chubbypiggy

Do you have to be an AARP member to get that $5? I am register but not a paying member. I have no problem buying the Princess gift cards, but never saw an offer to get $5 reward.

International Cafe is on all Grand Class ships? We will be cruising on the Diamond next month. Just look at the deck plan (on Princess website) for the Diamond, and don't see any International Cafe.

Thank you.

In all my previous cruises, I never ordered anything using the app, thus, no need to pay $14.99. For room service, I always ordered using the TV. So, now with the new changes, if I continue not ordering anything through the app, and order food through Room Service using the TV and have food deliver to my cabin, will I still need to pay $5 for each order through the TV? Thank you.

That is nice to know. Thank you.

If I have a $500 gift card, when I am on the ship, can I ask Guest Service to just download $200 to my account or the total amount of the Gift card must be loaded to my account? Thank you.

If I have a $500 gift card, can I ask Guest Service to just download $200 to my account or the total amount of the Gift card must be loaded to my account?

Looking forward to your next "Live...". We will be doing the Ft. Lauderdale to Quebec next June (14 days) on the Emerald Princess with 7 ports. We are having second thought on that cruise. Mainly because we are afraid the weather might be really hot. Also because the cruise ends on July 3, and flying back to U.S. just a day before Independence Day might be a big negative.

Thank you. Right now I am still planning for the Omaezaki port; when I get to planning for the Otaru port, I will decide if we want to do both cities. I agree with you that we should also visit Sapporo, it is definitely on my bucket.

Thank you so much for all the reviews, Patter, menu, answering questions, and the nice pictures!! Have a safe and smooth flight!!

I know how it feels. Before the COVID, we did 3 cruises (Mediterranean, Scandinavia, and Norway/Iceland) that my uncles and aunts (all in their mid-80s and do not speak English) joined us. Those were the most stressful cruises. On one cruise, aunt took off on her own to take pictures and didn't return to the meeting point on time. We spent over an hour going back and forth between 2 sightseeing points before finally found her. One another cruise, while we were in the Vatican, one aunt (in her late 80s) fell down over 30 steps of stairs. Had ambulance came. She was able to walk and insisted to return to the ship. Then went to see ship doctor, etc. Very messy situation. That was definitely the last time I will let those 4 uncles/aunts join us on any cruises. Just too stressful and too much responsibilities. If you don't mind, I have more questions on Otaru. This will be our first time visiting the Otaru port. Ship will be at port from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Do you recommend we visit both Sapporo and Otaru or just stay at Otaru? If just staying at Otaru, enough things/places to do/see for the whole day? Thank you.

I am not excursions people either. We have visited almost all the countries on our bucket list, and seen all we are interested; so now when we travel, we like to take it easy. That is why when only 2 of us going on the cruise, we have always chosen cruises with lots of sea days. And at port, we leave the ship after 10:30 a.m. and just go ashore for shopping and eating. But when we have friends going with us, then I need to plan. It seems like most people like to see places and want to be on the go all the time. Frankly, way too tiring for us. On our upcoming Japan cruises, the 1st cruise (7 days with 2 ports) will be just the two of us. We plan to only get off for shopping and eating at Nagasaki and Kagoshima (will also be visited on our 9 days cruise). Will stay on the ship for the Jeju and Omaezaki port. Seven friends will arrive from L.A. on the morning that we get off from the 1st cruise. All will stay in Yokohama for 5 days and then followed by a 9 days Circle Hokkaido cruise with 5 ports. First time visiting Japan for all 7 of them, and I have been designated as the planner for those 14 days. ☺️ So a lot of planning to do; that is why I have been asking so many questions. Because there will be 9 of us, it makes the planning more difficult. Even if we book a private van, the most they can take is 8 people. I guess we just have to stuck with getting 3 taxis every time. Hopefully that will not be a problem.

Quite frankly, our April Sydney to L.A. cruise was quite disappointing. One of the main reasons I chose that cruise was because I never visited New Zealand, and was so looking forward to it. Due to bad weather, the captain cancelled Bay of Islands and Tauranga (both ports I booked a Viator tour so end up having to cancel it immediately after the captain's announcement). So the only remaining NZ port was Auckland. We booked an 1/2 day land tour with Viator, and planned 1/2 day for shopping. The tour was not that good, and because it was Easter Sunday, ALL the shops were closed. Besides, it rained heavily, so after the tour, back to ship. Maui port was also cancelled. We joined a Viator all day tour in Honolulu; tour just okay. So many stops at places that they want you to buy things. One stop each for you to buy: pineapples, nuts, coffee, and chocolate. Kona, lots of shops near the port; all we did was shopping. Substitution for the 3 cancelled ports: one extra sea day, extra day at Papeete, a port day in Moorea. After we went on shore in Papeete, lots of tour companies there selling tours. We went with one company. Personally I think it was a waste of time. The tour was 6 hours, but most of the time spent on driving from one place to another. Not much to see in Papeete. The 2nd day, we didn't even bother to get off the ship. Didn't bother to get off the ship at Moorea either; the tours didn't appear to be interesting. So during the 27 days cruise, we only left the ship 4 times. Good thing we love sea days. Majestic is a very nice ship. Services were superb. Food very good; we ate quite a few time at their outdoor noodle bar. Really enjoyed the indoor pool and hot tubs.

I did look for your video of Otaru for 2007, obviously I didn't find it. ☺️ Tomorrow I will find the video on your 2018 trip. That is a good suggestion, we will do Google map before calling taxi. Thanks.

Thank you. I read Uber is commonly use in Tokyo. How about outside of Tokyo? For example, in Otaru and Sapporo?

@ROCruiser You mentioned there were 8 of you, so took 2 taxis. Four people in a taxi was just right or it is possible or allowable to have 5 people in a taxi? There will be 9 of us (one family of 4, one family of 3, and a family of 2). Just wonder if we must take 3 taxis every time or can get by with 2 taxis. When coming back from town to ship (at various ports), some times it might not be easy to find 3 taxis at around the same time.

Thank you!! Hopefully you don't mind to answer a few more questions. Is Sapporo station the last stop or we need to pay attention for the announcement to get off at Sapporo station? There will be 9 of us (all in age mid-60s). This will be our first time visiting the Otaru port. Ship will be at port from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. (I think similar to your port time). Do you recommend we visit both Sapporo and Otaru or just stay at Otaru? If just staying at Otaru, enough things/places to do/see for the whole day?

Thank you. Your answers very clear and useful.

Thank you.

@ROCruiser I just finished viewing your video on Otaru/Sapporo. Would appreciate it if you can answer some questions. 1. How long did you stay in Sapporo? 2. How often trains run from Otaru to Sapporo? 3. Train direct from Otaru to Sapporo or stops in between? 4. I noticed some people in your group bought dried scallops, is it okay to bring back to U.S.? 5. After you got back to the Otaru station, how long it took to walk from the station to Otaru Canal? 6. How long it took to walk from Otaru Canal to your last stop, Sakaimachi Hondori St.? 7. How long the ride and how much the cost of the taxi from your last stop back to ship? 8. Were there a lot of taxis available by the port? Instead of walking 25 minutes to the station to take the train to Sapporo, we might consider taking the taxi from terminal to the train station. Thank you for your time!

@ROCruiser I just watched your video on Kagoshima. Very nice, thank you! I know your trip was 4 months ago, hopefully you still remember some details to assist me with some questions. 1. Do you remember the arrival and departure time of your Kagoshima port? 2. How long did you spend at the Sengan-en garden? 3. How long after ship arrival before you were allowed to get off the ship? 4. From the video, you got on the City View bus at stop #3, Tenmonkan. Did you buy the one-day pass on the bus or you bought it ahead of time at the Information Center? Were you able to buy the pass with credit card or you paid cash? 5. Did you buy the "Cute" pass? If so, where did you buy it? If not, you bought your ferry ticket at the ferry terminal? Thank you in advance for your assistance!

@cr8tiv1 For Kagoshima, do you remember how long was the walk from Princess shuttle drop off point to Tenmonkan (main shopping district)? @4bande For Kagoshima, do you remember how long was the walk from the ferry terminal to Tenmonkan? TIA.

Thank you. For Osaka, the Patter indicates arrival at 7 a.m. So about 30 minutes after arrival to allow passengers to go on shore.

Very nice pictures, thank you for sharing. Just curious, for your 2 cruises, on the average, how much time after ship arrival at the port before passengers were allowed to go ashore?

Your guess is probably right.