cruisingbarb

Our friend took option 1 but his wife said she won’t cruise again. How can he change to option 2? He tried calling Princess but got customer service and they weren’t very helpful. Any ideas of how he can change his options

before they post to his account? 

We were on the Ruby Princess (March 8 sailing)  and did the overnight excursion, getting off the ship in the Milford Sound and getting back on in Dunedin. It was well worth the money. The weather was sunny and warm. We feel fortunate we were able to do it because we were told that the 2 prior cruises could not offload passengers because of rough seas and had to cancel the tour. 

What would you suggest for a jacket? My friend is packing her puffy jacket which I thought would be too warm but now I am rethinking it. We have booked the overnight tour from Milford Sound to Dunedin so won’t be on the top deck going through the Sounds, unless the tour gets cancelled due to weather. 

Any rhoughts? 

We flew into Oslo on Iceland Air, spent several nights, did the Norway in a Nutshell to bergen, spent the night and boarded our ship the next day. The train, train, ferry, bus, train trip was fun and very scenic. After getting off the ship, we flew to Iceland for another 5 days. It was a great trip. 

We are sailing 3/8 from Sydney for a cruise around New Zealand. For those of you currently on a ship or just off a ship, what was the weather like! We’ve been looking at the webcam and see overcast and raindrops on the camera lens at some of the ports. I’m in a quandary as to what to pack other than my rain jacket. I am planning on layers but should I pack shorts or is it too cool? Any help would be appreciated. 

We are on the Ruby Princess. I assume she docks at the OPT Circular Quay but perhaps I should check. Might make a difference where we decide to book. 

We are doing one night pre-trip so maybe that would be the night to spend at the Holiday Inn and then maybe find another hotel for post trip. 

We will be in Sydney post cruise for 4 nights. Our choice for a hotel is the Holiday Inn Old Sydney or something in the Circular, Darling Harbour or Potts Point area. The location and view from the Holiday Inn looks good but it is a little more pricey. My question is, is it convenient for most of the tourist sites or would we be better off booking a hotel in one of the other areas? 

We are sailing on the Ruby roundtrip Sydney with our first

port of call after 2 seaday cruising Fjordland heading towards Auckland. Should we be on the port or starboard side or does it make any difference, and not just for the Fjordland cruising but for the entire trip? Thanks for your input.

Or maybe i’m reading it wrong. I know on HA you can take an overnight tour where you get off in Milford Sound and cross the island and pick up the ship the next day. I don’t see that Princess offers this so maybe that’s the reason it doesn’t specifically mention Milford Sound.

It cruise the Fjordland area but does not specifically mention Milford Sound which others do, so the way I read it, it doesn’t cruise Milford Sound.

we are planning a cruise in 2020 from Sydney. I recently found a great fare on Princess but it doesn’t include Milford Sound which HA does but there is almost a $1300 pp difference in price. So the question is, is Cruising Milford Sound worth $1300pp?

Thanks. That's kind of what I thought but now you've confirmed it.

we are looking at several itineraries, some include Hobart, Tasmania and some do not. Would we be missing out by not going to Tasmania? Also, some include Melbourne and some do not. Melbourne looks like a big city. Is it worth including in our itinerary or can we skip it!

Stelladoro, which tour company did you use? Were they easy to work with and would you recommend them?

this seems like a way to see some of the scenic interior of the South Island without doing a land tour. It’s been described as pricey. How pricey? And is it worth it?

I second the nomination for Ray Rouse. He was our cruise director on our first ever cruise on the Nordic Prince, and since then, we have always compared cruise directors to him and none have measured up. I can’t see him doing anything else.

We sailed around 8:00 p.m. and returned to Bergen at 2:30.

That is really a sad tale of woe, and doesn’t speak well of Hurtigruten. Except for a few minor hiccups such as when we got there to board they didn’t yet have boarding passes printed or that apparently due to a computer glitch everyone had been assigned to early dinner seating, everything else was good. Captain and crew were fun and very attentive, we loved the Spitsbergen and food in the dining room. Can’t think of anything we would have changed so fingers crossed, you will have a fantastic trip.

By the way, we grew up in Huntington Beach and still have family in the area including a sister in Long Beach. Small world.

That is too bad. Why did they cancel and why couldn’t they notify people? I can understand why you were so disappointed.

If whatever’s you are charging is 110/220 compatible, you won’t need a converter but you will need an adapter. It would be the 2 round prong one.

Hopefully you make it this time because it was a wonderful trip. When your cruise was canceled, we’re you still able to make a vacation of it?

Didn’t find it to be an issue.

We didn’t spend a lot of time in the lounge but up top. Of course, it will be colder when you go so you probably will. The lounge isn’t all that big but you had a good view from anywhere but it could feel crowded.

Since we’re used to 3000 passengers, 160 passengers was great. It never felt crowded.

Northbound:

Day 2: We did the Hike to a Shieling but I don't know if that's available in March. Even though it says easy, I would call it more of a medium hike as it was a constant slow uphill. We overdressed and got very warm.

Evening stop was in Alesund. We just got off the ship and walked around. It was a nice port

Day 3: Got off in Trondheim and walked around. Went to the warehouse district and then crossed the bridge back to the Cathedral. We didn't go in. Walked back through town. Really liked Trondheim. You'll make another stop there in the morning southbound.

Day 4: Today you cross the Arctic Circle around 7:15 am so be prepared to jump out of bed when they announce it if you want to get a picture of the little island with the world globe.

We got off in Bodo and walked around. Not much to see. That evening we did the Viking Feast which was fun. Beware: They give you a lot of food. The meat was lamb and it was very good.

Day 5: Tromso: Got off and intended to go the museum but took a wrong turn and ended up at the Mack brewery. They weren't giving any tours that day but we went next door for beer. Very good. Then proceeded to walk around town.

Day 6: Konningsvag: We got off the ship, took a right and took a leisurely walk through the town. Veryquaint and pretty. We were there on a Sunday so pretty much everything was closed and it was very quiet. There is an Ice Bar but it had closed forthe season.

Day 7: Kirkenes: Raining, not a lot to see in town in September. Vardo: get off and go up to the port.

Be sure to pack a knit hat and gloves. It gets very cold and windy when up top. Also, binoculars are nice to have. We didn't see wildlife but you could look at things on shore.