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After booking a cruise I do remember that there is an email address for Viking to ask questions. I can't remember what it is. Can anyone help me?
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Burning calories!!
Always being interested in how to burn calories, this thread caught my eye. Crazy timing but I had just read an article about walking stairs and the amount of calories burned. (Here is the article: http://www.weightymatters.ca/2015/04/climbing-stairs-isnt-about-burning.html?m=1)
About 20 years ago when I started into seriously starting to be in better shape I looked at a chart that described calories burned while doing a bunch of exercises. I found that swimming laps (my favorite aerobic) for about 60 minutes I could lose only enough to eat a Snickers Bar!
Unfortunately, as you will see from the article, in order to be able to break even walking stairs and eating a snickers bar, one would need to climb about 122 flights of stairs (the normal flight consisting of 12 stairs).
The good news is, that you are focusing on the whole picture and eating well as well as getting as much exercise as you can. Actually the best exercise to loose weigh one can do is a 'Push-away'....from the table:D.
BTW & FYI riding a golf cart and playing 9 holes is also a fair trade for a Snickers (I'd rather drink 2 beers!)
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You only need to insure what you have paid for so start by insuring the amount of the deposit and just increase the amount as you pay it. You will still be covered for our existing etc
I do this as well. However, I got wonder-does paying incrementally increase the total cost?
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If you don't want to bust your buns to answer a question and you don't want to ignore a question, why do you go for door #3 and choose to be rude?
I agree that the reply or have been interpreted as a bit snarky. However, there are lots of people who don’t know about or don’t know how to search. Having been on the CC website (it’s fantastic) since 2010 I’ve seen quite a few questions asked while the same query was asked just hours before. The good news on that is that it has helped my breathing as I take lots of deep sighs!
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I believe that because the portholes may be required to provide egress for a fully grown adult in the event of an emergency their minimum size on a Passenger Ship is 400mm or 15.748 inches across.
If that does not give you pause at the buffet line, nothing ever will ;p
Jim&Stan
LOL. I hope you did not have to go to the dentist after writing your reply. Your tongue did detach itself from your cheek?
K
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I might add one more “tip” to success on booking the flight you want at the best price. This also goes for searching on line for a number of items and services other than flights. When you do a search do it on a Private Page. With that there are no cookies left for the provider to see what you are interested in. Some use algorithms to boost the price if you search for something a number of times.
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I’ll add another question. Since the bathrooms in adjacent cabins will have the plumbing serve both - to save on $$ and space - wouldn’t the beds be head to head? Of course, then u have to figure out which ones are sharing the utility shaft.
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Thank you for your info on Kuoda. How was the tour itself? How long did you spend in Machu Picchu ? Any other details on the tour?
Our tour spanned 5 days. We had not only asked to see all of the "must visit" sites but wanted time enough to do some people watching and get a feel for the local environment. (As you have undoubtedly seen on other posts, those who have done a tour in 3 days think that it was not enough time to really enjoy it to the max)
Day one was meet us at the pier (not at the entrance to the port!), drive us to the airport, lead us all the way through to the security check. A guide, Ophelia, and driver met us at the baggage claim. Off to the Sacred Valley with a stop for a delicious lunch and then to the Living Museum of Awanakancha (we got to feed the Llamas and Alpacas!). After that it was off to the hotel, Sol y Luna Lodge Relais & Chateau in Cusco - what a beautiful place with very good food.
Day 2 was visits to Pisac and Ollantaytambo for a culture, history, topographical and shopping trip.
Day 3 Train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes and bus ride to Machu Picchu. The morning was spent in touring the lower terraces of MP with the afternoon on the upper. Lunch was at the Sanctuary Lodge - great buffet.
Over night at the Sumaq Machu Picchu Hotel - another WOW. Dinner was great and the bartender introduced us to Yuca chips. One taste of those and we were ready to move to Peru!
Day 4 Back to Machu Picchu with an adventurous trek up to Huaynu Picchu Mountain. One thousand feet up climbing very narrow and slippery steps. Beautiful view and even though arduous the view DOWN at Machu Picchu was special in spite of the heavy clouds. Back to Ollantaytambo by bus then train and a drive back to Cusco. Dinner at a local restaurant with local foods - delicious (we were very pleased with all the meals we had in Peru!)
The bed was very welcoming that night at the Aranwa Cusco Boutique Hotel (an historic site itself)
Day 5 was tour of Cusco in the morning and an afternoon to ourselves. (We were sad to have Ophelia leave us!)
Day 6 was the flight back to Lima, getting our passport info corrected and then driving to Miraflores to our hotel.
The tour and the care given was impeccible!
If you have any specific questions to ask feel free to email me directly keithrodwell(at) iCloud (dot) com.
BTW - I noticed that you live in South Carolina. We live just outside of Charleston.
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It looks like it's a resounding "HOORAH for Kuoda Travel". Whether doing a tour on your own or paying for someone else to help is up to you and highly dependent on where and when and for how long. (After all Dan, one could save more money by walking to Machu Picchu). In fact, I've calculated how much money we would have spent had we needed to re-adjust our flight home and our cost would have been a lot higher with a DIY tour and a DIY visit to the Peruvian Immigration Office!
And three days instead of more!!?? I read a number of posts and talked to those who had done it in three days with their advice is NOT ENOUGH TIME!
The expertise was itself worth every shekel!
(Driving home in her Cadillac one night, an elderly woman's car breaks down in the middle of no where. A tow truck appears and a grizzled old man steps out, lifts the hood of the car and grunts a few times. He then goes back to his truck, grabs a 16 lb sledgehammer, jumps up on the Caddy and takes a big whack at the engine.
"Start 'er up lady!" he rasps.
With that the engine starts purring like a kitten.
"How much?" the old lady asks.
"a hun'red fifty"
"That's outrageous!, the woman screams. "It only took you 1 minute to fix it! I want a detailed invoice!"
The man grumbles as he writes one out and hands it to her.
On the invoice it reads:
1 whack - $3.00
Knowing where to whack - $147.00)
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After our recent cruise on Sirena from Miami to Lima DW and I did a 5-day tour of Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley. Since I learned of the tour company from the Oceania blogs I thought I'd share this wonderful trip will the O family:
Executive summary:
My wife and I arranged a 5-day, post-cruise tour of MachuPicchu and the Sacred Valley with Kuoda Travel based in Cusco, Peru (www.kuodatravel.com). The choice of Kuoda was based on a combinationof on-line reviews and, most importantly, the recommendation of Oceaniacruisers who had used them before. In a nut shell, Kuoda fulfilled our wishlist of things to see & do as well as the style of touring that we like.The details of this trip were so well covered we always felt at ease.
The logistics of the entire 5-days were arranged impeccably!Each and every step of the way was covered down to the finest detail and therewas only one very minor delay (it did not affect our tour). In fact, at the endof the tour we had a – what could have been – a severe problem with PeruvianImmigration. Kuoda provided a manager tohelp us solve that problem leading us through the bureaucracy every step of theway.
We would not hesitateto use Kuoda again (we are in the nascent stage of planning a trip to theAmazon and the Galapagos Islands) and would strongly recommend them to anyone who travels to SouthAmerica. They may be a bit more expensive than others but the added cost iswell worth the comfortable feeling that you have knowing that you and wellprotected in all phases of a wonderful trip. As Mery, the owner, describes it“…Luxury is not defined by expense or excess. Luxury is about helping you tohave the experience you crave and taking care of the nitty-gritty logistics soall you need to concern yourself with is enjoying your trip”. That wasabsolutely fulfilled on our trip!
A huge THANK YOU goes out to the entire Kuoda team. But a special thanks goes out to those withwhom we had direct contact:
Jesus Ramos, Alex Baca, JasonAyerbe and our guides and drivers: Ophelia & Eberth (sp??), Lillian,and Manuel. (Sorry, but I’ve forgotten some names)
Details:
We started our conversation with Jesus Ramos (see “Meet ourTeam” on their website): https://www.kuodatravel.com/about-us/meet-our-team/)
22 months before our cruise. Jesus was always prompt and complete with his responses, requests andquestions. After responding to hisrequest for information about what we were looking for and how we liked totour, he gave us two quotes differentiated by the quality of the accommodations(3 & 4 star hotels). With minortweaking to the itinerary we accepted the 4-star quote. Full information aboutall of the aspects of the tour (suggested clothing; packing for the final legto Machu Picchu and even suggested tipping of the guide and driver) came to uswith plenty of time to ask questions for clarification. Jesus made some suggestions for restaurantsand even guided us on key phrases in Spanish. A few days before the trip started we got an email with contactinformation for two of the staff that would be available 24-hours a day as wellas the name of our guide for the Lima legs (outbound and inbound) and the maintour, Cusco, Machu Picchu and back to Cusco.
Arrangements were made to meet us on the pier in Lima’s portof Callao at 7AM to be taken directly to the airport for our flight to Cusco. Manuel,our guide, had our flight reservations and tickets and escorted us into theairport, guided us to the correct check in desk and stayed with us all the wayup to the security gate. A nice touch by Miguel was diverting us from a verylong check-in line to a priority desk and then convincing the airline’sreservationist to allow us to check in there. Saved a long wait in line! Manuelgave us complete instructions on where to go beyond the security check and whatto look for inside. He also gave us arunning commentary about Lima on the way to the airport. (An aside: I applaudthe security at the airport! There werethree security check points: Driving onto the airport property (U.S. should dothis!!), the normal body/bag security check and a final bag check beforeboarding the plane.)
Upon arrival in Cusco, we were met by Ophelia holding a signwith our names on it. From then onOphelia was our guide, advisor - andsoon became our friend. Ophelia’samazing breadth of knowledge (she has a Masters in Ecology) spanned all of thedisciplines of history, nature, civics, government with all of that wrapped in awarm smile and a great sense of humor. Ophelia was with us for the next 4 ½ dayssharing all of her vast knowledge, answering question and allowing us a peakinto her family life. Her love of country was evident and she exuded a desirefor Peru’s improvement.
Naturally the entire 5-days was well planned with alllogistics taken care of down to the minutest detail. The day we arrived inCusco, those plans were jumbled into chaos as drivers in the city were to puton a work stoppage strike basically shutting down the city roads for at leastthe next day. Lynda and I never felt aripple of concern from either Ophelia or any of the Kuoda team. The schedule was rearranged quickly with are-issue of all travel arrangements – bus and train tickets. We did not miss one site or event of ouritinerary! Fantastic work!
Ophelia was in control of every possible situation. At one point we found that there was a fairlyserious problem with our immigration into Peru which could have delayed ourexit. Ophelia immediately notified theoffice and steps were taken to rectify (more later).
Whenever we stopped in a market or store to buy souvenirs,art (we are collectors of local art), etc. Ophelia was our “agent” and was thekey to our getting some very nice bargains. We said goodbye to Ophelia after a wonderful tour of Cusco and both ofus were sad to see her leave.
If you do decide to tour with Kuoda, you will do best byrequesting Ophelia as a guide. (A couple we had met on the cruise was alsousing Kuoda and we often crossed paths during the tour. At one point they said to us, “Your guide isgreat!”)
Our driver during this time was Eberth (sp?). While the language barrier prevented most directcommunications, we found that he had a wonderful sense of humor, always had asmile and was a fantastic driver (Peruvian traffic is nutsy!!)
Eberth met us the final morning in Cusco to drive us to theairport. He was joined by Jason who madesure we made it safely onto the airplane to fly us back to Lima.
In Lima we were met by Lillian and our driver who finishedour Kuoda tour leading us through immigration and then escorting us to ourhotel in Miraflores. This is where Kuodashowed that they ARE determined to ensure that all goes well with your time inPeru – they stayed with us during the entire process of correcting our passportproblem even though it was not caused by them.
Here’s what happened:
Our cruise ship’s first stop in Peru was the port ofSalaverry. Since this is a small city, the immigration department handtransposed our passport information into their database. Unfortunately, they mixed up our names(instead of Keith & Lynda we became Christine & Alexander). It wasn’tuntil the second hotel that the mistake was noticed. While it seemed to us a careless yetinconsequential mistake, Ophelia and the hotel staff understood that there wasa mix up in the immigration department’s database. That meant that we would not have be allowedto leave the country without rectification of the error. Ophelia notified the home office and thewheels were set in motion. The onlyplace to resolve the error was in Lima upon our return from Cusco. Our plane, originally due to leave Cusco at10:30 was delayed 1 ½ hours and we finally made it to Lima about 1:15. Gathering our bags, Lillian whisked us to theairport immigration office only to find that our problem could only be takencare of at the main office in town. Ourdriver raced to the office and we arrived about 90 minutes before closing. Asour flight was leaving the next day at 7:30 AM we needed to get this errorcorrected NOW. Lillian led us through typical bureaucracy using her bestSpanish to get us through this malaise in time. Finally, less than 30 minutes before closing time, we were notified thatthe problem had been solved. Lynda and Ibreathed a lot easier on the final leg of our journey heading to our hotel forthe night.
Remember, this was not a fault of Kuoda and they had noobligation to help solve it. But therewas NO hesitation in accepting the responsibility to help us solve a problemthat would have taken us at least another day (and much additional cost!)
THANK YOU KUODA AND LILLIAN!
Onelast thing – on the way to the airport we received a call from Mery Calderón,the founder and president of Kuoda Travel. Mery apologized for not being able to meet us in person and wanted tosay hello and ensure that we had a great time
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Executive summary:
My wife and I arranged a 5-day, post-cruise tour of MachuPicchu and the Sacred Valley with Kuoda Travel based in Cusco, Peru (www.kuodatravel.com). The choice of Kuoda was based on acombination of on-line reviews and, most importantly, the recommendation of Oceaniacruisers who had used them before. In a nut shell, Kuoda fulfilled our wish listof things to see & do as well as the style of touring that we like. Thedetails of this trip were so well covered we always felt at ease.
The logistics of the entire 5-days were arranged impeccably!Each and every step of the way was covered down to the finest detail and therewas only one very minor delay (it did not affect our tour). In fact, at the endof the tour we had a – what could have been – a severe problem with PeruvianImmigration. Kuoda provided a manager tohelp us solve that problem leading us through the bureaucracy every step of theway.
We would not hesitateto use Kuoda again (we are in the nascent stage of planning a trip to theAmazon and the Galapagos Islands) and would strongly recommend them to anyone who travels to SouthAmerica. They may be a bit more expensive than others but the added cost iswell worth the comfortable feeling that you have knowing that you and wellprotected in all phases of a wonderful trip. As Mery, the owner, describes it “…Luxuryis not defined by expense or excess. Luxury is about helping you to have the experienceyou crave and taking care of the nitty-gritty logistics so all you need toconcern yourself with is enjoying your trip”. That was absolutely fulfilled on ourtrip!
A huge THANK YOU goes out to the entire Kuoda team. But a special thanks goes out to those withwhom we had direct contact:
Jesus Ramos, Alex Baca, JasonAyerbe and our guides and drivers: Ophelia & Eberth (sp??), Lillian,and Manuel. (Sorry, but I’ve forgotten some names)
Details:
We started our conversation with Jesus Ramos (see “Meet ourTeam” on their website): https://www.kuodatravel.com/about-us/meet-our-team/)
22 months before our cruise. Jesus was always prompt and complete with his responses, requests andquestions. After responding to hisrequest for information about what we were looking for and how we liked totour, he gave us two quotes differentiated by the quality of the accommodations(3 & 4 star hotels). With minor tweakingto the itinerary we accepted the 4-star quote. Full information about all ofthe aspects of the tour (suggested clothing; packing for the final leg to MachuPicchu and even suggested tipping of the guide and driver) came to us withplenty of time to ask questions for clarification. Jesus made some suggestions for restaurantsand even guided us on key phrases in Spanish. A few days before the trip started we got an email with contact informationfor two of the staff that would be available 24-hours a day as well as the nameof our guide for the Lima legs (outbound and inbound) and the main tour, Cusco,Machu Picchu and back to Cusco.
Arrangements were made to meet us on the pier in Lima’s portof Callao at 7AM to be taken directly to the airport for our flight to Cusco. Manuel,our guide, had our flight reservations and tickets and escorted us into theairport, guided us to the correct check in desk and stayed with us all the wayup to the security gate. A nice touch by Miguel was diverting us from a verylong check-in line to a priority desk and then convincing the airline’sreservationist to allow us to check in there. Saved a long wait in line! Manuelgave us complete instructions on where to go beyond the security check and whatto look for inside. He also gave us arunning commentary about Lima on the way to the airport. (An aside: I applaudthe security at the airport! There werethree security check points: Driving onto the airport property (U.S. should dothis!!), the normal body/bag security check and a final bag check beforeboarding the plane.)
Upon arrival in Cusco, we were met by Ophelia holding a signwith our names on it. From then onOphelia was our guide, advisor - andsoon became our friend. Ophelia’s amazingbreadth of knowledge (she has a Masters in Ecology) spanned all of thedisciplines of history, nature, civics, government with all of that wrapped in awarm smile and a great sense of humor. Opheliawas with us for the next 4 ½ days sharing all of her vast knowledge, answeringquestion and allowing us a peak into her family life. Her love of country wasevident and she exuded a desire for Peru’s improvement.
Naturally the entire 5-days was well planned with alllogistics taken care of down to the minutest detail. The day we arrived inCusco, those plans were jumbled into chaos as drivers in the city were to puton a work stoppage strike basically shutting down the city roads for at leastthe next day. Lynda and I never felt aripple of concern from either Ophelia or any of the Kuoda team. The schedule was rearranged quickly with are-issue of all travel arrangements – bus and train tickets. We did not miss one site or event of ouritinerary! Fantastic work!
Ophelia was in control of every possible situation. At one point we found that there was a fairlyserious problem with our immigration into Peru which could have delayed ourexit. Ophelia immediately notified theoffice and steps were taken to rectify (more later).
Whenever we stopped in a market or store to buy souvenirs,art (we are collectors of local art), etc. Ophelia was our “agent” and was thekey to our getting some very nice bargains. We said goodbye to Ophelia after a wonderful tour of Cusco and both ofus were sad to see her leave.
If you do decide to tour with Kuoda, you will do best byrequesting Ophelia as a guide. (A couple we had met on the cruise was alsousing Kuoda and we often crossed paths during the tour. At one point they said to us, “Your guide isgreat!”)
Our driver during this time was Eberth (sp?). While the language barrier prevented most directcommunications, we found that he had a wonderful sense of humor, always had asmile and was a fantastic driver (Peruvian traffic is nutsy!!)
Eberth met us the final morning in Cusco to drive us to theairport. He was joined by Jason who madesure we made it safely onto the airplane to fly us back to Lima.
In Lima we were met by Lillian and our driver who finishedour Kuoda tour leading us through immigration and then escorting us to ourhotel in Miraflores. This is where Kuodashowed that they ARE determined to ensure that all goes well with your time inPeru – they stayed with us during the entire process of correcting our passportproblem even though it was not caused by them.
Here’s what happened:
Our cruise ship’s first stop in Peru was the port ofSalaverry. Since this is a small city, the immigration department handtransposed our passport information into their database. Unfortunately, they mixed up our names(instead of Keith & Lynda we became Christine & Alexander). It wasn’tuntil the second hotel that the mistake was noticed. While it seemed to us a careless yetinconsequential mistake, Ophelia and the hotel staff understood that there wasa mix up in the immigration department’s database. That meant that we would not have be allowedto leave the country without rectification of the error. Ophelia notified the home office and thewheels were set in motion. The onlyplace to resolve the error was in Lima upon our return from Cusco. Our plane, originally due to leave Cusco at10:30 was delayed 1 ½ hours and we finally made it to Lima about 1:15. Gathering our bags, Lillian whisked us to theairport immigration office only to find that our problem could only be takencare of at the main office in town. Ourdriver raced to the office and we arrived about 90 minutes before closing. Asour flight was leaving the next day at 7:30 AM we needed to get this errorcorrected NOW. Lillian led us through typical bureaucracy using her bestSpanish to get us through this malaise in time. Finally, less than 30 minutes before closing time, we were notified thatthe problem had been solved. Lynda and Ibreathed a lot easier on the final leg of our journey heading to our hotel forthe night.
Remember, this was not a fault of Kuoda and they had noobligation to help solve it. But therewas NO hesitation in accepting the responsibility to help us solve a problemthat would have taken us at least another day (and much additional cost!)
THANK YOU KUODA AND LILLIAN!
One last thing – on the way to the airport we received acall from Mery Calderón, the founder and president of Kuoda Travel. Mery apologized for not being able to meet usin person and wanted to say hello and ensure that we had a great time. Mery, without a doubt, your company and theproduct and services that it gives, is a model that all companies shouldemulate.
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The stop we made in Havana the continuously told
Us that CUCs is the only thing the Cubans would accept...the locals said they would take dollars and euros.
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As a teenager, many years ago...1961...our family traveled to France from the UK aboard a 'passenger craft' (AKA converted tug). Getting to the mainland was easy as the Channel was very cooperative, 45 minute sail. Returning was a different story. 2 ½ hours of continuous pitching, yawing and diving into the seas. The lounge area was devastated with chairs, tables and dishes flying from port to starboard. Soon after leaving Calais the motion started and the passengers were all smiles. Within several minutes the looks turned to horror as the passengers followed the furniture in its travels. My sister and I, 11 & 14, were advised by a worker to go outboard and watch the horizon. We were hesitant at first because of the weather but as the first "Wretcher" was joined by others we went and stood on the foredeck, just below the pilot house. Barbara and I did get wet but we were of the very few who didn't get seasick.
The method of being in the open and keeping eyes on the horizon has served me well during a Naval career and on many a small boat in high seas. (On a side-trip to Skellig Michael Island the journey was rough. One of the women came outside and was headed for the rail. I struck up a conversation with her and kept on asking her questions to keep her talking. The diversion worked!)
Going below deck and not having a view of the horizon is not a good way to save off sea sickness. I'd strongly suggest by the pool, keep a view of the ocean have a good chat with a fellow passenger - to take your mind off the tossing. Going below and continuing to think about your dilemma will only hasten its consequences.
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Since I’ve been counting on my fingers and toes and have run out I’ve recruited several others in the gym to help me. Right now there are 2 guys and 1 woman with shoes off.
Hopefully O will Solve the problem soon as the others have fled[emoji19][emoji19]
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I did find this on the Internet: https://howtoperu.com/peru-tourist-visa-tarjeta-andina/
Please note that the date of this article is 15 March of this year. Comments please.
I am taking one for my wife and I JIC.
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If you are so interested do a search on You Tube. There are videos of it.
Thanks All. I watched the YouTube video of several of the cruise ship ceremonies and it is a hoot.
I too am a shellback having gone through the ceremony on a gray-hulled vessel many years ago. As a Wog I led an insurrection against the shellbacks on our ship posting threatening notes around the ship before the ceremony. Needless to say it didn't affect the severity of the tribulation.
The second ship I was on was to cross the line and I was looking forward to being part of it as a Shellback. Unfortunately the commodore of our group changed the route and we didn't cross.
I can't imagine the general passenger on an O ship going through anything like what I saw on the videos but I am taking my shellback card with me ;p With the amount of vets that I've met on previous O cruises I would thing that there will be a number of those who have gone through the ritual before.
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On O ships, is there a ceremony when you cross the equator? If so what is it like?
I'm 99.99999% sure that it is NOTHING like that which takes place on a gray-hulled vessel (aka US Navy ship).:eek:
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Thanks for the update that there is a ferry now. If the ferries are killing manatees then the operator needs to be brought to task. I would not take it if that is a possibility.
A small correction. You are writing about Placencia.
Placentia is a town in Newfoundland and Labrador; they also are very welcoming though their winter weather is a little different
:D after a glass of wine I can't really tell the difference.
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We are taking an O cruise in February from Miami to Lima Peru (a leg of a larger cruise). As an avid diver I have been setting up dive/snorkel excursions through private shops in several of the ports. When O changed the stop in Belize from Belize City to Harvest Caye I started doing research on how/where to dive/snorkel around there. Finding out that there is no diving ("diving" = both scuba and snorkeling) off HC I learned that the reason for that is that NCLH totally ruined marine life on the reef as they built the access to it. It will take MANY years for life to return in abundance worthy of a dive.
I next looked into dive shops on the main land close enough to visit from HC. Placentia is a city that has lots of divers stay and enjoy the beautiful reefs off shore. The problem HAD been that there was no ferry taking ship passengers from HC to Placentia. In essence NCLH had a 'captured' audience. As has been stated on this thread, Belizeans who found that their economy was being devastated by the switch of tourists from Belize City (and the other parts of the mainland) to HC protested and the government changed the rules and there are now ferries to travel to and from HC to Placentia. It is a limited capacity and has four trips to the mainland and five returning to HC (8, 9, 10 & 11AM from HC to mainland and 10:30, 11:30, 12:30 1:30 & 2:30 back to HC). There is a lot of confusion as to how many passengers are permitted to go to the mainland and the possibility of a restriction on the amount of time you are allowed to stay on the mainland. I have heard the limit is 3 hours.
Adding to the woes, it now is reported that the ferries have killed quite a few sea creatures, especially manatees.
Like many, I am reluctant to set up a dive trip with so much uncertainty and negatives.
There are those who enjoy going to - as one blogger put it - a Disney-esk island but I'm not one and am very disappointed that NCLH has and is doing so much damage to the ecological environment and the local economy and has restricted us in enjoying the many treasures of the country.
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I have read that as of May 17 there is a ferry to Placencia. The cost is $20.00 and it carries 50 passengers at a time. When you buy the pass it will give you your return time and you are limited to 3 hours there. They sell the passes at the shore excursion desk on the ship.
We too want to do some diving while stopped in Belize. The Belgians made such an uproar on the inability to access tourist whose stop switched from Belize City to Harvest Caye that the government renegotiated with NCL and there is now ferry trips to and from the Caye. Four trips off: 8, 9, 10, 11 & five back on: 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, 1:30 & 2:30. I too understand that there is a limit on the amount of time off the caye.
As an avid diver I have been communicating with a dive shop in Placentia to arrange an excursion since, as you know, there is NO diving or Snorkeling at the Caye. It just doesn't seem like there is enough time to go on a decent dive/snorkel trip.
In addition to the timing issue I just read a post from a local in Placenta. She said, "Few Belgium's in Belize. Pls stay on the caye. Norwegian boat traffic to the mainland has killed too many manatees thus far. Don't increase the damage your vacation has on Belize. Stay right there on the caye pls."
For me that request from her sealed the deal. I am sorely disappointed but will probably not travel to Placentia.
Keith
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Hello everybody,
Lastly, if I do go ahead with this, I have two options for ways to book. One through my credit card company, which is offering generous bonus miles, and the other through a TA offering between $300-600 OBC. Other than alcohol, how many spending opportunities are available on board? I know I could use it toward shore excursions, but only once I'm aboard. How likely are the excursions to sell out?
Caroline
Caroline,
While not a Viking expert I'm thinking that your choice is really not a choice. Book through your TA and use the CC that gives you the bonus miles. We've done that for all of our cruises.
Keith
Riviera Roll Call - October 19, 2019
in Oceania Cruises
Posted
If this cruise was first offered back in 2017 or before there is surely a roll call already established!
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