World Parrot Trust Announces 2017 Parrot Lovers Cruise

Posted on January 22, 2017 by Tara

This year, the annual Parrot Lovers Cruise will be on the beautful Princess ship “Caribbean Princess” departing from Fort Lauderdale and cruising to Princess Cay, Cartagena Colombia, partial transit of the Panama Canal with stop in Colon; Limon, Costa Rica and Georgetown, Cayman Islands!

They have some wonderful excursions planned including a special trip to the Ara Project site in Manzanillo, Costa Rica!

There are some discounts going on through the end of Feb.

Please Note:

Prices are subject to change and availability.
Prices are valid while availability lasts.
Prices are per person based on double occupancy. Single and 3rd person in room rates are listed above.
Prices quoted include a donation to World Parrot Trust
Bookings must be made through Carol Cipriano in order for passengers to be able to participate in the Parrot Lovers Cruise group activities and seminars

Carol Cipriano

Carols Travel Time

carolstraveltime@gmail.com

510-200-5665

Other accommodations are available such as Junior Suites, Suites, or Obstructed View Staterooms. Call Carol for availability.
Transfers are available for $19 per way per person from airport to cruiseport and back
Paid gratuities and travel insurance can be added to your booking. Call Carol for details

Bucket List Antarctic Cruise – Birdlife Australia Special

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Tara

Now how COOL is this? And it doesn’t get much cooler than a cruise to Antarctica! Even birders who have been everywhere haven’t been here. It’s not cheap but you do get 10% off as a Birdlife Australia member so have a look!

I really wish I had this kind of money but maybe someone out there does!

Birding Galapagos On A Budget

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Tara

The magnificent eco-tourism hotspot of the the Galapagos Islands is pretty high on most people’s bucket lists even if they aren’t usually birders. There is something magical about seeing the birds and animals close up and unafraid. But unless you know how to work the mileage programs, this wonderful destination may get crossed off the list if you think you can’t afford it. It’s not easy but you CAN have a fulfilling Galapagos experience even on a shoe-string budget. In this post I will show you my thought process in finding the best solution for us and things you need to consider.

CRUISE OR LAND BASED?

The first decision to make is if you want to take a cruise around several islands or have a land-based experience on one or more islands. This is going to come down to how much you can afford and if you like sea travel in a small boat.

Since we didn’t take a cruise, I can’t recommend one ship over another. I did Google “Galapagos cruises” and quickly realized that there was no way we could afford a cruise. The cruises which last 4-8 days are in the $300-700 per night range. Some examples can be found on this link. We already were spending up on the Napo Wildlife Center package so had to economize everywhere else.

The other thing I would have taken into consideration was the size of the boat. I am prone to sea-sickness and small boats do get tossed around on the open sea more than I would be comfortable with. The boats take 16-20 passengers (whom you may like or not like) so you do have the feeling of being on a group tour but in a confined space so this wasn’t appealing to me either.

The benefits of being on a cruise is that you get to see most of the islands and the widest variety of wildlife. The ships have their own naturalist guides to explain everything to you and once you are on the ship you can unpack and relax for a few days.

The decision to stay land based was an easy one for me as I wouldn’t have been comfortable on a small boat for several days and I couldn’t afford it.

WHICH ISLAND(S)?

Next decision was choosing an island or islands. The issues faced by budget travelers is saving money on the flights. There are 3 airlines which fly from Quito & Guayaquil to the two main islands – Santa Cruz served by Baltra Airport (GPS) and San Cristobal served by San Cristobal Airport (SCY).

LATAM is a OneWorld partner and theoretically you should be able to redeem AAdvantage miles or British Airways Avios for the flights but it’s not that simple. I’ve gone into more detail about why this happens. The only way I was able to solve the problem was getting a LanPass Visa from US Bank and topping up with some SPG Starpoints.

Avianca/Aerogal is a Star Alliance partner and with luck you can get award flights using United miles at 10,000 each way per person. Since I had a better use for my United miles elsewhere, I didn’t go this route. You can also try Avianca’s Lifemiles which may have better availability. Availability can be hit or miss. Right now, it’s pretty good. Last year when I looked it was pretty bad so YMMV!

TAME is another option but you’ll have to pay cash as they don’t have any partnerships or alliances.

The taxes are low, around $20 each when you buy the tickets (pay credit card) and you have to pay another $20 (cash only) for an INGALA Tourist Control Card when you check in at the airport. When you arrive at the airport in the Galapagos, there is a $100 entry fee per person, this is also cash only. If you forget to bring it, they will send you to the ATM and you can’t leave the airport until it is paid. So be prepared with the cash!

Choosing between San Cristobal and Santa Cruz depends on what kind of wildlife you want to see, how long you are staying and your budget. In my case, I am a birder and I don’t really like snorkeling, especially in the open sea (as opposed to a tranquil lagoon). I did research on eBird and “Where to Find Birds in Ecuador” and decided that a land based visit to San Cristobal would give us the greatest number of potential bird species (including all 3 Boobies & Frigatebirds) with the lowest possible cost. You can get cheap hotels on both islands but with San Cristobal, you can get to the birding hotspots in one full day boat trip whereas with Santa Cruz you have to take longer ferry rides to other islands to get more bird species. I figured I could suck it up, eat & drink minimally to survive the full day boat trip. This will be covered in detail in another post.

So now that I have explained how I tailored our Galapagos trip based on our budget and wildlife viewing priorities, you can use similar techniques to plan your own Galapagos adventure!

Parrot Lover’s Cruise 2016 Announced

Posted on February 7, 2016 by Tara

The annual Parrot Lover’s Cruise for 2016 has been announced by World Parrot Trust. This year they have chosen a wonderful Southern Caribbean itinerary with two islands boasting endemic wild parrots – Puerto Rico & St Lucia! I will be visiting these 2 islands in a few months on a land based trip so will have more details soon. Start organizing your airline miles to get to the departure port of San Juan now!

Set sail aboard the outstanding Carnival Fascination out of San Juan, Puerto Rico. With stops in St Thomas, Barbados, St Lucia, St Kitts and St Maarten, this cruise promises to be the best yet!

Cruise-goers will have a chance to explore the islands and local sights, attend onboard seminars by experts from the avian community, and possibly see parrots in the wild!

You MUST use the official travel agency to take part in the WPT activities.

Book Today!

CAROL CIPRIANO
Carol’s Travel Time
570.470.5006
Send email
parrotloverscruise.com

Early Saver Rates
in effect – contact Carol to learn more!

Cruise Ship Birding Made Simple

Posted on December 23, 2015 by Tara

A few months ago, I did a series targeted to the budget birder on birding from a cruise ship and how to put together your own birding cruise. Although this way does save you money and you can choose any ship you prefer, there is also an option for those who prefer an organized group birding cruise. Carefree Birding offers a variety of itineraries mostly around the Caribbean. You basically book the cruise component through their travel agency and then book a birding package for those who wish to go on the birding shore excursions (non-birding family members don’t have to book the excursions). This offers a nice option if you are short of time to do your own legwork in booking private birding shore excursions such as I did. Since you have to use their travel agency you do lose out on airline miles for booking through a frequent flyer mile portal such as United Cruises or bargaining for the cruise fare on Cruise Compete, but for many people time = money so they prefer to have everything organized for them.

James Currie of Birding Adventures did a cruise on the Celebrity Equinox (ship details here) and you can see what a typical birding cruise is like on his videos.

Costa Rica, Belize & Cozumel – it was nice to see their visit to Crooked Tree in Belize. I did this as a land trip and had a different experience because I was targeting parrots and didn’t do the water excursion.

Panama, Grand Cayman & Cartegena, Colombia – I wish I had known about the botanical gardens in Grand Cayman as we went to a different place back in 2008. I like their option better!

Grand Cayman Island – Shore Visit From 2008 Cruise

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Tara

This was a cruise we did back in 2008 so I may be a bit fuzzy on the details but at least I still have the photos! We were on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas doing a 7 day RT Miami cruise to Labadee, Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios & Cozumel.

I do recall we had booked a diving trip that was cancelled due to bad weather so we were on our own. We ended up taking a bus to a wildlife park that was called Boatswain’s Bay back in 2008 but is now called Cayman Turtle Farm Island Wildlife Encounter. It seems to have the same attractions as it did back them but they seem to be pushing the turtles more now. Of course I was keen to see Cayman Parrots! We did walk through the whole park, including the turtle farm but but spent most of our time in the walk-in aviary with some very friendly birds!

With more time, you can see wild Cayman Parrots but on a cruise you may not have the time to get there and back safely. Definitely for a land trip though!

Back in the day, people were constantly telling me to go to hell…………………so I finally did!

Since we were using local buses, we headed back a bit early so had time to walk around the port area, check out some shops and watch some guy who was hawking photos with his macaws.

Display only, unfortunately this painting wasn’t for sale!

Look at all the tourists! We bought some parrot t-shirts at Margaritaville, then back to the ship!

Cozumel – Shore Visit From 2008 Cruise

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Tara

I do remember vividly trying to get someone to share a taxi to the Mayan ruins at San Gervasio and literally everyone from the ship just wanted to go to the beach! So annoying! We had to pay for the taxi ourselves, visit the ruins and had the taxi drop us at a museum afterwards.

I really wanted to buy this but the museum wasn’t selling!

Outside the museum was this cool exhibit of mini-ruins.

I can’t believe we did such silly touristy things!

We hung around the shops for awhile, this was by far the most tourist port we had been to!

And yet another Margaritaville!

This time I let the man talk me into a silly photo with the macaws.

Back to the ship one last time!

Our First Ocho Rios Visit From 2008

Posted on September 11, 2015 by Tara

As I mentioned before, we had been to Ocho Rios on a previous cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas in 2008. I had found out about the Enchanted Gardens online and we also had to do the touristy things – Dunns River Falls and the market. We DIY’d the day. We took a bus to and from the falls. Then we hired a taxi to Enchanted Gardens and kept the driver for the return trip and had him drop us off at the market. We walked through the town and visited some small shops as well, then had the traditional jerk chicken in a local non-touristy restaurant, then hit the Margaritaville and back to the ship. Very few cruisers DIY in this port but being experienced travelers we had no problems at all!

Dunn’s River Falls

Enchanted Gardens

The little Olive-throated Conure on the end was the one I named Tiki. The guide said he didn’t have a name so I gave him one!

Ocho Rios Market

Parking $100 per hour! Glad we walked!

Local restaurant – great jerk chicken!

Shopping center near the cruise ship and Margaritaville

Adding to our collection of parrot t-shirts! This was a huge ship, at the time it was one of the largest cruise ships in the world but it has since been surpassed.

Private Birding Shore Excursion – Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Tara

This was our second time visiting Ocho Rios on a cruise ship. On the first visit (which will be covered on a separate post) we did all the touristy things – Dunns River Falls, the market and finished at the Enchanted Gardens which has a beautiful walk-in aviary.

Princess Cruises has a number of shore excursions but none of them are suitable for birders. We arranged a private tour with top birding guide Wendy Lee. She can be contacted by email at wendylee@cwjamaica.com and you can see another review of a land based birding tour with her on Trip Advisor.

We disembarked with trepidation as the weather was already drizzly. Wendy was right there waiting for us and said she would do her best in spite of the weather. I was prioritizing the 2 endemic parrot species – Yellow-billed Parrot and Black-billed Parrot. Wendy took us to a grove of trees and sure enough the parrots were there, albeit very soggy parrots! I did my best with the photos but I kept having to cover my camera from the rain.

Wendy had planned to take us somewhere else after the parrots but she said the road would be very dodgy because of the rain and the birds would be hiding anyways. She offered to take us to her wildlife rescue instead to show us some birds rescued from poachers. We saw a Cattle Egret along the road.

The rain had eased off a bit as we headed back to port, getting a glimpse of the ship as we went over a hill. The final stop was the Enchanted Gardens with the fabulous walk-in aviary. This seems to be the best-kept secret of Ocho Rios as hardly anyone ever goes there. The guide showed us around and since we had limited time due to the ship schedule, we only wanted to see the aviary. We spent some quality time playing with the birds. They give you food and the birds will climb all over you. I think it was around $20pp to visit the gardens.

I think this little guy is the same Olive-throated Parakeet I had named “Tiki” back in 2008!

After the tour, Wendy dropped us at the shopping centre near the cruise ship dock so we could visit the Jimmy Buffets and grab some parrot themed t-shirts. We then walked back to the ship. It turned out to be a great day in spite of the rainy morning!

Bad photo of some jerk chicken we shared at Margaritaville.

Two of these Dr Bird paintings are now gracing the hall between the kitchen and our home aviary!

Somebody else on the ship bought this – wish I had seen it first!

Full Transit Of The Panama Canal

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Tara

There are 2 ways to do a Panama Canal cruise – full transit from Pacific to Caribbean or vv; or you can do a partial transit where the ship enters one side, usually the Caribbean, goes through a lock or two so you can see what it’s like and possibly stop for shore excursions.

Here’s an idea of what to expect in the way of shore excursions on a Panama Canal cruise.

Full transit

Stop in Colon (sometimes tagged on to a full transit)

Partial transit with stop in Gatun Lake

Partial or full transit with stop in Panama City (Fuerte Amador)

The day before we were due to go through the canal, I noticed some ADULTS doing crafts with construction paper and cardboard signs. It turned out they were making signs to wave at the photographer as we went through the canal. I decided to join in! Of course I had to feature a bird on my sign. I’m sure a 5 year old would have done better but I liked my finished product anyways!

The full transit we did in April 2011 went from Pacific to Caribbean with only a 3 hour stop in Colon so no time to go out. We were told to stay in the shopping centre for our own safety. We arrived at 5pm so it would have been too late to go anywhere else anyway. During the transit, our fantastic port lecturer, Dr Thomas Ryan gave a fascinating and detailed commentary as we went through the canal. We saw a few birds flying overhead but not very good views. If you have a stop in Panama City, I recommend going to Soberania NP (Rainforest Center). We did end up going there in August 2013.

We entered the canal at dawn. In the following pictorial you will see the pilot boats, Bridge of the Americas, banks of the canal, a few odd birds and ships we passed including another Princess ship. You can see the locks opening and closing with water levels going up and down and the Princess photographer down below aiming his camera at the people like us on the balconies.

Here we are docking at Colon. There’s a small shopping centre with various shops selling duty free goods and Panama handicrafts. You can guess which shops I went into! Those colourful embroidered goods are called “Molas” and they are hand-made by Kuna Indians. Quite a few with bird designs came home with us that evening!

This has become one of my favourite handbags and some of those molas are now decorating our home either on the walls or stitched onto pillows. Supporting local people at it’s best!