pjwaz

On 9/3/2023 at 12:13 PM, sboh said:

Sorry you had a bad experience on Mykonos. We were in Mykonos in June on a port stop and had a wonderful time. I went to the beach and thought it was one of the nicest beach experience I have ever had. The sand, the water, just lovely. I didn’t eat there, just ordered an iced coffee (€5.50). My two adult sons went to Delos then stopped in Mykonos town for a coffee and to wander a bit before returning to the ship. We would have been disappointed if we had stayed on the ship.

Which beach did you go to and how did you get there? Thx

I wonder why the soda display for the quench package on our cruise web page has a bottle of Heineken in it. My husband will be happy!

On 6/9/2023 at 5:15 PM, EmilyColwell said:

Hopefully will be on my Discovery Alaskan cruise in September. We have a couple of premium restaurant credits to use.

It was not on the Discovery last week.  Tracy's crab shack had king crab for $70 lb

4 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

We did this transfer last August.  The bus picks you up around 11-11:30 at the hotel and you have about a 20-25 minute ride to the port.

Thank you for the info. First time out of Seattle. 

Does anyone know when transfers from Westin hotel in Seattle arrive at the ship?  We like to eat lunch in the MDR upon arrival.  Is there a separate line for elite/platinum passengers?  This is for Alaska cruise.

3 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Over the years I've been to most of the South Pacific Islands. Having been on a river cruise, this would be the polar opposite, as it entails lots of sea days.

I'm aware of the sea days,this would be a trip for relaxing.  We've been on ocean voyages before and to Hawaii.  I even lived there for a few years. Interested in the Viking experience.  Thanks.

If anyone has been on a Viking Hawaii and Polynesia cruise, could you offer any comments or suggestions?  We are considering the 33 day one for next fall. We have been on a Viking river cruise a few years ago.

We were in blue lane yesterday. This morning we got an almost incoherent voice mail from Princess, all we could hear was security photo and green lane. Looked on our medallion app and we were green. They used our passport photos.  Fine with me, they can always take them again.  Just have to do the antigen test for Canada. I'm so worried about doing it right. 

I wish the kids sail free would apply to a single parent and child in the same cabin. Looking to take my daughter and grandson on Alaska cruise in June. 

4 hours ago, wcook said:

To the aquarium - silver line to south station, then walk the greenway to the aquarium. If you are at all an engineering geek, read up on The Big Dig beforehand. 

We will probably do an Uber. The were working on the big dig on my first visit to Boston. Any good restaurants near the aquarium or Port, for seafood?

Both of us have been in Boston twice . Thinking of the aquarium.  Best way to get there from the cruise port?

On 11/5/2021 at 3:12 PM, mom says said:

I have chronic motion sickness- all forms of transport,  so I start the night before our flight to the port! Then every night at bedtime. This evening dosing eliminates any daytime drowsiness, and I only need an extra day dose if the seas are really rolling.

The same regimen for me. Need extra if going on a small boat for an extended time. Just felt queasy once on my Australia New Zealand cruise. Was at bay of islands, with tender, small boat and tender, on rocky waters.

Our last travel agent was wonderful and we brought back a gift for her from Australia. In addition to the cruise, she set up a 10 day independent land tour for us pre cruise, including 3 stops, air flights, hotels and excursions. She did a phenomenal job for us. We even told her about a problem on a short cruise we booked directly with princess and she contacted them and we received a crown grill meal.

12 hours ago, cruzingnut said:

We passed by her on a ferry today on our way back to Darling Harbor (we’re on the Amsterdam world cruise). I was shocked at her appearance! Incredible amount of rust showing. We’ve been on her several times and have never seen her look so bad!  We ran into a few people in The Rocks area that told us they were supposed to get on at 5PM. 

We were on the Ruby in December and they were painting her then, don't remember which side.

We were a little disappointed in Waiheke Island.  Mainly  because it was cloudy, a few sprinkles and the HOHO bus was sold out. I never thought to book that ahead of time. We took the city bus but only went to 2 locations. 

On 1/5/2020 at 3:28 PM, MargoK said:

Currently on the Ruby Princess and yesterday when we departed from Dunedin the Commodore announced the forecast was such that we were heading north to traversing Cook Strait. 

 

Looking at Windy dot come, it was the correct decision. He is aiming to get us to Hobart 

 

So the commodore went that far north to cross over to Australia? We were on the previous cruise on the Ruby and know someone on this cruise,  but cannot contact him. 

We were on the Ruby Princess in December. The Sunday games were on the ESPN channel in our stateroom,  along with Monday and Thursday night games. Just adjust for times.

On 9/5/2019 at 11:38 AM, jjjct said:

Husband and I will be doing a B2B starting in Tahiti to Sydney then Sydney to Aukland with one night in Auckland before we fly back to the states. We have the same cabin for both cruises so will be bringing luggage off in Sydney. We both have prescriptions so I will leave those in the original pharmacy containers. We also take a lot of supplements which I usually put in baggies to save room. By the time we get to Aukland we will only have 1 night and 1 morning worth of supplements, maybe 24 pills - 2 or 4  of each supplement. My question is, will this be a problem? Do the authorities just confiscate them, or do you go through a big ordeal?

That is our situation too.  We have some duplicate labels to pack some rx's in smaller containers or bags. If something gets confiscated I wont die without it. But it is hard to find some OTC and vitamins in smaller containers. Mail order pharmacies in the USA are not very cooperative in packing smaller quantities and will charge you the same price for a 30 day supply as for the 90 day. We do have doctors lists of all drugs, which will help in case of a ER visit. Good luck!

Thanks to all for your responses. I'll beg my mail order pharmacy to see if they can package a month's worth in smaller bottles.  I will also bring a doctor's letter.

Can't wait for our trip!

22 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

If you are planning on doing any hiking in NZ or Australia pack a small nail brush so you xan clean out the soles of your shoes before packing them. I've never had them checked when disembarking from a cruise but have after flights between the two countries.

Not planning on any real hiking,  but you never know. I usually wipe down my shoes before packing, but the nail brush is a great idea. 

We will be arriving by air from the United States to Melbourne, land tour, then boarding Ruby princess in Sydney,  going to Auckland,  followed by a back to back on the same ship ending in Auckland.  We will then stay in Auckland for 2 days, one night, before flying home.

Australia says prescriptions should be in original containers,  New Zealand says must. When do they check, at our first port or upon final departure from ship?   We have several prescriptions between us , so quite a few bottles that will take up a lot of space. Most are mail order so would be difficult to get them to put in smaller bottles.  All pills have identifying codes on them, but I understand bureaucracy.  If they check upon final land arrival, only a few pills will be left. 

Also, do they check your shoes? Is that on ship or when you get off at each port? What is the best way to clean them?

Thanks for any help with this.

On 8/12/2019 at 2:42 AM, 2BACRUISER said:

No. No. NO!

My DH goes gets changed if we happen to wear the same colors by accident! When we were on a trip we had to buy a couple of rain coats and even then he made me have a different color to him!

Same with my DH. I personally don't like the fit of t-shirts or polos on me, so I would never do it.  

On 8/11/2019 at 7:00 AM, GloriaF said:

I wanted to add the above plan will not work in Australia, as I've read from other travelers posting on this subject......I wish I remembered which thread and poster's name, but I don't:  One man wrote he had original bottles of blood pressure and cholesterol meds with him but no documentation.  He was taken to a separate room and questioned.  He said after a time the powers that be decided that to take his medication away would be a hardship for him and finally decided to let him keep them.

 

I learned my lesson from that and will be taking original bottles (no more than 90 day supply) and documentation required.  I'm guessing documentation means a letter from prescribing doctor or a copy of the scripts.  

We may need another carryon bag if we need to take our prescriptions in their original bottles.  Almost all of our drugs are 90 day supplies through mail order and they are not very accommodating to repackaging in smaller bottles for the 30 days we will need them.

On 7/30/2019 at 12:14 AM, possum52 said:

The maximum charge on MYKI is $8.80 per day as from January 1st 2019. You can load as much money as you think you will need for your two weeks in Melbourne. You can't use your MYKI if it has a negative balance on it so ensure you have enough money on it before travelling.

 

Leigh

So is the myki card good for 2 weeks?  That would be convenient for us as we will be in Melbourne December 3 to the 6th and then as a cruise stop on December 15th, a Sunday.  Can we get to St. Kilda and Brighton Beach directly from the cruise port without going into the CBD first?

On 5/11/2019 at 11:56 PM, OzKiwiJJ said:

Yes, you will see the coast but not in any detail aprat from just after leaving port. However most of the ports have gorgeous harbours so be sure to enjoy the sailaways, particularly Dunedin (look out for the albatrosses at the heads), and Picton which will have a fairly long transit through the Marlborough Sounds - it would be worth having an early dinner for that. 

Will you be able to see albatrosses upon entering or leaving the Dunedin port?