Kristal Blade

I noticed that Desert Cruisers mentioned being in Russia on their cruise. Was that the day in Korsakov?

If so could you please give me some info about going ashore there? I have read conflicting things about the need for visas. Princess says we need to be on an excursion to be allowed ashore, but I have read that this is one part of Russia where you can visit for 72 hours without the need of a visa.

Whatever the visa question we know we will want to go ashore, but what is there to do there?

Thanks again, in anticipation..... ;)

When we were in Tahiti last year there were several private tour guides looking for custom, some were even there to get bookings for Moorea the next day.

In Bora Bora we booked a terrific day trip where we swam with sharks and rays and had lunch on a motu, also snorkelled with tropical fish. Booked it from home, before we left and it was one of our best ever cruise excursions. If you need it I can find the details for you :)

You will have a terrific time, the South Pacific is a gorgeous destination.

Thanks to lots of you for adding additional tips for us first timers to Japan.

I am expecting the Japanese loos (toilets) to be a lot better than the Chinese ones. Having been to China I know how "exciting" a trip to the toilet can be.

I have emailed Princess direct to ask about disembarkation times for B2B pax, but they said they couldn't give definite times as there may be some customs procedures to go through before anyone gets off and this could cause a delay.

Looking forward to trying out the Japanese food on board, I love green tea ice cream so I will definitely be having that. What were the Japanese breakfast options, please?

Thanks again everyone :)

Thanks Knippsel for starting this thread.

Big thanks to MKEcruiser for such a comprehensive reply.

We are doing the B2B2B in September too and we are really excited about it now! Think we are going to really enjoy it.

I have a couple of other questions,

When we are on turnaround day will we be able to get off early, i.e. before all those who are going home?

Was there much ballroom dancing during the cruise? We have been on other cruises where the Japanese seem to be up dancing a lot so we would like to join in with that if possible.

Thanks again, everyone:)

We did our first Celebrity cruise last year and loved it. The food is very good, but yes, they do pipe loud music out a lot. However, when we were seated under a speaker in the buffet we just asked them to turn it down and they always did!

Don't dismiss Celebrity just for the music because they will accommodate those of us who prefer calmer, quieter conditions.

We have done 2 Princess cruises and are about to do another later this year.

Celebrity has way better food than Cunard, which we experienced on QM2 on a trans Atlantic recently.

I can't remember what time we got back to the port, but everyone on the trip was from the cruise line. I am sure if you contact them and tell them you need to be back early they could accommodate you, they are really nice people and the trip is worth doing. They are used to coping with cruise times.

Best of luck

I think you should have enough time to do the "Jewels of Fiji" trip. If you Google it you will find it.

It is a great full day activity. Bus ride through Fiji countryside to a traditional village where you will be welcomed and encouraged to drink the cava. Then lunch will be served, cooked in a fire pit and totally delicious. Followed by a canoe trip (you don't get involved in paddling!) to a waterfall, which you walk to, then swim in the refreshing water below the falls. Canoe back to the bus stop and bus back to the ship.

You dock right by the market which is really interesting too.

I'm sorry I can't give you the web address, seem to have lost it from my favourites. We did this trip last October and would do it again tomorrow!

Enjoy your day, whatever you do.:D

Hi everyone,

I am looking for a little help on what to do on a day in Korsakov.

Visiting in October this year, from 0600 to 1800. I think we may need to use a cruise organised excursion, but they do offer a $15 ride to town. Once we get there, what is there to do?

The info I have found so far is all a bit negative - the museum is poor, there is no real tourism angle.

Any ideas would be much appreciated.

Thanks in anticipation!

Hi Tot!

I will be visiting Beppu in 6 months so will keep an eye on this thread. So far I have found out that the town is walkable, but as you say , the "onsens" are the big thing there. You can catch a bus from the station to the Eight Hells, they are 20 mins away.

Also there is Mount Tsurumi, there is a cable car to the top for nice views.

And a zoo with wild monkeys in a forest habitat.

Hope that helps a bit, but maybe previous visitors can tell us a bit more :)

All the best, KB

Thanks for this really useful train info.

We are doing a cruise round Japan and will pass through Yokohama 3 times. We really want to see Mount Fuji and want to know if it is possible to do this independently or if we should take the cruise ship tour. :confused: We are on Diamond Princess in Sept/Oct this year.

Hope somebody can answer this.

Cheers

Hi Puddles99,

Still laughing about your post! We will be in Samana in a few weeks.

When I read out your post to my husband he said he would take $20 ashore and get a really good woman!!:D

There are 4 of us in our group and we are just going to wait and see what tours are on offer when we arrive. I am hoping we can pick up an independent version of some of the tours described here.

We recently did a helicopter flight round Kauai with Island Helicopters. This is the company which does the landing at the Jurassic Park waterfall. We did the trip without the landing and it was AMAZING!

We had a great view and best of all we were able to go right inside the volcanic crater pin around.

I get a bight scared with heights but it was so smooth and the scenery was so breathtaking I forgot all about being scared.:D

They came and picked us up from the cruise ship and took us back - terrific service.

I think you will get a lot closer to the scenery in a helicopter, so I would do that rather than a plane flight.

Enjoy whatever you do.:)

Hi, Can anyone tell me if passengers are allowed to take duty free drinks on board the ship?

We have friends flying to Barbados to join a Thomson cruise and they need to know if they will be allowed to BYO from the airport duty free.

Thanks for any help with this:)

We were in Hawaii in October, on Millennium. In Lahaina we picked up a tour on the dockside, after we arrived by tender. We had a stretch limo! It was great fun, the driver was really laid back and there was a bar on board stocked with fruit juices, cokes rum and vodka. We had our first rum punch about 9:30am!!

The tour took us to the tropical fruit farm, the community garden and to the Needle. We got the driver, Carl, to stop at a beach so we could get some pics and we ended up at the Buddhist temple, which was lovely. We were dropped off in town near the Starbucks so we could get some wifi.

I am sorry I don't know the name of the company we used but it was a fun trip, 8 pax in the limo and all arranged last minute when we arrived.

Really loving your posts! We are on Gem for the first time for the Xmas and New Year cruise.

Looking forward to info about the ports.

Thanks so much for taking the time to post this for us to enjoy:)

Hi Paul,

I will be in Chacabuco on 3 March this year, with Adonia cruise ship. Can you tell me if there are any local parks where we could see some local birds or wildlife please?

Also are there any decent places to eat?

I think there must be some good things to see in Chacabuco otherwise you would not have gone to retire there!:D

Alternatively would you be able to meet me and some other cruise pax for a walk round the town please?

Thanks very much