Mah Jongg

4 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Here is the Buenos Aires excursion we are going on tomorrow. Hopefully, we will only see the same number of mosquitoes as we saw today - 1. 🤞

  

 

We have the same taste in excursions. This one was a very pleasant cruise with interesting things to look at along the way. There was a grocery store boat that delivered food to people along the river, rowing clubs and as stated some beautiful homes. Lots of birds too. Enjoy!

6 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Good morning from Punta Arenas!

  

 

 

It was definitely breakfast time behind the ship for the local Kelp Gulls! 😂

 

 
Punta Arenas is a tender port. 

 

 
Looks like we will be wearing our coats today, but at least there is no rain in the forecast until later this evening! 😁

 
This is the penguin excursion we will be going on today! 
 

 

We have also done this excursion. Very interesting.

We have also done this trip on Princess. We will enjoy reliving it with your pictures and commentary. Hope you have a great time.

Your "Live From ..." always brings back great memories for us. We will be following along.

Thank you Ken, I have enjoyed reliving this cruise. Have a safe trip home.

1 hour ago, twangster said:

 

Genuinely curious how many would sail for 50 nights.  I'm sure some would, but how many?

 

 

I would 

Here is a picture from the dress up day. There were several Japanese ladies who helped us dress. They were so much fun. They also gave us some origami earrings and bookmarks, so nice. We really enjoyed our cruise on the Diamond. Thank you for bringing back the great memories. 

Ken,

A few things that has left memories with me from our ship experience was a japanese dress up morning and breaking the barrel of saka when we left port. Also we had a fun painting competition where 2 teams of 3 ladies (1 was me 🙂) took turns painting a canvas. The results were fun mix. Hope you enjoy the ride, of course you will love the ports.

We will be following you too. 

We were on the same ship in 2019 for a similar cruise and a TP home. We have visited all the ports you are visiting either on that cruise or a land tour we did years ago. We will do a TP from LA to Yokohama in fall 2024. I am following along to see what other options are available. BTW we used the Goodwill guides in several port, and did the same excursions in Kanazawa, Toba and Busan.

2 hours ago, Texaggie said:

Hello:

Originally our ship was suppose to stop at Bora Bora, but due to changes in the law we are not now. Ship is too large. Anyway, I do not know that I will be in the area in the future and being advanced age, ie older, I was considering taking a flight to Bora Bora and staying the night. It is high on my bucket list. Has anyone done this? Are the flights reliable? Is Bora Bora more beautiful than the other islands? I would appreciate any insights on this.

 

We might be interested too.

Been there many years ago. Very beautiful. Just don't know if it is feasible.

9 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

You peaked my interest, so I asked some folks on the other cruise line CC forums we sail with, Princess and Celebrity, and from what I’ve found out so far, neither one of them attaches a basic room service charge, at least not for orders placed between 6 am and 11 pm, other than maybe for certain items ordered that have an individual upcharge.
 

But, I’m sure there are others that do. 

Ok, I was off on the exact time. For us 6 am is too early and 11am is lunch 😊.

41 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Just a little tidbit we leaned today that we hadn't experienced on any other cruise line we've sailed on. But then again, we very seldom ever order room service.

 

Our son, who just got back yesterday from a 10-day Caribbean cruise on the Getaway, just gave us a heads up when it comes to ordering room service, or at least this is what he experienced on his cruise. Basically, there was a $15 room service charge posted to his account when they delivered one chicken dinner and two Coke Zeros, even though he had purchased the soda package. The breakdown of the $15 charge was $8 for the room service itself and $3.50 each for the two Coke Zeros. Needless to say, that was the first and last time he ordered room service on the cruise.

Most cruise lines allow a continental breakfast order from 7-10 am for no charge. The rest of the day/night is a $7.95 charge for delivery and a charge for any food or beverage items as noted on the menu. We often order coffee in the am and skip breakfast. Not familiar with NCL, but have done this procedure for years, and it has always been the same.

We leave tomorrow for Athens - see you there!😁

We're onboard too! We will be following your commentary...

19 minutes ago, fsjosh said:

https://gls.portstmaarten.sx/sxm/MainMenu.aspx?ShipScheduleType=2

 

wrong link. I need 2024-25 Deployment Thread.

4 hours ago, Jumping Cruiser said:

 

Icon of the Seas - St Maarten Port Bookings 2023

 

Some port bookings finally started to show up for Icon, with the first call in St Maarten scheduled for 24th October 2023. With the frequency of bookings, its probably highly likely that Icon will do 7-day Eastern/Western Caribbean rotations from Miami, as expected. To see further bookings for 2024/25, check out the 2024-25 Deployment Thread.

 

Icon OTS - 24th October 2023

Icon OTS - 7th November 2023

Icon OTS - 5th December 2023

Icon OTS - 19th December 2023

Can't seem to find it - can someone offer the link? Thank you

We bought mine in Moorea, but it has been years ago. Wish I could be of more help.

We are on Anthem and just booked last Junior Suite Gty for $2323 usd total.

We just returned from 23 days of cruising where we used Spain Day Tours for Palma de Mallorca tour to Valldemossa. Our tour was well planned and the sights were spectacular. We have used Spain Day Tours in the past and they always have a great tour. Easy to communicate with and always on time. You can't go wrong with them.

4 hours ago, Jela said:

Did you buy a day pass for the lodge? Did they shuttle you back to the tender pier? This place looks wonderful.

We have never been on Voyager before, but love this size ship. Our future cruse on her is Sept./2022. Looking forward to leaning more about the ship here - thanks for starting the thread. 

6 minutes ago, Mah Jongg said:

We are on this cruise too. I am also interested in what we can do in the ports.  We have been to Hawaii, Mo'orea, and Tahiti a few times, so we are especially interested in ideas for the other islands.

PS I like to snorkel from the shore, not so much from a boat (I am not a great swimmer). Husband is great swimmer and used to dive. We aren't interested in the pearl and vanilla farms either. Maybe a beautiful beach near the port to visit for the day? 

4 hours ago, Daniel A said:

Here's a question for the experienced South Pacific cruisers:  Do we need to pack insect repellant?  Is there a recommended repellant?

The one we use is BugX30 insect repellent towelette. It was recommended by our doctor who also travels a lot.

On 5/8/2021 at 5:26 AM, BillericayUK said:

◄ Jan 2023	February  2023					Mar 2023 ►
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18   San Diego Depart 1800
19 SEA DAY	20 SEA DAY	21 SEA DAY	22 SEA DAY	23 SEA DAY	24 Hilo, HI Arrive 0800 Depart 1800	25 Honolulu, HI Arrive 0700   OVERNIGHT
26 Honolulu, HI Depart 2300	27   Lahaina Maui, HI Arrive 0800 Depart 1700	28 SEA DAY

 

◄ Feb 2023	March  2023					Apr 2023 ►
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
			1 SEA DAY Cross International Date Line	2 SEA DAY	3   Kiritimati, Christmas Island, Kiribati Arrive 0800 Depart 0700	4 SEA DAY Cross Equator and International Date Line
5   Bora Bora, French Polynesia   Arrive 1400 OVERNIGHT	6   Bora Bora, French Polynesia   Depart 2300	7   Raiatea, Society Islands, French Polynesia Arrive 0800 Depart 1700	8   Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia Arrive 0800 OVERNIGHT	9   Papeete Depart 0500   Moorea Arrive 0800 Depart 1700	10   Maroe Bay, Huahine Iti, French Polynesia Arrive 0800 Depart 1700	11   Avatoru, Rangiroa, French Polynesia Arrive 0800 Depart 1700
12 SEA DAY	13   Fakarava, Tuamotu French Polynesia Arrive 0800 Depart 1700	14 SEA DAY	15 SEA DAY	16   Taiohae, Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia Arrive 0800 Depart 1700	17 SEA DAY	18 SEA DAY
19 SEA DAY	20 SEA DAY Cross Equator	21 SEA DAY	22 SEA DAY	23 SEA DAY	24 SEA DAY	25   San Diego Arrive 0700   DISEMBARK
26	27	28	29	30	31

 

On this itinerary we are okay for information on Hawaii and we have already booked lagoon tours for Bora Bora and Moorea with recommended vendors as I had guessed from reading that 80% of the population of FP live on Tahiti there would be a supply issue on the smaller islands

 

However can anyone provide advice on my cruise for islands other than Hawaii, Bora Bora & Moorea :-

 

Are there any islands where we can just get off the ship and wander to a nice beach without the need to pre book an excursion?

 

Are there any islands where the scenery is so spectacular that for a 1st time visitor it should take a priority over the beach option?

 

Are there any islands which have a 'must do'? 

 

Best island to see real rural island life?

 

I am reading and researching about the islands and accept that every island is someones idea of paradise but any first hand comments would be welcomed

 

We are on this cruise too. I am also interested in what we can do in the ports.  We have been to Hawaii, Mo'orea, and Tahiti a few times, so we are especially interested in ideas for the other islands.

Any ideas what is happening with Serenade of the Seas March and April 2022?