Korimako

I am considering a cruise from San Francisco to Auckland and intend staying several days in San Francisco pre-cruise. My worry, though is I have NO idea about tipping etiquette, coming from a country where we don't have a tipping culture. Who do I tip, how much, how often?? I wouldn't want to appear mean or unpleasant, nor would I want to be criticised for not leaving a tip, but it's quite possible I might forget, or be unaware someone was waiting for one, as it's just not on my radar. Any guidance gratefully received - and please, as I'm mathematically challenged, don't give me percentages!!

Thank you all for your replies. I did hear from someone - not on Cruise Critic - that P&O Australia can be quite rowdy with hen parties and the like, so I'm more inclined to look at Princess. When I said "busy" before, it was more along the lines that there were lots of activities going on, but as people have pointed out, I can ignore them!

Advice needed please. I am considering a cruise from NZ to the South Pacific with P&O. I will be travelling solo, elderly female, and just want a relaxing, away-from-it-all break. I'll probably book a balcony cabin to have some private outdoor space. I have looked at other cruise lines e.g Princess and Carnival and they would be far too "busy" for me. Will P & O suit me, or is it going to be too "busy" too?? I have looked at smaller ships like Ponant and Paul Gauguin, but have not found an itinerary I like, because I would prefer to leave from NZ. I have also posted this on the P & O forum. Thanks

Advice needed please. I am considering a cruise from NZ to the South Pacific with P&O. I will be travelling solo, elderly female, and just want a relaxing, away-from-it-all break. I'll probably book a balcony cabin to have some private outdoor space. I have looked at other cruise lines e.g Princess and Carnival and they would be far too "busy" for me. Will P & O suit me, or is it going to be too "busy" too?? I have looked at smaller ships like Ponant and Paul Gauguin, but have not found an itinerary I like, because I would prefer to leave from NZ. Thanks

Thank you - but on re-reading my post, I think I may have not been clear. What I meant was I didn't want to be in a Francophone minority! I would prefer a Francophone majority.🙂

In one of your earlier posts, you mentioned Anglophone and Francophone. Could you tell me roughly what proportion of passengers were Francophone?? I'd prefer it if I wasn't in a tiny minority! Thanks

I can only agree with previous posters. The Seine dinner cruises are very much aimed at tourists and although the food will be adequate, I suspect that won't be what you're looking for. As the others have said, do the cruise and the dinner separately. And FYI, we used to live in France and have visited Paris countless times - so I do know what I'm talking about!🙂

Can't answer for Qantas, but checked bags are weighed at checkin on AirNZ. And carry-on maximum is 7kg economy.

But if a US resident asked or if you are able to book through a US TA then I would suggest that one place to try is to use one of those sites that lets you specify the sailing and cabin class you want and they put it out to bid to TAs. I don't think that booking through a US based TA would work for me. For example, if I have to call them about any query I might have, not only will it be an international call, but I would have to factor in the time difference. Here in NZ it's 19.50 on Thursday 9 Feb, but in New York it's only 1.50 and in Los Angeles it's 22.50 on Wednesday 8th! Do you think it would be a good idea to identify which cruises interest us and then ask NZ/Australian TAs what they could do for us?

Very interesting, but not really what I asked!🙂

Not wishing to hijack this post, but I was thinking of asking the very same question. What I would like to know is, if it's better to book through an agent, how do you find one? As I don't live in N America, I'm a bit concerned that local (i.e. New Zealand or Australian) cruise agents might only concern themselves with Australasian cruising, when we're actually interested in Northern Europe. We're not cruisers - only done a trans-Pacific repositioning years ago as an alternative to a flight from the US, so we have zero experience of the kind of service a TA could provide. We haven't used a travel agent for years, booking directly with airlines and hotels on our annual migration from the southern to the northern hemisphere! I know it's forbidden to recommend anyone, but some pointers as to where to start looking would be helpful!

Eclipse is docked in Lyttelton NZ 08.00 to 20.00 on Tuesday 21 February. The shore excursions list/pricings don't show excursions to Akaroa, but in the blurb about the cruise on Celebrity's website, it mentions visiting the Banks Peninsula (i.e.Akaroa). How can I find out if there is an excursion to Akaroa or not? Anyone booked on this cruise with more information???

If the ship departs at 20.00, by what time would shore excursions have to return?

Can't remember when I last had a coffee, and as far as I can remember, I've never had a doughnut, so not a good enough reason for me! 😂😂😂

OK I understand - but why transit Canada - and the requirement for customs - when there are flights from Austin or Houston with a layover in Miami or Washington and direct from there to Barcelona with American Airlines/Delta? Of course I haven't looked at prices and those could be eye-wateringly expansive! On another point which was mentioned, if your flight is ticketed all the way to your final destination, you will say goodbye to your luggage at an airport in Texas and pick it up in Barcelona. We once came home from France (using Mileage Plus points) and our ticket was Paris-Frankfurt-Shanghai-Auckland. In spite of thinking we'd never see our luggage again, with so many places for it to go AWOL en route, but there it was on the carousel in Auckland when we arrived!

I don't understand what you mean? Why would customs (or did you mean immigration?) be easier in Canada? Unless I have misread your posts, you are flying TO Europe for a return Transatlantic cruise, so you will have to clear customs and immigration in whichever European country you arrive in. Or have I got it back to front?

I wouldn't worry about not recognising other airlines - living in the US you wouldn't necessarily be familiar with them, but those of us who travel extensively in Europe will recognise that, for instance, TAP is the national airline of Portugal, Iberia the national airline of Spain, Lufthansa ditto Germany and Finnair - Finland. But read the reviews of any airline you're considering (the airline quality website below) to help you choose. Here are some more websites to help with your choices. It's possible to fly from several airports in Texas to Madrid, so no real need to go via Canada!! https://matrix.itasoftware.com/search https://www.airlinequality.com/ https://www.rome2rio.com/

And another thing. There are non-US based airlines who fly transatlantic. One of our return flights from Europe via the US was Aer Lingus Dublin to Boston. Also Air France, British Airways, TAP, Lufthansa to name a few.

Just a small caveat. We are frequent longhaul international fliers ( New Zealand to Europe) and would never choose a bulkhead seat (my husband is also 6ft plus), not in premium economy (or whatever it's called) nor business class. On many airlines the bulkhead seats are designated as bassinets. Long haul with a screaming baby next to us, or across the aisle is not my idea of fun!! Check on Seatguru with whichever airline you decide to go with, for advice on choosing a seat. Happy travels!!

Is this any use?? https://mercadoplazalugo.com/es/

Thank you for this information. I have read through all the Ponant reviews and agree that a cruise which has a North American charter element is definitely not what I'm looking for as it wouldn't necessarily have the French ambience that I AM looking for. So I'll keep looking and cross check for charters. I wonder if they advertise the Smithsonian/Tauck cruises on the French website? There's a new French cruising company starting up, might have a look at that. Thank you all for your help.

Thank you for the very speedy reply!! I wasn't really too bothered about replicating the Crystal experience - maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it and just been a 'cruise newbie'. I don't have the expectations that someone who is a frequent cruiser would have or expect, so the lack of dining choices for example, isn't something I'd notice was different. I noticed that on another post someone mentioned a 'Tauck charter'? I have no idea what they meant!

Mauibabes - could you maybe explain why you think Ponant wouldn't suit me? I have almost zero cruising experience (only done one trans-Pacific many years ago) so I have very little basis for any sort of comparison. I had thought that being a smaller ship and French would be a plus???

Thank you soooooo much for this heads-up! I'm tentatively planning a trip to Europe - including a river cruise in France - in 2024, so knowing when the Olympics are on will make a difference to the dates I choose. I'll probably go later than I had originally thought, when it's all over and hotel rooms won't be horrendously expensive (if available). I did check on the official site after reading your post - there's a link to the timetable of events although not the venues yet - and it appears the surfing will be in Tahiti - so another destination to possibly avoid at that time! Thanks again. K

Or this...... www.phare-de-cordouan.com