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I arrived in Bali via Oceania Cruises and spent 2 days there (an overnight port).  Thought I'd share a few hints that might help someone else in their cruise stopover.

* The cruise port of Bali is small compared to other ports.  There will be no large shopping areas etc.  Dancers are usually awaiting you when a ship first arrives.

* Prior to arrival in Bali you will need to secure a "travel visa".  

* When exiting the port from a ship you will need to show an electronic bar code.  When you are on your ship you will be sent instructions on where  you need to go online to complete the arrival questions and ultimately obtain the barcode.  Once the barcode displays you will need to download it to your phone "file" or do a cut & paste of the barcode and send it to yourself via an email.  (This is in addition to the previously mentioned  "travel visa" that you secure and pay for before you leave home.). You are going to have to show this barcode to the agents each time you exit the port.  You will also have your bags checked as you exit the port by the local government authorities.

* The taxi association of Bali will not allow ship-to-city shuttle type services.  You either go on a ship sponsored tour, arrange for a private driver to meet you or negotiate a trip/price with one of the taxi drivers outside the port.

* Bali is very chaotic & congested with traffic.  Whatever you think might be possible to see in a day based on a map is highly unlikely.  You must factor in plenty of time for standstill traffic.  There are also hundreds of scooters on the roads, as this is the primary transport means for most people.  Scooters will drive fast and weave in and out of traffic.  It is almost impossible to cross the road and I found that the driver I had hired needed to walk across roads with us in order to visit temples etc.

* The people of Bali are extremely kind and friendly. 

* Hygiene will not be what you are used to in Westernized countries.  Carry your own hand wash/sanitizers/toilet paper with you.

* Water is contaminated so you must drink bottled water or ensure whatever water is being used was throughly boiled. This includes prepared foods as well.

* Malaria is present.  If you choose to not take anti-malarials ensure you are covered head to toe and spray with DEET.  Dengue fever is also present so even if you do decide to take anti-malarials you should still use DEET, particularly if you are out at night or going into any wooded settings.

* I used a driver named Dewa Gede who I found online and had great reviews.  When I reached out to him he was highly responsive.  He will happily tailor whatever type of adventures you want.  As it happened the two days I was there he was unavailable, but he organized and managed a driver for me by the name of Mr. Putu Will.  Putu was an excellent driver and when we ran into some seriously bad traffic jams he suggested alternative places to visit.  A very kind and considerate man who made our two days outstanding.

* If you are someone who is boarding a ship in Bali be aware that you may need to stand outside, in the sun and in a line for quite some time.  Since we were traveling through Bali on a multi-day itinerary this did not apply to us, but I noticed the Celebrity Millennium ship next to us that had a full ship boarding day and the line outside the ship was extensive.

Enjoy your visit to Bali!

Just back from a May 2023 10 day Europe Oceania trip.  Here are my updates concerning shuttles:

Oporto:  A shuttle will drop you off by the clock tower in Porto.  When I was there the managing of the shuttle was horrific.  Long lines waiting to get on it in the morning and no one from Oceania taking charge.  The bus didn’t arrive on time.  When wanting to leave the downtown area once again there were lines.   All the bus drivers go on break at the same time so the shuttle does not run continuously.  The agent standing there suggests you take a taxi back rather than wait until the break is finished.

Bilbao:  A shuttle drops you off at the Fine Arts Museum. The shuttle going out was efficient, but coming back was once again horrendous.  The lines were extremely long and again all the bus drivers go on break at the same time.  100+ people stood in 80 degree temps, without shade or water, on a concrete sidewalk for more than an hour waiting.

Soulac-Sur-Mer:  Very efficient shuttle is run by the town and drops you off by the Norte Dame church.  There were 2 local town greeters at the church all day with maps and advising the best route to take to visit this very adorable beach town.

Le Havre:  Shuttle drop off is at LeVolcan, but it is a very easy and well marked walk from the port to the town center.  You can do it in 20 minutes.  I cannot comment on the shuttle itself as I walked.

Tilbury:  The town runs an every 15 minutes shuttle from the ship to the train station where you can catch the C2C line into London.  I did not use the shuttle, but I saw it running and it looked very efficient.

Bruges:  You must shuttle from the ship to the exit of the port (5 minute ride).  After that you can buy a bus ticket from “cruise express” company into Bruges.  The ship also ran a free shuttle from the ship to the nearby Blankenberge train station.  I did not use this service so I cannot comment on it’s efficiency.

8 hours ago, rabin1 said:

Question about amenities you are discussing above.

Do you think they are based on the type of cabin you are in meaning like club class or suites or others? I was on CP in Dec/Jan The blue bag was in my closet with the rob. The canapes were I agree icky. The second time I got them they were chocolate covered strawberries.

There very well might be a difference with cabin class.   I have “elite” status and was in a balcony room and there was no blue bag.  I wasn’t interested in the bag so I did not ask for it either.  

9 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Obviously, you are not interested in the TD experience, but wondering if you spoke to, or heard of anyone else looking for that and managing to get the same table location and waiters each night?

Yes you can do TD, but rather than you having to pick the ships defined time of “early” or “late” you pick your own time, what days of your trip you want that time and whether you want to dine by yourself or with others.  So if you enjoy “early” seating, and your definition of “early” is 6:30 then go on the Medallion app and pick 6:30 as your dining time and choose it for everyday of your trip.  The first day on board, as you check in for dinner, tell the Maitre’D you want this same table every day and he/she will secure it for you along with about a 10 minute grace period.  I can attest that it worked very well as we did this very thing on our trip.  In fact one day we pushed our dinner time out by 45 minutes due to our shoreside plans and the table was held for us (of course we did talk to the Maitre’D the night before and asked if this could be done as we enjoyed our waitstaff and did not want to change).

I believe the cocktail party was for both Elite & Platinum.  I’m not certain as I did not attend.  (Went there at 5 pm, the door wasn’t open yet and the line was snaking down the hall so I decided to just skip it.

Here are answers to the previous questions:

* Chocolates:  No pictures.  They were very basic house made type chocolates.  The type you’d make at home with melted chocolate poured into a design tray to harden. 2 were white and 2 were milk and they were shaped into flowers or seashells.  Very basic and not in a Godiva league, but definitely much better than the terrible tasting canapés!

* The gold mesh bathroom amenity is gone.  I asked about it and was told by the stateroom attendant they were eliminated.

* There was no blue Princess bag on the bed.  Late in the week I saw about 5 people walking around with them so they either got them by asking for it at the front desk or they brought their old one from home.

Just off the Caribbean Princess from 1 week trip along the Western Caribbean.  Having done 23 Princess cruises I noticed a few changes in place since my last Princess trip 2.5 years ago.  Some of these changes may be permanent based on a strategic plan or they may be related to C19 procedures. In either case I thought I’d share:

* Cabin service is back to being done twice a day as a standard.  Apparently during Covid it was done in the evening only if requested.  That is no longer the case.

* A fresh ice bucket in the fridge will be done daily, but must now be requested. It is not an automatic. Talk to your steward or order it on the Medallion app.

* The “elite” perk of canapés in the room on formal night will be 4 chocolates.  You must request it.  (I did for both nights.  Night one it arrived.  Night two it never showed.)

* There are photographers on board for family pictures, but there was absolutely no costumed “pirates” etc standing at the end of the dock or interrupting dinner and so forth.  Picture taking was done in a much more classy manner. A welcome change in my opinion! 

* There is a Captains Cocktail party for Elite members.  There was no cocktail party for the entire ship, no champagne waterfalls, no balloon drops.

* The standard for years of the first night “overview of acts” in the show lounge and last night “goodbye from the staff” review in the show room is eliminated.  There was a distinct feeling that Princess recognizes the majority of people boarding the ship have done so in the past and these redundant type shows are no longer necessary.  Instead the show lounge hosts true entertainment shows every evening of the trip.

* Lounge acts are truly acts and not cruise staff in outfits trying to rev-up the audience (ie. Recall the old 70’s party with staff in over-the-top caricature 60’s outfits or country night with  Hee-Haw style outfits etc.).  There are now bands or instrumentalists or singers in various lounges each night with a 45 minute music genre focus.  (For example guitarist playing famous 70’s guitarists songs; orchestra doing a show on crooners and Italian love songs; band playing true 70’s disco or tunes from the 80’s etc. etc.)

* There is no longer any dining room doing the “early” or “late” seating routine.  Instead use the Medallion App to pick the times you want to eat on any given day for dinner.  Basically all dining rooms are now open seating, which is a wonderful thing.  (No more people securing a set seating and then coming to use the Anytime Dining room.)

* If you book an excursion ahead of time the full price shows on your app, but once you board look at your statement and you’ll see the 10% Elite discount is applied.

* You will get a 1 paper sheet “Princess Patter” on your bed each evening which lists the basic overview of the day.  If you want details on what is listed or info on sales etc you need to go on the Medallion App.  No more papers advertising “Effy sales”  or “last chance sale” or “massage deals” etc.  If knowing about these things are important to you go on the App and check off your notification preference to get the information.  I presume you’ll be messaged on daily basis with this info.

On cabin arrival there was a paper list of “Elite” benefits in my room.  I snapped a picture (as you can see the chocolates were high on my list😄!)

Hope this info’s been helpful!

Has anyone seen anything yet on how this effects testing for C19 before boarding cruise ships?

Just off the Riveria last week.  We had about 930 passengers for a 10 day Caribbean cruise.

Wanted to share a bit of info on how things are almost back to pre-Covid days.

* Covid Antigen was still required of passengers no earlier than 48 hours before departure. 

* Arriving at the Miami pier you first had to enter a tent where Covid questions were asked and you showed your results.  You were then given a wrist band to put on.  Once that was in place you proceeded to the terminal building to check in for the cruise.

* Masks were not required anywhere on the ship for passengers.

* All staff were wearing masks.

* Staff still required to have a Covid test once a week.  (An announcement was made the day after their test that all staff were negative.)

* All barstools in all locations were opened up for use on day 2 of our trip. 

* All events such as cocktail parties etc were held.

* No ports required additional antigen testing (we visited St. Maarten; Antigua; St. Kitts; St. Lucia; Puerto Rico; Dominican Republic).

* St. Lucia is now allowing independent travel (we got off the ship and walked through downtown Castries without being part of a “bubble tour”).

A big help!  You travel just as we do!  Thank You!!!

Thank You!

Thank you so much for your help ReedPrincess!

We'd love to go to Mass to the Church of the I.C., which also appears to be 10 am in Castries, but here is why I was considering St. Joe's instead.

1.  Walking to I.C. from the port looks to be 20 minutes.  So going there and back to the port (to catch a cab for Reduit Beach) would = a 40 minute walk (about the same as walking directly from St. Joes to Reduit).  

2.  I was also given the impression, from some other websites, that the area surrounding Castries was high crime and two people walking from the port to the church might be inviting trouble.

IC Church looks gorgeous in the pictures and I'd love to celebrate Mass there.  Is the information I was given concerning walking from the port to the church and back wrong ReedPrincess?  Would it be a safe walk?

Thank You!!!!

This question is probably a good one for ReedPrincess!

I would like to take a cab from the cruise port to St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church when we arrive on a Sunday morning.  It looks like Mass is held there at 10am.  I would then like to walk to Reduit Beach for a swim.  On Google it looks to be about 45 minutes walk, which is an easy walk for us.  What I’d like to know is if this is a safe walk?  Is the area we would walk through a low crime area?  Are there sidewalks we can use or would we have to walk in the road?  Thank You!!

The information in these posts have been extremely helpful.  Thank You!

If you're leaving out of the Manhattan terminal and want to do your own thing and save some money try booking a room at the Kimpton Ink 48.   Very nice hotel which gives you a few perks if you sign up for a Kimpton (part of the IHG group) card.  Reasonable prices (for New York) and it's a very easy 1 block walk to the Manhatten cruise terminal in the morning, which eliminates the need for a cab ride. It also has a nice (but very $$$) rooftop bar.  There is also easy access to restaurants, bars, delis, shops etc all located in the "Hells Kitchen" area.

Really great information!

Thanks for doing the work to share your pics and knowledge!!

We had Euro's with us so I used that at both Lili's and with the cabs. Lili's did accept Euro's, US dollars and credit cards. Not sure if the cabbies would have taken US dollars. They spoke a little English, but it was very limited (but much better than my French!). The cabs are metered and the price displays in Euro.

Also....if you exit the ship and can't readily find a cab just walk toward the main road and look to the right, you'll see a cab stand there with cabs lined up.

I will be on a Panama Canal transit. The ship looks to drop anchor in the Fuerte Amador port about 8pm and does not sail away until 6 pm the following day. Does anyone know how early the ship tenders will begin running to shore? (Will they begin that evening and run continuously through the night or will they not begin until morning?) Once tendered to shore how early will the "free shuttle" begin running into Panama City? (As early as 7 am?) Thank you in advance!

Very nice cozy beach bar located about 2 miles from the port. Taxi will cost about 12 Euro's each way. When the taxi pulls up you'll be in front of a hotel, just follow the gravel pathway to the right of the hotel down to the beach bar. They have a small, very calm, swimming cove protected from large waves and motored boats. When we arrived we walked up the bar and explained that we planned to stay a few hours and would it be OK to keep open a "bar tab". The bartender immediately brought over another bartender who spoke 100% perfect English, seated us at a table overlooking the water, opened a tab for us (didn't even require a credit card to hold it) and gave us terrific service all day. (If you want a chaise lounge there is a fee, but I don't know the cost as we were happy with having our own table for the whole day.) The drinks, burgers and flatbread were excellent. Many local business people arrived during the lunch time and ate a meal with colleagues. The bar was quite busy with a very international crowd, but we were the only cruise ship passengers there, despite there being 3 ships in port that day. When you're ready to leave just walk up to the hotel front desk and they will call a cab to take you back to the port. The cab arrives within 5 minutes. Wonderful day!

Thanks everyone!!:)

Will Oceania use the OBC attached to my account towards the 16$ per person per day auto-tip charge? Thanks for your help!

Not sure why my last post was starred out.

Here's the website again:

Www.vinow/cruise/ship-schedule

USVI cruise ship docking info can be found here:

http://www.**********/cruise/ship-schedule/

Thank you. I should have been more clear in my first post. I'm actually looking for more information on the "complimentary" shuttles into the heart of various cities. (Not the short ride shuttles that simply transport from the ship to the port exit).

Thank you. Yes....I had seen the sticky and this one posting, but I had not seen any further information or details and was hoping someone out there had further information.