harg56

I also recommend Blue Puffin Tours for your North Cape tour. We went with them last month and had fantastic weather too. 

3 hours ago, Son of Anarchy said:

Be interesting to see whether this extended into November sailings.  Due to pay our balance next month.

+1. 🤞

Ship's excursions will start at the dock, shipside. Quite likely your private tour will also start at the dock. At least ours have.

Thank you. I will probably book the ship tour if that’s the case, because the tour with Cruising Excursions clearly states you have to take the shuttle to outside the port first.

Having decided to take an organised tour from the port to Rome, could anyone please tell me if the ship’s tour buses pick up directly at the ship, or do you still need to get the shuttle first to the coach park outside the port? Reason for asking - if you still need to get the shuttle I’ll book the tour through a non-ship company as it’s cheaper. Thanks.

Are you using Denrus in St Peterburg?

Hi Blunkly,

We are going on Royal Princess same day as you, I have booked the more leisurely 2 day tour with DenRus, based on personal recommendation from a friend. I could have paid cash on arrival, but have given my credit card details and they will take payment 30 days before the tour - they will refund if things don't go to plan.

Their website was a bit "hit and miss", but I cannot fault their communication and swift receipt of confirmation and instructions.

Hope this helps.

Glen & Les.

We have booked their 2 day Explore St. Petersburg tour for our visit in June. The tour description says max. Group size 16, so we are expecting a minibus. They have been very helpful throughout the booking process, although I must admit their website could do with updating. I contacted them using the pop up box that appeared on the website and received a reply the next day. Once I got all the answers to my questions I was happy to make a booking.

We will be in St. Petersburg on Royal Princess in June and have booked a 2day Explore tour for $195 through DenRus, who were highly recommended by a friend. It's still 2 full days but at a more relaxed pace. Although lunches aren't included you do have the option to order on the day - maybe a snack will do.

Did you have any problems with the supporting documentation for the visa application?

 

My wife is German and has today visited the Munich visa centre with

her application and all the required supporting documentation (HAL Check-in Summary with complete itinerary, list of all countries visited in the previous 12 months). However they say the need a copy of our hotel bookings in Singapore and Tokyo (we have not yet booked any hotels), copy of flight tickets from London to Singapore and Tokyo to London, and a copy of the travel agent receipt for the cruise (we booked direct with HAL) and all other relevant information (whatever that mght be).

 

I am British and it is my plan to take my application to London next week, and I would not like to be then told I need to provide further documentation. I have been trying to speak to the London office but have not yet managed to.

 

The visa website says they need full details of travel to China, while in China, and evidence of paid passage from China, but the visa office are asking for documentary evidence for all travel and accommodation from the time of leaving UK toarriving back in UK.

 

Your experience would be helpful please.

Hi there,

Yes we had to provide details of our complete itinerary, including hotel stops in China. We were lucky as the whole trip had been packaged and all the information was readily available, we also had to submit two sets of paperwork - one for each of us.

I followed the information and guidelines on the http://www.visaforchina.org/LON_EN/new site, but I also emailed them with a couple of queries and they responded quickly.

It was a very methodical process, but as long as you follow the guidelines, fairly straightforward.

Enjoy your trip.

PS We used ordinary Passport Photos from the booth and they were fine.

Stockholder OBC is just like any other credit; it's a credit. And your charges are deducted from credits. All of your charges, including gratuities. I've been a CCL stockholder since 1998 and have been amassing thousands of OBC $$$$ since the program started in 2001.

I hope this applies on our forthcoming cruise, as the terms and conditions of the shareholder (stockholder) credit states that it cannot be used for casino charges and tips.

We shall find out soon!

Stockholder OBC is just like any other credit; it's a credit. And your charges are deducted from credits. All of your charges, including gratuities. I've been a CCL stockholder since 1998 and have been amassing thousands of OBC $$$$ since the program started in 2001.

I hope this applies on our forthcoming cruise, as the terms and conditions of the shareholder (stockholder) credit States that it cannot be used for casino charges and tips.

We shall find out soon!

You're doing a very similar trip to us - we are going this November. We paid £99 each for double-entry visas and they took exactly one week by post. I thought the fee was £81 each, but there is an additional fee if you use the postal service, even though you enclose a pre-paid envelope. The prices may change by next year and you can't apply more than 90 days before departure. A lot of paperwork but quite straightforward in the end.

Glen.

Just got my husbands back it took a week since I had all their sticky requirements done. Make sure where you get your photo done they know it is for a China Visa since they size is different.

We just submitted usual passport photos, which we had taken in a photo booth. There was a different option for USA and another country's Visas, but no mention of China.

Our passports are currently with the Chinese Visa Application centre for double-entry visas, as we have a 7 day land tour after arriving in Beijing and then our ship will be calling at Shanghai later for a port call. I studied all the information before submitting them and believe the double-entry visas are required. Surely if the regulations had changed our cruise company would have informed us, as they advised the double-entry visa too?

 

You have to give the Application Centre your full itinerary, so if they come back to us and say we only need single-entry, I will let you all know!

Passports are back this morning and we have double-entry visas, but I doubt the Application Centre was going to tell us anything different!

Princess have advised us that they will obtain the Vietnamese Visas and will charge US$35 per person to the on board account. Seems they could be making US$25 on each application? Not bad.

Our passports are currently with the Chinese Visa Application centre for double-entry visas, as we have a 7 day land tour after arriving in Beijing and then our ship will be calling at Shanghai later for a port call. I studied all the information before submitting them and believe the double-entry visas are required. Surely if the regulations had changed our cruise company would have informed us, as they advised the double-entry visa too?

You have to give the Application Centre your full itinerary, so if they come back to us and say we only need single-entry, I will let you all know!

We are getting a double entry visa for our trip in Nov. We arrive in Beijing first, then sail away and come back in to Shanghai for a port call. This has been advised to us by Princess Cruises and I also found a good explanation on the Chinese Visas website. Appreciate you are in Spain, but the regulations should be the same.

I have found the following website useful when doing my research:

http://www.whatsinport.com