travelbug615

On 10/11/2019 at 9:08 AM, rukumani said:

For a family of 4 on a cruise, getting visas for Cambodia and Vietnam on our own will be cheaper than getting it upon embarkation board,   Is anyone doing that?  If so please advise

We sailed on Princess this spring and we were charged $56 a person for a Vietnam visa through the ship.  There was quite some discussion on our roll call about Vietnam visa's.  I believe if you are only entering Vietnam via the ship port of calls, than getting the visa on the ship was the best option.  There is some information of $5 visas online that is incorrect information.  I believe the one person who did get a visa on their own paid more than $56 per person and had to travel to get the visa, but the visa was for a longer period,  however if you are just visiting on ports of call in Vietnam, you don't need the extended visa period.

We did not visit Cambodia on this trip.

19 hours ago, Stratheden said:

I think it depends on what is happening in dry dock.  

I think that is a valid point.  But I don't know how to find out what is scheduled in dry dock.

We just booked 14 night Caribbean sailing on the Eurodam in November 2020 that ends one week before the ship goes into drydock.  Is this a mistake? We are booking a family cruise with four cabins, so I want to make sure I am not making plans that will lead to  disappointment  for the family newbies to HAL.    Only one of the three cabins has sailed HAL before,  the rest are Princess loyalists.

Eurodam has charter Nov 1-8, 2020 on Eurodam

https://maltshopcruise.com/whats-included/the-ship/

On 8/15/2019 at 9:59 AM, catl331 said:

You must use local postage, and I recommend that you mail them on shore. I've had postcards "mailed" on the ship not reach their destinations for several months, or sometimes never.

Had the same experience.  Front desk told us they would be happy to mail our post card from Japan to the U. S.  Card never arrived. 

Thanks for the photo.  I am not a lanyard fan, so  it's good to know  the medallion is encased in something big enough that I would notice if it fell out of my pocket.

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

In regards to your picture of  Princess products you can purchase to hold the medallion, is there a holder for the medallion that is free?  Are you carrying around the medallion loose in your pockets?

Enoying your posts.  Thanks for all the effort involved.

As the orginal poster, I wanted to review our experience with Joe Bananas tours and thank those who replied to my post . 

 We used Joe Bananas  for trips out of  the port of Civitavecchia.  We utilized Joe Bananas tour sharing site Italytoursharing.com  which was great.  Our driver, Georgio was excellent and we were very happy with his service.  He managed to show us more of Rome than we were expecting, as he managed the traffic and beating the crowds.  We did the Rome including Guide and Tickets excursion.   We entered the Colosseum and the Pantheon and visited Trevi foundation and the Spanish Steps.  We also had a tour of the Vatican museum and St. Peters.  Georgio also pointed out many sights from the vehicle.  We had a sit down lunch in a restaurant close to the Pantheon. ,

We also used Joe Banana for Transportation from Civitavecchia Cruise port to the airport Hilton.  Another couple wished to join our group with only a day's notice and Joe Banana was able to allow that to happen.  

The vehicles used were new, clean and  safely driven.  I would use this company again.  We also utilized two other tour companies  in Italy during our 24 night  cruise and were happy with the services provided by all three companies.  

I would mention that these companies are providing drivers and not full guides.  I prepared for our "free time" that was to be given us in each tour.  I  had a map and an idea of what I wanted to do,  some of the people that joined our tours did not do this  preparation and  therefore  were not able to maximize the use of their  "free time".   Some drivers gave more '"tour guide info" and some gave more "conversational info".   Both being good in their own way.   However, to not be disappointed one might want to research beforehand whatever information that would be of interest to you.

Thanks for posting. Next year we will visit Singapore for the first time. Any tips on what area or hotels to stay in prior to a cruise?

I am thinking of booking with Joe Bananas Limos. I am wanting feedback from people that have used this company. I know they provide a driver that can "talk about the area" while we are in the vehicle, but is not a true guide at sites visited.

I am thinking about using their shore excursion tours to Rome as well as Pompeii/ Amalfi Coast. For anyone that has used this company did the driver just drop you off and tell you where he would pick you up? Did the driver walk around sites with you? Where you satisfied with the information given by your driver?

http://www.tuscanybus.com/en/

 

We took the ship's shuttle to Livorno's main plaza. We had booked transportation to Lucca and Pisa with TuscanyBus for $28eu round trip. The pick-up spot for TuscanyBus was at the same spot as the shuttle drop-off. We were escorted with commentary to Lucca on a motor coach with free Wi-Fi. We had 3 hours free time in Lucca and then proceeded to Pisa. We had a hour in Pisa before they took us back to the ship. The bus contained passengers from NCL and Princess. it cost a few dollars more than public transit but it was stress free and quite easy.

 

Friends of ours took the Florence/Pisa trip for $30eu but they started at 9:00 while we departed at 10:00.

 

I had stumbled upon the company in 2008 when the tourist information suggested taking them to Pisa for $15eu instead of trying to figure our way by public transportation.

I am interested in Lucca and Pisa with Tuscany Bus. Was the commentary in English and understandable?

We did the 2 day tour with Alla last year. Highly recommend it.

Reading the posts earlier in this thread and other places I question if we should stop the auto-gratuity. It sounds like our cruise fare includes the tips but because we purchased through a non-Australian TA our personalizer still shows the gratuity. I am OK with that if the crew gets the gratuity that we pay but I wonder if that is true as it sounds like their pay is increased while in Australia.

I am asking myself the same questions? I don't understand why Princess would not be consistent in how gratuities are collected for the staff?

There are no auto-gratuities for passengers who book through an Australian travel agent. People who book in USA or the UK have the auto-tips added to their account daily. However, they can remove them if they wish and they need not feel guilty doing so. The crew are paid at a much higher rate than on ships where the auto-gratuity applies.:)

I am interested on how the gratuities process works for the Australian's on board? Do they tip? At what suggested rate?

Thanks for all the information. It is much appreciated

We live about an hour from Port Stephens and 40 mins from Newcastle.

Both places are lovely. But IMHO Newcastle is the pick. Opportunities to see nature and wildlife may be a little limited in both places, but the beaches in Newcastle are said to be some of the best in the country.

And in terms of history, Newcastle has Fort Scratchley and the Anzac Walk. And you will get a spectacular view of our coastline from both of these places.👍

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

Thanks radiancecruiser for the info. We will be there in early April. Will stingers be in the water in Newcastle's beaches?

Norma

Thanks for the replies. Tonight I logged into HAL and the following was on the website. I am glad HAL realizes people want these!

I was able to print out a shore excursion booklet for the HAL cruise we took in Spring 2017. I am trying to print out a shore excursion booklet for a HAL cruise we have booked for Sept 2018. I can see excursions if I click on each port day, but can't find a link to a shore excursion list for the entire cruise. Is it still possible to print a shore excursion booklet for the entire cruise? The website has been reconfigured since last year.

Thanks for any assistance.

Has anyone done a "Port Stephen's On Your Own" excursion from the port of Newcastle, AU?

We are considering doing this on March 31, 2018 while sailing Celebrity. I would appreciate if anyone knows the drop off spot in Port Stephen's and what was in walking distance. Looking for nature, history, wildlife, or beach time suggestions more than shopping and dining suggestions.

Thanks for any info and input to whether the hour drive each way is worth it versus staying in the Newcastle area.

I am interested in the logistics of a "do it yourself" Port Arthur visit arriving from a ship's tender. Has anyone done this? You need to select times for the extra tours if you buy tickets ahead of time. If we can have our tickets ahead of time that is one less line to stand in....but how will we know what time to pick??? Tendering can be an issue especially if you don't have a ship's excursion. We will be on the Diamond Princess if anyone has done this on a Princess cruise.

The Regal's pools closed at 10pm on a September Transatlantic.

We stayed at the Marriott. Many of Copenhagen's hotels do not have air conditioning. Something to think about if that matters to you.

We just did this on the Regal, August 29- Sept 9th, 2017. Our balcony was on the starboard side and were happy with the views.

We had two sunny days in St. Petersburg which were told is not common. We wore long pants with a light jacket in the ports.

If you are comfortable using public transportation and coming up with "do it yourself" shore excursion plans, this is a great cruise. We only used a tour for St. Petersburg (prebooked a local company, very happy with the two day tour ). We used Princess's "On your own transportation to Berlin" but other than that we were able to get around using local public transportation. It does take time to come up with plans and information on how to use the local public transport, but we prefer to put the effort in and be able to do exactly what we want to do and not be with a bus of 50 people.

It is a hectic port schedule and because of this we ended up skipping the dining room and eating in the Lido more than normal.

What time is Royal scheduled to depart from FLL on your embarkation day?

Seems since you are not to arrive to board until 3 PM, the sail away time would have to be later than normal. :confused:

They have us leaving at 5 pm. It will be interesting to see if they can board all the passengers and leave at 5 pm.

Thanks for all the feedback. We will definitely not show up too early and be stuck at the port in a huge crowd.