Neil_c

Thanks

I am confused This is from The UK government website "You can visit Vietnam without a visa for up to 45 days for tourism or business. If you want to stay longer than 45 days, you can: book with a travel agent in Vietnam and ask them to apply for a visa pre-approval letter – your agent will tell you when to collect your visa from the embassy." So why the need for a visa? I can assume US are treated Differently

Just to agree but note on Cruises out of Southampton more people where formal wear. Guess its a cultural thing that Brits like to dress correctly. (awaiting flames)

I Have to agree that the original poster was being disrespectful. My Great nephew and his fiancé are performers on another carnival line ship, they are professionally trained performers. Princess along with all lines have a large pool of talent to chose from and you have to be talented to get on board. A number of the performers go on to a career in the West End and/or Broadway. The shows themselves may not be to everyone's taste (I don't like 5 Skies) but you should be respectful of the young performers who are trying to entertain us/

I renewed my UK passport took less than a week! all done online.

We were on Emerald in January. Asked cabin steward when he welcomed us for a kettle. Received in a couple of hours. Did have to bring the tea bags cups and milk from the buffet. Did mean we could have a proper cup of tea rather than what the Americans serve.😉

Very efficient when we sailed from Southampton in September. 1 queue but if Platinum, elite or suites you get priority (save about 2 minutes). Time from arriving (valet Parking), dropping luggage with porters (no tipping) getting medallion, check in, passport control and security to onboard - 30 minutes Neil

Hi I have not read the entire thread as a UK resident I do not have any option to have the medallion posted to home. Will have to see what the lines are like at San Pedro next month do not mined a short wait, but as a Brit queuing is a way of life!

HI As a fellow Brit I agree. Whilst what other people wear does not bother me, I actually find it impolite for people to be in shorts and T shirts in the MDR, but that might be because I am older ( mid 60s) and the way I was brought up.

We have cruised on a few cruise lines and have never used the fixed dining when offered. Much prefer not having a fixed time, and just going to the dining rooms when we feel like its time to eat. never had a long wait when just the 2 of us as we enjoy sharing tables with different passengers over the course of the cruise. We don't need to have the same waiters the whole time, I know some people enjoy the waiters knowing their preferences but we are quite capable of just asking for what we want.

Was on sky in June. Had turndown service (no chocolates). Also a couple of towel animals.

Went in June. My advice don’t take Princess excusion. Local operatives are significantly cheaper

Just think green lane will be very short. Most will be blue lane as they will be picking up medallions. However as you said it is very efficient and last time we sailed in June no real difference between fast tracked and normal green lane

Will be interesting to see. We have only sailed from Southampton were from my observations the vast majority are picking up medallions at check in. I know it will be different sailing out of American ports.

Yes the same as us also booked on Regal in September. However under this new scheme does this change?

Also for us UK based. We cannot get the medallion sent to our home so we will never be green lane even with the package

Thanks.

Anyone aware of how the system is working at Southampton? Especially as outside USA you can only get your medallion at the port.

This is the usual discussion about tipping. There is a completely different culture over tipping in UK as opposed to US. Here in the UK we do not tip everyone who we deal with, service charges are added at some restaurants and we will tip if not. This is usually at a level of 10 to 12.5%. We do not tip for every drink we receive at a bar. As far as being on a cruise, if we are on Princess and have the plus package (which we usually do), then we do not tip extra with the possible exception of the room steward. We do not tip in MDR as we use Freedom dining and rarely have the same waiters. I have no problem going in on the final night and not tipping. From discussion I have had with crew members it is more important that good service is noted on the end of cruise questionnaires. You should be aware that P&O which is a sister company but UK based has not got the daily tips or tipping on every drinks as it is all rolled into the fare, this saves most of these arguments

Hope you have good weather too

We used Sagatravel.is - Lake Mývatn Classic from Akureyri Port and from Reykjavik for the Golden Circle - both small coaches. others in our party did a puffin boat tour and kayaking in Grundarfjordur

We completed this cruise at the weekend and here is my short review. These are based on our party of 4, 2 of us seconded time with Princess but have sailed on other lines and 2 first timers Pros Love the ship – although a covered pool would be useful Entertainment – Enjoyed all the shows we saw and thought they were a very high standard -especially the Beatles tribute act and “The Trawlermen” - The trivia we attended was a bit mixed as they were trying to cater for passengers from UK and USA (nearly 50/50 split). But as we won the long trivia quiz it was appositive! Food – we enjoyed it and thought it was an improvement on the sailing from last year and on a recent P&O cruise. Good choices in the World Fresh Marketplace and not difficult to get a table. Crew – Excellent all trying the best to serve everyone and always with a smile on their faces. Cons Shore excursions – We saw the price compared to booking independently and did not book any ships excursions, from talking to fellow passengers we got better trips at less costs. Sensor light in Stateroom – Hated the one in the closet area went on when not needed, went off when needed. Overall, we had a great time, we had great weather with it dry at every port in Norway and Iceland, with calm seas throughout. We booked another cruise onboard for September and the 1st timers are smitten just waiting for them to book more

Thanks

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Hi Traveling in January 2024, we are arriving at LAX after 11 hour flight from London. we have 2 nights in hotel before departure from San Pedro cruise port. Looking for recommendation of hotel that is convenient for either sightseeing and/or port as this our 1st time in LA need help TIA Neil