tequilatamm

We're down here in Sydney, and just popping onto a quick "short break" from Sydney to Brisbane for 2 nights.

I can't find any info about booking or pre-booking The Sanctuary on such a short cruise. It sounds like you can book it in half-day blocks, but no word on whether you can pre-book or how to book once you're on.

Is the consensus to simply pop by The Sanctuary when we get on-board and try to be quick? I'm imagining that everyone and their brother will be trying to book it for the ONE full-day we have sailing! Argh.

Anyone with experience of this recently in Australia on the Sun Princess?

I have a question if you're still answering!

We are on the last Emerald Princess Baltic Cruise this season, and the ship gets to Stockholm on 15-September.

When I look on the Stromma.se website for the Hop-on, Hop-off boats, the timetable says that the last day the ferry runs for the season is 13-September, two days before our ship gets there.

We want to start with the Vasa Museum when we arrive, and we don't want to spend a lot of time on transport, so we are thinking of taking a water taxi to Vasa.

However I do understand that when ships are in port early, the Hop-on, Ho-off boats sometimes start running early. I am wondering of they might go ahead and run on 15-September as well, since there is a ship in port.

Is there a way to find this out?

Also, are there any other ferry lines that run all year, and would run between Djurgarden and Gamla Stan?

I've read a dozen posts where people have come back from the Baltic and said

Princess tries to tell you you have to wait until their shore ex people have gotten

off, but they all say just go ahead and get off. Princess won't stop you and the

Russians don't care.

I hope everyone going on our small custom tour gets right off so we can get going.

I suggest that you tell everyone in your party to meet at the gangway when the Russian Band begins to play on shore.

We are touring with Denrus, and they seem to say that when you hear the band play, that is when the ship has cleared customs, and disembarking can start.

If you're lined up and ready to go, you will actually have time to slip off the ship even prior to when the mustered Princess cruise groups start to disembark, and't won't have a long wait.

Make it your one early early early morning of the cruise. Get up at 5am and be ready by about 6:30am to line up as early as you have to!

We lived for over 30 years in Slough in the UK where there was a huge Mars factory - everyone knew someone who worked there. Since we moved away 5 years ago, we have found out that it has all gone:(

 

I can still remember the smell of the chocolate drifting across the town - yummy.

 

Luckily we can still get all the old Mars favourites in the UK - Mars Bars, Maltesers, Twix, etc. etc.

Do you still have those deep fried Mars Bars in the UK?!

WHAT?????!!!!!!!!!!!!! You're sh**ting me!!!!!

Well, we certainly have plenty of Mars stuff here in Oz.

We also have had some great M&Ms over the past few years. I LOVED those mint ones with the sort of maltesers mint stuff on the inside. I'll never know why they changed those to mint-oily ones instead... so disappointed!

But I miss Hershey's... I bring kisses in from the US, Japan, Thailand, when I travel... love the ones with the mint inside, and my mother tells me there are great dark chocolate ones too! And Hershey's Miniatures... and Reese's...although you CAN sometimes get those here.

B&C's MUM... now we just have to get them eating lamingtons and finger buns and such!

We have a shop in our locla shopping mall that only stocks "gourmet or different" food items from different countries such as the UK and america.

It is like paradise in there.

Some times we go for something new in the chocolate/lolly section , sometimes we stick to favourites.

 

Darryl Lea soft licorice coated in chocolate is divine also and wouldnt weigh a lot to mail.

 

Amazing that something as simple as Tim tams can involve such a long thread but very understandable to Timtam lovers.

Kaseyoz, are you talking about that Lolly shop at Warringah Mall?

I used to get my supply of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and A&W Root Beer there, before they sort of went mainstream in Sydney!

We were told that the difference is in the chocolate as well - it is formulated so as not to melt so easily - we do not get such hot weather in the UK as they do in Australia/NZ. I don't think it is anything to do with the milk - we have lots of nice green countryside as well for our cows to graze on:D

Well, I know down here in Australia, UK chocolate is known to be very rich, creamy chocolate, and everyone here seems to adore it!

It certainly is a lot more luxurious than the crappy chocolate I grew up with in the US! Before Americans start flaming me for that comment, let me also mention that I LOVE reeses and M&Ms and Hershey's miniatures, and nestle chocolate chips, etc. etc.

My husband always calls American chocolate "crappy", but it's actually just coarser with more cocoa in it generally, I think, and perhaps less milk.

My mother, on the other hand, thinks that UK chocolate tastes "musty" and "too creamy", so I think it's just whatever you are accustomed to, the other stuff doesn't taste quite right to you!

I've learned to like them all in their own ways.

Aussie chocolate seems to sit somewhere right in the middle between US and UK chocolate.

Cost Plus World Market locations offer Tim Tams, and there are locations in the LA area. They usually have the Arnett production, and not the Pepperidge-Farms-distributed North American one. Call first; it's not a core item, so store managers have some discretion.

 

E

Don't know if you saw the Cost Plus Website, B&C's MUM, but they are definitely proper Aussie Tim Tams and Mint Slices. One of the reviewers is an Aussie, and confirms them as proper!

From the photo, it seems to be Tim Tams, Caramel Tim Tams, and Mint Slices.

Looks like that's the place for you if you want to buy them when you get there!

Tim Tams are like vegemite to Australians. Everyone loves them.

 

http://www.about-australia-shop.com/timtams.htm

 

This link might help.

You know B&C's mum... I've lived here for 15 years now, and it no longer makes me vomit if I am making vegemite toast for my husband and accidentally lick my fingers. I can tolerate Vegemite now, but I don't think I'll ever be a huge fan!

But I don't like Tim Tams. They're too crunchy, and I don't like the filling. Unless they're those new ones with the crunchy pieces in them!

Now, Mint Slices on the other hand are the BEST ever! For all the Americans out there, think Girl Scout Mint Cookies (but available year-round in the supermarket)! YUMMMMM!!!!

I'm sure there are online places in the US to buy Australian goods, but you'd be hard pressed to just find them at a shop somewhere. I remember that my husband was able to get Australian goods somewhere in Northern California when he lived there with me, but not sure about Florida!

Since they're packaged food, they shouldn't have any trouble clearing quarrantine. I would pack them carefully in your luggage and declare them when coming into the US.

On the other hand, go get yourselves some Pepperidge Farms Milanos or similar. My husband who is Aussie through and through loves Pepperidge Farms.

On our recent trip to Australia, my carry on coming home was filled with tim tams & Darryl Lee (?) licorice. Sadly, I cannot find either of these in the US and was forced to smuggle!

Hey rollingstone! Let me know if you can't live without it and I'll happily send you some more! There's a Darrell Lea in every shopping centre near me, and of course, Tim Tams in all the supermarkets around the place!

Interesting stuff about the internet.

I'm hoping beyond hope that cabin D332 will have reception in the room, but I kind of doubt it.

Does anyone know if you can use more than one of your own computers with the same internet account on-board?

Husband and I each have our own and will be bringing both (yes, we're geeks). We'll both want to be logging on from time to time.

Caribill!

Thanks SO much for that very very informative post.

We're on the Emerald 13-Sep sailing, the last of the season before the TA, so the weather and dynamic will be about the same as your cruise.

I've been waiting for someone to post such detailed information, and even my very pedantic husband loved the conciseness and packed-with-info state of your post, so thank you again!

I'm trying to think of other questions I might have for you, but you covered a whole lot!

I notice that there is Wifi on the ship, I though only Ruby had that, so we're happy to know it. My husband will need to do some work over the web, and judging from last year's reports, we were figuring we'd probably need to sacrifice some port time to this, given the ship's seeming internet limitations.

But it sounds like there's some reception in public areas anyway for our own laptops, and even in some cabins. We're in D332, Port Side, midships, so I expect we won't get reception in our room, but definitely somewhere on the ship, which will be nice, not having to sacrifice precious port time to this!

It sounds like the TVs pack a lot more info and programming on them than they did when we went on the Star Princess back in 2002 or 2003! I think we only got 1 or 2 princess channels then, and now they have actual channels, show MUTS, etc. etc. Yay!

Someone had posted a photo of the new flat-screen TVs on The Emerald too, and even one of the input jacks on it, which is handy, since I carry an iPod with MP4 video on it, that can be hooked to the TV for additional mindless sitcoms and things while falling asleep at night!

Just curious about a couple things, if you happened to experience them. My husband is a foodie, and we thought it would be great to do the Chef's Table, but most of the menus we had seen are decidedly French. My husband ate a stick of butter when he was about 2 years old and it made him sick... so for the rest of his life he hates butter, cream sauces, etc.... things they usually use in French food. (He's OK with hard cheeses and ice cream though ;)). I notice the head chef is French, so I'm thinking we won't be lucky on this one and get a mediterranean sort of menu.

So we're thinking of doing the ultimate ship tour instead.

If you have any more info on either, please comment!

I'm also curious about the wines on-board. The prices on previous Princess wine lists that I've seen weren't too bad.

We're travelling from Australia, and I think it's a bit much to try to bring any bottles with us, so if it is purchasing a couple in Copenhagen vs on the ship, I'm thinking the cost on the ship will be the same or less than in Copenhagen.

Do you have any information or advice on wines on the Emerald? People have said in the past they sell some 3-bottle sets of wine for good prices after the wine tastings, although no sampler packages like other cruise lines.

I tend to like rather sweet white wines these days, such as Lexia or Pinot Grigio.

Husband is a big coffee drinker (the espresso type, not the filtered type), and I know there's a coffee card.

Can you use the coffee card in the Traditional dining room to get coffee with your breakfast? Do you even need it there, or do they have free espresso there?

Do you know what the price of the current coffee card is?

Did you happen to notice the cost of a single espresso in the International Cafe?

Also, what soft drinks or iced teas are available in the buffet and at traditional dining? My husband goes through a lot of that too, and we might get some in ports and bring it back on ship, depending.

Excuse all the beverage questions above. Most of them have been answered several times over on these boards, but things are always changing, so it always pays to ask for the latest info!

Speaking of changing, what was the ice cream situation on-board? Rumour has it that soft serve is now going to be free for the duration, not just for one hour/day. Was it that way when you were on-board?

I'm assuming the free ice cream choices are only the soft-serve, and not the scoop ice creams?

Speaking of scoops, how was the gelato (if there was some on-board) and what were the prices like?

Anything not to be missed in the International Cafe?

Formal Nights: We will definitely go to the formal nights, and while I want to dress nicely, I really don't want to wear dresses, so I'm planning on black pants and a nice, dressy shirt. How were people dressed for the formal nights? Would this be appropriate? I know on lots of the Princess Cruises people don't dress up THAT MUCH, but I'm aware this might be different on a Baltic Cruise than it is in the Caribbean and Mexico!

I had heard about a year ago, that they close down the self-serve laundry rooms from the evening leaving Helsinki until you arrive in Tallinn. Something about not wanting to pick up water in St Petersburg, so conserving it for two days. Do you know if that was the case?

How about the pay-per-use pool/spa area? Did you use it? I keep hearing good things about it, although it's probably a bit cold in the Baltic when you were /we will be there, and it's so port-intensive there may not be time!

As for ports, thanks for the reassuring words on St Petersburg. I can see it works like most places in Asia do. Don't wait around to follow instructions given by Princess, just line up and get off the ship. It's what we plan to do.

We're doing a private, 6-person tour with DenRus. Who was your tour with?

I'm curious, in Gdansk, how did you get from the port to the middle of town? I hear that the traffic is very thick there, and the buses and taxis take awhile to get there. I also heard they were doing work on the trains, and they might have some delays.

I'm curious to know your thoughts on the best way to get from point a to point b there. There are 6 of us going together, so we could also split a taxi.

Also, did you stop in Sopot? I have heard you should see it if you have time, as it's quite quaint.

Were the HoHo buses/ferries running in Stockholm when you were there? I notice they seem to stop running a week or two before our cruise, except on weekends, and we're in Stockholm on a Tuesday, which is unfortunate.

I keep hearing about how the Vasa Museum is an absolute must, but it really doesn't look like anything that special to me. Did you go, and was it? It seems far from the centre of things. Any tips on getting there or getting around?

I suppose that's it for now, until I think of something else!

Thanks again for all the great information!