What's New-Condition of Ships, Sailings, Dry Dock??

[cluso]

Hi All,

 

It has been several years since we have completed a SC cruise, we have done 7. We are looking at doing some in the later part of 2014. Was wondering how the ships are holding up--any scheduled for dry dock/updates? Any routes/sailings that stand out? Also, might be looking at a Costa Rica sailing.

 

Thank you for sharing!

[cluso]

Wow, no comments yet...

[JOBAKE]

We did the Grenadines itinerary on the Royal Clipper last month. The ship continues to be very well maintained. On that trip the ship was essentially full but, notwithstanding that, we had the best service ever in the dining room for our 10 trips on the RC - another super holiday on the Clippers.

[SailorJM]

Sailed Star Flyer over Thanksgiving...ship is in beautiful condition.

[SailorJM]

Just noticed you also asked about Costa Rica sailing. I would recommend it. We boarded in Panama and sailed to the islands of Panama and CR on the west coast (no canal trip) and disembarked in Costa Rica. Beautiful ports, mostly nature oriented, but SF offered a number of shore excursions. Husband did zipline (the longer one. He'd done the shorter one before, and he said while both are good, this was really good).

 

My one caveat is that if you have any issues with your back or your hip/s, do not opt for the boating excursion that takes you out to see dolphins, sea turtles and other aquatic life. This was written up in a way as to make it seem that you would motor over in a large boat to a lagoon area or similar and be among these creatures. Because I was coming off a 6-week chiro session to help a compressed disk, I asked questions of 2 people on board, both of whom should have known more about this trip. Turns out, we were divided into 4 small motorized skiffs, and we were heading out to open sea to find these creatures. The driver pushed the boat to its limits, and we went bouncing and pounding over the waves. I was in agony on a bench seat. After 30 min into a 2-hour excursion, my husband ordered the driver to go to the beach and drop us off and come back and get us at the end. I spent the last 2 days of our cruise hardly able to walk. Ship's nurse had no heating pad, so I had to manufacture heat treatments on my own.....and 3 more weeks of chiro when I got home. Others who had back and/or hip issues, such as recent surgery, were faring just as poorly.

 

Otherwise, very good trip.

[cluso]

Thank you JOBAKE and Sailor JM!