coupeb

Read a post on Facebook this morning that Stockperks was now accepting submissions for cruises up until Dec. 31.  I went into the app, submitted my request for my September cruise, and the shareholder credit was applied within an hour!  As I was already approved on Stockperks a few months ago, it was very easy.

At the end of our cruise in April, we did the Princess transfer from the pier to Narita.  No tour required.  

We went to Disney before the cruise and arranged a private transfer from Narita to our Disney hotel.  Driver was waiting outside the door and drove us directly to the hotel. Very easy and no stress on our tired brains after an all night flight.  Arranged through Viator.

To get to the ship, we took a direct bus from our Disney hotel to Haneda, and then took the Princess transfer to the pier.  Again, very easy.

Yes it was more expensive but it was worth it for us to not have to schlep our suitcases through the Tokyo transit system.  We'd never been to Tokyo before though.  

My niece has emailed the Princess dietary department about her severe peanut/tree nut allergy and after a few weeks, still hasn't received a response.  We know to meet with the maitre d on the first day, but were wondering about eating outside of the dining room. Does anyone with this allergy know if it's safe to eat at the pizza place or at the grill (hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, etc)? What should we do about the Horizon Court? We'd rather not have to eat all meals in the dining room. Thanks.

One travel book I read indicated cash was preferred in Japan.  Is this true?  For buying food and souvenirs?  Figure we'll use credit cards for trains. Thanks.

On 11/26/2022 at 4:33 PM, feisty_tuffy said:

Did anyone on your cruise see Polar Bears?  We are looking to go in 2023 and all the excursions that mention Polar Bears are sold out.  We are wondering if this is like Cabo where you take a whale site seeing and the whales are actually closer to the ship than the dingy you are riding around in trying to find them.

Thanks!

Linda

No polar bears, not even a mention. Saw lots of dolphins and whales, but that's it. One of the officers on the bridge would announce over the intercom whenever they spotted anything, "dolphins coming up on the port side". It was greatly appreciated.

Took a case if soda on board for my February cruise.  It was no problem.

If you're an ABBA fan, you absolutely want to visit their museum.  it's amazing.  We walked from our ship to the ferry dock in Gamla Stan, and then took the ferry to/from Djurgården where the museum is.   The museum is about a 2 minute walk from the ferry, if you walk slow.  Very easy to do.  

Thanks for posting this.  We're supposed to be in St. John's in late August for a cruise, but we'll see.  If the cruise still goes, this will be most helpful.  

We took the metro - very easy, with clear directions.  There's a dedicated train that goes to Disneyland from a specific stop.

We did it as a pre-cruise in January 2015, minus the Darwin section.  I would highly recommend it.  Everything was first rate and we were well taken care of the whole time.  A great way to see everything with all the planning done for you.  Sure you pay a little more than doing it on your own, but there's something to be said for just saying "here I am - take me everywhere."  Worth the money for me.  Some will disagree, that's fine.  

Tour of Sydney did not include going inside the Opera House.  They take you to a scenic viewpoint to get the iconic picture of the Opera House and the bridge.  The insects at Uluru were brutal - not sure if it was the time of year (late January) or always.  When they recommend a net over your hat and head, do it.  You can't even talk without getting bugs in your mouth.  No problem with flies anywhere else.  You don't have to snorkel at the Reef.  You can stay on the pontoon, just swim, or go in their glass bottom boat.  There aren't any sunbathing facilities so don't plan to get on a sun chair and just chill.  Also, bring some anti-nausea meds.  The trip out was quite rough the day we went and there were some people majorly sea sick.  Try to get a window seat when you fly from Cairns to Sydney - the view of the reef is quite spectacular from the air.  

I too was surprised by how long the flights were - it's a bigger country than you think.  Also, keep in mind that the Australian airlines weigh your carry-on as well as your checked bag.  Carry-on cannot exceed a certain weight.  I saw people stuffing their pockets while waiting in line to check-in.  They also sometimes re-weigh the carry-on's at the gate before you board.  

My mom and niece stayed in a cabin over the theater on the Royal in January, and they said it was fine as long as they were already asleep before the late show.  The noise wasn't bad but the boom boom vibration was very noticeable.  Said while it wasn't bad, they wouldn't choose to stay there again.  

6 hours ago, Iriel said:

Yes, coupeb, that will work. I visited Iguazu Falls last month and you really don't need much time in Brazil, you can see everything in two hours. We did complement the visit with the boat under the falls and the Parque das Aves. I do recommend taking an entire day to see everything on the Argentine side. There is a lot to see, we entered the park at 9:30 and left at 18, only because it was closing. Both sides are wonderful, though. If you need it, I can recommend a taxi driver, he took us everywhere and gave us great advice to really make the most of our time.

Thanks!  I would love to get the name of your taxi driver.  Please email me at bonita dot couper at shaw dot ca

We're looking for hotel recommendations for the Leblon or Copacabana area.  We think that's where we want to stay but are open if someone wants to suggest somewhere else.  It will be for a Friday night in January 2020, possibly Saturday depending upon flights, so we're looking for something quiet - we're not partyers!  Something mid-range - clean, safe and not too expensive.  Thanks for your help!

Our cruise ends in Buenos Aires.  We want see Iguazu Falls and then carry on to Rio de Janeiro before flying home.  Due to the way the flights to/from Igauzu work, we're thinking of doing things in this order to make the most of our time:

1. Fly early morning from Buenos Aires to Iguazu Falls - Argentina side airport; check in to hotel in town on Argentina side.

2. Visit Brazil side of the Falls that afternoon.

3. Spend the next day visiting the Argentinian side of the Falls.

4. Fly out the next morning to Rio from the Brazil side airport.

Will this work? 

Any issues with the Brazil Visa entering Brazil twice?  

Thanks very much.

We'll be spending one night in Buenos Aires at the end of our cruise in January 2020, before flying out to Iguazu Falls the next morning.  A Tuesday night if that makes a difference.  We're are looking for mid-range hotel recommendations, in the Casa Rosada to Recoleta area.  Thanks very much! 

We recently had to change the name of a passenger about 3 weeks prior to sailing.  Easy peasy.  Travel agent just called Princess to change the name and provided the personal information.  No change fee involved.  New passenger just e-transferred the funds to the previous passenger to pay for it.  I was surprised by how easy it was.

I was hoping someone with more recent experience would respond so was holding off.  When we were there in 2009, we took the metro/subway to Disney.  We had to change trains at one point but as the only train option at that station was the Disney train, it was very easy.  Very easy to follow as all signs also had English on them, very clean, and not crowded.  

Just off the Royal and no bucket chair in our regular balcony cabin.  We asked our cabin steward if we could get one, and we had a chair within about 10 minutes.  The small table was in our closet.  

We were on the Regal from May 21 to June 1 and we had internet the whole time. It was pretty fast too.

Thank you, thank you! I've been waiting for the 2020 South America cruises. Now I can start planning and be ready as soon as booking opens up.

Try buying gas at the gas station with a UK credit/debit card, no zip no chance. America is so insular with so many things, yet the amount of overseas visitors must be huge

For Canadians, we use the three numbers in our postal code and then put two zeros at the end to make up a 5 digit "zip code" - works like a charm! UK people might want to give it a try the next time they're in the US - hopefully it works for you.

I've never seen Coke Zero on a cruise before - and that's my go to beverage. I ask every time in hopes that they now have it available, but it's never been there.

We did this 3 years ago and there was very little free time. We were busy right through to dinner time.

We had a 55 minute layover in 2016 and made our flight to Stockholm no problem. Icelandair is used to these short layovers. The airport is small and they get you through immigration quickly.

Yes, it changed to 1.25 in early December. My travel agent sent me notification that she got from Princess.