Tedferg

Does the name you use in Personal Info have to match up with passport? Can't you use any name there? Can't name on Profile and name on Passport Details be different?

ATMs belonging to Banks charge a fee to users who are not in their banking system. I use a Schwab credit card that waives any such fees, because they do not have ATMs. However, I made a withdrawal at a small Scottish town and was charged a banking fee on top of the ATM fee. The ATM fee was waived but not the banking fee.

 ATM onboard only dispenses US$ does not change currency. I rarely use them because of the fees.

8 minutes ago, suzyed said:

I accidentally left my ATM card at home!  What to do??

If you have a credit card and Pin you should be able to get a cash advance - not sure what charges are so I would minimize the amount. You would only do this where you absolutely need cash.

As well as lower insurance, you can apply OBC if you purchase onboard. FYI Plus does not hit your account until after you sail, so first drinks will be charged but you can have them removed.

14 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

I understand. It’s a shame we have to keep checking our records, cabins, excursions, etc.

Especially when the email from Princess says "Emergency Notification". I started a Chat session and eventually noticed the excursion number was for original excursion.

My mistake, I had cancelled and booked a different excursion a week or more ago and the email was about the cancelled one/ I over reacted because I saw other cancelled excursions. 😞

Thanks Ken, I did post on Roll Call and there was a Tauranga excursion too. So wondered if there might be a more general reason, no problem, I will ask at excursion desk when we board. Also the other excursions for that day now show on Princess site, 

18 hours ago, retird said:

In 2016 we used an opal card and kept replenishing it from our bank account/credit card.    Found it super easy

My concern was that we would both need Opal cards and difficulty in estimating how many $ to top them up. Assumed any unused residual might be lost. Since we both have tap credit cards, that's an easier solution.

On our Oct 2023 Trans Pacific we are told the Oct 10 Tahiti Papeete excursion has been cancelled 'for operational reasons'. Princess site has just changed to say 'No Excursions for this port'. Any Ideas?

ETA I wondered why they would cancel all excursions. Possible problem with one provider or transport etc. But to cancel all excursions made me wonder.

18 hours ago, NavyVeteran said:

 If I order a drink with the Plus package and give half of it to someone else, that violates the rules. 

It does not violate the rules if the other person also has Plus package. The No-Sharing was to stop one person buying the Drink package and getting drinks for another person without the package.

16 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

 I am sure the waiters would just love being the food police!  NOT

Exactly, imagine passenger and waiter standing at Guest Services with passenger wiping sauce off their lips, 'But you Honour, I did not eat the pizza'.

15 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

I don't see how that could be justified.  We have yet to hear of that scenario from any live ship report.  How can they charge for something not ordered?  Also, the T&C do not stipulate that both guests in cabin are forced to order the Prix Fixe option if one does.

Agree, I was extrapolating from earlier posts. I have suspected that both of you sitting in Alfredos would routinely be flagged as a visit each, without clarification of who ordered what and that you might need to point out to the waiter that you are not ordering food. If only one is flagged, then do the staff watch each table to make sure that the second guest does not sneak a slice of pizza?

15 hours ago, dreams_of_travel said:

Here's another write up/how to do this trip on your own: 

https://sydneyexpert.com/blue-mountains-itinerary-by-train/

 

@Tedferg  when are you planning on your trip?  If all goes well, I should be doing this train trip from Sydney in November after my cruise. 

Great description and an itinerary to limit walking time to 30 minutes!

 Great link from Yarramar too !

Thanks Yarramar and Possum, we are thinking of doing this on Oct 24th this year. We will dock in Sydney on Oct 23 and fly home late on Oct 26. I am wondering if trying to fit in Blue Mountains might be too much and we might be better off seeing more of Sydney.

So two people on Plus and only one orders a la carte pizza, the other person has a beer and does not eat pizza - are they still charged for two credits? 

I see a HOHO Bus at Katoomba. Is this a good option for someone who does not know the area? Also is there more than one train to choose?

Ah, at those prices we might as well go to Crown Grill, if we can get in 🙂

 We will be on Plus and hope they allow us to share a pizza with one dining credit. I guess just because it makes sense. Still baffled by two visits no matter cruise length. Also, there are many examples like not enforcing no-shorts in MDR and no checking on Chair Hogs, that show that the crew do not alienate passengers.

We have enjoyed Specialty Dining Iin the past, but now find it is too much food and the novelty has worn off, for us. It might be nice to pay for the better steak in MDR. Is this always on the menu and what is the charge?

On 9/12/2023 at 8:04 PM, Nebr.cruiser said:

We used credit cards.  Cheap and easy.  No need for an Opal card, as far as I can see.

Thanks, on our British Isles cruise this summer we found the tap card to be universal. I just wondered if Sydney rapid transit might be different.

11 hours ago, antsp said:

My point was, IT workers don't like Apple

IMHO Apple makes great products but do obsolete older hardware quickly by incompatible OS releases.

10 hours ago, wallyj said:

Sharing is restricted if you are using a casual dining credit from Plus or Premier, same principle as you are not suppose to share ‘drinks’ from your package.

However if both of you are on Plus, then it is not sharing per se. DW might order a drink and find she does not like it, no problem with me finishing that drink.

I had to have Chat book an excursion for us a couple of weeks ago when I could not bring up Excursions on the website. The booked vacation always showed up on our itinerary / excursions, though I was never asked about payment. Today I saw an excursion that I preferred, so cancelled the first and booked the second online. This time I saw the notification that excursions are not confirmed until paid for. I used Pay now and credit was applied from OBC.

1 hour ago, kiwimum said:

  If using casual dining credit no sharing.  

How was this checked, do the waiters hover and make sure your partner does not take a slice?