Expat Cruise

49 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Nope and putting up straw-man arguments in regards to private crew areas on the ship doesn't sway things.  The only rule in regards to clothing appears under the title "Clothing Recommendations" and refers to prohibited items:

 

Dinner wear such as pool or beach attire, shorts, ball caps and casual jeans (with fraying and/or holes) are not welcomed in the dining rooms. Shoes must be worn.

 

You have postulated your "rule" argument before and Princess also publishes this in the FAQ's:

 

For more formal settings, men should bring a suit and a nice pair of shoes (or, at the very least, a shirt, tie and slacks), while women may want to bring an evening dress or a skirt with a good blouse.

 

Bottom line is that you and others are welcome to wear tuxes or suits, as well as nice smart casual clothing, as well as something in between, such as a jacket, or tie, or jacket and tie, etc.  Let's all get along, okay?

Sorry but not a recommendation... observe the dress code seems to be be very clear. Does not say we suggest says "When formal nights are held, please observe the dress code in the Traditional Dining and Anytime Dining venues for the enjoyment of all our guests."

Not your choice to change the rules because you do not like them.

Formal
When formal nights are held, please observe the dress code in the Traditional Dining and Anytime Dining venues for the enjoyment of all our guests.

• Evening gowns and cocktail dresses for women
• Tuxedos, dinner jackets or dark suits with a tie for men

1 minute ago, Potstech said:

By their own written policy it is truly a suggestion.  And later on their written information contradicts what you posted.  It is definitely not a "rule" 

Sorry but it is not a suggestion it is a dress code. When you see a sign on a door and it says crew only is that a suggestion or a statement of the rule ? The bridge says authorized personal only can the guest just decide they don't want to follow that rule and storm the bridge? The answer to all these including the dress code is they are the rules. As I already said the only question is does Princess and the crew have the backbone and integrity to follow their own rules.  

Most of the time the crew lacks the backbone to enforce the dress code which has not changed. It is now more about you as a guest do you want to respect others on the ship and follow the rules, or do you feel you are somehow special and the rules don't apply to you?  The choice is yours but understand sometimes Princess crews have a backbone and enforce the rules I have seen smart casual turned away on Princess cruises within the last year.  The formal night dress code is not a suggestion or recommendation, it is the rule on the ships.

Princess makes it easy to know what to pack and what to wear when you’re dining onboard our spectacular ships. There are two designations for dress codes: Smart Casual and Formal.

Smart Casual
Guest attire should be in keeping with what they would wear to a nice restaurant at home.

• Skirts/dresses, slacks, and sweaters for ladies
• Pants and open-neck shirts for men

Dinner wear such as pool or beach attire, shorts, ball caps and casual jeans (with fraying and/or holes) are not welcomed in the dining rooms. Shoes must be worn.

Formal
When formal nights are held, please observe the dress code in the Traditional Dining and Anytime Dining venues for the enjoyment of all our guests.

• Evening gowns and cocktail dresses for women
• Tuxedos, dinner jackets or dark suits with a tie for men

1200  THB would be one way.

On 2/2/2020 at 8:14 AM, CissyFuss said:

Will definitely be checking out private transfer options for an overnight stay in Pattaya.  Thanks for your recommendation, Expat Cruise.  Get tired of the dreaded ferang (falang) prices in Thailand.  Currently feeling that Princess has greedily copied the same pricing model for it's shuttles, tours and visas.

 

Usually when we're in Thailand we rely on our feet or the baht bus to get around.  Hate being treated like a walking ATM.

Pattaya is a ghost town now.  just spoke to a friend who lives on Pattaya Beach. He said the Chinese have left and tourism is down by 90%. From the live phone video I saw reminded me of Pattaya in 2001 after 9-11.  If this keeps up some great deals will be offered.

The city has changed over the last couple of years today it is a massive building site the Chinese have come in and are building many casinos and resorts. The local population was thrown of the land and most local business closed.  So not a lot to see or do here. I'm involved with a school in   Sihanoukville step up by a Expat NGO group.  The locals in the area live on less than single US Dollar a day. It is a very poor area.  Here is a link to Shine if interest in a real look at local life here. Our small school is now taking care of 150 children every day. https://shinecambodia.org/

The Tuk-Tuk  are very comfortable and will sit up to 4 people they are a great way to see the country side. Pricing is in US Dollars, a short ride a mile or so should be $1 to $2 max.  A longer rental for touring around should be $10 to $15 dollars for the day, 6 to 8 hours.  Many drivers will try to get more but you really should not pay it. Paying more will in fact result in not getting as good of tour. If you are really happy with the driver give him a tip at the end. Also if you stop for lunch you should offer lunch to the driver. The food is wonderful in Cambodia and very cheap. Even in Phnom Penh in December (Most Expensive In Country) my wife and I would eat full meals for under $15 dollars total.  

Boutum Sakor National Park is to far away in my opinion it will take  2 1/2 hours by car each way.  Ream National Park is about 18 KM  12 miles away, it will take about a hour to get to it, that is a option.  The country side is well worth seeing. 

The prices being quoted at the port are Falang pricing.  More than double what they should be.  I still have some Real Estate interest in Pattaya (30 minutes south of the port). So I make a coupler of trips a year to the area.  The Pattaya to Bangkok prices offered by many taxi car services are much lower than what has been post. If I was coming to the port I would setup a car from Pattaya. The costs Pattaya to Bangkok should be about 1300 Thai Baht ( about USD$42 dollars) and the same or even a little less for a port pickup.  And really no reason to keep the taxi all day, very easy to get a taxi in Bangkok for the return trip. One sevice I have used is https://pttaxiservice.com/  out of Pattaya. 

You need to understand that while the daily menus may change. The overall stock of food and supplies takes much longer. Having talked to mangers and done Ship Tours, I was told that they order the food and supplies for the ships 6 to 8 months in advance.  This does not count local fresh items, like fruits and vegetables.  The restocking of the ships is set this far out. The same beef used in Miami is used in Australia. So product has to be order and placed into shipping containers and then shipped around the world to many ports for restocking. 

Therefore it does not seem possible to change menus based on comment cards. The amount of port, beef, chicken, etc that will be on the ship is preset almost a year before the sailing of your cruise. It is really a whole separate business keeping  Princess ships stocked for the guests. With changes needed to be made a year or more in advance from the Corporate level to the ships cruises.  The menus are also adjusted for seasons and the market the ship is sailing in.  The number of whole turkeys on ships for a Thanksgiving  or Christmas cruise is very different than a July 4 cruise.  A item can be change on the menu IE one chicken dish for another, but they cannot say stop chicken and switch to beef.

PRINCESS CRUISES CAPTAINS LIST: as of 02/01/2020

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Have used Phamtours.com for this port. Because it is a cargo port and nothing here, no taxis, stores, phones, etc, it is about 8 KM to the closest town. HCMC is about 90 minutes away, so you really need a tour pre booked if you plan to go to HCMC.  Pham offer a complete tour including Driver & Guide, all admissions, Lunch,  Tri-Shaw rides, Rex Hotel rooftop coffee stop, War Museum, Local History,  Shopping. At $60 per person, no deposits required it is a great tour.

Email for Pham   phamtoursvietnam@gmail.com

The cruise line association  issued the following:   "Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA)  pledged that its members will deny boarding to anyone who has traveled through mainland China in the past two weeks, in addition to other precautions."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2020/01/31/cruise-ships-deny-boarding-anyone-who-has-been-china-recently/4622855002/

Have done Nha Trang as a port stop 5 times in the last two years. It is a very nice port for several reasons. 

1)  Walk out of the port and you are in the business area, taxis, tours etc, and many business at the port.

2)  Really nice beaches a short walk or taxi ride away.

3) Many things to see around the city and just outside of it. 

4) Great Waterfalls, springs and private baths and spas are all around.

5) Lots of local history and easy to get around

6) A nice Fishing Village and several interesting temples.

7) Private Resort Island with it own Sky Tram is close to the cruise port.

😎 Great Shopping for not only low cost items but high quality art

About visas: Princess charges $56.00 to process a visa on the ship. It is much cheaper to apply online for your own e-visa at $25.00 dollars. Takes about three days you will find many agencies who will process visas but I would only recommend going through the official Vietnam Government site.   https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/trang-chu-ttdt 

note the gov.vn in the web address only the Government of Vietnam can use this, many claim to be official, approved, etc, all the others are agents.

Tours:  You can book with the cruise line but it is costly, and bigger buses, or you can just walk out and hire one of the waiting drivers. I would recommend using a official license tour company.  With insurance, bonded, and real guides.

We have done many tours with Phamtours.com  email   phamtoursvietnam@gmail.com   Dung Pham is a very good operator and provides many different complete tours.  His very popular all day cruise tour ship tour is Only $60.00 includes, a complete tour with several stops, a riverboat tour, a great lunch,  drinks, and a English speaking guide with you from start to finish. Also small tour size limited to 10 guests, he may have several tours running from the ship but keeps each group small with its own van, driver and guide.  A great way to see Nha Trang

2 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

I don't necessarily like it any better than you do but the Shareholder form clearly states that Australian cruises will receive credit in Australian dollars. If it's in the terms and conditions how is it stealing?

 

Yes I know what it says but they advertise and promote without saying that. Also when we purchase cruises on the US Site and it say $300 OBC, we pay for the  cruise in USD but they then do conversion at  1 to 1 which costs use 40%.  It is stealing and boarders on Fraud.  No full disclosures, But when the benefits go the other way they don't do 1 to 1, for Euros and GBP they do not do 1 for 1 it is just dishonest.

1 hour ago, Loritd said:

We booked using a move over offer. Our future cruise deposit onboard credit and our shareholder onboard credit went one to one (they are nonrefundable) but the rest of our onboard credit (refundable) had a .70 to 1 conversion rate. Surely the casino credit would be the same. I see nothing on the website about a one to one conversion rate.  I am going to call Princess in the morning. 

The OBC are done 1 to 1 for everything but cash for casino, that they will give you a conversation rate for.  But owners shares, future cruise etc, Princess STEALS FROM THE GUEST WITH 1 to 1. 

17 hours ago, Miaminice said:

😡
 

To make a better living and to support their families they are willing to work long hours for 7 to 9 months away from their families with very little if any time off.......

 

BTW: I live in a country were tipping is optional but as long as I am anywhere in the world or on a cruise ship where I know it’s handled differently I will accept it asnd not take it out on the ones who do the work.

 

I wish the cruise industry would factor in the amount into the cruise fare so this sorry discussion would end once and for all. But as long as that doesn’t happen, I am happy to contribute to their income by gratuities and by giving extra. Not because I feel sorry for them but because I think they earn it! Their service is what makes cruising so enjoyable for most of us. It’s not the cruise line, it’s the staff on board.

 

Be glad you can be on the receiving end on a cruise!

 

 

 

Over 15% of the Philippines working class is now working outside of the country. So again stop trying to apply your standards to these workers. The simple truth is for every cruise job, 100 to 150 workers ready to take the job. 7 to 9 months on a cruise ship is luxury when compared to  two years in places like Doha, working 30 days out of a 31 day month. OR in the UAE were they have no rights and treated like dogs. 

On my current cruise I have spoken to several crew members from the Philippines who have over 17 years with Princess.... if these jobs were bad they would not sign contract after contract. 

If some members here want to tip, go ahead and tip but do not try to say you can tell others what to do and how to think. Sorry these fees only help the company and not the crew.

7 minutes ago, jwattle said:

Helpful criticism, in no way whatsoever

Sorry if the truth hurts

With these offers you really do not have time to debate and post here. You need to take the offer or not take the offer as soon as you get it. Princess is making lots of calls and offers and it is only valid until someone else says yes to this offer.

I think this case is in trouble. The lawyer is building a business around bedbugs.... that is fine and it could be a good business, maybe.  The lawyer may know bedbugs, but now he is sailing into Admiralty Law which is under its own set of rules and how to do things. Kind of like asking a top ER Doctor to do a heart transplant.... He maybe a get doctor but it requires very special skills.

My opinion is the lawyer is using this case to promote himself and get other business. He knows he cannot take on Carnival Corporation, with its hundreds of lawyers and billions and win....

4 minutes ago, Hoyaheel said:

Please note that evisa are single entry only [as of now, at least] - so if you're coming back through Vietnam at any point during your trip (not a couple ports in a row - but coming back after another country) you have to get a different type of visa. evisas might be great but they do NOT fit all scenarios. 

 

 

No visa fits all scenarios, if you are traveling for business, working,  staying longer than 30 days..... The e-visa is the best choice on a Princess Cruise for most passengers. 

23 minutes ago, hubofhockey said:

For those who think they only hurt the cruise line (and not employees) by removing gratuities, here is an interesting article. I suppose the number that do remove tips is so low and spread over so many members of the crew, that it's probably not too impactful.  But some got so upset that they started posting names of the cheapskates on Facebook.  I do believe the cruise lines should add the gratuities to your price of the cruise, but until they do, some of you will be giving yourself a discount at the expense of the people who serve you (not the American based cruise line).

 

As for your battles on e-visas, I don't care.  I just want to warn passengers that there could be a hassle in getting off the ship.  If you don't mind that extra work and time when you're on vacation, that's great.  If time is not an issue and you don't have a private tour to meet, it probably won't bother you.

As you have already stated you have never used a e-visa. No issues getting off the ship, it is 100% a legal visa, in fact better than the group cruise visa issued on the ship. I have had over 20 e-visa, been into these ports on four different Princess Cruises using a e visa NEVER ANY ISSUES.  Stop trying to scare people here with false information. E-Visas are the correct way to go. 

1 hour ago, Coral said:

They did this in Europe in summer 2018 on the Sapphire. Our cruise only had minutes but the same route a month later had a package. Princess does seem to be playing with things.

On the Sapphire in less than two days was told by a current guests he has a package. I will find out in about 36 hours.

15 minutes ago, alirat153 said:

Might be a bit of a gamble. The Princess rep said  daily packages weren't available but he had to ask so ...?  The OBC is in US$ not AUD so that might be a clue.  Still have 90 days to decide. There is a discount on the minutes if I purchase pre sail.  But its not too big a discount 600 minutes gets an extra 80 minutes, so your suggestion sounds feasible. Hopefully others can confirm its a regular practice. 

I'm sorry but the phone rep you are talking to is wrong., We are boarding the Sapphire Princess in two days  from now. Only minutes listed on the website, but have already confirmed with a passenger on a back to back that they purchased a package. Lately Princess seems to be doing a lot of these mistakes...

Just now, datone said:

 

On Sapphire Princess entering through Nha Trang on 6 February and exiting through Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My) on 7 February.

Your entry port is Nha Trang and the exit port is HCMC Seaport. These are the two we have always used for your ports.  You can can also use Vũng Tàu Port for Phu My, both HCMC Seaport  & Vung Tau Seaport will work for the exit point.   Also set the start date for the Visa  you can use February 1 and it will be valid for entry anytime in the month.

9 minutes ago, CissyFuss said:

datone, can you please tell me what Entry through checkpoint and Exit through checkpoint you listed on your e-visa application.

 

Don't want to believe that Princess is charging such high prices for providing visas and are unwilling or unable to provide accurate information.

yes first port in Vietnam and your last port in Vietnam what are they?

50 minutes ago, datone said:

 

From what I can gather that sentence "if you obtain the visa on your own etc. etc. was added to the cruise personaliser sometime between 2 January and 14 January.   My travel agent printed off my travel summary and important notices and sent it to me and this was dated 2 January.   That sentence was not mentioned in the notice about the Vietnam Visa.   I checked my cruise personaliser on 14 January and it is now there.   So I ring Princess yesterday (afternoon of 15 January in Australia) to find out why they will not accept my e-visa which was granted on 6 January and was told the rules had changed.   When I pressed them for more information on this they were vague about when and who.   I was told I would now have to get one through the ship.   I had waited to apply for my husband's e-visa until mine was granted and then last night (evening of 15 January in Australia) and just a few hours after I spoke to Princess, his was granted.   So it doesn't seem as if the Vietnam Government has changed the rules.   I would hope they are not granting visas which cannot be used.   Cannot really see them doing this.   So is it Princess then who have changed the rules?   If so, I don't know how they can refuse to let you use a current and valid e-visa.   Not sure what to do here because they have our credit card number and will probably just charge us for another one each.  I really don't want to pay US $110 for 2 more visas when we already have ones that are perfectly legal and valid.

I'm sorry but this another case of Princess Cruises giving completely false information. First your Visas are between you and the host country not Princess Cruises, the host country says they are valid that is the end of debate.  If Princess try to present your passport to Vietnam and says a on ship visa needs to be issue the agents will say no this passport holder already has a valid visa.

This is nothing more than the corporate office no knowing or understanding what is going on.   It may also involve the simple fact that if you use the ships service they make a extra $48 dollars profit per guest.  Do the math lets say 1500 passengers ship visa services, that equals  a extra $72,000 dollars in profit for doing nothing.

No reason to do anything bring your e visa and tell Guest Service to use them. You have nothing to lose by doing so. Even if they were not valid you still can take the cruise and use the ships visa service....But e-visas are 100% valid and allowed under the rules set by Vietnam and Princess cannot change these rules....if they do they risk not being allowed into the country.