jspqld

Can I ask you which shopping centre you went to? We have been to KL before and did a ship tour and are struggling to know what to do on our next trip. Thanks

I think it was Sunway (has an Egyptian theme). It also has a huge water park next door. It was about a 35-40 min drive from the port,

They boast they have the most modern fleet in the world....and they all have the approval of Godmother Sophia Loren,,:D:D

They are currently running specials where the 2nd person sails for 50%

 

 

yes they do have a modern fleet by comparison. Back in 2009 when we sailed the Splendida it was only 6 months old. The crystal staircases in the atrium definitely looked the impressive $24,000 per step that they were said to have cost. The entertainment areas, cabins & lido deck were as good if not better than anything else at the time.

I get their promos often, but so hard to take advantage of when their ships are so far away from us here in Oz.

I enjoyed my trip on the MSC Splendida a few years back. The ship was amazing in size and beauty, the service fun & ok, entertainment fantastic, food good & price reasonable. I would definitely sail on them again & personally I would rate them way higher than P&O. MSC ships are 4-5 star with brilliant facilities & décor compared to P&O's old 2 star fleet.

I would pick Pompeii & Naples for a first time trip. Having said that I have been to Napoli 3 times and still haven't made it up Vesuvius. I love the area in & around Napoli. You can see Vesuvius from anywhere in Naples anyway. You just won't see the view from the top.

Heaps to see and do in Naples itself after Herculaneum. lots of amazing churches, The Galleria arcade is amazing. One of my favourite restaurants - Sofi for lunch is located right opposite the Port entrance. Fantastic pizza. The place looks fancy & food is amazing, but prices reasonable.

In a word No.

KL port is far from everything. Even the walk from the ship to the terminal building exit is well over 10 minutes. There are taxis out the front so you can use those as an option to DIY. Be prepared for at least a 1hr drive each way into the city. I don't remember seeing any public buses, nearby. The cruise port really is in the back lots of the massive Industrial port area. Easiest would probably be if you did a ship exc that gave you free time somewhere so it is kind of still a bit DIY. We chose that option to a large shopping centre as we have been to KL before.

I agree with others in that atm's are easy and good transaction rates. If you would rather use cash, then money exchangers in Lucky mall give a good rate also.

I have often seen minivan maxi taxi's waiting at both Singapore airport & cruise port, even used one from the cruise port once, so no troubles there. Might be a bit harder in Hong Kong though as most taxis there seem smaller & older.

I remember that when we went to Pompei a few years ago, there were professional guides that could be hired at the entrance gates. So not sure if this is still the same, but there was not a need to pre-book one before.

Just over 2 years ago 4 of us jumped in a cab from messina port & went to Taormina. We had about 2 or so hours of free time there & stopped at a couple of other places for a quick photo stop. All up we were gone about 5 hours & I think we paid something like 35-40 euro's each which we negotiated at the port.

Still on The RCL calendar for Mar next year. I'm booking that so they better not bypass the port:eek:

haha well I hope you get to go. It was still listed as one of our ports up until about 4 or 5 months before. In fact one cruise site never bothered to remove it off it's page.

There is nothing to do at the Port, nor is there a lot of seating. It is a large terminal building in the middle of the container port.

Also, I could be wrong, but I think that under local law once you have embarked the ship that day, you cannot get back off if the ship is scheduled to leave later that day.

I would suggest killing a couple of hours having breakfast/coffee before heading to the Port sometime after 10am at the earliest. You could do this at the airport itself or get a taxi to one of the many large hotels / shopping centres between the airport & port.

I don't see why you couldn't drop bags off with porters & then go off again, but I haven't done this myself & might consider it a little risky, maybe? & you have to be in a taxi or similar to drive in or out of the port area.

Thank you for the photos etc. can you please tell me what will be open on Good Friday 25 March 2016. I am on the Diamond Princess arriving that morning. Will there be any shops open? Will the buses and trams be operating? What will be open to see?

Public transport will be operating although at a public holiday type schedule. Some places to eat at touristy areas will be open as will many fast food outlets. Expect many other shops & businesses to be closed. Some of the major tourist attractions might be open, eg the Zoo? Good Friday & Christmas Day & Anzac day see most Australian cities close down to some extent for at least part of the day. If there are any places you really wish to visit I would suggest sending them an email first confirming that they will be open or not.

We had a NZ cruise that originally included a stop in Napier which we were looking forward to. It then got taken off our cruise Itinerary with no major explanation. I don't know how true this is, but a very experienced Guide/Driver in NZ told me that most of the Larger Ships would be dropping Napier due to the local authorities greatly increasing the berthing costs at the Port, thus making it more convenient for the ships to take their Business elsewhere where costs are much cheaper.

We did the NYE cruise on Solstice, it was fabulous! Ship was full, but apart from a very busy Cafe Al Bacio we had no problems. Loved it.

Going on Explorer next month, a three night sampler to try the ship. Can't wait.

Cheers

Rosie

That's great you enjoyed the solstice. I've been on the Eclipse & they are very beautiful ships. I hope you will have a great time on the Explorer also.

Disappointing to hear about some of the negatives, especially the dining room. Our Explorer situation could not have been any different. The whole wait staff encountered in the MDR were the best we have come across on RCI. Always very courteous & friendly & very well spoken. We are Platinum members, with pre-paid grats & didn't sail over xmas though so I wonder if that makes a difference.

I have been reading a lot of negative stuff in regards to cruising from all Lines in general out of Oz over this xmas/new year period. Ships would have been sailing very full due to extra kids being on board. I wonder if this added to tensions & demands on staff? I also wonder if very high prices that come with cruising this time of year added to high expectations from a lot of passengers? Nothing personal against anyone on these cruises, just a general feeling & curiosty.

We are on that one, but balcony and perks but its still a great price. have friends who would love to join us and im sure would grab it. any hints where i should start looking for the deal?

I came across it on a popular Australian based cruise site

Not sure if this cruise has already come up on here but great price for the Queen Mary lovers: from $1460 pp twin share Inside. That's under $100 pp per day

Ship Name: Queen Mary 2

Cruise Code: QM603BNEHKG

Departure Date: Sunday, 13 March 2016

Cruise Name: Brisbane to Hong Kong

Nights: 16

Departing: Brisbane

We loved our Hump balcony on the eclipse. Biggest balcony we have ever had & felt reasonably private too

Looks like it was a big fizz. Just RCI and not really a sale at all.

I've heard there is another a new worldwide Celebrity Sale starting on the 4th Jan.

As you can see from the list above, there's not that much to see or do in Auckland, especially for 3 days. (We were there for one day and felt as if had "done" Auckland.)

 

Although it's a bit of a drive (around 3 hours), you might enjoy going to Waitomo. We had fun seeing the glowworm cave, doing a black water rafting trip and some hiking. I'd spend at least 1 night there.

Actually the list I made above would easily fill three days. We all enjoy different things.

Auckland zoo

Kelly tarltons sea life aquarium

Sky tower at sunset

Musuem & war memorial

eat out anywhere along the harbourfront

Pizza from That's amore

enjoy

Just to clarify, is that $5 AUD or ship currency?

 

Thanks for replying so quickly! :D

$5.00 US currency, give or take depending on drink.

I'd like opinions on the Royal Replenish package (that's the non-alcohol one).

 

I really don't drink much alcohol but I do like mocktails (non-alcoholic cocktails). I'm also notoriously good at getting myself dehydrated (and I really really don't like water - makes me feel sick) so I expect it might be easier for me to stay hydrated in Vanuatu/New Caledonia if I'm drinking interesting things.

 

Could anyone give an indication of price of the mocktails?

 

Thanks :)

mocktails are around the $5.00 mark. Sounds like the Royal replenish will suit you well.

so when the QM2 comes to Australia at 150,000 ton that must make the RCI ships look pretty small so maybe the TA is mistaken

The Adelaide TA isn't entirely mistaken, lol. I have seen the QM2 & I have sailed on the Explorer. Although the QM2 might be bigger in some regards on paper, visually the Voyager class ships would look bigger if they were tied up alongside. The QM2 is longer but more narrow & a lot more streamlined with longer bow & aft so it can cut across the oceans. The Voyager/explorer are much more wider & bulkier from front to back like a big apartment block & as such carry more passengers, giving them the largest title.