Travelexpert35

Ken, thanks so much for your review. I loved following along on your NCL Jade trip and now this one. Will look for your Japan trip in July. Safe travels home.

I have a friend on the Westerdam on the Transpacific which left April 24 from Japan heading to Kodiak, Alaska. They are having storms every day, gusts of 80km per hr and she said 40’ waves. Very wild ride for those passengers.

Hank, Enjoying your posts. I’ve also been following along with some people on the World cruise on the Zuiderdam. The nightlife is hopping on that ship and it seems bars are open later.

Looking forward to following along on your latest cruise adventure. Now you two can just relax and enjoy after your bumpy start. Enjoy!!

Loving your review!! I’m curious to what cruise you booked for 2025 with the future cruise desk.

Following along and enjoying your posts. Love your emoji‘s. Hope you get a better dinner table tonight. Stick to select dining if that is what you booked. Enjoy your cruise…

I’m enjoying your posts and am looking forward to following you on the cruise. A friend of mine is getting on the ship April 10 and will disembark in Seattle. Which hotel did you stay in Tokyo and also Kyoto? My husband and I definitely want to return to Japan as we did a Transpacific in 2019. Would love to stay in Tokyo and travel around as you are doing. I know the subway system was very intimidating so I would have to do some research. We’ve travelled a lot using subways etc but that map in Yokohama station threw me off.

If you want to do some shopping in Lahaina, there is an Outlets of Maui mall within walking distance. Once you hit Front Street, turn left and keep walking till you reach Papalaua Str and you’ll see the outlet mall. They have Michael Kors and other shops, not huge, but I picked up a few things there.

What a surprise to see Observations from the Poop Deck on here!! I’ve been following some World Voyages here and lo and behold I see your name come up. I thought you were cruising on MSC next. Looking forward to following along with you. Enjoy!!

Just wondering if you can upgrade one category on RCCL. I’m Elite so it would be Diamond on them. I never saw that on any benefits they show.

We did a balcony guarantee on a Transpacific from Vancouver to Japan in 2019. I was nervous about booking it and not getting a good location. We were lucky and got a 2A cabin on the Millenium. Location was great. Not sure if it helped that I was almost Elite status then.

You should definitely be using a travel agent for your flights to Athens as they will be able to do the research for you. They’ll charge you a service fee but in the long run it will be worth it. If there are any delays you can contact them.

Yesterday, I signed into Nexus to update my passport info and couldn’t get in. They had my landline and also my cell number . I chose the cell number and waited for them to text me. No text came. I tried a couple of times but no text. I had to use my personal key to get in. Has anyone had any difficulty accessing their account?

My passport arrived today Feb 21 so I’m all set to go someplace. Where I don’t know. I started the renewal on Jan 25th and they said it would be mailed out Feb 22.

I’ve been visiting Hawaii since the late 70’s as a teenager and it’s my favourite destination. Love the friendly Hawaiian people. I’ve travelled there over 40 times to the various islands. I have cruised twice from HNL to YVR on Celebrity and always stayed an extra week in Waikiki. I do wish Celebrity would add Kauai to their itinerary and remove Hilo or Kona. Kauai is my favourite island. Since retiring, we’ve been staying in Waikiki in a condo when we travel there. We live in a small town now so we enjoy the hustle and bustle of Waikiki. When we were working in a bigger city, we wanted the quiet and relaxation of the other islands. It’s a 12 hr flight with connections from the Maritimes and that hasn’t stopped us from travelling there.

My receipt from Service Canada showed my date of Feb 22 when my new passport would be mailed. It didn’t show any dates on the form enclosed with the old passport.

Just received my old passport back today, Feb 8, by Expresspost. My new one should be here by Feb 22, let’s see what happens.

Really enjoying all of your posts. Are you allowed to bring wine back on the ship from a port as I noticed you bought a few bottles in Gisborne? Also for dealing with Ubers at these ports, do you have a specific SIM card or ESim you use for your phone.

The Australian ETA’s used to be free many years ago. I wonder when they started charging for them.

I was very surprised when she said I could cross the border with the photocopy and the receipt for the renewal. I then mentioned to her that I had Nexus cards so if need be I would use those. I’ll have to update my passport info on the Nexus cards next.

Decided to renew my passport on Jan 25 at Service Canada even though it doesn’t expire until August. It’s due back on Feb 22. I was surprised at how much data entry they need to do as it took at least 25 min for her to enter everything. Also she gave me a photocopy of my passport to use if I wanted to cross the border into Calais, Maine since we live close to the border. I never knew you could cross the border by car with a photocopy while waiting for your passport. I guess it makes a difference if your expiry date is not until August.

It’s good to know that they have three Happy Hours each day. Is this usual on short cruises as well? I wonder how many passengers onboard actually booked the beverage packages. That would be a big add on for a World Cruise.

I would rent a car for the day and drive to Hapuna Beach which is gorgeous. We rented a car at the King Kamehameha Hotel right by the dock where the tenders drop you off. Very easy to do.

I‘ve enjoyed following along on your World Cruise. Would love to do this some day. Was wondering now that you’re in a Verandah will you go back to an oceanview for future cruises? Do you enjoy sitting on your balcony? I’ve sailed 3 or 4 times on Holland America but more on Celebrity so I’m curious as to what benefits you would get as a 5 star mariner on a World Cruise. Looking forward to more of your posts.

We stayed at the Sutton Place Vancouver on Burrard Str which is right downtown and only a few minutes taxi ride to the cruise terminal. We enjoyed this hotel as it’s not huge. You should check it out.