Bouillon123

Hi all

Just a quick question. We are on the cruise from Venice to the Maldives. I printed out the boarding form. 

But it said you also had to print out the cruise ticket. I am not sure if this is a different document?

Actually the OP is from the US

correct tring....i actually meant, maybe it's just an European thing NOT to wear knives on holiday :D

We did 14 days leaving from San Diego. Visited Oahu, Hilo, Kauai and Maui.

I agree with other posters regarding sea days. The Pacific is not like the Caribbean, it was fairly cool for the first 3 days (we went in December) and also rockier than other cruises.

I also agree on doing a land based holiday there in order to fully enjoy what is on offer. The cruise was a snap shot of the islands. If we were to return, we would choose Kauai as our island to stay and do excursions to the other islands in order to get the most out of it. :)

On our holidays with HAL, we travel in suites. It is not cheap and we take the perks that come with it. Would we be happy with a separate dining room for suite guests? Yes.

We ate in the MDR and did not particularly like the food as we found it underseasoned and service was quite often slow. If a separate dining room means better food, brilliant.

We ate quite often in the Pinnacle Grill and obviously had to pay the extra. So we just consider this as the "separate dining room". :D

I am actually quite shocked to read some peoples opinion about suite guests. I would never give such a statement about anyone. Get to know the people first and judge them based on their character, not if they are staying in a suite or not.

I would skip Hanoi (which we loved but you need more time and it is a long drive each way) and take an overnight junk in the bay. If you go with Indochina tours you will get to a secluded bay where only they can go, making it serene and beautiful.

Hi

We did a tour in January this year with Indochina Junk Tours and it was absolutely amazing. We hired the "Princess Junk" which was a private tour but the money spent was well worth it! I put a review on trip advisor. We only wished we would have done it for more than just 1 day so I would agree, if you have the chance to do the overnight one, I would really recommend you do it.

This is so far a very short list of things to do and where we stay:

Our cruise gets into Auckland (overnight stay), so any suggestions what to do or see in Auckland would be great.

After leaving the ship we fly from Auckland to Queenstown (get a hire car at the airport). We will be staying at Millbrook Resort. Since we are golfers we will play 2 of the courses in the area. I also have on my list driving to Milford Sound, drive to Glenorchy, a flight over parts of Fiordland National Park from Te Anau, Wine Tour with Nzwinetours

Then we catch the plane from Queenstown to Auckland (rent a car again) and head up to Paihia, we will be staying in Chalet Romantica. Again 2 days of golf in the area, driving Paihia to Cape Reinga, a day cruise from Paihia, scenic flight of bay of islands, driving tour from Paihia towards Waipoua Forest

This is only a rough idea but at least I am starting to close in on things to do. I agree with everyone that 2 weeks is not enough to see New Zealand and we definitely did not want to be stressed out rushing around the whole of New Zealand but rather relax and enjoy.

Thanks everyone for the replies. I will look into all suggestions. Greymouth is off the list now by the way. :D

Not a golf player but sounds as though you managed to get your fix a couple of times which I imgine helped round off (sorry I couldn't resist ) the trip.

:D:D:D

Somebody said that the Seaview bar area was not of an adequate size. (post #3702) Rationing usage might help alleviate that problem. The same poster also said that they thought the area was dirty and disgusting. A little self policing by her and her fellow smokers might help with that.

You did not read my reply. Otherwise you would not have responded the way you have. :rolleyes:

14 days Singapore - Hong Kong (January 2016)

Check in: very fast

Cabin: Nice and functional, plenty of storage space, nice bathroom. Balcony was adequate with nice furniture.

Food: our favourite place was the Colonnade and we enjoyed service and food, very relaxed. We did not enjoy the TK menu (tried it once), but this is a matter of personal taste.

Internet: it did the job to check emails but expensive in our opinion

Excursions: we did an excursion organised through Seabourn in Ho Chi Minh City and were very happy with it. Well organised and interesting.

Spa: it was ok, but I did not like the rather annoying "sales talk" to buy products

Service: wonderful and attentive

Ship: lovely seating areas and we felt you had the choice whether you wanted a quiet corner or join in getting to know people at bars etc

Observation Bar: nice bar, very quiet though when we were there

Guests onboard: very international and most have a smile on their face, the majority of guests nicely dressed (but not over the top), some of the guests looked rather, let's call it "underdressed" at breakfast which surprised us. We met a lovely couple from Scotland who we are still in contact with.

Ports of Call:

Singapore: we flew in 3 days before and were shown around by friends who live there, fantastic city

Laem Chabang: we played a round of golf at a golf course which was close by and enjoyed it a lot

Ko Kood: great fun and very well set up

Sihanoukville: probably our least favourite port as we had a private tour organised and needed to be at the gate at 9:00. Problem was transport to the gate which only went half hourly, we tried to walk to the gate but were sent back to the ship by port staff. We enquired at guest services and they informed us that it is out of their control to provide a better bus transfer system.

Danang: again we played a round of golf (fantastic golf course with great caddies)

Ho Chi Minh City: as mentioned we took a tour with Seabourn, but also met up with friends who live there on the second day

Halong Bay: we took a private boat tour (I believe I am not allowed to mention companies here) and it was the best tour we have made. We cruised Bai Tu Long Bay in a very small junk, 5 star service, very romantic despite a little bit cooler weather

Hong Kong: we stayed a couple of days on Hong Kong Island (hotel at the harbour), unfortunately we were there when they had their coldest spell for the time of year in 59 years. It rained a lot so we stayed in the hotel. Cost for a soup in the hotel was 23 Pounds and breakfast for one was 36 Pounds.

Disembarkation: a little bit chaotic due to waiting times for taxis

All in all, we loved our first time with Seabourn and will return.

And the Seaview Bar is not adequate enough, which means HAL would have to provide another area on the ship to give to smokers. Now this then would egg on the non smokers again. It's a catch 22 situation I think

 

Maybe HAL could institute a sort of "rationing" system. Those with portside cabins use the area at certain times only and other times for starboard side passengers. That way, only half the smokers would ever be there at one time. As for being dirty and disgusting...who is supposed to clean up the smokers' mess?

I worked in hospitality for 18 years and to empy an ashtray or wipe a table is the minimum standard a guest can expect. It is not a matter of mess that a smoker makes but a matter of service provided by waiters who are employed by HAL. Several times I had to clear tables of left over glasses from previous guests and I also went to the bar to get a cloth to wipe the table from wine and beer stains. I don't mind doing it myself but considering what we pay to cruise, I was not impressed with it.

Do I also have to clean my "mess" up at dinner? Maybe collect my plates, go to the kitchen and do a bit of washing up? :D

Ah yes. The old "tipping is not required" notices which are plastered around the luggage drop off area. In sharp contrast to the people loading the carts who leave you in no doubt that tipping is most definitely required :)

 

Compare that to Southampton UK where the people loading the luggage carts which take bags to the ship are too busy doing their job to hang around scrounging for tips.

 

The result is a fast and efficient transit through the port. Friendly and efficient security staff who don't equate length of queue to level of protection. No one on a power trip, just folks working together to get the job done.

 

We gave up cruising mainstream lines out of the US a long time ago. US - 0, Rest of the World - 1. Thankfully you have such a strong and vibrant economy you don't need the tourist dollar :)

 

Henry :)

Can't agree more.

The solution that would please the majority of people would be an outright ban on smoking on the ship.

I understand. But there is not 1 ship which does not allow smoking anywhere. So how can this be the solution?

Hello everyone

Back from our travels (Singapore was great!) and I have been taking all your advice on board to start planning for New Zealand.

Sooooo, now I have decided thanks to you good people to fly from Auckland to Queenstown, rent a car there and make Arrowtown our "base". From there we have many opportunities to make day trips.

We then fly back to Auckland, rent a car and go up to Paihia. Again this will be our base for a week.

There are tons of things to do in New Zealand and I think 2 weeks is not really enough so I rather concentrate on an area in New Zealand than trying to speed my way through it.

Thank you for all your advice, it has helped immensely in making a decision.

Hi

We are smokers and have started cruising a few years ago. We naturally chose HAL as we could smoke on balconies. Unfortunately the only other area which is protected from sun and wind is the Seaview Bar. Now this area is too small, uncomfortable and just simply dirty and disgusting. So we had to spend more time on the balconies than we really wanted.

If smoking would be prohibited on balconies, where should smokers go?

Even if HAL would provide a "well ventilated indoor room", we certainly would not use it as we are from Europe and my guess would be it would be way too cold for us due to the running Airconditioning which we hate. And even if you don't mind Aircon, no one would wants to sit indoors in the Caribbean for example. We want to sit outside with a nice cocktail and a cigarette to relax.

And the Seaview Bar is not adequate enough, which means HAL would have to provide another area on the ship to give to smokers. Now this then would egg on the non smokers again. It's a catch 22 situation I think.

I get it that non smokers don't like smoke, but it is not the smokers' fault that HAL cannot come up with a solution which pleases the majority of people.

Since we thought, that areas on the ship for smokers were not up to par, we chose to sail with Seabourn which caters much better for smokers. And guess what.

We hardly used the balconies. ;)

Hi everyone, sorry for not appearing for a few days, getting ready to go to Singapore today. I definitely will take all advice to heart and will plan accordingly when we get back from our trip.

I had a quick look on the map and have now decided to fly back from Dunedin to Auckland which is much easier and more sensible. So my route will be a totally different one.

I will post a new list of ideas (with everyone's advice taken into consideration) on my return.

Thanks again to everyone, you are most helpful. :)

Me 2. Nothing is more fun and very relaxing then sitting out in the deck and take the big cool breeze and be away from politics, world madness, traffic jam and pollution.

 

I am going to do alot more cruise.

And to forget about internet :D

I absolutely agree with you. :)

I cannot reply individually to everyone, but thank everyone for their fantastic advice!!

We are definitely into scenic beauty (and golf). To leave the car and fly down to the South Island (or reverse) is something I will consider also.

I also will look into all the tips regarding stop overs.

Lots to chew over now and thank you again.

We are off to the Far East on Thursday so all planning for New Zealand is coming to a hold for a few weeks. :D

Your choice of stopping places is a bit weird IMHO. I'm not sure what sightseeing you plan to do in places like Greymouth or Harwarden. I would recommend some one night stops but mostly two night stops except perhaps for the Arrowtown/Queenstown area where you might like to stop three nights.

 

Also don't just go by distances, check the driving times using Google maps. NZ roads are not fast freeways, and often have a number of small towns that you pass through that slow you down.

 

How many days maximum could you do?

I apologise, I should have explained that the reason for stopping in some of the places for 3 nights are the scenic route drives which we will be doing a lot. Another reason for staying longer is laundry! :D

But I take on board your advice about 2 night stop overs.

I think I maxed out on the time spent in New Zealand (18 days) otherwise my other half will pull his grey hair out! :D

Kiwicruiser, thank you for your reply. We are so far at 17 nights for North and South Island. I realise that in 17 nights we won't be able to see everything but hopefully enough to get a "feel" for New Zealand. :)

http://www.krusenz.com/

We highly recommend renting one of these Kruse GPS guide units. We found, explored and learned about many places we would have otherwise missed when we did our fly/drive holiday there a few years ago. It's like having your own private tour guide in the car with you. Definitely worth the $10/day.

Thank you very much Lyndarra!! I will definitely look into that one! :D

How long is a piece of string?

We spent 2 1/2 weeks just doing the South Island and still didn't get to many places, like Picton and the Marlborough region or Invercargill and Stewart Island.

 

Make a list of all the places you want to go to and what things are to be done and then allow the time to see and do them with possibly a 2-4 hour drive (200-400kms) every other day.

Hi MicCanberra

Thank you for your advice. I already made a few cuts on areas which I would have loved to see. Looking at the pictures, New Zealand is an amazing country. :)

Thank you for your reply, OzKiwi.

I actually counted 17 nights in New Zealand now, but instead of travelling each day I also came to the conclusion that it might be better to travel longer distances but remain in one spot for a few days. It looks like this at the moment and your input is greatly appreciated. :)

Auckland to Taupo (277 km) (3 nights)

25.2. Taupo to Wellington 375 km (1 night) (close to Ferry port)

Wellington to Picton with Ferry (3 hours)

26.2. Picton to Greymouth (350 km) (3 nights)

1.3. Greymouth to Arrowtown (510 km) 3 nights

4.3. Arrowtown to Hawarden (543 km) 1 night

5.3. Hawarden to Picton (293 km)

Take ferry to Wellington (3 hours)

Wellington 1 night

6.3. Wellington to Otorohanga (451 km) (1 night)

7.3. Otorohanga to Paihia (406 km) (4 nights)

11.3. Auckland

We travelled to South America last year and loved Santiago!! We stayed in the Lastarria Boutique Hotel which was in a very safe area of Santiago. Good restaurants in walking distance too. Enjoy, we loved Chile. :)

B.

We are going on a cruise from Lima to Auckland next year and I am in the process of planning a driving holiday in New Zealand. I was thinking 1 week North Island and 1 week South Island. Is this realistic?