Cruize
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1 hour ago, cboyle said:
Check out my review for the Star Princess from Valparaiso to BA; you will probably have some of the same ports.
https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=80603
Thanks, I’ll look at it tonight.....off to work now. Can’t wait to Saturday for the vacation to start!
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26 minutes ago, cboyle said:
Le Soleal? John and I are in cabin 318. Hope to see you aboard!
Yes, Le Soleal. We are near neighbours....cabin 303
We arrive back in BA and board the Coral to Santiago, looking forward to both cruises.
Cheers, Paul
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On 12/9/2019 at 2:05 PM, cboyle said:
John and I are going in to Buenos Aires two days before our Antarctica expedition cruise with Ponant from Ushuaia on February 3.
Defrantur is picking us up at the airport for a private transfer to our hotel (2 nights), which they also arranged, in the Retiro neighborhood. In early afternoon. we are doing a private tour to the Tigre River and a wine tasting later in the evening. The next day we are being taken to a food tour in the Palermo neighborhood and being dropped off afterwards at the San Telmo antiques fair. They have recommended and made a dinner reservation at a restaurant near the hotel and are picking us up very early the next morning for a private transfer to the airport for the Ponant-included flight to Ushuaia. All of that (not including the dinner) is costing half of what Ponant was asking for 1 night in a hotel plus a city tour, dinner at a steakhouse, and the airport transfers for the two of us.
If you want to read about other tours Defrantur has set up for us, this is our (very long) review of our "Around the Horn" cruise with precruise tours in Buenos Aires, Iguazu Falls and wine regions of Argentina and Chile. They also arranged a tour to an estancia when the cruise had a port call in Buenos Aires. https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=80603
If you have any questions, just ask.
Hope that helps!
Carolyn
Hi Carolyn,
Thanks for the information about Defrantur.
Shelley and I are also on the February 3rd Ponant cruise.
Regards, Paul -
Much prefer being on the ship taking photos compared to taking photos of the ship;)
Cheers, Paul
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If you really aren't bothered about the Acropolis in Athens, consider the new museum at its foot, where most of the statues are displayed. It's
a) air conditioned
and
b) within walking distance of the plaka.
Totally agree, fantastic museum:) But be warned.....women, or those men who wear kilts, there are a lot of glass floors, wear appropriate clothing. We'll be back there in about 6 weeks on the Emerald Princess;)
As for Ephesus, been a couple times, well worth seeing once. Was not impressed how they just put one piece of marble/rubble on top of another. A very bad jig saw puzzle....but there are some impresive areas, latrine, theatre and library to name a few.
Paul
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We were on the Emerald Princess August / September last year. Sorry, can't remember what day. We disembarked early, ships transfer to the city gate, there were plenty of taxis available though.
WALK THE WALL FIRST! That's my suggestion anyway. We arrived at the gate, joined a very short queue, 5 couples in front of us, bought our tickets and were on our way. We took our time, well over an hour to walk the wall. Take water and a hat, it gets very hot and there's no shade!
There were quite a few people on the wall but it was comfortable and we weren't held up on steps or the numerous obligatory photo opportunities.
After descending the wall the queue to buy tickets would have been close to 50 metres long. There were a couple of ships in port plus other tourists.
We walked along the main thoroughfare along with thousands of others...literally:mad:
Too many people! Two very short streets away from the throng of tourists we found a short lived peace and quiet, plus a very nice restaurant with outdoor tables....and cold beer:) There was no view but people watching was fascinating. You could tell when others happened upon this oasis away from the maddening crowds. But then even this area became busy.
There are plenty of bars and eateries either side of the main central areas.
After looking in just a couple of shops we couldn't be bothered shopping. Plenty of souvenir type places at the port terminal and a very reasonably priced place to buy a beer:)
Didn't bother with the cable car, but in hindsight maybe we should have. We were just fed up with all of the people and wanted some peace and quiet, so went back to the ship about 1pm.
Dubrovnik is fantastic but it is an extremely popular tourist destination, do as much ASAP to beat the crowds;)
I realise you're in port a little later than we were so I'm thinking it's going to be very hot, even in May, for this time of day, so walking the wall later maybe a better option.
Paul
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It's a pleasant walk, about 45 minutes from the ship.
Allow a little extra time in case you get "lost", which is all part of the experience.
There are discreet signs on corners of buildings directing you to Rialto Bridge or San Marco etc
It is a beautiful theatre.
Paul
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Thanks Tickle. Which tour are you actually signed up for. I don't eat red meat and want to get my money's worth!
The tour we're taking is "Hidden Beyoglu"
It starts about 1km from the cruise ship terminal, very convenient.
Our meeting place is a cafe where we will sample some breakfast food.
Paul
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We are taking one of the Culinary Backstreet tours in May. Found them very professional when enquiring and booking. My wife is mainly vegetarian but does occasionally eat seafood. They suggested a suitable tour that would cater for her needs as some of their tours are more suited to carnivores:D
Love Turkish food, can't wait to be guided through markets and eateries;)
That's all we seem to do while cruising....eat:)
Just as well it's a walking tour so we can burn off some of the calories.
Paul
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I do not wont to trivialise the German Airline tragedy, it was terrible for friends and family involved.
BUT, are we still going to fly to join our cruise because of some randon act that caused the aircraft to crash? Of course we are!
So why are the cruise lines not going to Tunis?
Just a thought:rolleyes:
Please do not take offence, it's just an observation. It's ironic how we interpret what is safe and what isn't.
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I too loved New Zealand, Australia and French Polynesia. Beautiful part of the world.[/quote
Dont you worry about suicide bombers. We had a tragic hunting incident yesterday where someone shot his friend. Group of hunters went.....hunting. One of them was mistakenly shot as a deer. You may live in a forest, it's not that safe:mad:
We too have our problems here in New Zealand, Australia, etc, BUT please do not let the few dictate where and when the majority should travel.
Travel is perhaps one of the few true educational experiences.
If no one has said that before, I'll claim it:)
AND
Poverty is relevant, it does not exist if the your Government gives you benefits! Get off your arse and look for work instead of a handout!!!!
Sorry, getting away from the main topic,
Paul
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I too loved New Zealand, Australia and French Polynesia. Beautiful part of the world.
We too have our problems here in New Zealand, Australia, etc, BUT please do not let the few dictate where and when the majority should travel.
Travel is perhaps one of the few true educational experiences.
If no one has said that before, I'll claim it:)
AND
Poverty is relevant, it does not exist if your Government gives you benefits! Get off your arse and look for work instead of a handout!!!!
Sorry, getting away from the main topic,
Paul
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The more terrified you are the more these radical nutters (I would use stronger language but may offend) are winning their war of fear. By stating they MAY attack Big Ben, Eiffel Tower etc doesn't mean to say they wont blow up the Guinness Brewery...God forbid;)
So should we all crawl under our beds and never leave home:rolleyes:
Then for sure these bas..... have won!
Paul
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Hi,
Seems to be a lot of cruisers celebrating wedding anniversaries in Alaska this year:) You can include us, it'll be our 33rd.;)
We'll be on the Coral b2b in September.
Cheers, Paul
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Charms cost me a fortune, but I can never buy the wrong gift for my wife's birthday, anniversary, etc. Shelley has about 5 Pandora bracelets but now she only wants our iconic Evolve ones, she is already on her second bracelet. Maybe I get into mischief to often and saying sorry is another charm;)
We're doing the circle Med on the Emerald, May / June. Will have to look out for the Tedora charms.
Paul
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Been to Ephesus twice, 20 years apart, and still think it's a badly put together jig saw puzzle. Parts of it are stunning while other areas are mediocre. That's my opinion, I'm no archeologist but I've seen plenty of ancient sites.
Returning to Kusadasi in May so other options are appreciated, especially food related:)
Cheers, Paul
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It's surprising how many Kiwis have not been to this special part of our country.
It is so easy to take things for granted on your back door. We have travelled a lot in the USA and have visited the majority of National Parks. Speaking to fellow cruisers from the States they have told us that we have seen more of their country than they have.
NZ had a slogan in the 1980's, I think it was.......A word of advice to all New Zealanders "don't leave town till you've seen the country."
We'll be in Milford on the Dawn Princess in about 10 days
Have a great Christmas and New Year everyone!:)
Paul
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Hi Paul,
visa is no longer required to Australians, New zeland and south Africans to enter Tunisia. this is a new Law that has been put in place late November in order to promote the Tourism industry within Tunisia and to get rid of red tapes and Barriers that may affect Travellers in a negative way.
Thanks for the up to date information that neither Princess nor my Travel Agent have informed me of!:mad:
Cheers, Paul
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"The Mount" will be the most easily accessible beach. It is a beautiful surf beach BUT if you swim there remember to swim between the flags. It has surf lifesavers over the summer period. It's about a 15 minute walk from the pier. We always walk around the Mount to the beach which takes over an hour but it's a lovely walk. The town is very nice also with lots of places to eat.
Auckland has some fantastic west coast surf beaches, all are black sand. Problem is they are quite a distance from the ship. Orakie and Mission Bay are white sand and are a short bus ride from the wharf. And yes you could catch the ferry, which departs right next to the ship, and travel accross to Waiheke. Personally, if I was going to Waiheke Island it wouldn't be for the beaches but i'd be sampling the extremely good wine.
We depart on the Dawn Princess on the 20th Dec (one week today) from Auckland on a Christmas New Year cruise. Must go and start packing. This will be our 3rd cruise around NZ and enjoy relaxing...no driving and NO flying as the ship returns to Auckland:)
I'm sure you'll enjoy your time in NZ, the weather is generally more settled toward the end of January and all of February.
A side note, loved New Mexico, especially Albuquerque and Sante Fe.
Paul
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Thanks Denise.
I sent an email to the embassy over a month ago and am still waiting for a reply. A visa site and our travel agent say that cruise ship passengers in port for only one day are covered by a blanket ship visa. Hope this doesn't suddenly change!
Paul
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We take home for granted a lot of the time. It's usually after we have traveled that we really appreciate all that we have here in gods own....New Zealand.;)
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This may have been covered already, but.....Visas.
I have been getting conflicting information on whether or not we require a visa pre cruise for Tunis. Some say there is a blanket visa if we take a ship excursion, Emerald Princess May 2015. By this date the ship may not even be calling into Tunis!
Yes, I have contacted the TA and looked into the Tunisia embassy website. The nearest embassy is in Australia.
We hold New Zealand passports and generally don't have any issues.
Worst nightmare would be refused boarding because we don't have appropriate visas!:eek:
Paul
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Hi,
Thanks for reply.:)
I guess it doesn't matter too much about the weather as long as the ship is good eh
How's the food?
Have a great trip.
Just arriving in Copenhagen.
Try Vines for a snack of tapas and / or sushi.
International Cafe for light snacks but watch the calories with the choice of pastries and cakes...gelato also.
Main dinning areas have the usual standard of food.
Horizon hasn't disappointed, but mainly dine in Michelangelo.
Crooners has a wonderful selection of stuffed olives.
There is always somewhere to eat but the service and quality is good no matter where on the ship. Oh, and the pizza is the best you'll have anywhere:D
Paul
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Hi Guys/Gals.
I'm looking forward to a 14 night cruise in the Med with a few friends on the Emerald this September (leaving from Southampton).
Have any here been on this ship and can let me know what they thought of it please?
Also...The bay of Biscay...Is it really that rough?:eek:
Hi,
We are onboard at present sailing the chilly Baltic. Hope it warms up for the next around the Med. Great ship & CREW:)
Paul
Taxi from EZE to hotel in BA and to port - how much?
in South America
Posted
They certainly are. We leave NZ on Saturday at 8pm and arrive in Buenos Aires at 4pm on Saturday after flying 12 hours.
Thanks for your review. I was interested in the fact you received a galley tour after the MTP lunch. We’ve been to a couple and also a few MTP cocktail parties, but never had that invitation.