piedpiper99

From the UK, it is a long haul, but worth it. Check out flights out of Paris. French Polynesia is still a French Colony, and there are a number of operators/and charters out of Paris. The advantage of these is that it one plane usually with a stop in the US. I brought my in-laws to French Polynesia (not for a cruise) just before covid. They are in London. They took the Eurostar down to Paris, and the a regular charter flight from Orly. The Carrier was FrenchBee.

Starlink is on all, but Wind Spirit. wind spirit is scheduled for its upgrade after it leaves French Polynesia. The sites blocked are very random, the weirdest on that was blocked was home depot. All syncing type apps like google drive and iCloud are blocked, and sites that are very similar like google docs. I found all video chat was blocked. I found the speed to be acceptable. In generally they have it locked down high bandwidth applications and only allow stuff for vacation type internet use, email, facebook, instagram, etc. Connecting to work might be difficult (other than email) I did find wifi calling works just fine.

Does any one know what restriction that are placed on the new Star link service? VPN? Streaming? Facetime/zoom/Skype? bandwidth cap/limiting?

Thank you.

Does anyone have current drink menu with prices? All the ones posted are out of date. Thanks.

Anyone have insight as to what prompted this change. I was pretty sure, that Windstar was going to keep the policy and use the vaccine requirement as differentiator from other cruiselines.

There is a process. You may need travel a few hours - and spend a whole day fixing it, but you should do it. I did a quick check and you are in a passport office desert, but you should still do it. It will cost you time and money. If you traveling with in 14 day, you can make an appointment. You show up in person and they will send you on your way after MANY hours with your passport. There are other services that can do the same thing - but cost a lot more. I personally like to be hands on, and make sure it gets done. I have had to do this. My significant other became a US citizen. They travel for work a lot. As soon as (actually just before) you become a US citizen they take away your green card. You MUST enter the US on a US passport if you are a US citizen. My partner had no way to re-enter the USA for an upcoming trip. So we made an appointment, and had the passport the same day as the appointment. Here is the link - https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast/passport-agencies.html Good luck. .

Always use cell service when in port.

This thread is boring. The long and short of it is that Oceania has unwritten rules. It also has other written rules it does not follow (like alcohol being brought on board).

After a long flight from the UK, I would want a place to sleep. It is not far from the Airport to the port. I have no Idea what O offers, but there is a motel across from the airport (You still will want a taxi - I would not walk up that hill). It is not a fancy place - but you can take a nap there. There are also few other hotels around there that are < 10 min taxi ride from the airport. If you want a resort - The Intercontinental resort is good and also close by. The airport to the hotel is 10-15 min taxi ride. I personally would not fly in the day of the cruise. I do not think it is possible to get to PPT from the UK without stopping in the states, which is always a pain, and those flights could be delayed. Enjoy your trip. French Polynesia is most excellent on a cruise ship.

This is a great remedy for an upset stomach. I swear bye it. You can candied ginger (dried ginger in sugar). I always carry it with me. It is a great snack but also helps with an upset stomach. Warning it can be a bit spicy/fiery. Ginger beer (non alcoholic) is also a good alternative.

Most airlines have shifted to this model.

Agreed. As someone that always books late (less than 90 days) - I am usually not able to book oceania because it is "waitlisted". Other cruise lines take a lot longer to fill up. Their model, marketing, and advertising is very effective.

Before I switched I was with T-Mobile a long time. Here is the primary difference, you will get faster speeds with GoogleFi. Your US plan all its features including "hotspot" and your 4g speeds just work internationally. T-mobile's "free" international speed is 3g. Note: GoogleFi have one plan that does NOT include international roaming. The cheapest - AKA Flex and the most expensive googlefi plan include international roaming.

Frankfurt is a mess. I would avoid at all costs. Heathrow is understaffed, but probably the best option. Clearing immigration/customs in the US is a bit of pain, but not too bad from Pearson. I can't speak about Lisbon recently. I avoid AerLingus. TAP is fine - they are star alliance if that is your thing. I think they are good, but a bit cramped. I have not done Air Canada lately, but pre-pandemic I found them quite nice. All the airlines and airports are bad right now. My guess is Air Canada has such a large part of the market in Canada, they are going to get the most headlines and the worst press. The trick to flying now is trying to find the flight that is unlikely to be affected. In the US a large number of the regional carriers are cancelling flights. I believe it is the same in Canada. I would just stay off those. That would be Air Canada Express operated by Jazz for you. Good luck. Safe flight.