Bama1896

I was just browsing through some of the Splendor itineraries and noted that in Grand Cayman there are two excursions that require a doctors note to participate in if you are over 70. Given the extremely active passengers on Regent - many above 70, what do you think of this restriction?

 

Below is a description of one of the excursions (2 person activity level)

 

STINGRAY SANDBAR SWIM

 

Experience the graceful beauty of one of Grand Cayman's undersea denizens up-close during this stingray swim and snorkeling tour.

One of the most popular excursions on Grand Cayman is a visit to the world-famous Stingray City Sandbar in the North Sound, where you can snorkel and wade among these friendly Southern stingrays. It is one of the few locations in the world where man can interact with these shy creatures in their natural habitat.

Depart the pier for the brief drive to your snorkeling boat. Upon arrival, you will embark your boat and cruise to the sandbar. Here, you will feed and play with these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat, where the water depth ranges from 3-5 feet.

Following your swim with the stingrays, you will be transferred back to the pier and ship.

Please note: This tour is recommended for active guests in good physical condition. This tour is not recommended for guests with limited mobility or guests who utilize a wheelchair. Guests are advised to wear a swimsuit under a cover-up, sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses, and bring a towel from the ship. Snorkeling gear is included, and allows for better viewing of the stingrays. There is neither coral nor fish at the sandbar. The maximum age is 70 years old unless the guest has a note from their doctor that they are able to participate.

 

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Regent has had people sign waivers for years to take some excursions - that is not a big deal In my opinion. The issue many of us have on excursions is people with walking issues taking excursions that require a lot of walking/hiking/stairs. In terms of insurance, people fall and hurt themselves on excursions (and getting onto and off of tenders) - even when they are young and able bodied. Not sure how Regent deals with that.

 

Not sure how I feel about this - just checking to see what the small percentage of Regent cruisers on this board feel. I'm also not trying to argue with you (just to be clear) but thought that it was important to bring up the waivers and the number of "accidents" that happen regularly where age is not a factor.

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I was just browsing through some of the Splendor itineraries and noted that in Grand Cayman there are two excursions that require a doctors note to participate in if you are over 70. Given the extremely active passengers on Regent - many above 70, what do you think of this restriction?

 

Below is a description of one of the excursions (2 person activity level)

 

STINGRAY SANDBAR SWIM

 

Experience the graceful beauty of one of Grand Cayman's undersea denizens up-close during this stingray swim and snorkeling tour.

One of the most popular excursions on Grand Cayman is a visit to the world-famous Stingray City Sandbar in the North Sound, where you can snorkel and wade among these friendly Southern stingrays. It is one of the few locations in the world where man can interact with these shy creatures in their natural habitat.

Depart the pier for the brief drive to your snorkeling boat. Upon arrival, you will embark your boat and cruise to the sandbar. Here, you will feed and play with these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat, where the water depth ranges from 3-5 feet.

Following your swim with the stingrays, you will be transferred back to the pier and ship.

Please note: This tour is recommended for active guests in good physical condition. This tour is not recommended for guests with limited mobility or guests who utilize a wheelchair. Guests are advised to wear a swimsuit under a cover-up, sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses, and bring a towel from the ship. Snorkeling gear is included, and allows for better viewing of the stingrays. There is neither coral nor fish at the sandbar. The maximum age is 70 years old unless the guest has a note from their doctor that they are able to participate.

 

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Dilena, we didn't take their transfer so I don't know what the charge was. I think they had a very early transfer like 6:00 because they said those with an early transfer would not be paged over the intercom. I would check with HAL.

We were at Oceankaj 330.

Our problems with Oceankaj 330 were different from those in May. We had an overnight before disembarkation. Just to get off the ship and into town via city bus took 2 hrs on Mon, July 7. It took 40 minutes to buy a CPH card at the stand and then an hour in line for the 20 minute bus ride. We never saw any indication of a special shuttle except that offered by the cruise line for $12 one-way. There are two city busses an hour at :13 and :53. It’s a full 2 mile walk to the S-train at Nordhavn. We were the only ship docked there those two days.

While we were waiting for our bus, it started raining and the line got nasty with people trying to board across the street (some successfully), breaking in line, pushing, shouting, etc. My guess is it may have gotten even nastier after our bus left. At disembarkation on July 8, there was what appeared to be a bus line or port official who said “another bus is coming in 5 minutes” but over the course of 20 minutes, we only saw the scheduled bus. He didn’t direct anyone to a special shuttle. On July 8, we disembarked at 8:25 and got on the second scheduled bus at 9:13.

As we walked to the bus stop at disembarkation, I did notice there were a number of cabs and there wasn’t a line waiting to use them. But we were the only ship in port and we did disembark before the group of independent travelers was called.

We just came off Eurodam after a Copenhagen overnight. They send a package around to gather information about your flight departure and I recommend you talk to them about what time to depart and potentially buy their transfer package (which you can do onboard). Several of the passengers we talked to had independently traveled to the ship and said they were taking the ship's transfer because it was about the same price as the taxi to the ship.

We had a 7:45am United/SAS FLT the day after disembarkation and it took us almost an hour to get boarding passes, check luggage, through security and to the gate.

On the day we disembarked at about 8:30, there were many cabs waiting and no line. We were also the only ship in port that day.

We were in Copenhagen July 7-8, 2014 on the Eurodam and there was no mention or sign of a special shuttle except the one for $24 round trip that I think was sponsored by Holland America (and that was only on the 7th).

Because or problems that happened on the 7th due to long lines and frustration by passengers, there was what appeared to be an official from the bus line at the bus stop on the 8th. He didn't mention any kind of shuttle, but starting after the 8:53 bus left, he did say repeatedly that another bus was due in 5 minutes. He even said it after the 9:13 bus arrived so maybe another was coming. We were at the bus stop from 8:25 until we got on the second bus at 9:13 and the regularly scheduled busses were the only ones we saw.

Copenhagen’s new Cruise Terminal, Oceankaj Quay 330, is where the larger cruise ships now make port. Open in spring 2014, this is the first year this port has been used. It is definitely not a smooth operation and both the city of Copenhagen and the cruise lines need to work together to improve it.

The public bus stop at the cruise terminal is Unicef and it is serviced by bus 26. It takes you straight through the center of town. There are two busses per hour at :13 and :53 minute after the hour and they only run until about 7pm. The S train makes a stop at Nordhavn St which is at the entrance to the Cruise Terminal but from there, it’s a 2 mile walk to the ship.