Sallyandtex

Yes I saw that too . I emailed HAL Australia before my post, to ask no reply as yet.

Has anyone purchased the platinum CPP? Been looking at purchasing a Holland America Cruise protection plan, as the Web pages states you don't need to put pre existing conditions? This would be in addition to our usual travel insurance. I downloaded the documents but it could be for US cruisers only as you select your US state. Thanks 😊

We're you able to use the Suica card for the local trains? And could you reload them easily at the stations?

Oh wow! Thanks for that.

Is it 5 years for the physical card too? We kept ours from June 2018, and are finally coming back October 2024, so that's 6 years!

Not at all. I get smashed with emails with supposed u beatable deals, but when you pick it apart, they just shift money around to make it look good. I also got a better deal 3 months ago on a cruise only fare, even with the extras added now the fare is much higher.

Very true! Am waiting to hear back from them asking why I don't have the booking showing then I will be buying some at that rate!

Only because I have found my bank gives me a better rate than the cruise companies with the conversion. I could be wrong. Anyway , had no luck as the website gave an error when I tried to add my booking that wasn't showing. Maybe a Black Friday crash! Have a lovely cruise!

Thankyou very much for going to the trouble of those instructions 😀. I am guessing then, that you can't pay in USD on an Aussie website, have to pay the AUD they have calculated. (92 days lucky you!) I have 11 months to wait .

Thanks for that, is there a way to compare currency once logged in? So, do you select say $100 usd and then they say how much aud? Or do you just select how much in Aud? I usually use one of my cards most favourable on the day with exchange rates (card that doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee)

Do you know if it's possible to buy OBC with Holland America? And do they refund any not spent? We have no OBC for a cruise booked in October next year, also gratuities not included which gets painfully expensive with the exchange rate.

Whoa huge difference between AUD and USD and pound!

How much OBC do they give you?

Hi, Those from Syd Australia, approx how many months is a good time to book airfares on a direct route to Haneda?. We are a little over 12 months to sail, and info on web suggests don't book flights until around 6 months prior for best price. Looking at ANA so we have daytime flights, very expensive so far. Thanks!

When we booked Insight and Trafalgar, we had those automatically included, (like cruising here.). When we were finished up in Canada insight, the envelopes still got passed around as most hadn't paid the expected tips. So, if it's part of the fare I think it should always be included I wrote on the front that we already paid those (hundreds of dollars each for host and driver), and as the tour manager was less than average I didn't want to leave extra....we still felt guilty for no good reason. It's always a topic that makes me uncertain , uncomfortable and the system is unfair for the workers.

Oh great! Do you know if they did a review/blog?

Save yourself the trouble, and a genuine thankyou would do for good service. We are more cash free than USA and pay for things with cards mostly, especially with Covid restrictions in recent years and handing cash around.

Those 'gun style' devices are very in-accurate also, especially when waved around in the air like they were doing at some venues, by un-trained staff.

Yes us too , to Norway prior to the Do Not Travel but we didn't want to take the risk! HAL gave a refund but TA took $2000 in commissions I made an insurance claim lucky it was covered but out of pocket around $700 total trip. After Do Not Travel, HAL gave refunds plus extra perks for rebooking.

Thankyou, can you tell me key words for FB group at all there's lots...if it's allowed here

oh dear! I think the Carnival one I looked at they do it in Sydney prior to everyone else on embarkation day. I went to the wedding forum here but most of the chat is outdated and US based

Hi, asking for a family member. Has anyone experienced going to a wedding or being married on a cruise? If yes, which comlany/ship and can you please tell me about your experience. Particularly the service and communication with the couple for planning and also how good/bad it was. 😊 thanks

OMG yes I am hearing you! We are planning a trip to Japan and we went before in 2018 briefly and tips very definitely not expected. We went to Scotland and spent a week in Edinburgh and were pretty shocked that tips were added "US style" onto the electronic bill! This was not the case outside of the city. In Australia, the staff are paid a proper wage too, and if you get good service say for taxi/uber or restaurant you can leave extra as a tip, but it is NOT put on the bill.

Thanks, that's what we were thinking. Do you think we could do the places missing on the 2nd itinerary like Hiroshima, Himeji easily from another port, or even from Toyko? We have only been to Tokyo before for a 3 day stopover, so unfamiliar with what might be achievable with an extra stay based somewhere to see more of this beautiful country.

Hi, Thinking of a cruise to Japan. Please see images, #1 Spring ports, #2 Autumn. Please comment if you have done these and which you would choose. Approx $1000 cheaper for Autumn, plus less crowds? Thanks!