Upcoming Cruise ... freaking out a little ...

[vaitape]

Hi cayman09,

We stay at the Hilton in Moorea...we love the hotel, the staff and the water. The bungalows are spacious and the beds are great.

The island itself is lovely and it's very easy to rent a car and do a self-drive tour. The ferry is easy to take and reasonably priced.

We definitely recommend a pre-cruise stay!

 

 

[Petoonya]

Agree with Vaitape. Love the Hilton. Great location. Dining excellent. Some of the best snorkeling on Moorea too.

[jps1030]

Also agree with Vaitape and Petoonya. We spent one week after our cruise in hotel Hilton in Moorea a wonderful place very good food and friendly personnel

[VisionaryJax]

You guys! My ancient diabetic dog just got out of the hospital after more than a week. If I had known we would be facing a vet bill like this, I would have planned a trip of a lifetime that was cheaper and closer to home and saved some of that money ...

 

Poor Barney the dog suffers from bladder stones; Sunday night a week ago he had a blockage that could have been fatal, had to be rushed to doggie ER ... they relieved his problem but said he needed surgery -- and he had already had that surgery twice before. The stones keep coming back every 2-3 years. So they found he suffered hyperparathyroidism that causes hypercalcemia -- his body sucks the calcium out of his bones and puts it into his bloodstream where it builds up into bladder stones. They told us when they did the bladder stone surgery they could also do a parathyroid surgery that ideally would cause his body to stop flooding his system with so much calcium.

 

Ideally it would do that ... and I guess it is in fact doing that, but it worked so well his calcium fell so low he was about to start having seizures and die (they sent him home a few days after surgery), so he had to go back in dog hospital and get IV calcium for 3 more days ... Now he is home again but has to go back tomorrow for a calcium test. If they say the calcium is too low and want to put him back in hospital and on an IV again, I don't even know what we'll do! I wish we had never had them to the parathyroid surgery -- he might not have lived long enough to require bladder stone surgery again anyway ... but it sounded like a simple surgery would fix his problem. Instead it created a new one!

 

I am HOPING and praying his calcium levels even out before the trip -- his babysitter works at his regular vet's office, but I can't be asking her to run him down to the specialist while we are gone ...

 

Thanks to so many great folks on this website, we've got a lot of things sorted that I was worrying about before and even have a Meet & Greet scheduled with all the Cruise Critic peeps on board -- but now I am freaking out all over again because of Barney's troubles! If you are a person who prays, and prays for animals, please say a prayer for our Barney. Thank you!

[Paulchili]

So sorry to hear about your problems. Poor baby looks miserable, We have a 14 1/2 year old lab and are now facing that most difficult of decisions.

Surely they can give him calcium pills in the dosage that would give him stable levels of calcium without causing stones.

Good luck.

[VisionaryJax]

39 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

So sorry to hear about your problems. Poor baby looks miserable, We have a 14 1/2 year old lab and are now facing that most difficult of decisions.

Surely they can give him calcium pills in the dosage that would give him stable levels of calcium without causing stones.

Good luck.

Thank you ... 14 is old for a big dog. I am sorry you are having to think about his future in that way. 😞

 

B is getting oral calcium at home, but he doesn't absorb as much and it is not as fast acting as the IV stuff he got in hospital. However if he has a good blood test tomorrow, the next few weeks should find him settling in and only needing the oral meds. I am certainly hopeful!

[sammiedawg]

I’ve been in your shoes, worrying about caregiving for an older pet.  

Bless Barney and trust he will be in good hands with a knowledgeable sitter.  

Enjoy your wonderful cruise on the beautiful Marina!  

[DeeniEncinitas]

3 hours ago, VisionaryJax said:

You guys! My ancient diabetic dog just got out of the hospital after more than a week. If I had known we would be facing a vet bill like this, I would have planned a trip of a lifetime that was cheaper and closer to home and saved some of that money ...

 

Poor Barney the dog suffers from bladder stones; Sunday night a week ago he had a blockage that could have been fatal, had to be rushed to doggie ER ... they relieved his problem but said he needed surgery -- and he had already had that surgery twice before. The stones keep coming back every 2-3 years. So they found he suffered hyperparathyroidism that causes hypercalcemia -- his body sucks the calcium out of his bones and puts it into his bloodstream where it builds up into bladder stones. They told us when they did the bladder stone surgery they could also do a parathyroid surgery that ideally would cause his body to stop flooding his system with so much calcium.

 

Ideally it would do that ... and I guess it is in fact doing that, but it worked so well his calcium fell so low he was about to start having seizures and die (they sent him home a few days after surgery), so he had to go back in dog hospital and get IV calcium for 3 more days ... Now he is home again but has to go back tomorrow for a calcium test. If they say the calcium is too low and want to put him back in hospital and on an IV again, I don't even know what we'll do! I wish we had never had them to the parathyroid surgery -- he might not have lived long enough to require bladder stone surgery again anyway ... but it sounded like a simple surgery would fix his problem. Instead it created a new one!

 

I am HOPING and praying his calcium levels even out before the trip -- his babysitter works at his regular vet's office, but I can't be asking her to run him down to the specialist while we are gone ...

 

Thanks to so many great folks on this website, we've got a lot of things sorted that I was worrying about before and even have a Meet & Greet scheduled with all the Cruise Critic peeps on board -- but now I am freaking out all over again because of Barney's troubles! If you are a person who prays, and prays for animals, please say a prayer for our Barney. Thank you!

I will pray for your beloved Barney!!

our babies are so loved. My Paisley our grand puppy is the love of our lives and we have gone through so much with her! Prayers help and your little Barney will be in Gods hands protected and will see you when you come back from this wonderful trip you’re going on. What a precious baby you have.

smooth sailings and have a relaxing time!

Denise😊

[VisionaryJax]

14 hours ago, sammiedawg said:

I’ve been in your shoes, worrying about caregiving for an older pet.  

Bless Barney and trust he will be in good hands with a knowledgeable sitter.  

Enjoy your wonderful cruise on the beautiful Marina!  

Thank you so much!

14 hours ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

I will pray for your beloved Barney!!

our babies are so loved. My Paisley our grand puppy is the love of our lives and we have gone through so much with her! Prayers help and your little Barney will be in Gods hands protected and will see you when you come back from this wonderful trip you’re going on. What a precious baby you have.

smooth sailings and have a relaxing time!

Denise😊

Thank you! Everybody lovesBarney, he's a sweet boy.

 

I appreciate all the positive thoughts and prayers! I will keep you updated.

[Heartfelttraveler]

We are currently on Marina in Raiatea and the FP islands are paradise.  We are doing six tours through Oceania (our OLife choice) and so far they have been great.  Two were private tours.  H2O half day snorkel (Private) in Bora Bora was really wonderful.

 

As for pearls - they tend to be the same price on all the islands for they same settings.  Bora Bora has a jewelry store with both etched designs in the pearls and also carved pearls where the seed bead shows.

 

The weather for this week’s cruise has been perfect.  A shower here and there but only for a few minutes.

 

So far Rangiora has been the hottest most intense sun.

 

When our beloved pup was still alive I always felt guilty leaving her to travel.  This trip will be so very worth it for you.

[VisionaryJax]

1 hour ago, Heartfelttraveler said:

We are currently on Marina in Raiatea and the FP islands are paradise.  We are doing six tours through Oceania (our OLife choice) and so far they have been great.  Two were private tours.  H2O half day snorkel (Private) in Bora Bora was really wonderful.

 

As for pearls - they tend to be the same price on all the islands for they same settings.  Bora Bora has a jewelry store with both etched designs in the pearls and also carved pearls where the seed bead shows.

 

The weather for this week’s cruise has been perfect.  A shower here and there but only for a few minutes.

 

So far Rangiora has been the hottest most intense sun.

 

When our beloved pup was still alive I always felt guilty leaving her to travel.  This trip will be so very worth it for you.

Hey that is great to hear! We had heard the O'Life tours weren't that fabulous, so I am excited to know that you got a couple private tours. We have booked things for most of the islands we'll visit, but not the island of Fakarava. Are you going there? If so, and you get a chance, let me know what tour you do there.

 

Also thanks for the info on the pearls. I am excited to get some gifts for our girls.

 

Also I got good news today about Barney -- he passed his blood test and will not require further hospitalization or IV medication. Yay! He'd had so many IV's and blood draws, his little shaved legs were looking raw -- and one of them, he started licking this a.m. While he was getting his blood test and staples out from his previous surgeries, they also wrapped up his leg and said to leave it bandaged for 48 hours so it could heal and he couldn't lick it. The wrap looks very stylish.

 

Thank you everyone for the prayers and good thoughts for Barney and all the wonderful advice and reassurance! I think I am back on track!

[DeeniEncinitas]

2 hours ago, VisionaryJax said:

Hey that is great to hear! We had heard the O'Life tours weren't that fabulous, so I am excited to know that you got a couple private tours. We have booked things for most of the islands we'll visit, but not the island of Fakarava. Are you going there? If so, and you get a chance, let me know what tour you do there.

 

Also thanks for the info on the pearls. I am excited to get some gifts for our girls.

 

Also I got good news today about Barney -- he passed his blood test and will not require further hospitalization or IV medication. Yay! He'd had so many IV's and blood draws, his little shaved legs were looking raw -- and one of them, he started licking this a.m. While he was getting his blood test and staples out from his previous surgeries, they also wrapped up his leg and said to leave it bandaged for 48 hours so it could heal and he couldn't lick it. The wrap looks very stylish.

 

Thank you everyone for the prayers and good thoughts for Barney and all the wonderful advice and reassurance! I think I am back on track!

Oh I’m sooooooo happy for Barney!!! I prayed for him and felt he was going to pull through for you so you can relax and not feel guilty about going on your trip!

what a precious little boy. So loved so cherished. I’m very happy for Barney and my little Paisley is happy too! Barney is very much in Vogue with his little green wrap!

Please relax now ok! Love heals...

will be on our first cruise with O in 2020. Doing a TA from Miami to Rome and then will join her (Riviera) in Monte Carlo 3 weeks later to cruise to Barcelona.

I will live through your wonderful cruise!

Denise😊

[Paulchili]

2 hours ago, VisionaryJax said:

Also I got good news today about Barney -- he passed his blood test and will not require further hospitalization or IV medication. Yay!

Glad to hear that things are under control.

Enjoy your cruise.

[Mura]

I hadn't seen about Barney's problems until now so I'm glad to hear he is doing well.  We had a diabetic cat -- ultimately he went into remission but then died from a squamous cell cancer in his mouth.  But he had daily insulin shots for several years.  He was rather young when diagnosed and wasn't an obese cat.  So you never know!  Cheers for Barney.

 

To whomever said that "O'Life tours weren't that fabulous", I would have to disagree.  I am someone who prefers private tours just because they are smaller groups.  But our oLife tours in the past 2-3 years have pretty much been excellent, maybe one that was only average.  We've had private tours that weren't up to snuff as well!

 

Many of the complaints about ship's tours in the past have been because of O's high cost, not necessarily because they were really horrible.  (Okay, for people who only want 10-12 people on a tour, they don't want to get on a full bus.  I get that!  I'm not happy on a full bus either.)

 

We have been taking more ship's tours since oLife came into play a few years ago and I can't remember a real complaint about any of them ... other than the one in Malta that I should NOT have chosen!

 

Mura

   

[Sea42]

On our January visit we used Fakarava Excursion s. They were reasonable priced and provided a good snorkeling outing. Their boat was located right at the pier where the tender drops you off. After the tour we walked around the streets of town, checked out the local school and found a place for adult beverages right on the water. Here are some photos of the town.

[Petoonya]

So sorry you've had to go through all of this with him, but especially happy that Barney has a new lease on life. He looks pretty perky in the most recent photo and has a little glint in his eye. He's got a few weeks to stabilize even further before you leave and that'll give you the confidence you need to get yourselves to Papeete. I prayed for him too and will continue to. Our animals really are part of our families and they are such innocents. My dogs are big knuckleheads but gotta love 'em anyway.

Best wishes and continued recovery to Barney.

[VisionaryJax]

13 hours ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

Oh I’m sooooooo happy for Barney!!! I prayed for him and felt he was going to pull through for you so you can relax and not feel guilty about going on your trip!

what a precious little boy. So loved so cherished. I’m very happy for Barney and my little Paisley is happy too! Barney is very much in Vogue with his little green wrap!

Please relax now ok! Love heals...

will be on our first cruise with O in 2020. Doing a TA from Miami to Rome and then will join her (Riviera) in Monte Carlo 3 weeks later to cruise to Barcelona.

I will live through your wonderful cruise!

Denise😊

 

thank you! and wow, your cruise sounds fabulous!!! i will definitely post a review.

13 hours ago, Paulchili said:

Glad to hear that things are under control.

Enjoy your cruise.

thank you!

13 hours ago, Mura said:

I hadn't seen about Barney's problems until now so I'm glad to hear he is doing well.  We had a diabetic cat -- ultimately he went into remission but then died from a squamous cell cancer in his mouth.  But he had daily insulin shots for several years.  He was rather young when diagnosed and wasn't an obese cat.  So you never know!  Cheers for Barney.

 

To whomever said that "O'Life tours weren't that fabulous", I would have to disagree.  I am someone who prefers private tours just because they are smaller groups.  But our oLife tours in the past 2-3 years have pretty much been excellent, maybe one that was only average.  We've had private tours that weren't up to snuff as well!

 

Many of the complaints about ship's tours in the past have been because of O's high cost, not necessarily because they were really horrible.  (Okay, for people who only want 10-12 people on a tour, they don't want to get on a full bus.  I get that!  I'm not happy on a full bus either.)

 

We have been taking more ship's tours since oLife came into play a few years ago and I can't remember a real complaint about any of them ... other than the one in Malta that I should NOT have chosen!

 

Mura

   

wow that is great information, thank you! when we went cruising years ago with the kids, we usually just did the ship's tours, and we always had a blast, but we didn't know any better -- this was on RCL, Princess and Carnival. we haven't been on a luxury cruise before and never expected a private tour ... so i bet we would find O Life tours just fine -- although i have arranged private excursions in most stops. this os good to know about the O tours. i am dying to know what went wrong with the one in Malta if you want to share!

12 hours ago, Sea42 said:

On our January visit we used Fakarava Excursion s. They were reasonable priced and provided a good snorkeling outing. Their boat was located right at the pier where the tender drops you off. After the tour we walked around the streets of town, checked out the local school and found a place for adult beverages right on the water. Here are some photos of the town.

5

those photos! it looks awesome! thank you! i cant wait to see fakarava now! i will check out excursions, thank you.

9 hours ago, Petoonya said:

So sorry you've had to go through all of this with him, but especially happy that Barney has a new lease on life. He looks pretty perky in the most recent photo and has a little glint in his eye. He's got a few weeks to stabilize even further before you leave and that'll give you the confidence you need to get yourselves to Papeete. I prayed for him too and will continue to. Our animals really are part of our families and they are such innocents. My dogs are big knuckleheads but gotta love 'em anyway.

Best wishes and continued recovery to Barney.

thank you! barney appreciates all the love, his dad calls him a knucklehead, too. i agree, they are part of the family, so you have to do what you can to give them a happy life. i am so happy barney is on the mend.

[Mura]

The problem with the Malta tour was that it just didn't do what we really wanted to do.  The guide was excellent although frustrated with the slower pace of many of the older passengers on the tour.  This was particularly noticeable as we walked through an old Arab village on the way to the Mdina.  But we'd been there before with another couple (on a private tour where we did the Mdina on our own) and much of it was repetitious for us.  It wasn't a BAD tour, just the wrong one for us!

 

Mura

[VisionaryJax]

2 hours ago, Mura said:

The problem with the Malta tour was that it just didn't do what we really wanted to do.  The guide was excellent although frustrated with the slower pace of many of the older passengers on the tour.  This was particularly noticeable as we walked through an old Arab village on the way to the Mdina.  But we'd been there before with another couple (on a private tour where we did the Mdina on our own) and much of it was repetitious for us.  It wasn't a BAD tour, just the wrong one for us!

 

Mura

Ah, I see. I envy you all the places you have been!

[pinotlover]

Mura just nicely explained the issue, for us, with taking ship shore tours. I’ve never seen Oceania run a BAD tour, even though it’s possible. In fact, I firmly believe that O’s staff works diligently to try to put together a collection of interesting tours that suits a wide range of interests. 

 

The problem is Oceania refuses to enforce any physical limitations for their tours. I’ve seen tours advertised as not allowing wheelchairs when passengers showed up with wheelchairs! Far too often tours are advertised as seeing sights 1-7 ( for example) and after number four we have to head back to the ship because of older passengers being physically unable to navigate the streets or touraine leaving the rest of us to play stand around and wait all day. Can anyone explain why O allowed a couple in wheelchair to wonder into the ruins of Pompeii to have to then be carried out?

 

We have been on wonderful tours ran by Oceania’s subcontractors. We have been on tours that have been highly disappointing because of fellow shipmates. We see zero advantage in paying Oceania’s premium ( inflated) prices while accepting the risks of not seeing what we’ve paid $1000s to come see. We travel for the ports, the ships are a secondary bonus.  

 

We prefer to both minimize risk and pay lesser costs by doing small group tours. For us, Oceania tours are for those ports with little to no infrastructure to accommodate private tours, ie we’re captive customers. Additionally, we enjoy researching the various ports of call and finding the tours that best suit our interests in lieu of just reading Oceania’s short lists. Each to their own.

[VisionaryJax]

55 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Mura just nicely explained the issue, for us, with taking ship shore tours. I’ve never seen Oceania run a BAD tour, even though it’s possible. In fact, I firmly believe that O’s staff works diligently to try to put together a collection of interesting tours that suits a wide range of interests. ...

 

We prefer to both minimize risk and pay lesser costs by doing small group tours. For us, Oceania tours are for those ports with little to no infrastructure to accommodate private tours, ie we’re captive customers. Additionally, we enjoy researching the various ports of call and finding the tours that best suit our interests in lieu of just reading Oceania’s short lists. Each to their own.

2

This makes a lot of sense. We aren't doing any O tours -- with help from folks on this forum, I've lined up small group/private tours which sound great. I did notice the O tours were far more costly than most of the private ones we looked into, but many people in our roll call said they weren't doing them because they weren't worth that amount. This is our first cruise on Oceania, so maybe I should have scheduled us one just to see how it is.

[Mura]

I wouldn't worry about booking a ship's tour just to see how it is!  One reason we've used the oLife tours is if you choose correctly the price becomes cost effective -- yes, you are paying more for the cruise than if you take the cruise-only fare, but you get more than your money's worth by finding a higher priced tour that you're entitled to.  If you have private tours already booked, just stick with them.  They are cheaper (as many have already said) plus you have the benefit of a much smaller group.

 

While we've had some excellent ship's tours and the others were almost always at least very good, I still prefer private tours myself.

 

Mura

[VisionaryJax]

First off, thanks everyone for all the encouragement! We are home from the trip, and I can say, you were all RIGHT. It was wonderful. Beyond imagination, really. The places we were looked like postcards. And our ship and suite were amazing. The hotel on Papeete was lovely, the vow renewal service went off far better than I ever thought it would (one of the highlights of the trip!), and the cruise was just fantastic. The one disappointment, we didn't get to land at Easter Island. But I am sure I will go back!

 

We had asked our doggie sitter not to tell us if anything went wrong with Barney. We couldn't do anything so far away, and it would only be distressing knowing he was in trouble and we couldn't be there. She works at his vet's office, and we just left her a credit card and knew she would take care of him. I got a couple of texts from her saying he was doing well but struggling with an infection on his leg, the same place he had the IV for his calcium, etc. She was taking him to work with her, which he liked going to the vet's office, everyone there loved him, he was like a pet, and he was getting the infection treated and cleaned every day.

 

Then the night we were heading home after the cruise, at the airport I received an email from her; the previous Saturday Barney had eaten a good breakfast and was "spry as usual" in the afternoon; Brittany was staying at the house with him and went out for a couple hours in the evening -- when she came back, she said, she had found him in his basket (his little bed), and he had passed away. She said he seemed peaceful and didn't appear to have been in distress, for which I was grateful. He was old, diabetic, and had been having a hard time recovering from his surgeries, so it wasn't a shock. But we will surely miss him.

 

We were already sad our cruise was over ... and doubly sad our boy wouldn't be there to greet us when we arrived home. Thanks for the all the prayers and concern for him here. He was a goof and a good boy. Here he is in one of his final days, hanging out at the vet's office.

[DeeniEncinitas]

😔 I am so sad but he lived a wonderful exceptional caring life that had soooo much love from the moon and back.

God bless you during your time of grief but realize Barney had a great purpose being in your family and will always be with you in spirit ! 

Loved your blog and loved your pictures!

Take care

Sincerely

Denise from San Diego😊

[Mura]

As a pet lover myself, I also send my sympathies at the lost of Barney.  But it sounds like he was treated as well as he could be while you were away, which must be a comfort.

 

Mura