Yorkeys Knob March 2015 on Solstice no possibility to see GBR

[saracenman]

Hi

 

I just thought i would advise you all of the problems I had with Celebrity regarding the lack of opportunities apparently to visit the GBR via Yorkeys Knob/Cairns.

 

Having booked this cruise 1 year before departure on back to back from Auckland I am furious that we are not ,at this moment in time, being offered the GBR trip. Apparently this is due docking at 12.00 which does not leave enough time with 6pm departure.

 

This frankly strikes me as ridiculous planning by Celebrity as they have almost a year to effect a change. I wanted to advise you all that I have taken up the cudgels with Celebrity and ave been n touch directly with the Ceo Michael Bayley's office and expressed my displeasure. I had attempted to speak to both UK and Florida offices but frankly got nowhere. i would not take no for n answer and would appreciate some assistance from fellow cruise passengers and I will inform Mr Bayley's office of your dissatisfaction also. I am sure that a powerful bunch of dissatisfied cruisers would have more impact.

 

I am more than willing to act as the conduit here so please put a message on CC or email me directly at anthonyhblake@btinternet.com and I will forward all these on. I have already received a reply from the office with profuse apologies and blaming the tour operators which is a complete cop out on Celebrity's behalf.

 

They have almost 1 year to change the itinerary in order to arrive early - I for one thought that the GBR would be offered as a trip as it is one The Wonders of the World and to circumnavigate Australia and not be given the chance to see the GBR is patently ridiculous and not acceptable.

 

I will post this message on the other 2 links and please reply to me ASAP in order to remedy this situation.

[wwcruisers]

OP -- sorry, I have NO idea what talking about. But then, I haven't made it to Australia/NZ yet -- so, I don't even know what I'm missing. ;)

I understand your fervor to effect change at the RCCL corporate level, but you might want to be careful about posting personal information here -- especially an e-mail with your whole name in it. Spybots are everywhere! :eek:

[baldercash]

The timing stated is ridiculous, it takes a 1/2 hour to tender at minimum then you need to board a bus - shuttle and then the ride takes another 1/2 hour to town. If you were on 1st tender and shuttle you may be able have 4 hours max in the town!

 

Since you may be sharing the experience with 2500 pax all hell will break out with fights for tenders and shuttles going and returning from town.

I would imagine it takes 2 hours to get all passengers on shore.

So you cannot go to the reef and it will be frustrating to even visit the town.

 

Why are they even bothering to do this port with this timing?

I share your frustration, we did the Millie last year and they anchored at 9:30am which meant the only option to the Reef was the ship tour.

They picked us up from the ship and it was a full day but did reduced our options.

It was a great ship excursion and in hind sight may have been a better choice but it was limited to about 200pax.

 

Sadly X is not giving you any choice!

[Christine Frances]

I had a look at the itinerary and it says 12 - 8:confused: If X isn't offering it why not do a private tour?

Edited May 12, 2014 by Christine Frances

[NearEnough]

If you want to go to the outer reef, tours leave at 9.00am approximately, and return around 5.00pm, It is an all day affair unless you want to helicopter out there. There are coral viewing places closer in, Fitzroy Is. for example, where getting there is 30 min fast catamaran ride from Cairns wharf. You can snorkel straight from the beach but it would not be the same as the spectacular outer reef.

[cruisestitch]

this poster has already had one thread on this topic, explaining that the private tours all leave in the morning and that the ship is not in port long enough to do what he wants --

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2037709&highlight=gbr

[timtam2]

Does the cruise go to Port Douglas as well? If so, you would get better reef trips from there anyway.

 

Also, be aware that the tendering in Yorkeys Knob can be long and laborious. ....

Edited May 12, 2014 by timtam2

[Flipper133]

We did the Solstice Top End cruise last year.

 

I note a few changes in 2015...they only spend 1 day in Bali (we overnighted so had 2 days) and they call into Newcastle.

 

The trip from Darwin to Cairns is problematical ...it is two sea days and things happen. With us there was a need to evacuate a crew member by helicopter somewhere off Arnhem land. "Interesting" event for pax, but delayed the ship quite some time.

 

 

 

Late getting into Cairns meant many trips (incl. those going to the outer reef) had to be cancelled or curtailed. The captain did use his discretion to stay at Yorkeys an extra couple of hours...and I see that in 2015 they are staying until 8.00pm instead of usual 6.00pm.

 

In the end we did a trip to Green Island...not the outer reef , but a tour on a glass bottom boat did show us a lot of what the reef is about.

 

I fancy that Tony Blake (OP) should be grateful for being able to see some of this great land.... and afterall he does get to visit Newcastle :rolleyes:

 

cheers

[Beanb41]

As one who is also on this particular cruise I have to agree that the timing sux. I also have done a day trip out to the reef and concur that it is an all day trip. I cannot fathom out why we are stopping here for such a short time. We would be better off staying an extra day and missing Newcastle. Cruisers could then participate in a ships GBR cruise or arrange to go privately. A natural wonder of the world and no one will get to see it . Shame

[boogs]

this poster has already had one thread on this topic, explaining that the private tours all leave in the morning and that the ship is not in port long enough to do what he wants --

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2037709&highlight=gbr

 

So, is he expecting that the cruise line set their schedule and create an excursion specifically for him? Why is it the cruise line's fault if they don't do an excursion to anywhere he wants to go? :confused: They can't go everywhere each of their passengers may want to go.

 

If he absolutely must go there, he needs to contact a tour guide and customize a special tour just for him - and pay what they may charge for a non-standard tour. It's called taking responsibility for one's life instead acting like a victim by complaining about what someone else has done to him.

Edited May 13, 2014 by boogs

[Pushka]

I agree with the OP and posted on the original thread. The timing does not work for either a private tour or ships tour of the GBR. It's pretty much a wasted afternoon. Not sure why they'd even bother anchoring there.

[chamima]

Last year we booked a private excursion with Reefdaytripper - sales@reefdaytripper.com.au

 

http://www.reefdaytripper.com.au/

 

We had to book the entire boat to get them to go out on our time schedule.

I don't remember the price but if you can get people on your Roll Call to fill the boat it might solve your problem.

They were really nice and it was a good trip but unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate - it was very rough and had stormed the day before and then again as we sailed back into port. Snorkeling wasn't the best that day - that's what's wrong with only spending one day at each port. :(

 

So, is he expecting that the cruise line set their schedule and create an excursion specifically for him? Why is it the cruise line's fault if they don't do an excursion to anywhere he wants to go? :confused: They can't go everywhere each of their passengers may want to go.

 

If he absolutely must go there, he needs to contact a tour guide and customize a special tour just for him - and pay what they may charge for a non-standard tour. It's called taking responsibility for one's life instead acting like a victim by complaining about what someone else has done to him.

 

I posted the above on the poster's original thread.

It's a link to a private trip that he might try to arrange to go to the reef .

We were on the same cruise as Flipper.

[NLH Arizona]

If the cruise is a year out, why not cancel the cruise and look for another line that might have a whole day at the GBR?

[Flipper133]

We were on the same cruise as Flipper.

 

Hi Karen

 

Good to see you are still "dancing"

 

We are going on Solstice again in December..taking Grand Kids to New Zealand (they joined us in Brisbane when we went to the Koala Park) and they have been agitating for us to take them on the "big ship" :)

 

cheers

[chamima]

Hi Karen

 

Good to see you are still "dancing"

 

We are going on Solstice again in December..taking Grand Kids to New Zealand (they joined us in Brisbane when we went to the Koala Park) and they have been agitating for us to take them on the "big ship" :)

 

cheers

 

 

Hi John

Yes, I remember your adorable, sweet grandchildren and the wonderful day that you arranged in Brisbane for us!

That cruise was the trip of a lifetime for us! (Except that now we can't wait to go back!)

You'll love taking your grandchildren to New Zealand!

[Beanb41]

So, is he expecting that the cruise line set their schedule and create an excursion specifically for him? Why is it the cruise line's fault if they don't do an excursion to anywhere he wants to go? :confused: They can't go everywhere each of their passengers may want to go.

 

If he absolutely must go there, he needs to contact a tour guide and customize a special tour just for him - and pay what they may charge for a non-standard tour. It's called taking responsibility for one's life instead acting like a victim by complaining about what someone else has done to him.

 

Prey tell why a cruise line would come to the Great Barrier Reef and not provide for its customers to visit what is one of the natural wonders of the world. They do however on this cruise visit mining and coal ports like Port Hedland and Newcastle which have little to no tourist attractions at all. Go figure

[wwcruisers]

Prey tell why a cruise line would come to the Great Barrier Reef and not provide for its customers to visit what is one of the natural wonders of the world. They do however on this cruise visit mining and coal ports like Port Hedland and Newcastle which have little to no tourist attractions at all. Go figure

 

Don't have a clue why cruise lines do this sort of thing, but it happens more often than you would think. A few years ago, we were looking forward to our first stop in the British Virgin Islands, on Solstice. It was disappointing that the ship was only scheduled to be in Tortola for 6 hours, and many of the things we wanted to see -- eg: the Baths at Virgin Gorda, were practically impossible to get to, in that short a time.

 

To make matters worse, the Captain made a last-minute announcement that the "all-aboard" time was being moved up by half an hour. Well, apparently nobody told our our (ship sponsored) tour operator -- because we were late getting back from Jost Van Dyke. There was a very impatient shore excursion employee, waiting to personally escort our little tour group back onboard the ship -- and roll the gang-way up, after us! :eek:

Edited May 13, 2014 by wwcruisers

[BronteBlue]

 

I have already received a reply from the office with profuse apologies and blaming the tour operators which is a complete cop out on Celebrity's behalf.

 

I beleive you are correct. We did a ship's tour from Radiance OTS last October who picked us up directly from the ship (no tendering into Yorkeys Knob). Pick up was around 9 am and were back onboard around 4.30pm. Celebrity are arriving far too late for ANY operator to be able to take you out to the reef, as it's about a 2 hour trip by fast cat to get there and ALL tour operators leave the reef around 2.30 pm.

 

Reef Magic (fabulous btw) is available EVERY DAY in March 2015. It's not any tour operators' fault as Celebrity has said - it's Celebrity's late arrival! Doesn't make sense at all and I can see why you're so upset. I hope they do something about it.

 

http://reefmagiccruises.tourstogo.com.au/tour/125-reef-magic-cruises-marine-world-outer-barrier-reef-cruise/

[Wastegirl]

I am doing this cruise from Perth to Sydney and I didn't book it to see the Great Barrier Reef, from personal experience it is something you need 'time' to do properly. To be honest largeish cruise ships like the Solstice do not have the best itineraries in Australia/NZ. My family and I are doing this cruise for relaxation and a break away from work, etc as it is not the best time of year to be visiting that area anyway (hot, humid and stormy). For us it is a ship we haven't done before going to new Ports instead of the usual NZ/South Pacific options. Even if you do get to the GBR it is highly likely the weather will be against you and one thing I know from past experience, clear calm water on the outer reef is essential for a great experience.

 

In fact what I also find strange is that the first part of the Solstice cruise (lots are doing back to back) goes from Auckland to Perth around the bottom of Australia. It gets to Adelaide but does not stop at Kangaroo Island, this amazes me as this also is a tourist hot spot that most cruise ships coming to that part of the world stop at. It seems to me that Celebrity only do the big ports and it is more about the ship than the destination.

[boogs]

Prey tell why a cruise line would come to the Great Barrier Reef and not provide for its customers to visit what is one of the natural wonders of the world. They do however on this cruise visit mining and coal ports like Port Hedland and Newcastle which have little to no tourist attractions at all. Go figure

 

If the ports of call aren't appealing, there is a very simple solution - don't go on the cruise. No one is forcing the OP to take this cruise!

[Aussiepair]

All the cruise lines seem to do the same thing and it is ridiculous. The Cairns / Port Douglas area of Far Nth Queensland has more to offer than just about every other area of Australia and the Great Barrier Reef is worth the cost of a cruise just on its own if it is seen properly. The GBR is a full day experience with most day trips leaving before 9am and returning after 5pm with many spending much longer at the reef. The cruise lines need to overnight at Cairns and Port Douglas to give people even a chance of making the most of their cruise.

[Gracie115]

If the cruise is a year out, why not cancel the cruise and look for another line that might have a whole day at the GBR?

 

My thoughts too...or book a land trip....if this is something you MUST do then book a trip that will allow it...trying to change an itinerary on a cruiseline has little or no chance of succeeding....

[MikeC1610]

My family went on the Solstice for an 8 Night South Pacific cruise in April this year. We absolutely loved the ship and planned to do another Solstice cruise next year.

 

We were interested in doing a longer cruise and something other than the usual South Pacific or NZ and this Top End cruise looked good until we had a closer look at the ports of call.

 

Port Headland from what I've been told by relatives that live in Broome, is a waste of time, the Cairns schedule is absolutely ridiculous and Newcastle (unless you want a day trip to the Hunter Valley) is boring.

 

Would have been much better do do Exmouth (Ningaloo Reef), overnight in Bali and overnight in Cairns. Just makes you wonder who they put in charge of planning itineraries and whether they actually spend any time researching the ports of call?

[Lsimon]

I am with those that say that the OP should consider a different cruise line, or perhaps a different trip all together, if the ship's itinerary does not meet their needs. It would be one thing to complain if the ship made a last minute change when he cruise was near which eliminated this opportunity (more about that in a minute) but it sounds like the cruise is still far away and that the OP would have known the schedule when they booked the cruise.

 

Cruise ship ports of call schedules are limited by all sorts of things - port scheduling with local authorities who may be dealing with other cruise ships as well, tides, ocean currents, time to get to the port from the previous port or to get to the next port, and other factors.

 

Everyone should also keep in mind that there is always a chance that a cruise ship will miss a port entirely due to circumstances out of the cruise lines control (weather, accidents, illness on board, local port issues, etc) as well as circumstances within the cruise line's control such as mechanical problems. The cruise lines do not make any guarantee that a port of call will be made. Any frequent cruiser will tell you that while the ship doesn't miss ports frequently it is not uncommon either. Cruise lines generally will not even provide any fare adjustments or other compensation for missed ports unless it is due to the cruise line's fault and even then the compensation is often just a token amount. The bottom line is if a passenger considers a particular port of call essential to their voyage then a cruise might not be the best option for them.

[chamima]

My family went on the Solstice for an 8 Night South Pacific cruise in April this year. We absolutely loved the ship and planned to do another Solstice cruise next year.

 

We were interested in doing a longer cruise and something other than the usual South Pacific or NZ and this Top End cruise looked good until we had a closer look at the ports of call.

 

Port Headland from what I've been told by relatives that live in Broome, is a waste of time, the Cairns schedule is absolutely ridiculous and Newcastle (unless you want a day trip to the Hunter Valley) is boring.

 

Would have been much better do do Exmouth (Ningaloo Reef), overnight in Bali and overnight in Cairns. Just makes you wonder who they put in charge of planning itineraries and whether they actually spend any time researching the ports of call?

 

I think a lot of the decision on ports of call and overnights has to do with docking fees.

Port Hedland is probably a bargain (we were there last year and, other than maybe refueling, no one could figure out why we stopped there) and Cairns is probably expensive.