voyager1964

Thank you very much, so Grand Turk is out of question. With regard to tides, the tides in the Caribbean are no way as large as e.g., in Bay of Fundy - see here for Anigua https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/noaatidepredictions.html?id=9761115&legacy=1. The range is mere foot or so

I asked a similar question on the Disabled board and on Antigua board, but this one is specific to St Lucia. We will be in Castries on Enchanted Princess and I wonder what the gangway can look like. If it is steep and/or with stairs, would the crew still be able to provide wheelchair assistance? Without manually lifting, just pushing the wheelchair? Thanks for your help.

I asked a similar question on the Disabled board, but perhaps this board has a higher traffic. We will be in Antigua on Enchanted Princess and I wonder what the gangway can look like. If it is steep and/or with stairs, would the crew be able to provide wheelchair assistance? Thanks for your help.

DW and I are planning a trip on Enchanted Princess this Spring with ports of call in Eastern Caribbean - Antigua, Martinique, St. Lucia, Dominica, St. Thomas, and Grand Turk. After our disastrous cruise in Europe on Azamara last summer (steep gangway with stairs in every other port), I would like to make sure the gangways in the Caribbean are more accessible. DW uses a cane and asks for wheelchair assistance if the gangway is somewhat steep. But if the gangway is too steep, it cannot be accessible by a wheelchair. What was your experience in those ports? Please advise. Thanks in advance

Greetings St Lucia experts, My wife and I will be visiting St. Lucia for the first time in March. My wife has a bad back and she cannot climb stairs, though walks OK on a flat surface. She is a good swimmer and enjoys snorkeling. I searched throughout numerous posts here, and it looks like the best snorkeling sites (near the Pitons) are out of reach, as they either require boat travel (no-no with a bad back, and then stairs to get into the boat) or getting over numerous stairs to access the beach from a vehicle. Would you recommend an accessible beach with a reasonable snorkeling and not too many lurking boats/tourists? Perhaps the Pigeon Island? Thanks, voyager

So you buy several flights with award points/miles while they are cheap, wait for schedule change, get what you want and then release back what you don't? Here is the flaw in the plan as I see it: when you release the award flights, they are sold to your competitors by the dynamic pricing, much > miles than you paid...

Certainly, Azamara never offered an additional entry on a different deck to solve the mobility problem. However, whenever such an additional entry is not available/possible, we still have a sloped/often steep gangway. Does Nova;s gangway have stairs? If it does, the only way the crew can help is by lifting the passenger in the wheelchair and carrying them above the gangway. Now imagine typical not-so-strong crew and a 250+lb passenger 😞 So my question is: Is Nova using a flat-surface gangway (along which a wheelchair can be pushed) or a gangway with stairs?

I am contemplating a NZ cruise on Nova in December 2024. The itinerary is just perfect for what I am looking for, and there are no tender ports. However, my wife has mobility limitations so that she cannot negotiate stairs. Whereas she is not a fulltime wheelchair user, we usually request wheelchair assistance for her to embark/disembark the ship. Our only "small" ship experience was a recent trip on Azamara Pursuit in Europe. They alternated between a relatively flat gangway connected to the Port's elevator and a long and steep gangway with stairs. For the latter, the crew would need to manually lift her with the wheelchair, which was a terrifying experience. So much so that she had to stay on board in Bordeaux and Lisbon.. I wonder what sort of a gangway can we expect on Nova? Would it have stairs making the wheelchair impassable? Your help is much appreciated. Thanks!

To follow up: I am leaning towards the local line. But, could anybody please clarify this thing: I hear that many ships including the Adventure were not allowed to NZ ports until after they perform special external cleaning. Which caused numerous port cancellations. Given that Adventure is not frequent to NZ in 2024, how likely that scenario could be repeated in November 2024 for Adventure?

Sorry, I actually asked about the Byron pool (=lap pool on Princess)

Not sure if the link works, but the pool appears to be surrounded by a barrier:

This pool adjacent to the Lotus Spa, appears to have a graduated entry into water - certainly a good thing for people with limited mobility. But, it also appears that the only way to access this pool is from deck 16, by using a flight of stairs down. Is there a way to access this pool for deck 15, perhaps barrier free? On Diamond Princess, in particular? Thanks in advance!

I agree that this particular itinerary is very appealing. But, the company 😞 If you have sailed with them, could you please tell me how accessible the Byron area is on Adventure? I saw the pool and it appears to have a graduated entry that my wife can take. But, can you get to the pool from the ground level (it seems as if you need to enter the area from the deck above). Do they have a lift for the tender like the Royal Princess has? Thanks again, the inputs I get here are so useful

The reason for the option 1 timing (late October - early November) is that we wanted to stay at GBR before...

Could you please clarify this as the itinerary shows the Fjords from 7 am to 4 pm for both option 1 and 3...

An update: Contemplating a fourth option with Royal Princess from Sydney in early December 2024 (from 7th to 21st). Sydney 3 days at sea Bay of Islands Auckland Tauranga Day at sea Wellington Lyttelton Port Chalmers Fjords 2 days at sea Sydney What do you think about this option as compared to the previous three? Will this sailing/ports of call be crowdy? Thanks!

Yes, but unfortunately either only North island is covered (e.g., Royal Princess), or a luxury line (Viking, Silversea and the likes), which not only too expensive but also using a sort of a gangway with stairs. The only exception is indeed HAL's Westerdam, but it sails there in January and its itinerary includes Melbourne and Hobart, the two places we are planning to visit on ourselves..

I am contemplating a cruise to NZ from Australia and came up with these three options. 1) Celebrity Edge, 13 nights from Nov 18-December 1, 2024. Sydney, 2 days at sea, Bay of Islands, Tauranga, Auckland, Napier, Picton, Lyttelton, Dunedin, Fjords, 2 days at sea, Sydney. 2) Diamond Princess, 14 nights from October 26-November 11, 2024. Melbourne, 4 days at sea, Auckland, Tauranga, day at sea, Wellington, Lyttelton, Port Chalmers, Fjords, 2 days at sea, Melbourne 3) Diamond Princess, 14 nights from January 13-27, 2025. Brisbane, 3 days at sea, Fjords, Port Chalmers, at sea, Wellington, Napier, Tauranga, Auckland, 3 days at sea, Brisbane. The Celebrity's cruise is ~ 50% more expensive than Princess's. What I need help with are these questions a) Why would Diamond spend 4 days at sea out but only 2 days in? Would they be seeking a less "wavy" path in Tasmanian sea? b) Would the January cruise be much more crowdy (in terms of both ship and ports) than the other two? c) Is it OK to visit NZ in Spring with those specific ports of call, or a much better experience would be in Summer (i.e., January)? d) Are Princess's itineraries in NZ worse than Celebrity's? DW has mobility limitations (no stairs), if this makes any difference. I would appreciate inputs and thoughts of experts. Thanks in advance

Thanks for your thoughts! A follow-up question: if we compare the Eurodam 11-days cruise in March with the same cruise but in February, how many more children should we expect in March? Like <100, 100-200 or still 200+?

Hello HAL cruisers, Seeking your help to decide between two itineraries 1. Nieuw Amsterdam (FLL, Day at sea, Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas, 1/2 Moon Cay, FLL), from March 16 2. Eurodam (FLL, Day at sea, Day at sea, St. Maarten, St. Johns, Roseau, Castries, Basseterre, St. Thomas, day at sea, 1/2 Moon Cay, FLL), also from March 16. Due to my work commitments, I would prefer the first option, but am afraid there would be too many children as this is more or less a school break time. But, I am not sure there would be significantly less overcrowding on the second itinerary. What would experienced mariners advise? For a background, we have usually sailed with Celebrity, also tried RCCL, NCL, and, more recently, Azamara. My wife has difficulty with stairs. And, you can guess the reason for this cruise from my screen name:) Thanks!

There is no surprise the promised on-line check-in does not work. To me, its importance is related to spreading out the crowds based on the assigned check-in time.

Hello @groryjm I am sorry but I actually tried to locate the tapas place near Sagrada, not in Marseille. Although the bouillabaisse looks lovely too 🙂

Following up your report with great interest. Do you remember the name of that place? Thanks,

I see that they have finally abandoned the 2 pm earliest check in. Yet it is not shown on their website

I guess you get a lot of privacy with these balconies. Not only you are protected from prying eyes from above, but also from both sides 😉 Or you are not?