ilikeanswers

10 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

Wow,you people on here have inspired me. My next novel may just be about people who post on cruise message boards. 

What do you want from the posters🤷‍♀️? You have gotten some good advice despite how little information you have provided about your friends. The best we could do is suggest cruises that may be the best match to you and your friends' travel styles. At the end of the day both of you will have to compromise if you want to travel together.

8 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

The only kind of trip I can do is a cruise. I cannot drive. I last drove 16 years ago.I cannot be on a plane.The last time I flew was 9 years ago. I cannot ride on a train.

 

I don't want to sound insensitive but it sounds to me like you are really only thinking of yourself 😕.  I am sorry that your travelling options are so limited and understand you really want to travel with these friends but if they were to compromise their travel style for you what would you be willing to compromise?  For example (and I have to make up an example since you still haven't detailed your friends' travel interests😒) if your friends are into immersive holidays would you be willing to give up the 24 hour entertainment ship and go on a small expedition cruise?

4 hours ago, SRF said:

 

I have never heard of using another Embassy for Consular services.

 

Might be possible with Commonwealth countries, but not most others.

Well I am from a Commonwealth country so perhaps that is why I am familiar with the system🤣. I guess I foolishly assumed every country had some sort of partnership agreement. It is good to learn new things 😉.

1 hour ago, lenquixote66 said:

Except for DaveKathy everyone is so negative here.It reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode.

I don't think I was being negative🤔 but I did point out that perhaps if you are going to argue the benefits of cruising it should be based on what they enjoy not what you enjoy. You haven't provided any information about your friends likes, dislikes, preferred travel styles or destinations and yet you expect us to provide an argument on the benefits of cruising when we know nothing about these people . If a generic argument was going to be effective at persuading them to cruise then you would have got them cruising a long time ago😉.

3 hours ago, txflood33 said:

sorry for any confusion....we are in Chicago...our cruise sails out of Hong Kong. We are planning on flying in a few days early to adjust to time and see the city

 

When I said 'most popular', I meant the most frequent flight options than came up when doing a preliminary search, but still too early to book...simple research

 

I mentioned earlier in the thread that maybe an option of Chicago>Hawaii> Hong Kong might be a better option....but there doesn't seem to be direct flights from Hawaii...at least Honolulu. I had options like Honolulu>LAX>HKG or Honolulu>Vancouver>HKG....seems counter productive

Flightconnections.com is a good website if you are still looking into potential flight routes. Though if a direct flight exists that would seem to be a preferred option if you are looking to avoid the stress of changing planes.

What type of holidays do they like to take? Are they resort, hotel or AirBnB types? Do get around self driving, public transport or they the stay in the one place type? Are they foodies, sightseers, experience gatherers or do nothing holiday types? Do they have adventurous off the beaten track holidays or conventional tourist places trips? Maybe instead of telling them why you love cruising look at what they enjoy about travelling and provide them with examples of cruises that match their travel style.

1 hour ago, SRF said:

 

Sister Embassy????

Sorry I forgot it might not commonly use term 😳. It is the embassy you would go to if your own country has no consular representation in the country you are visiting. I'm just curious how it went for people who had to do that, was it easy or awfully complicated to use another country's consular services?

On 2/1/2019 at 3:02 AM, notalandlover said:

I would like to hear about what others in this community have done when their passport has been lost.  I take a picture of it for my phone and email a copy of myself.  I wonder if that matters when overseas and its lost.

I do wonder if a phone picture of your passport is good enough if you have to go to a sister embassy? If there anyone who has had the experience of losing their passport in country that does not have their country's embassy or consulate? I would love to hear the experiences of what it was like in those circumstances.

On 1/31/2019 at 3:30 AM, pacruise804 said:

 

Totally off topic - but I've often wondered if Spanish speaking countries have the same issues as English speaking respecting the separation by a common language.

 

For those who don't know, the American term for a bum bag/waist bag means something very different in UK/AU.  Also, UK has a slang term for cigarettes that would be offensive to many in the US.

In university I had a classmate who was born in Uruguay spent his teens in Mexico and backpacked his way through South and Central America. This exact topic came up in our conversations and he did confirm that accents can be wildly different and hard to understand but also that each country does have their own lingos. A lot of it has to do with the indigenous languages of the place since a lot words and phrases end up incorporated into the colonial language.

I think every language ends up localised in some way. I knew a Brazilian who travelled to Portugal and found it hard to understand the locals and a French person once told me that people in the North and South of the country speak so differently it can sometimes feel like a different language😳.

On 1/20/2019 at 5:44 AM, donaldsc said:

There is another thing - cruise companies encourage people who are sick to travel.  Not purposely but that is what they effectively do.  They don't still have you fill out one of those "I am Not Sick" cards but if you did not feel well or had thrown up the night before and were honest, what do you think could happen to you.  They don't let you cruise.  They don't refund your cruise payments.  They don't cover your plane flight home.  So you are out both the money and the cruise.

 

What would you do if you didn't feel well pre cruise - answer the form honestly or lie on the form and board hoping that you felt better tomorrow.

 

DON

Not just money, but also lost time 😕. For some people they have to move heaven and earth to get the time off to travel, so unless you are so ill🤢 you physically can't move, you would be even less motivated to give up a cruise🤫. 

Marquesas French Polynesia on Aranui. Loved it so much I am already saving for the Australs and Pitcairn cruise 🤩.

On 1/8/2019 at 11:23 AM, pcur said:

I can remember going into Barbados right after the invasion in Grenada, and the Bajan security and police were all over everyone's luggage, tickets, and ids.  It can happen any time in a flash.

I doubt many people research the political or social situations of the countries they are travelling to😥 especially if those countries seem so stable and peaceful. Nothing happens in a flash, it is generally something that has been bubbling for a long time. But for me it is a good enough reason to keep my passport with me in foreign countries because while the cruise company might have contingencies and the embassies are suppose to help it is still reliant on the country being safe and functioning. When things start collapsing no one cares there is a cruise ship in port. With a passport you can get out quickly without taking detours. Like everyone else my opinions are coloured by my own experiences😉 so I would not claim to have the right answer but in the end that is how we all choose our insurance, by the cover we feel we need to be protected😎.

On 1/6/2019 at 12:41 AM, bob brown said:

If you are thinking about "EasyCruise", they tried and subsequently failed... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EasyCruise

It seems there must have been two cruise lines who tried it because the one I was thinking off ran a Pacific route😳. I guess the fact I haven't heard of it since then probably means it didn't work😜. I just remember there was a lot of buzz about it when it was introduced. Their ads made it out like it was all about choice (eat how you want, when you want and only pay for what you eat) and that the eating establishments would be gastronomic experiences😕. 

14 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

I would not be surprised to see included MDR meals go away:  with either surcharge for any eating outside of the cafeteria, or simple elimination of the MDR’s. 

There was a cruise line who did this as an experiment with one ship. They got rid of all included meals and had restaurants and cafes around the ship, no packages just pay for the meals you order. I don't know how successful this was or if they expanded to other ships but I would be curious if it translated to any significantly cheaper fares🤔. 

23 hours ago, rentlady said:

When using the atm in Australia/New Zealand, can I get small bills for tips or is it in larger denominations ? I like to carry smaller bills for tips as soon as I arrive in a country.

The smallest bill in Australia and NZ is $5 which ATMs would be rare to dispense. Smaller denominations are in coins which you definitely can't get at an ATM. If you really want to you can take a $20 to a shop ask to if they would be willing to break it into smaller denominations. 

9 hours ago, John Bull said:

 

Sometimes airlines do honour big pricing mistakes, here's one reported today 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46732952

 

JB 

Good on Cathay Pacific👍. They probably don't have to but it is nice they are honouring the prices👏. In Australia local companies have no choice but to honour price mistakes, you can't even subvert it with your own terms and conditions otherwise you get a massive fine. There was a budget airline that once tried to charge the difference on a price mistake and got into a lot of trouble😕. It probably is why we rarely see price mistakes in the first place, a lot of tripple checking I suspect going on 🤣. 

9 hours ago, Velvetwater said:

 

Random  related question for you US folk but are Contactless  card payments becoming more mainstream now?

 

Here in the UK they seem to have taken over....and in many places in Europe too.

I travelled around America 2017 and it was pretty rare then. But I know what you mean, in Australia they too have taken over. Even market stalls now have a little device you can (as we call it) tap and a lot of festivals have started going cashless. I went to butcher recently and I handed him cash and he gave me this weird look and told me no one has given him cash in a month 🤣. 

12 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

The statement above isn't true -- most machines have the ability to process both types of cards -- however the person 'behind the counter' may not always know it or how to run a card with a magnetic strip.

 

Also, in Europe they have mostly accommodated to the US refusal to go to chip and pin issued cards en masse; in most places where the transaction is manned, you can use a chip and signature card. It is the unmanned terminals that cause issues if you don't have a chip and pin card (e.g., ticket kiosks and the like).

When I travelled around Scandinavia if I presented my card without chip they would always ask if I had an alternative card with chip, especially in Denmark or Norway🙄. However I do look back and realise I was visiting a lot of places that either had few international visitors or few American visitors so this might have coloured my experience🤔. Though in saying that I always found travelling Europe it is just less of a hassle to match their expectations of technology than hoping they will be able to meet mine😋. Not that I have a choice in the matter anymore as my country now is the same as Europe in card tech😂.

If you are only stopping in the capital or major cities card payments (Visa and Mastercard being best) will be accepted everywhere, no minimum limit with the exception maybe being the odd market stall. Denmark is a little weird in that some places will only take locally issued credit and debit cards but we found this more of an issue outside of Copenhagen and away from the international tourist sights.

In saying that make sure your card has a chip imbedded as pretty much nowhere in Europe can process a magnetic strip and make sure your pin is enabled as most European card readers will only accept pins for security. If all else fails ATMs are pretty common around European cities and you can download apps that can find and direct you to ATMs.

On 12/30/2018 at 10:12 PM, Velvetwater said:

 

I think it might be more a nod to the crown jewel of the Baltics itinerary which is Russia which of course is trying to get around for many reasons.

 

Also, I hear from some of the Slavic families  I work with how the roads that are not motorways are poorly maintained in comparison to other countries and not very well lit and so forth. There is also the fact those parts have heavy trucking routes.

 

 

I have to admit when I think baltics I don't think Russia🤔, but that makes sense Russia would be a complicated add on😥. Thanks for the insight🤗.

On 12/30/2018 at 3:52 PM, JMorris271 said:

No go zone in France??? You are kidding, right?

Some of the public housing complexes in cities in Southern France have fallen under control of the Coriscan mafia. They run the areas like their own little fiefdoms restricting who can go in and out. Depending on who you talk to police are either unwilling or unable to do anything about it. When I was driving to Marseilles I was told to stick to the main roads and stay around the historical and seaside areas so as to avoid driving down the wrong streets😥. The "lookouts" apparently get quite anxious if they see an unknown vehicle going down their streets and it has been known to lead to violent confrontations.

I looked through the Uber App a few times to see the prices for a ride to the airport from where I live and I found the prices to be either the same as a taxi or sometimes more expensive and these were just the UberX prices. I don't think Uber is as good value in Sydney as it might be elsewhere. 

On 12/2/2018 at 3:15 AM, John Bull said:

Similar is the Baltic. Terribly convoluted to drive round, expensive & tortuous by air, sooooo very civilised by cruise ship

 

JB  

I was just curious why you think the Baltics is convoluted to drive around🙄? Usually Schengen zone countries are pretty easy to drive around.

As for the original inquiry my mode of transport is dictated by my destination. I look for how I can get the most out of the place I want to visit. Like my trip to the Marquesas I found cruising compared to independent travel would give me a better experience of the archipelago. I think age and physical abilities is a major factor. I do find myself leaning towards more intensive holidays because I know I have the opportunity and health to do so. When I get older or less physically able I will probably look towards the more relaxing trips and cruises will most likely be my go to. 

Though as a solo traveller I don't know if cruises would be quite as cost effective. 

Well my favourite ports were Bay of Virgins Fatu Hiva and Fakarava, but I don't think that is much help to you since that cruise would be beyond your time limit😉. But there are plenty of shorter cruises around the Pacific if you do ever consider the area. The cheaper ones are usually the Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia routes. Also I would second the recommendation for Rappa Nui aka Easter Island. I myself flew there but it ranks as one of my best holidays so any opportunity you get to visit there I would take it.