milolii

55 minutes ago, charliedalrymple said:

 

I will admit complete ignorance of and a total lack of interest in all things Lord of the Rings / Hobbit.  I'm just curious--were the movies actually filmed at Hobbiton?  I would imagine that would make it quite exciting for fans.

While on a tour to Rotorua from last month, our tour guide gave us a little local history. She stated that Peter Jackson found the area which belong to a local sheep farmer, arriving by helicopter. The farmer knew nothing about the story even after the first film was shot.  His daughter educated him.  The land and set still belong to the farmer. He’s considered the luckiest farmer in New Zealand. But still attends to his sheep.   It’s a beautiful country, 

8 hours ago, DCThunder said:

I was just looking at the American Advantage website and the change is now effective July 11, 2024, rather than April 30.  I also just checked and an international RT business class fare for January 2025, booked directly with AA, is around $100 less on the AA website than on EZAir.  

Good to know.  We also booked with AA, RT business class for January, 2025.  EZair didn't come close with pricing.  This is for EZE.  

Excellent post by @azbirdmom.  
 

Not United, but on American, there is a big change coming regarding  award miles for fares “ticked” after April 30, 2024.  American will only issue award miles for tickets purchased on their website, One World Partner websites and approved travel partners. 
 

So far United and Delta haven’t responded with like changes. 

We had about the same port times. 7-2 I think.  We walked out of the gate abiut 0900 amd hired a taxi. We went to a motorcycle museum in Gydnia, then onto Gdansk. I think we’re were there for a few hours and then went to a seaside resort for about 30 minutes.  We paid in €s. 125 maybe?  Tour was maybe 41/2 hours? Many of the vendors were outside as I recall.  We visited the Church first.

I had a refund due to a price drop.  The cards were refunded within a day.  They did not tell me which cards were refunded, but I had copies and was able to figure it out. I used the cards for another cruise.  

Thanks. Appreciate your comments. 

Thanks @HBCcruiser would you say this suite is similar to the penthouse suite on the Royal ships? 
 

Looking at this suite for a Sept cruise. 
 

ty 

Also look at this company.  Uber to pier 80 from the hotel parking.  Shouldn’t be a long ride.  I imagine flying both ways could be expensive. Also, the commuter planes often run late.  

I imagine you’ve planned for traffic if commuting in on a weekday. 
 

https://onestopparking.com

5 hours ago, Margarita Jane said:

gusguide@hotmail.com
 

 http://www.tourguidegus.com
 

Hopefully one of these will work for you.

Ty.   

@cashmeremypuppydog and/or @Margarita Jane How did you contact  him?  The social media site I tried to use doesn’t work. Interested in booking for January 2025.  I can book via Viat….r but I’d like to book with him directly. Ty 

6 hours ago, Marylebone37 said:

I just can't imagine uploading bank statements or pay stubs to a foreign web site.  Talk about the risk of fraud or identity theft!  OMG.  But I understand that travelers will make their own decisions based on their individual risk tolerances.

I agree, we had decided not to visit Rio de Janeiro and Iguazu Falls ahead of our January, 2025, Buenos Aires RT cruise.   That bank statement requirement was a big part of our decision. Now we are reconsidering the pre cruise trip.  

3 hours ago, NavyVeteran said:

I believe this applies only to Elite - not to suites. Suite laundry has priority over Elite laundry, so its turnaround time is not affected much by the number of Elites onboard. When I send laundry out in the evening from a suite, I've nearly every time received it back the next day - even on cruises when Elite laundry was taking several days.

Ok, I will speak up if I see that notice again.  I had the notice in my cabin on the Island and the Royal. 

@njhorseman, no worries.  This is good news for those completing their traveling before April 10, 2025. 

@Marylebone37 The US has similar requirements for citizens of Brazil requesting US visas, including proof of financial stability.  Who knows what will happen, but some of the main reasons for the delays seem to be  difficultly navigating and errors with the application process. Those are well documented in the other thread mentioned above. 

I’ve never seen a limit. At times, we’ve received a noticed that laundry may take up to 72 hours, and it did.  Other times, laundry returns the next day; or even that night. I think this depends how many elites members on board and the number of suites, plus the capacity of the laundry facilities. You can get free tokens for the self service laundry from guest services. 
 

We usually travel pre cruise and have laundry on the first night.  We carry extra gym clothes and use the self serve laundry at times. 
 

We take pictures as well, but unlike at home, never lost anything.  

This is good news as the original date was January 1, 2024; then April 10, 2024.  We will see what happens in 2025.  The delays affecting January 1 and April 10, 2024 were last minute announcements. The most recent decree was signed on April 9.  
 

St John, New Brunswick:  I think this is the port you mean, as there is also a St.John’s Newfoundland. We went with Alexi , wonderful day out. 

https://gofundytours.ca

We booked a trolly tour for Newport and a rental car with another couple for Halifax. Both were cancelled due to Hurricane Fionna and related weather.  I always stress to check the operator’s cancellation policies. Some require 24 hours notice.  

You  might also try the Cruise Critic port of call boards or your roll call. 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/9-canadanew-england/

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2437-enchanted-princess-roll-calls/

1 hour ago, Senga said:

Independent, Golden Circle.

Hi, not sure which company you are booked with.  We did an independent excursion with Iceland Everywhere last year.  We stopped after about an hour.  There was a bakery/ deli where we all purchased all kinds of food.  We had lunch about 1pm at the visitors center for the Great Geyser.  Many options there. Tour operators mix things up to avoid the large crowds. 

1 hour ago, vjmatty said:

How is it possible to not being shoes you’ve worn outdoors?

We just returned from a land trip to Australia & New Zealand. I don’t remember specifically about the shoe examination at Sydney, ( I think it did occur) but this definitely happened  when we landed at Queenstown, New Zealand.  The focus is on shoes exposed to soil, such as on a farm, or other outdoor activities and hiking.  
 

You step onto a marker and your shoes are examined.   Additionally,  we had to open our luggage so they could examine our boots.  We had cleaned them throughly before the trip, so she was satisfied.  They are very serious about this as their ego system is fragile.  Not sure what happens from a cruise ship.  

I think immigration is primary looking  for microorganisms picked up in soil from activities like hiking, working on a farm, etc.  They are very serious about this. 

My suggestion is just make sure your shoes, particular the bottom, are clean.  If you’ve used shoes / boots on a farm or for hiking, tell them. When in doubt, just declare it. 
 

As I said, I’m not sure of the exact process when coming off a cruise ship. 

You can bring a small fan, here is the notation in the FAQs at the end of the questions.

https://www.princess.com/en-us/faq/pre-cruise

I saw this scenario with a Princess excursion earlier this year. I sent an email to my cruise vacation planner and it was corrected a few days later.  The excursion was dropped, as the departure time was correct.  I’d get an answer from the cruise line before you book the excursion. 

1 hour ago, kitkat343 said:

We did both and it was a lovely day!  Hope it all works out well for you!

 

Ty, I will report back. 

On 1/22/2024 at 4:04 AM, JHCruiser123 said:

I would be interested to hear about your experience with this tour.  When do you arrive in Olden? Keep us posted!

Sorry, I missed this post.  We are in Olden on May 30.  

We are on the Sky Princess in late May and doing both the Briksdal Glacier and the Loen Skylift.  I finally found this person who is from Alesund. She is also booked the day before  with our stop for Geiranger.  Someone else booked her or we might of booked her for both days.  She has a FB page with some good reviews.  We are sharing with another couple. Due to timing, this is the only way we can do both.  

https://uniktur.com/shore-excursion-in-olden/

15 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

Thank you for posting this. That was my choice for Medicare and it is reassuring to read. 

I’m a retired employee.  I once authorized an air ambulance from Cabo back to the SF Bay Area. $ 55,000. That was several years ago.  
 

I’ve used the app to submit for reimbursement for Covid tests(in London) and medications. Very easy and check comes quickly.  Uploaded part of CC statement showing conversion from £ to $.  

Kaiser recommends carrying a small travel medical policy to show if needed at a foreign hospital; clinic, etc.  but will absolutely reimburse. 

On 3/10/2024 at 10:53 AM, Kristelle said:

Thanks for the update. 

We will be staying in Cairns early October and planning to do a day trip to Kuranda.

Whilst sky cable one way, train the other,  would obviously be the best, if we do one way by bus that would be OK.

 

But another 7 months till then.

Hope it works out for you.