hawkesbaynz

We used Xuan Le for our tours to HCMC, Nha Trang ((with his colleague Mr Hoi) and Hue. Xuan was an excellent guide. Charming and informative. Communicates well pre-cruise. Five stars!

The Far East Solstice cruise we embark next week is £18 to upgrade. However our Japan Millenium cruise in April is £6.99 a day. Have purchased for Japan and will pay the difference on Solstice.

We always tip the room steward, butler if we have one & waiters. Usually tip a bar steward or pool attendant if the service has been good. Likewise the sommelier if service is good. Not great amounts though. At home usually tip hairdressers, taxis and waitresses. Never in a bar or coffee shop. Recently went on holiday to Italy with in-laws who were averse to any form of tipping.Found this uncomfortable.

Have heard good things about the Millennium Japan cruises. Am booked in April 2024. Most of our tours are booked privately with Tourswithlocals & https://gowithguide.com/japan/guides. Private tours can be more difficult to arrange as the guide cannot drive too so there is a reliance on separate taxis and the excellent public transport. Did find a helpful company in Busan too. A lady has arranged a tranche of tours on our cruise and I have booked a few small groups. Otherwise seems most folk are using Celebrity or DIY with the public transport. There are some good trip reports on cruises. Miaminices come to mind.

@Jim_Iain you can only sail on other lines if you inform your multitude of followers. Would miss those door pictures😀! However your views of alternative lines would be appreciated.

Following too😀. We are on the Solstice when it arrives in Singapore in four weeks for the leg up to Hong Kong via Vietnam. I understand that some of our touring group have been on her since Vancouver (must be retired). Interested in a TP too. The airfares are the off putting aspect from the UK. Last several years we have used airpoints for Business Class for Caribbean/Med/ Far East cruises. Not an option for a TP and DW has become accustomed to them.

Great pithy review and glad mainly positive😀. @foodsvcmgr was your Queen Victoria cruise good or bad. Just interested as fancy a try out with Cunard. I have just been shy of their alcohol prices and tendency to have fewer port days on comparable timed cruises to other lines.

We are on the Millennium in April to Japan. April 9th cruise. I have booked tours through Tours4locals.com & Gowithguide.com. If you are independent minded it is cheaper and only 6-10 people to share with. I did do a Celebrity tours (Aomori as little on offer independent). I have read all the Millenium RCs for info on Japan. Research is the key. Some well informed people on there. Did the same for Solstice in November too.

Looking forward to the trip review…. as always😀. Glad you booked the cottage in Lymington. When we sailed yachts it was our favourite port to moor up. Great bars and restaurants. You May remember Winnie our chocolate Labrador who swam out to the Silhouette on you cruise to Spain from Southampton (okay I chucked a tennis ball). She was born in Lymington. Her grandfather was a US show champion.

We wanted to use the Sanctuary on the Enchanted Princess in the Med in June. We were one of the first people on the ship in Rome Port and went straight to the Sanctuary. It had been booked out bar couple of half days by B2Bers. We were in the Sanctuary on the last day of the cruise and B2Bers were booking for the following week. So yes you can book before the new guests embark. Interestingly there was lots of unused cabanas and deck chairs on the two half days we were there.

The R-class bathrooms on Oceania are pretty small but did not worry me (15 stone & 6’3”). However there were quite a few elderly overweight people on the cruise who did not look able to getting in the shower cubicle. I believe they used the showers in the gym. Wardrobes were tight too. The officers are totally inconspicuous on Oceania. They deck staff could be transporting cargo or premium class passengers. Rarely a smile. Do it safely though. No Captain Kates on O. Oceania did reduce our port times in South America. Some said it was to reduce port fees and to be able to sail slower and more economically between ports. Also O does not refund missed ports taxes. I would sail O again though. If the price and itinerary was right. I listen to Bembridges podcasts whilst walking the dog. A fair amount of repetition but good advice.

Oceania is a good alternative although we would prefer the larger ships & itinerary rich sailings for the extra cash. The food is great which balances the poorer evening entertainment. A good pool vibe (quiet), great lecturers and access to the spa for all. Perfect ships for Antarctica and SA. Our first cruise after a hiatus was P&O for a weekender and enjoyed it. That was in 2015 and done numerous cruises since but mainly X. The prices are good but I think I would pay out for speciality restaurants on top. Downside of P&O is that it will be almost 100% Brits whilst we like sailing with other nationalities. We had a great Princess taster 7 nighter in the Med and would compare the enjoyment level with X. I have 80,000 Virgin points saved for a free Virgin Voyage!!

Early June would be my sweet spot but May/June & September to mid October should be good. I would avoid July/August as schools out and hot. The Irish and Scottish kids break up mid-June but smaller numbers. We had some US kids on a Princess cruise early June but seems to be more on that line. I believe US breaks are spread more evenly over Summer than European.

Sailed several times with X but only once with Princess. Had a great break on the Enchanted Princess. We have four cruises booked with X in 23/24/25 but none with Princess. Am considering Princess on a 14N to Artic circle in June for about £3K PP. A comparable Apex Artic circle 12N July is 4K. Comparing basic package X with Plus on Princess in basic balcony versus IV. I know which I will choose when the products are not too dissimilar.

I too remember the Holyhead ferry when I was a child. Rivers of v…t on the stairs. My mother has refused to cruise because of her multiple sailings in the 50/60/70s on the Irish Sea. Sailing on the Beyond will not bear any comparison. Arguably the bacon was better on the ferry though. Celebrity is easier to use OBC than Princess - tours, dining, upgrading packages. If you want a ‘premium’ gin on a basic package you can use OBC as the difference. The rooftop grill maybe nice if you have an overnight.

We are travelling to Japan in the Spring and I have already purchased some money online delivered to home to get us started. Used a comparison site to find out who was the cheapest as it was certainly not my local bank. Our Toursbylocals guide has advised us that taxis etc need local currency. When travelling I always use credit cards that do not charge fees. Therefore leave the reward Amex and Barclaycard in the safe and use CC/DC that charge the interbank rate to exchange. Always take a couple too as have lost them on previous trips (the ATMs do not beep in Chile). In the UK we have a fair few options for fee free credit and debit cards. I am sure there are fee free options in USA/Can too. For the benefit of UK readers https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money/

We usually do Premium drinks on X but had the Plus on a recent Princess cruise. The wine was decent and Hendricks gin was on the Plus. We were told we could pay the difference for more expensive drinks but never needed to.

We disembarked last month, though on Princess. Very short and easy walk off for 8am. We arranged SunTransfers and went smoothly. BTW there were lots of taxis at the port too. About 30 minutes to the airport.

Am glad you enjoyed Southampton🙂 I don't believe there are flights direct from FLL to London. It is usually Heathrow to Miami if you wish to fly direct. Flying is such a joy. Apologise for the railways. Lots of strikes and a confusing array of companies with different routes. Government sold the railways off to the private sector. Oddly some of these companies are owned by state owned european rail companies. Don't mention Virgin. Look forward to the travelogue.

I believe Flam is the stand out port - train up and cycle down😀. Never been on Apex but love Silhouette. Imagine more expensive though. It is only a seven day cruise. Imagine you have non-cruise plans too. Lots to do in the UK with great landscape & cities. Amsterdam is great…….

We sailed Enchanted Princess in June. 100% Full. First time on the line after several Celebrity (all S class) and a mix of Oceania, RCI, Marella, P&O. Pros: always plenty of space at bars and good pours too; Liked the Adult and Retreat pools as I find the main too noisy on X; International Cafe; buffet always had tables; liked the International cafe; basic wifi was good; the wardrobe Cons: A little too noisy in the Atrium; queues for the MDR although we booked; ship a bit bigger than we like; dress code very casual (miffed I did not bring smart shorts too). No issue with bottled water or soda. Hendricks was on the basic package too. I would book either line dependent on price and itinerary.

I booked a Princess cruise directly thru a cashback site when I found the discount thru TAs was the same as via Quidco (Topcashback an alternative and am sure Canada has similar)

No TA in the UK can beat the Celebrity direct price if I claim military discount. Nor can the US TAs I have asked. A blanket 10% excl. Port taxes. My neighbour is a cruise TA. My understanding is that they are giving up percentages of their commission to get your business. They still achieve targets and get a bit of commission. Not sure how that affects group rates. I seem to be constantly walking her dog when she is on the phone selling cruises. The next time I need to book a non-Celebrity cruise she will offer the minimum possible price,plus a little, for a cruise so that I have a negotiating platform for other TAs. Personally I would not trust her to book me a taxi! I understand that CC now has a website/APP selling cruises.

Enjoyed your photos of the street art. Glad you avoided the sectarian murals in Belfast too. Have you been to Valparaiso in Chile? You will love the street art.

Or stay in Winchester the Night before the cruise. Fantastic small medieval city. There are hotels near the trains station and it must be a 20 minute train ride or a 30 minute taxi ride. Have a look at the Port of Call section on CC https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/ Although we live on the outskirts of Southampton and can be sipping bubbly in 45 minutes of leaving home, my wife always stays at the Holiday Inn when working on the Carnival ships. Walkable to City Terminal and to some nice restaurants like Kutis, Enios and a nice pub called The Dancing Man