sandysu

On 4/12/2022 at 10:18 PM, eamondzhang said:

Hello all,

 

Just wondering if anyone with knowledge knows if Coral is to have a drydock before resumption?

 

On the second cruise after resumption so hopefully we don't run into those maintenance dramas like on Craibbean....

 

Cheers

Michael 

We're also booked on a cruise on the Coral later in June.  Found a couple of web sites that said she was in dry dock in Cádiz in Spain in January 2022, so if that's correct it sounds like all will be okay. 

I've been checking a ship tracker website and she is currently sailing in tiny circles in the Caribbean - hopefully will start heading this way soon  🙂

3 hours ago, Cruisers47 said:

Hi

 

my carnival cruise is cancelled and i have tried to use their webpage to take up the offer of FCC and OBC.

 

I keep getting an error message.  Does this happen to anybody else?
 

Eileen

I tried it a few times last Saturday morning and kept getting the error that has been discussed on Facebook, but then I tried again later in the day and it worked for me.

Hi David

Could you please delete this one from October 2020:

15 Oct … sandysu … Island Princess … Search for thr Northern Lights  12 days

and also add these four:

10 August 2020 - Sapphire Princess "Northern Explorer" - 17 days

7 December 2020 - Pacific Aria "Moreton Island - Tangalooma" - 4 days

3 February 2021 - Regal Princess - Auckland to Sydney - 11 days

5 October 2021 - Island Princess - "Search for the Northern Lights" - 14 days

Many thanks!

Sandy

Hi David

Could you please add these cruises for me:

31 October 2019 ....  Sapphire Princess ..... 26 days London to Dubai Grand Adventure

25 January 2020 ... Golden Princess .... 5 days Adelaide to Melbourne

15 October 2020 ... Island Princess ... 12 days Search for the Northern Lights

6 November 2020 ... Crown Princess ... 17 days Mediterranean and Greek Isles

Thanks!

Sandy

Last month I booked economy flights with Singapore Airlines through EZair.  The flights are in October and November this year.

During the EZair process booking process, it said that "Seat Selection is unavailable for this flight".  However, once the payment was made I had a booking reference and I was able to go to the Singapore Airlines website and get seats allocated. 

There was a fee which varied between the flights due to my desire to be somewhat comfortable on the trip to Heathrow 🙂 

• Melbourne to Singapore to Heathrow - I paid for an extra legroom seat on both flights - $200 (AUD) in total
• Dubai to Singapore to Canberra - to pick a standard economy seat for these flights cost $24.20 in total

Hi David

A couple of changes for me - sadly we've had to abandon this one, so could you please delete it from October 2018:

21Oct … sandysu ….… Sapphire Princess … Southampton to Singapore - Indian Oceanand Europe Grand Adventure 38 nts

Instead, can you please add this slightly less extravagant one, also October 2018 :-)

19 Oct...sandysu... Ovation of the Seas...Singapore to Sydney "Asia Repositioning Cruise"

Thanks!

Sandy

Hi David

Could you please another one for me:

October 2018

21 October ... sandysu ... Sapphire Princess ... Indian Ocean & Europe Grand Adventure (38 nights)

Thanks!

Sandy

Thanks for your help everyone, the cruise has been booked and your comments made the choice easier!

Sandy

Hi all,

Hubby and I usually choose a balcony cabin, but we’re looking at a fairly long cruise on the Sapphire Princess and are considering opting for an Obstructed Oceanview cabin on deck 8. I have looked through Renmar’s excellent collection of photos and have also consulted deck plans. Basically I'm trying to get a view that isn't totally lifeboat/machinery and also to avoid spots that are likely to be really noisy.

What I’ve come up with as possibilities are:

• E200 or E201 – beside the stairs up to the upper promenade deck, or
  
• One of the cabins in the range E324 to E414 on the port side
  

I’m interested to know if anyone has travelled in any of these cabins on the Sapphire or Diamond Princess, and if you have any thoughts or suggestions about these or other obstructed view cabins. In particular, are we likely to get a lot of noise from the Princess Theater in E200 or E201?

Also, does anyone have anything good or bad to say about the “Premium” Oceanview cabins right at the bow on decks 10 and 11? Do you really have access to a balcony when in port? Do you get a lot of noise while sailing? - we sailed in a cabin towards the bow of the the Pacific Jewel once, and every wave we hit sounded like we were hitting a rock! :) Or if I'm going to pay the 'premium' prices for these, would I actually be better off springing for the extra and going for a normal balcony?

Many thanks in advance!

Sandy

Hi David

Could you please add two for me:

March 2017

16 March ... sandysusie ... Dawn Princess ... Australia Getaway (2 nights)

November 2017

5 November ... sandysusie ... Sun Princess ... Tasmania (6 nights)

Thanks!

Sandy

Where/how do we get princess platinum insurance?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

I don't think Princess offers it outside of the USA and Canada.

And yes, you need to be careful to pick travel insurance that covers cruises; some companies don't, others do but not unless you buy a cruise add-on. I haven't used CHI before but I had a quick look at their website. It looks like they do cover cruises but you need to pick the correct travel 'zone' from their list.

Hi all

Our cruise in September has a scheduled call in Istanbul and I'd like to do a private tour - there's one place we'd like to see that's not on any organised tour I can find, and I'm not comfortable at the thought of DIY tours around Istanbul just now.

However, because of the current uncertainty around whether any given cruise will actually go to Turkey, I thought I might book one of the "Istanbul by Private Vehicle" shore excursions offered by Princess.

Has anyone reading this ever taken one of these Princess private vehicle excursions? - because I'm just a bit confused about what's actually on offer.

The summaries of the excursion say things like "Tour sites at guest's discretion" and "A private vehicle is the perfect solution for passengers who wish to tour privately or who want the flexibility of designing their own itinerary." This to me implies a proper private tour where the itinerary is decided between yourself and the guide.

But then in the excursion details it says "Deviations to duration, departure / return time or locations to be visited can be made on-board in advance but will incur an additional charge." and further into the detail there is a list of possible places to visit.

Does this mean we can't go to anywhere that's not on the list without paying even more for the excursion?

I thought about phoning Princess and asking, but unfortunately my experience with asking their call centre operators about this sort of detail is that the accuracy of the answers is a bit uncertain. So, if anyone can answer from experience, that would be great :)

Thanks for your help!

Sandy

 

28 Sep ... sandysu ... Emerald Princess ... "Mediterranean, India & Asia", Southampton to Singapore

Hi David - could you please remove the cruise above and add this one instead (also in September 2016):

10 Sep ... sandysu ... Royal Princess ... "Greece, Turkey & Italy Medley"

Thanks!

Sandy

Thank you for your help.

Did you have to take government issued photo ID with you? e.g. passport, or drivers licence?

So sorry I didn't respond to the earlier question - as erewhon says it's all very close and the enforced use of the shuttle seems to be a safety issue rather than an issue of distance.

As far as ID is concerned I'm pretty sure that they recommended taking govt issued photo ID into all ports in NZ, and Picton was one of the places where they actually asked to see it on the shuttle.

We were in Picton recently - the ship was only in port from 8am to 5pm and you had to take shuttles on and off the dock, so there wasn't a lot of option for long tours.

We hired a car and drove to the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre and (at the same location) Omaka Classic Cars. Both were quite interesting; if you go to the Aviation Heritage centre it's possibly worth paying extra for a guide; they have lots of stories to tell.

Then we drove to Makana Confections, which seems to appear on almost every ship's tour of the area. Honestly I was a little disappointed because I had gotten the idea that there would be a bit more of a tour of the chocolate making part of the business, but the chocolate itself is absolutely delicious - my credit card took more of a hit here than I expected!

Then we went into Blenheim and had lunch - a "small" lunch at a Turkish Restaurant which in fact was huge (and delicious). We followed that up with a leisurely drive back to Picton.

Really though, it seemed to us that wineries were everywhere - if we were real wine drinkers we'd probably still be there. Apart from that, there wasn't a lot for us in the time we had available (and more to the point - within the distance we felt comfortable driving in that time).

If we went back there again - I'd probably get the shuttle into Picton, go for one of the nearby scenic walks and also spend some time in Picton itself.

Ship

Diamond Princess

Class

Gem

Deck

Emerald

Stateroom #

E735

Category

B4

Port/Starboard/Bow/Stern

Stern

Connects With Cabin #

N/A

Accessible

No

Quiet

Yes

Balcony Size

Oversized

View

Excellent view. There is a beam through the balcony but we didn't find it obstructive.

Privacy Issues

None.

Wind

Totally protected from the wind.

Soot

None

Problems

At the end of the hallway is a crew door and they didn't take a lot of care to close it quietly. Didn't really bother us a lot but it could be an issue if you're sensitive to that sort of thing.

Comments

Overall an excellent cabin - standard cabin layout but with the lovely large balcony (about 12 feet by 9 feet).

She'll probably go through Cook Strait to Wellington instead of around the bottom of the South Island.

 

From Wellington she could pick up the rest of her original itinerary by heading down to Akaroa, and then back to Picton.

I'm on board and yes, they announced yesterday that we're missing both Fiordland and Dunedin due to the weather. Instead we're going to Wellington but then as far as we know we'll be going to Akaroa and the rest of the cruise as per the original itinerary. It's really hard to tell that we're escaping from bad weather today though, it's a lovely warm sunny day!

Update for August.

Who is cruising in September 2016

28 Sep ... sandysu ... Emerald Princess ... Four Continents Grand Adventure , Southampton to Australia

 

Hi David

Could you please change the above to:

28 Sep ... sandysu ... Emerald Princess ... "Mediterranean, India & Asia", Southampton to Singapore

Thanks!

Sandy

We've just purchased OBC for our Princess cruise later this year at the rate of USD 100 for AUD 110:D. They have had this rate for some time now and it certainly beats the present going exchange of USD 100 = AUD 128. Of course it's a gamble but most experts are predicting the present rate won't improve this year.

 

Definitely a good exchange rate :)

Would there be a problem getting a refund if we ended up having to cancel our booking?

Thanks!

Sandy

Have a read of this tourist info for Picton - they say there will be a shuttle provided from Waimahara Wharf to the iSite office - you can walk into town or back to the Ferry terminal area in a matter of minutes to pick up a rental car. I suggest it might be best to pre book your rental car prior to arrival to guarantee availability of your preferred size of vehicle

I grew up in this area so know it well and spent a day there back in November when we were there on a cruise ship (which docked at Waitohi Wharf on that occasion)

Have you thought about where you are going to drive to? - Depending on how long you have available I'd suggest Queen Charlotte drive and then through to Blenheim from Havelock is a nice drive - with a stop for lunch at Mussel Boys in Havelock if you like Mussels or perhaps at a vineyard once you get closer to Blenheim - then back to Picton

Update: I just read your blog and see a visit to Omaka is on your list - so best to drive straight through to Blenheim and make your way to Omaka - the Aviation centre is very good (thankyou Peter Jackson) and there is also a great car museum there - with cars from the 50's and 60's there. You'll have sometime to take a look around Blenheim or visit a winery or two if that takes your fancy

Hi Sandy, we just visited Picton for the day whilst on Voyager of the Seas. We docked at the same place as you will be and because it is a working port, free transport is provided to very near all the car hire companies. The company we used was Ace car rental and they were excellent. We could walk easily from transport drop off to their office. Cost was about $80 New Zealand for the day including GPS and insurances. We drove to havelock and Blenheim along a winding picturesque road. Just google them, should be easy to find. Hope this helps. Sue

Many thanks to both of you for this info!

Sandy

Hi all

Our next cruise calls in at Picton, and we plan to hire a car for the day.

Many of the car hire companies advertise that you pick up their cars at the Ferry Terminal, which of course isn't where we'll be docked - the Diamond Princess will be at the Waimahara Wharf.

Is it going to be practicable to get from the Diamond Princess and onto the the Ferry Terminal? - it doesn't really look to be the sort of place you can walk into? Or will it just be easier to use one of the companies that's located in Picton itself rather than at the Ferry terminal?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Sandy

Very nice..:) Are you doing the full 48 days?

Yes - the whole thing - our longest cruise by far!

Hi David

Could you please add this one to the list:

September 2016

28 Sep ... sandysu ... Emerald Princess ... Four Continents Grand Adventure

Thanks!

Sandy

Hi David

Could you please remove this one:

October 2015

02Oct ... sandysu ... Celebrity Solstice ... Honolulu to Sydney

And add these three:

September 2015

29 Sep ... sandysu ... Diamond Princess ... New Zealand

December 2015

30 Dec ... sandysu ... Diamond Princess ... Auckland to Sydney

July 2016

3 Jul ... sandysu ... Pacific Aria ... Barrier Reef Discovery

Thanks!

- when are you cruising next? September 2015

- which ship? Diamond Princess

- where to? and why there? New Zealand - for hubby's 60th birthday

- anything you want to find out about your cruise? No, neither the ship nor the destination is new to us :-)

- when are you cruising next? December 2015

- which ship? Diamond Princess

- where to? and why there? Auckland back to Sydney - just a short cruise by myself while hubby is otherwise occupied

- anything you want to find out about your cruise? No again :-)

- when are you cruising next? July 2016

- which ship? Pacific Aria

- where to? and why there? Queensland - this is for MIL's 80th birthday and had to be limited to sailings out of Brisbane.

- anything you want to find out about your cruise? Some relatives who haven't booked yet are really keen to find out the bed setup for quad cabins. Ryndam seems to have some that are two singles, one bunk and one sofa but I've also seen other indications that they'll all be the more usual two singles and two bunks.