Wayfairers

6 Cruise Ports?!?! Wow! Thanks for letting me know they all have public transport. Guess I need to figure out which one the HAL world cruise is going to use.

I agree reviews and corresponding with the guide through the site is the best way to figure out which guide is best for the tour. We’ve used Tours by Locals all over the world, usually on a custom tour, just not in Japan or South Korea yet.

Good info. I’m trying to determine whether to use a guide or DIY on our Japan stops. I’ve found DYI is easier on land trips. When cruising, I’ve found the short time in port is sometimes better spent with a guide than fumbling around trying to figure out public transportation. Also a guide with a car is more efficient than public transportation if you want to see places that are far apart. In Tokyo is public transportation available at the port?

I’m looking at them for Japan (Tokyo, Naha, Omaezaki, Kobe, Fukuoka) and throughout South Korea. Do you have a favorite guide at any of these?

Thank you! Great info.

I was going to recommend Yala National Park for Hambantota but will now make a note that for a future stop there go to Bundala. Thanks! we loved Yala in 2016 seeing so many wild elephants, a leopard, monkeys, boars, jack rabbits, a ton of birds.

Very similar to how I plan trips. I tried traveling without planning once and got home to find we had missed some things we would have loved. So….don’t do that anymore. Planning is part of the fun, but can easily be overwhelming. I have to step away every so often and remind my self that it is ok if I don’t find the perfect day in every port. We do a combo of ship tours, private tours, planned self guided walking tours and wandering on our own. When we are doing land travel I’ve learned to put in a or parts of a couple of days about once a week to relax, catch up on paperwork, do laundry, etc.

Found a great barber shop in Corsica for my husband when we wandered past it and he liked the cut the barber had. $15 later her had a great cut. I stopped at an interesting looking salon in Nova Scotia and got a great cut. We’ve also done that in Louisville KY, various places in Mexico and a few other places and never been disappointed.

I appreciate the information. As I said, I have a private tour booked. I am wondering if anyone has taken the shuttle and where it drops everyone.

We did a B2B in Montreal last fall. We didn’t have to meet anywhere on the ship that morning and we weren’t required to disembark. HAL gave us a good instruction sheet in our room with detailed info on what to do. Luggage stayed in the room. We left the ship that morning as other passengers were disembarking and walked around town for the day. We were given “In Transit” cards that we showed to the people in charge of getting new passengers onboard when we were ready to reboard the ship and we skipped the checkin lines, but not the security check line. It was seamless and easy for us.

Maybe those that have already sold their houses and possessions could just turn to another cruise company and book it for all of most of the time they were planning to be on this ship.

We have cruised the Caribbean over the holidays - not Hawaii. I don’t know if the ship offered excursions on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day or not. We are cruising again this year, but are at sea those days. I do know most of the towns were shut down the whole week between Christmas and New Years and I’ve checked on Curaçao for this year, Dec 26, and the bus service is limited and many places are closed. I just checked the HAL website for that day, no excursions are available - but it is early. You could check with private guides to see if anyone is willing to do a tour those days

Thanks….good to know you would still use Across Africa. It did seem like some of the problems they had were people setting expectations too high for the area. My biggest concern was when they didn’t refund for missed ports. Looking forward to the raw, unvarnished culture…..we are those weird people that want way off the beaten path areas and have found ourselves to be the only tourists in an area not set up for tourists numerous times…..hoping to see more of what we experienced in Myanmar and other places in Southeast Asia when we asked our private guides to take us where tourists don’t normally go.

Thank you for the information - very helpful. I followed the GA2022 board and saw how unhappy several were with Across Africa so have chosen not to book any of their tours. I did get on my waitlisted HAL tour almost 2 weeks ago - very happy about that - especially after reading about your experience! I am using HAL more than normal and making sure those outside of HAL are fully refundable if HAL decides to skip the port. I am definitely looking forward to this cruise!

I have enjoyed your blog - thank you for taking the time to update it so often. Looking forward to doing the trip myself next year!

Great idea. We have an upcoming B2B2B (same ship) and I never thought about continuing the package from one cruise to the next.

It is still around on board just like at home. We spent a month and a half on board last fall as part of a 3 month trip….caught covid on the plane flight home. The first 18 days of that cruise was the last half of Voyage Of The Vikings and many passengers had covid. We spent 3 weeks on board in the Caribbean this January and didn’t catch covid. Follow normal practices to prevent colds and flu and hope for the best.

I don’t recall seeing that before. Hopefully they won’t enforce this and will soon allow the wine package to be used in bars again. Based upon my experiences when the wine bottle isn’t kept at the bar where you are ordering, they have to go to the bar or MDR that is keeping the bottle and search for it - typically not a short process - bet HAL is trying to prevent that since they are short staffed. That is why I keep a bottle in every bar.

Longest right now is 90 days. This fall leaving for a 7 month - B2B2B - Grand Africa/Panama Canal/Grand World - all on HAL.

I agree with layers. Then you can easily be comfortable with various temperatures. Helps too if the vehicle you are in for the excursion is chilly or warm.

I keep one in every bar I use plus the MDR. I’ve done this pre and post pandemic and on several ships. Never had an issue other than remembering which wine is in which bar!

That makes more sense…. The issue is knees showing not wearing a skort. Most skirts and dresses I have show knees too so I usually wear capris or cropped pants when knees have to be covered. I use a pashmina to cover my head and shoulders when that is required.

Why would they deny entry for wearing a skort? You don’t know mine have shorts built in under the skirt unless you lift the skirt and look. They look just like a skirt.

Thank you.

Thanks for the info! I’ve enjoyed your blog about that cruise.