I Love Carbs

We booked this cruise last week. I found some great information about the ports on the What's in Port website. For Okinawa, I selected the Printable Map option, and it gave me an entire brochure.

Thanks Cruzqween for the info. I'll check out the What's in Port website.

We're looking forward to cruising with you. Hopefully we can get together aboard ship. To my knowledge, visas are not required.

Getting together aboard the ship sounds like a great plan. There's no roll call started for this sailing yet. Will try to set one up later if no one does it. :)

We just got back from Kochi in October. The castle is definitely a highlight. I created a blog post detailing our day in Kochi with some pictures. http://adventureswithanthony.com/our-adventures/best-of-japan-cruise/october_17_2017/

Our cruise didn't do any of the other ports

 

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Thank you for sharing your experience in Kochi. I'm relieved to know there will be a shuttle bus for the cruise passengers to get into the city. I enjoyed reading your adventure blog. Great information and thanks for posting the Cruise Compass in there as well.

Doing that right now ...

Since you mentioned this is a one-time sailing, we booked this cruise yesterday. Will be doing my research on the ports of call over the next few months. I don't believe we need Visas for this cruise as we're just visiting Hong Kong and Japan.

We booked this one about ten days ago ... it's a one-time-only sailing, and we, like you, have always wanted to visit both Hong Kong and Japan. What cinched it for us was the airfare ... EVA (the Taiwanese airline) has the most incredible prices (as in just over $600 round-trip from Houston, with very reasonable layovers in Taipei ... 1 1/2 hours outbound, 3 hours returning). We're also quite familiar with the ship, since we've sailed Voyager many times out of Galveston. It all added up to a must-do for us.

Oh..so this is a one time sailing only? Maybe that explains why I didn't see this itinerary in the RCL brochure. Your airfare cost is incredible. Unfortunately for us, Canadians, the airfare from Vancouver to Hong Kong is pricey. I'm still debating on whether to book this cruise or not.. the RCL sales ends on Jan 10th so we need to make up our minds soon. Have you looked into any of the cruise ports yet to determine the distance between the cruise terminals and into the city?

Okinawa has a world class aquarium( the largest tank in the world which holds 3 Whale sharks.!!!!) the Peace Park is also a must do if the time allows for it. there is also a pretty dang cool underground cave system. the is also a cutesy/tourist trap like pineapple farm. Also a Zoo as well as a Botanical Gardens that is breathtaking in the right season. big tourist souvenir is the Ryukan blown glass. if they offer an excursion to the museum and store, its also worth a look if you like that sort of stuff. if you want truly kitschy stuff, China Pete's( right near the base) the north part of the island is all resorts with some pretty nice beaches.

 

can't really answer for the other three, we were stationed near Tokyo ( as well as Okinawa) and stuck close to there/Yokohama.

Thank you so much for your recommendations on what to see and do in Okinawa. Haven't booked the cruise yet.. still thinking about this cruise as we don't know how close the cruise terminals are to these ports of call. More research to be done on my part.

Just wondering if anyone has done the 9 nights cruise sailing out of Hong Kong to Okinawa, Osaka, Kobe, and Kochi. We've never been to Japan and wondering if anyone has any experience with these ports of call. Is this a new itinerary offered by RCL this year? I didn't see this itinerary in their brochure.

How many people does the pass cover? Do both my husband I need to request one? If we are traveling with friends, will one pass cover all four? Thanks for your replies.

Yes the one pass will cover all four.

 

do you remember how many passengers were on the bus?

 

SBtS

Oh dear! Forgot to do the seat count but I will go with the 38 seat count that VacationGuy provided. And they do allow passengers to stand on the bus. I noticed that the Park Loop shuttle was full and people had to stand.

 

For sure.. I'll let you know how we paid our Entrance Fee when I return in August. If you have any more tips/suggestions about Bar Harbor, please pass them along.

 

Had a fabulous time in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. Gorgeous scenery and wonderful sunny weather... couldn't have asked for more. Did Sand Beach, Thunder Hole and Ocean Path to Otter's cliff. So back to the Entrance fee that I promised I would provide. We paid the Park Entrance fee at Village Green prior to boarding the Island Explorer Shuttle to Sand Beach. As a family of four, we paid the $25 per vehicle fee instead of $10 per person fee. FYI - this $25 fee is valid for a 5 day period. The scenery at Acadia was priceless!

Just curious, What is the cost to enter the Citadel without a pass?

We just returned from the New England/Canada cruise. Drove to Citadel and they charge $3.15 for parking. We had the pass so we didn't need to pay for admission. I was told that the admission cost was $11 during the summer season however I think admission will be free even without the park pass in celebration of Canada's 150th Birthday. Citadel is a must-see so make sure to visit.

I don't completely agree with some of the advice. I would suggest your take the route #5 bus or any bus that goes to the Visitor's Center. There transfer to the route #4 bus to do the Park Loop Rd. Otherwise, if you take the route #5 bus to Jordan Pond and transfer to the route #4 bus, you'll be boarding a route #4 bus which is inbound to the VC. About ¾ of the Park Loop Road is done when the route #4 bus stops at JP, and you would have already seen the last ¼ on the route #5 bus on your way to JP

 

To me, visiting Thunder Hole at the wrong time is just watching water splash against rocks. Some people like this, others don't.

 

The route #5 bus visits Seal Harbor and Northeast Harbor after it leaves JP. I think that NEH is very picturesque.

 

Also, I don't believe that the buses hold 38 seated passengers. The buses are not as big as a city bus but can not offer any proof at this time.

SBtS

Thanks again for your info SBtS and also to Vacation Guy for the info on the Island Explorer's seating capacity. All great tips to keep in mind when our ship docks on August 1st. With the limited amount of time in port, it is very difficult to try to see and do everything. I might have to skip Thunder Hole after all since there will be no tidal action at the time we plan to be in Acadia National Park.

Just a word of caution, but the Island Explorer busses can be full during busy times. They run every 30 minutes but two in a row were full and we ended up going in the opposite direction just to ensure we got a seat and a ride back to the Village Green. Missed out on seeing Thunder Hole but there was no tidal action at the time anyway.

Thanks for the word of caution regarding the possibility of full buses. We will be the only ship in town that day but I'm sure there will be other tourists as well. I checked the tide schedule and there will be no tidal action during the time we plan to be there either. Oh well, there will be other stuff for us to check out. By the way, do you recall the maximum number of people allowed on the island Explorer? Do they allow people to stand on the bus if all the seats are taken?

If you have a National Park Pass (Golden Eagle or whatever) remember to take it with you to get free admission. It worked for us in San Juan. Just an FYI.

Thanks for the tip Donna. We're Canadians therefore we don't qualify for the National Park Pass. We don't mind paying the entrance fee as it goes to a good cause. Plus we're getting a free shuttle ride to Acadia National Park. Can't ask for anything better than that. :)

We did what you want to do on the Island Explorer. The only problem was that Thunder Hole wasn't thundering :cool: I hope there's more action when you go. All the best, Tony

 

ohoSzar_dyY

There is a park office on the Village Green close to where you pick up the Island Explorer. We've always gone there to pay the entrance fee. The bus driver doesn't collect from people.

 

We've used the Island Explorer each time we've been in Bar Harbor and it makes life easy for visiting the park and being able to do your own thing. I love the Ocean Walk and then we pick up the Explorer and go to Jordan Pond House for lunch. I'm not sure which number bus that is, but we get the bus schedule at that park office as well as a park map.

Thanks. We'll pay our entrance fee at the park office. Based on your past visits to Bar Harbor and using the Island Explorer, this sounds like the best way to visit at our own pace rather than being tied to a time limited bus tour.

The route #3 & #4 buses will get you to the start of the Ocean Path. The difference is that the #3 bus starts at the Village Green and only does the eastern half of the Park Loop Road. Teh #4 bus starts at the ANP Visitor Center and does the entire loop road.

 

You can start your trip with the #3 bus, and when you've completed your hike, flag down a #4 bus which you ride to Jordan Pond. At JP, you board an inbound #5 bus which will take you back to the Village Green.

 

SBtS

Yes, we're still planning to visit TH and will try out Ocean Path too. Thanks for the Ocean Path link.. it looks like an easy trail for us to navigate and I'm looking forward to all the scenic photographs that we'll be taking. Can't wait to get to Acadia National Park! All the photographs I've seen so far on the website are breathtaking! Now if we only had more time in port to take in everything. If we're taking the Island Shuttle, where do we pay the Entrance Fee?[/quote]

 

I've honestly never given when to pay much thought, but I think the the bus driver would have a head count and would pay at the booth at the start one way portion of the Park Loop Road. As I'm typing this, I realize this won't work unless the driver collects the fee as the passenger boards.

 

On your return, please post how it was actually done.

 

SBtS

 

For sure.. I'll let you know how we paid our Entrance Fee when I return in August. If you have any more tips/suggestions about Bar Harbor, please pass them along.

If you're still visiting TH, and looking for gorgeous scenery, then I would suggest hiking the Ocean Path which parallels the Park Loop Road from Sand Beach to Otter Cliffs, The trail goes right by TH.

 

SBtS

If you plan on going to Thunder Hole ... just check when high tide is ... your will want to be there sometime a little before or a little after ... otherwise it doesn't really thunder!!! Jan

 

check out this link for the tides https://www.weatherforyou.com/reports/index.php?locid=209&forecast=tides&alt=tides&hwvSmon=7&syear=2017 Hate to see people stop and not be able to see the beauty of the ocean.

If all you want to do is to visit Thunder Hole, and are not interested in going to the summit of Cadillac Mountain or any of the other stops then the Island Explorer is the way to go. You could stay at TH as long as you want, not just the 20 minutes allowed by the tour.

 

Again, if you are only interested in TH, then you should use the route #3 bus which starts and ends at the Bar Harbor Village Green; and if you want to expand your tour, you can always board a route #4 bus which does the entire Park Loop Road but the route starts and ends at the Visitor's Center not the BH Village Green.

 

SBtS

We will be cruising into Bar Harbor at the end of July. Planning to visit Acadia National Park and debating on whether to use the Island Explorer free shuttle or to take a 2.5 hours guided tour with a tour company. I'm leaning towards using the Island Explorer to get there because this would allow us to take in the sights and explore at our leisure rather than being restricted to the tour bus time limit. We really just want to visit the Thunder Hole and take pictures. Any thoughts about the pros of using the Acadia National Park Tour instead of the free shuttle?

Always go with B as with A Royal makes some money extra and you pay for it! Bank fees under B are lower and exchange rate is better.

 

 

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Wow... thanks to everyone for their advice. Great discussion! I will stick with Option B.

Just completed our on-line check-in for our July cruise out of Baltimore. With the falling Canadian dollar, would like some advice from fellow Canadians on which preferred Currency conversion option to use to our best advantage. I chose Option B.. but wouldn't mind getting some advice from fellow CC members. Thanks!

Please select your preferred currency conversion from the options below:

·AI choose to pay my onboard changes in the currency of my card. I chooseto use Royal Caribbean International's currency conversion program. This currencyconversion transaction is bason on wholesale exchange rates collected fromBloomberg plus 3 percent international currency conversion fee. My Choice tohave charges billed in the currency of my card is final. I accept that theexchange rate used will be the rate in effect at the time the amounts arecharged to my card.

·BI choose to have my credit card issuer convert my onboard changes to thecurrency of my card in lieu of participating in the Royal Caribbean Internationalcurrency conversion program

I

We did the Infinity Alaska Hubbard Glacier cruise from July 31 - August 7, 2016. Just wondering if anyone kept track of the nautical miles from Vancouver BC to the Hubbard Glacier (roundtrip) so I can add this info to my photo album. Thanks!!