hawkesbaynz

We are using the train to get to Yokohama on Sunday. Taxis very expensive for there and Tokyo. On return from the cruise we have two nights in Tokyo. Have booked a taxi to the terminal via Vioator as the Limousine service seems to start too late for our flight. However the taxi service is pretty specific - only two suitcases. Look at the Bus Limousine service as per DaKuna. Stops at numerous hotels encourages:https://webservice.limousinebus.co.jp/web/en/

There is a Princess Sales office in Southampton. My neighbour works there. Worth a try.

Contact a local taxi/tour company to pick you up in a minibus and take you to the cathedral. The driver Could stay with the bags and you can then transfer to the port later. Perhaps have a mini tour of Barcelona. Will cost more but… When we were last in Barcelona we had a couple on our Barcelona tour who were picked up at a hotel, we dropped the bags of at the port, did the tour then dropped them back in time for departures. Tad annoying for the rest of us within extra travel but worked for them.

We use an Uber. Cheaper than a taxi. Usually book a day room in the Doubletreee near the airport via Dayuse.com as UK flights are late out.

Glad you had a good cruise with TUI. We had an enjoyable cruise in East Med on one of their old ships (now scrapped) but really due to the ports and company. I’d try them again but DW not keen. I would have booked the whole package but plan to use Airmiles for direct business class.

Newbie Azamara cruiser. Can you upgrade drinks and pay the individual price. DW is a gin snob and will only drink Hendricks/Botanist quality. On Celebrity you can pay the difference per drink which works at much cheaper than upgrading to their Premium package. She is an absolute dipsomaniac for sparkling water. Happy with supermarket quality at home as long as there are bubbles. Is it included? We have enjoyed port intensive Oceania cruises without packages just drinking gin in the cabin and taking wine to the restaurants and paying the corkage. Bit of a cheek Azamara charging corkage for own bought wine if their wine is poor.

I used a TA who is on that list and got a Much better cooool price than the Azamara website price. When I sail with Celebrity I go direct as receive a decent military discount. However the TAs discount was much better than the usual 10% discount. As for Azamara advisors. Our South Africa cruise had the itinerary changed. I had an email advising me but no updated itinerary (why do that?). I called the office as advised but they knew nothing. Promised to call me back. Am still waiting.

If it wasn’t for these forums I would be unaware that people can reprice their cruises, although unfortunately not in the UK😞. From a Roll Call Princess thread I looked at re-pricing a cruise that had gone down in price several hundred pounds. The TA really did not want to help re-negotiating (not replying to emails or calling back) but eventually I was advised to cancel, loose freebies and gain a couple of hundred when the deposit was lost. I did not bother, but will not be using the TA again. However a Celebrity Roll Call was talking about price hikes for a Med cruise. My cabin had gone up three thousand! I think I gained over all. I recently booked an Azamara cruise at a great price with another TA. I won’t be checking the prices again. Oddly I noticed I have yet to have the Azamara invoice so will hold off booking flights until I have that. The price sounded too good. I often cross check prices with US TAs. Rarely the difference seems worthwhile. I have done once and the currency exchange went against me.

Interesting thread. We were on that Oceania Marina cruise last February. We went to the pleasant town of Castro as there was bad weather at Puerto Chacabuco. The Chilean Fjords were fantastic. Amazing eating dinner on a beautiful Summers evening watching the scenery go by from the window in the Marinas fantastic restaurants. Shipwrecks and all! We passed by a glacier at 5am in the morning. Actually one of the worst days of weather. I got up topside whilst DW rolled over in bed. There were better glaciers in Antarctica for her. We had great weather for the entire cruise including Drakes Passage, Antarctica and Falklands. Enjoy Princess and Celebrity cruises too. Have Azamara booked too. However no line could beat Oceania’s itinerary for SA.

We are using https://www.discover-japan-tours.com/ for a disembarkation tour from the Millie dropping us off in Tokyo city for 85,000 Yen for six of us. They may be able to sort out a tour for you. Not cheap but an inclusive tour unlike the other tours I have booked in Japan with Tourswithlocals etc.

Great review😀. We did the overnight in Hanoi with X and it was massively overcharged. However we had lots of OBC A couple who joined us with Xuan did a private tour, just them and a guide, and it was half the price. Incidentally Xuan WhatsApp’s me today to with HNY. I’ll give him a well deserved plug: https://www.tourwithxuan.com/

Looks like a coffin! Jim I often wondered why you were so loyal to X when you enjoyed the finer things of cruising without the casino, shows & pools. Luxury lines would suit you. We really enjoyed our couple cruises with Oceania and are trying Azamara in 2025. We have three excellent itinerary cruises booked with X ((Japan, Med on the Ascent, New England/Canada) and then will be looking for new adventures & Cruise Lines. We do have an Artic Circle cruise with Princess from Southampton in June. We find Princess just as enjoyable as X but cheaper. Unfortunately the pennies do not allow us to try Regent/Silver sea etc. Cunard seems good value although they seem to have less port time on similar itineraries to competitors.

It snowed a little when we were in Antarctica in February. Otherwise cool and crisp. Placid seas. I did 30 minutes walking the deck post gym sessions in shorts and tee shirt. Otherwise a down mid-layer with a windproof/waterproof outer layer. A buff and woolly hat. I use soft shell walking trousers for walking the dog in foul weather and bought a new pair for the trip. Very comfy. Decent shoes or boots, I had a pair of approach goretex trainers. This will be suitable for Falklands/Ushaia/Punta Arenas. No need for heavy down jackets you may use in the Canadian Winter. Layers is the key.

Am living a Deja vu… we had Mr Hoi last month and the same tour thru Xuan LeTours. Charming chap but his English not as good. Enjoyed the lunch the most in Nha Trang. I am Elite too and asked if all our group could meet at Cellar Masters where they were prioritising higher Captain Club members. They agreed although not all were CC Elite. However one couple were in the Retreat and we met outside Michael’s Club and walked off with the Retreat person (feeling a bit bad). Chan May is easy. I could see Xuan Le standing by the minibus from our balcony. Enjoy😀.

Brought back great memories of our HCMC tour with Xuan Le early November. Great guide and a really nice young man. If you are using him for Chan May Port send him our best regards - Roger & May from Southampton. He arranged another guide for Nha Trang. Xuan Le advised us there was no requirement to cover up in Vietnam.

Following too. Really appreciated your TR on Japan tour cruise &tours We were in Blu in November on same itinerary. The South African ass. MD was great. She had an amazing memory for names (unlike mine). Wonder if she still remembers our Labradors name😀 How do you seem to manage to eat so much food but still look so trim? I wish my wife would be as adventurous as yours with oriental food. Roger

We did the cruise in November. Although we exchanged currency in Vietnam there was no need. Everyone was happy to take small denomination dollars. However HK dollars were required to get a taxi on disembarkation. There was a change kiosk at the port adjacent to the taxi queue although we had very little currency of any kind to change as no ATM. UBER did not work at the port but did elsewhere?? The old Botanical Park is great in Singapore too.

Such a shame you are in Napier for such a short time. A drive around the vineyards and a meal at Craggy Range would have been fantastic. Napier is an easy walk around. The museum is interesting too. I really miss New Zealand pies….

Recently did the Singapore to HK on Solstice. Vietnam is pretty port intensive so if we were to again I would choose HK to Singapore as more sea days at the end. We really enjoyed Hanoi but I think an overnight cruise would be a great option. The only tour we did with X was a very overpriced overnight tour. Reaffirmed our usual choice of small group tours. I booked three of the Vietnam port stops with Xuan Le Tours. He is a fantastic tour guide. We had a group of eight filled through the Roll Call. We had been to Bangkok previously so choose to visit Pattaya and stayed in a great Intercontinental Hotel overnight. However Pattaya City is not an attractive place to visit (repulsive DW would say) so I would encourage you visit Bangkok.

@terrydtx I arranged some small group tours on the Solstice in Vietnam last month (the amazing Xuan Le). The group were spread in MDR/Aqua/Retreat. We were in Aqua but the couple in the Retreat arranged for us to leave with the Retreat group for the first tender, and even early disembarkation at another port. We met in the Ensemble Lounge opposite Michael’s. Am sure you will be able to arrange it. Enjoying the thread. Not many doors in Australia?

We were recently on the the Solstice which arrived Singapore from North America via Sydney. There weren’t concerns about shortages although the pallet containing tonic water was not emptied quickly enough. One evening with no gin🤨. Tomatoes, bananas fruit and vegetables are your friends for electrolytes with adequate fluids. We have a cruise on Millenium from Mumbai in 2025. Already looking for another cruise to move the deposit too. Best to visit India by land, although with reservations.

Some are on the UK site. Noted only one Edge so far.

The Korean BBQ looked great😛. You father sounded like Character!

Jim, We boarded Solstice three weeks ago at Singapore. I recollected you asked on our RC about dropping off large suit bags to the luggage guys rather than carrying them through the terminal. Unfortunately I confused the guy on the desk when I asked. We were not in a Suite and I did not see any specific drop off area for Retreat guests. Embarkation was slow but may have been due to checking of Vietnam visa a for our cruise. You must set aside a few hours for a walk around the Botanic Park and the Orchid gardens. Our Singapore highlight.

We used Xuan Le for our tours to HCMC, Nha Trang ((with his colleague Mr Hoi) and Hue. Xuan was an excellent guide. Charming and informative. Communicates well pre-cruise. Five stars!