dixieagle

Thanks for the input! Very helpful.

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We’re currently aboard Voyager on an Australian cruise and have been - most unexpectedly- invited to dinner with the Captain later this week. This is a first for us. The invitation says “formal dress”. My husband has a navy blazer and grey slacks, white dress shirt and tie, which is in line with how most men have dressed on the 2 formal nights thus far. Is this adequate, or should he try to rent a tux? I do have a dress; however, I have a beautiful dressy top and black pants I’d prefer to wear, if appropriate. What are your ideas? Thanks!!

You will have plenty of time to make the 2000 departure. Last tender should be around 1915 to 1930. 1530 train arrives Freshwater 1702 and then Cairns 1725. 15 minute drive Freshwater to Yorkey's Knob.

Thank you for this - it makes me a little less nervous. Being completely unfamiliar with the area, travel times, traffic, etc., I don't want to take chances. We could have played it safe (and expensive!!!) with the ship's excursion, but we are getting so much more for our $ booking direct with Skyrail.

I'm only reading this thread for future reference, but have you thought to emailing the tour operator with this concern? I've had good luck with doing that with other providers.

Yes, I have communicated with them, and they have been most helpful. However, they actually had outdated information from Ports North (and, they said, the ship) indicating that departure was at 5 pm!!! However, Ports North also had Voyager stopping the next day at Port Douglas, so I am guessing their info was long out of date.

If I can find out the last tender time, I can decide whether or not to change to an earlier return train. I think I'll call RCCL tomorrow, if they have not yet responded to my emailed inquiry.

The RCCL website is so bad that it will have an effect on what cruise lines we use in the future. Total frustration; the cruise planner link won't work, I get error messages, have to log in to the site and then, again, into cruise planner, the site is hard to navigate... perfectly ridiculous for a major company.

We'll be on the April 16 Sydney-Singapore cruise and are trying to book an independent package for Skyrail/Kuranda/Skytrain. The ship is supposed to depart its mooring at 8 pm. We are looking at a package that would have us leaving Kuranda on the 3:30 pm Scenic Railway train, getting back to Freshwater(?) at about 5 pm, and then by bus to Yorkey's Knob by 5:45 pm. The timing makes me a bit nervous; what time does the last tender generally leave Yorkey's Knob for the ship? I've posted the question in the Meet and Mingle, but ours is fairly quiet and I haven't received an answer. If necessary, I can change to the earlier train, though that would cut our trip short.

Many thanks.

Thanks, all!

We'll be on the Voyager of the Seas and will tender in to Airlie Beach on April 20. Can anyone tell me where the tender arrives? Port of Airlie? A nearby marina?

I'm trying to book something independently and need to know. Someone on the Ports of Call board suggested I ask here. Thanks!

A large ship like Voyager will tender at Yorkeys Knob which is about 20 kms north of Cairns. There are usually large tourist catamarans contracted to ferry cruise passengers ashore. Some of these will take 300 people and sometimes the ship's lifeboats will also be used. The tender takes approx 30 mins to get to shore depending on the weather and the cruise shuttle bus then takes approx 30 mins to drive to Cairns. A private tour operator for the Kuranda Skyrail may be willing to pick you up in Yorkeys Knob if they have other cruise passengers on tour. If you do the Railway/Skyrail on your own you would probably have to make your own arrangements to get to the Skyrail station.

Thanks so much! This is very helpful.

We'll be tendering into Cairns from the Voyager of the Seas on April 21. Could anyone tell me where the tender will dock? We are trying to arrange a non-ship Scenic Railway-Kuranda-Skyrail excursion and want to get an idea of where we'll be in relation to the train station when we get off the tender.. Also; how long does it take to tender in?

Thanks so much!

Or you can get the Scrubba Wash Bag:

http://www.campsaver.com/scrubba-wash-bags?gclid=CK-DmoqhzdQCFZuPswodprMPLw

 

I have one of these, and have used it on cruises. I forgot to pack it, and could have kicked myself, as it does a great job and takes up little space.

Personally, I'd do some sort of search for laundry-mats in my ports, and I would spend a couple hours and do my own laundry. I HATE that RCI doesn't have a self-service facility .....makes life much easier!

One of the greatest joys when on a long trip is having the opportunity to get laundry done. ;)

We just returned from a 9 day Baltic cruise with a couple days on either end. We simply refuse to lug a big suitcase, so we each took a carryon, plus a smallish backpack. My husband invested in some Ex Officio undershirts and briefs which were not only very comfortable, he said, but also wash and dry very quickly. I was waiting for the laundry "special" but managed to miss the notice, as it was delivered the night we got back at 11 pm from the ballet in St. Petersburg after a very long day and were too tired to check. I'd have sent some laundry out, though I am always wary of shrinkage.

Our cabin had a clothesline in the tub, and I packed a couple of plastic hangers for drip-drying shirts. My DH brought three pair of Craghopper pants (his "security" pants, with zippers and velcro) which also washed easily and dried quickly, and his go-to Eagle brand shirts, which I adore as they are so easy-care.

The first thing I did when we got back to a hotel in the US was head to the guest laundry!!!

We just returned from a Baltic cruise on the Getaway. I am a dyed-in-the-wool non-smoker, and generally hold my breath and rush through the casino if I absolutely MUST to get from one place to another. On this cruise, I barely noticed smoke, even on sea days when the casino was open. I was pretty surprised, frankly. I did see a notice that smoking was only allowed if you were actually playing; no idea if it is enforced, or not. Perhaps this cruise was an anomaly?

Wow thanks! This is a bit off the subject, but if you get a chance, look up Will Boyajean, the actor who plays Johnny Cash. He started a charity called Hopeful Cases with the money he made on his first contract with NCL last year. He plays the guitar in the NYC subway and donates the money to homeless people or people down on their luck. He was quite the sensation in the NYC media and even appeared on the Rachel Ray show. He also received an award from the Tribeca Film Festival Disruptor Awards which recognizes traditional and non-traditional ways of tackling the worlds problems! He would be too shy to ever say anything, but if you see him around the ship, tell him congratulations!

I had read that about him after we returned from the cruise. Very impressive!!!

I wish we'd run into any of the cast around the ship, as I certainly would have spoken, but we never saw them. :(

I think that you will find it is port employees who actually work the terminals and not NCL employees.

Yes, this is true. The NCL folks were simply standing there looking on helplessly. If I were NCL, I'd be having a chat with whoever administers the terminal there. It was chaos.

Hi! His name is Kurt. He is in Million Dollar Quartet and plays Carl Perkins. This is his 2nd contract on the Getaway.

I'm so glad you posted! We were on the June 3 Getaway cruise and saw Million Dollar Quartet. I've seen tons of shows - on ships, in Vegas, national touring companies, and many on Broadway. We have friends who are performers, our daughters danced for years, and we know when something is really good or not. We loved Burn the Floor (fantastic dancers!!!) but I can honestly say that Million Dollar Quartet is the very best show we've ever seen on a ship, and beats most of the rest we've seen elsewhere, too. Your son was terrific, as was each of the performers. I loved it so much that I researched the cast's backgrounds after we returned!

Please tell your son how much we enjoyed the show; it was truly fantastic and he is a big talent. Best show ever!!!

Put in is one of those guys who does things because he can. This is not surprising at all. I will not visit Russia while he is alive.

We were told while in SPB that Putin has been known to simply shut down streets when he is in town, making the usually bad traffic unbearable. Our guide rolled her eyes when discussing him.

I still want to know why the line was so long in Warnemunde to get back on the ship? Anyone know?

We were on the Getaway for the June 3 Baltic cruise and had the same issue getting back on the ship in Warnemunde. It had been a rainy, miserable day, and then cleared up in the late afternoon. so lots of folks got off the ship to enjoy the lovely little town and waterfront. When we returned (in good time to make the "all aboard") there was an enormous line outside waiting to get through the terminal, and then, once inside, it looked like the lines at Disney World, but far less organized. We had to go through the metal detectors there, and from what we heard, it was a security issue, as there had been bomb threats at a couple train stations in Berlin that day. When you combine the folks who were out enjoying the pretty weather, with those returning (delayed) from Berlin excursions, you have some pretty big logistics problems. We saw Getaway personnel standing around rather helplessly, and there was no organization in the terminal at all... just a crush of people going through 4 metal detectors, with no discernible lines. It was a total mess, and took the better part of an hour to get through.

Disembarking at St. Petersburg on the first day was hideous, also; more than 45 minutes in line. Second day was a breeze.

I'm so glad this all worked out, Cindy! Those of us on our Roll Call have been wondering and thinking of you. Safe travels, and we'll see you in a few days!!!

There are a number of highly recommended private tour companies in St. Petersburg, all of them much less expensive and with far fewer people than the ship's tours. Best Guides, Alla, SPB, Red October, Denrus... it seems you can't go wrong. We chose to do a customized two-day private tour with Best Guides for the 7th and 8th of June, as my husband is very interested in WWII history, Soviet history, and we both want to see the Mariinsky Ballet. They have been great to work with and came up with wonderful tickets to the Mariinsky at a fair price (for visitors, at least; I understand locals pay less.) This will be more expensive than the private tours with about 16 folks, but as it may be our one and only trip to St. Petersburg, worth it for us.

I just wouldn't even consider the ship's tour. Too expensive, too many people.

Cubes and other various items help you ORGANIZE but do not allow you to pack MORE stuff into a suitcase.

 

4 shirts still take the space of 3 shirts. The cube just keeps them all nice and neat.

 

In fact, you may get less stuff into the same suitcase. For example if the cube is 12" long but the space you put it in is 13" long, you have 1" not used. But, if you stuff something else in that extra space, then great! Cubes are still great,but just understand what they do and not do.

 

The biggest trick is to take less stuff. Did our RTW trip and two different cruises with carryon. It really does work. (see trip blog below)

I'm with you re: carryon. We're about to leave on a 9 day Baltic cruise on the Getaway and will bring a carryon and small daypack each. The fact that there are no "formal nights" makes this much more doable. We have Ex Officio and Boody undies (dry very quickly) and I bring a Scrubba and laundry sheets or a few liquid detergent travel packs to wash things I don't trust to the ship's laundry. Life is infinitely easier not hauling a huge suitcase up Metro or Tube steps.

Thank you so much for starting this thread! You provide excellent info and tips. We're leaving next Thursday and are doing this same cruise on June 3. Cannot wait!!!

We sail on this itinerary in an H5 on the Getaway one week from today!

I'm particularly interested in the menus in The Haven restaurant, and in the speed/quality of the WiFi on the ship.

Thanks!!!

As long as you're saving! [emoji846] That's what makes it worth it!

 

 

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Yes! 👍

Wow yes that is! It seems like Haven winning bids are going close to sail date. Have fun on your cruise!!!

 

 

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Makes me think that I could have gotten away with a lower bid (bid on the low end of "fair.") But, it was a big savings over what we would have had to pay outright.