General Max

Out of curiosity, what, if any fees are involved going through WU? Is it cheaper than a credit card fee of 3%?

Get a credit card that does not charge the 3% foreign transaction fee. Capital One has one.

Western Union will charge $10 US to send a $150 US deposit. Good luck getting your money back if you have to cancel.

Our cruise leaves from HK on Feb 3, and we are going to go early to see the city regardless. We actually didn't realize that CNY fell on Jan 31st until after we booked.... Hopefully it will enhance our visit, rather than hinder! :)

We sure enjoyed it in Viet Nam. It is also celebrated there.

KK is short for Kota Kinabalu so nowhere near Kangaroo Island I'm afraid.

We spent two nights on Kangaroo Island and loved it. The only thing that bothered us was the Kangaroo road kill.

I made my tour deposit to Ms Ha thru Western Union last month. No problem. She received payment the next day.

You are a trusting soul in dealing with Asian tour operators. A lot of people have been scammed. Just check out these threads.

During our stop in Makassar we joined a tour (organised by another CC-er) to the waterfall, fort rotterdam etc..

She had booked this tour with Dodo Mursalim.

You can check his weblog for details:

http://dodopenman.blogspot.nl/

Looks like a good tour.

According to her web site, Ms. Ha offers Western Union (and bank xfers) as an option if it costs you less in fees but also accepts Visa and Master Card.

She may take credit cards now but she didn't when we tried to book in December, 2012. She told us to use Western Union and we said no then canceled the booking. Ended up using Ann Tours for two tours in Viet Nam.

Do a google search on the tour operators in the area. Also check TripAdvisor for reviews.

We were in Viet Nam this year during the celebration of the New Year.

The New Year celebration lasts for 2 weeks.

I will be calling at KK on QM2 in March 2014. The ship's shore excursions are very poor. I had thought about visiting the Orangutan sanctuary at Rasa Ria and spending some time at the hotel there using a private tour or taxi. I can find one tour (Tours by Locals) that does the sanctuary.

 

What have others done at this port? There is very little on the board. I have looked at Tripadvisor but most of the posts are for people on land holidays.

Any suggestions welcomed :)

Is this near Kangaroo Island?

Did we really miss something when we did not go to Pattaya when we were at Lam Chabang?

Thank you. We did not stop there on our cruise from Singapore to Kobe.

__________________

We've been getting some quotes for tours in Vietnam from Ms. Ha, Zoom and Smile. For those of you that have booked such tours in the past, I'm curious if you simply accepted the quoted price or if you negotiated a better one.

 

TIA for the advice.

Mr Zoom has sent unauthorized e-mail advertising to folks on these threads. Would not deal with him. Ms Ha requires cash deposits sent through Western Union. Will not deal with her either.

We booked two tours with Ann Tours and were very happy with them.

Where is Komodo?[/QUOT

 

Indonesia

Thank you. We did not stop there on our cruise from Singapore to Kobe.

We have booked with this guy for our cruise in March on Azamara Journey.

 

David

I hope he delivers.

Where is Komodo?

Where is Komodo?

You joined in 2003 but wrote seldom.

You need to post more.

We stayed 7 nights at the Salisbury and did not encounter any bed bugs.

We didn't bring any home with us either.

We stayed 7 nights at the Salisbury and did not encounter any bed bugs.

I read that also.

Don't book a harbor view family room then. That is where the bugs are per the review.

I have emailed them and we are on a list but have no reservation until prices are published. Thanks.

I assume we are talking about the Salisbury Hotel. Their 2014 rates should be available for booking in September.

Another vote the Salisbury - harbour view room if your budget allows.:)

We spent 7 nights in the Harborview room on the 15th floor. We will do it again the next time we visit Hong Kong.

When in Nagasaki, do not miss the Atomic Bomb museum.

I went to MacDonalds twice for a cup of coffee at 6:00 AM when they opened. The hotel did not start serving breakfast until 7:00 AM.