fvandewouwer

Just now, Schoifmom said:

They simply haven't posted the excursions for your cruise yet.  This could mean that they don't have any contracts for this time at those locations.  Just be patient, they're coming.

though so, being patient isn't my best quality

have a lovely day

booked a cruise for next year June, when I log into my account it appears so everything seem fine, but

when I go to the cruise manager and click on cruise excursions I get this message 

MAKING MORE FUN, COME BACK LATER

Right now we’re working on some improvements to cruise booking, so you temporarily won’t be able to make a new booking, make changes to an existing one, or check-in for a cruise online. Check back a little bit later — we’re scheduled to be done by today at 1 p.m. Eastern.

this is appearing for over a month now, is it too soon to check for excursions ? and if it is, when will they be released ?

would love to start planning and comparing

thanks

F

Thanks David, yes we did have an amazing time in Australia NZ and Singapore. If we do go back ..

And we will I will certainly post it on this topic. 

Have a great day.

Frieda

My apologies first for this late response, we just returned home and I did not have any internet while on holiday.

Your information, pictures and reviews are amazing, I have been reading them just now with some tears as we did not visit Cairns neither Airlee Beach due to high waves so tendering was, for our captain, out of the question. What was the intention of our cruise, snorkeling the GBR, has fallen literary into the water.

Still I am very happy with your post and will keep it for the future, GBR is put ‘again’ on top of my travel bucket list so it will one day become handy.

Thanks again for your time, we wish you a marvelous day

From Belgium

Frieda

On ‎1‎/‎17‎/‎2019 at 7:41 AM, vista03 said:

Helicopter to the GBR / Cruise Back

 

Last year I did a NCL Sydney to Singapore cruise. With our arrival and departure times it was almost impossible to find a private tour to the Great Barrier Reef. We arrived at 10:00 am in Cairns (Yorkeys Knob) which was too late to catch a snorkel cruise to the reef and we left the next day at 6:00 pm which was too early to get a snorkel cruise back from the reef in time.

 

The only private tour option that worked for us was to take a helicopter out to a pontoon on the first day in Cairns to catch up with the snorkel cruise. We then came back via water with the snorkel cruise. Helicopter flights can be expensive, but the best part was this private tour was cheaper than the snorkel cruise tour offered by NCL!!! We paid less money and got a bonus helicopter flight.

 

The flight over the reef on a sunny day is spectacular! This by far was the highlight of my cruise!! The lone downside was only getting 2 hours of snorkelling. I love to snorkel. Though I would have preferred more snorkel time it was enough time to see some of the GBR. I think the beautiful helicopter flight made up for the shorter time at the reef.

 

We booked with Nautilus Aviation and did the Fly/Cruise option. We were on Down Under Cruise and Dive’s boat. It was very modern vessel and had a semi-submersible for my friend that did not want to snorkel. Last year we paid $356 AUD (around $255 USD). The current brochure on Nautilus Aviation website is listing $389 AUD (currently around $279 USD).

https://www.nautilusaviation.com.au

 

Nautilus picked us up at Yorkeys Knob and transferred us to the airport. We tried unsuccessfully to get on the first tender (ships tours had priority) but were still able to make our tour. Nautilus did wait for us and we made it to the airport in ample time. They also provided transportation back to Yorkeys Knob.

after checking and rechecking we have booked the tour offered by Royal out of Cairns and the only reason why is time( a tender port can be tricky to get off in time ) but your tour seems amazing. We just love helicopter rides and adore snorkelling so this is a combination of our 2 favourite things. Thanks for your reply.

19 hours ago, windsor26 said:

 

The weather is very very rough at present did the GBR yesterday and gales and rain but an enjoyable day we booked direct with silver and paid $251 AUD but had more than 4 hours on board complete with meals and snacks  I  think this may be tool long for a cruise day

so sorry for the bad weather, which one did you book ? and how did you manage to be onboard in time ( tender ) did you have enough time ? thanks for more info

14 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

This is not a personal recommendation as I have not done their tours, but I have seen this company mentioned favourably a few times on this forum.

Have you looked at Zealandier Tours ?

 

One of their cruise ship tours out of Tauranga is listed as Wai O Tapu Geothermal Wonderland Combo Tour.

It is a private tour, can be booked for only 2 persons, with an eight hour duration....timings to suit your ship.

I did check them out  as we have booked another tour with them and they are very helpful, in this case their tour is very expensive and yes a private one ( husband also do not like private tours, for just the 2 of us,  as he believes with the only 2 and a guide there is no privacy...., yep I married a strange man ) We were looking at the Te Puia tour but we are afraid this will be very commercial which …. yes dh does not like either

any advice on Te Puia ??

thanks and have a marvellous Sunday

2 hours ago, The_Big_M said:

Are you happy to rent a car? A fair few people do that to see the places they want there to suit.

I would be happy but my husband is a pussy no driving at our ",wrong" side of the road he said... 

one day 16 March from ?? till ?? ( the arrival time and departure time is stil a mystery )

would love to to to Rotorua and Waiotapu. Have checked so many tours but I do not seem to find

a combination of those 2 places. Any advice on tours please ? A jeep tour would be nice

off the beaten track to see as much of this beautiful place as we can. no need of fancy restaurants

or shopping. thanks for your input.

good evening from Belgium

15 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Excellent, keep researching on options that may suit, try Trip advisor as well.

oh I did even through FB MicCanberra you said you did this tour 5 years ago but I did not get which one your did ?

WoW thank you all for the lovely comments, after reading every one of your advice we are now certain to take a ship's tour, because there are a lot of difficulties.( time is one of them )

I kept on reading on many sites, even found a book on the GBR but still am not sure from where to take the snorkel trip.

if we do this from Airlie we have an opportunity to see some other things in Cairns ( thank you Rose Porky 55 )

but 2 h snorkelling and 4 hours on our way to get there ... 

we flew all the way from Belgium and our time difference is absurd wished we could spend many more hours on your amazing GBR

If we would go from Cairns we would do number 2 ( yes the most expensive one ) j they take 'only' 100 p and they say specifically ' advanced snorkelers ' even divers are mentioned so that seems to be a little more spectacular

Thanks MicCanberra for the Ginger tip, we are lucky never to be sick no matter how rough the sea can be

husband has worked on a boat for 30 years and I am just loving a rocking ship.

Suzi66 thanks for sharing your pictures ( was this from Cairns and it would be tour 1 I think ? )

so sorry for the boy, we always feel sorry when someone is unable to see what is in our amazing oceans and seas have been blessed to see so many sharks, rays and amazing coral in our 35 years experience.

I know you all think why on earth they cruise Australia instead of take a trip and stay for a few days in this area but in our case this is the last trip before we leave back to Belgium ( we cruise from Sydney to Singapore so we shorten our flight with 9 hours to fly back to Belgium )

before this cruise we have seen the The Blue Mountains, Uluru, Sydney Fiji, Vanuatu , New Caledonia and New Zealand, we leave mid februari and will be back home mid april,  so I guess we cannot complain about any snorkel trip as we are so blessed to travel for 2 months to see what we believe is the most beautiful part of our globe.

Again thank you all for your advice and time to write for your comments and tips for your pictures.

have a great day,

good evening from Belgium

Frieda

35 minutes ago, fvandewouwer said:

I want to thank you all for your input. What I learn is that we need to book a tour from Roya

I want to thank you all for your input. What I learn is that we need to book a tour from Royal because of the arrival time / weather …..

we are a bit disappointed now because we thought we were able to snorkel from both places

did not know these were tender ports

our first  idea was to go snorkeling from Airlie Beach ( our first stop )

 we would choose option 1 but we are afraid of the 4 hours on a catamaran

( 2 back and 2 forward ) we dislike loud music and crowded ships people telling their story of their life while sailing on a beautiful ocean …. pfff

from Cairns it seems to be a bit closer ( 1h 30 )  but I wonder what the difference is between option 1 the pontoon or option 2 mooring from a purpose-built reef vessel

and where are they going to ? the GBR is so big they do not mention which reef

I have been reading so much about coral bleaching ...

I have mailed RCI but got an answer I could get all my information on board the ship

yeah right

it would be a pity to pay 300 usd pp for a few fish some rocks and a chicken and rice buffet on a pontoon with loud music.

really do not know what to do but we came this far and I am willing to swim to the GBR :)

thanks for reading and ideas.

I want to thank you all for your input. What I learn is that we need to book a tour from Roya

16 hours ago, lyndarra said:

There are any number of private day tours to be had, particularly from Cairns. Here's one I quickly googled.

https://www.cairnsreefdaytours.com.au/index.html

What immediately caught my attention was the huge disparity in the prices compared to the ship tours.

I'm sure the local tour operators would be geared up for the cruise passenger market.

 

One problem with Cairns is that if moored at Yorkeys Knob tenders are required and subject to weather conditions which can prevent them from leaving and/or returning to the ship.

Good luck with your snorkelling as April is the tail end of cyclone season. I'm heading up that way next week (HAL) and the weather is not looking too good at the moment.

thanks and have a wonderful cruise

snorkeling the GBR was on top of our bucket list for such a long time and now we are getting so close

cruise explorer of the seas from Sydney to Singapore in March /April

visiting Airlie Beach from 7 till 6 april 2

and Cairns from 7 till 6 april 4

there are a lot of tours on Royal Website we can book but we have already so many people on the ship that we would love to do this one day

in a lifetime experience on our own or in a small group and we are looking to go to the most beautiful part of the GBR with lots of coral fish

sharks and rays

can anyone give me advice which tour to pick or which company to contact in the area ?

these are the tours Royal provides

from Airlee Beach

1. 7h Experience one of the seven wonders of the natural world. Set sail on an exclusive catamaran for a two-hour ride to the Great Barrier Reef where you'll board a large floating platform on the outer reef. Enjoy approximately three hours surrounded by an abundance of tropical marine life and colorful coral. Indulge in a variety of activities including snorkeling, a reef tour on a semi-submersible vessel and a walk through underwater viewing chamber

255 usd pp ( only 2 hours of snorkeling so a no for us )

2. The ultimate sailing experience and world-class snorkeling create a memorable day as guests explore beautiful remote bays, islands and beaches. Sail around Whitsunday Islands National Park on one of the fastest, most graceful commercial catamarans available. Enjoy a sumptuous BBQ lunch, idyllic scenery and sun-dappled seas from spacious decks as the skipper provides colorful commentary. Then dive into the Whitsunday’s favorite maritime playground for approximately 2 hours snorkeling in a protected reef teeming with life.

239 usd pp ( 2 h snorkeling )

3. Visit Whitsunday Islands' "wild side." The uninhabited islands offer beautiful natural scenery brimming with marine, bird and animal life. Learn about the protected areas during an educational tour. Then skim across the ocean waves in an inflatable vessels designed and built as rescue crafts and powered by 450hp engines. Cruise past breathtaking islands and enjoy a refreshing swim in the tropical water

179 usd pp

from Cairns

1.Experience one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Board a catamaran for the one and half hour transfer to a pontoon at the Great Barrier Reef. Then explore the biggest single structure made by living organisms for approximately 4 hours. Engage in a wide range of activities on the outer reef that include diving, snorkeling, a tour on a semi-submersible vessel, and a walk through an underwater viewing chamber.

258 usd pp

2. Great Barrier Reef wonders beckon advanced snorkelers and divers during this full-day exclusive charter trip. Experience the best the area and conditions can offer. A maximum 100 guests depart Cairns to enjoy 4 amazing hours spent exploring a mooring from a purpose-built reef vessel. Tour includes buffet lunch, morning and afternoon tea and Lycra suit. Scuba diving is an optional extra; guests should book on the ship in advance to reserve tanks and dive masters.

100 people ????? they mention advanced which is good but 100 people

price 299 usd pp

thank you all for your time to help me sort out what to book or where to look

from Belgium

Frieda

snorkeling the GBR was on top of our bucket list for such a long time and now we are getting close

cruise explorer of the seas from Sydney to Singapore in March /April

visiting Airlie Beach from 7 till 6 april 2

and Cairns from 7 till 6 april 4

there are a lot of tours on Royal Website we can book but we have already so many people on the ship that we would love to do this one day

in a lifetime experience on our own or in a small group and we are looking to go to the most beautiful part of the GBR with lots of coral fish

sharks and rays

can anyone give me advice which tour to pick of which company to contact in the area ?

these are the tours Royal provides

from Airlee Beach

1. 7h Experience one of the seven wonders of the natural world. Set sail on an exclusive catamaran for a two-hour ride to the Great Barrier Reef where you'll board a large floating platform on the outer reef. Enjoy approximately three hours surrounded by an abundance of tropical marine life and colorful coral. Indulge in a variety of activities including snorkeling, a reef tour on a semi-submersible vessel and a walk through underwater viewing chamber

255 usd pp ( only 2 hours of snorkeling so a no for us )

2. The ultimate sailing experience and world-class snorkeling create a memorable day as guests explore beautiful remote bays, islands and beaches. Sail around Whitsunday Islands National Park on one of the fastest, most graceful commercial catamarans available. Enjoy a sumptuous BBQ lunch, idyllic scenery and sun-dappled seas from spacious decks as the skipper provides colorful commentary. Then dive into the Whitsunday’s favorite maritime playground for approximately 2 hours snorkeling in a protected reef teeming with life.

239 usd pp ( 2 h snorkeling )

3. Visit Whitsunday Islands' "wild side." The uninhabited islands offer beautiful natural scenery brimming with marine, bird and animal life. Learn about the protected areas during an educational tour. Then skim across the ocean waves in an inflatable vessels designed and built as rescue crafts and powered by 450hp engines. Cruise past breathtaking islands and enjoy a refreshing swim in the tropical water

179 usd pp

from Cairns

1.Experience one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Board a catamaran for the one and half hour transfer to a pontoon at the Great Barrier Reef. Then explore the biggest single structure made by living organisms for approximately 4 hours. Engage in a wide range of activities on the outer reef that include diving, snorkeling, a tour on a semi-submersible vessel, and a walk through an underwater viewing chamber.

258 usd pp

2. Great Barrier Reef wonders beckon advanced snorkelers and divers during this full-day exclusive charter trip. Experience the best the area and conditions can offer. A maximum 100 guests depart Cairns to enjoy 4 amazing hours spent exploring a mooring from a purpose-built reef vessel. Tour includes buffet lunch, morning and afternoon tea and Lycra suit. Scuba diving is an optional extra; guests should book on the ship in advance to reserve tanks and dive masters.

100 people ????? they mention advanced which is good but 100 people

price 299 usd pp

thank you all for your time to help me sort out what to book or where to look

from Belgium

Frieda

Hi, we will visit all those islands next year on our cruise with the Explorer

we are snorkel fanatics and are looking for the most perfect places, from shore or by boat

need your advice on our stops

Lifou / Fiji Suva and Fiji Lautoka / Port Vila and Mystery Island Vanuatu and Nouméa New Caledonia are the places we visit

find so little information through tripadvisor so I do hope someone from cc can help me

thank you for your time

it was indeed very easy to go off the ship

thank you all for advise

Hi,

very excited about our upcoming trip next year;  cruise RCI Explorer / Seas Februari 2019

first question

trying to figure out where our ship docks / tender at

Lifou 

Suva

Lautoka

Port Vila

Mystery Island

Noumea

we are snorkel fanatics have been doing that for30 years and a bit around the world  we are

looking for big fish / sharks and rays and alive coral ( a few rocks really cannot tempt us anymore )

so we are very excited to visit these amazing places 

 can anyone help us finding the best snorkel spots near these islands or advice on dive companies if snorkeling from shore is not an option

or

should we skip snorkeling as we would miss something spectacular we have never seen.

we love nature and like to be independent ( but if the ship's excursion is a one in a lifetime experience we would book it )

and although we travel by cruise ship, we always search for a quiet and peaceful place.

 help is appreciated

I do thank you a lot for your time

best regards from chilly Belgium

so this is clear to me, visa was ordered through NCL just paid for it and it will be ready ' I hope ' as soon we board the ship in Miami.

the OFAC is something I got a reminder of NCL to fill in online and send a copy to them ' on line ' so my TA said to fill in educational group P2P

but then I started reading some threads about people not getting off the ship etc, so I got worried

I will also bring a blanc paper in case they need something different and hope there will be no argument.

When we left Cuba so many years ago ' that was a group tour all around Cuba ' entering from Europe was no issue at all but leaving was something else, they let my husband go through the customs and put me aside as I was a crook, police came I felt really embarrassed. The issue was that I had bought cigares and did not have the bill anymore. Long story, they wanted money I refused so after a very long discussion 'and I kept calm' saying they needed to check the hotel paperbasket, just before our flight left, they let me go. My husband almost got himself in trouble as he started arguing with another officer with the help of our tour guide who spoke Spanish ' they were put in another room ' Well all ended well and

this was more than 16 years ago but i will never forget the look on the face of that police officer when I refused not paying him to let me go.

Now, so many years later, this is a great story, it was not at that time so I want to board the ship and leave the ship without having a gun pointed on me ;p

The visa and the OFAC form are two totally different things. For the visa, you just fill in name, passport #, DOB, etc.

 

The OFAC form is where you must choose P2P, SFTCP or whatever the agents at the pier want. I think NCL has you complete the OFAC form on line. Royal had guests print the form and complete it. Then the pier agents argue with passengers (they don't know the rules, they're doing what they are told to do). I had 2 sets, and turned in the one they insisted on. I didn't feel like arguing.

 

But, almost everyone confuses OFAC and visa and they are entirely different. (As a side note, Cuba doesn't give a rat's behind what you do once you get off the ship! No one cares, no one checks)

thanks, was never my intention to make it difficult.

have a great day

You are making this a lot more difficult that it needs to be, just check

 

515.565(b) - Educational exchanges - individual people-to-people.

515.565(b) - Educational exchanges - group people-to-people through Norwegian or other organization.

 

That covers you for just walking around talking to people or if you decide to book an NCL or private tour.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

This site details OFAC requirements, and also puts to bed some specific cruise line claims: http://forums.debbiescaribbeanresortreviews.com/t/people-to-people-p2p-tours-and-the-cruise-line-spin/23741

Unless you read carefully all the information on NCL's certification form, you will be mislead into believing there is only one option. In fact there are many options and I regard P2P as generally the worst choice unless you do nothing other than the cruise line tours.

I have read all information even used google translate there is nothing that matches our reason to visit Cuba, what is your suggestion ?

thanks, I keep on getting emails from NCL that I need to book an excursion so I can get off the ship in Cuba, as they put it on paper without an excursion I will be stuck on the ship …. :o

As a reminder, you can travel to Cuba under the people-to-people authorized travel category under the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). To do so, you must maintain a full-time schedule of educational exchange activities intended to enhance contact with the Cuban people. ????

so I got a little confused

They give you the visa document when you check in, just ask then what they want. As I recall it didn’t matter, I checked several boxes on the form, as if I’m going to hang on to it for 5 years...

 

16 years ago? Don’t worry, nothing has changed lol.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

I read several post saying that "Support for the Cuban People is the appropriate choice"

but

our TA said to fill in " Educational exchanges - group people to people through Norwegian or other organization.

We are not doing a tour and plan to walk around on our own, we know Havanna have been there for a couple of days about 16 years ago

can anyone who has done the NCL Sky and has explores Havana on their own please let me know what to fill in on the form as we do not want to have any trouble leaving the ship.( we bought our visa through NCL )

thanks

Frieda

I did get a quote from my US travel agent, will ask her about this

and keep you informed

have a great day UK :)

We are in the UK and have used a couple of US based agents to book cruises on Celebrity to benefit from better pricing and onboard credit as well as price drops (UK based agents give us NOTHING-some even charged us extra to pay for our cruise by credit card until it was recently made illegal).

 

Whenever we have enquired about booking a Princess cruise through a US agent we were told that they were banned by Princess from booking non US/Canadian guests.

 

Just thought it is something you should be aware of and if you do manage to book via a US agent please let us know.