terry&mike

It's post #7 on this thread Also, I did a live review post titled "Scenic Mekong Review" if you want more details on the trip.

We just did this journey in December/January. We used 2 single entry Vietnam eVisas each. I will try to locate my post on this.

Yes, a bit of a bummer. Hubby and I sailed Cunard for the first time last August, we enjoyed it so much that we booked a sailing for 2023 as soon as we got home. When we were in Vietnam last month, hubby had custom tuxedos made, dress shirts, and I had some dresses made, for our upcoming Cunard sailing. We look forward to the elegance and special atmosphere, including the beautiful clothing, of the Gala evenings.

We just sailed this itinerary with Scenic in January. We were able to use an e-Visa to enter Vietnam from Cambodia when sailing downstream. I believe you are not allowed to use an e-Visa to enter Cambodia from Vietnam by water (when sailing upstream). I did a post on our Visa situation on the Asia boards, as few people had sailed this route since the Covid re-start and things had changed. Here is a summary of what we needed: We needed a Multi-entry Vietnam Visa, which are difficult to obtain, as we began in northern Vietnam, traveling on our own, so we decided to try it with 2 single entry e-Visas for Vietnam. We got a Single entry e-Visa to Vietnam, which we used to enter Vietnam by airport from Thailand. We spent about 9 days in Hanoi, HaLong Bay, and Hoi An. We then flew in to Siem Reap, Cambodia, using an e-Visa to enter Cambodia. Before we left the U.S., we had already obtained the second Single entry e-Visa for Vietnam, which would allow us to enter from the river. When we met our Scenic tour director in Siem Reap, he took copies of our second e-Visa for Vietnam (as well as a copy of our Cambodian e-Visa). It was a smooth process, in someone from the Vietnam Immigration boarded the ship, checked all the documents with the staff, and then we sailed on.

We bought an Indulgence Package a couple of weeks ago for an Amazon and Brazil 22 night cruise in November. Within 10 minutes of buying the package I was able to see the amount for Shore Excursion credit on my booking online. Originally, I had $300 OBC; after I bought the package it showed as $1000 OBC. My invoice showed that the actual OBC was earmarked as $850 for me, and $150 for hubby, so I asked on this board if we had to spend it that way and was given advice that "no, it could be spent by both of us". The boards were correct, as I was able to book $500 worth of Shore Excursions each, and not spend any cash, the system just backed it away from our OBC amount. Technically, I did end up spending $3.00 usd cash, as I went slightly over, and now my booking shows $0.00 OBC at the top.

Thank you. Yes, we've been, but by land, so it will be new to see it from the sea.

I hope you post how your Azamazing Evening in Kotor goes when you return. We are on the September 3 sailing of the Onward, and have an evening event "Mystical Tales at...." in Kotor.

The plan we purchase, gives us free data up to a certain amount. I was also worried about exceeding data as I'm thinking how the heck do I calculate that??? On our January trip in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia (it was 5 weeks, so I bought a 30 day plan, then a plan for a few extra days), hubby found out how to see how much data I was using, and I was way under what I could use. This is with me using it every day to check email, facebook, upload some photos, send and receive a few texts here and there, plus use the map function to get around, and research restaurants and other things. One tip is this, make sure you close out every app (and web page) that you open when you are done using them, especially maps programs/apps, as it does continue to run in the background if it hasn't been closed and use data.

When we last sailed in Southeast Asia by large cruise ship (Princess, January 2020), our passports were collected and we did get some stamps. In January of this year, we were on a river cruise in Vietnam and Cambodia, and also received passport stamps. I'm not sure if it's the same in England, but in the US you can send your passport in and have pages added - if you have the time, this might be a thought. And in other interesting news, before we joined the river cruise in Vietnam and Cambodia, we started the trip with 2 weeks in Thailand. When we arrived in Bangkok airport, we were given quite a bit of grief from the Immigration officer for 3 stamps in each of our passports that he did not like. They were not legal country entry stamps, but the souvenier type stamps you can get sometimes (Charles Darwin Research Center in Galapagos, Ecuador with a turtle; Gateway to Antarctica, Ushuaia, Argentina, with a penguin; and Antarctica, with an iceberg). We endured a stern lecture on not having anything put in the passport that was not official as it invalidates the passport, and so on. We apologised, and were let through. He was quite gruff. We chalked it up to him having a bad day, because we've been to more than 110 countries and no one has ever even mentioned this. Also, surprised at how quickly he found all 3 of them, given our passports are each 51 pages and pretty stamped up. Oh well, we got in, but we will not be getting anymore "fun" stamps in the future.

We were on a land trip in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia in April/May of 2022. We added an international plan to my cell phone and relied on that for phone and data (using wifi when it was available). It was quite inexpensive.

We visited Nha Trang in January 2020, just before Covid. When we got off the ship there were lines of taxis waiting, and their drivers were offering to take people on tours, to the beach, etc. We just wanted a ride to the beach area, so that we could go for a scenic walk, wander, seafood lunch, get massages. We walked past the first couple of guys and then took a ride with a guy who offered a more reasonable rate. We spent the day as planned, and it was easy (and cheaper) to get a ride back to the pier when we were ready. It was a very enjoyable day.

Would love to hear your take on the cabin once you return (if you stick with it). We booked one of these cabins out of curiosity, but on Deck 5, for our September sailing.

Hubby and I have one of these cabins booked on Deck 5 for our September transatlantic. Curious to check it out.

Perfect, that is what I was hoping would happen.

Yes, $1000 shows as available for booking Shore Excursions online. At this point, I have not purchased any specific excursions so was unsure how it would charge us.

I purchased the Indulgence Package for an upcoming 22 night cruise. This works out to be good value for us as we would have upgraded to the Ultimate Drink Package, and both wanted Wifi. Part of this package includes a $700 Shore Excursion Credit. We already had a $300 OBC, expressed as $150 per person OBC on our invoice. In looking at the new invoice the $700 is credited next to my name; it shows me as having $150 + $700 OBC, and hubby as having $150 OBC. I am hoping that the Shore Excursions I buy for both of us will come off of this $700 OBC, rather than only Shore Excursions I buy for me being deducted from this amount and us having to pay for hubby's excursions. Basically, even though the $700 is attributed to me, is it usable for both of us in the cabin?

Following, also interested in answer.

Please report on your findings, and your transfer. I will be doing this in September.

Will do!

You posted this in reply to my post above, but I think you intended it for all readers. It's not applicable to my situation in that my request is to guests disembarking in Chioggia (starting in April) as to what time Self Disembark started. I'm trying to judge making an 11:30a domestic flight from VCE, heading on to the Puglia region, when I disembark there in September. I've visited Venice and the areas nearby on land trips in the past, so am not staying over on this trip.

Yes, but Azamara will begin docking there in April for this season, so I'm hoping some folks will post their experience here when they return. As I don't dock there until mid-September, I've got a bit of time.

For anyone who disembarks in Chioggia, please let me know at what time were passengers allowed to Self Disembark? And what time were you scheduled to arrive in port? I understand that each sailing is different, but this will give me a general idea. We are scheduled to dock at 7:00am. I am thinking to book a flight from Venice VCE airport that departs at 11:30am. It is a domestic flight (to somewhere else in Italy), and I am willing to arrange a car and driver for the transfer, as well as pay for the airline cabin class that allows me to have Priority Check In and Fast Track at the airport, so I'm thinking this can work.

As the member who started it, I'm glad you found it!

Us as well.

We also use the transatlantic crossing to be part of a longer trip, usually being gone 3-6 weeks on each trip. We find that using one 30" duffel style suitcase with wheels each gives us plenty of space, and allows us to separate our dressier clothes, while still being able to easily manage our bags. If you are familiar with these bags, the bottom part of the bag has a separate section. In the bottom of one, I place all of our dressier clothes, each with a plastic dry cleaning bag over it to combat wrinkling. In the bottom of the other, I place our shoes, and some other bulky items. In the main part of each of the bags, I have our daily wear for touring, hiking, or whatever we are doing on the rest of the trip, toiletries, etc. This way, once you disembark Cunard, you don't have to interact with your formal clothes for your daily traveling around. Admittedly, we are light packers, so this gives us lots of extra room, and there are times that instead of bringing one 30" duffel style suitcase each, Mike will have a 30" duffel stye bag, and I will have just a carryon size suitcase. When we are traveling without the need for formal clothes, our general set up is that we each have 1 carry on size suitcase each, plus Mike carries a backpack and I carry a larger purse.