1 minute ago, EAGLESLOVER said:

Please share the cost of the Lyft from South Beach to POM 

thanks

South Beach (Mondrian Hotel) to POM at noon on Sunday Dec 22 was $15.69 and I added a tip on top of that. Ride was 6.78mi, 20m 47s

On 1/5/2020 at 2:05 AM, Coggo said:

Hi,

I am also not sure.

if we fly

sydney - singapore And board The cruise from singapore 

arrive tianjing stay tianjing 2 nights

fly from tianjing back to Singapore 

stay singapore 8 days then fly to Sydney. Does this work?

why I’m confused is am I originating from Sydney, Singapore or last port of call prior to tianjing.

Thank you to anyone who can explain this.

cc

 

 

Only the stops immediately before and after China matter to Chinese immigration. The ABC we frequently note would be Singapore-Tianjing- Singapore (the way you've written it in this post) which is not allowed.

If you had any non-China place instead of Singapore before or after, you might be ok (passport and specific length of time also matter)

We had a reply from Celebrity who advised that we need the visa as we are overnight in China for Tianjin, then leaving then re-entering China to fly back home from Shanghai.

If Celebrity won't allow you on board without a visa, that is their decision. But I'm confused. TWOV (transit without visa) can be used back to back - provided each case is eligible on its own. But you've already been told that South Korea-Tianjin-South Korea is ineligible, so you knew you need a visa anyway.

[if you were doing Japan-Tianjin-South Korea - Shanghai - London - that would be acceptable as 2 separate TWOVs: Japan-China-South Korea and South Korea-China-UK]

We stayed at the Mondrian, had fantastic views (of all the cruise ships 😉) and a lovely pool.

We embarked from Pier E on Dec 22 and I saw signs for rideshare lines - they might do rideshare differently, more like a taxi there? I should have asked - we were in a Lyft being dropped off but he was not an experienced POM driver and we got a little lost 😉 [we were at a hotel in South Beach, heading to POM]

On our disembarkation Jan 5, we used the taxi as I knew it was a flat rate - $27. And we disembarked at Pier J which is small & all alone - we didn't have a long wait for a taxi at all. [from disembarkation, we headed straight to Miami airport]

I really enjoyed our Azamara cruise (2016, SIN-HKG) but we have really loved the small R class ships. That said - haven't seriously looked at booking anything on them since, either. They really ratcheted up their prices and I don't think they're worth it for what they're asking. They've decided the current niche they're after is land experiences - spending more time in one spot etc. And we did find the couple of land experiences they provided (Azamazing evening in Vietnam) to be quite enjoyable. 

Sorry - I was on a holiday Caribbean cruise 😉 Let me check my paperwork at home and I can tell you who we flew from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. I know we were quite limited in what we could carry - it annoyed us. But Avalon states it up front when they give the baggage limits (you know those limits no one believes can be real? They are 😉 ) It was definitely a local airline, but it's a 30 or 40 minute flight.....

That said, our hand baggage was not weighed- only the checked bag.

18 hours ago, ORV said:

So on #6 you are saying that you actually got the 20% discount, not that the discount you had previously received was removed? It's not clear there. 

We received the 20% discount we had been told we were not eligible for. To be clear, when we were told we were not eligible, we said "thank you for checking" and accepted the response. We did not challenge the decision or speak to anyone else about it. I was quite surprised to see the discount appear on our account.

I just did this last week and this was my experience: 

1. We booked the cruise with the Olife benefit of a basic drink package

2. We booked La Reserve online and paid months before the cruise

3. When we embarked, we upgraded to the Premium drink package 

4. We went to reception and asked about the 20% discount and clerk looked it up and said because we had the Olife perk, it wasn't applicable for us.

5. We attended and loved our La Reserve dinner. Lovely food and wine pairings and a fun table (3 tables of 8 ppl each our night)

6. The next day (or 2?) the 20% discount for each of us was removed from our onboard account ($19 each)

Lesson? Who knows!

We disembark tomorrow 😞 First Oceania cruise - have thoroughly enjoyed.

Currently on Riviera, heading toward Aruba. This morning on our way to breakfast in the Terrace, we saw many chairs reserved. After breakfast, we found 2 chairs in the shade (lucky us!) and did see the crew putting the cards on some chairs (this chair hasn't been used since X o'clock or whatever it is they say, so they can remove items after a certain time has elapsed) BUT as the pool grew more busy, they weren't able to keep up with that practice. But by the time we left for lunch, most of the chairs actually had people in them - whether or not the original "claimants", I do not know.  And some people were reserving multiple chairs (for THEMSELVES, not partners) and had the gall to be indignant when questioned. Grr. We definitely commiserate with the staff who were doing their best.

After lunch, we found other locations - not worth it (and not enough shade) to head back to the pool now.

We were in Thailand soon after the King died, which definitely impacted how we dressed. Strict rules were most definitely in place (we also wore dark colors as much as possible, in deference to the country in mourning). I would agree with waterbug to plan for the most strict and in fact I do pack that way. You never know what might happen between when you pack and when you show up at a temple or church.

AMA and Avalon might not have the same responses. OP is traveling Avalon. Avalon ships are much smaller than AMA on the Mekong (like, 36 vs 124 passengers?) and we had no problem with the purser getting our Cambodian visas on arrival. He did it for about 12-15 of us (out of 28 passengers total on our trip).

[OP - we flew back to Vietnam after Siem Reap, which is why I needed multiple entry visas - if you are leaving Cambodia for another country after your Mekong Cruise, you could do the single entry e-visa which only costs $25. I have never seen other information that leaving Vietnam by river on an evisa isn't allowed - I know arrival isn't allowed]

Nope, thai temples (that we visited, at least) did not allow a scarf over a sleeveless top. Needed actual sleeves. And they made you rent appropriate clothing if you didn't have any -we saw the lines ;-)

You still need to know the exit point when you do the Vietnam visa online or evisa (which is what OP said, right?)

Song Tien is what we used. I had asked on flyertalk and was advised that "Song" (missing an accent) means "river" in Vietnamese and this was for Chau Doc. Not sure anyone ever cared, honestly.

We did multiple entry visas - online, they sent back looseleaf visas, no problems at all (we did Avalon north, HCMC to Siem Reap) The purser procured our Cambodian visas on arrival - we planned for that by bringing the appropriate cash and passport size photos. Have fun! It was possibly the best trip we've ever done.

1 hour ago, clo said:

A simple scarf will take care of that.

In European churches, perhaps. Thai temples? Not so much....

Thank  you for the input - I am properly outfitted now! ;-)

Heading out on first Oceania cruise - leaving tomorrow, boarding Sunday, packing now ;-) Can anyone tell me what type of outlet (American 110v or European 220v) is at the desk? We'll bring adapters for our electronics so we can use anything, BUT for my hair appliances -I prefer to use either my american or my european - I just need to know which is there, and assume I'll be doing my hair at the desk in the cabin? Thanks!

[just a curling iron, will use whatever hair dryer is on board, yes, I know dual voltage hair appliances exist, no, I don't have good experience with them and prefer to keep to single voltage, thanks]

We were there in late August/early September this year. People said we were crazy to think about going to Vietnam & Cambodia that time of year. Quite honestly - I live in NC and it was just like being home in August. But we're outside a lot in the summer and are used to the heat and humidity (and well aware of the need to hydrate - I have always consumed a LOT of water per day, no problem for me 😉 We are not the sort of people who retreat into AC all the time. So how much you "feel" the heat and humidity depends on what your norm is. We were more worried about rain - we did have a couple quick downpours - but sadly it was a very dry monsoon season this year (sad because they need the rain!)

We stayed a few days in Siem Reap because we like to explore on our own schedule - doing a 12 hour day at temples is not my idea of a fun vacation! But a few hours exploring a temple, nice lunch & pool time or foot massage, more exploring and then dinner? That sounds lovely, thank you 😉

12 hours ago, ShipShapely said:

 If you don’t dress up then, then when? 

Honestly, if I wanted to dress up that much, I'd book a different cruise line. I absolutely agree that you should wear what you want (caveat that you meet the minimum dress code requirements) but I will also note that if you are MUCH dressier than the dress code, you will stand out and not always in a good way. I was raised that being "overdressed" is better than being "underdressed" so I will default to black slim pants over jeans any day. That said, our last (ocean) cruise was on a formal-night optional line. On "formal night optional" there was one woman in a full length sequin gown. She stood out. If she was happy, great, more power to her. That is not my goal in life 😉 All my husband and I commented was how heavy her luggage must have been 😉

12 hours ago, Mura said:

 not that I'm a sunlover since we have NEVER tried to sit around the pool on a cruise.

Well, according to OP, it was all the loungers in the SHADE which had been "claimed", so apparently no one is a sunlover.....

We almost never do a hotel buffet, so wasn't considering that ;-)

4 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

IMO, a ship is its own season and its own place.  I've worn velvet, silk, and everything else on cruises.  For Christmas and NYE I'd definitely be packing my very dressiest dresses.

As I noted - all sorts of preferences & options to suit them all. We just don't cruise on lines with formal nights these days. [I still won't wear velvet when the temps are warm like that - no matter what day of the year it is ;-)]

Just a note that Cambodia licenses its tour guides -so whomever you hire to tour the Angkor Arch park will be licensed and know their stuff! (I asked our guide how many different language guides were available and I think he said at least 15? English & Chinese the most popular these days, but we heard MANY different languages as we toured around). To add to this note - you can hire a driver, but most drivers are not licensed guides. So you'd want both (though we did a 4th day with just a driver - honestly he knew as much as a guide, gave us background as he drove us between temples - we viewed the temples on our own and then went back to the car)

The thought of velvet makes me break out in a sweat - I can't even wear it at home, much less the Caribbean. And no, the dining room is NOT cold enough for me 😉

Guess I'm one who isn't willing to suffer to "celebrate". Many others find velvet acceptable. If I'm in the Caribbean over the holidays, I'd like to dress by CELEBRATING the temps there. I'm packing linen 😉

On 12/6/2019 at 7:31 AM, Capt_BJ said:

David's Cafe Cafecito

 

The iconic Cuban cafe rises again, serving breakfast & classics like Cubano sandwiches & churrasco.

 

https://davidscafecafecito.com/menu-breakfast/

 

a real Cuban 'mom and pop'   919 Alton Rd, Miami Beach, FL 33139

Thank you - we're staying at the Mondrian next week and this looks perfect for breakfast!!

22 hours ago, jkgourmet said:

 

You must finish them before the due date.  When they are due, they just disappear with a notice that the rental has expired.

 

Am I missing something here?  What is Broward county ebook library gonna give me beyond what i can already get from my own library?

Well, libraries have different collections, so maybe they have something that isn't available from your home library? I belong to three libraries and check out different things from all of them. Always nice to have a new option 😉