Trivia for PG Cruises Passengers

[south seas sue]

Hmmnn.........well, that basically gives you a whole afternoon and early evening. One suggestion I have is to visit Laguna Beach. You may have heard of it, it is a great artsy beach town in Orange County, about an hour from LAX. There are great restaurants, and the best thing about it is the views of the ocean. There is a wonderful cliff=side park called Heisler Park you can walk along and watch the sea life and rocks, and lovely views in the ocean below. Nice restaurants with that view as well, including a Mexican place called Las Brisas. It has great gardens connected to Heisler Park - you could drive to Laguna and have lunch there, and spend time walking the quaint town. There is also a great patio at the back of the Laguna Hotel, that overlooks the beach. It could be absolutely great in February - sunny and warm. Of course, it could be rainy too - like it is now!

 

You can also drive to Santa Monica, which is only about 15-20 minutes from LAX. They also have a cliffside park, and many restaurants to choose from, in addition to the pier with a merry go round......

 

If you have a ZAgat Guide you can select restaurants........if there is something specific in mind you would like to ask me about, let me know.......

 

(signing off now - in the pouring rain!)

[scandun]

Hmmnn.........well, that basically gives you a whole afternoon and early evening. One suggestion I have is to visit Laguna Beach. You may have heard of it, it is a great artsy beach town in Orange County, about an hour from LAX. There are great restaurants, and the best thing about it is the views of the ocean. There is a wonderful cliff=side park called Heisler Park you can walk along and watch the sea life and rocks, and lovely views in the ocean below. Nice restaurants with that view as well, including a Mexican place called Las Brisas. It has great gardens connected to Heisler Park - you could drive to Laguna and have lunch there, and spend time walking the quaint town. There is also a great patio at the back of the Laguna Hotel, that overlooks the beach. It could be absolutely great in February - sunny and warm. Of course, it could be rainy too - like it is now!

 

You can also drive to Santa Monica, which is only about 15-20 minutes from LAX. They also have a cliffside park, and many restaurants to choose from, in addition to the pier with a merry go round......

 

If you have a ZAgat Guide you can select restaurants........if there is something specific in mind you would like to ask me about, let me know.......

 

(signing off now - in the pouring rain!)

 

Many thanks for your suggestion, I think it could be a good option to go to Laguna Beach, if we are not too tired after the first flight. I remember there is a Mexican place near Union Station in LA, is Las Brisas similar to that place ? It was very windy at Santa Monica pier last time we were there in Feb. but we enjoyed a nice lunch at a seafood restaurant. Maybe you could help me with another suggestion. After our cruise in FP, we will stay 3 days in California before going back home. I was thinking to visit San Diego, but maybe you could recommend some nice resort located between LA and San Diego ? Thanks again. I have been busy with work and no time to book anything yet till now.

[scandun]

Don't worry, it won't feel crowded. I've been on the ship several times when she's been full and it has not been a problem. I'm glad they are managing to fill the ship to that extent, I am rooting for them to succeed.

 

Oh, and you might tell your travel agent that youare amenable to a discounted upgrade, if offered--sometimes they have trouble filling the more expensive cabins. Although don't bother just upgrading to a higher deck with the same sized cabin--you really have to jump to deck 8 to make a difference from an ordinary balcony (but then again if you have a porthole or a window, a balcony upgrade would be great too.)

 

Wendy, from your experience, is it normal that none of the excursions are fully booked while the ship cabins are almost ?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Hmm. Well, that depends--the online booking of excursions is fairly new, and I don't even know if pgcruises is still doing this--are they?

 

There has usually been available onboard for most things in the past, except for the most sought-after trips, like the Dolphin Watch or the jetskis. But this is the past.

 

It may be that more folks are booking independent providers, waiting to find someone at the dock, or perhaps just rolling their own.

 

Regent had jacked their excursion prices up quite high, presumably PGC is keeping them high, so that might account for it.

 

Sorry I can't do more than speculate wildly.

[south seas sue]

I think if you have 3 days it would be fun for you to visit San Diego. I love it. You could take the Amtrack or what they call the Surfliner from downtown Union Station. You can probably get a shuttle to Union Station from your hotel. It will take 2-3 hours to get there, with stops at lots of quaint beach towns along the way, like San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, and Del Mar. At the station in San Diego there is a shuttle you can take that will visit many of the major attractions in SD. There are battleships to visit there of course, along with the San Diego Zoo. The Zoo is part of a wonderful place called Balboa Park, which has wonderful Natural History, Art, and other museums, lovely gardens, as well as the Zoo. A visit there would occupy you for sure. Plus, there is a great restaurant in Balboa Park called the Prado. I would say, go for San Diego!

 

BTW, near Union Station in LA you must be talking about Olvera Street - a walk street across from the train station that is the site of the first settlement in Los Angeles - the old Plaza is near there as well. Quaint shops, and a couple of Mexican restaurants in Olvera Street.

 

Hope you have a lovely trip to FP (my fave destination!), and stay in LA.

 

(Still raining)

[scandun]

Hmm. Well, that depends--the online booking of excursions is fairly new, and I don't even know if pgcruises is still doing this--are they?

 

There has usually been available onboard for most things in the past, except for the most sought-after trips, like the Dolphin Watch or the jetskis. But this is the past.

 

It may be that more folks are booking independent providers, waiting to find someone at the dock, or perhaps just rolling their own.

 

Regent had jacked their excursion prices up quite high, presumably PGC is keeping them high, so that might account for it.

 

Sorry I can't do more than speculate wildly.

 

Yes they have online booking with deadline around one week before departure.

In that case I might also check with independent tour providers upon arrival at the different islands.

Sorry they say 2 excursions are fully booked, the romance escape to Bora Bora ( dinner + over water bungalow stay for one night ) and a golf play on Moorea, but still possible to send request to tour operators, I get confused.

 

I still have one more question, about internet use. Is it possible to purchase a local phone chip for my laptop use in Papeete or other islands and what will be the cost ? The onboard internet charge is not cheap, but the ship will dock at islands for a lot of the day time.

[scandun]

I think if you have 3 days it would be fun for you to visit San Diego. I love it. You could take the Amtrack or what they call the Surfliner from downtown Union Station. You can probably get a shuttle to Union Station from your hotel. It will take 2-3 hours to get there, with stops at lots of quaint beach towns along the way, like San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, and Del Mar. At the station in San Diego there is a shuttle you can take that will visit many of the major attractions in SD. There are battleships to visit there of course, along with the San Diego Zoo. The Zoo is part of a wonderful place called Balboa Park, which has wonderful Natural History, Art, and other museums, lovely gardens, as well as the Zoo. A visit there would occupy you for sure. Plus, there is a great restaurant in Balboa Park called the Prado. I would say, go for San Diego!

 

BTW, near Union Station in LA you must be talking about Olvera Street - a walk street across from the train station that is the site of the first settlement in Los Angeles - the old Plaza is near there as well. Quaint shops, and a couple of Mexican restaurants in Olvera Street.

 

Hope you have a lovely trip to FP (my fave destination!), and stay in LA.

 

(Still raining)

 

Would you not suggest rent a car from LAX and drive directly to SD ? That was my initial plan but I could not find a nice car to rent......

Yes it was Olvera street, probably I mixed up with Mexican things.

[south seas sue]

Scandun, of course you can drive if you wish. However, the train trip is scenic, it runs often, and it is not too expensive. Also saves wear and tear of driving, and the expense of renting a car for one day. As I know that there are shuttles available from the train station in SD to wherever you might want to go in the way of attractions, I just thought the train would be easy, and a fun thing to do. If you want to drive, by all means do - you are mostly on the freeway all of the way, not travelling on the coast, but if you wish to see, for example, San Juan Capistrano and the Mission there, you can just follow signs and get off the freeway.

 

Let me know if I can be of any more help.

 

:D

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Yes they have online booking with deadline around one week before departure.

In that case I might also check with independent tour providers upon arrival at the different islands.

Sorry they say 2 excursions are fully booked, the romance escape to Bora Bora ( dinner + over water bungalow stay for one night ) and a golf play on Moorea, but still possible to send request to tour operators, I get confused.

 

I still have one more question, about internet use. Is it possible to purchase a local phone chip for my laptop use in Papeete or other islands and what will be the cost ? The onboard internet charge is not cheap, but the ship will dock at islands for a lot of the day time.

 

I can't imagine someone paying for the "romance escape" in Bora Bora--not worth it I think, considering how lovely the ship is.

 

As for internet, dont' know how you can do other than buying a sim card, if you have a GSM phone. Best bet for cheap internet is to find an internet cafe on shore, I think most ports have them.

[scandun]

I can't imagine someone paying for the "romance escape" in Bora Bora--not worth it I think, considering how lovely the ship is.

 

As for internet, dont' know how you can do other than buying a sim card, if you have a GSM phone. Best bet for cheap internet is to find an internet cafe on shore, I think most ports have them.

 

Yes I mean a sim card, for the laptop, not for the cellphone.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Sorry, I've never heard of a sim card for a laptop. Is this a new thing with netbooks?

[scandun]

No I don't think it is new. It looks the same as a sim card for cellphone. Just put it in a wireless device and plug into the usb socket of the laptop and you can log onto internet whereever there is cellphone signal ( where the service is provided ) maybe in some countries this card can be used for cellphone as well.

[scandun]

Scandun, of course you can drive if you wish. However, the train trip is scenic, it runs often, and it is not too expensive. Also saves wear and tear of driving, and the expense of renting a car for one day. As I know that there are shuttles available from the train station in SD to wherever you might want to go in the way of attractions, I just thought the train would be easy, and a fun thing to do. If you want to drive, by all means do - you are mostly on the freeway all of the way, not travelling on the coast, but if you wish to see, for example, San Juan Capistrano and the Mission there, you can just follow signs and get off the freeway.

 

Let me know if I can be of any more help.

 

:D

 

Now that I have found a nice car to drive, and after searching a bit on the internet, I will probably rent that car and stay at a nice quiet hotel in Oceanside. That gives easy access to sights in San Diego and also saves some time when we get back to take flight home from LAX. Of course we will also visit the places you recommended. Maybe next time we will take the Surfliner, as the return schedule is tight to catch our flight.

[south seas sue]

If you were to consider staying in San Diego, I would like to recommend the Loews, on Coronado Island. I LOVE that hotel, and Coronado is close to everything in San Diego. Just over the Downtown bridge. It is on the bay, and they have lovely specials from time to time.......I like them for many reasons, not the least of which is that they love dogs, and when we go down there we always take our doggies. You do need to allow 2 to 2/1 hours for the SD/LAX trip though....

 

Have fun!

[DrmnOfMaui]

Many thanks for your suggestion, I think it could be a good option to go to Laguna Beach, if we are not too tired after the first flight. I remember there is a Mexican place near Union Station in LA, is Las Brisas similar to that place ? It was very windy at Santa Monica pier last time we were there in Feb. but we enjoyed a nice lunch at a seafood restaurant. Maybe you could help me with another suggestion. After our cruise in FP, we will stay 3 days in California before going back home. I was thinking to visit San Diego, but maybe you could recommend some nice resort located between LA and San Diego ? Thanks again. I have been busy with work and no time to book anything yet till now.

 

Scandun...I might have missed it, but what month are you visiting CA? I live in Carlsbad, between LA and San Diego. We have a couple of nice resorts, Aviara and La Costa. If you are here in spring we also have the Carlsbad Flower Fields to visit! Just over the hill from my house, they are beautiful fields of ranunculas... tons of color. I have only had lunch at the resorts, but hear that they are lovely. Del Mar and La Jolla are nice places too... or you might consider the Hotel Del Coronado on Coronado Island.

 

We are just looking at the PG for a trip in August... researching excursions, etc. I'm also eagerly waiting for some reviews!! I'm drinking up each and every comment that you all are making!!

[DrmnOfMaui]

If you were to consider staying in San Diego, I would like to recommend the Loews, on Coronado Island. I LOVE that hotel, and Coronado is close to everything in San Diego. Just over the Downtown bridge. It is on the bay, and they have lovely specials from time to time.......I like them for many reasons, not the least of which is that they love dogs, and when we go down there we always take our doggies. You do need to allow 2 to 2/1 hours for the SD/LAX trip though....

 

Have fun!

 

I'm glad you posted that! I've heard of it, but it was a long time ago. We just got new puppies... will have to add it to our puppy friendly list!

[scandun]

Our PG cruise is just 2 weeks away, and a few post cruise days in southern california. Thank you for your suggestions!