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Expat Cruise

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  1. 5 hours ago, jeromep said:

     

    Yes, the prices are higher than I think all of us would expect at home.  I see you list the Philippines as home, so the 10 to 20x ratio you mention may actually be the case there.   Compared to domestic U.S. prices, even prices in an urban area, I only see a 3x or maybe a 4x difference in pricing on board compared to prices at home, but I stand by my statement that prices on board are only marginally more expensive than resort spas on land.

     

    Sorry, but a 3 to 4X time prices difference US vs Ship prices is not marginal. As for being close to resort spas on land, does not use them for the same reasons. My wife does not believe in wasting money, for the costs of a complete spa day on the ship, she has a full time household staff in our house for a month. 

     

  2. My wife will not use the spa on the ship. She says the prices are absolutely crazy. Ten to twenty times what she would pay when we're home. 

     

    Other friends have used these service and say they do nothing but pitch you to buy more services. It just seems to not be worth using the services in our opinion.

     

    • Like 1
  3. On 5/24/2023 at 4:01 AM, SargassoPirate said:

    If you've ever had fresh lobster right off the boat in New England, previously frozen lobster in the MDR is certainly not worth an upcharge, and barely worth bothering with as an entree.  

     

    Same as with the so called crab cakes that they used to try to pawn off as "Maryland" crab cakes.

     

    But, it's Economics 101, charge what the traffic will bear.  

     

    Agreed, being from Boston and having direct access to the fleet at the docks, you understand the difference.  Have now travel around the World, lived the last 25 years and have outside the United States. I really find is funny and sad when they try to serve cold water lobster and improve upon it with different styles of cooking. Or name brand International chef's put their own twist on lobster. Lobster does not need a chef, boiled and served with drawn butter is the winner. Add some steam clams, and fresh corn on the cob, and you have a meal that beats 90% of your fine dining restaurants hands down. For you beef lovers, add a nice grilled USDA Prime Steak.

    • Like 3
  4. 20 hours ago, DougH said:

    Tried to book a cruise but my TA says the ship is at single capacity and Princess won't accept booking for one. She says that she has never run into this before. Cruise is in Dec 2023. Anyone else run into this roadblock,?

    The simple answer is book the cabin for two guests, and when the second guests do a no show, the port fees and taxes will be refunded. It works out the same as booking a single passenger in the end, or every close. 

    • Like 1
  5. The Alaskan Red King Crab season has been closed for two years, going on three years. The price of a pound of Red King Crab Legs is about $90 now, for crab from Russia and Norway. At these prices with limited availability, no cruise ships will be able to offer Red King Crab.

     

    A few smaller types of crab are being fished in Alaska, but everyone wants the best, Red King. Guest should not look for seafood boil/crab pot meals, or anything close to this. 

     

    Cruise Lines can fly in Maine Lobster and get 4 to 5 pounds of Lobster vs one pound of King Crab legs. 

  6. Seems to be a lot of confusion about e-visa here. I live in Asia and have for the last 25 years. Have done several cruises, and maybe two dozen other trips to Vietnam. Here is what I have learned to be true.

     

    1) If you type e-visa or visa in a web search for Vietnam, you will find many sites claiming to be official. Some even use government logos, they're all travel agencies unless the web address is dot gov.vn. Only use a dot gov.vn site.  Here is the link to apply  

    https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/

     

    2) If the cruise has multiple port calls in Vietnam, you only need a single entry visa as long as all port calls are in a row. If you visit another country after doing a Vietnam port call and then return for another Vietnam Port Call, then you would need a multi entry visa. 

     

    3) You pay much more for a visa issued on the ship. If the ship charges more than about $25 you're better off applying online.

     

    4) If you have an e-visa, you can overnight in Vietnam with a Single Entry Visa. If you have a ship's visa, you cannot. 

     

    5) Many countries do not require a visa for Vietnam: most of Europe, Asia, are visa free as well as Chile, Panama, and Russia.  But US, CA, AU, all require a visa.

     

    The visa process is really very easy, Vietnam is a great place to visit. As long as guests use the official site, no issues. For Asian Cruises most cruise lines collect and hold guests passports, it just makes clearances in the ports much faster. If you have your own visa, check your ship account, they sometimes charge you for a ship's visa  when you already have an e-visa. My wife uses her Philippines passport which is Visa free, but I have found a visa fee charged to our account a couple of times, so check to avoid overcharging. 

     

    • Like 3
  7. 1 hour ago, scottca075 said:

    Laundry included is the BEST perk. Getting home from a two week cruise and you only have less than a full load of laundry to do when you get home? THAT is a vacation.

     

    Sabatini's is the second best perk. I don't know how different it is from the MDR menu, but having a team great you by name every day, get to quickly know what you like, how you like your bacon cooked etc, it a great thing. I am a simple guy, so I never put to test asking for special items, but they bent over backwards to get my mother anything she wanted.

    Really, Laundry is the best perk? Sorry, that seems like all the benefits of having a suite have not been investigated.  Suites give you so much more than just Laundry. The stateroom size and features, the priority treatment throughout the cruise, upgraded room service, the free Spa services, upgraded dinning, fruit bowls, afternoon tea, in room ice, free specialty dining, extra private lounges, much better staff, all these things are at least equal and better than just free laundry.  

    • Haha 1
  8. 2 hours ago, scottca075 said:

     

     

     

     

    Sure, units in the Resort Zone are 100% legal.... unfortunately when you search Airbnb for Waikiki it doesn't just show units inside the Resort Zone, it shows them all over Waikiki, even outside the Resort Zone and none of the listings have the required NUC number. If Airbnb doesn't tell someone searching their site about legal and illegal units, how is someone supposed to know?

     

    That is why Airbnb is a BAD resource and why local agencies are better.

    Why are you trying to discredit Airbnb. Airbnb is respected Worldwide.

     

    I would much rather trust a Superhost than a small local service. Since May 2022, Airbnb has protected every booking with Aircover. UAirbnb also offers a 24-hour safety line.  If issues like cancellation Aircover, will find a similar or better home, or give a refund. Sorry, I will take a 68 billion dollar corporation's guarantee over a small local operator. 

     

    Your claim that the renters cannot know if legal is also not correct. Units in the resort zone have the correct license numbers shown within the listing. Once booked, the host is required to give you the exact address of the rental and anyone can if they want check to see if a legal unit. 

     

    Like this, license numbers:  

    260230450030, 406A, TA-155-423-5392-01

     

    They guarantee their bookings, so renters do not lose. And if someone is operating an illegal unit outside the approved zone, or not grandfathered, it does not affect the renter. It is a $10,000 find to the owner of the unit. 

  9. 9 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

    I think what you're speaking to is Airbnb/Vrbo in general and not as it relates specifically to Honolulu and Waikiki. What Scott and others are saying is that Airbnb/Vrbo, not being local companies, do a poor job of vetting which rentals in Waikiki are exempt or not and because of this there has been confusion and disappointment.

     

    The venting is very good, if you deal with units represented by a Superhost. Superhost cannot cancel on you, they must have less than a 1% cancelation rate, or they're not Superhost. Also, the license number for the property appears in the real listings within the resorts zone. If you book a property that is through a Superhost, which is a local on the ground person, and that hosts has dozens of 5-star reviews, you will have no negative issues. The positive side is a lower nightly cost in most cases.  

    9 hours ago, scottca075 said:

     

    You do not seem to understand the vacation rental market in the state of Hawaii,

     

    I have a very good understanding of the market. Maybe it is you who do not understand it. Units located within the resorts zone are 100% legal. These units are controlled by locals, residents and many times are the same hotel/condo hotel you can find on the open market.  Air

  10. 3 minutes ago, scottca075 said:

    Airbnb and Vrbo are poor resources for finding legal units in Waikiki. It is better to use local agencies.

    That is your opinion, and you have every right to have that opinion. I have always found Airbnb, offers some very good deals with a high level of safety and well vetted  Superhost. It seems many others have also found it to be a good choice. Over 150 million worldwide users have booked over one (1) billion stays with them. The readers can make their own choice after reading this thread

  11. On 5/19/2023 at 8:23 AM, DCwom said:

    The NCL POA stops in both Hilo & Kona and there are volcano tours from both ports, although different. It seems the volcano national park tour is from Kona, while there are a few other volcano tours out of Hilo. I'm have trouble figuring out the differences, is the nation park "the one to do"? Does it overlap the Hilo tours or they covering different areas?

    Our last trip this year we did from the Hilo side, rented a car and did a self-guided tour. About an hour to the park and an hour back, spent about 2 hours inside the park. Enjoyed take the road from the top through the lava fields to the ocean, about 18 miles each way. The road only goes down to the ocean, so you must come back the same way. 

     

    If you do a self tour, and you are a senior get the annual pass, only $20 good at all national parks for a year, covers the whole car. We had enough time to explore around Hilo on our return. 

  12. On 5/20/2023 at 11:15 PM, Philob said:

    Yes, but one should compare the overall cost.

     

    Honolulu recently enacted new regulations for AirBnB type-rentals in residential areas requiring 90-day minimum bookings. This will not affect rentals in designated resort areas, including Ko Olina, Turtle Bay, and parts of Waikiki. We booked an AirBnB w/parking in Waikiki last summer, but the Host cancelled it when he realized our dates was after the start date (Oct 2022) of the regulations and took down the listing.

     

    We know a couple who purchased two homes to be used as AirBnBs, but now rent one full time, and uses the other as their 2nd home. 

     

     

    It is still 30 days the 90-day change is tied up in a court case. But it should be noted Airbnb is allowed within the Resorts Zone Waikiki. 

     

    On 5/21/2023 at 12:36 AM, scottca075 said:

     

    Not that big of a change because it was a minimum of 30 days before, so a week or two week stay was illegal anyway. Plus the District Court in Honolulu has placed an injunction on the DPP, preventing them from enforcing most of the rules on the 30-89 day new law, pending a full hearing on the various lawsuits.

     Airbnb is an option and short term rentals are legal but only within the designated Resorts Zone. I have a couple of friends who have close to 60 of these legal short term rentals, many come with parking. They are a very good alternative to hotel rates. Several of them are in Condo Hotels, buildings that are operated as part hotel and part private units. 

     

    I stayed in one of these friends units for a couple of days in January, had a nice Penthouse unit, with parking, small kitchen area, ensuite bath, would have been about $250 a night if paid. We really liked it. 

  13. On 5/6/2023 at 11:45 PM, CaribbeanBound said:

    Could also go deep sea fishing. "Deep-sea fishing in Kailua-Kona can be excellent year-round, but the most consistent fishing is usually between April and September. Blue Marlin of over 1,000 pounds have been caught every month of the year, and multiple blue marlin caught in a day is not uncommon if the conditions are right."

     

     

    Having been in Kona and in Hilo, in my own opinion, Kona is the nicer side of the Island. We like it because of the nature and wonderful beaches. Not to say Hilo is bad, just if a choice we would take Kona. And yes easy to do Volcanoes National Park, from Kona. 

  14. I have not done a cruise ship to Koh Samui, But I did live in Thailand for seven years, and visit the Island many times. Cruise ships tender on the west side of the island at Nathon Town. When you get off the tender and walk off the pier, you are in the city. It is maybe a 200 meter to 300 yard walk to Nathon Beach. You will find food, shops, etc., right after getting off of the pier. Koh Samui is a small island, it is less than 90 square miles, maybe 25 kilometers at it's widest point (15 miles).

     

    When you get off the pier you will find many offering tours, and things to do. But really you can just walk around. It is a very pretty island, much of it is natural land. An example here, the Hin Lat Waterfall,  is a 15 minutes car ride from the pier, this is a popular tourist spot. Tesco Lotus a major place to shop, like a small US Walmart, is 4-minute walk from the pier. 

     

    I would say not to book a ship's tour, or to pre-book because really lots to do without a tour. On last, point, do not book or rent jet-skis, these rentals are a major problem in Thailand. You will return the jet ski and the operators will claim major damage. Which you will pay or the police will hold you for investigation.  Stay away from jet ski rentals.

     

    I hope this information helps you plan your cruise. 

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 3
  15. 2 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

    Not the case on the Sky right now...you can't get down the stairs to the gangway deck without giving the correct ticket. 

    Ways around almost everything if guests want to try. Use the elevator that takes you directly to the tender deck. 

     

    38 minutes ago, capriccio said:

    Neither issues you mention were evident on the Coral Princess in Australia last month.  Those with priority tendering were led to the disembarkation security checkpoint and the tender platform before the others.  The tender tickets were checked and returned to staff before the security checkpoint.

    Not the same on all the ships in the fleet and even if true, most of the time once someone is at the tender platform they just load them. Have seen it happen many times. Happy to have priority tendering, but still it always seems to be a mess to deal with. 

  16. OK, I'm going to throw a monkey wench in this. Yes, you get a ticket and then go down when called and board tender. But most of the time Princess does not check your ticket, you could just get in line with the moving group and get on. And when I have seen them check tickets with confused guests at the water platform, they seem to just board them anyways. 

     

    Let's face a simple fact here, the tendering system with Princess is not the best and causes lots of issues. But until Princess takes the time and effort to fix, not much we as guests can do about it. Even with Priority Tendering, we really do not like the system.

  17. If the guests still going paid for their own fare it really has no effect on the guests still going on the cruise, you have paid and will be allowed to cruise. If the cancelled guests paid for both fares, you could have an issue.  The no show guests will lose the cruise fare less the port fees if they don't tell Princess Cruises ahead of time. If they do tell will follow cancelation policy. 

  18. The Asian cruise market has never come back really after the shutdown. Yes, Japan is open, but SE Asia is really very limited. Take Princess Cruises for example, they have no cruises from Hong Kong for 2023/2024 and only five cruises from Singapore, and four are repositioning cruises. Royal & NCL are operating cruises, and a few other lines, mostly just passing through the area.  It seems cruising is down about 70%  what it was here in 2019. I live here, and it was easy for me to grab last minute cruises in the past, but not now. 

  19. The price Royal is offering is very high. The cruise ship tender landing is just about 2 miles away from the heart of the beach resorts. Most offer a day pass for about 350,000 Dong, which is about USD $15.  Just outside the tender port gate you will find all kinds of transportation. So let's say 4 people, USD$10 for taxi, which is high, four entrances USD $60, or a total of $80 for four, vs Royal wants $124 for one, with the extra $44 saved you could have food and drinks. 

     

    Have been to Nha Trang about 10 times 5 times on cruise ships, For private all day tours with pickup and dropoff at port gate we were paying $50 per person with lunch included. A few years ago, I was told the port adds $30 per person if the tour drops off inside the port. Most private tours pickup just outside the gate. So the question is, do you want to walk 150 yards to save this port fee? 

     

    And really at this port you do not even need a set tour, very easy place to just be a tourist. 

    • Thanks 1
  20. 52 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

    Uh… no. It is not. You have gone from asserting that an Elite wife bringing her non-Elite husband into the lounge to buy a drink will result in the immediate termination of crew members to now arguing that the husband has committed the criminal act of fraud and is subject to prosecution. Really?  You don’t see this as a profound overreaction?

    No, I never said that anyone in your cabin is entitled to the same benefits as you. So in your example the husband who be given the same boarding, tendering, Elite Lounge when with his wife. The OP said bring friends to these events, friends not traveling on the same reservation or in the same cabin. 

     

  21. 8 hours ago, scottca075 said:

     

    I agree in principal that people shouldn't try to finesse things they are not entitled to, but I think I'd stop short of 'defraud'.

     

    I like the PES events when they are in Skywalkers or a similar venue and I enjoy the food in general. It is also a nice way to meet others.

    By definition, it is to defraud, The meaning of DEFRAUD is to deprive of something by deception or fraud.  Clearly, entering a venue that you have not earned or paid for the right to be at is deception. Getting free food and discounted drinks that is budgeted to a program you're not entitled to deprives the cruise line and other guest.  Yes, I understand this is a very technical interpretation, but it, is sound and correct. Many would just let it pass, I'm one for following the terms of contracts exactly, but using those terms to the maximum advantage.  

    • Like 1
    • Haha 1
  22. 9 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

    I’m calling BS on this. Princess is having enough trouble finding crew members. They aren’t going to sack someone for SELLING a drink and generating revenue. And Princess never intended to separate spouses when one is Elite and the other is not. Princess wants people to experience the perks of status to incentivize people to strive to obtain that status. The same way that time share companies shower people with freebies if they agree to tour the property. The Elite lounge may be a luxury for you, but it is most assuredly a marketing tool for Princess. It all comes down to capacity. If the lounge fills up with people who qualify, then others don’t get in. But more and more that isn’t happening so the vacant space can be put to its best and highest use by allowing in others who are going to spend money. Your optimal outcome might be for YOU to have the lounge all to yourself without another soul in it, because no one else qualifies. But rest assured that Princess does not consider that to be THEIR optimal outcome. 

    My information comes directly from a long term Princess Cruises bartender. Who happens to be in one of our vacation townhouses now, here in the Philippines. Wife, has a big family and lots of relatives here, several works for the cruise lines. Have you ever had a crew member contract in your hands to read? I have, and the contracts are very clear. Stealing is not allowed, facilitating is and always has been grounds for termination. Even if it does not result in termination it is a black mark and hurts the crew member on several levels, shore leave, share of the gratuities fund, advancement, etc.  But not going to debate this you have stated your information, I have stated mind. The readers hear can review and make up their own minds.  

     

  23. Princess Cruises takes no responsibility for visas and puts it all on the guests. Unlike some other cruise lines that offer a full visa service. You really need to look at every single port and be 100% sure of what is required. And if you travel on, non US, EU, AU, (major first world countries) you can have timing issues. Like for example, my wife Philippines Passport needs a real visa for Egypt and Saudi Arabia, but these governments require she applies in her home country and not more than 30 days before, she enters the country.

     

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