PeterW00

Hi it is been over 30c every port we stopped at we are in rhodes today we are on reflections

I’m rooting for you bighairtexan:D I’m still trying to figure out how the move up process works.

Rooting in Australia takes on a whole different meaning.......

We saw black bears up close and very personal in Ketchican, But you need to fly, Recommend Mountain Air or Island Wings, both very good operators.

Your a tosser complaining about time zones

Hi Where are you traveling from? I assume you are flying to BA. Argentina has had the reciprocating fee in place for about 5 or so years now. The fee varies from which country you come from. Argentina was not charging anything before, and you do not need a visa to go there. So they started to charge the fee that each country charges for Argentinian travelers have to pay to visit their country!... all makes sense!..

IMO and from past experience you only pay the fee once, so you should have to pay it at Ezeiza airport. They will stamp your passport.

I also assume that the ship is stopping in other Argentinian ports. If this is the case then I think you will have to show your passport to prove you have payed the fee.

regards Peter

Can't go wrong with the Intercontinental.( you might see Hugh Jackman there!) lol, just its a bit further away from the bridge. Hoping you get good weather then, It's a nice time in Spring.

regards Peter

I can't comment on the Four Seasons, never stayed there, but for my 2 bob's worth. I have stayed at the Intercontinetal 3 times and find the service outstanding breakfast is fantastic rooms are great.

Stayed at the Marriot 2 times find it a bit run down compared with other, nothing wrong with it.

Stayed at the Shangri La 3 times... It is the best in my view, breakfast not as good as others. but nicer rooms. and service. Get a room with a view of the bridge and opera house. you will remember it forever!

regards Peter

Hi, We printed the tags on thick paper and folded them over before using a laminator with A4 plastic. Then cut the excess plastic off, punched a hole with a hole puncher.

We plan to put them on the luggage before boarding the ship, using plastic zip ties. They look very durable.

Hope this might help someone.

Regards Peter

This might sound like a stupid question. My wife asked me if we need sun block for an Alaskan cruise? I said i have no idea, but i have had sun burn to the face when we went to El Calafate and were standing close to the San Moreno glacier for a couple of hours. We are wondering if we might get sunburn looking at Glaciers and ice in Alaska?

Regards Peter

Thanks for the advice Belinda, I have been following this thread.

My better half and I arrive in Calgary Saturday week. We are renting a car to travel through the Rockies. We sail on the 2nd September from Vancouver. I have been following the weather there for awhile now, you can never predict the weather... anywhere!

A couple of questions, How is the wild fire situation now around Banff and Jasper, any others to worry about?

Also, are there lots more tourist than normal in the area?

regards Peter

Thanks for the info, i don't think the champers will last longer than the "quick melting" ice! lol

Sorry I have not used Uber in sydney, maybe this link might help you

http://www.ausbt.com.au/uber-axes-flat-rate-between-cbd-and-sydney-airport

Hi everyone, Mt wife and I are travelling in 3 weeks. The way we kept costs down is to fly to Calgary via LAX rent a small car for 9 days one way to Vancouver. Book hotels that are a bit cheaper and booked a hotel in Vancouver 3 or4 blocks from shipping terminal. Also booked our ship excursions privately, saved a bit there. When we get to Whittier we r catching a bus to Anchorage and renting a car from there, a lot cheaper than renting from Whittier. Then 6 days driving around Alaska. Booked cheaper accommodation than what Princess wanted to charge!

We are Flying back to Aus via San Francisco.... That is one expensive town for accommodation. But our airfares are very reasonable as far as our research showed.

I was told by my Canadian friend that when tipping in Canada, you tip 15% in restaurants.. It's easy to calculate as your receipt has 5% gst tax on the bottom of it, so just multiply by 3!

Regards Peter

Use Uber

Hi, I think there is a wait list. I phoned Princess Cruises last week to ask for an upgrade to a suit, I was told they are all booked out but I could go on a wait list if i wanted to. I declined as its only 5 weeks to our cruise.

I got my head eaten off in another post!! for making a recommendation about a flight out of Ketchikan that i have booked lol. Must have upset someone with a hidden interest!

and... my hotel of choice in Sydney or should i say hotels, are the Shangri La and Intercontinental, great views from the Shangri La, better service and breakfast Intercontinental, both within walking distance to the cruise ship terminal, but on a budget i found RYDGES to be very good. the prices have gone a lot in the last 10 years.

Hi all, just came across this thread on here, ONLY advice here guys! i don't want my head eaten off like in another post i did recently! (i will get a complex ... you know)

Now for my 2 cents worth When we last stayed in Sydney, which was 2 weeks ago, we got a very good deal at Rydges World Square. Now a few tings about it;

its very central to downtown Sydney, a few blocks from Myers, DJs, QVB

Not the best view by far

not within walking distance to the ship terminal

BUT it has very clean, modern refurbished rooms, with a very comfortable bed.

even room lighting that i could see with!!

Our package included free valet parking and free breakfast which was good, not oustanding.

Service was great and friendl!y football was NOT good as, NSW lost to QLD in the third state of origin!

the pice was better than i could get with parking and breakfast anywhere else.

The Magellanic penguins are at Punta Tombo until end march. It's the biggest colony in the continent aprox 1 million of them. I have walked up and nearly touched them, but had sense not to try. they have big beaks! The photo is my wife with a penguin.

No... never missed the ship. that is the correct way to write dates. Day followed by month followed by year, thanks for the advice mina my wife finally found it in personalizer, it works now but before it didn't.

Another point is, coming from Australia our pin configuration is different, so if we take a power board from here we need only 1 adpator! brilliant idea!!

Hi everyone, My wife lived in this area all her life until she moved to Australia 10 years ago. She advises if you want to just see penguins you take the tour to Punta Tombo which is south of Puerto Madryn which also takes you to Gaiman on the return trip to visit a Welsh Tea house to enjoy after tea with taditional cakes and breads, which is unique to that part of the world.

Just remember that this part of Argentina was settled by welsh people in 1865. Tea House recommendation is Ty Gwyn. One to avoid is Ty Te Caerdydd, food not as good. This one was visited by Lady Dianna Spencer in 1995. Hope you all have a good trip visiting Patagonia. Get ready for plenty of WIND! lol

PS I have visited this area 12 times in recent years any further questions just ask.

Hi, We want know where we can find the Spa menu and prices. Can anyone help us with this. Cruising on Coral 2/9/2015

regards Peter

I think that you Budjet Queen is getting everything.. "skewed" or whatever you call it. Never heard that term used in that way before. I think you have another agenda or interest in this subject. I have no idea what you are on.... about my thoughts with the weather on other days of our trip. I'm only saying what i personally think from my very distant observations, and don't expect anyone to agree or disagree with what I say. All i can say is everyone who wants to fly in Sketchikan is to make their own choices. But it won't stop me choosing who i will fly with and that will NOT be with any company that has recent disasters. I nearly forgot, I didn't imply other pilots fly in bad weather, but other people have commented about this aspect happening elsewhere on the world wide web. What i meant was that Island Wings refunds your money. I will leave it up to everyone to do there due diligence to look else where on the internet to find other peoples comments other than mine, like I did.

regards Peter

Just rent it Colin... and remember to stay on the right side of the road

Hi everyone, we are sailing on the Coral Princess early September, it's our first cruise. I have just made a booking with Island Wings. A few things made me decide to go with them. They have never had passengers missed a ship departure in 20 years operation. They do NOT fly in bad weather. I am not the best person flying in small planes, I got sick twice before. But I trust Michelle and her pilots. I would not book with a company that employs pilots without local flying training. Just look at the last accident on 25/6. My better half has flown a lot in small planes and it's her birthday on this cruise, so this is a present to her. Just hope we get good weather on the day!!