Big Kev

There can be different many factors between USA and AU pricing and conditions now...  A sale on one or the other at time of booking,  Refundable, or non refundable deposit on initial booking,  Final payment dates different... Penalty period  start dates different, gratuities included or not   .. etc. etc 

Sue and Phil..

We never spend big dollars on ship.. Maybe pre order and pay things you want on-line before you go. (Drink/dining/excursions) We always leave our credit card number when we check-in, and elect to have our bank do the conversion at OUR banks rate on the day.. Your card will normally processed in USA..  If you have a card with no foreign transaction fees, or currency conversion fees use it... (We use ING debit with no fees) ..

To confuse you further, some ppl  phone RCI and pre buy credit for on-board account at a better rate..  Looks good, but not worth messing around if on board spending is minimal..

Sue and Phil

If travelling using  passport from a visa waver country, (incl USA) all you need is an ETA. An ETA is electronically attached to your passport....    Apply on line and issued almost immediately..

Official government site    for Australia       https://www.eta.homeaffairs.gov.au/ETAS3/etas    

Official government site for New Zealand    https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/apply-for-a-visa/about-visa/nzeta

(By the way, AU and NZ passport holders need the USA version (ESTA) if they are visiting USA as tourists)

28 minutes ago, tb4 said:

Hi everyone.

Looking for your guidance on boarding my upcoming Ovation of the Seas cruise. I've selected the boarding time of 11am and now my set sail pass says "Please arrive no less than 2 hours before your scheduled boarding". Do they really want us turning up at 9am or can we arrive later?

Thanks

 

Presume that is a typo glitch more than anything... What they really want is that you Arrive to Check-In no less that 2 hours before departure time...

Great itinerary with NCL..

We had done about 8 TP's on RCI,  and cancelled one and jumped ship to NCL Jewel when it was to come down to Oz for first time.. They combined the best of the northern and southern route to Oz into one.. With NCL, we could do our normal flying into USA tripping , then finish with Jewel into Alaska, and then the Trans Pacific to home...  'Twas a great 49 nights on-board.. Great to see that they are repeating that inaugral itin..   We have  done quite a lot on NCL in other parts of the planet, so any Aussies wanting something different will not be disappointed.

30 minutes ago, Missmiaow said:

This is really confusing! I sent my travel agent the information below because we’re cruising in December. She replied quoting the same information but not answering my question. It says “All cruise travelers” need to buy it, but it also says “Australian citizens are exempt”. We don’t want to arrive and not be able to board, or arrive in NZ and be told we can’t leave the ship. Does anyone know the answer??

 

New Zealand will implement an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) as a new security and facilitation measure that will help speed things up at the border.

From July 2019, travellers will be able to request an ETA and it will become mandatory for travel from 1 October 2019 onwards. 

Who needs an ETA

From 1 October 2019, all air travellers from 60 visa waiver countries, and all cruise travellers, will need to hold an ETA before travelling to New Zealand. An ETA will last up to 2 years and cost NZD $9.00 for mobile application requests and NZD $12.00 for web browser requests.
 

• Australian citizens will be exempt, however Australian permanent residents will need to hold an ETA but will not be required to pay for an International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL).   
• New Zealand citizens (provided they travel on their New Zealand passports) and holders of valid New Zealand visas (both resident visas and temporary visas) will continue to be able to enter New Zealand without an ETA.
• Passengers from a visa waiver country or a transit visa waiver country, who are transiting through New Zealand, are also required to hold an ETA from 1 October 2019, even if New Zealand is not their final destination.

Some people living in Australia have residency, but are not Australian Citizens... They have to get an ETA, whether arriving by sea or air..     If you are a holder of an AU passport you ARE an Australian citizen, and dont need an ETA whatever travel means you use.. Passport holders from  other countries who are arriving by any means also need to check whether ETA,  applies to them. 

Hi David.

Phew!!!  Sadly we have needed to do a retake on our plans you have logged  during OCT and NOV 2019.

Since USA has declared Cuba a "no sail from USA"  country with tightened rules, all ship tourism travel is out.. 😞 

Can you please remove the 3 cruises "BIG KEV" has listed for then?  We have also cancelled the advance Celebrity sailing which we have down for  APRIL 2021 from Melbourne AU...    Time for us to re-hash all plans !!!

Thanks for your work, and sorry to cause inconvenience..

Sue and Phil

Uber 2 years ago in heavy morning peak traffic was just on $50

Phil and Sue

After getting email with our options, we decided to cancel our October 25th Empress O.S. cruise.. To experience Cuba was the prime  reason we were flying in from Australia.. Phoned and cancelled, and  email  "Cancellation Invoice" has arrived charging us our  deposit $200 ea ($400) "Cancellation Penalty" ..

WHAT THE ????????

Sue and Phil

UPDATE

Currently on board the Ship and we are all still having a fabulous time and ready to party even more tonight with the way CMV have handled the compensation😄

33 minutes ago, Big Kev said:

Columbus cancel.rtf

Re-posting below from CMV friends FB page..   CMV seasonally operated Astor from Fremantle, and soon to replace that with Vasco Da Gama.... It's a growing CMV fleet, and good to know that they are handling this problem very well... This is Hot Off The Press...

"Our cruise on Columbus to the Norwegian Fjords never made it to Norway! On leaving Amsterdam Thursday afternoon, the ship grounded and was delayed 8 hours for inspection by divers. All was deemed ok and we set off for Norway. Friday night as we neared Norway the captain announced (at 11.45pm!)there was a technical issue and we have to return to Holland for repairs, and the rest of the cruise to be cancelled. Now Sunday morning we are just arriving at a dock-yard in Ijmuiden and will stay 2 days here, then passengers to be returned to Uk by coach & ferry Tuesday morning (1 day early). We are all to get a full refund and a future free cruise!!! We were never in danger and now have 2 more days of free food and accommodation"!

16 minutes ago, windsor26 said:

 

 

You say you have received confirmation of being Black with them  but the form says  will not give their status unless you have a cruise with them booked   Did you have a cruise at the time or is it just a condition they are ignoring?   I have downloaded the forms and woujld like to get organised IN CASE  I book an msc cruise in the future

Hi ..

As mentioned, it was some time back that we asked for a match.. (Nov 2017).. via an on-line form..

Don't recollect anything about pre-booking on the application form when we applied, and like you, we wanted to be prepared..

It could be that the criteria has changed since then, but we did not have anything booked.

We were given a Voyagers club number, and at that time the letter from them says that  if we wanted to enjoy benefits and make a booking, to contact the reservations team..

Hope that helps, and,  wish you luck

🙂

46 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

https://www.msccruises.com.au/en-au/MSC-Voyagers-Club/Voyagers-Club.aspx

Just not sure what level X's Elite, RCI 's Diamond or Princess's Elite gets you to on MSC.

We are Elite Celebrity and D+ on RCI...We included both X and RCI on our match request and they gave us BLACK.. (Not sure which one did the trick) .. Did the match about 18 moths ago, but have not booked anything with them yet..

Sue and Phil

Laundromat in PICTON a short  walk from where the bus drops you off. You will pass it on the way in to town.

No problems.. If you have chosen MTD as your dining option, you do not need to pre-book each night..  (Some people want to try and predict hunger, but we cannot).

Situation is the same as Princess where you can just roll up when and if you wish, on each day.  Only difference is that you are not issued a pager and drink voucher on RCI..  We have never had to wait more than a few minutes anyway...

Sue and Phil

(Must add, that with RCI , during the initial booking process, you would have selected traditional (1st or second set time/table) or MTD)

Official USA government site for obtaining an ESTA         https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/

Typical !!!   Never used it recently, but understand it correct as you have described...  Straight answers never come easy from call centre...  However, would advise to minimise future problems, it would be better to do the 3 the bookings at the same time, with the same RCI rep.. 

You could all put a 24 hour hold on reservations first.

S and P

Currencies accepted will be  ---  USD for USA,   NZD for New Zealand and AUD for Australia... ATM's' available everywhere to get local currencies for incidentals, public transport and small market traders... (Best use Debit Card to avoid cash advance fees from your bank)     

Credit Cards accepted in most retail stores and restaurants etc.

Hope that helps,

Have a great trip  !!  🙂

Sue and Phil

8 hours ago, USNA 72 said:

In the US ATM fees at various banks can range from $1.50 to $6.00 per transaction.  If I wanted to use our ATM Debit card to withdraw AUD, about what sort of ATM fee might I expect to pay??  My bank debit card doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee, so this seems like the best way to get AUDs once we arrive in Sydney.

 

Thanks,

Greg

Much the same as in USA... I seek out bank owned ATM's when in AU or USA .. Charges are minimal and usually 4- $5AU  if not your own bank or reciprocal  ..   BUT to transact through privately owned ATM's is always hit and miss with unclear charges... 

Noted that several "Cruise Lines" pages on the main USA site have not opened for a few days now.. ie Celebrity and NCL are also "in the same boat"

Sorry to intrude, but it probably relevant to mention other AU differences..

Both Celebrity and Royal Caribbean now have gratuities built into the bottom line fare of ALL bookings based upon AUSTRALIAN website pricing structure and paid in AUD... Gratuities are not seperately itemised... That  means for ALL sailings, anywhere... If booked in USA,the option exists to pre-pay or have them added daily onto your on-board account..

3 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

So a week to go.

 

I am hoping to do a shortish review each day.

 

So setting up a thread, as the next week could be a bit hectic.

 

any requests?

Please have a filet mignon at Cagneys for  us... 

Hi David..

Could you please add these few into the mix when you have a chance?

2019
25 October … Big Kev ...RCCL Empress O.S.  ... Miami RT 3 Cuba Ports  8Nts
02 November ... Big Kev ... Celebrity Equinox ... Fort Lauderdale RT Costa Maya Cozumel etc  7Nts
09 November… Big Kev ... RCCL Adventure O.S.  ... Fort Lauderdale RT Aruba Bonaire Curacao  8Nts

2021
04 April … Big Kev ... Celebrity Eclipse ... Melbourne AU to Honolulu (via Tahiti)  19 Nts
 

Many Thanks,

Sue and Phil

The OP is Canadian....  If the cruise was purchased and paid in USA/Canada, the gratuities are not built into the bottom line cost unless the OP elected to pre-pay..

In those cases, basic gratuities are added to each persons on-board account daily..

Of course, any extras, over and above the amounts can be gratefully handed over in cash..  

Most crew would prefer USD cash, dependant upon the ships itinerary..

"The automatic service gratuity is $14.50 USD per person, per day for guests in Junior Suites and below, or $17.50 USD per person, per day for guests in Grand Suites and above, applied to each guest’s SeaPass account on a daily basis. The gratuity applies to individual guests of all ages and stateroom categories. As a way to reward our crew members for their outstanding service, gratuities are shared among dining, bar & culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams who work behind the scenes to enhance the cruise experience.

In the unlikely event that a guest onboard being charged the daily automatic gratuity does not receive satisfactory service, the guest may request to modify the daily amount at their discretion by visiting Guest Services onboard and will be able to do so until the morning of their departure. Guests who have pre-paid their gratuity will not see a daily charge during their cruise.)

Sue and Phil