Celebrity provided; that is to say, the coach gets you to the visitor center and the Gobbins staff then takes over until your return. I assume the tours are all the same when it comes to cruise groups. Tours are divided into smaller groups of about fifteen. As you're ushered into the briefing room, the guides are assessing footwear. Anyone not wearing appropriate shoes/boots with grippy soles are sent to the side to be given loaner shoes. I had trail running shoes with knobby soles and was deemed acceptable; my wife had regular Asics running shoes and was given loaners. You're then given a helmet, of which they have a variety of sizes. You MUST wear the helmet once the tour begins and it IS NOT for show! Backpacks, purses, etc are placed in lockers and you keep the key. Much of the walk isn't big enough for backpacks.

From the visitor center, each fifteen-person sub-group is assigned a guide and everyone piles into a shuttle van for the three-minute ride to the drop-off. From that point, there's a relatively steep grade path down to the sea. Keep that in mind, as what goes down must come up.

The entrance to the actual cliff walk is the next obstacle. This path was originally cut in the 1800's and while much of it is improved, some of it isn't. The entry requires squeezing through a gap in the rock. I'm 6'5" and had to shrink down quite a bit. The majority of the walking surface is either the rock or steel grate. The steps - especially those carved out of the rock - can be very uneven. Some are short. Others take more of a step. Even the steps made of steel grate can be super steep - more like a ladder.

One specific section goes through a very narrow crack in the cliff with a steep decline that actually goes down below sea level before coming back up through another steep and narrow split. This is where the helmet really pays off. I recall a number of times I felt the helmet pick up bits of cliff face that would certainly have broken the skin on my scalp.

I can't recall just how far you actually go along the cliffs. I'd say anyone in reasonable shape should be able to complete the walk, albeit with some considerable exertion. Young children and seniors were making it through. There is a cart at the bottom of the initial path for those who truly need it to get back up that steep grade. A couple on our sub-group were really sucking wind and took longer to get up to the top. One teenager who seemed to be more of a couch potato was really struggling.

The van arrives to schlep everyone back to the visitor center.

Anyway....I hope this helps inform anyone considering this excursion. I hope not to scare anyone away, as it is a very pleasant hike and I'm glad we went. I just feel like the description and advisories provided by the cruise line fell quite a bit short.

Assuming the entire fleet gets the same supplies, the answer is likely "No." We're just off Apex and if the wrapper hadn't said it was a biodegradable straw, I'd swear it was a plastic straw. Unless they're in a transition period between suppliers, expect the good straws.

All of our hand-wringing, doubts, and general pessimism were for nought. DW tested negative just before we headed to the airport.

George Will said, "The best part about being a pessimist is that you're either constantly being proven right or pleasantly surprised."

Thank you, anyway, for the guidance.

None of the tour operators I've contacted have flexed at all on times, or have recommended other tours not even remotely close to what I wanted. So we ended up booking one through Celebrity that will probably end up being operated by one of the companies I contacted. 

I've already decided I'm going to do a non-cruise photo expedition for all the things I have to miss on this trip. It's not like I'd be able to see it all, anyway.

Thanks for the advice

2 hours ago, CCJack said:

We were there in the last month, and I agree there were no tour companies at the pier.   However, I would  be surprised if you couldn't get a local tour company to re-view their tour times based on the ships arrival.  I assume you are not the only one on the derailed tour, so there could be others asking the tour companies the same question.   We went with SAGA tours.

 

I'd booked a flightseeing tour with a local pilot in his Cessna, but he was killed (along with his three passengers) in a crash last winter. I didn't find out until last week. 

Thanks, all. We have a Golden Circle tour the following day, so I want to avoid that. I'll check with our TA

Some ports have tour operators right off the pier. Not the taxi drivers who offer to give you the nickel tour, but all day tours that range out for several hours. Our Reykjavik tour was unexpectedly derailed and we're scrambling to find something. TripAdvisor has a bunch, but their pick-up times are predominantly 7-9am and our ship doesn't dock til 10.
 

Thanks

I have some videos on my Flickr account which should be in my signature. LPC is truly unique and a blast to experience.

On 7/21/2022 at 11:27 AM, Jim_Iain said:

I would call again and ask to speak to a Supervisor.    I got my answer out of a contact at the executive office and a second one from a Concierge from the Engagement Center that processed my last claim. 

 

I might leave out that your still testing positive as that isn't important for a COR use.   The reason for a COR is that some people continue to test positive up to 9 months after having Covid. 

 

As a guide post when coming back to the U.S. (testing was still required).   I continued to test positive for 11 day (very light pink).   The doctor said that after 5 days I would be released from quarantine and considered to be non-contageous.   The COR requires 11 days after first tested Positive.

So I called and spoke with two different reps. Both assured me we'd be fine with the documentation in-hand.

Thanks for the tips.

My wife tested positive two weeks ago, is asymptomatic, and her test Monday is still positive. With her COR, our TA called Celebrity and was told "Absolutely not." 

Seems not everyone at Celebrity is on the same page. I'm planning to call myself.

For reference, we're booked on an Aug 1 Apex sailing, so time is running out.

Nevermind! We booked with Mauna Loa this afternoon.


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We'll be in Kailua-Kona from 8am-5pm and are looking for the best "bang for the buck" helicopter tour. Here's what we're after:

• Kona only. I understand Hilo has tours, but our time in Hilo is spoken for already.
  
• 1 hour or more flight time. If we're going to shell out $1000+, I don't want an up-and-right-back-down flight.
  
• Must include some time over Kilauea/HVNP area. This is a bucket list excursion for us and if there's any lava activity, we want to see it from the air.
  
• Early-ish flight times. My wife us super-paranoid about missing the ship and since this is a tender port, we'd like to be back no later than 3-3:30pm.
  
  

I'm hoping someone on this board has some experience and advice. Thanks!

I hope I'm not too late to help.

You'll almost certainly be berthed at Callao - the industrial port for Lima. There is no walking to anywhere from the ship, since it is one of the busiest cargo terminals in South America. Expect shuttle buses to designated points outside the actual terminal (10 minutes). In 2017 on a Celebrity sailing, anyone who didn't take a Celebrity excursion was dropped at the "tourist" transportation point just outside the port terminal walls; it was a dumpy sidewalk in a run-down area. Tourist Police (that's what they're called) were present, but it is not an area I felt safe in. Additionally, the shuttle back to the ship was a handful of minivans - each seating about 6 - and we had a queue of around 70. Someone finally got through to the ship and they sent a coach after an hour.

The following day, we took the shuttle coach arranged by the Miraflores shopping district, which took us to (and later picked us up from) a nice mall.

As for what to do and see...

We were part of a privately-arranged tour that ran both days of our overnight stop. We visited the Pachacamac ruins site south of town, which was fascinating and HUGE. We also visited the central plaza area, where the government buildings are, and the San Francisco monastery. The monastery is definitely worth a stop if you're in the area, as the catacombs contain the bones of some 40000 people. The Huaca Pucllana site in Miraflores was a very nice stop. The contrast of ancient ruins in the middle of a modern city is palpable.

What to expect....

Miraflores is the upscale, modern area along the coast. It has the most shopping options (from your worldwide brands to local craft markets) and nice restaurants and parks.

You'll see a lot of "chifa" restaurants, which are Chinese joints; Peruvians love Chinese food, for some reason.

Try an Inca Cola, which is a bright yellow soda that tastes like Big Red, if you've ever had that.

The traffic...oh my God...the traffic is insane. It's worse than anything I've seen in the US, and I live in Houston. Someone on our bus said the only place he's seen worse is Beijing. It takes forever to get even short distances.

Take a look at my 2017 Flickr album linked in my signature if you'd like. I have a bunch of photos from Lima there.

This past August had us on Eclipse for the first time since the contract with Corning ended and we were eager to try the new Hollywood Glass program. We paid a total around US$110 for a 10" vase. I did the work while my wife watched from the rail and took pictures. Calling it a "class" is a bit of a stretch, though. I'd call it a "session." The participant does about 10% of the work (turning the rod, puffing air, et al) while the artist does the gathering, shaping, reheating, and color application during the 20 minute session. That is not to say I didn't enjoy the experience, but I think the actual learning is minimal. Especially if you're a crusty old glass show veteran like us.

We were on the British Isles 12-night between the OP's sailing and the previous Baltic. I did not feel the vibrations in our aft cabin on Deck 11, nor did I feel it anywhere below 14. But in Oceanview, it is VERY pronounced. The floor shakes, cups rattle at the beverage stations, and there are points where the vibration caused an overpressure in my ears. It was not unbearable, but anyone who didn't feel it has to have been clinically dead. The "Vibration Zone" was between the pizza station and the serving tables opposite of it and all the way across the ship. It did not seem to matter if we were in motion or docked, as we ate there in both situations. Seas were almost flat all but the last couple of days, so that wasn't it. It was also present without regard to speed; they had the hammer down between some ports and the last sea day, we were crawling along about 10 kts. The vibrations were the same, no matter the variables.

Koper is nothing to write home about. Kotor is worth missing your seating. Maybe book a specialty for around 8:30 that evening or hit Oceanview.

Matt,

 

I saw upthread that you were lamenting having lost your booking through Celebrity of the Giants Causeway tour from Belfast. We have two seats on a private tour for six that might suite you very well if you've stayed interested and haven't rebooked elsewhere. PM at bscfh0 at gmail dot com.

Thank you for your offer. Turns out they just changed the code, which caused us to have to rebook the same tour.

Probably posting from the bathroom

We'll actually be at South Queensferry.

If our Future Cruises rep was accurate, 6312 and others in the same position have a 50% wider veranda due to a storage closet (not located on the veranda, but in the interior passage).

Our personal preference is as close to centerline as possible, which those cabins will give you.

Enjoyed your review very much. Thank you!

Thanks for the kind words!

Might as well wrap this party tonight.

Day 16 (Fri 12/8): San Antonio (disembarkation)

Wx: CLDY/75

Always a sad day, this was the morning we got the boot from the boat. Before I get into our activities, I need to explain why we disembarked in San Antonio rather than Valparaiso. A couple of weeks prior to our sail date, we (Cruise Critic roll call folks) started getting emails from Celebrity notifying us of the change. This severely ticked off several members who made non-refundable reservations with hotels and transfer companies. We, however, had booked Celebrity’s airport transfer and Santiago tour, so I figured we were golden. Well…pyrite, maybe. Some goofy twit at Celebrity HQ decided to cancel the tour/transfer and have us re-book. I think the price was within US$10, so I fail to see why they couldn’t just call it square. Whatever…

Adding to the hassle of a last-minute port change was a Chilean national holiday, wherein devout worshipers honor Saint Something Or Other by gumming up traffic, walking from wherever home is to Saint Something Or Other’s church a thousand kilometers (possibly an exaggeration) away. Getting off in San Antonio allowed us to avoid much of the nonsense, so there’s a point in its favor.

Oh yeah….why did Celebrity change ports last minute? After all, Valparaiso has a gleaming, new cruise terminal and San Antonio only has a grimy commercial port with a utilitarian passenger building. It seems there’s an on-going dispute in Valpo between the port workers’ union and the port authority. Utilitarian or not, I found San Antonio’s facility efficient and the staff friendly. We were through immigration quickly and on the tour bus without our bags in no time. Celebrity arranged to take our luggage directly to the airport.

Santiago is about an hour and a half from San Antonio on smooth, well-maintained highway. I’d heard Chile was the most developed Latin American country and what I saw supported this claim. Whereas Ecuador and Peru were utterly impoverished, I saw little in the way of slums and shanty towns in Chile. As we entered Santiago, the overcast began to break up. The tour through town was mostly a drive-by sightseeing of embassies and government buildings. We did stop at the Plaza de Armas for a short walking tour. It was short, because the holiday had the museum we were supposed to tour closed. My wife and I poked around the big cathedral on the square, but there was a service going on and I didn’t want to disturb anyone. We spent the remainder of our “free” time sitting as close to the police vans as we could. The area was saturated with unsavory characters, swarthy men in dirty clothes, and a legion of vagrants. A local woman pointed to my camera and gestured that I shouldn’t let it hang around my neck, but should cradle it like an infant, as thieves were common. Finally, our group gathered again to board the bus. I honestly could have skipped this stop.

The tour took us to the upscale Los Condes shopping mall, where many of us made a bee line to the food court. I relied on my high school Spanish to order at McDonald’s. It wasn’t pretty and no one mistook me for a native speaker, but it got the job done. The mall was comparable to any upscale mall in the US. As a matter of fact, if the signs had been in English, one could easily think they were back in the States.

From there, we visited a craft village across town. Brilliant purple jacaranda trees and pink bougainvillea grew all over the stucco buildings, making it feel “old.” There were scads of shops selling handmade jewelry, crafts, and minerals. The difference between this market and the one in Arica was like Celebrity versus a garbage scow cruise.

The tour then ended at the airport, where Celebrity had our luggage lined up and waiting for us. I was impressed with the organization it took to get all those bags to the right place and in good condition. We schlepped our luggage into the airport, which looked to be linear (read: “goes on forever in any direction”) and choked with all manners of travelers. As Santiago is the capital of Chile and the home base of the national-come-continental airline, LATAM nee LAN Chile, SCL is a very busy airport, indeed.

Since our preferred carrier, United, wanted US$2000 each for a direct flight back to Houston, we had our TA book us with ChoiceAir for about a third of that price. The “cost” was laying over in Miami for five hours. Check-in with LATAM was a breeze, due to – I believe – the large number of desks open. At this point, it was around 3pm and our flight didn’t leave until after 11pm. It seems all of the US-bound flights from SCL depart between 9pm and midnight.

I didn’t mention earlier that upon checking in for the flight out of Houston, I remarked on my Facebook page that I’d once again dodged the dreaded “SSSS” mark on my boarding pass. If you don’t already know,the “SSSS” means you’ve been selected for extra screening in security. Well, the joke was on me. My LATAM boarding pass bore the mark of the Super-Secret Security Striptease. I was prepared to get the business going through immigration and security, but no one looked at me twice and I figured I’d slipped through.

With eight hours to kill, I reckoned my phone and tablet would need topping off and Chile uses the European-style outlet. I picked up an adapter in the Duty Free shop and found it was conveniently packaged in an impenetrable molded-plastic wrap. We stopped in a Ruby Tuesday’s for dinner and the waiter saw me wrestling with it, so he brought me a pair of scissors and earned a nice tip.

The seating around the gates at SCL is practically Spartan. I brought along our United Club passes from our credit card, hoping there was a Star Alliance lounge, but there wasn’t. OneWorld and SkyTeam had lounges, but not Star. Fortunately, my pre-trip research found LATAM had day passes for sale for US$55 each. My wife was initially on the fence as to the benefit, but once we entered, she was thankful her husband had the foresight to find it. We settled in and indulged in the various forms of refreshment (booze, mostly) and wifi access to pass the time.

Around 10pm, we headed out to the gate and found a horde of passengers milling around, as seating was limited. When others started to queue up, we joined them in the line for Steerage Class. Within a few minutes, the gate agent began calling names to come to the counter; for what reason I did not know. The agent called my name and I left my wife to hold our place in line. But the agent took my passport and directed me to bypass the line and follow another agent down the jetway. I saw the look of panic on my wife’s face and shot her a thumbs-up to reassure her, which didn’t do a bit of good.

It turned out, this was my “SSSS” screening. At a junction in the jetway, there was a side room, where I saw security people swabbing other passengers with what I knew were explosive-activated pads. I didn’t get to third base with the guy, but he swabbed my shoes, belt, and camera gear. Finding nothing, I was given my passport and sent onto the plane. I found my wife beginning to question a flight attendant about my whereabouts, but she saw me coming and relaxed.

My hopes for an empty seat next to me were dashed when a girl sat down, relegating me to a middle seat for the duration. LATAM’s fleet is remarkably new and we were on one of their younger Boeing 787-900s. This was my first flight on a 787 and I was impressed. I still couldn’t sleep, but the flight was not as exhausting as those I’ve had on 767s and 777s. I watched movies on the seatback AVOD system once the wife fell asleep and urged the little plane icon to go faster on the map.

It was at MIA where I thought things were starting to look up. It being a Chilean airline, the majority of the passengers were from South America and entered a long queue for immigration. But our Global Entry card put us in a line that had us in front of an agent in less time than it took us to get off the plane. But my honesty would cost us. I had the missus mark that we had soil or plant products, as we had jars of sand and her stupid bags of oregano. Phone calls were made and we were steered to a special holding area with other troublemakers from our flight. In the Sin Bin, Customs guys made more phone calls and looked sternly at our jars of sand. Turns out, they didn’t give a damn about the oregano, but weren’t sure about the sand. I thought for sure they’d confiscate the jars, but they finally let us through. The lesson learned was to keep our mouths shut about such things in the future.

The delay meant we missed the early flight to IAH and had to wait until noon. Our flight left from a different concourse than most United flights and was at the far end of the Delta wing. I passed the time watching all the exotic aircraft and airlines we never see in Houston and chatted up cruisers who’d just come into Miami on other ships.

The flight home was uneventful and we the cab driver on the Houston end was nice and lead-footed. He even got us home in time for us to make it to the kennel to retrieve the Mongrel Horde before they closed.

Well, if you’ve made it this far, you either skipped ahead or have too much time on your hands. I hope you enjoyed the ride. I’ll be back in the fall to burden you with our report on August’s British Isles sailing on Eclipse.

Ratings

Itinerary: B Other than Manta, I thought the stops were quality. They were certainly not your run-of-the-mill cruise stops.

Overall Ship Condition: A At over 15 years-old, I think they’ve done a great job keeping her up. She’s not the newest, but I saw no overt signs she’s over the hill.

Cabin Condition: B+ I just feel a freshening is needed. The bathroom really pales in comparison to the same category on S-class.

Cabin Attendant: A My wife thinks he should know how to do towel animals, but I feel he was top notch.

Staff: A Senior officers were readily visible and often initiated conversation. Non- and junior officers were great, as we’ve come to expect.

Entertainment: C Maybe we’ve been spoiled by past sailings, where production shows outnumbered the “filler” acts, but we like them and they seem to not be doing them as much. And the ones we saw we’ve seen before.

Food: A MDR fare was spot on with few misses. Oceanview satisfied, but still leaning too heavily on SE Asian fare, in our opinion. Sushi on 5 continues not to impress. Qsine and Tuscan were brilliant.

Food Service: A Specialty staff were awesome. MDR staff were attentive and very good, but not the best we’ve had.

Celebrity Excursions: D Continuing the decline in quality we’ve been seeing. Very little variety to pick from.