sonia2509

We booked "Love London Taxi Tours" this August for a 4 hour private tour. David is the owner and operator, he was a London cabbie and he was wonderful. I highly recommend David

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I live in Brisbane and if you would like to see our beautiful beaches, Sunshine Coast is where to go. Mooloolaba, Alexandra Headlands, Dickey Beach or Caloundra are my picks. Noosa is lovely and they do have a protected beach but it is very commercialised and quite expensive. If you decide to go to the Gold Coast, stay away from Surfers Paradise and head for Coolangatta. You have long and wide stretches of white sand and beautiful water. Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast are often overlooked when people come and visit Australia, they are not as crowded, but the beaches are beautiful.

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Hi

 

Going on our first cruise( Very Excited !!) in Aug round the Baltics and looking forward to exploring places we haven't been to before.

 

 

 

At St Petersburgh we obviously need a tour guide and have narrowed it down to 2 (Main factor was light tour,limited time at museums as 2 kids would be moaning and price) but I can't find many reviews.Does anyone have any experience ( good or bad) with Smart Free Tours ( they have given us a private Itinerary at a cost) and Inside Tours ?? Is it normal for tour companies to request that you scan and email the front page of your passport?

 

 

 

Sorry for all the questions but really want to make the right choice.

We used Inside Tours on our cruise just last week. I have not yet submitted a review, but I can highly recommend Inside Tours. Very professional and efficient your guide and they worked around on what we wanted to see

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I am currently on the Eclipse and we have just left Tallinn, I can confirm that it is right regarding the mini bar, and the weather has been excellent except for yesterday in Copenhagen, where it was cold, wet and windy

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Pet Nit Noy you are always spot on with your comments! So far the cruise has been fantastic but it is very wet and cold in Stockholm at the moment. Looking forward to St Petersburg this Saturday and Sunday

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Len, will try to address your observations to my post:

 

- I am new to cruising and Cruise Critic. This was indeed my first post. No plans to disappear!

 

- I found Tzarina and Nina after trying to arrange a custom tour at the bigger sites and getting frustrated. Tzarina came up a bit further down the search list. They are a newer company, a few years in business, but Nina has worked many years as a guide.

 

- She charged 200 Euro + 20 Euro (visas) for a very long day, which I thought reasonable for a custom private tour. I think this may depend somewhat on her availability. Her willingness to do a private tour came up after I inquired on the site.

 

- From what I can tell the St. Petersburg Tour Companies are mainly a few large companies that are financially strong and to their credit all seem to do a good job. But the newer entrants also deserve consideration. Competition is a great thing.

 

- In the case of Nina, well, she's sort of spectacular...bubbly personality, lots of energy, understands off the beaten path, out of the box stuff. And I believe regular tours too. You don't have to take my word for it...any Internet search will bring her up - her reputation speaks for itself.

 

BR,

 

Tom

Well said not everyone wants to use the same companies as everyone else. I also tried the 3 main companies in SP and decided on Insider Tours as they at least did customise their tour that we will be on this Saturday. Out of the 3 main companies when I asked about customised tours, one never responded and the other 2 it was the same tours they offered but in different order

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We are on the same cruise, I understand it is docking just across the Vasa Museum and it is quite easy to go to the Vasa Museum with the HOHO ferry. If you go to the Ports of Calls - Europe- Northern Europe there are lots of threads discussing this.

Also the Roll Call has lots of information as well

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They don't make any money out of us. We book with the classic package and then upgrade for about $350 for both of us for a 12 night cruise. Between what I posted before which was only for one of us. Then we drink at least 6 bottles of sparkling water each, at least 3 coffees, at least one glass of wine at lunch and then a limoncello and amaretto after dinner we get our monies worth.

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The Celebrity rates only apply if you give them Australian cash to buy US. They charge onboard in USD so if you get US dollars elsewhere at a better rate, that is the rate that would apply for converting.

 

 

 

Also, you refer to the Premium package. However, you can go for the cheaper classic package, or just pay by drink, which often works out cheaper.

It all depends on how much you like to drink, if you like at least 2 coffees a day @ $5.50 each, sparkling water @ $4-5 each, 2 or 3 martinis @ $13 each, couple of glasses of wine at dinner and add 18% gratuities it adds up pretty quickly.

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If you purchase the beverage package, 18% gratuities is already included and you do not pay any extra once on board. We upgraded from classic to premium and did not pay any extra monies once we boarded. The classic package also includes coffees including specialities coffees.

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If you're not joking, they are the National League baseball team in New York.

Dont forget this is a world wide forum most of us who don't live in the States would have no idea the names of your sporting teams.

I cannot understand either how people can complain about small things when you are on holidays, we are so lucky that we can go on cruises and see different parts of the world, many people in this world will never be able to do this. As Monty Python said "always look on the bright side of life"

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When Jetstar leaves on time and flights are not cancelled they are quite good. You will need to pay for your baggage and they have very strict rules with carry on luggage, no more than 7kg is allowed to carry on and that includes a ladies handbag. Qantas and Virgin include 23 kg suitcase in the price, many times you need to compare all 3 airlines as Qantas and Virgin are very comparable in price when you include all the extras with Jetstar and Tiger Airlines

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Our first cruise was on Sun Princess to New Zealand and then the Diamond and then we try the Solstice last November to New Zealand again and we fell in love with the Solstice the moment we boarded for the following reasons:

Complimentary Mimosa on boarding for everyone

Warm towels prior to boarding when coming back from a cold port

Martini Bar

The elegant decor of the Solstice

Beautiful artwork on the ship, especially the beautiful pink vase on the way to the Specialty restaurants

Tuscan Grille

The friendly staff

Spotless ship

Younger demographic of passengers

The Lawn Deck

My list could go on and on. The food we found very similar to Princess very good in the MDR and buffet. Yes they only have 3 courses but you can ask for an extra course if you wish. We are not into shows so I cannot comment, but I have read the current shows are better on Princess. We loved the Solstice so much we booked a Baltic Cruise for August this year on the Eclipse and have also booked the South Pacific cruise for April 2017. At the moment Celebrity is our cruise line and yes you pay USD, but if you book when they have special deals eg Beverage package, free gratuities etc I feel you do come ahead with Celebrity. Hopefully you will love the Solstice ship as much as we do.

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Try Barclays. It is actually chip and pin although it defaults to signature first . My version has no exchange fee, not sure of others.

Barclays is not available in Australia and all our cards are chip and pin [emoji3]

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BankWest Credit card has nil overseas transactions fees. The exchange rate is also excellent.

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Correct, I would pick the Drink package and the OBC for this particular cruise. If it was more than 10 days, I would take the gratuities instead of the OBC.

The $300 obc was on top of the 2 perks I picked which was the beverage package and gratuities for $1750 for C2, I thought I got a pretty good deal [emoji3]

At the moment the Solstice is our favourite ship, we will be on the Eclipse in just over 3 weeks and I have heard it is the same or even better than the Solstice. Getting very excited [emoji926][emoji926]

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There would be no car hire at the Grain Terminal (Port of Brisbane) the address is for the cruise terminal which is much closer to the city. This link should help

https://www.portbris.com.au/PortBris/media/General-Files/Shipping%20Operations/Information-for-Cruise-Ship-Passengers-and-Visitors-to-the-Port-of-Brisbane-Multi_2.pdf

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MicCanberra was meaning the 2 of the Go Big Better Best, I booked Concierge C3 was automatically upgraded to C2 picked prepaid gratuities and classic beverage. Received $300 obc which will go to 2 specialities dining - Murano and Tuscan Grille and the balance to Internet which I will only use now and again. We will upgrade to premium beverage which I will pay for separately and will have no extra to pay, as I do not use the Casino, Spa or buy anything from the shops. The Solstice is a beautiful ship and for an Easter Break holiday the price is excellent plus you only need take a couple of days of annual leave due to the 2 public holidays.

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The prices were less a few months ago when I booked. I booked Concierge C3 with automatic upgrade to C2 as we're have cruised with Celebrity previously, 2 perks and $300 obc, for $1750 per person. We will upgrade and pay the premium drinks package and use the obc for dinner at Tuscan Grille and Murano and the balance to Internet. Celebrity is our preferred ship, and the suite will be fantastic due to all the extras.

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As per my recommendation, Moreton Island is my pick. Unfortunately many people do not know of this beautiful island and go to Fraser Island instead which is also fantastic but for me Moreton is like a piece of heaven on earth

http://www.visitmoretonisland.com/

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Definitely hire a car - our public transport system is not that good, especially the train. If one train breaks down or there is a signal failure you could be in for a long wait. We have one smart card for our Public transport system - Gocard which can be used for trains, ferries and buses, and I think there is a tourist Gocard as well. From the Brisbane airport to the cruise terminal either taxi or Uber unless there is a shuttle with Princess I am not sure. There is one recommendation I would do while you are in Brisbane/Gold Coast and take the Tangalooma Flyer over to Moreton Island for the day. Moreton Island is a pristine sand island in the Moreton Bay Area, it is a hidden paradise where many people from Brisbane have never been. You will be here during our hottest and most humid month, so pack lots of cool clothing and expect thunderstorms in the afternoon.

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Yes on board

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Do people really only cruise on a line because of the shows? I can't imagine that would be true to base a cruise choice on how good the shows are. After all the production shows only amount to roughly 3-4 hours of the entire cruise experience.

 

 

 

I can see people choosing a cruise based on food quality, but show quality, when there is usually other things that can be done, I kind of doubt it.

That is exactly what I thought when I read this thread. The shows are not that important to us, the food, atmosphere, the staff and the ship is more important than a show.

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It would be easier with Uber, if you are catching the City Cat during the morning commute as they do get very full with workers going to work. I would use the City Cat to see our beautiful city via the river and also take it at dusk and it is even more beautiful

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We visited Whitsundays late August/ September and the weather and water temperatures where perfect. I think you have a better chance of seeing the whales during this time but other people should be able to confirm this. Regarding the small cruise ships I am not able to help you with this, but your plans sound fantastic. Winter is the best time to see all these parts, it is not wet season and there will be no humidity. Good luck with your plans

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