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You do not need Macau currency at all. Hong Kong dollars are accepted there universally without a second thought, including the betting tables.

I just came back from the 10 day PPT-PPT cruise on the Sirena (25/1 ~ 4/2/17). This was my second cruise on O, the first was on the Riveria in 2015. The Riveria is superior in all departments.

I booked 5 O shore excursions to take advantage of the My World prices. But still I found local tour offers on the pier at half of my price. Again, I do realise that with almost two times more passengers on the Marina, one may be disappointed when local supplies are limited in terms of capacity.

The other islands are far more interesting than Tahiti. A pre or post cruise stay in Moorea or Bora Bora will make it a perfect trip. If you have to stay in Tahiti, the Inter-Con is much better than Le Meridien (which O uses).

Wet shoes are a must. Each of the islands that we visited is different and has something different to offer.

I got off the Sirena yesterday in Tahiti. I was in cabin 6075, about 6 cabins away from the end. There was some vibration, but not to cause discomfort. The only time I felt about vibration was when they engage the thrusters when docking or pushing away from the dock, and it happened during our sailaway from PPT which was 5 am and I was in bed.

Very glad that I am able to get into PPT today without further problems. The place looks normal and I do not see any signs of destruction. The day is fine and the sunset was breathtaking. Looking forward to my cruise on O.

Auckland was fine, but I have visted 4 times already, the last time only one year ago.

It is doable, but you can have only 3 hours maximum there

Assuming that you can get off the ship by 7:30 am and find a shuttle or taxi to arrive at the Kowloon Bay or Diamond Hill MTR station by 8 am (mind you, if it is a weekday, it is rush hour and the trains will be jam packed), you will arrive in Tung Chung before 9 am (transfers in Prince Edward and Lai King). At Tung Chung you have to find the bus (the terminal is just outside the MTR station). If it is a fair day, you should be able to arrive in Tai O in under an hour, including waiting time. So it is 10 am.

You need to begin your return journey by 1 pm.

If there are places you want to go, Tai O should probably not be your first choice.

I am to join the Sirena on 25/1.

My flight to PPT on 23/1 was cancelled because of the storm in Tahiti and I am stuck in Auckland waiting for flights. Air New Zealand has scheduled me to fly out tomorrow morning (25/1) and arrive in PPT 24/1 local time. If this happens, I should be able to make it.

In any case, my pre-cruise days in Moorea have been washed away, in exchange for 2 unplanned days in Auckland 😐

I mentioned in this forum the name of my tailor a while ago and it was promptly deleted. Give me your email address and I shall respond directly.

But USD500 for a suit is about the right price here. Generally, visitors come to praise the quality here, not that price is particularly, and the quick turnaround time (1 day). I always ask for 2 fittings.

The practice varies widely from country to country. For example, in Japan and Korea, tipping is not expected at all, as giving good service is considered an integral element of the job.

For coach drivers, no need to tip at all.

In the countries you will be visiting, there is no need to tip tour guides in Singapore, or in Malaysia. In Vietnam and Thailand, a small tip is always appreciated. I would suggest US$2 per person for a half day tour, may be US$4 for a whole day.

You should know that however the tour guides in Asia make their money by taking you to designated shops. They will get a fee (secret) for each tourist they bring, and then a cut of the sales generated by those they bring. So bargain hard.

From Kai Tak Cruise Terminal to Star Ferry (in Tsimshatsui, Kowloon), I would think it is about HK$ 80 - 90, depending on traffic.

The Heritage Tour sounds good. It is not offered by many tour operators. It is a walk, maybe 3 miles in distance. The dried seafood shops in the Western district are real, with strong smells (not unlike the Grand Bazzar). The Hollywood Road has many small and interesting art galleries. This district was where Hong Kong first developed, first as a trading post.

If you have time after the tour, consider going up the Mid-Levels Escalator (check it out on Tripadvisor first). It is an interesting ride of about 20 minutes uphill and you will see how ordinary folks live in HK. The beginning of the Escalator is less than 10 minutes walk from Wing Lok Street where your tour begins. It is free. But you have to walk the stairs back down. There are dozens of cafes and restaurants along the way however for you to take a rest.

As for the Island Tour, make sure it includes a call at the Peak (Victoria Peak) which is really the number 1 spot that any visitor should go to.

There is no MTR service in the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, you can only buy an Octopus at any one of the MTR stations, or redeem it later. You will need some local currency for your bus / taxi ride from the Terminal. But I understand there may be free shuttle buses to the Diamond Hill and Kwun Tong MTR stations, courtesy of the shopping malls there.

On the drawing board is a light rail overhead system, in a circular loop, joining KTCT with two MTR stations and running the entire length of the old runway. The main purpose is to serve the developments on the other end of the old runway where a world class (so they say) sports complex will be built. The whole idea is that the old runway will be a car free area. The timetable is sometime 4 to 5 years later, depending on the progress of the construction of the sports centre.

Not walkable to anywhere from KTCT.

The National Palace Museum has some of the best art pieces from Old China, originally kept by the royal families in Beijing, but shipped to Taipei by the retreating Nationalists in 1949. You can spend hours there.

The CKS Memorial is just an empty space IMHO not worth a trip.

You may wish to note that Japan from April 1, has changed to use a simplified arrival card. This may help, but one still needs to be fingerprinted and photographed anyway at the counter, but it takes usually less than 30 seconds.

I have gone through KIX two times in the past 6 months, the immigration procedures and experience are not different from NRT or FUK which I used in the last month. Not much a wait I can recall.

While technically Cosmopolitan is in the Wanchai district, it is perhaps easier to walk to the Causeway Bay MTR station. The walk may be longer slightly, but much easier and less crowded. Walk along Leighton towards east, in about 7 to 10 minutes, you would reach Leighton Centre (Crowne Plaza Express on the other side of the road). Turn left, and then you will find Times Square, a massive shopping mall, which is connected to the CWB MTR station through its basement. This is upscale territory relative to Mongkok, all kinds of shops and restaurants opening late in the night. Safe too.

If you wish to walk to Wanchai, there are several routes, the shortest way is to turn left when you exit the hotel, walk up the hill, pass the Sikh Temple and then down hill until you reach the old Wanchai Market. This stretch is quiet, no shops and few pedestrians and not much fun. But once you reach the old market, make a right turn and walk through a typical open air roadside wet market (Wanchai Road) which can be fun during the day. Then you shall reach Johnston Road and the Wanchai Station.

Across from the Cosmopolitan is the Happy Valley racecourse of the HK Jockey Club. I think the hotel has two buildings, with a residential building sandwiched between them.

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No need to buy the prepaid ticket at all. The walk from Terminal 1 to 2 is a good 10 to 15 minute walk.

When you exit from the Custom hall, before you hit the public greeting area, there is a lobby with several counters. One sells the Airport Express tickets. Another is a Bank Of China money exchange counter and the other one is hotel reservation desk. Yes, there is usually a line for the ticket, but may be 4 to 5 persons only.

There is another counter before you reach the train platform, more staff but a wait is usually required. But do not worry, the trains run at 8 minute intervals during the day.

When you get off at the Kowloon Station, find the shuttle to Salisbury, the bus trip should be less than 15 minutes.

The total trip from Customs to hotel should be within one hour.

Never mind the MTR / Airport Express, you do not want to be bothered by luggage and transfers. Get a taxi from the port terminal, the journey will take under an hour, and the likely fare is about HKD 250 (but cabs take HK cash only). You should have enough time.

Last month, I stayed in the UNA Hotel near the Termini Station. 3 minutes walk. 4 stars. No complaints. But ask for an inside room, away from the side street where the trams run, late into the night and from early in the morning.

Taking the train from Termini to C port is easy, we chose the express train, booked in advance (but the queue in the Termini ticket office was long and slow). The fare was 11 euro. You may wish to consider the local trains, cheaper and the trip is longer (70 minutes).

If you arrive in C, not during lunch hours (12 something to 2 something), there is a bus from the train station to the port shuttle bus pick up place, for 2 euro per person. I used that, very easy.

I was there in August on the Riviera. At the pier in Naxos, there was a line for taxis but not too many taxis. We ended up waiting eagerly for 5 minutes. There was some bargaining when a taxi came, and it took us and 4 more passengers up to Taormina for Eur 40. A long ride of about 7 miles. We asked the driver to come back and pick us up in 3 hours. Same price going back. The town itself is very pleasant and well worth the trip.

There is a wet market in Kowloon City which is about a 10 minute walk from your hotel. But for the experience of an open air road side market, a good one is on Wanchai Road in Wanchai, about a 5 minute walk from the MTR Wanchai Station (on HK side).

You may wish to visit Nan Lin Nunnery, now rated as one of the top 10 places to visit by TA. It is a short taxi ride from your hotel, about 3 km away.

The tram ride on HK side is a real bargain, the fare is only HK$2.3. And you can use your Octopus Card. Ride between Central and Causeway Bay, a distance of about 3 to 4 km and takes about 20 minutes, is enough for experience. But make sure you go to the upper deck.

A typical HK taxi is a Toyata Crown. Two benches basically. The front bench can seat two in addition to the driver, seating across. Three will sit in the back bench. Even for smaller built persons, this is quite crowded. The newer taxis are now licensed to carry only 4 persons in addition to the driver.

But taxi fares are inexpensive by international standards. I would think a fare from the Regal Oriental to the Star Ferry Pier on Kowloon side (same side of the harbour) is about AUD 10 - 12. The ten of you may wish to consider using 3 taxis for comfort.

As other posters have noted, taxi drivers accept only cash, and in HKD only. No need to tip, just round up to the nearest dollar.

If you are not able to find a tour company to offer the day tour, you should be able to do it on your own easily.

The Regal Oriental is the old Regal Airport Hotel (the old Kai Tak Airport). If you are docking in the new Kai Tak Cruise Terminal (which is the old Kai Tak runway), the distance between the two is only about 3 km and a short taxi ride away. You can drop your luggage off at the hotel first and then go exploring. The Regal Oriental is not near any MTR station and you would need a taxi to take you to a station or directly to your destination. Taxis are not expensive in HK and a taxi is usually to carry 5 passengers (2 in the front next to the driver and 3 in the back, but is cramped). The 10 of you can take 2 or 3 taxis.

Your hotel is in the Kowloon City district which has a large Thai community and the district has therefore some good and inexpensive Thai restaurants.

Yes, because of the OP post and the website info, I actually moved up my departure from Rome by 2 hours, not wanting to walk in the midday sun.

My train was late by about 12 minutes when coming into Rome Termini and our arrival in Civitavecchia was likewise delayed by 12 minutes. Instead of the posted 10:45 arrival time, we arrived in Civitavecchia just before 11 am. The other posters are right, when you see the sea on the left hand side, you better get ready with your luggage to get off. The train stopped for only 1 to 2 minutes only and then it rolled again.

We arrived in Platform 2, and to get to the Station house (and Platform 1), we had to take the down stairs, used the tunnel under the tracks and climbed the up stairs with our luggage. About 20 stairs in each flight. Not difficult.

In the station house, the news stand is to your left, if you are facing the exit. Leaving the station, the bus to port is on your right side, about 30 meters away, on the same side of the road. A man will help you load your luggage into the belly of the bus.

Then the bus will go to the "parking lot" where the port mobility shuttle buses will pick you up and send you to your ship. There are people in the parking lot who will give you directions as to which shuttle bus to take.

I was ship side by 11:50.