bronte2

Thanks for the response. We are visiting Lifou, Vila, Port Denarau, Suva, Savusavu, Dravuni Island and Noumea. Any tips or suggestions are welcome! Thanks for the help!

:eek:

Lifou is a tender port and there will be locals there who offer tours. Last time I was there which was about 4 years ago you could walk to a snorkel site although with a large ship such as Sapphire the crowds could be a problem. I have read that there is now a fee for one of the snorkel sites on Lifou but not sure which this is. Hopefully someone who has been there more recently can help. There is a lovely little church on the top of the hill where you can get some great views.

Vila - there will be locals offering tours and there's lots of things to do in Vila. Have a look at the excursions offered by the ship to get an idea of the sorts of activities that will be available. I'm not suggesting you need to book a ship's tour but just check out the activities.

Port Denaru - it's quite a long tender ride into the port. There are shops and cafes all around the port and there will be tourism operators there. You can ride on a local bus to some resorts or you can go further afield in a bus or taxi. Once again check out what the ship has to offer in their range of excursions if you don't andy lying around at the beach at a resort;)

Savu Savu is another tender port. There will be taxi drivers offering tours and trips but once again, with the size of the Sapphire it may be difficult to get a taxi unless you are first off the ship. There will be local tour operators at the port.

Dravuni Is - is a tender port and the beach is either side of the wharf. It's quite remote and undeveloped so not a lot to do other than snorkel or walk up to the top of the hill for great views.

Suva - a busy little city and IMHO not enough to keep you occupied for a day so it's best to get out of town. There will be lots of vendors offering tours at the wharf. Once again, check out what the ship is offering to help you decide what to do. Last time there, we went to a National park and did a walk to some waterfalls and rock pools. This is not for the mobility challenged though.

Noumea - you will dock at the container terminal and will get transferred to the passenger terminal by shuttle. It only takes a few minutes. There are tour operators at the passenger terminal. There is also a HOHO bus which is worthwhile and it does stop at the beaches. The little city is a 5 minute walk from the terminal but there isn't enough to keep you occupied for the whole day.

While expensive, I have heard great reviews of a trip to Amadee Island. This is a small atoll and it's a whole day trip.

I hope I have given some assistance but I must stress that I haven't been to some of these places for 4 years or so although I have been to Suva, Noumea and Port Denaru in the last 18 months.

I hope you have a great trip and enjoy your time at the various ports.

Your #1 sounds fantastic.

Indeed it was! The whole itinerary was fantastic. We also stopped at Tenerife in the Canary Islands on our way across to Brazil and loved that too. Also sailed past Easter Is close enough to see the statues and we anchored off Pitcairn Is while the locals came aboard to sell T-****s, postcards etc. Of course it was a bonus ending up in Sydney where we were living at the time so that meant only a flight one way.

Oh the memories....:D

I would highly recommend a cruise around South America. It was on my bucket list and was better than expectations.

There are some great sounding cruises turning up in this thread!

Yes, bronte2 regarding the PMC which is currently $55. I was just a bit puzzled as the cruise company and travel agent stipulate gaining visas is the responsibility of the passenger.

Yes GladstoneTim our TA has the same documentation. It's really just a form letter but sometimes you actually do have to obtain a visa yourself. We have had to physically obtain visas for Brazil and India prior to the cruise. I think in each case the fees were around $100 each. Pretty expensive in the case of India, as it was only a 1 day stop but nevertheless a fascinating one so not complaining.

But when the ship obtains the visa on passengers's behalf it's certainly a lot easier. :D I'm pretty sure Celebrity will obtain the visa on your behalf as we have been to Asia on 3 different lines (unfortunately not Celebrity) and in each case all have obtained relevant visas on behalf of passengers. Perhaps you can double check by speaking to your TA or Celebrity.

Welcome to Cruise Critic and I hope you have a great cruise.

In most cases the ship will obtain visas when necessary and charge your shipboard account. This is the case with Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia so you don't need to worry about doing anything yourself which makes it really easy.

BTW re departure taxes - don't we pay a $55 cutely named Passenger Movement Charge every time we leave Australia.? It's built into the ticket price as far as I recall.

There are a gazillion restaurants and cafes at the V&A Waterfront so tons of opportunities for lunch and dinner. Willoughby & Co is highly recommended but every time we walked past it was packed with a queue of people waiting to get in.

However there is one place I can recommend for lunch and that is Mariner's Wharf Restaurant at Hout Bay. Wonderful seafood in a beautiful setting and reasonably priced.

You can get there on one of the HOHO bus routes.

I'm sure there will be other posters who have specific recommendations. Unfortunately there were so many restaurants at V&A I just can't recall names and we were there in May :eek:

Enjoy your time in Cape Town. We thoroughly enjoyed our 5 day stay after our cruise.

Any reviews of this hotel in Denpasar? It looks beautiful......is it removed from the masses?

I'm sure the hotel would be beautiful. We haven't stayed there but from what I could see on the internet, the hotel is in the Nusa Dua area. If this is the case, it's in a tourist enclave which is just full of hotels catering to tourists. It depends on individual tastes but it's not for me.

I'm not sure what you mean by getting away from the masses as the areas where there are lovely hotels are going to have tourists. The busiest areas would be Kuta, Legian and Seminyak. Sanur is a lot quieter with a pleasant beach (at least it was last time I looked). Jimbaran Bay is also quieter with lovely hotels and Candi Dasa is quite a way to the east of Bali but would be well away from the masses. Ubud is in the countryside, it's beautiful and a lot quieter than Kuta but still a lot busier these days than in the past. There are also some lovely hotels here and it sounds that Ubud would suit your tastes as a lot of the hotels are 'isolated' and away from the town.

I suggest you do some research based on what activities are important to you.

Have a great stay in Bali whatever you choose.

I'm not saying this is better than the listed cruises as of course it's all based on personal opinion, but our favourite cruise was from Southampton to Sydney around South America. Absolutely sensational and well worth it. The trip through the Chilean Fjords and sailing around Cape Horn was amazing. Would love to do it again but there are so many other cruises and so little time!

#2 would be sailing around the Indian Ocean to Cape Town.

#3 the rest - but all enjoyable :D

We spent 51 days on Ocean Princess recently and we didn't find her to be 'beat up'. Sure there were some rust spots on our balcony railing but that didn't bother us at all. The deck crew were always painting and cleaning the same as on most other ships we have been on.

The soft furnishings in our cabin appeared to be on the new side, the settee looked as though it had been freshly covered and I didn't hear any complaints from our shipmates so I assume there were no problems with their cabins either.

We dined in the MDR most nights and didn't find the noise level to be unacceptable - well I mean I didn't notice it, however different people have different tastes as is often said so this is just MHO. Perhaps, we and our table mates were contributing to the noise :D

We loved our cruise on Ocean Princess and we prefer the small ships so obviously that colours our opinions. We wouldn't hesitate to sail on her again and are very sad that she is on the market :(

I am making an assumption that the ship will be docking in Noumea. If that's the case, unless you are on a small ship you will dock at the industrial terminal and shuttles will drive passengers to the passenger terminal a short distance away.

The passenger terminal is right across the road from the city. In a few minutes you can be in the city centre. It's only a very small place so doesn't take long to wander around.

At the passenger terminal there will be a range of tour operators offering excursions and there is also a HOHO bus. This travels to a range of places including beaches so it depends what your interests are. One of the stops is the Tjiabaou Cultural Centre. The buildings themselves are quite interesting but there is an entrance fee applicable. Sorry I can't remember how much it was.

We have been to Noumea a number of times and there isn't anywhere that I can think of that you need to avoid. Le Petit Train is a bit of fun and you can get lovely views from a lookout where the 'train' stops.

Most ships seem to run excursions to Amadee Island and while we haven't yet done that, the trip seems to get favourable reports.

You could also just jump on bus and go to one of the beaches but you will need to have XPF to pay the fares.

Unless you have a specific interest in mind, the HOHO bus might be your best bet to get a taste of Noumea.

I hope you enjoy your day in Noumea whatever you choose to do.:)

We love the small ships and will be sorry to see them leave the Princess fleet. Our first ever cruise in recent years was on Pacific Princess (same as Ocean Princess) when she was based in Sydney. This was in 2005 I think and we cruised again in 2006 but then she was replaced in Australia by Sun Princess.

We just spent 51 days on Ocean Princess and had a wonderful time and yes you can get into ports the bigger ships can't get to. For instance we sailed right up the Saigon River to the heart of Ho Chi Minh city and once before on Azamara Quest we sailed right up the Chao Praya river to (almost) central Bangkok.

There are other advantages to the small ships too but in acknowledging that, they aren't for everyone however they are our favourites. No crowds, no lines, tendering is a breeze etc

I believe Princess think it will take quite a while to sell Ocean (hopefully).

Oceania have 3 ships identical to Ocean and Pacific and Azamara has 2 but these lines are usually a lot more expensive than Princess :(

Yes unfortunately sailing on any of the smaller ships is going to be expensive so we will probably have to change our preference!

Any cruise is better than no cruise, but although we have sailed on medium and large ships and really enjoyed it, we still prefer the little ones :)

Oh yes I forgot, P&O UK have Adonia which is the old Royal Princess (same as Ocean and Pacific). Princess transferred her to P&O UK 4 or 5 years ago. Her prices are more in line with Princess prices thankfully.

Oh No :eek: I hope the sale takes a while. We love the small ships but like a lot of others thought that it was only a matter of time before they were moved aside.

Our first cruise in recent years was in 2005 on Pacific Princess when she was based in Sydney over the cruising season and we fell in love with the small ships then :D We would be more than happy if she was sent to Princess Aus but I don't think that this is going to happen any time soon. While we have enjoyed our cruises on the larger ships such as Sun, Dawn and Diamond Princess we much prefer the small ones. Our choice as we enjoy the lack of crowds and ease of tendering and the more intimate atmosphere. Not to mention being able to sail up the Saigon River to the centre of Ho Chi Minh City;)

We just completed 51 days from Sydney to Cape Town on Ocean and found her to be in good shape so hopefully that doesn't change while she is on the for sale list.

We have been to Vietnam twice on cruises but both times being on a small ship we docked right near the centre of Ho Chi Minh City which made it easier.

The locals incidentally still refer to it as Saigon and there is quite a bit to see. The first time we were there we did a tour of the city which included the Reunification Museum (well worth it if you are interested in history), Notre Dame Cathedral, the Post Office (yes I know that sounds mundane, but it's actually quite interesting). We also went to a very old Chinese temple which was lovely, unfortunately the name escapes me at the moment. There were a couple of other places on the half day tour but I imagine as you are docking at Phu My this might translate to a full day tour. (Touring through the Reunification Palace takes quite a while).

Last time we were there we just caught a shuttle into the centre of the city (the traffic is crazy) and just went to the Banh Than markets and had lunch on the rooftop of the famous Rex Hotel. There are plenty of shops to keep shoppers amused as well.

HCM city is well worth a visit and we have enjoyed both our trips there. We haven't been to the Cu Chi tunnels yet. Perhaps next time.

We have also docked at Da Nang. We didn't go to Hue, but opted to visit the World Heritage listed town of Hoi An which is a beautiful little place with a 15th century Japanese bridge and lovely old buildings. Wonderful cafes and food too.

So I would definitely recommend a visit to Hoi An if you get the chance although I also believe Hue is worth a visit too.

Vietnam is a fascinating place so enjoy your visit.:)

Great pics KarateMan. Thanks for taking the trouble to post. It brought back great memories of our 2013 trip on Arcadia from Southampton to Sydney via South America. We count it as one of our best cruises ever.

Being on a British ship we couldn't dock in Ushuaia but a side benefit of that was we were able to sail through the Beagle Channel in daylight. Sensational scenery.

Re most travelled. We were on Ocean Princess earlier in the year and the most travelled passengers were over 1100 days!

I grew up in lovely Hobart so as Whimsy suggested, I would head over to Salamanca Place which should be on the left side of where you dock. There are lovely sandstone buildings, shops and cafes. From there you can head into Battery Point where there are sandstone cottages and cafes.

If that doesn't interest you, it's an easy walk into the city from the dock. It would only take 15 minutes. In fact, you could cover Salamanca Place, Battery Point and the city in the morning if you so chose!

Have a great cruise and stay in Hobart. Richmond is lovely so you will enjoy that too.

PS make sure you dress in layers as the weather in Hobart can be unreliable even in summer.

I agree with the comments by Wangeling Gal. Bali is what you make it and you definitely need time to see the wonderful sights.

Seminyak is now a very trendy and upmarket location with great restaurants and cafes but these can be expensive. Jimbaran Bay has some fabulous resorts and every night there used to be seafood restaurants pop up on the beach. (I haven't been to Jimbaran for a few years so not sure if this is still the case).

I think spending some time at a resort area and then a few days in the country area such as Ubud is the best way to go. As Wangeling Girl said it's easy to find 'transport' in Bali. You can arrange it through your hotel or engage a driver from the street however on the street you need to bargain for the fare. Most drivers have modern, air con vehicles and you can hire them by the day if you wish.

Make sure you visit some of the temples (you will need a sarong, both men and women) or you can hire one. Tanah Lot is beautiful to look at as it is situated in the ocean. Yes it's touristy with lots of stalls but I still think it's worth a look.

There are heaps of other temples that aren't touristy that your driver can take you to if you get a good one.

Also make sure you go to some Balinese dance performances as they are just wonderful. We have seen heaps and still like to go to a performance if we get the chance. ;) I'm no expert, but probably the Ubud area is the best place for this as the performance is held in the grounds of a temple. Yes, these are also aimed at tourists but they are still fun. The top dancers used to hail from nearby Peliatan so you may be able to go to a performance there. Check with your hotel.

If you choose to stay in Candi (pronounced Chandi) Dasa, makes sure you visit the Water Palace and see some of the surrounding countryside.

Bali has certainly changed since the first time I went there many years ago, but it is still beautiful and fascinating. If you go with the understanding that with the beauty there will be some less than beautiful sights.

PS I wouldn't stay in Denpasar as this is a busy city area.

Have a great cruise and stay in Bali and enjoy doing your research. There are heaps of sights to see in Bali outside of the main tourist haunts.

You are correct. There isn't much to see in Male. It's situated on a small atoll and certainly not large enough to keep you occupied for a whole day :D Bear in mind it will also be very hot so your best bet is to go on a tour to either a resort atoll or a deserted island.

I've been to the Maldives 3 times, the first two trips were not on cruises but the last time I was there was in April this year on Ocean Princess (the sister ship to the Azamara ships).

The ship ran a couple of excursions one of which went to a resort and the other to a deserted atoll. There were some who organised a private excursion and these went to the same resort island as the ship's tour (I'm pretty sure it was Bandos Island). I believe that the snorkelling was fine.

We chose the deserted island, and it was indeed deserted as advertised, although there were some shelters from the sun. To reach the atoll we travelled in super fast speed boats which was a thrill in itself but even so it took about 45 minutes so it was quite a way from Male. The snorkelling here wasn't fabulous but this particular island was a last minute substitute due to the original one undergoing 'renovation' - presumably the shelters were being repaired or something!

Nevertheless we loved this trip as it was just beautiful and very relaxing but you need to ensure you take lots of water and food if you feel you might feel peckish!

Obviously if you go to a resort island (which I would recommend if you are a novice snorkeler) you can buy food and drinks and even get free wi fi I believe.

I've neve been to Gan so can't help you with that but with the time you are in Male you will have time to do an excursion to an atoll as well as have a wander around Male.

Have a look at the excursions that the ship has on offer. They will most likely be on the expensive side but you will need to travel by boat for quite a distance to get to resorts/islands but the beauty of the ocean is well worth it and so is the speed boat trip :D. I'm not sure who the private tour booked with but they travelled in the much slower local dhonis. You obviously then need to ensure that they return to pick you up! Perhaps there is someone else who can recommend a reliable operator if you don't wish to take the ship's excursion.

Once back on board, get out on deck and enjoy the sunset and watch the sea planes that ferry tourists to the islands flying back to 'roost' for the night.

Have a lovely time in the Maldives and enjoy the excursions whichever you choose.

As Jacs has posted, there is no one weather pattern applicable to Australia at any time of the year. You can guarantee that the 'Top End' i.e. the tropical north will be hot, however in the southern part of Australia including Melbourne and even Sydney you could strike cool to warm weather as spring can be a bit unreliable. It could be cool or it could be warm :eek:

We have lived in Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney and even in Sydney you can experience unpleasant days in spring. Not really cold, just cool and windy or showery.

As you will obviously be spending days at sea, it's usually cooler than on land so you need to be prepared for some chilly weather. Southern NZ could be very cool. We cruised there in summer and it was beautiful but we considered it cold.

The bottom line is that it's advisable to bring clothing that you can layer while in the southern areas and also bring some light rain wear. There is nothing surer to put a dampener on sightseeing than being cold.:D

I hope you have a great time and enjoy your cruise.

From a photographic point of view NZ would be the way to go IMHO.

Milford Sound particularly is absolutely breathtaking so you will be clicking away like mad.:D

There is one thing to bear in mind though. The weather may be quite cool as opposed to the South Pacific itinerary which would be hot. We actually missed Doubtful Sound due to windy weather and this was in January but weather is uncontrollable so nothing we can do about it.

On the other hand we have cruised in the South Pacific in January and February on a number of occasions and never struck more than the odd tropical downpour however cyclones can be a real possibility.

Most South Pacific itineraries are aimed at beach/water based activities although there are certainly some worthwhile sights and tours but based on the itinerary above there wouldn't be the 'wow' factor that NZ has.

If you do decide on the NZ trip remember to bring some warm clothing and some rainwear. Even the first day at sea out of Sydney can be a bit on the cool side once in the open ocean.

The two options you gave are so different and both are enjoyable so I hope whichever you choose, you have a great time. You can always come back and do the other cruise another time :D

San Francisco to Sydney covers a huge area. Have you been told that it's rainy season over the whole area, or just a part of it?

 

Anyway, for climate averages, google any of the several hundred climate sites, tourism sites, or Wikipedia, and you can find average weather for anywhere in the world. For Sydney, the average annual rainfall is 4 inches per month and the average annual days with rain 12 days per month. In February, it's 4.5 inches and 12.5 days. That's not enough to qualify as a rainy season.

 

San Francisco has similar rainfall stats as Sydney in February, though of course relatively that is their rainy season because it doesn't rain much in summer. The average temperature is 20 or so degrees Fahrenheit lower.

We lived in Sydney for 16 years and moved further north to Queensland just over 12 months ago and you are correct, Sydney doesn't have a rainy season as such. The rainy season really only applies much further north in the more tropical areas of Australia. Sydney city in summer is usually around 28C - 30C during the day with overnights around 20C. There is usually a sea breeze in the afternoons. However, there can be the odd rainy, cooler day so you need to be prepared for this. I seem to remember that when we sailed in on Arcadia in 2013 it was a bit windy and not one of Sydney's more stellar days :eek:

There endeth my thoughts on Sydney's weather for what they are worth :D

Hi everyone , my husband and I have done 3cruises so far with P&O ...carribean twice (our favourite place) and Europe . Love this cruise line and Azura our magical ship !! But fancied something different for 50th birthday celebrations and have booked San Francisco to Sydney on Arcadia for Feb 2015 . Just found out this is rainy season ( not good) can anyone put my mind at ease ? Anyone done this trip or similar before ? And last but not least , is Arcadia ship as good as Azura lol . Thanks for your help

We did the San Francisco to Sydney sector in 2011 on Arcadia and except for a few passing showers the weather was fantastic once we left Hawaii. In San Francisco it was quite chilly so layers are the way to go. Also the few days between San Fran and Hawaii were quite cool but after that it was hot.

We have cruised a number of times in the South Pacific over the January/February period and never had any problems with the weather other than the odd tropical downpour. Of course, you could get unlucky and strike some bad weather as could happen anywhere.

We think Arcadia is a lovely ship and spent 51 days on her from Southamptom to Sydney in 2013 (great weather across the Pacific :)) and we were booked on her for 2015 Southampton to Brisbane but sadly we had to cancel for family reasons :( .

I'm sure you will have a great time so don't worry about the weather just take warm clothes for San Francisco and summer things for the rest of the trip.

Bronte2, the OP did say that going to the Australia Zoo would be an excursion from the ship.

 

Why not go to Taronga Zoo while in Sydney then, if you want more interaction with animals, go to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary on your Brisbane port day.

My mistake :eek: I misunderstood the question.

It's definitely a long drive from Brisbane to Australia Zoo and the traffic can be quite bad. I have read complaints before that on an excursion from the ship you only get about 3 hours there which wasn't enough.

I hope you have a great time on your cruise.

We’ll be arriving in Sydney on the Oosterdam on a Sunday in April next year. I’m trying to figure out our options for using the Ferry system to take in some of the sites around the harbour.

 

Unfortunately it looks like we’ll be arriving at the White Bay Cruise Terminal by 7AM.

 

I have a few questions that I’m hoping I can get some answers to.

 

1. Can you walk from the White Bay terminal to the Balmain East Ferry wharf? If you can, about how long is the walk?

 

2. How much does a taxi cost from from WBT to Circular Quay? About how long does the ride take?

 

3. Does HAL or the Port Authority run a free shuttle rom WBT to Circular Quay?

 

Unfortunately we depart at 4PM, so our time is short and we really need to manage our time wisely.

 

I’d like to get to the Taronga Zoo and Watsons Bay. Am I dreaming?

A taxi from Circular Quay to White Bay terminal will cost around $25 from memory and it's a fair distance as the road winds around. I can't remember exactly how long it took but it was probably 15 to 20 minutes. However we were boarding a small ship and there was no traffic so if you were leaving the ship at the same time as lots of other passengers then no doubt it would take longer.

Sorry I can't help with advice re a shuttle but hopefully HAL will put one on!

Just curious which is the better zoo? Will be in Sydney for 5 days before my cruise. The Australia Zoo would be an excursion from the ship.

 

Do Senior rates apply only to Australian Srs or can US Seniors take advantage of the lower rates?

 

Thanks

As pointed out by J-D, Australia Zoo is not in Sydney so unless you plan on flying to Queensland it's really not an option for you. Incidentally, you can fly direct from Sydney to Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast which is closer and an easier drive than driving from Brisbane. The only downside is that there are less flights to Maroochydore than Brisbane (just a heads up for your next visit :D).

I'm sure you will enjoy Taronga Zoo and the ferry ride there and back.

If you don't have issues with mobility can I suggest you take a coastal walk along the cliff tops - say from Bondi to Bronte and enjoy the lovely Sydney coastal scenery. (We lived there for 16 years and just loved the coastal paths).

I hope you have a great time in Sydney. :)

We went to the elephant Safari park in 2012 and it was fantastic. The elephants are very well looked after and rested frequently.

I believe some of the elephants were rescued from Sumatra but I can't remember all the details now unfortunately.

Just be aware that with a cruise ship in port there may be a short wait for a ride.

Of the other elephant parks we have seen in Asia, this is by far the best (well it was in 2012 anyway).

The traffic coming back to Benoa from the park was quite bad so allow plenty of time.

We have sailed on both Arcadia and Dawn Princess and there really isn't much difference in size. Off the top of my head, I think Dawn is around 77,000 tons and Arcadia around 88,000 so yes, there is a difference but once on board it won't be that noticeable.

I'm not sure what category of cabin you have booked but we found Arcadia's balcony cabins slightly larger (Arcadia has a shower over the bath, and a full settee instead of a lounge chair), but at the end of the day it's not a big deal.

There is no pool with a retractable roof on Dawn Princess but Dawn Princess does have Movies Under The Stars (MUTS) as pointed out by a previous poster.

We quite like Magnums' bar for a pre-dinner drink.

I must add we haven't been on Dawn Princess since around late 2011 so the name of the bar may have changed whereas we were on Arcadia for 51 days in early 2013 :)

We have always found the staff on Princess ships to be fantastic too.

I'm sure you will have a wonderful cruise on Dawn Princess.