NewCruiserMPC

18 hours ago, montgomeryfamily said:

Unfortunately, Capt Larry does not own his own business now.  His company merged (was bought out) by Dolphin Jet Boat tours.  Capt Larry was supposed to be still the Captain of the boat he brought into the company.  

 

Capt Larry's boat was wheelchair accessible.  Our family member is wheelchair bound.  We went on Capt Larry's boat with Orca Enterprises 4 times.  We really had a great time.  After he was unable to operate for a while, we did other tours on our stops in Alaska.  Then in 2019, for our last trip to Alaska/Juneau, we found the website you found, called, and made a booking for the wheelchair accessible boat that Capt Larry was still operating.  

 

We received several emails confirming the trip and giving info re meeting place and other info, including one email mid cruise.  When we got to the meeting place early for our 1:00 tour, we told one of the guides our name and which tour we were on and waited on that bus.  When it arrived, we gave our name to that tour guide and he didn't find our name listed.  He called the supervisor when didn't know anything but called the office.  The office was busy and told him they would call him back.  It got closer to time and finally the last tour bus for the whale watching boats had arrived.  They still didn't know anything and were just going to leave but I stood on the tour bus steps and would not get off until they called the office and found out what was going on with our tour.

 

Turns out that the wheelchair accessible boat was not operational and had not been for more than two months.  In addition it had not gone through the Coast Guard certification that was required of all tour boats.  They said there was no plan to repair it.  So I don't know if Capt Larry is operating another boat or retired.

 

In addition, they left us standing without any tour.  The tour guide said we could call a taxi.  I finally tracked down the two taxi phone numbers, but they were all booked.  So we walked around town a bit and went back to the ship.

 

I never received an apology, even after calling when we got home.  It took over a month to get the refund, with me having to call back again.

 

So I don't know if Capt Larry is still operating, but based on our experience, even if he was, I wouldn't rely on getting him.  Based on our experience with them, I would never book them for a tour, even if they got another wheelchair accessible boat.

 

 

 

 

Oh no! So sorry you went through that. Thanks for the info though. Very helpful!

We took a whale watching tour about 10 years ago with Captain Larry our of Juneau... anyone know if he or the company are still around? Can't find the company he operated from online. Thought maybe some folks here might know.

Would be interested to know how people feel about Cabo. What makes it special?

We will be there for 2 days in June. What is a "not to be missed" landmark, venue, etc?

I searched the forum but the most current information is from 2015. Hoping to get more current info.

Our cruise arrives Saturday morning. We were hoping to rent a car for 2 days since our flight leaves Sunday night. Has anyone had any luck with renting a car when they get off the ship in Galveston and then returning at airport? We fly out of hobby.

If so, please share what company you used and if you had to do anything special to arrange it

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Thanks everyone! We have decided to keep our reservation and enjoy. My cousin is doing her residency for her physical therapist degree in Playa Del Carmen. Hoping I get to see her for a bit. She'll be meeting us in Tulum. We might just skip the guided tour and have her give us the tour.

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We are most likely doing Tulum this summer on our RCCL cruise. I've seen it mentioned that it's a "long walk" from where the buses park to the entrance of the park. Can anybody be more specific? Is it just a warning that "The bus won't park by the curb where you step off the bus and walk into the park" or is it more like "the bus parking lot is 1/2 a mile away"?

I'm not sure but I heard there are shuttles you can take that cost a few bucks

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We booked the excursion directly from Carnival so there would be no issue in getting back to the ship on time.

Just wondering if Tulum is worth it as an excursion based on the travel to get there.

Would like to hear from people who have actually done the excursion please. :)

That's funny. Did you finally find the shuttle? How did you eventually get to town?

 

 

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We never found the shuttle. Luckily, we were able to spot a taxi that took us into town. Marseille was a very confusing port for us. We got lost several times and not knowing the language was very difficult.

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Just don't do what we did which was follow a group of passengers we assumed were also looking/walking to the free shuttle and instead ended up boarding a Russian Speaking Tour Bus where we were immediately discovered and made to get off. Talk about being embarrassed! LOL

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We are taking shuttle transportation from Hobby to cruise ship. Is there a place to buy sodas/wine at airport at "regular" price?

Your choice on what you use to carry it on. My preference is to place then in a rolling duffle. In my home port of Galveston they take the soda out of the box and inspect them. Often times the box is useless to get the drinks onboard. Shoulder bags and back pack are an option but those can get really heavy until your room is ready about 1:30.

BTW that rolling duffle has any soft drinks as well as travel documents electronics, and medications. The space gained after consumption of the drinks serves as souvenir space on our trip home.

Brilliant! Thanks for sharing. I'll do this for our trip next month!

We are arriving morning of sail date and have purchased transportation directly from Carnival. This is our first time with Carnival and also first time getting transportation directly from ship. What can we expect? We have not received any info from Carnival on what to expect yet. I supposed we get this once we complete the onboarding section on their site?

Freedom

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We just booked with Butts up. Read one review here about the wait being longer to be taken back to ship than those who only booked one. Would like to hear feedback about your experience booking both together. Yay or nay?

Ideally, would like to have enough time to shop for souvenir before heading back to the ship.

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This will be our first cruise with carnival. What speciality restaurants do they have on the ship? I know about the steak house (made reservation already) but heard they have a candy shop? And burger diner? Is this true? Would love to hear feedback. Oh... and also feedback on chef's table

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Thanks for clarifying! Guess we'll have to use that worksheet now and see what our best option is

Will Carnival let you get the cheers program for only 2 days?

We are planning a 7 day trip with 3 sea days and would prefer to do the cheers program for only those days if possible.

Anyone ever try this or know the rules?

I found a used soap bar and hair conditioner packet in the bathroom this time around.

But to be honest, I didn't care. Room stewards have so much going on. I don't understand why only one steward to a block of rooms. Makes no sense and is too much for one person to handle. I always feel so bad and try my best to clean up after ourselves and leave as little work for the steward as possible. We also tip them generously at the end of the trip.

When we were on Holland America, our steward had an "assistant" with him at all times and they tagged team to clean their block of rooms. The service was so much better on Holland America in my opinion when it came to cleanliness. The only reason we don't go on it any longer is because everything seemed to dead after 8pm... no pun intended. :D

However, I do agree that the pill in this case was a different situation, considering there was a toddler in the room. I would recommend they get in the routine of inspecting their roomupon arrival before they let the little ones start crawling all over the place. Just for piece of mind.Mistakes and oversights happen unfortunately. Would hate to have read about a toddler getting sick over ingesting someone else's medication. Glad the baby was ok and you found it right away.

So I need some help. Will be docking here on Sunday for 11 hours

Can someone share what the best way to get from the port of Marseille to Aix and Cassis is? Is taxi better? If so how much does it cost?

If by train/bus is easy... please share bus # and or any additional advice you may have. Would appreciate it so much!!!!

Lastly, which should we go to first when we arrive?

Thinking of doing the HOHO bus in Palermo and Malta.

Can anyone recommend for or against them based on recent experience?

Also, would it be wise to book before we go or can we just book them there once we get off the ship?

If yes, can anyone recommend a tour company to go through for this service!

Thank you in advance! These forums have been very helpful!

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Looks like we might be on the same cruise! Princess?

If so, we were lookihng at doing this DIY trip too! Thanks for the info!

Hi, we're in Genoa on a cruise, Monday June 8th.

 

I'm wondering if it's reasonable to visit Cinque Terre and how best to do it in a day.

 

What I know:

 

- I can rent a car from Europcar (near the trains station) at 8AM for about 45-Euro which seems reasonable.

- Driving time to the Cinque Terre area from Genoa is around 90-120min.

- So if we leave at 8AM and plan to be back by 4PM that gives us about 4-5hrs in Cinque Terre (9:30AM to 2:30PM)

- Apparently parking is not that convenient

 

What I don't know: (and could use some help with)

 

- What is the best way to spend 4-5 hours there?

- Where to park?

- How to get around?

- Which towns to visit?

- How to get some photos from the water?

 

Any first-hand experience or web-site resources would be helpful.

I was wondering if the shops carry cases of water? Can anyone confirm. Or is it just wine? What else do they sell?

I was wondering if anyone had any information on how to get from Aix to Cassis on your own?

We are ok on getting from Marsaille to Aix by train but not sure about the second half of our trip to Cassis.

Which tour company are you using? I am traveling here in June and would be interested to get more info.

Good luck finding a group! Sounds like fun!

Yes. Same site. Just navigate to the main ticket page and you'll see the Coliseum Entrance tickets. The tickets include entrance to the forum and Palatine Hill as well which is nice. If you are planning to go there first before the Coliseum them chose the option to print from home. That way you can print each admission separate

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