ssawjo

First of all, the laws also apply to cruises that start/end in Galveston.

 

The law involved says that alcohol served in Texas (so it would apply to the ship until it is out of Texas waters) must have been purchased from a Texas distributor.

 

Obviously alcohol purchased from Texas distributors costs more than the way it is normally purchased by Princess. (Maybe it includes federal and Texas alcohol taxes?) So, Princess has chosen to only purchase a limited quantity of a limited number of brands from Texas distributors. That is why the drinks are limited when you first board the ship.

 

By the way, another Texas law that has started to be enforced in the past year in both Galveston and Houston is that any alcohol purchased out of state must pay a Texas tax when brought into Texas. It does not matter if you will be taking it out of Texas in a couple of hours, the tax must still be paid.

And I thought that the old Blue laws were bad.

Question: does this restriction include beer? Does the restriction include a minibar set up in a suite/elite? I intent to bring two bottles of wine onboard, purchased in TX, so can I assume that will be ok to consume in cabin? Also, the ship is leaving on a Sunday, any other restrictions about that?

Really, if I had known all of this before I would not have chosen to sail out of Houston on the CB in January.

Thanks,

Bill

School holidays (between Terms 1 and 2) in Australia (depending on the state) are generally around the 1st two weeks of April, so it looks like you avoid that by being on your cruise.

 

We went to Uluru once in April and it was a pretty good time to go. The flies were out in full force, but the weather was nice--not too hot.

 

Sydney in late April should be nice as well.

Good info to have. I'll take bug spray. Also to TCLOhio for his insight.

Great information on this thread. Thank you all. My DW and I are planning, and have reserved, a cabin on the Sun Princess from Sydney to Sydney for 20 days. The itinerary is to PNG, Guadalcanal, Vanuatu, and return. We are planning on stopping on the way to Sydney in Auckland, NZ, for four to five days and explore the area, fly over to Sydney, board the ship, do the cruise, and then when we return, spend several days in Australia. The cruise leaves on 5 April 2017.

Is this a good time of year? Summer is over? Maybe? Also, thinking of doing a side trip to Uluara (sic) or Ayers Rock (sorry, not sure of the spelling of the rock) and I know that is a long ways away from Sydney.

Any comments or suggestions are always appreciated. Thanks.

Bill and Kathi

This cruise definitely needs looking into. The balcony price is reasonable. I will make inquires via my TA. Thanks for the info.

Bill

Here's the planned itinerary... They're calling it the "4 Continent Grand Adventure"

 

LONDON (SOUTHAMPTON), Rome (Civitavecchia), Naples (for Capri & Pompeii), Sicily (Messina - for Mt. Etna & Taormina), Suez Canal Transit, Aqaba (for Petra), Dubai (overnight), Cochin, Phuket, Singapore, Ko Samui, Bangkok (Laem Chabang), Bali (Benoa), PERTH (FREMANTLE)

Is there a scheduled departure date set yet?

Just had a few or more on the Crown recently. It is pretty good, not the greatest, but better than Bud.

We are also just off the Crown and had a great cruise. Went to the zoo in San Diego. Obtained tickets from AAA at a discount and took a cab ($16). We were the first ones into the zoo and went immediately to the panda exhibit. There were two of them and one was very active, the newest one, and mom was in a tree asleep. We stayed for a few hours. Lunch at the zoo is very expensive, so plan ahead. Took a cab back and it was $15. Not sure why. Did not get off at Ensenada. Been there recently twice. The crew was great, food good to excellent, entertainment ok. Great get away. Embarkation was IMO slow but disembarkation was very quick. I have no complaints about the mattress. I think I can sleep on almost anything but the pillows need changing.

Visited Crown Grill and Sabatini's. Both very good but Crown is our favor. Sabatini's was not very busy. It is sort of a hassle to get there.

Any questions, let me know.

Bill and Kathi

Great review, thank you. We will be on the Crown this coming Tuesday but are going to San Diego.

Bill

As I am contemplating an Alaska cruise this summer on either SS Shadow or the Regal Navigator, I found the comparison very interesting. However, I found the term "wine barbarians" insulting. My wife and I drink whatever we like but usually go by the white with this and red with that theme. We first glance at the menu and decide. But if the red being offered is very good, then I choose the red. My wife usually prefers a chardonnay but will go with a red if she wants a steak or something.

We had only done one SS cruise and found it to be very nice. From the crew to our fellow passengers, all was great. However, there were some folks, Germans I believe, that did not like the formal dress code. I really did not care.

Interesting comment regarding shore excursions by the OP. Regal does have "free excursions" but if they are not any good, then SS would be the better choice. A comparable cruise is about $1500 less on SS. But Regal provides free air fare, which, of course, is included in the original price.

Not sure what I will do if anything.

Happy cruising,

Bill

Hi Bill,

 

I checked with Rami, and they skipped the Falklands and then Ushuia and went straight to Punta Arenas. I figure the weather forecast was bad for the run down to Tierra del Fuego and the Captain decided to skip the Falklands to give him more time to get through the bad weather as quick as possible. Its his choice. Interestingly they actually went back and stopped in Ushuia the day after PA.

 

Rather a shame for those who missed seeing the Falklands and not nice for the Falklanders who missed out on yet another cruise ship visit.

 

Happy holidays to you both.

Thanks for that info. Very interesting.

Happy Holidays to both of you also.

Bill and Kathi

Received this from a friend who took a tour with Patrick Watts on the Falklands. Interesting comment from Mr. Watts regarding the Shadow on its return visit.

"Original note to: "Patrick J Watts" <pwatts@horizon.co.fk Subject: Re: Our tour on 30th November > Hi Patrick> > We have returned from our travels and I just wanted to say thank you again > for organising our tour to Bertha's Beach etc. All 12 of us agreed that it > was the best shore excursion of the whole cruise.> > We were lucky that we managed to get ashore. the tender trip back was very > hairy with many failed attempts to get alongside including one severe bump > which damaged the tender. We heard that when the Silver Shadow return to > Stanley a week or so later it was unable to get the passengers off.> > Is there anywhere on the web that you would like me to add a very positive > review?>

Response:

Hello Mr. Michael , Thank you for your e-mail and kind words about the tour that you took with us to Bertha's Beach on 30th November. It was pleasure to have you and your wife take the tour with me. I'm always pleased to hear back from my passengers regardless of whether they have all positive points to make, or can offerconstructive criticism that we can act upon. I was quite concerned about you getting back on board giving the high waves and the tender situation. It was quiet amazing really as the following week the weather was much kinder with less wind but for some reason the ship decided not to call. There has been a strong wind forecast but it failed to materialize so I guess it would be unfair to blame the captain as he has to take the passengers safety into account. If you could kindly give the Bertha's Beach tour a mention on Cruise Critic or Trip Advisor then that would be much appreciated. It is fairly new tour that I am offering and a safer and secure shorter type tour for those not wishing to take a longer and less relaxing tour. Also it combines two species of penguins with a general interest type tour which is quite unique as no-one else offers that particular tour combination. Many thanks for booking with me. Kind regards, Patrick Watts.

Interesting, hum?

Bill and Kathi

Wandered past the Park Hyatt in BA yesterday afternoon and bumped into Bill, who was leaving, but still had time to remind me that we didnt win at Trivia every day, ha ha Bill.

 

Also found Clare and her travel group who had been to the Igasu Falls and then back to BA.

 

I must say I am really impressed with the BA Park Hyatt, its a lovely hotel. Staff are a Little bit argy, but otherwise accepable.

Great seeing you one more time. Too bad we did not have time for a drink. The Park Hyatt in BA is beautiful but the staff leaves a lot to be desired. It took almost 20 minutes to get five ice teas. They were very good once they arrived.

Yes, Silver, you did not win ALL the time. My team actually won once and placed several times. I think once Hyperion Knight left the ship and your team in Ushuaia, your fortunes went down.

Otherwise, agree with everything said. Weather sometimes poor but on certain days, especially the Falklands, it was great. I was with Clare's travel group and everyone had a great time. Iguassu Falls is amazing and a must see. We saw others from the Silver Shadow there enjoying themselves and I know another couple were arriving the day we returned to BA.

Till we meet again,

Bill and Kathi

For South Africa, if you have been to a yellow fever country, then they require it. We had it for our trip in January, but it was not even scrutinized when we returned back to South Africa from Zimbabwe. Supposedly if you go to Zimbabwe , you have to have the yellow fever shot or the certificate saying that you have a waiver from the shot.

We also visited Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe side. Nothing about having to have a yellow fever shot when we returned to South Africa.

Odd, my wife, son, and I have visited South Africa in the recent past and never had a yellow fever shot. I really don't think it is required. However, I strongly suggest malaria pills if you are going into a malarial area. But yellow fever, I don't think so. Again, I am not a health care professional by any means. Just that we never have had the yellow fever vaccination for South Africa. If you are going on to some other country in Africa, for example, Ghana, etc., then yes, it is required. I know nothing about waivers. Good luck.

Has anyone used Solo Expediciones in Punta Arenas for a trip to Magadelana Island? I have e-mailed them several times to get details and have yet to receive a response from them. Just wondering if they are more reliable than they seem to be judging only on quick response times.

I was planning to book a tour to Isla Magdalena with them but decided not to. The price was acceptable BUT, for some reason, they wanted everyone's name, nationality, and passport number. The latter was unacceptable. They have no need for a passport number. However, they did respond to my inquiry in a timely manner. Not sure why they are not doing that for you.

Bill

I went on Princess.com this morning and the prices are way up for the new African cruise, yesterday a balcony was just over $7000 and this morning its up to $7899! I'm expecting the prices to drop, do you think they are using reverse psychology??? :rolleyes:

Ibfern, it may be because the port costs for the new destinations are higher; otherwise, it may be reverse psychology.

That's it! I am swearing off bat burgers for good! ;):p:rolleyes:

Good one, LOL!!!

We are sorry for any disappointment these changes may cause, and appreciate your understanding.

Well, it happened. Princess has decided, out of an overabundance of caution, to cancel several West Africa ports that are ebola free. Not happy, but what can you do. We are reviewing our options and will see how things shake out.

Bill

This can only be a result of the Ebola hysteria.

 

There have been no reported cases of Ebola in Ghana, Togo, or Benin (less cases than have occurred in the USA). There was a case of a traveler to Senegal. Nigeria also had one case of a traveler and was cleared by the World Health Organization before the United States.

 

The cruise is scheduled for next year. Who in Princess or elsewhere for that matter can accurately prophesy the health conditions anywhere in the world a year in advance?

 

Just a note: We lived in Africa for 13 years including 5 of those years in West Africa (2 in Liberia).

Totally agree!

Recently on the Golden, we were in a window suite (very nice BTW) and had Anytime Dining. I would call the DINE line to reserve a table for a certain time first thing in the morning. Initially, the lady said that it was either 5:45 or 8 PM. That is a no go. I then informed her, nicely of course, that we are in a suite and gave her our suite number. THEN we got the time we wanted, no problem. So, the moral of the story is that make sure you mention that you are in a suite and give the DINE line your suite number.

As you can see below, we are booked on the Ocean Princess from Cape Town to Dover next May. We have no intention of cancelling. I think you have a greater chance of contracting malaria than ebola. We are scheduled to stop in Senegal, Ghana, Benin, and Togo. Only Senegal had ONE case of ebola. I do expect, if things don't change for the better, Princess will cancel some ports and schedule others. HAL has already cancelled their port stop in Ghana. Ghana is a developing country and there have been no cases of ebola. I read on another thread that Silversea cancelled their West Africa port stops and added St. Helena Island and Ascension Island. I will monitor the situation and if I don't feel safe, I wouldn't get off the ship.

Bill

Great review. We were onboard with you for this trip. Really enjoyed Santa Barbara and did a wine tasting, self guided tour. Most the tasting rooms are between the 101 and the sea off of State Street, to the east. Did not get off in Ensenada because we were there the previous cruise but did the same tour as you but with a different guide, Leslie. Nice tour. I agree with all of comments and I too was very surprised to go onto the promenade deck to do my morning run and see we never left. But as I started my run, the ship started to leave and it was a very enjoyed sail away.

Great pics, BTW.

Re. The original question....it's all down to the ship. Working in the Falklands tourist industry, it is clear that some ships have more trouble with the harbour than others. Some ships might cancel 3 or 4 Times a season, while others never cancel.

 

Some are more manoeuvrable, some are more risk-averse. Some drag their anchors in strong winds, others find sheltered spots.

 

So, if you have your heart set on seeing penguins in the Falklands, choose a smaller ship, and one capable of Antarctic landings.

 

Then there are the ships which bow to political pressure from the neighbours.....

 

By the way, the non-resident penguins are starting to return this week. Am off to Sealion island tomorrow for a recce.

Glad to hear the "non-resident" penguins are starting to return. Sort of like snow birds in Arizona. We will be visiting the Falklands on Nov. 30 on the Silversea Shadow. It is a smaller ship and hopefully there will be no problems. I will let everyone know what happens when I return.

Bill

Sorry, you can't expect to be able to do this.

 

US Airways has no lounge at Heathrow. I don't know if your membership or pass allows you entry to the Admirals Club where there's no US Airways Club, and I also don't know whether there's a rule that you must be flying AA or US in order to get in. You'd have to look this up.

 

More importantly, although it is theoretically possible that you might somehow be able to get to the airside departures area of the terminal where these lounges are, it is not easy to do so - you are likely to be discouraged at every turn if not positively prevented from getting there. And even if you get as far as the door of the lounge, if you are not departing from the terminal in which the lounge is (which, in relation to the AA and UA lounges, is the case for your itinerary), the lounge is supposed to refuse you entry on that ground. This is an airport rule, applied to all lounges.

 

That's why I said above that the only lounge that you can expect to be able to get into is a pay-per-use arrivals lounge, like the AA lounge in T3.Yes, no problem. There is a London Underground help desk near Excess Baggage, and I think ticket machines too, and ISTR that there is also a ticket desk downstairs at platform level.

Well, that idea is out. It was just a thought. I will continue to consider the other three options, going into London, staying at T5, or getting a hotel room for a few hours. I appreciate your comments and suggestions.

Bill