Great Barrier Reef excursion cancelled

[ldog]

I'm very upset. We are on the 27-DAY GREAT BARRIER REEF AND FAR EAST DISCOVERY on ms Volendam - Nov 24 = Sydney to Hong Kong

 

We have made our final payment.Today I received an email from Hal Excursions that said....

 

"Dear Guest, Due to minimum participation numbers not being met, the ?Discovering the Great Barrier Reef? excursion will no longer be available for your upcoming call to Cairns, Australia. We have refunded your prepaid booking to the credit card used for the purchase. As an alternative excursion, we recommend ?The Great Barrier Reef Cruise & Snorkel Adventure? offered from Hamilton Island on October 25, 2012"

 

The Great Barrier Reef was one of the major reasons we booked this cruise.

We will be at the reef on Hamilton Island on the 27th of November(the HAL email has incorrect dates) and are in Cairns overnight on 28th. The hours of call are from 1100 on the 28th to noon on the 29th so it is impossible to book an independent excursion. I have tried through TripAdvisor and Cairns tourist sites.

 

Hamilton Island is the port of call before Cairns. We have not fianlised plans for there but it would include a snorkelling. We love snorkelling.

 

There are no HAL excursions that offer snorkelling in Cairns which is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. Hello?

 

We are six weeks out from the cruise date. How can they be sure that they don't have the minimum participation?

 

I called the excursion phone in Seattle and talked to an agent who had nothing good to say. I asked to speak to a supervisor, but of course, the line was busy. By the time I could leave a message I was in tears. That was 5 hours ago and I have not received a call back.

 

I also have to add that we are expending considerable dollars for airfare from Toronto to Sydney and Hong Kong to Toronto. This is not an inexpensive jaunt. We've spent a lot of time and money planning this trip.

 

We are 4 Star Mariners who have travelled with Hal throughout the world. I can't believe they are doing this to us!

[CruiserBruce]

Sorry this didn't work out. But they "aren't doing this" to you. I doubt it is personal. It may be a permitting issue. It may be an issue with the vender wanting committments. It could be a dozen other things.

 

I was just looking at some other info about the Great Barrier Reef a couple of days ago. It seems there has been considerable damage to the Reef over the last few years from a variety of causes- both manmade and natural, and the Australian Government is slowly tightening access to the reef to save it. Don't know that this is the cause of your cancelation, but at several times during my research, the statement " access to the Great Barrier Reef is on a permit basis. Said permits may be revoked at anytime by government agencies" appeared.

[sail7seas]

Sorry this didn't work out. But they "aren't doing this" to you. I doubt it is personal. It may be a permitting issue. It may be an issue with the vender wanting committments. It could be a dozen other things.

 

I was just looking at some other info about the Great Barrier Reef a couple of days ago. It seems there has been considerable damage to the Reef over the last few years from a variety of causes- both manmade and natural, and the Australian Government is slowly tightening access to the reef to save it. Don't know that this is the cause of your cancelation, but at several times during my research, the statement " access to the Great Barrier Reef is on a permit basis. Said permits may be revoked at anytime by government agencies" appeared.

 

 

I also saw a piece about the horrible loss of a huge percentage of the Great Barrier Reef. Apparently it is dying at an alarming rate.

 

There could be a connection between that and the cancellation of the excursions.

 

Idog, VERY sorry for your disappointment but it may not even be in HAL's control. Granted the reason was lack of participation but that may not be accurate.

 

Hopefully, you will be able to arrange a private tour if they are being offered.

 

[Pete Jackson]

One possibility is to travel independently from Hamilton Island to Cairns instead of boarding the ship when it leaves Hamilton Island. Then you should be in Cairns early on the 28th to do a private excursion. See if that works.

[petrakae]

This is just my opinion. Hamilton Island is part of the Whitsundays and does have great snorkelling opportunities. Have experienced it..loved it... Hamilton Island is approximately 6 hours drive from Cairns, bearing in mind that our highways in no way equal USA or European ones and therefore can take longer...(single lane). Flights from Hamilton Island are infrequent, as are flights from Proserpine on the mainland, so be prepared to have time problems flying... I believe that like everywhere, the shore excursions are actually owned and operated separately to HAL, and are contracted to HAL as required, and therefore must make their own decisions. Cairns is the gateway to Cape Tribulation, Daintree rainforest, Atherton Tablelands and many more wonderful places to visit. Have you tried contacting the Cairns Tourist Information centre and asking them if they have any alternative options. If you explain the situation to them, perhaps they will use initiative and organize an alternative tour. November is coming into the 'wet' season and therefore local tourism (Aussies) has lessened. The Barrier reef/Cairns was hit by a cyclone last year and it did a huge amount of damage to that section of the reef. The previous writer was correct in saying that permits are restricted, and the reef is suffering from both man-made and naturally occuring problems and I hope that they can be controlled for the sake of our beautiful reef. We have travelled to Queensland on many occassions and have enjoyed it immensely. Hoping you enjoy our land down under. When we cruise, we also have to pay high airfares and accommodation to get to the boarding city. Sadly we do not have the variety of choices being so far south. Doesn't stop me from spending kids inheritance on cruises though:D Just unable to do as many as we would like.

[kazanddave]

There are many operators from Cairns.

Check out Fantasea, Quiksilver.

You can do a day trip to the reef.

 

I have also been on a boat from Hamilton Island.

 

message if I can help.

 

karen

[Krazy Kruizers]

So sorry that this has happened to you. At least HAL has given you time to make arrangements. A few times we have gotten on the ship and there was a letter on the bed indicating that tours we had prebooked had been cancelled because of few people booking them. We had no chance to make plans of our own.

People here have given you some suggestions.

Hope something works lout for you.

[CtheW0rld]

as KK says, you do have plenty of time. there is a wealth of information on the ports of call boards here on CC. try posting for private operators in your desired location. i bet you can get it worked out.

[3rdGenCunarder]

There are many operators from Cairns.

Check out Fantasea, Quiksilver.

You can do a day trip to the reef.

 

I have also been on a boat from Hamilton Island.

 

message if I can help.

 

karen

 

NOT FANTASEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Overcrowded and overpriced!

 

We had the worst day EVER on a trip to the reef with them this past February. We were anchored (QM2), so there wasn't a lot of opportunity to do something independent. We were soooo excited about this ship's tour. I booked us on it as soon as tours were posted.

 

When we got on the catamaran for what was supposed to be a 2-hour ride to the reef, the water was calm and all was well. NOBODY on the boat warned us that it was going to get rough. We had 30-40 minutes of smooth water before the bouncing started. That's enough time for seasick meds to at least start to kick in.

 

Once the bouncing started, it was terrible. People were sick all around me. Must happen a lot because the crew were prepared with bags and cups of ice chips. A few passengers fell when they tried to go downstairs (we were up on top to be in the fresh air--the boat was hot and crowded downstairs). I thought I had about 15 minutes more to go when someone asked a crew member how much longer. He said 45 minutes, and at that point I gave up. I could have hung on by my fingernails for another 15, but no way would I make it for 45 minutes. I threw up countless times. After the catamaran reached the pontoon, I was still throwing up, even though we weren't moving. I was too sick and exhausted to do anything but take a nap for the first hour. The tour was oversold and the pontoon was crowded. I couldn't even imagine putting a snorkel in my mouth. And a leisurely snorkel would have been impossible because it was a mob scene in the water. (They rope off a little area you have to stay in. A few people I spoke to who did snorkel said they were constantly bumped into by other swimmers.)

 

I spent a lot of money to puke like a drunken college kid. All I ate all day was water and one roll from the buffet at lunch time (kindly delivered to my towel on the floor of the catamaran by my DH) and a few crackers at tea time on the ride back. I was not the only one who was this sick. They guy from the tour office on board looked worried. I think he was afraid one of us was going to die or have to be medivac-lifted off the pontoon.

 

I'm not afraid on boats and I rarely get seasick. I have actually ENJOYED bouncy tender rides. But this went on for much longer than advertised. Two hours each way was actually 2 1/2. That means we lost a whole hour of time at the pontoon. This made it difficult for people to get their snorkel gear easily and to get a chance at the semi-submerisble ride.

 

Looking back on it, I realize I was sick more from fear than seasickness. I honestly thought that $%^& catamaran was going to flip over. It was bucking like a mechanical bull in a Texas cowboy bar. People were CLINGING to the seats. I sat there trying to figure out how far from the boat I'd be thrown, or if I'd be trapped under it. I'm a strong swimmer, but DH isn't. Would he survive? Was there any way I could help him? We weren't wearing PFDs, but we probably should have been.

 

DH didn't snorkel, but he rode the little semi-submersible. His photos of the reef aren't pretty. So brown, very few fish. I did get up and walk around the reef for a few minutes. I looked through the window of the "viewing room." I saw a half-dozen fish and the fins of the snorkelers who were sitting on the edge of the pontoon.

 

To the OP: Cunard and HAL both belong to Carnival. They likely use the same vendors inport. So be glad your tour was cancelled. You might have had a day from hell on the reef with Fantasea.

[Jade13]

There is a boat called Quicksilver that goes out to the Reef.

[sapper1]

What a terrible way for a much anticipated tour to wind up.

[3rdGenCunarder]

What a terrible way for a much anticipated tour to wind up.

 

We had an active roll call, and one Australian was quick to post helpful info for the group. He posted a heads-up about tours when they were posted, and I was so grateful for the chance to snag the tours I wanted, including this one. (No, I didn't blame him, he was on the bucking boat, too!)

 

On the plus side, a few days later, we did a flightseeing tour out of Darwin. They took only 14 people, and a lot of them were from our roll call because we all jumped on the opportunity right away. It was one of the best tours we've ever done, so it helped to balance out the day from hell.

[Hlitner]

Many experienced cruisers have discovered that its often better to take private excursions or simply go off on their own (our norm) rather then pay the inflated cruise line excursion prices. There are several very good reef excursions that leave from Cairns and go out to the reef and when we spent a few days in Cairns we were very happy with Quicksilver cruises (they are one of several major tour boat operators). Its easy to book these day excursions on line or simply make arrangements once you are in Cairns. We recently took a 62 day HA Grand Cruise and were surprised at how many of our older cruise mates (just about everyone on this cruise were seniors and 3 or 4 star Mariners) generally avoided the HA excursions. There were many excursions cancelled for lack of interest.

 

Hank

[ldog]

Thank you all for your help, advice and condolences. We generally do book independent tours but because of the timing (Volendam arrives at 1100 am and leaves at noon the next day) all of independent boats will have left. I was already miffed with HAL for that timing. If I was cynical, I'd wonder if the timing was on purpose so we couldn't go with other operators.

 

I've called HAL and talked with a booking supervisor who told me that they needed a minimum of 80 and it wasn't even close to that number.

 

As a marketer, I question why they wouldn't let cruisers know that this had to be booked so early. Lord knows I receive enough other emails from HAL. Many cruisers don't book their excursions until they are on board.

 

It is hard to stomach that we will be in Cairns, the gateway to the GBR and HAL only had the one excursion.

 

There is an independent half day excursion to Green Island which offers snorkelling so I guess we'll have to book that one. The good news is that it costs about 25% of the expensive HAL excursion.

[Hlitner]

Thank you all for your help, advice and condolences. We generally do book independent tours but because of the timing (Volendam arrives at 1100 am and leaves at noon the next day) all of independent boats will have left. I was already miffed with HAL for that timing. If I was cynical, I'd wonder if the timing was on purpose so we couldn't go with other operators.

 

I've called HAL and talked with a booking supervisor who told me that they needed a minimum of 80 and it wasn't even close to that number.

 

As a marketer, I question why they wouldn't let cruisers know that this had to be booked so early. Lord knows I receive enough other emails from HAL. Many cruisers don't book their excursions until they are on board.

 

It is hard to stomach that we will be in Cairns, the gateway to the GBR and HAL only had the one excursion.

 

There is an independent half day excursion to Green Island which offers snorkelling so I guess we'll have to book that one. The good news is that it costs about 25% of the expensive HAL excursion.

 

ARGH! Sometimes it almost seems like a conspiracy that HA sets the arrival and departure times in a way to discourage independent travel. Just today we booked a 14 day HA Caribbean cruise that has very strange port times (line 7am to 3pm). We cruise many different cruise lines (12 to date) and find the port times on HA and NCL to be among the worst. We have been told by a senior officer that part of the reasoning is that by reducing port times they can slow down the ship, save fuel, and improve onboard revenue. The next time you arrive in a port at 11 am rather then 8 am....and you notice that your ship has been cruising to that port at 14 knots you just might have your answer.

 

Hank

[kazu]

Thank you all for your help, advice and condolences. We generally do book independent tours but because of the timing (Volendam arrives at 1100 am and leaves at noon the next day) all of independent boats will have left. I was already miffed with HAL for that timing. If I was cynical, I'd wonder if the timing was on purpose so we couldn't go with other operators.

 

I've called HAL and talked with a booking supervisor who told me that they needed a minimum of 80 and it wasn't even close to that number.

 

As a marketer, I question why they wouldn't let cruisers know that this had to be booked so early. Lord knows I receive enough other emails from HAL. Many cruisers don't book their excursions until they are on board.

 

It is hard to stomach that we will be in Cairns, the gateway to the GBR and HAL only had the one excursion.

 

There is an independent half day excursion to Green Island which offers snorkelling so I guess we'll have to book that one. The good news is that it costs about 25% of the expensive HAL excursion.

 

I wouldn't throw the private tours out yet - you could form a group on your roll call and do it PRIVATE - just your group - that being the case the private tour should go when it suits you.

 

It's certainly worth a try:D

 

Emails are quick and easy - nothing wrong with emailing a few and feeling them out.

 

Don't give up - with an overnight you have no risk to miss the ship.

 

check them out and good luck:D:D

[KirkNC]

One possibility is to travel independently from Hamilton Island to Cairns instead of boarding the ship when it leaves Hamilton Island. Then you should be in Cairns early on the 28th to do a private excursion. See if that works.

 

Thata what I was thinking as well. See what private alternative exisist. I understand your frustration but please don't let it ruin your cruise.

[bronte2]

I too think it is odd that HAL cancelled this excursion so far out as the GBR is a brilliant place to visit.

The problem is, this is not the best time of the year to visit the reef. Our summer is the wet season and the cyclone season in the far north of Australia and as a result we can have very rough seas as unfortunately experienced by Kathy or very heavy rain. The heavy rain can result in very cloudy water due to the run-off from the land. We were in Airlie Beach in February this year and the excursions were all cancelled due to the rain on the preceding days. In Cairns the weather was sunny but the Kuranda scenic railway was closed due to a landslide. The rain had been unusually heavy on this occasion though.

Experienced divers who made the trip to the reef were a bit disappointed due to poor visibility but others who snorkelled thought it was great.

 

I don't want to put people off, as the weather may well be wonderful, but just bear it in mind this is not the best time to visit the reef.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I too think it is odd that HAL cancelled this excursion so far out as the GBR is a brilliant place to visit.

The problem is, this is not the best time of the year to visit the reef. Our summer is the wet season and the cyclone season in the far north of Australia and as a result we can have very rough seas as unfortunately experienced by Kathy or very heavy rain. The heavy rain can result in very cloudy water due to the run-off from the land. We were in Airlie Beach in February this year and the excursions were all cancelled due to the rain on the preceding days. In Cairns the weather was sunny but the Kuranda scenic railway was closed due to a landslide. The rain had been unusually heavy on this occasion though.

Experienced divers who made the trip to the reef were a bit disappointed due to poor visibility but others who snorkelled thought it was great.

 

I don't want to put people off, as the weather may well be wonderful, but just bear it in mind this is not the best time to visit the reef.

 

Wow, when did the landslide happen? We enjoyed the Kuranda railway and would have been disappointed to have missed that. And yes, it was the rainy season. During our lunch at Kakadu National Park it poured buckets. I'm not sure I've ever seen such a downpour. This was the flightseeing trip, and the pilots were worried about getting us back in time for the ship's departure. But the rain stopped in time and all was OK.

 

Two Australian women our dinner table went on an excursion to Arlie and didn't like it. I can't remember why. too little shelter from the sun, maybe?

 

To the OP: If you can't make it to the reef, there are other good things to do. Check out Kuranda Railway. There's also a skyride and an army duck ride. Various packages are available and easy to get to from Cairns.

[cjm66]

There are few half day tours from Cairns with snorkeling included. One option would be Green Island - it is not the outer reef but the timing of the afternoon departure would suit your arrival time.

 

http://cairnsdiveadventures.com/tour/big-cat-green-island-half-day/

 

Big cat also offer direct booking for their half day Green Island trips and are reviewed on Tripadvisor. Worth reading the reviews to get an idea of what is on offer and whether it would suit you.

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attraction_Review-g255069-d1855074-Reviews-Big_Cat_Green_Island_Reef_Cruises_Day_Tour-Cairns_Cairns_Region_Queensland.html

 

If the Hamilton Island tour being offered by HAL is to the outer reef, it could be a viable alternative but as another poster has pointed out, the Whitsumdays are famous for sailing which does mean strong winds and sometimes choppy water conditions for the trip to the pontoon. I hope you find an alternative for your cancelled excursion.

[Chmielel]

I enjoyed my Green Island snokelling out of Carins it was a shorter boat ride than my Fantasea Reefworld out of Airlie Beach snolkelling tour. (45 minutes vs 2 hours).

 

At Green Island for the best viewing walk out on the pier and use the stairs on the side of the pier there is a nice platform to use to go snorkelling. You will find lots of fish under the pier. You'll see giant clams and serveral types of coral. I even saw the Clownfish "Nemo" swiming in his sea anemone. One note of caution - If the tide go out while your visiting than you may need to swim back to the beach to get out of the water. The platform could be too far from the water to reach.

 

On my visit to Fantasea Reefworld in Feb. 2012 the currents were very strong in fact we were swept into the ropes that marked the snokelling area and had to use the rope to move thru the area and to my great Disappointment the coral was bleached.

[1of4]

I understand how disappointed you must be; I would be too. I have this cruise as a bucket list must but we are no where near it as kids are still young, even if we are not! The World Cruise last year did the same thing and cancelled the "scenic cruising" in that area and many were miffed. They got no answers either.

 

I have been to Cairns twice and can personally say that I love Green Island. The Big Cat that somebody else metioned goes out every hour, if not more, it is like a shuttle to the island. I have friends is Brisbane that were there not 2 weeks ago and she said she took her oldest son out to a further reef from Green Island while the two younger kids stayed back with her mother. So don't give up hope of seeing the real beauty of the reef but use Green Island as the starting point.

 

I used a catamaran for my tour to the out reef but I just can't remember the name of the tour group. But there are lots and perhaps renting a charter with a few from your roll call would be a possibility? There are lots from Cairns that do private scuba and snorkeling trips.

 

Good luck and I hope this doesn't ruin the whole cruise. Port Douglas, north of Cairns is also another gateway to the GBR and is actually closer so not sure if the Volendam is stopping there.

[Country_Gal]

OP, Be thankful that HAL has notified you now. I was on a 28 day in the South Seas, Australia and New Zealand 2 years ago and we didnt find out some of the tours we wanted and had planned on were canceled until we boarded the ship. At least you have 6 weeks to work on alternate planning.

[Tampa Girl]

OP: Have you tried your roll call re the possibility of an independent tour?

[ldog]

I'm the OP

 

Our roll call is just starting to get active. The ship is very undersold so I think HAL is "circling the wagons" and cutting back wherever they can.

 

I read on Trip Advisor that Green Island was one of the most affected by coral loss and cyclone damage.

 

I'm seriously considering leaving the ship at Hamilton Island and driving to Cairns. Are we crazy?