lissie

Assuming that your previous port was in the Schengen area there will be zero formalities and zero issues. We were in Trieste last year changing trains - and spent a few hours to have a look around. It's a lovely town and its walking distance from the pier to the railway station - have a look at google maps. It's definitely worth having a look around town before you leave.

This is my goto site answers everything - how's the weather, when does it get dark and what timezone Weather for Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada (timeanddate.com)

Well I need an ESTA applied for an approved and my passport - but your mileage may vary if you are not a New Zealander

There's actually 2 outlets - one is US one is EU /220V - so bring a plug adaptor and use both

You won't be able to receive /send texts unless your provider allows text/calls over wifi. An easier solution would be to use the whtasaapp app which only need wifi . We spent a total of 54 days on the QE last year and the speed of the internet varied from slow to non-existent. Often we couldn't' connect for days - some times I could connect after middnight - sometimes not Do NOT expect to be able to use it - and be pleased if you can. We used the phones in the bar to leave messages on the cabin phone

We're doing a different cruise and not all the same ports. However, for both Sydney and Corner Brook I've hired a car for the day so that we can visit Louisburg and Gros Morne NP respectively. I'd disagree re the comment about limited options. The Caribbean has a lot of manufactured things to do e.g. water sports etc. But this area of Canada has an amazing history, and we are very excited about some of the options of places we have to go to. These are tiny settlements though - I'd do your research up front and decide what you are going to do in advance and book it. There are not going to be hoards of operators at the port touting for your business.

you mean August 2022 on a dfferent cruise line - denied entry to Bermuda so we did 7 days across the Atlantic with no internet and no TV either - thank god they had a decent library - but it was a pain as we had a new announced port in the Azores and everyone queued up in the library looking to borrow the 3 travel guides on the Azores!

No we have cards like that -they are horrible. Mine is a genuine multi-currency debit card - I can load any of many major currencies. That's how I have A$ - it was refund from a car hire I had to cancel that was prepaid. I could transfer the A$ to my base currency NZ$ but I've left it there because Australia is nearby and we often travel there. The card provides me local bank accounts in these many currencies including C$ US$ A$ EUR etc etc - so I can get paid directly too which is convenient too. wise dot com is mine but I think revoulut does something similar.

I've never seen that Viator or TripAdvisor. I was looking for a walking tour of Boston - found one that looked good $150pp on TA -found the provider and booked directly with them $97 - exactly the same tour -that's how much the commission is. Also booked direct I can cancel up until 24 hours prior. And if they didn't show up I could do a charge back on my CC . I use TA to FIND the tours but book direct

I'm an expert at getting things delivered but not to my home address! Getting things shipped to NZ is $$$ so Amazon's lockers are fantastic - last time I literally shopped the day before we arrived in SF, picked up the items 2 days later - realised I'd left a lens at home and still had time to get it shipped to SF locker before we shipped out. You just need the code they send to you via email. My SIL does it all the time with children in different places and not necessarily with secure parcel delivery

That would be perfect - we had 8:30 on our last cruise and it was pretty late

Get all the documentation sorted and worry about the claim once you get home. Have a wonderful cruise.

Insurance. Take photos - get a statement from HAL - claim on your travel insurance Why not shop on Amazon to replace - and use their locker system so you can pick up the items when you return to Boston? The locker system is great for when you are travelling and need items - I used it last year in SF and found it reliable - there are number of location in downtown Boston

If you remember can you check what time the fixed seatings are in the MDR ? We're hoping to get late fixed but I've not seen the time confirmed anywhere for this ship .

There seems no point though - I would wait until you've paid in full and are sure you're going on the cruise

Unfortunately most of the comments here are from the American POV. And your comment summarizes the issue. EVERYWHERE in the world is cheaper to go to hospital in than the USA. For example if you as a tourist stepped off a cruise ship in NZ - walked across the road - got hit by a car because you looked the wrong way you would be picked up by an ambulance (conventional or air depending on the location) - transferred to the local hospital, assessed, admitted if necessary, treated including surgery and discharged. What would this cost you (or your insurance company). Zero, nothing , nada. It was an accident and we have no fault accident coverage here. You'd only start paying at the point you needed to rearrange travel to return home. If the same tourist had collapsed with symptoms- ambulance-emergency-heart attack- emergency surgery. Yes there would be a bill - not an accident but a medical event. But you can stay a week in cardiac care and have emergency surgery probably for about US$70k - I'm guessing that's less than the US. We don't have private insurance in NZ my partner's cardiac surgery was free because we are residents. But we see his preferred specialist privately and pay what he charges - its about US$150 a visit including some tests. My issue around insurance is NOT about loss of pre-paid costs - which are the airfares and cruise costs. For our next trip that is approximately US$16k for the 2 of us. That's an annoying loss but its not life changing. What I want insuring is the open-ended costs of ending up in the US medical system. That is where the cost is - we can't afford bills of US$200k up without seriously impacting our lifestyle.

Yes doesn't include gratuities for us. the difference in price is around US$1244 per person in an inside. . The excursions are well over-priced on this cruise so we've booked independently or will tour independently hiring a car in a couple of ports. I can get an eSim to cover places like Iceland for $4.50 for the week. Only in port I know - but given we are hugging the shore - that will be most of the time. Being off-line for a few days doesn't matter to me - and if it does I can pay $20 and connect for 24 hours. After a long-day in port realistically I know I won't drink more than a cocktail ($11-$14) and glass or 2 of wine in the evening. The wine package should cover the wine @ 8 bottes for $250 approx. There is coffee and orange juice included in breakfast from what I see. I think cruise lines make a lot of money with these packages because people are too lazy to do the sums. Plus we have $650 OBC for the cabin so that's free money we might as well spend on drinks!

Ah thanks - I must admit when I added up how much we'd drink I was so not close to the amount for HIA I didn't go any further. It would have been tempting if it had included gratuities

You have to do your own numbers and look at the cruise you are booking - we are doing a 25 day cruise with only 4 sea days. We drink cocktails and wine but not soda. Drink some coffee and tea. I couldn't even close to justifying the extra cost involved. Plus the cruise excursion credits are only available for sales on board and almost all good excursions are booked out prior to sailing. I will have cellular access at the ports so don't really need it on the ship. There are other options - we'll probably get a wine bottle package for example. because of so few sea days not really worried about the extra dining options

We will most definitely keeping a close eye on the charges after some of the threads here - we don't have a drinks package so we will be charging drinks as we go

I didn't bother with insurance in my 20sand 30s -no pre-existing no issues. However now its kinda not optional - we are paying aroiund US$3500 for the 2 of us for just over 2 months this year

Oh that's an interesting itinerary - thanks East Timor is not somewhere that's particularly easy to get to. I've been to conflict Islands in PNG and althought itts a private island the beach is absolutely stunning - one of the best I've ever been to - walk 10 min and you will have it to yourself

If I don't pay my credit card when its due the current interest rate is about 26%! I always pay it when due. Even when I've had a dispute (and won it) over a couple of months I had to pay the amount in full and then got it refunded - putting my credit card into credit for some months. My debit card is not the one I use at home associated with my main current account. Its an entirely separate travel card not associated with my usual bank.

Interesting - I'll look into it for our next trip. Maybe we need to take more shorter trips rather than one long trip - I could live with that

I'm sure that's all true - but I don't understand why using a credit or debit card would make any difference. If I got an erroneous charge after arrival had couldn't get it fixed by HAL or my TA I'd do a charge back