WorldTourPrincess

We always stay at the Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort! Right on the beach, gorgeous views, directly across from shopping, and Dukes is in the hotel.  Love Dukes! The fish is always so good!! Will be going back again this summer.  Highly recommend!  

On a Princess cruise to Alaska in 2006 my family flew from Boston to Vancouver the day our ship sailed.  First our flight got delayed leaving Boston.  Then my mom’s bag got lost and she had to fill out paperwork and we missed our connecting flight and had to be rebooked. Luckily we arranged our flights and transfers through Princess.  Shuttle busses long gone, we were met by representatives at the airport in Vancouver.  They ushered us into a taxi who FLEW across town to the pier. When we arrived we were met by more workers who ran us through the cruise terminal telling us what to say on the health forms. We walked up the gangway and they shut the door behind us. We were literally the last people to board.  By the time we got to our room the ship was already pulling out.  And there was my moms suitcase who managed to take an earlier flight.😂 Great story now, but I would never cut it so close again!

Hello! I just received the following email from Norwegian.

This email is to confirm that we have received your offer(s) to be upgraded on your upcoming cruise. While your offer has not been selected yet, you may still be selected for an upgrade by our onboard team.

Upgrades may be awarded at any time up until 0 hours prior to the sailing departure. Should your offer be selected for an onboard upgrade, your credit card will be automatically charged, and your stateroom will be reassigned. Please check your email up to 0 hours prior to the sailing departure to see if we were able to upgrade you.

If you no longer wish to be considered for an onboard upgrade, you may cancel your offer(s) through the link provided below up until 5 hours prior to the sailing departure, provided that your Offer has not already been accepted by Norwegian Cruise Line, and provided that your credit card has not been charged.

Does everyone get this email who bid or is it a good sign that my offer soon might be accepted? We sail tomorrow.

I personally hate Celebrity so I would not pick them. I have also not sailed with Royal Caribbean so I can’t comment on their ships. I love Princess and have sailed a lot with them.  You will always get great food and service and don’t need to upgrade your room or eat at speciality restaurants. The ships are beautiful and the other passengers are generally very nice. NCL seems to draw a lot of people interested in the drinks package so to speak. My family generally prefers to eat at their speciality restaurants and we love the overall Haven experience.  They also have some different  itineraries which initially drew us over from Princess. I will be on the Viva in a week. It looks beautiful!

You’re not going crazy! I had to go back and look, but they’re in the NCL Haven Spa Suites.  Looks like on the Escape, Getaway, Breakaway, & Epic. 

6 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

You can also just ask them not to open the wine, and take it away with you.

 

Many of us do that, as we have as much wine as we want with meals anyway, but a bottle in your cabin can be very handy for a lazy afternoon on your balcony.

Yes, that makes perfect sense if you’re on a beverage package.  I never am because I barely drink.

1 hour ago, hallux said:

Was the ship aware?  Typically this is not allowed due to logistics of going through customs and needing the agents there to do that.  Immigration was cleared at the first US port, but customs would still have been needed.

Yes, we called Princess after we booked and asked if this was something we could do. They okayed it. A few others did it as well.

My family did something a little different. We chose a Princess cruise that started in Quebec and ended in New York. We flew in early and spent a couple of nights at the Frontenac and had some AMAZING food in the city. When the ship eventually docked in Boston we did a short tour, went back onboard and got our luggage, and then disembarked! A car was waiting to pick us up and we were home in less than an hour! It made way more sense than doing a day at sea, disembarking in NY, and then having to fly or drive for hours to get home. We live an hour west of Boston so our plan was perfect for us!

Yes it’s two separate dinners.  I recommend redeeming the one with wine first, so if you don’t finish your bottle you can have it at your next dinner!

I have cruised as a Suite guest on the POA several times, and as a Haven guest on other ships. Yes you can ask the butler and concierge the same things. Yes the crew is mostly American, but not 100%. Our room stewards have all been foreign, and my most favorite butler was from Rhode Island! My parents and I are headed back to the POA this coming summer. It’s such a great way to see Hawaii!

As to your other question, I do see a difference in crew being American vs foreign. In my opinion, and I’m not stating this as fact, I feel that most American crew view their jobs as just that- a job. The foreign crew view their jobs as their careers. They are often providing for their families back home and take great pride in their craft. They are not going to risk their livelihoods at any cost. That being said, I think the grew is great.
 

The only ship that sticks out in my mind as having the worst crew was onboard the Celebrity Summit. We will never sail with them again.

Ooo I want to hear all about your dives! Every last detail!!!

Great question! I don’t have an answer for you but I took advantage of the no-single-supplement and booked!

Look for a dive shop in your area and go there. You want to try on different masks and see what is most comfortable for your face.

Thanks so much! I plan to stay in Rangiroa, Fakarava North, and Fakarava South. How long would you recommend staying in each place?

Is Raiatea worth visiting (or diving) or is two days on Moorea better?

4 hours ago, AussieBoyTX said:

I thought of the diving on PG as something to do -- rather than a great diving experience. The sites were near the ship, which certainly was good in that our trips to the dive sites were quite short -- always less than ten minutes. But they also were the best that the islands had to offer.

 

Just for example, we dove at Toopua in Bora Bora. I've been there several times and it can be a an excellent place to see mantas and other rays. On this day with PG, the currents were not favorable and the water was murky (which we've also experienced). The other operator decided to abandon the dive and find another site. 

 

Also be aware that most of PG's dive customers are novice or infrequent divers. Of the thirty-plus divers on board, perhaps six were PADI AOW of higher. The sites were picked with that in mind and that also limited our bottom time since we all began to surface once the first diver ran low.

 

Even so, the guides were good and we were grouped with reasonably like experience divers, never in groups larger than six and usually smaller. We got in first and got out last, so the shortest dive I had was 45 minutes, though there was a bit of bottom time waiting around under the boat.

 

A bad day diving in FP is better than a good day in many other places. I'd just say that if you're coming to FP for diving, set your expectations accordingly.

 

Now, if I could comment on Rangiroa & Fakarava -- both are spectacular! I would just note two things:

 

1) All operators I've been with in FP take certifications very seriously and do the dive planning based on your certification. At Rangiroa, Six Passengers had dives for CMAS 1,2 & 3 star certifications. CMAS 1 star is equivalent to PADI Open Water. 2 star to PADI Rescue. I don't know the PADI equivalent for 3 star, but it must be a professional level. All this to say the PADI OW divers had a dive profile set at 60 feet and missed most of the Tiputa pass. We were in the second group. I don't know what the max depth planned was, but mine was around 100 feet. Excellent dive. There was a third deeper group that saw what we saw, but also saw some dolphins, so we had a small bit of remorse about that.

 

2) Fakarava South Pass is worth the entire trip to FP on its own. Make sure your operator will definitely do that dive, as it is a full day expedition from the north side, where you're probably staying. Also, the operator we used (Dive Spirit Fakarava) only took CMAS 2 star or higher on their South Pass trips. Max depth was 93 feet and dive time was 45 minutes plus. Note that CMAS can have different deco definitions than PADI. I never went into deco, but spent more than ten minutes of the dive with a less than three minute NDT. A diver with more conservative settings than mine would have been in a deco situation.

 

The Fakarava North Pass dive was also spectacular -- we started in blue water, not being able to see anything and leveled out at 100 feet. Within minutes we were sucked into the atoll and saw all the sharks, fish and coral. Very impressive.

24 minutes ago, Leejnd4 said:

If I read the itineraries correctly, it appears that the difference between the two is that the “More” itinerary includes Raiatea, but you get only one day on Moorea, whereas the regular itinerary skips Raiatea and includes two days on Moorea. 
 

I’m a huge diver myself, and I’ve been to FP three times but have never dived in Raiatea, so I can’t answer whether it’s a must-see island for divers. I can tell you that Moorea is one of the most beautiful islands in all of FP (many consider it their favorite) AND it has fabulous diving, so for my money I’d rather skip Raiatea and have two days on Moorea: one to dive, and one to do a land-based tour and see the spectacular scenery. 
 

If you’re going to be diving at Fakarava and Rangiroa, you are already going to be experiencing about the best diving you can get in FP. So you really can’t go wrong with either of these itineraries. I think it will boil down to where you’d rather dive: Raiatea or Moorea. 

Awesome, thank you! So I guess now the question is- does Raiatea have diving and is it any good?

Hello PG cruisers! I’d like to take advantage of the no-single-supplement promotion they have going right now and book something for summer 2025.  I would like advice on which 7-day itinerary to book. My options are: Tahiti & the Society Islands and More Society Islands & Tahiti. Can anyone guide me on which itinerary you think is better?  I’m an avid scuba diver and plan to do Rangiroa and Fakarava (North and South) prior to the cruise. I am also a teacher and restricted to travel during July and August.

Thanks for any insight you can share!🤿🐠🦈

Thanks for the great advice!

 

 

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You're welcome! Happy to help!

Thank you for the advice. It will be our third Silverseas expedition cruise on August 25, but it still helps to remind me what to bring while I am in the process of packing.

I assume the men wore long khakis to dinner? My husband would wear shorts 24/7 if he could, :D.

Shorts were definitely not allowed for dinner. Yes, lots of long khakis!

Hi Princess I had 2 weeks just after easter and I did not bring enough memory for the camera but I did bring my laptop along with an external drive. This made me follow a pattern as soon as I came back on board. Copy chip into laptop and then using your preferred software modify and save photos then run the back up to external drive. When I was going home Back up drive was in my wifes hand luggage and I had laptop. I would have used a cloud but wifi was spotty. The mantra in my former life was back up, back up and back up again

I brought extra memory but didn't need it. What you mentioned is something I also do. Every time I go back to my cabin I transfer photos from my phone or camera to my laptop. That way if you ever lost your equipment (or dropped it in the ocean!) at least you would still have your pictures.

As promised: Silver Galapagos: If I Went Again, What I Would (andWould Not) Pack

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=56736380#post56736380

And you're welcome everyone! I'm glad my posts were helpful!

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with any brand or company. I am not being paid to endorse any product. I just find it helpful to hear what other people bring with them when they travel, so I thought I’d return the favor.

That being said, I am not one to travel lightly. I was one of the few people on this trip to bring (and pay for) a second suitcase. It’s not that I don’t try, I just hate not having something that I want when I travel. I would much rather bring too much stuff than say, gee, I really wish I had brought_(fill in the blank)_. I’m envious of those who were able to cram an entire 10 days worth of expedition gear into just a carry on. And I actually met two of these rare and special people! They were in the cabin across the hall. I don’t know how they did it. I should have asked…. Oh well…

Anyway, I had a fantastic time in the Galapagos with Silversea. If given the opportunity, I would happily go again. So that made me think, if I went again, what would I pack and what wouldI leave at home? What did I wear or use all the time, and what wasn’t worth the space in my suitcase?

What I’m Glad I Brought

Long-sleeved, button down, lightweight, hiking shirts. I wore these every day for hiking and tours on the zodiacs. They offered great protection from the sun so I didn’t need to slather on as much sunscreen,and the LL Bean shirts were also bug repellant. I really liked these two:

EMS® WOMEN’S TECHWICK® TRAVERSE UPF LONG-SLEEVE SHIRT

LL Bean Women's No Fly Zone Shirt

Comfortable pants that you can wear hiking and also on potentially wet zodiac rides. The two I bought also had zip off legs so you could turn them into shorts. (I never actually utilized that feature though.) Both offered protection from the sun, and the LL Bean pants were also bug repellant.

EMS® Women's Camp Cargo Zip-Off Pant

LL Bean Women's No Fly Zone Pants, Zip-Leg

Wide Brimmed Hat with a Drawstring

I am not one to wear hats or any type of baseball cap at home, but I wore this thing every day! The drawstring is essential! If your hat doesn’t have one, you WILL lose it! Zodiac rides are windy and conditions change all the time. It was great for protection from the sun as well as the few drops of rain that we had. My hat was vented for tropical climates and came from EMS.

Moisture wicking bras and underwear

This was something new I was trying, and I liked it. For underwear, I bought both the EMS brand and one from Exofficio and I was happy with both. The bra was by Hanes, and is sold at Walmart, Target, and Amazon. It worked well for the long sweaty hikes to wick moisture away.

Sunscreen and a small can of bug spray

Sunscreen- wore everyday

Bug spray- only used occasionally. Maybe the wetter season has more bugs?

Water Shoes

I actually brought two different pairs of water shoes andI’m glad I did. I wore both my Teva sandals as well as a sturdier pair of Keen hiking sandals. The Tevas were great when I was just snorkeling off the zodiacs and I wanted something that I could easily take off and put on. The Keen sandals were great for hiking after wet landings. I was glad I brought both, especially that way if one starts to rub you have another option.

More than one bathing suit.

I’m part fish so I was in the water as much as possible. On days where there were a morning and afternoon snorkel trip, I was glad I had a dry swimsuit to put on.

Sunglasses.

You’re on the equator. It’s sunny. Enough said.

A sweater

Sometimes at night The Restaurant was freezing!

Sneakers and Hiking Boots

Some of the terrain was really rough so I was glad I had sturdy (Oboz) hiking boots. I also saw a lot of Merrels and Keens on the trail as well. The sneakers were a more comfortable choice for walking around the ship and to/from the airport.

What I Should HaveLeft at Home

Dresses

I LOVE dressing up for dinner! On a regular cruise I have gowns for the formal nights and cocktail dresses for all of the other nights. I brought two LBDs (little black dresses) and it so wasn’t worth it. I wore one for theCaptain’s Welcome party, and totally didn’t even bother for the Captain’sFarewell party. It just wasn’t worth the effort. It had been along day, I was tired, and no one really cared. I spent maybe 10 minutes at both parties and then just went to dinner. Cute tops and capris were more than dressy enough for the evenings.

LL Bean No Fly T-shirts

I bought several short sleeved T’s and one long sleeved T and I never wore them. Bugs weren’t an issue and I much preferred the hiking shirts as opposed to the all cotton T’s.

Raincoat.

It was the dry season. It never rained. They also had cute parkas for sale onboard. Buy early in the week though before they run out of your size/preferred color.

Makeup, jewelry, curling irons, etc….

I’d still probably bring these items anyway, but seriously,no one cared.

Bathing suit cover-ups

Never wore these. I put on my swimsuit, wetsuit, and lifejacket, got in a zodiac, then jumped in the water. Never had time to sit around in cute little cover-ups.

Magnetic Hooks & Clips

I ALWAYS bring several of these of when I cruise! They’re great for hanging up important documents, clothes, drapes, all kinds of things. However, most of the walls in my cabin were NOT magnetic! Boo! I only found a couple of spots where I could get them to attach.

What You Might Wantto Bring, But Don’t Have To

Mask, Snorkel, Fins, Wetsuit

The ship provided all quality ScubaPro gear, and shortie 3mmScubaPro wetsuits. I brought all my own gear (because I like using it) but you don’t really have to. My personal wetsuit also had long sleeves, which I liked for the added warmth. Only short wetsuits were provided onboard- no full length ones. So if you tend to freeze or are super hard to fit, bring your own. No need to go out and purchase anything though if you don’t already have it.

Backpack and Water Bottle

They give you this onboard. Only downside is that everyone’s looks alike.

Binoculars

Pretty much everything you want to see is right in front of you. The guides and many passengers had them as well, and everyone seemed willing to share when there was something to look at.

Well that's all I can think of for now! Feel free to chime if you did this trip as well!

HI WTP. Fantastic posts with so much information to plan with! I loved that you gave information on the other options even though you didn't take them. Your dive on the final day sounded amazing.

 

One question I had for you and everyone else that has been on the Silver Galapagos. I noticed in the brochure that it mentions "Laundry Service". What is this and how much does it cost? The reason I ask is that our vacation is split in half with the Galapagos on the front end and then another 8 days on the backside in Peru. In an effort to keep my partner from over-packing, I was wondering if it wasn't too expensive to get undergarments, polo shirts, and chinos laundered on board. That way we can lower the packing by at least 1/3...

Sorry, but I don't know how much laundry was. I know it cost me $30 each way for a second suitcase...

Thanks for the reports!

 

My friend and her boyfriend (both 40-somethings) are going on Silver Galapagos this year. They live in California, Silicon Valley, where dress is so casual, lots of jeans and T-shirts. She says her boyfriend owns no slacks other than jeans. I told her about the official Silversea dress code, but I'm wondering, is dinner dress in the Galapagos just as strict as on other ships and on other itineraries? In other words, would a button-down shirt, nice shoes and jeans work in the restaurant or get you kicked out? I will pass on advice from those who have done this cruise. (I've already told her to buy him some khakis!) Thanks.

Hi Erica! Great question! I'm planning to do another post soon about what to pack and what not to pack. This is my first cruise with Silversea, but I was told that dinner attire is much more casual than on their other ships. However, they mentioned every single day in the newsletter that the evening dress code is casual, but NO JEANS and NO SHORTS. Most people were dressed nicely, but not too fancy. I brought two dresses but wished I hadn't bothered. Also looking at the way it was worded, this dress code seems to be for the entire ship at night, not just the restaurants. I'd tell your friend that he should get a real pair of pants to bring! :):): )

We are so enjoying your report. Can you please tell me what kind of camera equipment you are using?

 

Many thanks.

Sure! I have a GoPro with dive housing for my underwater shots, and a Canon PowerShot (point and click) style camera with 18x optical zoom for everything else. Since everything is so close you really don't need a huge telephoto lens. If you have one, and love it, and don't mind packing it, go ahead and bring it. Otherwise, it's not something you need to buy or bring for this trip.

Day 10

Saturday, July 14th

Disembarkation inBaltra

It’s always sad when a trip comes to at the end, and thishas truly been an incredible week filled with so many wonderful memories. Breakfast was served from 6:30 – 8:30as usual, though we had to be out of our cabins by 7:30. Many guests chose to stay in theircabins until the last minute and then go down to breakfast at 7:30. The restaurant was busy, but everyonewas able to find a seat that wanted one. Disembarkation began at 9:30, so most guests spent the remainder oftheir time onboard in the Explorer Lounge or upstairs in piano bar.

Our luggage had been collected the night before, so all wehad was our carry-ons. Amazingly,our favorite waiter that we had met on the airplane and who had carried ourbags for us in the airport, was there to take our bags down the stairs to thezodiacs! Once we disembarked inBaltra, we got to say goodbye to our lifejackets for the last time! Yay! A short bus ride brought us to the airport where wecollected or luggage and went through the whole process of checking in for ourflights. I had to pay for mysecond suitcase and it took a while due to super slow internet connection forthe credit card reader. They mighthave been using a dial up modem, but I’m not positive…. ;-)

Once we were through security and all the other fun stuffthat you get to do at an airport, we had time to go shopping! There were a lot of gift shops right inthe terminal so I was able to make up for 7 days of not being able to buyanything. I noticed a VIP loungethat Celebrity guests had access to, but not us…. Hmmm….. are you paying attention Silversea? Boarding was a big free for all. The luggage police were out again,looking for oversized carry-ons. Once our tickets were scanned we had to walk outside a ways to theairplane and climb up the stairs to board. It was loud. The flight to Guayaquil was a couple of hours I think. I slept through it.

After landing in Guayaquil we had to collect our luggage andbring it with us to the hotel. Silversea had reserved day rooms for us at Hotel Oro Verde. Holy moly, what a hotel! After some confusion over whichelevators to take, my mom and our found our room on the 4th floor inthe Towers. It was an ENORMOUSsuite!!! We had a living room witha desk, couch, and chairs. Abedroom with two queen-sized beds, two flat-screen TVs, a large guest bathroomwith toilet and sink, a master bathroom was a huge walk-in shower, toilet area,double sinks, and a large walk in closet. It was spectacular. My onlycomplaint was that we where only go to be there for a few hours.

We had a nice late lunch/early dinner in the hotel’srestaurant downstairs, and then went up back up to the suite to relax. Our flight home was aroundmidnight. The airport was modernand very nice, but a lot of the food places were closed due to the latehour. Eventually we boarded forthe 4 ½ hour journey back to Miami. Once at Miami we had to collect our luggage AGAIN, and go throughcustoms. By the time we did allthat and walked about a mile through the airport our flight to Boston was alreadyboarding. Three hours later welanded at Logan and picked up our luggage for the last time. Luckily, we still had everything! So about 24 hours after we left theship we were arriving home.