Key West Butterfly excursion cancelled?

[mayleeman]

We were signed up on the Equinox April 4 2020 for the trolley and butterfly conservatory. It is now missing and we have a higher OBC balance. It was in my order history last week. Anyone know if there is a reason it was cancelled, and more importantly, a good butterfly alternative? I searched and found nothing (also posted in Eq roll calls). 

 

Thanks! 

Edited December 3, 2019 by mayleeman

[G.M.T.]

Maybe this excursion has been mothballed.

[upwarduk]

Seems a bit early to cancel due to lack of interest.

We had an excursion in St Petersburg cancelled about 3 months prior to the cruise. It was of the inside of Peterhof and the alternative offered was the inside of Peterhof + Art gallery. I just think 2 excursions were combined.

However, we never got to see Peterhof, as the ship wasn’t allowed into St Petersburg due to windy conditions.

[Algebralovr]

Unless you have lots of OBC - N to use up, it is simple to walk to the butterfly conservatory and pay at the door for entry.  

 

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, G.M.T. said:

Maybe this excursion has been mothballed.

LOL

[Fouremco]

16 minutes ago, Algebralovr said:

Unless you have lots of OBC - N to use up, it is simple to walk to the butterfly conservatory and pay at the door for entry.  

 

Pretty much what I was thinking. You could also get tickets for the HOHO trolley if you don't want to walk, and it has a stop right outside the conservatory.

[grandgeezer]

29 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Pretty much what I was thinking. You could also get tickets for the HOHO trolley if you don't want to walk, and it has a stop right outside the conservatory.

We did this tour in August and the HOHO trolley didn't stop in front of the conservatory, it stopped at least a ten minute walk from it.

[bEwAbG]

To find out "why," you'd have to ask Celebrity.  I'd contact the butterfly place directly and ask them if there is something happening on that date.  Could be that they're closed for some reason.  If not, X sometimes cancels things and then re-posts them.  Hard to tell, which is why you should ask them.  

[Fouremco]

16 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

We did this tour in August and the HOHO trolley didn't stop in front of the conservatory, it stopped at least a ten minute walk from it.

Maybe it depends on which HOHO trolley line you choose. We took the City View trolley, and its #5 stop is right outside the conservatory on Duval St. Here's a screen shot of the route map showing the stop and a Google Maps street view with the trolley parking sign right outside the conservatory:

 

 

 

 

 

[mayleeman]

Thanks, everybody. I took a screenshot of the map. The trolley sounds like a good idea for seeing KW anyway, even if there is a walk. I gave my wife a fitbit for Valentine's Day (don't blame me, she wanted it!) and she has been counting steps ever since!

[Fouremco]

Here's a pdf version of the complete map (I hope, as this is the first time I've tried to attach a pdf to a post!)

 

Key West Map.pdf

[airhose]

I also had it booked for next year, so I contacted shorex.  Here's their reply:

 

Thank you for contacting the Shore Excursions Inquiry Team.

I'll be glad to help with your inquiry, at the present time they do not show listed, this does not mean that they are sold out or that they won't be available, its just that since we are more than 90 days away from sailing the list is not yet completed. You can keep checking every now and then on the website or wait until we are 90 days away from sailing since the complete list of excursions and amenities will be available by then.

[mayleeman]

Thanks for taking the time to do this. Gotta love that response. "You are no longer booked because it not listed. You will be able to book it if it is listed by 90th day. We, who list these things, do not know if it will be listed or not." Leaving out, "Pay no attention to the fact that you booked it when it was listed."

 

So, maybe this excursion has a life of its own within the website, and just pops in and out whever it wants? This is my first time dealing with the mysterious gremlins who randomly rearrange the memory banks in Celeb's IT dept. I pity the victims more seriously affected than we sre.

 

I am glad the DIY alternative for this excursion sounds so simple, and great shiploads of kudos to @Fouremco for the download!

[upwarduk]

That’s a generic answer, in other words giving you absolutely no explanation as to why your excursion has in fact been cancelled.

[mayleeman]

6 minutes ago, upwarduk said:

That’s a generic answer, in other words giving you absolutely no explanation as to why your excursion has in fact been cancelled.

 

And, of course, their Port Guide to Key West Excursion Guide still has this listing, which, of course, pursuant to a Joseph Heller view of the world, does not mean it is available:

 

 

[RickT]

The Butterfly Conservatory is $12 to do on your own and an easy walk (IMHO) from the ship.  The walk is approx. 1.2 miles and quite pleasant via some of the colourful streets of Key West. 
 

I think the conservatory is one of the Must Do’s in Key West.

[mayleeman]

15 hours ago, RickT said:

 

I think the conservatory is one of the Must Do’s in Key West.

 

My wife has a butterfly and hummingbird garden, so it is an absolute must for us. If by any chance our stop in KW gets cancelled, I suspect we will be driving south from Port Everglades rather than north at the end!

[Bo1953]

23 hours ago, mayleeman said:

We were signed up on the Equinox April 4 2020 for the trolley and butterfly conservatory. It is now missing and we have a higher OBC balance. It was in my order history last week. Anyone know if there is a reason it was cancelled, and more importantly, a good butterfly alternative? I searched and found nothing (also posted in Eq roll calls). 

 

Thanks! 

m - unless you had a great price for the entrance fee to The Conservatory, it may be a ten - 12 minute taxi ride away.

 

It took me only 22 minutes to walk by it from the ship... so everything is relatively close, so no sweating it for sure.

 

bon voyage

[mayleeman]

@Bo1953 Thanks--now that we found out how walkable it is, we will defintely do it and are looking forward to exploring KW. We have missed walking on our excursions (we usually snorkel), and although we often use stairs aboard the ships we find our excercise intentions inevitably diminish as vacation mode settles in! We loved the track on Allure.

Edited December 4, 2019 by mayleeman

[hcat]

Walkable yes,  but when it's 90+ degrees  and sunny you might prefer the trolley!

Don't forget water and a hat!

We hope to do this next time we stop there...love the less crowded parts of KW

[Fouremco]

Following up on @hcat's post, another of the major benefits to the trolley is simply being able to get quickly from one point of interest to another. As a result, you will get to see much more during your limited time ashore than if you tried walking site to site, and you get the additional benefit of the informative running commentary as you drive along.

[mayleeman]

Good points on the access to other places, so we will likely take the trolley around after we do the conservatory. And we always have water and hat! Thx!