tai.chi.cruiser

It’s always good to have local currency on hand if possible.

With peso in hands, we hailed a taxi across the street from cruise terminal to hotel for less than 200 peso (US$5) when others paid US$20 for the same ride from the terminal taxi line.

Cambios on Florida St accept US $, Euro & Brazil Real, best rate for US $.

Our taxi from hotel to EZE accepted credit card.

We used Canadian credit cards for large purchases and the exchange rate was quite good ~30 (Dec 2018).

Can non elite passengers in the same cabin (in this case a suite) attend Captains Club elite drinks / events?

 

Apologies as I'm sure this has been asked and answered previously, but in some haste .. :-)

I travelled on B2B Cruises last Nov with my Elite sister, I went to all the Elite breakfast and drinks with her on the 1st cruise. On the 2nd cruise, the CC hostess gave me an Elite access card so I can enter the venues without physically being with my sister.

Thanks, varoo.

Yes, most definitely if you are sharing the same stateroom.

You can't just be cruising "with" someone but must actually be registered in the same stateroom.

(Otherwise, all the Elite members would invite all their friends. :D)

If you see the Captain's Club host, s/he can give you your own card, or put a sticker on your seapass card, that you can use for admittance to the Elite events even if you and your roommate do not enter the room together.

My sister and I are cruising together this Fall. Can I, non-elite, join her at the elite breakfast or lounge for drinks?

So what if u have bought $2000 obc in Canadian dollars and don't spend it. Will u get the amount back in US dollars? Ncl has an $1000 limit right now for Canadians that try to do this.

Anyone with experience with this? I was told by Princess that they will send you back a cheque if the balance is >$25, but I'm not sure in what currency.

Hi,

There are a couple long threads on here with tips about Canadians cruising.

 

Yes have them charge in US$. Most banks add 2.5% fee on. Chase cards don't add the fee. Princess' fee and what rate they use is a mystery.

 

If you bought the cruise in Cad, your conversion rate is fixed - you can buy OBC at that rate - if the rate is better than current market, you save a few dollars.

You can prebuy drink packs and gratuities at that rate too. Do this online in the cruise personalizer.

 

Shore excursions prepaid are at current rate - better to reserve snd pay on board with OBC, depending on the rates.

Agree, check Cruise Personalizer for the exchange rate first. Mine is at 1.30C$/1US$, cheaper than current posted rate. I plan to load up on OBC before my cruise, any remaining OBC will be refunded.

We will also have 3 stops in Vietnam on our Millenium cruise next year, and using a private tour guide, will we need to get a separate visa for each day we get off the ship?

 

Thanks for your help.

We just returned from our Millenium cruise with 3 stops in Vietnam last week. For those doing day tours only, the cruise organized group visa @$50 per person. The ship kept all passports but provide landing cards which were stamped by Vietnamese official upon arrival at each port.

For those with overnight tours, we had to apply for individual visas with a photo + $60 per person. Our passports, with visa attached, were returned to us for our private overnight tours.

Hope this help.

I have a lot of OBC to use up, but can't use them until I'm on board. Would it work if I book my excursions by credit card now, then cancel on board to have them credited as refundable OBC? Then use my non refundable OBC to book the same excursions?

Sounds like a lot of work, just don't know what to do with all those OBC.

Thanks for your thought.

Another vote for Salisbury for its excellent location. We stayed there a few years ago and literally walked to the cruise terminal.

The rooms should be opened up for booking soon. I had to wait til last month before Nov 2014 was available for booking. We still prefer Salisbury despite our cruise departs from Kai Tak terminal.

We took the double deck from the airport, which stopped right across the street from the hotel. It was a great experience for my children as they got the ride the bus upper deck, cross the massive bridge and into the dazzling night life of HK. Quite the intro to this fascinating city.