Dididi

Kaylacool, I hadn't checked my account in a while so this reply might be too late for you. It was a 10-15 minute walk at most, all flat, to the store at the corner of Anzac and Beach. Doable for us with our wheeled luggage. Some of the left luggage locations I found online were further away.

Almirante Churruca, I was writing my post at the same time you were posting yours. Thank you for the information on what to expect in a WE Christmas cruise. We'll temper our expectations so as to enjoy the cruise. For Christmas 2025 we've booked a short Caribbean cruise on the Azamara Quest: 650 passengers or so.

Sthrncrusr, We're on the MSC World Europa's Christmas (Dec 20-27, 2024) cruise too. Our plan for Malta is to take one of the ship's tours in the morning as finding independent tours on Christmas Day or relying on local transportation are not good options on that day. As Alserrod points out, everything will be closed, at least until mid afternoon. We'll walk around Valetta after the tour. Years ago we spent Christmas in Rome. We got tickets for Midnight Mass with the Pope, which was a wonderful communal experience. We visited a lot of churches on the days leading to Christmas to look at the decorations, in particular the Nativity scenes (presepe). Baby Jesus is not placed in the manger until after Midnight Mass. We look forward to visiting the churches and Christmas markets in all of the ports. We had a bad experience on Princess in the Mediterranean two years ago re smoking. The passengers in the cabin next to ours would smoke in their balcony. We had to call the floor supervisor. He spoke to the passengers and gave them a warning. Didn't work, not even after they were fined. We got $100 OBC for the inconvenience but have decided that from now on, no balcony cabins in the Mediterranean for us. We've booked an infinity oceanview on the MSC World Europa. It has a sliding glass panel so we could open it and get fresh air in the room if we wish. I'm a bit concerned about the size of the ship and the number of passengers as we have never been on a ship that big. But it's a port-intensive cruise in December (pool deck won't be a sea of people) and I've learned tips from a thread re WE's Christmas 2023 cruise (can't recall the member's name but look it up, lots of photos) such as not to go to the dining room early, to wait 5-10 minutes after it opens in order to avoid the huge crowd. I'm aware this is not an issue in YC.

We disembarked the Pacific Encounter on a Saturday morning in August 2023. Our flight home, via Houston, was not until 730pm. The Luggage Hotel on Princess Wharf was only open on weekdays. I couldn't find information on lockers at Britomart or the Fuller's Terminal so made a booking with Radical Storage. We took our bags to a convenience store at the corner Anzac Avenue and Beach Road. The cashier scanned the code on my phone, took photos of our luggage and placed them in a (locked) backroom. It was very easy, for a low price, and the location was closer to the port than other luggage storage spots. Good experience. My advice would be to check the address where you'll take your luggage for storage. Some of the cafes and convenience stores were not near the port and/or kind of uphill.

TIA, I hadn't checked this thread in a while. Here are my recommendations: Nuku'alofa: You can get a taxi to take you to the same places as the ship's tours: the palm tree with two tree tops; the blow holes (very impressive!), and the caves (my friends really liked them, not my thing). You can walk to the Palace from the pier. It's pretty but, as one of the Indian waiters said, it's a bungalow, not a "real" palace. Our walk around town took us to the city market where we saw produce and other items (lots of woven mats) for locals. I wasn't looking for souvenirs, but the stands near the pier offer good deals (on locally made items). I ended up buying a baroque pearl pendant, a large one, not perfect but very pretty, for about $80NZD. Vava'u: Long but beautiful tender ride to the port. No whale watching or diving tours available, and the tide didn't help us enjoy a day at the beach. We took a cultural demonstration (cooking, mat weaving, dancing, kava drinking (optional)) and beach tour with the ship. We also visited a vanilla farm. Fewer transport options in Vava'u and the town near the pier is smaller than Nuku'alofa (and it's along the main thoroughfare, parallel to the water, so it's not as walkable as Nuku'alofa). I drank coconuts in both Tongan ports so was very happy. We saw pigs "fishing" in the shallows and lots of feisty chickens. Most houses in the villages we drove by had new water tanks (supplied by the government after the volcano eruption). Saw solar panels too. Port Denarau: Reminded me of St. Barth's in the Caribbean. A lot of very fancy yachts. Another tender port. We took one of the catamaran tours that included snorkeling near a reef. Less than an hour of snorkeling but very good. Fiji is way more developed than Tonga. Suva: We went river tubing with rivertubingfiji.com. Booked with them directly. We loved it! Got to see Fijians carry on with their daily chores (unlike touristy Port Denarau) on our way to the river where we went tubing. Got into a long motorboat to go up the river. Loved the vegetation and how well everyone takes care of the river -- no trash, no plastic refuse -- that is their lifeline. The tour includes a visit to a small upriver village (with new solar panels), a dip in a waterfall, tubing and a tasty lunch. On the way back we saw the government buildings and the president's palace. Didn't have time to wander around town. Our favorite experiences were the river tubing tour in Suva and the blow holes (near Nuku'alofa but you need a car to get there). And admiring the variety of kiekie (woven belts worn by Tongan women). I hope the above helps.

OP, I'm sharing our experience because we flew from Washington Dulles to Auckland in August in economy. Outbound we flew via San Francisco on United, with a long layover to visit family and take showers before the midnight flight to Auckland. That one was almost 14 hours. Economy. I got an aisle and a window seat. Fortunately for us, no one sat in the middle seat so we had extra room. We felt asleep as soon as we boarded because it was 3am Eastern time. So the flight was not bad. Five hours after we landed, we were on the ferry to Waiheke Island for zip lining. For the inbound flight, we flew Air New Zealand to Houston and tried the "Skycouch." It was less roomy than I envisioned but then again, I'm tall. But it was confortable with its comforter/mattress pad, many pillows and adjustable footrests. Meals were better than on United. The connecting flight home was on United. A three-hour layover to allow time for delays/passport control/picking up luggage. We considered Air New Zealand's Chicago to Auckland flight, but the 16 hour duration seemed daunting to us. Our original booking was IAD-LAX-NAN-AKL with the Fiji Airways segments in business class. Because we decided to leave a day earlier, that option wasn't available with Alaska Airline miles. We didn't consider stopping in Seoul, Taipei or Singapore because that would have added a LOT of more flight hours. Flying via Honolulu would add a considerable number of hours to your journey too. In sum, it was a better than we expected but those are very long flights. Good luck!

Chatuga, For our overnight in Cairo (from Alexandria) in April we used Ramses Tours. I wrote a review in one of the threads. Very pleased. Our itinerary changed three days before we boarded: four days in Israel became an overnight in Alexandria and an extra day in Crete. I reached out to Ramses by chat, exchanged messages about our preferences (based on the overnight tours on the website) and within 24 hours, our two days in Egypt were set. For Cochi we used Stanley Wilson Tours. That was more than ten years ago but I just read recent reviews on TripAdvisor that made me feel like I was back in the houseboat in the backwaters. Mr. Wilson, the family that runs the small hotel in the backwaters (rooms on land and the houseboats), his lovely wife Jasmin (we had lunch at their Cochi bed and breakfast after out city tour on the second day, before returning to our ship) and the drivers took great care of us for an excellent price. You arrange everything with Mr. Wilson via email. Hope this helps!

Woostergirl, If you haven't yet made a decision, let me share our experience. I was also on the fence between PNG and Fiji; DD is 14. After reading this thread we decided to take the Tonga Encounter cruise on P&O Australia's Pacific Explorer. Got home two weeks ago. Loved it. Two ports in Fiji, two in Tonga. Had a fantastic time snorkeling, river tubing and learning about the local cultures. We liked it so much that we booked a PNG cruise for next summer (winter in the Southern Hemisphere). PNG will be a different experience, not as accessible to tourists. For a thread on cruising with kids to PNG, you can check out:

Barb, We went river tubing with https://rivertubingfiji.com two weeks ago. You can book with them directly; it's also a ship excursion in some itineraries. Fantastic experience. After an hour's ride away from the city, we arrived at the river dock. There's a house with lockers and restrooms next to it. We took long wooden boats up the river, stopped at a village only accessible by boat, then had lunch (the fire roasted pumpkin was delicious as was the fish in coconut milk sauce), went to a waterfall for a quick dip, and then came the river tubing. The tubing could have been longer but it was raining quite hard. The river was pristine. Other than the occasional cow by the river's edge, it felt like we were in the Jurassic Era. Because we arrived to Suva with time to spare, we were treated to a short city tour. My emails were promptly answered, great communication. We'll fondly remember our day in Suva (and the river).

Alexgtp, We took an overnight tour to Cairo from Alexandria. We were on the Azamara Pursuit. Eight years ago we were on the Azamara Quest and took an overnight tour in Cochin. Back then Azamara was part of Celebrity. For both instances we asked Customer Service what to do. We were told they would notify Security and our cabin attendants. That way, we wouldn't be missed that night. When we got back to the port, the gate officers showed us the passenger log, the one we signed when we left on our private overnight tour the day before. They didn't have the log from the day before. We tried to explain. They just waved us in. We had already showed them our cruise cards and passports.

Ladyturkalot, Sorry about the late reply. Before we went ashore in Alexandria, Egyptian authorities stamped our passports with a "short visit" stamp. That was arranged by Azamara. All passengers regardless of their plans during our overnight stay (7am arrival, left around 7pm the next day) in Alexandria got the same stamp. We picked up our passports at reception before leaving the ship that morning. Didn't have to meet with the immigration officers. Other posters, We reached out to Ramses Tours via its chat feature and then communicated with Nada via WhatsApp. We looked at the several overnight tour options offered and told Nada our preferences. It was very easy. As far as group size is concerned, ours was a private tour because there was no time to get together a large group. We learned that the cruise was going to Alexandria on Wednesday night and arrived to Alexandria on Monday. Because there might be others on your ship who have contacted Ramses Tours, they might have a "large group" tour set up. You can ask. Our private overnight tour was only $30pp more than the one-day tour to Cairo offered by the ship. Looking back, the visit to Sakkar (the pyramid with the "steps") was more interesting that we anticipated. In addition to the history (excellent explanation by our guide), you can see the Giza and Dahshur pyramids from a distance and also onsite archeological digs. I hope all of you have a wonderful cruise.

We were on the August 8th Tonga and Fiji cruise. I unfortunately missed your posts so couldn't say hello while on board. We had a fantastic time, very pleased. A week later, we're still getting used to our time zone (16 hours behind Auckland). I posted some information about our onboard experience on the Australian/NZ Cruisers forum. Because of the low tide, our Nuku'alofa snorkel safari was canceled and Vavau's culture and swim tour was culture and walk on the rocks (got to see sapphire blue starfish). But I drank coconut water and scrapped the inside of the coconuts in both Tongan ports so all was good. In Nuku'alofa we went to take a close look at the Palace (after we went to the blow holes and the three-headed coconut tree), then went to Talita Store (where my daughter found a couple of inexpensive yet good fabric quality dresses) and the local market. Friends we made on the ship told us they enjoyed visiting the caves in Nuku'alofa (not so the ones in Vavau). As mentioned above, we took a ship tour in Vavau (umu cooking, traditional dancing and tapa weaving demonstrations; visit to a vanilla farm; rocky beach on low tide) that offered a glimpse into local life. We went on one of the snorkeling tours in Port Denarau. The best excursion we took was river tubing tour in Suva (with rivertubingfiji.com, booked directly with them although it was also offered by the ship): a ride upriver on a long wooden boat, a visit to a village, lunch by the river, a dip in a waterfall and a bit of river tubing. Pristine waters, untouched nature (with the occasional cow by the river's edge). Wonderful.

We disembarked from the Pacific Explorer on Friday, a ten-day Tonga and Fiji cruise from Auckland. Although I plan to write a review, here's some information about our experience. I appreciate the pre-cruise advice I received from this board and the P&O Australia's. Internet (the medium package, with emails but no streaming) was $153. That's the discounted price for purchasing the package during the first 24 hours. It was very good, actually, better than the internet reception on our Regal Princess cruise last summer (Athens to Barcelona). We moderated our expectations and ended up truly enjoying the cruise. The ship's exterior needs paint and our cabin was very clean but vintage. When we opened the door, it felt like we were back to the 90s. Yet the public areas, in particular the dining rooms, were stylish, modern and different. The chicken parmigiana at Angelo's was better than the one at Waterfront, but they were both fine. Alternating between the three dining rooms offered variety given the repetitive, limited menus. But again, food was better than what we were expecting and the staff were just wonderful. 400 Gradi wasn't as good as we expected yet the burgers at Luke's (double cheeseburger, Korean chicken and vegetarian) were good enough for us to return. The Pantry felt crowded but the Indian and Mexican sections were our go-tos. Not much choices when it came to salads. Because of the cruise's dates we weren't expecting children on board. But there were a lot of them. While having lunch at Luke's we counted 13 kids in the nearby hot tub (Luke's windows on deck 14 face the pool area on deck 12) one day, 14 kids the other! DD met a group of teenagers from Auckland, Hamilton and rural NZ on the first night at HQ+ (kids' club for the 13-17 year olds); she had a lot of fun. The adult Oasis section (with pool) on deck 12 aft was great. For the first time ever I didn't encounter "professional" pool lounge chair hogs, the kind that arrive to the pool at 6am with their towels, big towel plastic clips and cheap paperbacks to stake a claim on lounge chairs for the whole day. People would use the lounge chairs for a few hours, then leave to go somewhere else. Very agreeable fellow passengers, no loud drunks (we heard that shorter itineraries could be compared to Carnival's Caribbean booze cruises but this was't our experience). We enjoyed several shows at the main theater and had a great time at the Bianco and Gatsby parties. Although I brought a pretty white and black cocktail dress for Gatsby (and to wear on another evening), I was amazed when I saw the elaborate, elegant Gatsby outfits other passengers wore. I particularly enjoyed the Atrium's cafe/bar area on deck 7. Plenty of seating plus window nooks with big pillows and windows to the promenade. A good place for reading and stitching while drinking coffee and listening to trivia contests and live music on sea days when the weather was not good enough to spend the day at the Oasis. In sum, It didn't feel like a low budget cruise. Upon our return home, I read about the new changes Princess is making, such as charging for Alfredo's pizza. We decided to cancel our August 2024 Princess Med booking and are instead going to Papua New Guinea on the Pacific Encounter out of Brisbane. Our onboard experience on the Regal Princess last summer was not noticeably better than our time on the Pacific Explorer, with the exception of the newer cabin furnishings. Thus, we're giving P&O Australia another go. Coming from East Coast US, we're not the line's target market. Yet the onboard experience was very positive, the tropical islands we visited were interesting and fun, and traveling during our summer/your winter gave us more flexibility as DD's Christmas vacation is too short for a traditional Australia to New Zealand Christmas cruise.

Daz and ceeceeDee, Thank you again for your advice. We met more than a dozen wonderful Australian passengers about the Star Princess (now a P&O Australia ship) on our Christmas 2019 cruise to Hawaii. Based on their recommendations and on reading the Australian/NZ cruisers board, we've decided to give P&O Australia a try. How many other cruises go to Tonga and Fiji? We're well aware that it will be more casual than Princess and geared toward the Australian market. So closer to a Carnival ship in the Caribbean (although it's a ten-day itinerary so perhaps not as wild) than our worst-ever in terms of passenger interaction: a stuffy Cunard cruise to Norway and Iceland. Might not get all the jokes, but how can we not have a fun time drinking a beer at sea while wearing a sarong and flip flops? We don't expect to meet other US passengers. Making the booking was complicated as the online booking tool won't readily accept US addresses and phone numbers because it's set up for AUS and NZ passengers (as it should because that the line's customer base). Had to call Australia but a wonderful booking agent helped us with the reservation and more recently with check-in. Only 50 or so days to go....

Daz and CeeCeeDee, Thank you both for your detailed replies. We'll be traveling from Washington DC for this cruise so are familiar with Princess but not with P&O Australia. Older ship is fine; we're ready to have a good time.