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Bella0714

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Everything posted by Bella0714

  1. You quoted me! Who else were you referring to?
  2. I wasn’t going to tell them their choices are not good. But having never been to Antarctica, some people might not realize what not stepping on the continent or land means. That’s why I asked. If I was happy just seeing Antarctica, I’d be very happy with a drive-by. If I wanted to see wildlife and icebergs up close, I wouldn’t be happy. As for cost, the OP is considering Oceania, so that’s obviously not a major consideration. Don’t assume the worst of people.
  3. Just wondering why stepping on land in Antarctica is not important.
  4. I recommend keeping a steady eye on websites that sell cruises, the websites of companies that go to Antarctica and also the homesites of cruise companies for deals. We got to Antarctica this past winter for under $3,000 person on a luxury ship with 150 passengers.
  5. Atlas through an online travel agent. It was actually $2900 each. Early March and plenty of penguins. Not as many as early February but still plenty, plus more seals and whales. I’ve seen recent reports about plenty of penguins in late March, too. You won’t get wall to wall penguins, but they’re there.
  6. If Antarctica is your main priority, you can do $3900 or thereabouts for an expedition cruise with landings. We did it for less than that in early March. Flexibility is the key because the fares might not show up until a month or so before sailing. As for $10,000 a day, and without last-minute planning, I'm seeing expeditions for next December on Hurtigruten's Norwegian website that are $6200 a person; five days in Antarctica with landings. I'm also seeing expedition cruises with two landings a day on Atlas for $7500 and less, including the flight from B.A. to Antarctica, and on Quark on some of the cruise wholesaler sites. You might be happy with a drive-by if scenery and ice are your priorities, although there's nothing like Zodiac cruising around a harbor of icebergs (no guarantee you'll get that). As for wildlife, other than whales, landings are the way to go. Keep in mind that penguins are small and not easy to see from a distance, nor are seals. We were kayaking in Antarctica last month and didn't realize until we looked at the photos that the dots in the distance on the hillside were penguins.
  7. Jean-Roch was our expedition leader on the February 27 sailing. I thought he was great. One of the most memorable mornings was when we Zodiac-cruised in what he called a graveyard of icebergs while he provided commentary. We thought the expedition team, which included many of the people you had, was superb. I loved how they stationed members at different areas of the landing sites to give mini lectures and answer questions.
  8. Okay, we can drop this, but I'm seeing $5,500-$6,500 for next season, not next month.
  9. I don't think I'm allowed to mention travel agents, but there's a reputable one in Ushuaia that is currently offing $5995 for a double in late February and $5295 for a triple in mid-March. In early November, we received an offer from them for a really nice trip on a ship with less than 200 passengers that went into the Weddell Sea and the west side of the peninsula for about $5,000 pp in a double. And I just booked on another very reputable cruise website for nine days (four days in Antarctica) on Atlas Ocean Voyagers for $2,970 pp. They're still showing that rate for early March and for $5,500 next year. I thought it has to be a mistake, but it wasn't. I agree that booking directly with the cruise company, it's hard to find those rates, although I'm seeing $6400 pp for 12 days at Hurtigruten.no for next season. It's on one of their bigger ships but still under 500 passengers, and reports, I'm reading these days on FB say they've been doing two landings or a landing and a zodiac on many days.
  10. True, but you can easily find ships that do landings for between $5000 and $6000 per person.
  11. In my opinion, there is no comparison between looking down at a glacier from far away on a big ship to looking up at a glacier from relatively close on a small boat. I’d say go for it with the small ship excursion at Hubbard.
  12. You’d be missing quite a bit by not taking excursions, but that’s not the question I would ask: “Should I still go to Alaska even if I can’t take excursions?” I’d say yes to that. It’s such a beautiful, otherworldly place. Find a cruise that spends a day in Glacier Bay. That alone will be worth the price. Take the bus to Mendenhall Glacier and walk the trails. You might see bears. Get out on the lower decks of the ship with a decent pair of binoculars and look for whales. Watch the beauty float by.
  13. This ship looks like it will be more environmentally friendly than other RCL ships. If that turns out to be true, I’d sail on it for that reason alone.
  14. We’ll be in STT on Jan. 18 on Grandeur of the Seas. The port schedule that day is as follows: 7 a.m.-4 p.m.: Symphony of the Seas, 5500 passengers 8-6: our ship, 2500 pass. 10-10: Princess, 3500 passengers 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m.: NCL 4000 passengers Sounds like a zoo-like day for beaches, but I’m wondering if we can sneak in three relatively less-crowded hours in the morning at Magens Bay before the last two ships arrive, or will 8000 passengers already make for crowded conditions? Also thinking of going to St. John because it figures to be a little less crowded there, but who knows? Trunk is a pretty big beach and there are places to escape. Any thoughts on how busy it will be? Thanks, Dave
  15. Thanks for your replies. We’re trying to decide what to do that day. A ship with 5500 passengers gets in an hour before us, then a ship with 3500 gets in two hours after us and another with 4000 another hour and a half after that, so it’s a busy day. We’ve never been to Megan’s Bay, but I’m wondering if we could get a few hours of relatively uncrowded beach before the 10:00 cruise arrives or if the combination of our ship and the ship with 5000 is going to make for zoo-like conditions even without the other two ships. But I’m sure Trunk Bay will be pretty crowded, too, so I’m not sure if Trunk will be much of an escape.
  16. Hi, everyone. My wife and I will be on Grandeur of the Seas on January 18. The port time is 8 a.m.-6 p.m. I'm assuming all-aboard time will be 5:30 p.m.; is that usually correct? As for getting off the ship in the morning, does Royal Caribbean let everyone get off at once or do people with excursions have priority. I'm asking because we might want to make the 9 a.m. Red Hook ferry to St. John, but the next ferry isn't until 10, and if we don't get off in time to make the 9 a.m. Red Hook ferry, we might as well take the 10 a.m. Charlotte Amalie ferry. On the return, we'll just take the 4:15 ferry to Crown Bay. Thanks, Dave
  17. Laszlo: If you’re just trying to avoid the long taxi ride and just want 5 or 6 hours in St. John, why not take the Crown Bay or Charlotte Amalie ferries? The ferry ride is longer but it’s really nice. We prefer it to the bumpy taxi to Red Hook. The Crown Bay ferry has the added advantage of dropping you off down the hill from The Roti King.
  18. flCraigs5: We’ve been on short Caribbean cruises on Princess.We enjoyed them. We went to Antarctica on Hurtigruten and only would go there on a smaller ship because landing is important. I didn’t realize the large ships were allowed to go there anymore. I thought they’d been banned.
  19. We were in St. John last February and there were lots of chairs to rent at Trunk.
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