donaldsc

I have been in Ushuaia 4 or 5 times although not recently and have always seen signs on travel stores on the main street advertising Antarctica cruises. I have no idea what sort of a deal they offer as I never checked. DON

I always use a watch when I am on a cruise. Makes thinks a lot easier. For those who do not own a watch you can buy one on Amazon for almost nothing. DON

Why does anyone care what color they are as long as the appropriate perks are loaded into the electronics. I just do not get it. DON

Not sure exactly as I don't really keep count but about 35 days. DON

I should have added that we are both Platinum if that will get us off earlier. DON

I am going to be on a Diamond Princess Japan cruise in October 2023. I have a couple of port time questions. We are booked on a 19 day cruise which is really a B2B cruise. The changeover port is Yokohama so we are in Yokohama twice - on Nov 9 for changeover and on Nov 18 for cruise debarking. Both times we supposedly dock at 6:30 AM and we leave at 5:00 PM. I am hoping to do private tours on my Yokohama stops. I have a day tour booked for Nov 9 changeover day. Also since my flight home does not leave from Haneda airport until 7:20 PM I have booked a day tour to Kamakura on our debarkation day. The plan is to do the day tour and then have the guide take me to the airport transport bus station to get to the airport. My potential problem is that this whole thing is dependent upon getting off the ship fairly early. I would like to have the guide meet me at 8:30 at the ship for my Nov 9 changeover tour and then have same guide meet me at 8:30 on the Nov 18 for the debark day airport tour. I need to know if I will be able to get off the ship at this time. Some people say that is possible. Princess will not commit to a time but they say that it could take as long 3 to 4 hours after the ship docks. My TA says not to count on getting off early. Who is right. So what do you guys think What has been your experience? Would I be able to make my 8:30 AM - 9:00 tours or is Princess right and it might be as long as 4 hours which means that I might not get off the ship until 10:30? After all we are not entering Japan for either post stop so I do not see why customs or immigration should be an issue. Also this is after Covid restrictions so Covid should not be a problem. One other question. The guide on my debark day tour plans to get to Haneda airport at about 4:30 PM which gives me almost 3 hours to get onto the plane. Is that enough time. Thanks for volunteering to help. We are looking to seeing Japan although getting private guides for this trip has been very difficult. If you want to communicate off line you can send me an e-mail at donald.schoengold41@gmail.com. DON

It is hard to tell from your post - have they already lost it or are you worried about them loosing it. DON

You have to remember that nobody on the ship cares that you are wearing the same outfit for 3 or 4 days or else wearing the same 2 outfits every other day. If they do care - you shouldn't care. Nobody even looks to see what shoes you are wearing. My day wear Birkenstocks become my formal evening wear shows when I wear them w black socks. If you packed a bunch of stuff into a stuff sack and the clothes become wrinkled just hang them out. If the wrinkles don't completely disappear nobody cares. DON

If the bus ride is really 3 hours each way this means that you will be spending 6 hours of your excursion time on the bus. Hardly worth it to me. There has to be something almost as good but a lot closer. How about doing Paris as a DIY either pre or post cruise. DON

If you bring your own lanyard they will punch a hole in the card form you. DON

I would rebook but I have been to AK many times and have done the full road to the end twice. If I was thinking that I might make another trip to AK after the road is fixed I would find another place to visit. After all if your goal is to maybe see Mt. Denali you can see it off the Parks Highway. DON

Your type is a bit big. LOL. DON

It is after the OP's cruise so it is irrelevant but if you try to book excursions 18 days before the cruise that is what happens. Hope that he found something. However a DIY walking tour of a Caribbean city is easy to do. DON

If Key West was the main reason that you took the cruise why didn't you fly to Florida and rent a car and then driven to Key West. You could have stopped at places during your drive and spent several restful days in Key West. All ports do not have to be visited off a cruise ship. DON

So looking at the photos and from what I have read on this thread the sanctuary is a special area where I have to pay at least $40 per person per day to have a reserved seat after I have paid a lot of money just to get onto the ship. If I want to have the opportunity to sit next to my spouse I have to rent 2 spaces which will be $80 per day unless I rent what looks like one of those double loungers. Then when I want to have some of the "free" food I have to pay $3 per order to have it delivered. I assume that the person who delivers my free food also expects a tip for the service. In addition when I get on board I have to rush like crazy to the sancutary in the unlikely chance that I might actually get one of the few available spots. I just want to be sure that I have it right. DON

I may be missing something as I am not interested in the sanctuary as I think the whole idea is dumb. But regardless this is what I don't understand. People say that they can't get sanctuary spots because they all get taken really quickly. However according to people who have checked often many of the already paid for spots are frequently empty so Princess is loosing potential sanctuary income. If you have to pay for the sanctuary in advance regardless of whether you use it or not how can there be a loss of income to Princess. The spot is paid for empty or not. It is sort of like buying a season ticket to a sports team. The team gets the same money whether you come to all the games, some of the games or none of the games. What am I missing. DON

You get and set up a personal relationship w a GOOD and KNOWLEDGEABLE travel agent and let them worry about then details. When you book your cruise do not TA shop to save a few bucks because you need that good TA when issues arise as they will inevitably do. DON

I regard the ship as a big bus to get me to the places I want to visit. I regard sea days as monumentally boring w nothing to do but stare at the ocean. The main ship board activity that I like is attending a good lecture and good lecturers are rare because they do not generate revenue for the cruise company. My ideal cruise would be mostly if not all port days. The only type of sea days that I like are scenic cruising days. DON

Perhaps I should post this on the Princess board but I will try this one 1st. We are doing a B2B Princess Japan cruise with a changeover in Yokohama. We have done long cruises but never a true B2B. In theory the ship starts debarking at 6:30. People will be embarking and debarking on that date but we are staying on board. I want to set up a tour for the changeover date. Does anyone know how Princess this. Can we just walk off the ship at any time or do we have to sit around on the ship until they release us. If the latter what time will we be able to get off the ship and meet our guide. DON

Have a cheap copy made and wear them when you travel. Wear the good stuff at home. DON

Have you seen what they do in schools when they take young kids on a field trip - use a leash. DON

This isn't on Princess but on Azamara they have white nights. I bring an all black outfit to wear on white nights. DON

Try checking on the Family Cruises board. DON

Tell me about it. I am trying to book private tours in Japan on a cruise that stops in some smaller ports such as Aomori and Sakaminato and finding almost no guides. I planned a Japan trip a few years ago and pre-Covid and had to cancel the cruise and had no problems finding guides. Now not so easy. DON