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Expat Cruise

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  1. Yes, you need to book and it is very limited. Only one or two is done per cruise. Make your request first thing when you get on the ship. Another reason to be first to board.
  2. We rarely do cruise ship provide tours. Unless not allowed by the visa for the port, we always book independent tours. Have never missed a cruise ship, no reason to pay so much more for what many times is the same tour. Case in point Darwin Austriala, The Princess Cruise tour was $140 per person, done using 55 passenger tour buses. We booked a 20 passenger bus from the same tour operator, for 14 of us. Our price was $51 per person. Our guide got in front of his co-workers operating the official tour. So we showed up at a stop and almost no one there, leaving we watch the Princess Cruises official tour buses pull in and over 100 guests came off them. Princess will not be adding extra tours, those tour packages are set up years in advance. Private tours are the way to go, you get a much better experience, and a great price.
  3. We're always early, from our first Princess Cruise we have never paid any attention to these time slots. Show up early and board the ship in the first group or close to the first. But now with priority boarding, it is the first group. I know some will not like this, but if you take control of your own business, it always seems to work out. Last boarding, we showed up at the port in San Diego 10:10am, we had a 10:30 boarding time. Security tried to tell us to go away, not boarding for at least two hours. We walked on the ship at 11:19am. Drop our carry on bags, did the muster drill check in and where at the MDR at noon for lunch.
  4. We always carry our own luggage off the ship. But allow the ship to deliver most of our luggage when boarding. But we do a few things that make it easier for us. First, my wife and I cross pack. If we have two roller bags, half of my stuff is in each bag, if 3 bags a third, etc. If a bag is lost or delayed, we have enough to be able to enjoy the cruise. Next, we each carry a backpack or a carry on small roller bag, that have enough stuff for at least the first day. And we tag our own bags with at least two tags on the outside of the bag and two more inside. Doing this, we have never had any issues
  5. Simple process on-line only takes a few minutes. Nothing to stress or worry about.
  6. It really depends upon the budget you want to spend. The MRT system is great (Subway System) you can go almost anywhere with it. Basic but small Western Style hotel rooms can be rent in Chinatown for under $100 (USD) a night, or you can spend a $1000 a night at the Ritz Carton or Marina Bay. For the Singapore F1 Race we paid $1600 a night for a room overlooking the track. But we have stayed in $100 rooms in Chinatown and been happy.
  7. Japan is such a tourist friendly country, no guide is really needed. Have been to Japan about a dozen times, (real trips, not airport stop overs). So much information is online that it is easy. The public transportation system allows you to go anywhere. English is common, and many visitor centers on the ground that will help you.
  8. If Princess Cruises did not make a great profit on this package, they would not offer it. The majority of the guests purchasing the package will lose money. Maybe in your case, that is not true, always outliers when you look at a group. With the amount of alcohol many seem to be drinking with this package, maybe they have bigger problems than just the math. Both the American & Australian Medical Associations recommend no more than ten alcoholic drinks per week. That seems to per a daily number for some here.
  9. We do not drink alcohol drinks. Wife does drink coffee, and we have soft drinks. But even if we did drink, the packages are nothing but a money making option for the cruise line. If you look at all the time off the ship in port, it makes it even more to that you should not fall for purchasing the packages.
  10. The tours may not be filled. It seems with the App, it is very hard for them to remove a tour. So if they are not offering the tour it will not show as cancelled, it will show as full. So waiting and hoping will not help. The good news is 99% of the tours being offered (not on Princess owned Islands) are available as a private tour and always seem to be priced much less. Don't be afraid of the oldest sales trick used by Cruise Lines. Which is, don't book non ship tours because the ship will leave without you. Yes, if you're not back they will not wait, but the answer is simple, don't be late. Have done hundreds of tours over the last 50 years, only a handful were ships tours when require by the visa for the port. We have never missed the ship. Use a simple plan back to the ship 30 to 60 minutes before the ship says is last call. If we booked a private car, when back at the port we can explore around the port.
  11. They also handle groups on the ships. Like the CC roll calls, I have set up service CC Roll Calls on Princess Cruises. The contact person is the CC host. Just another one of the many things Princess is doing to increase profit, and the costs of customer service. Really sad how far downhill Princess is going.
  12. Typhoons are not common in Japan. Average of about 28 typhoons in the six-month May to October season. Most make landfall in China. Only about four per season make landfall in Japan. And while Typhoons happen after the official season, they are most likely in areas that have many per season. We had Typhoons around Christmas in the Philippines, for example. Weather will be fall weather for the trip. But understand the temperature differences can be like Key West Florida vs Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada in November. So pack for warm weather to below freezing. That said, it is a great trip and one that is a bucket list trip for most and never taken. You will have a great time.
  13. Have been in Singapore many times, including over Christmas. Everything that is tourist related will be open. Professional services like lawyers, stock exchanges, private doctors may be closed. Great things to do in Singapore, the Zoo, the Public Gardens, Chinatown, Little India, Marina Bay, Singapore Flyer, Raffles Boulevard. Singapore is one of our favorite places in the World. Since we live in The Philippines, and it is 3 hours away, we do several vacations a year here. Have been to over 100 countries, Singapore is the safest place I have visited. The public transportation system MRT is great. Nice friendly taxis, good bus service, even a hop on hop off tour bus company. Let me know if you have offer questions.
  14. Yes, I live in Angeles City with my wife. We own and operate a real estate development company here. Several branded hotels on Clark itself, like Marriott and Swiss Hotel, which will run about $200 per night. Many nice hotels for about $100 per night in Angeles City. Basic but clean, doable hotels for under $50 per night. Most of the Expats here use the same transportation service, Rem Matibag and his wife own Air Flags Travel & Tours, you can get a car and driver from him. We use his services and recommend him to our tenants. A few things to see and do on Clark itself. Just to the north of Clark is Capas which was the end of the Bataan Death March & National Memorial. Uber does not operate in the Philippines, but they have a joint venture here called Grab, which is basically the same as Uber. We have a very active American Legion here that would be happy to provide more answers to you if needed, they do not care if you're military or not, they welcome everyone. Let me know if you have any other questions, happy to try to provide good information. As of now my wife and I should be in Angeles at that time, planning a quick trip to Ohau, but back before the end of January.
  15. Yes, about a 10-minute taxi ride depending upon traffic. Less than 1.5 miles away from the port. Walking would be about 25 minutes.
  16. Two tunnel systems, one major bridge and a few back ways to get to the airport. The oldest tunnels are the Callahan & Sumner, only the Sumner will be closed, the other one will be two-way traffic if needed. You should be fine.
  17. I lived in Thailand for several years. The port is really not near the City, a few hours away in normal daytime traffic, but can be much longer. It is not a cruise port, it is a commercial cargo port. You really should set up transportation in advance. Pattaya Thailand is about 30 minutes to the south of the port.
  18. What are you looking for a place close to the port, the airport or in another part of the city? We live north of Manila, so we know the area well. Everything is available from $20 to $2000 a night. But very nice places can be had for a few hundred dollars.
  19. Yes, you can do this if you follow a few things and no issues. Have returned to Singapore about 10 times to end a cruise. Only once was the ship late. Also, the ship needs to be cleared on time. We would do walk off with all your luggage. That should get you off the ship and cleared through immigration by 8:30 to 9:00am. Then, if Marina Bay terminal you walk all the way out of the terminal, pass the Black cars to the Taxi stand. You should be loaded and on your way at 9:15 to 9:30, with about a 30-minute ride to the airport. Airport around 10 am, so you will be in line 2 hours before your flight. We have done this many times. But our flight is only about 3 1/2 hours and if we miss, we have several more the same day or could just fly the next day. With a 24-hour plus flight if you have a stop over missing the flight would be more of an issue. Do not allow the cruise line to handle your luggage off the ship. Most problems seem to happen here with your bags being in an area of 200 other bags, everyone in a hurry and wrong bags picked up.
  20. If I had a day, I would go to the Australia Zoo. It is a great place to check out. If you don't know, Australia Zoo became Internationally known because of Steve Erwin and his wife. Steve's parents started the zoo. Since the accidental death of Steve, the zoo has been owned and operated by his wife Terri and his two children. We had a great time here. It is about 1 1/2 hours from the port. Closer to the city, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, which also is a very nice time. About 45 minutes from the port. https://www.australiazoo.com.au/
  21. Agreed, We do not like the tracking and data mining Princess Cruises is using. Our Medallions will be in RFD Blocker Wallets at all time. Our door panel will be deactivated from showing names or I have a new use for duct tape on the cruise.
  22. Really do not like the direction Princess Cruises is going in.
  23. Well I do not drink so that is not an issue for me. I just do not want to be tracked and profiled. I have several businesses here in Asia, including an IT business.... I see what my workers can do with a little information. I thought just like you what harm can this do... until they showed me. My people work in the security protection side... but many with the same skills work at stealing and profiting from others. I have learned it is best to be very protective. Even going past this I really do not want Princess Cruises selling my information... and as of now no way to opt out of this. So I will use RFD blockers and cause issues within their system because they have left me no other choice.
  24. Then medallallion does not need to contain a lot of information. It just needs to be able to ID you. It could be with a simple number code. But that simple number code gives much more information than just the number. They use the tracking system to log everything you do on the ship, anyplace you go, what you drink, how much you drink, the times that you do this, the places, track all your purchases, track how long you spend in different parts of the ship. And all this information builds profiles of you. If you go to the med center, and get medications that will be tracked. And under the terms of use Princess Cruises is free to sell this information to anyone they want. Let's say for example that because the stairs were wet you slipped and fell and had major medical issues. They could use your pattern of drinking as a defence. No one can be a private person if they allow this tracking to happen.
  25. Never had a problem booking onboard the ships. But if you want to be able to take advantage of your onboard credits, a very easy way is to go to the casino and request chips in the amount that you want in cash plus five dollars. Then play one hand and cash out. You will have the credit in the form of cash.
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