WesternTrader

Thank you Western Trader. Extremely useful. Any links to the tour company/ies you have used please?

Apologies OP - not wanting to hijack your thread...

Raj.K

We used Best Guides - you could try contacting:<Dariya at bestguides-spb dot com>

As far as I am aware there is no discrimination between nationalities, but BG would be best placed to answer that question. You would certainly need to book in advance, as they need passport details to prepare the ticket (they send you a form for completion) and thus the visa. Again, I don’t know if there’s a minimum time required.

So we don’t continue to hijack this report, you can email me at <b d at blueyonder dot co dot uk> (no spaces etc) and I’ll gladly send you what I have.

WT

If you get a chance I’d love to see a menu or two from the YC restaurant – but please don’t go to any trouble. Thanks.

 

 

 

sure. I have included all of them in my review and blog also.

 

 

Plucsana

Sorry for the delay in responding, but I’ve been away...

Many thanks for these menus - it’s very kind of you.

WT

Hi Plucasana, Cruisers,

 

Thank you for posting about your experience.

 

We are to cruise on the Preziosa in late August to Northern Europe (from Copenhagen) calling at Stockholm, Tallinn, St Petersburg and Kiel.

 

Can you please help with the following questions:

 

1. Any guidance on the best/must do excursion(s) for these ports? (family with two teenage children)

 

2. Is it cheaper to book on board the ship or in advance? (is the price quoted in GBP (£) and Euro the same, i.e without exchange rate conversion?) Do Yacht Club cruisers enjoy discounted excursion, laundry, internet packages if booked on board or in advance?

 

3. MSC is offering a multi-excursion package of tours for Stockholm, Tallinn and St Petersburg at a reduced rate when compared to the individual tour prices. Your experiences on this multi-excursion package?

 

Thank you

Plucasana, I’m loving your review! We’re in YC on Preziosa next year and it’s nice to read about it. If you get a chance I’d love to see a menu or two from the YC restaurant – but please don’t go to any trouble. Thanks.

Raj.K; CruisingFox27

Firstly, the visa requirement is a myth promoted by the cruise lines to get you to use their tours. If you book a tour with a St Petersburg tour company your tour ticket (sent to you) acts as your visa.

Secondly, the independent tour companies are well practised in dealing with cruise passengers and will give you the best experience – their business relies on positive reviews on well-known travel websites!

We were on Serenade of the Seas last year and enjoyed a 2 night/3 day stay in this city. Before booking I researched what we wanted to do and then approached 3 or 4 companies to see if they could adapt their standard tours to accommodate my wish-list. Best Guides were quick to respond and able to deliver the itinerary we wanted, so we chose them. Apart from a boat trip on the canals (I recall this was weather related) we completed our entire list and even managed to visit some less well known tourist attractions including the “Gold Room” at the Hermitage (including a private tour with a Hermitage curator), the Naval Cathedral, the Summer Garden, the Choral Synagogue, a local market etc. Our tour cost US$1715 and that gave us a car (late model Mercedes), driver, tour guide, entrance fees to all attractions (I think I had to pay a camera charge somewhere, but I can’t remember where), a metro ride and the hydrofoil from Peterhof back to the city. The only thing I paid for was lunch – make sure you go to one of the “pie shops” for a good inexpensive and, more importantly, quick lunch. $1715 sounds a lot, but works out at $285 per 8+ hour day per person which is cheap compared to the cruise line tours. Incidentally, as a private tour we were able to walk past all the queues for the Hermitage, Catherine Palace, Peterhof etc and adjust the day to suit the weather and traffic.

Spending an hour researching the sights you want and emailing a few companies will pay dividends!

Enjoy your trip

WT

Appreciate these great comments and follow-ups above, from Randy, etc. Keep it coming!! Very helpful as we prepare for our Nov. 16-Dec. 6 cruise from Athens to Dubai.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 225,065 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

Terry

I’ve just returned from a Silver Whisper voyage travelling from Muscat to Civitavecchia and would add my comments to your Aqaba plans...

We visited Petra last year and I recall a total of a minimum 4 hours travelling (2+ there & 2+ back) and at least an hour to walk down the siq and an hour to walk back, so at least 6 hours - and that doesn’t give you much time for looking beyond the “Treasury”. The walk back is uphill (slight in places, but uphil nevertheless) all the way with no respite! As already stated by Randy, a horse buggy will get you part of the way but if you can walk you should, so that you can photograph the rock formations and general scenery. Your reports always include great visuals and I suspect you’d be disappointed to miss these photo opportunities. Another thing to consider is the port load for the day you visit. We were there with a couple of other ships and there were nearly 9.5k people in port - most of whom (it seemed) were visiting Petra. Frankly, it was a bit of a zoo and might add time to your visit (avoiding people “strolling” down/up the siq)

Secondly, travel problems don’t always affect everyone. Our return last year was delayed with a vehicle breakdown - we stood (in the heat) on the side of the road while other travellers sailed past. We made the ship in time, but incidents like this are out of your control and can be quite stressful!

Lastly, this year we elected to visit Wadi Rum. This was a real treat - the highlight of our trip. But Wadi Rum needs time. We were exhausted after 4 hours there - and we didn’t even scratch the surface. My notes for the day (with data supplied by my phone) tell me that we walked just over 10km (about 6 miles) and climbed the equivalent of 92 (yes, that’s ninety-two) flights. We climbed sand dunes, rock formations (including stone arches - as in Aches National Park, Utah) and hiked through ravines; the scenery was simply magnificent with, what I believe Americans call a “big sky” everywhere you looked. Of course, as the sun moved across the sky, so the light changed the colour of the rock formations - I understand that sunsets in the Wadi are impressive also. There were other people there, but nothing like the Petra experience.

I know the temptation is to cover as much as possible and your time in port may be sufficient, but there is a danger of cutting the time spent in one place too much and missing the complete experience.

Happy to provide any further help I can.

WT

We stayed at the Swissotel on Clarke Quay, which was convenient for the MRT as well as many restaurants on Clarke Quay. It was a 20 minute walk to Raffles - you should have a Singapore Sling (not cheap) as the Long Bar is a “must-see” (but try to book a table otherwise you might find they can’t accommodate you) and Chinatown was 15 minutes in the other direction. Plenty of food opportunities in Chinatown including frog porridge (!) and if you visit on a Saturday you should get to witness a Lion Dance (check out the times, as they’re posted around the market) which will make for great video. The Singapore Flyer (a giant Ferris Wheel) is worth a trip as well as a “bum-boat" trip up the Singapore river. Sentosa Island is a short MTR and cable car ride away and don’t miss the Gardens by the Bay for the Flower Dome, the Cloud Forest and the light and sound show which you can enjoy after dark at the Supertree Grove (http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en.html). Lastly, if gardening is “your thing”, the Botanical Gardens with its National Orchid Garden should be on your list.

That’s enough for 3 days, probably!

Next up is tours and ports.

 

I'm not sure if this is common in the region or around the world outside of America, but one thing that really surprised us was how far away from the listed cities the ship actually docked. I'll list below the advertised city, the actual port, and the travel time:

 

Shanghai - Baoshan (30-50 minute drive)

Kumamoto - Yatsushiro (1 hour to 1:15 drive)

Miyazaki - Aburatsu (1 hour to 1:15 drive)

Kochi - Kochi (10 minute drive from port to city center)

 

Singapore - Singapore (15 minute from airport to port, but also has good public transit)

Penang - Penang (Sounds like everything is within walking distance)

Bangkok - Laem Chabang (1:30 to 2 hour drive)

Ho Chi Minh - Phu My (1:30 to 2 hour drive)

 

We rarely book excursions through the ship, but with so many of these ports being far away we are considering it a lot more for this trip. Some ports, such as Phu My, require a lot of paperwork for tour companies to come into the port itself, so there isn't much choice other than going through the ship. For the Japanese ports we have a bit more options since the train lines are pretty thorough. As it is, we decided to do a tour through the cruise ship in Miyazaki, because there are two sites we really want to see that public transit doesn't visit, and for Kumamoto we are just going to take the bullet train up, and a regular train back to the ship.

 

We were also surprised to not find a lot of local tour options in the Japanese cities. We are so used to having a bunch of excursion choices, both through the ship and local companies, that it was a bit odd not finding much of anything. I think that might also partially be because that cruise is advertised as a "Culturally Enriching" cruise.

 

Kochi and Penang both seem like ports where we can just go on our own without an actual tour, but Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh we will likely book through Royal. Also interesting, Bangkok is an overnight stop; so that leaves us with some extra planning as well.

Having completed a SE Asia & China cruise in 2014 I have been following your planning with interest. As many have said, you can over-plan but starting with a broad idea of your requirements and needs will make for a less stressful experience.

I noted your comments about ship’s versus private tours in Thailand and Vietnam and thought I'd weigh-in with our experience. To start we were nervous about the distances the ports are from the cities to be visited, but after a good deal of research we decided to do Bangkok & HCMC (& Hanoi) with local tour companies. Bangkok was: tourwithtong@gmail.com and HCMC was done though: info@smiletoursvietnam.com. In both cases I sent a wish-list of the itinerary and the respondents advised what was possible in the time frame and the cost. It's worth remembering that these companies are quite used to arranging port entry and getting you back to the ship on time - it's a fundamental part of their business model and if they can't do this find a company who can! Subsequently, we chose to do a private tour in both these cities giving us schedule flexibility and it also meant that we didn't have to stop for long lunches or shopping - neither of which interested us. In addition, being in a car with a driver and guide meant that there was no parking involved - the driver stayed with the vehicle “going round the block” as necessary while we spent time in the sights and when we had finished he would be waiting right outside the door ready to whisk us away to the next stop. In this way we were able to travel much faster than the coach. As you are in Bangkok overnight there's less stress to get back on time on the first day and in fact when we visited this city we did a private tour on day one and a ship tour on day two. BTW - we also experienced an insane trishaw ride in HCMC which got you “up close and personal” with the thousands of motorbikes that congregate at every junction. Memorable!

True, private tours are not cheap, but I know we had a much better and more comfortable experience; on a tour bus you can only go as fast as the slowest and there's always someone who wants to do more shopping or get an ice-cream without thought for those people who have returned on-time and are kept waiting.

Lastly, currency. In Thailand we paid for the tour in Baht and in Vietnam they wanted US$. It seems that US$ are widely accepted in Vietnam, whereas Thailand require their own currency. We carried Baht and Dong but on both trips our guide paid for lunch and we reimbursed him - maybe we lost a bit on the rate, but in the great scheme of things the amount was insignificant - probably no more than a dollar or two. Our tour cost in Thailand was c10,000 Baht and Vietnam (just for HCMC) was cUS$300.

Whatever you decide, I'm sure you'll have a great time - full of incredible sights (e.g. the Buddha statues in Bangkok and the motorcycles in HCMC) and lasting memories.

WT

Wow, that's sounds a great B2B.

When you get to the Borghese gallery say “hi” to Paulina Borghese (Bonaparte) for me (https://italyxp.com/en/blog/rome/borghese-gallery-art-rome) - we love her… And, if you haven't seen them, the Bernini sculptures are breathtaking!

If art is your “thing” this little known palazzo:

http://www.doriapamphilj.it/roma/en/ in Rome (including another Bernini) is worth more than a passing glance.

Have a lovely time!

WT

Non-US citizens have an easy option; boycott the US until they treat would-be entrants in a civilised manner. As for the number of people with valid visas turned away, apparently due to their ethnicity or place of birth - like the UK teacher with a school trip, or the Australian MP on a parliamentary delegation, don't get me started . . .

 

Most US citizens I have met, not least on Celebrity cruises, have been wonderful, but your country's attitude to non-US citizens stinks to high heaven. There are enough other places on this planet to visit until people realise the reputational damage which is being caused.

 

 

Stuart

+1

We last visited the USA in 2007 and enjoyed a wonderful tour of the West Coast including some truly remarkable National and State Parks. But never again. We'd love to go back to visit some more places including Alaska, but the way we were treated by immigration and security on that visit left us with a feeling that we were an encumbrance. Recently, we were beginning to think that we'd risk another trip for the chance to see Alaska, but reports like this only serve to validate our earlier decision - we'll try the Antarctic or Svalbard instead.

As you state, the world is a big place and we now tour in places and countries where our hard earned tourist pounds are welcomed and valued!

To the OP - I'm sorry to hear your account and I hope the cruise somehow compensated for your poor initial experience. Try the Baltic and Saint Petersburg next time... even Russian officials don't make you wait nearly 5 hours; maybe they value the revenue!

WT

OP & UpwardUK - the following may be of interest.

We travelled to Saint Petersburg on Serenade this June (3 day stop) and I spent some time researching the city and what we wanted to see. Then I mailed SPB, Alla, TJ Travel and Best Guides with a list of my specific "extra" visits including the interior of Peterhof, a local food market, the Grand Choral Synagogue, the Fabergé Museum etc. The first 3 came back with their standard packages, but Best Guides actually read my list and responded with an itinerary that met my wish-list and we booked a private tour for my wife and I with them. I acknowledge that, being a private tour, it was more expensive than going on a ship tour or one of the small group tours offered, but the current model MB E Class, the driver that wouldn't let my wife open her own door (ever) and a guide who was genuinely interested in giving us a premium experience made our 3 days exceptional. With just the 2 of us in the car Irina (our guide) was able to adapt our schedule on the hoof as circumstances dictated and even offered us extra sites - but we were exhausted and declined. Additionally, there was no waiting for stragglers to return and the car was always outside the door when we exited - no long walks to coach parks!

Now a note on exiting the ship on the first day. We had heard horror stories about the queues for Russian immigration taking hours. Our scheduled arrival time was 7am, so we started queuing at 6:30 and were numbers 9 & 10 in the queue - shout out to Royal Caribbean for marshalling the queue throughout our wait to prevent people queue-jumping! At 7:15 we were allowed off and made our way to the immigration point. There were NO queues and we both walked up to desks for immediate attention and were through and outside by 7:20 - 40 minutes before our guide! But I acknowledge that your experience may be different and will largely depend on the number of ships using your immigration hall and whether they have just arrived, or already been through the process. It seems that some lines handle this part better than others.

To sum up, I suggest contacting a number of companies with your requirements and see who actually reads your list and offers you the best fit.

Good luck!

WT

Hi texasgirl

I've loved reading your review, particularly seeing many London sights through the eyes of a visitor - especially the pictures

The whimsical creatures you feature in post #15 are the "Kyng's Beestes" of King Henry viii. These are heraldic emblems or "supporters" which may be seen on the coats of arms of various kings. If you're interested, this site

http://patrickbaty.co.uk/2009/09/03/a-tudor-garden/

will give you a little more information or indeed you could try your favourite search engine!

Thanks again

WT

Have just received an email from X 'celebratiing how far we have come together'. Shame they've got the number of cruises and total number of nights sailed wrong. Oh and they don't seem to have a record of our upcoming cruise in March, only the one in November.

 

Doesn't fill you with confidence does it?!!

And I thought it was just me...

Like you, they quoted the incorrect number of cruises & days and asked me how we enjoyed Luminae and Michaels Club - we last sailed in a suite in 2011!

Disgraceful - if this was my IT dept I'd sack them all and get some 6 year olds in to do the job properly - they'd almost certainly know more than the current lot. Additionally, if I was a shareholder I'd be asking some searching questions at the AGM.

Until they sort this mess out I'll be trying other cruise lines' websites and researching their offers.

WT

Thank you for yet more words of wisdom from this well-travelled, experienced and fantastic community.

In my planning, I assumed that US$ bills would be attractive to restaurateurs, but on reflection, while using a cc may be slightly less favourable, it would probably be safer and I'd be happier not carrying bundles of bills around!

I can get new bills from my bureau de change Which will satisfy my tour operators and I have a cc that doesn't charge a foreign currency fee.

Time to look for the bucket and spade...

Thanks again

WT

Hello WT. We are scheduled to go to Otway Reserve in late January so after reading your post, I contacted NCL to ask if they were aware of this situation and they were not and unfortunately the other penguin excursions offered for this port are booked up. We booked this excursion as a backup in case we weren't able to make our stop at the Falklands Islands. Guess we'll have to keep our fingers crossed for good weather.

Hello Ruth

By coincidence, I think we're in Punta Arenas on the same day (22nd)!

From my previous comment you will see that Celebrity also appear unaware that the penguins are no longer there - either that or they (or their tour operators) still want to sell the tours and have decided not to break cover until it's too late for passengers to make alternative arrangements...

Mindful that the weather sometimes prevents ships docking or tendering (and similarly to your plans), this excursion was our back up to Peurto Madryn where we hope to catch sight of a colony.

I am unable to recommend Solo Expediciones (as my previous note), but they (Sally) responded very quickly to my enquiry and at less than $90 were considerably cheaper than the same Magdalena Island trip offered by the cruise ship. Time will tell if this was a wise decision.

Enjoy your cruise

WT

WesternTrader: I assuming that you are on a South American itinerary. We were on the Infinity for a B2B2B series of cruises in South America starting mid-February 2015 in Buenos Aires. Given the "blue" market peso situation in Argentina we actually carried much more American cash than we have ever carried on any other trip. We also were able to purchase traveler's checks (which, quite frankly, weren't that easy to find) which we then cashed on the ship to obtain the US currency we needed for our private shore excursions. The US currency we received from Guest Relations on the Infinity was in great shape with no torn edges or folds.

 

One British couple who also did the B2B2B actually stayed for several days in Florida prior to flying to Buenos Aires, and were able to use ATMs daily to stock up on US dollars.

Thank you Northern Aurora

I’d read about the “blue” market in Argentina and was going to ask my guide for some help in exchanging some dollars. I have 10 days of Brazil and Argentina before boarding and was rather hoping to avoid carrying loads of $ bills between hotel safes. As you point out, travellers’ cheques are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain so, as in my previous note, it looks like a fat moneybelt!

If I may trouble you further, from your experience of SA tour operators, are they happy with $100 bills or do they prefer smaller denominations (which I understand could be done on the ship)? Also, did you have any experience of restaurants – do they prefer local currency or will they accept $ bills?

Thanks again

WT

WT, we have a large group from our roll call that had booked an Otway Sound tour Christmas week. Our provider contacted us last week to tell us the facility is closed, most likely for the season. Pollutants from a mining operation have chased the penguins to a cleaner area, regretfully not a place tourists can reach.

 

Hopefully your cruise goes to other places to see penguins. There is also an island penguin tour, but it sometimes is canceled due to sea conditions.

Thank you Startrain

I thought I had heard this and it’s very kind of you to confirm my suspicions…

Hopefully we’ll still get a chance to see them – I’m going to take a chance on the Magdalena Island trip with Solo Expediciones, but it’s interesting to note that Celebrity are still offering the “Penguins of Otway Sound” tour on the website…

Thanks again and enjoy your trip!

WT

Thank you all for your words of wisdom

I was planning to use my $ currency card in the ATM, but from some of your comments regarding the machine, that might be a risky strategy.

Plan B then – a fat money belt!

Thanks again for your prompt guidance - your help is appreciated

WT

I'm hoping some kind person can help me...

We're on Infinity early next year and our (independent) excursions have asked for payment in US$. Naturally, I’d like to avoid starting the land bit of our trip with loads of cash, but I have never used the on-board ATM machine before and I have a couple of questions:

1) Is it (the on-board ATM) always loaded with US$ even when travelling outside the US & Caribbean (i.e. South America)?

2) Is it reliable enough to guarantee I’ll be able to withdraw the cash I need – in other words is it ever “off-line” or “out of service” and if so, do I have any other options?

Thank you

I wonder if a recent visitor to Otway Sound could confirm (or otherwise) whether the penguins have left. I have read somewhere that they had gone due to mining activity, but my internet searches have proved fruitless. We are travelling in January so they should still be there, but I'd be grateful for any further insight anyone can offer before booking tours.

Thank you

WT

Where did all these people come from? Every room bursting with amateur photographers. Scusi!, excuse me, coming through, pardon me, sorry was that your foot?

 

We struggled to hear Monica, who really knew her stuff, speak through the din.

It was hot and stuffy and leather jacket Norris needed some fresh air.

 

In a corridor was an open window.....I looked out...

 

 

The Ponte Vecchio as it should be seen-from afar, straddling the beautiful river Arno.

 

 

Back to the paintings and one I did like-the only one here by Michelangelo

 

 

The following I am in the dark about-don't know the painters;

 

 

 

Hello Bimmer

Loving your review and pictures which have brought back many happy memories of holidays spent in Venice, Rome and now Florence.

I guess you must be interested in art or you wouldn’t have photographed, posted or asked about these pictures, so without wishing to sound geeky or nerdy, here goes… (Bimmer and anyone else – if you’re not interested, scroll to the next post!)

Firstly, if you get back to Florence a trip into Orsanmichele (the exterior is pictured in post 479) will reveal an intricate and richly decorated interior along with a number of fine sculptures all of which will not disappoint.

Secondly, the last 3 pictures in this post are (no 1) Pope Leo X by Rafael, whose tomb (Raphael’s) can be found in The Pantheon!; nos 2 & 3 are both by Gerrit van Honthorst (a Dutch artist) – “Supper Party and “Adoration of the Child”. The Uffizi website confirms that his work was heavily influenced by Caravaggio and if you get back to Valetta anytime be sure to check out his (Caravaggio’s) “The Beheading of St John the Baptist" in St John’s Co-Cathedral where you’ll see similar lighting – again, worth a detour.

Lastly, on the right hand side (and stretching over the Ponte Vecchio) of the first photo you can see Vasari’s Corridor (red tiled roof) – another angle of this structure can be seen in your pictures taken from the Ponte Vecchio in post 497 (pic no 5 in that post). This is another hidden treasure in Florence. Built in just 6 months by Vasari on the orders of the ruling Medici it allowed them (the Medici) to commute from their home in the Pitti Palace (south of the Arno and also well worth a visit) to their workplace or office (Uffizi – geddit?) without coming into contact with the residents or the butchers' shops that used to line the bridge. The original bus or commuter lane!

Now back to the story…

WT

I've just returned from an Eclipse voyage to Iceland & the Fjords and liver was on the menu at least twice - when I spotted it, it had replaced the NY Strip on the "always available" side of the menu. The chicken & salmon options were always there but, if I recall correctly, the NY Strip only made fleeting appearances during the 14 day voyage (though it was definitely there on the last night).

The Cathedral of Luminaries is, in fact, an abandoned old stone quarry – a giant empty cave. It has been converted into a series of projectors and speakers and they have various custom “shows” that are projected on the now blank white stone walls. It was actually quite spectacular and cool. The current main show focused on the works of Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci – sadly, Donatello did not make the cut. As a quick aside, we were quite disappointed that we didn’t get to complete the “Ninja Turtle Art Tour” and find any works of Donatello. I think he had some in the Uffizi in Florence, but as I noted, it was not meant to be. Anyway, we walked in at the “End” of the show, which was showing Michelangelo’s works with an epic sound track in the background. After watching the show in its entirety (they also had a shorter “intermezzo show” of various weird stuff), we piled back in and headed to Les Baux.

You're on your honeymoon and don't need to be answering these comments, so I'll keep it brief...

1) Congratulations on your wedding- I wish you a long and happy life together

2) Loving the review with the clever picture stitches and entertaining comments

3) Your missing turtle for the set (Donatello) could be found at The Bargello (a statue of David) or not far from where you had lunch - San Lorenzo church, where there is a particularly fine pulpit!

Thanks for taking the time to do this!

WT

Hi Blueberry

Thank you for posting your experiences.

I prefer the smaller groups and I can now approach our tour selection with your comments in mind

Thanks again

WT

Hi Miaminice

Thanks for answering all my questions and for the list of tours you kindly forwarded.

Netobjects certainly looks like a simple programme – I’ll have to give it a try…

Thanks again

WT