shuyak

We received two emails with all the details: 2 months out, then 1 month out.

We did similar to what @Host Jazzbeau recommended, flew to Puerto Iguazu the same day after we arrived Buenos Aires.  Packed summer necessities in carry on luggage, and winter necessities in checked luggage.  Luckily, no lost luggage.

Stayed at Puerto Iguazu for 3 nights: Brazil side + Bird Park for one day, and Argentina side + Great Adventure boat ride for another day.  The falls are really impressive and almost impossible to describe its full scope with words!  Strongly recommend!

Prior to moving to Hilton, we stayed in BA for another 3 nights to check out various point of interests and enjoy the wonderful (and CHEAP) dishes!

Charter flight from Ushuaia was back to BA around 3:15 PM (on time).  AA counters would not open until 5 PM.  No issue for 9 PM flight back to USA.

16 hours ago, Cruisewilm said:

And yet another question: I read that some people bring hiking boots. Are they really necessary (takes up a lot of packing space) or will good running/walking shoes suffice?

Not the OP.  The only time we used hiking boots was when it was snowing that the deck was slippery with snow/slush/water (melted snow).  If you want to walk for a bit in that condition, boot is recommended.  You can get by with sneakers if just pop out/pop back in.

@mahdnc, thank you for taking the time writing these very detailed reports - pre/during/post cruise!  The specifics are extremely helpful for future cruisers! 🙏

@Miaminice, thank you for the vivid report!  Prompted us going to your roll call to check out all your tour details and destination recommendations!  

On 1/5/2024 at 9:58 AM, thuyronald said:

Hi everyone,

 

I'm trying to figure out transfer for my family of 6 adults (with 2 elderly parents) from Kai Tak cruise terminal in Hong Kong to our hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui area of Kowloon on March 15, 2024.

Our ship will dock there at 6:00 am, so I assume we will need to get off the ship by 8:30 am at the latest?  We will need to go through immigration afterwards before heading out to our transport.

 

I've heard that taxis are not adequate (hopefully this is still not the case) at this cruise terminal, so I'm trying to arrange a private transfer.  However, I'm not sure what time to inform them to pick us up.

 

Does anyone know roughly what time I should book my transfer?  Would 9:30 am be about right?

 

If anyone has disembarked from Kai Tak cruise terminal in the last 6 months, please kindly let me know what your experience was at this terminal.

 

Thanks for any assistance.

 

@thuyronald, check out the below live thread (still going and strong). 

The author, @mahdnc,  has very detailed descriptions for the entire trip including pre/post cruise.  You should find many useful info.  Perhas post any of your additional questions there.

@EricaD, really sorry about what you experienced : Upsetting and big disappointment!

2 hours ago, northwoods2 said:

shuyak 

Can you send me your video of the Orcas.  Mine didn't turn out very good.

@northwoods2, Can you download from above?  - When I press/hold the video, it pops up with the option to download.

If not, how to send it to you?

Remember the entire restaurant became deserted when we all rushed to deck after the announcement?  Everyone came back with big 😀. 

Sharing some photos and videos.  All future cruisers, have a great trip!

Ice breaker for Ukrain Research Center annual supply. 

Penguins 

A humpback heading to our zodiac

A pod of orcas near the ship

3 humpback 🐋 bubble net feeding around then under our zodiac - thought it might flip.  Video is taken by a near by zodiac.

The bubbles we see in the zodiac as approaching.  The light shadow under the bubbles is the 🐋. 

Atlas has a representative flying with us on the charter to Ushuaia and hand us over to the local tour company.   Our tour made  ~30 min stop at a bay (Lago Acigami) to view the mountains in both Argentina and Chile, ~45 min stop at the visitor center w/ small display and restaurant, ~30 min stop at the sign Parque National Tierra de Fuego (where Route 3 started and supposedly end in Alaska) with easy trails, and ~30 min at the south most post office, then head to the ship for 3 pm embarkation check in.

There are also people with cambio sign 2 bridges down on the other side of the river.

We exchanged $100 usd upon arrival, but mostly used visa during the 7 day pre-cruise travel.  Pesos are only for tips, small/market purchase, etc.  On day 7, after stored luggage in Hilton, we spent most of remaining Pesos for parrilla buffet, then the last few in EZE on the day back to USA. 

Since the exchange rates fluctuate so much (more likely go up?), don't change more then needed at a time.  

Add to the review @northwoods2 made, our cruise managed 5-landing, 4-cruising, 4 groups of sea kayaking, 4 groups of paddling, 2 groups of camping, and crossed antarctic circle!

We had twice closely-encoutered with humpback whales, once one right in front of our zodiac, and once 3 bubble net feeding around then under our zodiac.  Also saw large pod of orcas!

We just arrived home yesterday afternoon.  Are still busy unpacking and exchanging photos with fellow cruisers.  To our surprise, the link to the daily, team bio, map, photos, etc. arrives this afternoon - merely 2 days after debarkation!

Every day, we thought nothing can top what we experienced.  Guess what?  We were saying the same thing the next day, then the next day...

Great team/crew, great cruise mates, great weather, great luck!

Enjoy your upcoming cruises!

We flew from BOS via MIA to EZE with American Airline, connected to Aerolineas Airline @ EZE and arrived IGR today. 

Booked Aerolineas from USA @ its AR site, paid with mastercard in pesos and got refunds with MET rate.  (Expedia charges $561 for 2, and we paid net $199 for 2).

All email communications were similar to any US airlines (other than is in Spanish that we needed to use Google translate).  The check-in agent was curtious and pleasant.  The flight was delayed to board by 25 min due to replacement of parts which we were informed timely.

For economy class, this domestic airplane has wider seats and longer leg rooms than AA's international flight airplane!

The only note is they will weigh both checked luggage and carry-on luggage.  For domestic flights, limits are 15kg and 8 kg, respectively.  We knew that when made the booking and have planned accordingly without any issue.

All in all, this domestic flight provided a positive impression.  Don't know it's quality of international flights though.

I bought the same Outdoor Master ski google but with clear lense, 99% VLT, from Walmart to wear over my progressive [glasses and sunglasses].  Fits well.

 https://www.walmart.com/ip/OutdoorMaster-Ski-Goggles-OTG-over-Glasses-Ski-Snowboard-Goggles-for-Men-Women-Youth-100-UV-Protection/922853850

9 hours ago, Michael_A said:

This is identical to what we received from AOV on Oct 10 for our early Dec trip.

For comparison,  the weight limits for our Aerolineas flight from EZE to Puerto Iguazu (domestic) are: 17# for carry on and 33# for checked luggage.

I read somewhere that AOV used Aerolineas for the charter flight before.  Some documents might be outdated causing the confusion.

8 hours ago, AnchoredInHope98 said:

@shuyak wow that's great that you already have those details! I'm going early November and still haven't received any information other than the name of the pre-cruise hotel! Did you happen to receive info on what time the flight leaves on the way back to BA? Wonder why they decided to switch it to pre-cruise. Was hoping to have some time to explore in Ushuaia either before or after!

We booked last minute and are very surprised/happy to receive the AOV email merely 8 days after!

Info is copied below FYI:

HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS, PRIVATE AIR CHARTER AND TRANSFERS

Prior to your expedition, Atlas Ocean Voyages offers a FREE 1-night pre cruise hotel stay at the Hilton Buenos Aires. The address is Macacha Güemes 351, C1106BKG CABA, Argentina. Check-in time usually starts at 03:00PM. More information will be provided at check-in. Transfers are included to the airport on the day of embarkation.

Your charter flight departs from EZE Terminal C at 7:00AM. The flight number with Fly Bondi is FO5996. Because this is a private charter, you will not be able to check the status online. The flight will arrive in Ushuaia at 10:40AM.

Your return flight will depart USH on Tuesday, December 19^th at 11:30AM and is scheduled to arrive at EZE at 3:15PM. The flight number with Fly Bondi is FO5997.

Due to strict airline and destination requirements, the maximum allowed weight for all checked bags is one 50 lb. bag and one carry-on of 22 lbs. per guest.

We just received the email from AOV providing the arrangement info for our Dec 7 -19 BU - BU World Navigator cruise.

The Fly Bondi charter flight will depart EZE @7:00 AM and arrive Ushuaia @10:40 AM.  Embarkation starts @ 3:00 PM.

It also notes the free culture immersive exploring Tierra del Fuego National Park will be on the day of embarkation

So, we have the time frame for the park -  what to expect will be a wonderful surprise. 🙂

10 hours ago, rloke said:

We did have our cameras in dry packs during zodiac rides in case of splashes. It is just an extra precaution but we did not get splashed at all fortunately.
 

If we were to do it again, we could probably had been fine with putting the camera in a large ziplock bag and place that in our regular water resistant backpack. Makes it easier to access the camera than the rolltop style dry pack which can sometimes be a bit fiddly.

 

We were able to use the cameras during all the zodiac rides without any issues but of course YMMV as it really does depend on sea and weather conditions.

 

Thank you very much!

@rloke, assuming dry pack is needed for camera, how is it handled during zodiac rides?  

Many thanks.

@rloke: 

We just booked the last minute cruise for this December (Would Navigator).  Your detailed/vivid posts allow us to know what to expect, what to look for, and what to look out for.

Thank you very much for sharing!

Norwegian Spirit was scheduled to arrive Port Chalmers (Denedin) 8 AM on March 21.  Around 6:30 AM, the Captain announced due to strong wind/wave, we would not be allowed to dock at the port. 

The wave was as high as deck 12 at times, and the next day we saw a little penguin in deck 12 brought up by the wave.  Some people ware very sick, we were fine with the Scopolamine transdermal patch.

We were disappointed to miss our tour to see yellow eyed penguins and royal abatross but safety should always come first.

We did have a great day at Wellington with the guided tour in Zealeandier Ecosancutary and a visit to Te Papa Museum.

2 hours ago, boeckli said:

@shuyak Just back from cruise visit to Melbourne last Thursday.

 

Kiosk on top floor of terminal selling Myki cards

 

Info poster

 

Cruise ship shuttle 109 outside the terminal on ground floor

 

Drop-off point on city map and street view. As stated earlier in this thread, the tram #58 stops here (going to QV markets and the zoo)

 

@boeckli, thank you so much!

Sharing my finding posted in the UK Cruisers board comparing quotes and  conditions.

10 hours ago, Britboys said:

Yes, P&O are very UK-centrist (approx 95% uk cruisers aboard) and all travel companies here make Travel Insurance compulsory.

It is probably quite difficult in some ways for people to make post-Covid comparisons as many cruise lines are taking the opportunity of tweaking their product with a view to cost-cutting.

Additionally, P&O are at a stage of significant change after the recent introduction of two new, much larger ships. The fleet now variously carries from under 2000 passengers to over 5000.

As you have stated that you are "low maintenance" on food and entertainment, then you may well enjoy the P&O experience.

@Britboys, thank you for thefeedback! 

You are right about the difficulty to make post-covid comparison due to cruiseline's on going cost saving measures.

Since we are looking at older/smaller ship, P&O appears a good match for our purpose.

Thank you!

7 hours ago, Ray66 said:

 

There's currently a thread on the Cunard forum about Cunard v P&O.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2906674-cunard-v-po/

 

When you book with Cunard, you need to buy travel insurance and then put your insurance details in your Voyage Personaliser.  In my experience they don't ask to see your actual insurance certificate.

@Ray66, thank you for the link.  Since we are not as formal individuals, especially when travelling, P&O appears to be the better fit for us between the two.

9 hours ago, John Bull said:

Nearest equivalent to P&O is probably Princess.

Princess is more ............ errrrr "refined" ? ... than NCL, P&O is further down the "refined" route. Some parts eg the buffet are rather bland.

 

Staff are quite reserved - depends how you feel about the rather in-your-face crew on US ships.

Nobody tells you to "have a nice day" - but if they did, they'd mean it.

 

Standards overall are much the same as Princess - perhaps the food not quite as good, and choices include pub favourites like curries and meat pies (which may or may not be a good thing for you to try, but other choices as well).

 

95%+ of passengers are British, and they speak a language quite similar to your own 😏.

You may have the occasional problem understanding Scottish or Geordie accents of some passengers - but so do he rest of us Brits. 😀

 

Most P&O ships are family ships, but kids aren't attracted to the fjords. 

2? (3?) P&O ships are adults-only

Drinks prices are lower than on US and Italian ships. And no daily gratuities or service charges added to your bill - what it says is what you pay. Very probably the same for you.

 

Yes, booking from outside the UK I can understand the need to book direct (or via a Brit cruise-specialist agency?).

Terms and conditions are much more favourable to the cruiser than in the US, because laws in the UK (and other parts of the world too) are ore onerous for cruise lines. So it surprises me a little that P&O are good value to a North American. 

 

Ys, P&O require passengers to have travel insurance - sometimes they don't ask to see it, when they do they give it a cursory glance.

(you've made me think - next time we cruse P&O I'll present my car insurance certificate  to see if anyone notices 🙄)

 

JB 🙂

@John Bull, thank you very much for the very detailed info! 

Cruises provide us the convenient way to explore different culture /scenery /wildlife without the need to unpack/pack frequently and with food readily available.  🙂  We are not looking for gourmet food or being pampered through cruising.

For us aurora hopeful, 🤞 P&O's Norwegian itinerary goes farther north than any major cruiseline's offering (including Cunard) and some overnight ports at a relatively reasonable price.  The alternatives will be via ferry by Hurtigruten and Havila which are less desirable due to short port time.

Based on all the feedbacks, P&O (UK) seems to be a good match for our purpose. 

We started to search UK based TA sites and found unlike in US where one can book online and choose cabins, UK's TA sites requires one to make inquiry for quotes.  Learning as we go. 

Thank you.

Hi,

I originally mixed up P&O (UK) and P&O (Australia) and posted the questions in the AU/NZ board.  Was advised to post the questions in the UK Cruisers board instead.  I did tagged along a thread in the P&O (UK) Cruises board.  Apologize for the repeated questions. Thank you!

We came across some P&O's good Norway itineraries from UK with quite attractive pricing, compared to major cruiselines here in the USA market.

Read reviews on line, but would love to hear the opinions from fellow CC about how is P&O compared to cruiselines in UK market such as Princess, Norwegian, Holland American, Cunard, etc.?

We are budget conscious and low maintenance in terms of room/food/ entertainment but will not hesitate to take unique experiences (such as flying over Mt. Delani).

It appears that here in USA we need to call P&O to book.  Not sure what other options there might be to hopefully get some better pricing and/or perks in addition to offered by the cruiseline?

Also saw its mandatory insurance coverage for " all UK guests".  Kind of strange - assume because it is UK based cruise?  We always purchase insurance anyway, just are not familiar the products offered by P&O's partner.

Appreciate any thoughts you can share!