Easter island

[sharpi]

has anyone taken Oceania cruise to Easter island? Were you able to go ashore? What tours do you recommend?:evilsmile:

[carosou]

We were on Oceania in January 2014 and were able to go ashore on Easter Island the two days we were there. The second day, however, we were late getting to shore because the sea was rough and tendering in was slow and difficult. We booked the two day tour with a company called Easter Island Spirit. It was really good and reasonably priced with smaller groups. They easily adapted to the delay on the second day.

[sharpi]

That is really helpful. Thanks.

:D:D

[Queen of DaNile]

We were (barely) able to tender to Easter Island in 2015 and used https://www.easterisland.travel for two days. The owner of the company helped us make arrangements to stay overnight on the island and get a rental car so we could see sunrise at Ahu Tongarki. We highly recommend Marcus and his team.

 

 

 

Going ashore will depend on the sea conditions and decision of the Captain. We were lucky but others who post on the Oceania board will tell their stories of NOT making it onto Rapa Nui.

Marina was supposed to anchor at Hanga Roa but the seas were so rough that Captain Strazicic moved her north to Anakena beach. The waiting tour vehicles relocated as well but tendering was a long, slow process so tours started late and there were some unhappy campers.

 

This is the "dock" that had to be built so the tenders could get passengers onto Anakena beach.

 

Easter Island is a wonderful experience but if your heart is set on stepping on the island, there is a good chance you may not make it. Enjoy planning your cruise but do keep it in mind.

[lelak]

We had no problem going ashore both days. I highly recommend Green Island Tours. Extremely responsive. Far better and cheaper than tours offered by Oceania. Our guide was friend of the owner who happened to be the technical director of the Rapa Nui movie. He married a native and stayed on the island after the movie was completed. So we got an engineering perspective of the Moai which was great.

[sharpi]

Thanks for your helpful replies. Still not completely sure what to do, though.:evilsmile:

[Caroldoll]

My opinion based on other's experience...take a chance and don't be heartbroken if you don't make it. You can't outguess Mother Nature or the Sea.

[Paulchili]

Take a cruise and hope that you can make it ashore. Do this only if you can live with possibly missing EI.

Otherwise take a short 4 day trip (readily available) out of Santiago either before or after a cruise Valparaiso to BA (or v.v.).

That's the only way to make sure that you'll see the amazing EI.

JMO.

[sammiedawg]

April of 2016 on Marina, we did not get in at all on our planned two day call. We had Easter Island spirit booked. Day 1 seemed like perfect weather, sunny with some wave action you would expect in the middle of the ocean. Boats came from shore to exchange entertIners and bring berries and other foodstuffs.

We were in the lounge with tender tickets in hand waiting and waiting, then at 8:30 the captain announced the waves were rough and no one was going in. He hoped to try again at 1pm. At 2pm he announced we were pulling up anchor and headed to Lima. A storm was coming.

To say we were shocked is an understatement but there was nothing we could do.

[Paulchili]

April of 2016 on Marina, we did not get in at all on our planned two day call. We had Easter Island spirit booked. Day 1 seemed like perfect weather, sunny with some wave action you would expect in the middle of the ocean. Boats came from shore to exchange entertIners and bring berries and other foodstuffs.

We were in the lounge with tender tickets in hand waiting and waiting, then at 8:30 the captain announced the waves were rough and no one was going in. He hoped to try again at 1pm. At 2pm he announced we were pulling up anchor and headed to Lima. A storm was coming.

To say we were shocked is an understatement but there was nothing we could do.

 

I am sorry that you could not experience EI - I can imagine your disappointment.

This is exactly what I meant in my post above yours - no way to predict if one can tender or not.

[Flatbush Flyer]

We were (barely) able to tender to Easter Island in 2015 and used https://www.easterisland.travel for two days. The owner of the company helped us make arrangements to stay overnight on the island and get a rental car so we could see sunrise at Ahu Tongarki. We highly recommend Marcus and his team.

 

 

 

Going ashore will depend on the sea conditions and decision of the Captain. We were lucky but others who post on the Oceania board will tell their stories of NOT making it onto Rapa Nui.

Marina was supposed to anchor at Hanga Roa but the seas were so rough that Captain Strazicic moved her north to Anakena beach. The waiting tour vehicles relocated as well but tendering was a long, slow process so tours started late and there were some unhappy campers.

 

This is the "dock" that had to be built so the tenders could get passengers onto Anakena beach.

 

Easter Island is a wonderful experience but if your heart is set on stepping on the island, there is a good chance you may not make it. Enjoy planning your cruise but do keep it in mind.

 

 

Another vote for Marcus. We got ashore only on day 1 and could not tender on day 2. He refunded the day 2 costs except for the payment to driver he had reserved.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[roothy123]

We went Jan. 2016 on Marina. We were scheduled to have 2 days there. First day we made it fine, and it was amazing. At the end of the first day, though, the Captain warned us we may not make it in the next day due to storms. We got up the next morning and heard the bad news - no go. The Captain just waited to get some people back on board who were staying on the island, then cruised around the island and then headed out. It was truly, truly amazing, though, and I was grateful to have gotten one good day there.

 

My pictures are here: http://www.pbase.com/roothy123/easter_island_jan_14_2016&page=all

 

We used Easter Island Spirit for a two day tour and they were great. The owner refunded us money through PayPal (without asking) for the part of the excursion we missed. Whatever you do, if you are there 2 days, be sure to book something both days in case the weather turns bad. There's no dock there, a long tender ride is required, and there are some pretty wild swells near land that make things dicey. It was truly an amazing experience, though. I guess I loved the quarry best, but there really wasn't anything the first day that I felt wasn't worthwhile, so it's hard to recommend one or two specific places to go.

[janecambridge]

Thank you for sharing Ruth.Wonderful pictures.We are very excited about our trip there in January.:D

[2onboardagain]

Great photos! Until this thread I hadn't realized how lucky we were in 2014 to have two wonderful days on Easter Island on our cruise on Marina from Tahiti to Lima.Now I will cherish those memories even more. Here's wishing you calm seas during your time at Easter Island!

[sunnies]

We were also fortunate to spend two days on Easter Island on our 2014 Marina cruise. However as you can see from this photo, the tender port has limited access and is doubtful in bad weather. Only one tender can enter at a time. Good luck!