salmn

Wow--that makes me feel better. They listed the three sounds separately but they are all on the same day. I thought it might be three more sea days in addition to the ones we already have. Think we will proceed with booking.:D

We are looking at a New Zealand cruise on Celebrity Solstice. What they do during the three days listed as "Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound, and Dusky Sound" Just wondering if this is worthwhile or should we be doing a land based tour? Thanks for any input from someone who has done this cruise.

DaveandDiane--Having 4 nights vs. 7 would be one negative for OAT, although we did an excursion the afternoon that we arrived and the morning before we left, so that did make it more like 5 days. We saw everything we expected to see on land and more. The land based hikes and animals were amazing. Our snorkeling was not great, but not because we didn't try and not OAT issue. We had some rough water and current stirring up the sediment so the snorkeling was not great. We did see sharks, turtles, sea lions, fish, but wasn't good for photography. We were there in late February. That was our only disappointment. BTW, the smaller boat was not really affected by the rough water, so no one was seasick.

Anyway, answer to your question, yes we had enough time in Galapagos, but if you wanted more,for the difference in price, you could add on another 3-4 day tour piggy-backed with the OAT trip and still be $$ ahead.

Talk with OAT and see if they would postpone your return flight a few days.

Good luck, any of the trips will be amazing!

We like to cruise, but think this particular trip is better done with OAT. Small groups (we had 12), less expensive, lodging, meals, and guides were wonderful. The boat we were on in the Galapagos was small enough to go close to shore and then used zodiacs to go ashore, yet large enough to have several areas to relax and not feel confined. It was well equipped, the crew and guides were excellent. With OAT, you also get to spend some time in Cusco and Quito, which were delightful. You are also able to interact with locals throughout the trip if you are interested in that.

The only warning would be that the OAT trip is for active people. Several hikes at Peru ruins in addition to MP, getting in an out of the zodiacs, and hikes on land in the Galapagos make up a trip that would not be suited for persons with mobility issues. The people in our group were in their 60's and 70's, but active people in relatively good condition.

We have not done the Expedition cruise in the Galapagos, but would highly recommend the OAT tour.

The operator that we went with from the ship was Reef Magic.

If you are land based and not using a ship's excursion, I would agree that Port Douglas might be a better place.

Also, since you have choices, a smaller boat that does three snorkeling stops would be my choice, although the larger boat to the platform was a good experience.

We were at Cairns (as well as Airlie Beach and Port Douglas) on the Solstice in March. The ocean was flat with no rough water the days we were there, so cannot speak to the sea sickness. We took a small catamaran in Airlie Beach, but didn't go to the outer reef there, just to the Whitsundays. The other two ports, we had excursions on larger catamarans. Probably more of a concern would be booking a small catamaran trip out of Cairns. All three of these ports were tender ports, so trying to book a private trip and being able to get there on time might be problematic. The ships tour to the GBR from Cairns loaded directly from the ship. It was our best trip of the three. We were concerned about too many people and snorkeling from a platform, but it was well organized and the snorkeling was amazing.

We were on this itinerary three years ago. We booked a snorkel trip through a dive shop in Pattaya. We took a taxi from the port to the dive shop. As I recall the taxi ride took about 20 minutes and was not very expensive. When we walked from the dive shop to the boat, I recall seeing beach clubs along the beach in Pattaya, so think that you could take a taxi to the beach there. When I was researching this, I saw other places with beaches that were doable for a day trip, but you would have to take public transportation (taxi, bus, or those little three wheel taxis).

We have been advised that this might be a time that it would be best to take the ship's excursion. The ship's excursions apparently load directly from the ship. The tender time is an unknown as the Solstice has never overnighted in Cairns. The ship anchors and tenders to Yorkey's Knob, which is a 20 minute drive to Cairns. Previous Solstice cruises have had issues with the tendering into Yorkey's. To catch an non-Celebrity tour before 8:00am could be an issue. Just passing on info that was given to us. If you find out a way to do the independent tour, let us know!

We are on the Solstice next March. The ship overnights in Cairns. We are trying to do a tour to the GBR on the second day. Can anyone give me any information about how early they usually start running tenders when the ship overnights? It seems to me that when we have previously stayed in port overnight that they ran the tenders early, but it has bee a while and my memory isn't what it used to be, so need help on this. Thanks

Very interesting given the fact that Celebrity confirmed that the internet was down the full day on the first sea day and another day later in the cruise and on both days we were unable to get it to work anywhere we went on the ship (on two separate devices).

Well, I guess you must know more, but since we were in the process of selling one home and purchasing another, we were constantly checking emails. Because of that, we purchased the internet package. I guess we got lucky because there was only one morning we were not able to access emails.

We were also on the May 12 Northbound Millenium. I think the internet was only down one morning, as I used it every day from our deck 7 stateroom. It was faster than when we were on Millie in 2014 and reached our room! The recently added terrace area on deck 12 is a nice feature. Didn't watch any movies, but went there to relax. Nice lounges and furniture. There is a small outside elevator from deck 11 for those who may need it.

The weather was nice most days. Two days of rain, but the 78* weather in Ketchikan and the gorgeous day at Hubbard glacier more than made up for that. If anyone wonders about sailing in May, we thought it was a good choice.

We went on our own at Ketchikan, Sitka, and ISP, ships tours--whale watching in Juneau, Whitepass railway in Skagway, Prince William Sound and airport dropoff in Seward. Would recommend all the ships tours we did. Well organized. No problems with disorganization for us.

We had early seating in the MDR, breakfast and lunch in the buffet. Food and service was good. Yes, scrambled eggs in trays were runny, but there were several egg stations to have them fresh.

We had premium drink package. The bartenders at the Martini bar are the best around! You have to have a drink there just to see their show.

We rented a car and toured Denali and interior Alaska for 6 days. Headed home tomorrow!

Just checking as we will be short on time. May 12, Millenium departing from Vancouver BC, which port? Canada Place or Ballantyne port? Thanks

Just returned from SE Asia. We did a snorkel tour on a dive boat in Pattaya. For three of us to take the port taxi, it was $60 US round trip. The taxi took us to the dive shop and then picked us up for the return trip. It was expensive in my mind, but also reliable and safe. The driver left us his card to call if our return time changed. We were an hour earlier than we told him, so the dive shop called and he was there to take us back to the ship. It was about a 30 minute drive. BTW, the snorkeling was marginal. I think the divers saw more.

Just curious how many people actually get the CDC recommended immunizations for travel in Asia (Typhoid and Hepatitis A)?

We cruised the Baltic in early July, had some great weather. I would say that it just depends on your budget, but the balcony definitely makes your room seem larger and is great for standing out there for sail in/sail out even if you don't spend a lot of time sitting out there during the day. I would take a veranda any time if it is within your budget.