Borrillje

Our Celebrity Cruise is overnighting in Dubrovnik in July. We also stop in Split and Zadar. I'm thinking of booking an independent tour through Viator for our first day that goes across the border into Bosnia Herzegovina for the day. We'd have to do in on our first day as most of them are about 10-11 hours long, it seems. Has anyone done this? Any input, tips? Thanks in advance! 

Hi! I apologize as I'm sure this has been addressed before but I'm not finding much by searching. We just booked a July cruise on Celebrity that leaves from "Venice," but the port is listed as Ravenna. According to Google maps, Ravenna is over 2 hours from Venice, and much closer to Bologna. Is this correct? We used FBC and booked a flight into Venice, but now I'm wondering if we should have flown to Bologna instead. 

For those that have experience with this region - assuming we stay in Venice for a couple days, pre-cruise, would it be easier to travel down to Ravenna the night before departure? We sail at 5 pm. 

Any and all tips and advice appreciated!

Super excited to say that we met him too! Right in front of the cruise port - just yesterday. Felt like we met a celebrity, LOL! 

3 hours ago, scili said:

We will be arriving at PPT at 8:40 PM, staying overnight at Hotel Sarah Nui and take the Ferry to Moreea (Hilton)  the next morning.  Would appreciate advice on pre-arranged shuttle or taxi.  It seems to me that the quoted shared shuttle referred by the hotels (which is priced per person, 2500 xfp for 2 in PPT and 3200 xfp for 2 in Moreea) cost about the same as taxi fares.  A taxi would be less stressful in case of flight delay or missed ferry and need to take the next one.  Thanks.

We just did this in late December. A few tips:

We'd booked our hotel shuttle with the assumption that we'd be taking the 7:30 am ferry. Our flight was not delayed, but we were seated toward the back - about 95% of the 500 or so people on the plane were in the customs line ahead of us. When it became apparent that we would not make it through line in time to make the 7:30 am shuttle, I stopped one of the security guards and explained or problem.  He moved us up through the line. There were tons of taxis at the airport so that was no problem. We made the ferry, and then the shuttle in Moorea. The shuttle guy told us that they would have waited, regardless. 

But there were tons of taxis at the ferry port so even if the hotel shuttle hadn't waited we still could have easily found our way to the hotel. 

Enjoy your trip. I think the Hilton has the nicest overwater bungalows on Moorea! 

Hi! Just an update. The Raiatea Jet excursion with Jeremie was absolutely wonderful and probably the best day of the cruise. Thanks for the recommendation!!! 

On 11/6/2018 at 1:34 AM, skitrips said:

1. Which is the private island day?

A) Day four

2. Is it the Tahaa day?

A) Yes

3. Is it possible to book private excursions that day?

A) Yes. But I recommend spending the afternoon on the motu. Shuttles throughout the day.

4. I've read that there may be something happening on a motu at Bora Bora? Or maybe Raiatea?

A) It's Bora Bora. Motu Tapu.

5. Something about a show w/local performers? Is there more than one event? 

A) No. Only one event.

Recommend direct booking jet ski tour the day of your Raiatea stop. Jeremie at Raiatea Jet Ski. Did the day long private tour of Taha'a from Raiatea. Stops at rum distillery, pearl factory tour, coral gardens for snorkeling, stop for lunch on a private motu, vanilla plantation, and then back to Raiatea. And all on a jet ski! Incredible excursion and the cost is only $250 for two (lunch not included in price)!

Enjoy your cruise. We've done it twice (enjoyed it so much the first time). And hope you are able to book your air out of SFO on UAL - Under $700/person, round trip!

Hi!

   Just an update - I emailed Raiatea Jet Ski today and booked the Tahaa tour with them - for our Raiatea day. Thanks so much for the recommendation. I think we have all of our port days planned now. So excited. Fingers crossed for some good weather while we're there!

Thanks again!

:) 

On 11/5/2018 at 6:54 AM, LocoLoco1 said:

I wouldn't Rent a Car there. I found BEST way to snoop was to hire a local driver with a Mini-van right near the Pier and tell her/him 'Take me ALL the way around the Island'. $Cheap$. They know the Archeologic points of interest and places to get food and cocktail etc.

Are there a lot of private drivers at the dock? We will be there in early January and we're not finding the ship's excursions appealing, and I'm struggling to find a private tour company. Would much prefer to find someone who can take us specifically where we want to go. Would appreciate any tips/info.
Thanks!

Thanks for all the input. Does anyone recall if there were a lot of options available for those who simply walk off the boat in Raiatea? Are there cabs that will take you to the Marea? Or a pearl farm or vanilla factory? Or would we better off planning something in advance? 

Thanks!

Do either of you recall if there was a beach close to the pier in Raiatea? (I'm leaning toward the jet ski excursion but I'd like a back-up plan.) Obviously the water sports platform won't be in use if we're docked. If there's not a good beach in walking distance, were there cabs available to get to one? Or an accessible motu for swimming, etc? None of the Windstar excursions look super appealing for that day. 

Thanks so very much! This is all very helpful information! :) 

Hello All!

    We will be on the 7 night sailing out of Tahiti on January 3rd. I'm trying to plan our activities for each day. The Windstar website is a bit vague regarding some details I'd like to have. I'm reaching out to those who've done this cruise recently for some extra info. 

1. Which is the private island day? Is it the Tahaa day? If so, do you recall if it was possible to book private excursions that day? (I only ask because on one one of the Caribbean routes the Virgin Gorda stop was on the private island, and the only way to actually get to Virgin Gorda was to book a Windstar excursion - otherwise you were limited to the private island.)

2. I've read that there may be something happening on a motu at Bora Bora? Or maybe Raiatea? Something about a show w/ local performers? Is there more than one event? 

Basically I'm just hoping someone elaborate a little more re: the above and what happens at each stop. 

Thanks in advance!
:) Jeanne 

We are on the Oceania Marina leaving PPT on January 21. It is a 10 night cruse. We get into PPT early morning of January 18. Julia

Ah. We will be leaving as you’re arriving. Have fun!

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We are arriving very early morning 3 days before our cruise out of Papeete and are staying at the Hilton resort on Moorea for those 3 days. We know there is a ferry from Papeete to Moorea. My questions are do you have to pre purchase the tickets for the ferry before the day you arrive and are there taxis at the landing in Moorea to take us to the resort?

 

Thanks so much for any info. We go this coming January 2019. Julia

Hi! We're doing the same thing in January of 2019. Which cruise are you on?

Hi!

My husband and I are planning a long'ish vacation in January of 2019. (It has to be late December through early February due to work schedule reasons.) Ideally, we'd like to due a Windstar Bora-Bora cruise with some days added on one end. Our back up is a trip to the Maldives. My concern is the weather. I understand that January is the rainy season and the weather can be iffy. I'd be devastated if we planned this amazing trip and it rained the whole time.

So what is anybody's experience with the weather in this part of the world? Who has cruised or visited that region at that time of year? Should we risk it or move on to choice # two?

Thanks in advance for the help!

:) Jeanne

We really have no idea which beach to go to while in Barbados. We are true beach bums-- don't need much but drinks, a place to potty and a beautiful beach. DH likes to snorkel but not a must. Which would you recommend?

I can't say enough about Lobster Alive. It is next to the Boatyard but far less crowded and much quieter. Two chairs, an umbrella and 3 rum punches for $15 US. Both are on Carlisle Bay, which features clean white sand, calm waters and ocean the color of Tanqueray. There are occasional vendors, but they're all licensed and will not bother you if you just say "no thanks." The Boatyard has lots of water sports and amenities - and I'm pretty sure you can walk over and use them if you'd like. But if you just want to enjoy the beach and some delicious rum punch, go to LA.

We were just there two weeks ago for the 2nd time and it was amazing!

Hi!

Just got of the Jewel. We stayed at the Casablanca in Old Town for two nights prior to leaving. Our room didn’t have working AC. We were warned of this at booking. They had two standing fans running in the room and we slept like babies. The elevator isn’t working but staff took the bags up/down for us.

The hotel restaurant is open for lunch & dinner.

The forts, Bacardi factory and most shops/restaurants are open. A few places are still “cash only.” The ATM in front of the hotel worked fine.

Old Town was well lit & crowded. We walked everywhere and felt safe. Not much damage to see. Taxis were plentiful.

In other words, it’s getting back to normal. :)

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Try the boutique hotels in old San Juan they don't have all the bells and whistles that resorts do but very quaint. Currently staying at the Casablanca Hotel in Old San Juan has been a great experience.

 

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Hi! We have a reservation for Casablanca for this coming Friday and Saturday. Our reservations says the room is discounted because there is no air conditioning. Do you have AC? Are there rooms that don't, to your knowledge? I've tried to call the hotel directly several times over the past few days and I continually get a busy signal. If we can't reach them to confirm AC I may switch to our "back up" reservation at the Water and Beach Club. Would prefer not to though. I love the Casablanca. Any input would be really appreciated!

TIA!

Jeanne

I agree. I think most of locals have a lot more to worry about right now than taking a cruise. So sad for those that were affected by this horrible storm. :(

 

My January 7th cruise is far from full. We are well past final payment, and cannot take advantage of the lowered pricing of course. The only thing I can do now is to keep watch and perhaps score an inexpensive upgrade. Luckily we booked very early for our flight on Jet Blue, which was a good price at that time. :)

We're on the December 10th Jewel sailing. I called a couple weeks ago - WELL past our final payment - and was able to upgrade from an inside room on Deck 2 to balcony on Deck 8 - for the exact same price. Its worth the call if you're sailing soon. Try it!

We made hotel reservations through Booking.com. We've had three cancel. We have three left. I've called all three directly this week and confirmed that we're good to go. Now we just have to decide which one we're gonna use...

Happy sailing everyone!

Hi!

I've been to Antigua on a cruise stop once previously, about 3 years ago. We went to Turner's Beach - so I can't help with input on the beaches you're interested in. Sorry. But I would suggest that you check the Frommer's travel website. I used them to choose a beach for our day there. You may find it a little helpful. Hope you enjoy your day there!

Jeanne

I'm loving reading all of these posts. I'm a planner/stresser as well. I get it. :cool:

We're leaving on the Jewel on December 10th so I'm having the extra stress of playing hotel room bingo and wondering where we'll end up sleeping in San Juan. I also made the mistake of reading a bunch of threads about people being left behind at ports. We always do private excursions so now I'm having "what if we were left behind" anxiety too! Totally self-inflicted! LOL!

Here's to all of us planners and worriers out there. :hearteyes:

Our reservation at Tres Palmas for December 8th and 9th (pre-cruise on the 10th) was just cancelled. It had been confirmed directly with the hotel as recently as November 5th. We still have 3 back-ups. Fingers crossed.

We are sailing out of SJ on the RC Jewel on December 10th. We've had two hotels cancel - The Sheraton Old San Juan, and, just a few days ago, the Holiday Inn Express Condado. We presently have reservations at 4 hotels. Two of them are on the FEMA contract list. Fingers crossed. Our flight down there is actually on Friday the 8th. We'd planned on going on a tour on Saturday. Probably just be a beach day now. Flying down the day of the cruise just makes me nervous - but two nights in the airport would be awful, too!

Thanks for the posts, everybody!

We are sailing out of SJ on the RC Jewel on December 10th. We've had two hotels cancel - The Sheraton Old San Juan, and, just a few days ago, the Holiday Inn Express Condado. We presently have reservations at 4 hotels. Two of them are on the FEMA contract list. Fingers crossed. Our flight down there is actually on Friday the 8th. We'd planned on going on a tour on Saturday. Probably just be a beach day now. Flying down the day of the cruise just makes me nervous - but two nights in the airport would be awful, too!

Thanks for the posts, everybody!

I'm curious about this, too. Following! :)

Yesterday. Was our stop in Martinique. We didn’t book an excursion here and just got off the ship and walked around town. We got a map of the points of interest from the ship. It was definitely the hottest day we had. Contrary to what we read ahead of time, no one was rude, plenty of people spoke English, and they took dollars. The exchange rate is .86 eu = $1, so they make .14 per dollar, but for us it was close enough for small stuff. If I were buying a high ticket item here I’d use a credit card that has no foreign transaction fees. We spoke with people who did a kayaking excursion here and ones that did a sea turtle on and they all enjoyed their excursions.

 

Since yesterday was Halloween, the ship was completely decorated! There was a party on the Promenade and a lot of people were in costume. There were some pretty creative people on board.

 

We saw the theater show, Jackpot, which wasn’t very good. Having just sailed on NCL two months ago it’s been pretty easy to compare and RCL is falling short here.

 

We’ve continued to meet people from PR and I’m amazed at how resilient they are. No one we’ve met has had power since Maria and one family hasn’t had it since Irma. They have no plans to leave their country as it is home. Whatever resources they have are shared with family and friends. The cruise has been a welcome break for them,

 

We’ve arrived in St. Lucia which is going to be a ship day for us. I’m looking forward to some pool time!

Hi!

I'm curious about Martinique. Did you see any taxis or tour companies waiting for people to walk off the ship and hire them for the day? We don't have anything booked there for our December stop. I prefer to use local guides, but I've been concerned about the language barrier. I've also read that there aren't a lot of people waiting at the pier who can be hired on the spot for a day tour.

Thanks!