rogueriver

We will have two nights in Honolulu on an upcoming October cruise.  We were thinking about possibly flying over to Maui to spend the night (since our cruise will not be able to stop there).  Does Carnival allow passengers to be away from the ship for the night and return the next day before sail away?

On 4/16/2024 at 12:04 PM, tj_shopper said:

Yes!  My daughter bought that pillow for our trip to Portugal.  I borrowed it on the trip home.  It did work okay and I initially really liked it.  However, I guess I’m not used to sleeping like that - leaning forward.  I ended up getting a headache and wanted to sleep sitting back but then my head kept falling sideways.  I might have to try it again if I don’t have any other options.  By the way, it’s collapsible.  If I recall my daughter blew it up like a balloon.

Thanks for your comments. It seems like this pillow may work ok for some people but not so much for others.  I figure since it isn't too spendy, I'll give it a try.  It sure would help if could get a little sleep on these long flights!

I'll be flying to Singapore in October and not looking forward to the long flight. I saw on Amazon an inflatable pillow with a hole in the top and sides.  You set it on the fold-down tray and then rest your head and arms in it to sleep.  My back always gets sore on long flights and I feel better if I can lean forward, but just not sure if this will work for me.  Has anyone tried this type of pillow?

4 hours ago, Heartfelttraveler said:

We booked the Fuji Excursion train each way through klook.com.  It is a direct train (with stops but not change trains) from Shinjuku Station to Kawaguchiko Station.  It stops at Shinjuku-Tachikawa-Hachioji-Otsuki-Tsurubunkadaigakumae-Shimoyoshida-Mt. Fuji-Fujikyu Highland-Kawaguchiko.  It takes about 2 hours.  Our prepurchase tickets were $30 USD for reserved seats each way including the small fee that Klook charges.  The key to the tickets/train we chose is that we get on the train in Shinjuku and do not have to change trains, cars or seats.  Also, the train does not have to deal with traffic.

 

This is exactly what we planned, so I appreciate your detailed information.  Once in Kawaguchiko we are thinking of taking the red line sightseeing bus around the lake.  Did you possibility do this as well?  If so, any advice you can give us on that?

7 hours ago, Heartfelttraveler said:

We pre purchased our Fuji Excursion Express train tickets on klook website.  Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko.  One month before the reservation the tickets are confirmed and you get a QR code to pick the tickets up at the station.  You purchase the to and from tickets separately.  
 

https://www.klook.com/en-US/rails-32/1012-japan/route-1372/kawaguchiko-to-shinjuku-trains/

 

They do sell out fast.

Great to know.  Thanks!

Thanks so much for the information. On Klook we can purchase 30 days in advance so that’s what we’ll do since we understand that the seats sell out fast.

We will be visiting Tokyo for a few days in October before we fly to Singapore for our trans Pacific cruise. While in Tokyo we plan to take the Fuji Excursion train from Tokyo's Shinjuku district to see Mt. Fuji and the lakes.  We want to purchase the tickets online in advance, but we cannot find how to do that on the Japan Rail website.  It appears that only the JR Pass is available to purchase online. We don't want to purchase the JR Pass since we will only be in Tokyo a short time.

In our search, we found that we can purchase the Fuji Excursion tickets in advance from the Klook website, but we thought there might be a savings if we purchased directly from Japan Rail. Do any of you well-traveled CC folks know if that is possible?  

Thanks!

We are also taking a cruise out of Singapore, leaving in October. We have not been to Tokyo either, so we decided to do a layover there for three days as an opportunity to see the city.  We booked our flight as a multi-city and the cost was not that much more than a direct to Singapore.  I realize this doesn't answer your question, but you might want to consider it if you have enough time. I figured we would probably only be in the Asia once, so might as well see Tokyo!

We were on a Princess cruise last April stopping in Honolulu.  After researching alternatives, we found it easier and less expensive to reserve a car through Costco and pick it up at the airport rental car center.  We took an Uber to the airport and it picked us up just across the street from where we were docked (near the Aloha Tower).

On 11/5/2023 at 12:13 PM, Hank.ncl said:

I was on Ruby in May and casino was full of smoke. Now, however, did not notice any smoking at all. Not sure if it was just the crowd or whether they have restricted smoking in someway in the casino. They’ve change the layout, reduce the number of tables and increased the slots.

 

 

Just got home after our trip on the Ruby.  We spent time in the casino and the smoke was not an issue for us.  There is a smoking section but the smoke stayed mainly in that area.  We did not notice smoke at all in the non-smoking area, and there was just a slight smoke smell at the tables.  I thought the casino was laid out pretty well and enjoyed playing there.  It was very busy most of the time on our cruise.

31 minutes ago, familyward said:

Thank you all for the info in the public areas!  I’m wondering if the cabins have been updated eg lamps with USB connections? Are all the tv’s now wall mounted? We’ll be in Caribe No. 230 on the January 9th sailing. Can’t wait 😁

Yes the TV is wall mounted, but unfortunately the lamps don’t have the USB ports. The mattress is very comfortable and great pillows. I haven’t sailed the Ruby before so can’t really say what changes have been made.

38 minutes ago, Bjbilly said:

Try and let us know what you see when you get on board I'm getting on when you get off thank you

Will do!

7 minutes ago, Bjbilly said:

How long is she staying in Portland

We’re scheduled to sail on her out of San Francisco on Oct 22, so they have a little over a week to get it done. I’m anxious to see how she looks, although I’ve never sailed the Ruby before so everything will be new to me!

Thanks all for comments. It sounds like we may luck out and be able to text each other. Well, that is unless Princess reads this thread and closes the thingamajiggy!

My sister and I will be doing a Panama Canal cruise in late October.  I will have the internet package but she won't.  Are we able to i-message each other while onboard if she doesn't have internet?  I know there is a messaging system on the app but it's not very helpful because it doesn't alert when you have a message. Thanks in advance.

We will be on the Panama Canal full transit cruise this October and were notified several months ago that Nicaragua would no longer be a stop.  It's strange that they are still advertising it as a stop for future cruises since they know it won't happen.

We will be on the Panama Canal cruise right after the ship finishes in drydock.  Very excited to hear about some of the upgrades, especially the freshening of the cabins.  Looking forward to hearing any additional information.  Thanks, Belle!

15 hours ago, memoak said:

So when you are on a cruise how do you pay your bills ?  Don’t you go on unknown Wi-Fi connections to pay them ?”

 

We were on the 29 day trans Pacific cruise in April and set up all of our utility and credit card bills to be auto pay.  We made sure there was enough funds in our account so there wouldn't be any problems.  Worked like a charm!

We were directly across from the laundry on our 29 day trans Pacific cruise in April, and we didn't have any issues with noise.  Yes, we could hear the door close occasionally, but it wasn't an issue at night.  Also, it was very convenient to have the laundry so close.

We were on the Grand this past April for the trans Pacific Sydney to San Francisco.  We enjoyed the ship, but some of the furniture, especially in the Vista and Explorer Lounges really needs to be replaced.  There were also occasions when buckets were out catching drips from the ceilings. We also had a major electrical issue that caused many of us to be moved to other cabins, but that was fixed once we arrived in Honolulu.  Even with these issues, we really enjoyed the ship and the crew was fantastic, especially the Cruise Director Jayson and all of this staff.  

2 hours ago, Grover_ said:

 

The cruise will be onboard the Royal Princess, but perhaps they just won’t be offering the bottled water in Australia and New Zealand?

We were on the Grand in April for the trans Pacific Sydney to San Francisco.  We were able to order the water package.

I don't know about the Sapphire, but we were on the Grand for a 29 day trans Pacific cruise in April.  There was Zumba daily on sea days as well as a pop choir and mob flash dance.

We were on the Grand in April and had foot rests on our mini suite balcony.  However, we had to be moved to a balcony cabin because of a major electrical issue, and that cabin did not have the foot rests.  I guess they are now provided only in mini suites and above.

When we were on the Grand in April, Smize was available to order on the app.  I believe the price was $6 for a tiny container - ridiculous in my opinion! They also kept showing the Tyra Banks commercial during the daily Wake Show, which was pretty annoying.

44 minutes ago, ktcishot said:

Have they been serving popcorn with MUTS? 

They were serving popcorn when we were on the Grand in April.