austromyrtus

no need to walk from kanazawa station at all - just a short bus ride on the 800yen circle bus which leaves from kanazawa station & allows you to get off and on at: kenrokuen gardens; castle park; ninja house (great fun); geisha area & more. we went to all of these in one day using the bus. very enjoyable & low-cost day. http://www.hokutetsu.co.jp/en/en_round

just to give another perspective, we really enjoyed several cruises around japan on the diamond princess (admittedly pre-covid when cruises were cheaper) and we did not go on any excursions. perhaps it was helped by princess providing information & advice for travellers wanting to do their own thing. we always paid for the reasonably priced shuttles from the port and then went off on our own on local transport. for example in kanazawa they have a very reasonalbly priced day bus pass for 800yen which allows you to get off and on at the main sites without excessive walking. buses go every 15 minutes. we found similar options at other ports. http://www.hokutetsu.co.jp/en/en_round

we are on kangaroo island today - finally.. some blue sky & sunshine

not keen on the coffee on us ships, so wonder how much is a double espresso now please? we are elite on celebrity now so get free drinks between 5-7pm so that's a help.

wonder if you have had a sea day yet? if so, wondering who the guest lecturers are? (part of "beyond the podium presentations").

many thanks for the price re the eden restaurant menu kia ora. i hear the food is great but usd102 is quite expensive. we will be on the edge early april & already eden is quite heavily booked!

thanks for your review - i am interested to find out more about the eden restaurant if you get there. in particular the charge for the restaurant menu (as opposed to the tastimg menu which i think is usd102). thanks

many thanks for your very detailed & interesting report covering your overnight cruise port stay in naha. we enjoyed visiting naha on a diamond princess cruise but it was only a daytime stay. we are considering staying in naha for several days as part of a land-based trip to japan so welcome your recommendations re izakayas!

some background information... just back from the xmas/ny cruise on the edge which docked in lyttleton. we had a chance to talk to a bus driver. apparently many lyttleton local residents wanted to stop the cruise ship shuttles altogether (enjoyed being tourist-free during covid) but those who benefit like bus drivers, shops, cafes etc were keen to continue so there were negotiations to come up with a compromise. as a result the free shuttles are continuing but on a more restricted route to previously - only one drop off/pickup point - short walk up a bit of a steep hill to london st, the main shopping area.

yes i agree, including loss of hours for the allocated fantail tour guide.

as i have just booked a fantail tour for the end of december, this is of interest to me... i found this in the fantail cancellation policy which implies you get 80% back if the ship can't dock. A booking fee of 20% will be charged to cover some of our costs, should your ship be unable to dock due to bad weather

thanks for your suggestion. i contracted russ & while his tour does not include the albatross centre the day the edge is there, he was extremely helpful & gave me four other companies to contact.

celebrity edge will be in port chalmers on boxing day. have been to dunedin before & have always wanted to visit the royal albatross centre. it will be open that day. problem is how to get there? don't want to rent a car. celebrity has a tour which also goes to lanarch castle which i am not so interested in - 6 hrs - 1 place left - $355 aud!! we leave sydney 21 dec so not alot of time left to organise. i have emailed the albatross centre & am going to explore google possibilities but wondered if any folks on this forum may have suggestions/experience please?

a minisuite for an oceanview!! how lucky were you. we have a guaranteed oceanview booked on the celebrity edge xmas cruise. judt over two weeks until we sail & still waiting for it to be assigned. so one of the infinity balconies would be nice!!

yes, one of the things i really appreciate about princess. we were on rci brilliance of the seas recentlly where there was no info for independent travelers. thanks for your review.