Review - World Cruise 2012 - Sun Princess

[bazzaw]

Great review - many thanks for taking the time. About India - did hear quite a few people did not have visa's - what happened about this? In future wonder if the visa will be compulsory or not - it is a lot especially if only for one day.

 

That is strange! Because we stopped in Mumbai on P&O Oriana in Nov 2010 on our way to the UK - and P&O made sure that everybody had an Indian visa - whether we were getting off the ship or not. yes - it is expensive and it is also a pain in the b** to get.

 

In fact , we had an Ozzie couple on board - Sydney to Singapore and they had such a great time they inquired about continuing on to the UK - there was room on the ship - but they did not have an Indian visa, so could not continue past Singapore.

 

 

Barry

[Purples]

Thanks for your reply Bazzaw

[K-Roo-Zers]

Hi Steve and Donna,

 

What a wonderful review - felt we were there with you again!!

 

Can't believe how quickly the time has passed. Is it really almost seven months since we sailed out of Sydney harbour - wow, hard to believe.

 

It was an absolute pleasure meeting you both, and hope you are both well.

 

All the best for Christmas and the New Year and have a fantastic time on Diamond Princess. Wendy suggested we join you, but we have just undertaken renovations at home so the money tree is not growing too well. Would much prefer to chew half a dozen Oatmeal cookies rather than all the dust at home from the tiling - haha!

 

We will be in touch.

 

Best wishes

Nicki and Nigel

[stevedonna]

Great review - many thanks for taking the time. About India - did hear quite a few people did not have visa's - what happened about this? In future wonder if the visa will be compulsory or not - it is a lot especially if only for one day.

Hi

 

If you wanted to get off the ship - it was compulsory.

 

Here is a tale from my blog on the subject, and how it impacted a couple of lovely ladies whom we met.

 

An interesting tale from a couple of ladies we had lunch with. They ( an Aussie and an American) booked onto the cruise just the week before sailing – they decided it was a much more civilised way to get to their destination in Los Angeles than flying, could not agree more :) Because they booked so close to departure there was no time for the American lady to get the Indian visa.

 

 

The Indian visa was a compulsory requirement for everyone getting on the ship, regardless of whether or not you were getting off in Mumbai or not. To get the Indian visa one first had to complete an online application on the Indian Visa website which was designed by Bastards Inc. Then print off , take or post into Brisbane office, who sent it to Canberra consulate, who returned it etc etc etc.

 

 

So...these ladies were not in a position to do that, and the Indian officialdom were not to be budged. So the ladies were required to make arrangements to get off the ship in Kuala Lumpar (the port before Mumbai), make accommodation bookings for a few days in KL. Then book and pay for flights to Dubai, another few nights accommodation waiting for the ship to arrive there, so they could re-board. They were not happy about the inconvenience and additional expense, but accepted that was their lot given the late booking.

 

 

So after all bookings made, and expenses paid that need to be paid up front the plan was set. Upon boarding they ladies (and another 40 people without Indian Visas) were told that Indian officialdom had changed their mind and they could just stay on the ship in Mumbai.

 

 

So they were out of pocket, with flight expenses being non-refundable and not covered by insurance. In addition there are hundreds of people who got the visa, because it was 'compulsory' needlessly as they are not wanting to get off the ship in Mumbai.

 

 

Which leads me to the quote of the week. A lady from breakfast was discussing her experience when visiting the Indian Visa office in Brisbane...” I was gob-smacked when I entered the Indian Visa Office – it was full of Indians !!!! “

 

 

Yep, ya get that.

[stevedonna]

Hi Steve and Donna,

 

What a wonderful review - felt we were there with you again!!

 

Can't believe how quickly the time has passed. Is it really almost seven months since we sailed out of Sydney harbour - wow, hard to believe.

 

It was an absolute pleasure meeting you both, and hope you are both well.

 

All the best for Christmas and the New Year and have a fantastic time on Diamond Princess. Wendy suggested we join you, but we have just undertaken renovations at home so the money tree is not growing too well. Would much prefer to chew half a dozen Oatmeal cookies rather than all the dust at home from the tiling - haha!

 

We will be in touch.

 

Best wishes

Nicki and Nigel

 

 

Hi there, lovely to hear from you. Really looking forward to seeing the Diamond as we have heard only good reports about it.

 

All the best to you for xmas and the new year...and happy reno's :D

 

Cheers

 

Steve and Donna

[alibabacruisers]

Steve and Donna, what a great summary! I have just finished reading your entire world cruise blog...well, I read it to my husband over the past few weeks in installments. It was brilliant and so insightful. We felt like we went along with you. I really appreciated all your comments and hints along the way as well (cabin location, currency, tours, shopping, etc). You two sound like you are so much fun to be around and just WHERE do you find all that energy?? We laughed at your jokes, were saddened by your trips to the doctor, but uplifted overall by your enduring hardwork on the blog and your experiences. I wish I could have "watched" you get all that information collated for the world cruise. It must have been so time consuming and tedious at times.

 

My husband and I want to thank you so much for sharing your trip of a lifetime with us! We found it late but enjoyed it very much!!

 

Have fun on your next cruise and maybe someday we will have the good fortune of meeting you both.

 

Barbara and Ali:)

[Offspring]

Thanks Steve - very interesting.

Can you tell me what visas you needed please

Ta