CTOM

Hello, can someone please help me.... is cruising near"Hubbard Glacier" the same as "Glacier Bay National Park?"    I saw videos of a ship in a bay, and the ship made a slow 360 turn so passengers could see everything at all sides.   I see some cruise itineraries list Hubbard and some say GBNP.    I don't understand the difference.   Thank you!

Glad I found this forum.   We are on the Westerdam May 10 for an Alaskan Cruise.   I have to imagine that HAL is trying to come up with contingencies and what might happen, because the ship was just cleared to land, and they must be very very behind schedule.

Has anyone been through something like this?   May 10th is exactly 3 months away...should we be worried about delays and cancelations?

Thank you both.   Great to learn from your experiences.  

1 minute ago, Miaminice said:

 

If you book a tour with Princess you do not because they are apparently use a certified tour operator. 

 

You can also book a tour with a certified tour company yourself and the can arrange a group visa for you (eg chinahighlights.com).

 

if you want to be completely independent, you‘ll need to apply for a visa.

 

We will definitely book with Princess for that reason.  Missing an excursion and having to stay on the ship is not good, but I can live with that.   Our MAIN concern is not being able to embark in Tokyo or getting kicked off the ship (like in the article link I posted above).

1 hour ago, CTOM said:

Our Princess cruise in 2020 begins in Tokyo and stops in Shanghai for a day (7 am to 9 pm)  and then later in Xiamen for (7am to 3 pm).  It then ends in Hong Kong and we fly home. (U.S.)

 

I've been researching visa requirements, and it's become frustrating because Princess representatives seem to not know, and/or they contradict each other when we call.

 

After reading this thread and several calls with Princess, here is what I believe.   Can anyone please verify these points?

 

1. When he embark in Tokyo, we will not need a Chinese visa.

2.  If we stay on the ship in Shanghai and Xiamen, we do not need a visa.

3.  If we purchase an excursion directly with Princess's own excursions, they take care of our visa so we don't need one as long as we stay with a Princess official excursion.

4.  If we want to explore Shanghai and Xiamen on our own, then we DO need a visa in advance.

5.  When we disembark in Hong Kong, we plan to go straight to the airport, so we don't need a visa.

 

After my research, I was pretty sure that those points were accurate.  However, we recently found this article about a couple who had no visa: 

 https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/elderly-couple-kicked-off-cruise-ship-for-lack-of-necessary-visas/ar-BBQfj35

 

So now we are back to being unsure...

Sorry.    I also forgot to include this image.   It's a message from Princess when i log into my itinerary.  The way i read this message, I will not need a visa at all.   But I don't know how much to trust this message!

43 minutes ago, Betty in Cozumel said:

 

From my understanding you are doing Japan, China and then China again so the 144 transit will NOT work. 

Yes, I was concerned about that.  Two different stops in China (with one At Sea day in between) seems to throw me off.

Our Princess cruise in 2020 begins in Tokyo and stops in Shanghai for a day (7 am to 9 pm)  and then later in Xiamen for (7am to 3 pm).  It then ends in Hong Kong and we fly home. (U.S.)

I've been researching visa requirements, and it's become frustrating because Princess representatives seem to not know, and/or they contradict each other when we call.

After reading this thread and several calls with Princess, here is what I believe.   Can anyone please verify these points?

1. When he embark in Tokyo, we will not need a Chinese visa.

2.  If we stay on the ship in Shanghai and Xiamen, we do not need a visa.

3.  If we purchase an excursion directly with Princess's own excursions, they take care of our visa so we don't need one as long as we stay with a Princess official excursion.

4.  If we want to explore Shanghai and Xiamen on our own, then we DO need a visa in advance.

5.  When we disembark in Hong Kong, we plan to go straight to the airport, so we don't need a visa.

After my research, I was pretty sure that those points were accurate.  However, we recently found this article about a couple who had no visa: 

 https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/elderly-couple-kicked-off-cruise-ship-for-lack-of-necessary-visas/ar-BBQfj35

So now we are back to being unsure...

2 minutes ago, skynight said:

Sip & Sail ends July 16th. Answer, slim to none chance price will drop. There will be another promo following, always seems to be. Maybe it will be better for you. For us we have found the 3 for free promo a better deal. We do not drink that much. Our beverage charges average less than $20/day for two people.

Thank you.  Good to know.   We also don't drink too much, and I'll keep my eyes open for 3 for Free.

So I had a 2020 cruise booked without a drink package.  When I saw the Sip n Sail promo, I called my TA.  She said they cannot simply apply the SnS to my existing reservation.  Instead, they have to cancel it and re-book.   I was prepared for this, since a lot of folks here on Cruitse Critic said that's how they do it.

But... the price of my suite has gone up $400 per person since we booked.

So if I rebook with SnS, it's an extra $800.   If I leave my current reservation and just add the drink package, it's about $900.

Either way, it's a lot of extra money for a "free" promo.

Dumb question, but I'm new to cruises.... Might the prices drop before SnS ends?  Any tips?   Thank you!

How long do you folks typically wait when calling Holland America?   My hold time seems to get worse each time I call.  9 minutes and counting as of me writing this...

Thank you all.    Those are some very helpful experiences and gives us something to look forward to !

To @twodjs (and anyone else who can give an opinion)...  Wife and I have a pinnacle suite on Westerdam next year.   

We are both fairly reserved and quiet and stick to ourselves. We are the type to get embarrassed over extra attention, not those who seek it.  We always request a table for two on cruises.

We booked it mainly for a once-in-lifetime experience for the extra space and balcony tub, not for the extra attention from the staff.   

So my question is...does the staff make a big deal over you?  Like when we first check in, can we just quietly go to our room by ourselves, or does a porter walk with you and show you around, etc.?    If we get a room service meal, will they just drop it off as usual?   Just trying to get an idea...   Thanks !

On 5/23/2019 at 11:16 AM, Moriah said:

As far as I'm concerned the best "perk" of the Westerdam Pinnacle suites is the outdoor hot tub on the balcony... but that's just me! Um, don't put any bubble bath in it... not saying we did that... you know, just sayin'... 🙂

  It's gonna be cold outside, so the hot tub will be especially nice.   I suppose your wore a bathing suit?...I'm just wondering how private it is  when you (didn't) use any bubble bath.

Last year on the Noordham, our room had a coupon booklet in it with stuff like 2-for-1 coffees in the Explorer Lounge, 25% of manicures, etc etc.    We actually used many of the offers.  I think there may have even been two of them, one for me and one for wife.

This year on the Zuiderdam, we got no booklet, coupons, or offers.   For you frequent HAL cruisers, are these little booklets standard for HAL or only some itineraries?

Thanks !

Thank you.    I saw the one excursion listed for Shanghai, and thought I was missing something.   Guess I'll wait a while for more to be listed.

Hello.   We’re on the Princess diamond cruise in December 2020 from Tokyo to Hong Kong, with ports in Shanghai and Xiamen, China.  

Because it’s still 19 months away, Princess has no excursions listed yet.   I’m trying to see what excursions they might have for Shanghai and Xiamen.  

So I tried Princess’s site to look at 2019 cruises just to view the excursions, but it’s asking me to enter my cruise booking info.   

Any ideas where to look?  Am I missing something ?

I know what they offer in the past and in 2019 might not be offered on my 2020 cruise, but it will give me an idea.   

Just now, memereboy said:

Thank you so much for the helpful reply!!  I'm curious though, what I learned from HAL is that unless we book our excursions directly from them, we would need a Russian Visa!? Did you have a Visa?  Guide Guru is a great source but we do not have time to get a Visa NOR do we want that additional expense ($400)?

We booked the Red Square cruise via HAL, so we did NOT need the visa.  When you get off the boat and go to customs, the customs officers will know you are with a HAL tour and will not ask for your visa.   It was simple.   We were worried too, but if you book through HAL, you are fine. 

With Guide Guru and others, you may need the paid visa additional cost.   Also...because we booked with HAL and we began at 7:00 am, we were guaranteed to be the very first people off the ship.

Guide Guru customers won't get special clearance off the ship.

Just now, memereboy said:

OMG...Thank you so much for this advice!  We are going to book it despite the exorbitant price!  You have helped us decide.  One question....we are older (active) people....will there be anything so strenuous that we won't be able to do the tour?  They list it as STRENUOUS, but walking a lot is not what we consider strenuous!  Certainly Lengthy, but that being said, we can rest on the train!

Lots of walking, some stairs, but nothing too strenuous.  Like most tour groups, some folks will keep up and some will straggle.   You'll be fine!

We did the 1-day Moscow day trip on the Zuiterdam.   It is an EXTREMELY long and tiring day.   However, all in all, wife and I say it's worth it.  St Petersburg is a cool city, but how often will you have a chance to see Moscow?   It's a rare chance.

I looked for specific reviews on the Red Square tour and didn't find any...so here is my own to help you and future tourists.

In theory, it was organized well.   Starts at 6:45 am.   (I was a little disappointed in HAL for waiting until 7:05 for the late people.  If you're not there at 6:46, we should have left without you).  A HAL guide takes you off the ship and leads you through customs.   After that, you meet your escort.   The escort leads you to the bus, and then the bus goes to the train station.  

Train ride is comfortable and clean and 4 hours long.  Clean bathrooms and breakfast included.

At Moscow, you meet a local tour guide, who leads you to another bus.  Drive through the city.

HAL has 2 tours of Moscow:  The Armory Museums OR Red Square.   You can see museums in every city on Earth, but there is only one Red Square.  Suggest that one.   BUT BE CAREFUL...HAL's website had conflicting info about which day trip was which.  Many people thought they were going to see Red Square, and were disappointed to realize they were on the museum tour instead.  This was HAL's fault, but I won't go into detail.

The bus ends up at Red Square and Kremlin (again, this is if you select the Red Square tour, not the Armory Museum).  You see the famous St Basil church and pass Lenin's Tomb (We could not see the tomb that day because it was a special parade day during on tour).  Then you get an hour free time.  I suggest you go see St Basil's.  We didn't and regret it.  The tour guide suggested we go instead into the Goom (Gum) Shopping mall.   It's a nice big mall, but malls are everywhere.   I wish we didn't go in there.  You only have 1 hour in Red Square, and we wasted ours in a shopping mall. 

After that, you go into the Kremlin, a fortified area where the government is.  They take you to one area of the Kremlin where a bunch of orthodox churches are, and you go in one.  Again, we would have preferred St Basil's, since it's by far the most famous one, but that wasn't included.  

After that, you get back on the bus and then back to the train station.  Our train left Moscow at around 7:30 pm, got to St Pete's at 11:45, and we were back on the ship around 1 am. 

A second bus left after us, but it arrived at the ship well before us.   Just an unlucky break that we had a horrible driver. Our bus crossed the river twice, meaning he took a wrong route and had to double back.  How does a professional tour bus drive not know directions from the train station to the pier? 

It's well worth it for the experience of it all, but there were some definite drawbacks...mostly with the tour guides and escorts and drivers, which probably wasn't HAL's fault.  For example, our Red Square escort talked to the locals a lot during the train ride, ignoring her tour group.  Meanwhile the Armory escort did nothing but wait on his group, helped them get free wifi, gave them instructions, etc.  If only our escort was as efficient as the other tour.

We do recommend this tour, despite some drawbacks.  Seeing our pictures of Moscow makes it all worthwhile.  Not too many people have that.

4 minutes ago, TAD2005 said:

..., and found it in the Lido Market, next to the Pasta Bar... 

Speaking of the pasta bar, on my last cruise, passenger #1 had made his order, and the cook was preparing it on the stove top.  The cook then went on to take passenger #2's order, while #1's was still cooking in the pan.   Next thing I know, I see #1 squeeze his arms under the glass separator when the cook wasn't looking.   He proceeded to season his own pasta himself while it was cooking, instead of simply asking the chef.

I guess some people view glass barricades as a decoration, not as a safety/sanitation feature. 

Personally, I didn't want any chips that the lady touched, so I didn't care about getting the food replaced.   I DID want to tell a worker what she did...right in front of her and loudly enough for her to hear.     But from reading a lot of these replies, I realize that some people do not feel shame.   I wanted to embarrass her so badly, but I now realize she wouldn't have cared.  

The worst part was how emphatically she moved the serving tongs out of the way.  As if she truly didn't know what they were there for.   Of course she knew, but her actions were so dramatic.  

5 minutes ago, sfarrlee said:

Thanks so much for the tip - we will definitely check out those spots!

We were on the Noordham for an Alaska cruise in 2018, and the cabana areas had no cabanas at all.   It was just some chairs set up, free and open to any passenger.   We loved it up there.   On a recent Zuiderdam cruise, however, that area was closed to passengers and only cabana renters could go up there to the "Retreat" they called it.

I'm not sure of HAL's policies about this, but it seems to me like sometimes they charge you for that deck, and other times they just open it up for anyone.   

11 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

But young men and women of all ages discussing their their health issues are ok?

I stand corrected.   Any 2 people shouting to each other from different tables about their health issues should be verboten !

My personal bottom line is I don't care if I hear political conversations, but I do care if old men discuss their health issues.

One day at Lido lunch, some old, rude guy dining alone started blowing his nose repeatedly, using the real cloth napkins.  I was going to say something because he was grossing us out, but the wife stopped me. Then, to make matters worse and I swear this is true, some other older guy starts talking to him about sinuses and how to clear phlegm.

So another diner turns around to my wife, and we're all laughing at how how clueless these disgusting men are being.  I told him that I want to say something, but my wife stopped me.

He said he wants to say something too, but he is an entertainer on board and not allowed to say anything.

(That night we saw him on stage, so he was honest!)

Sorry if these are dumb questions, but next year on the Westerdam is our first Pinnacle Suite!   

How does the course-by-course dining work in your room? 

Is it like the main dining room, where they bring you the appetizer/entree/dessert separately, except they bring it to your room?   That almost sounds too fancy for us!   I'd prefer to go to the dining room for that,  or else just get room service dinner.

Also, can someone please explain how the Pinnacle in-room coffee makers are handled?   Wife and I drink a ton of coffee, and it will be lovely to not have to go to Lido for a cup each time.   I assume the coffee makers are pods like a Kuerig or Nespresso?    Will the Steward bring us extra pods each day upon request?

Is the tub on the balcony a standard bathtub with bubble jets?   Or more like a real jacuzzi you find on Lido?

And finally, we really don't need all the pampering that a concierge might provide, but are concierges different from regular room stewards that we're already used to?    I've never known on-board concierges before.   Thanks!!!