sugarbird

My cruise leaves out of Dubai in two weeks, traveling back and forth through the Strait of Hormuz. I am American and am an experienced traveler, but have never been to the Middle East. In view of the fact that the US president has been making incendiary statements about Iran and has enacted an offensive travel ban, I am looking for reassurance that this trip is still a good idea, and that it is still much safer to visit Dubai/Abu Dhabi/Muscat via ship than it is to walk down some American streets. Thoughts?

You seem to be mixing USA politics with your travel plans. The Straits of Hormuz has been having incidents long before our presidential election--remember the US Navy ship and sailors that were seized---or when we shot down an Iranian passenger jet!!!

Cruise ships continually use the straits--even the most conservative lines like Seabourn. Incidents can happen of course, but do you feel safe touring in Paris or Brussels or Istanbul etc?---or that many of the Mosques in London are run by Salafists? Do you remember Somali pirates chasing cruise ships?

We are in an era of terrorism, but we still have our lives to live. Caution should be observed, but cruise lines are usually pretty conservative in their choices of ports. My wife and I were snorkeling in the Straits of Hormuz in recent years off a Silversea Cruise. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are great places to visit with low crime and I feel safer there than many USA cities. We will be there in late March and early April. We may not feel comfortable with all of their customs or their some of the treatment of women, but we can still enjoy the visit and the spectacular things to see!!

Safety is a personal decision--if you do not feel safe --CANCEL--if you are ok then have a great trip!!!

The stops in Russia seem to be discontinued. Russia isn't really equipped to handle cruise ships.

 

 

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Cruise ships still stop at Petropavlosk on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Eastern Russia. Celebrity will do it 2 times in 2017 and Silver sea has several stops there on the Silver Wind and the Silver Discoverer. My wife and I have been there and it was a wonderful stop--many snow covered volcanos, large brown bear population, noted for great "fly" fishing and a delightful city --the fish market is great.

The city has good facilities for cruise ships --access via tender--visa not required for cruise passengers when we were there.

This was our favorite stop doing Vancover to Tokyo on Silversea

My husband likes Sam's Tailor. It's off Nathan road (main shopping street) just south of Granville Road. Sam's keeps your measurements so you can order shirts and suits once you are back home and they will ship them to you. My husband has done this a few times and always quality material and workmanship.

 

 

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I tried Sam's 1 time--and never again. The shirts were fine. I gave hime a suit to copy and the results after 3 fitings were frankly "awful". He is well know --but I would never use him again. I donated the 2 suits to Goodwill.

Hopefully others have had better luck.

The Mena House is an excellent choice near the Pyramids and the Sphinx.We stayed there. In the center of Cairo the 2 Four Seasons hotels were the best when we were there--we stayed at the Four Seasons First Residence. It was excellent.

last time I went to SawGrass

 

I was degusted by the huge number of 'out of country folks' filling newly bought bags with what they perceived as bargains ....

 

Tons of junk being offered to folks who wanted the 'American' price

 

I avoid the place ...... sad really

This reply is inaccurate and hard to believe any time was spent there!!!! Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales,Saks 5th Avenue, Tommy Bahamas, Lauro Piano, St. John. Nordstom, Burberry,etc. outlets are not "junk stores".

I live in South Florida and go to Sawgrass Mills about 4-6 times a year. It has great selection and is the largest outlet mall in the world.

Does Sawgrass have some junk stores--YES--but they are not the primary stores there.

Many of the shoppers are from foreign countries.

Highly Recommended --but hard to get to without a car.

While I was working--I am retired now--for more than 20 years, I had my suits made by A-Man Hing Chong in The Mandarin Hotel Arcade. Outstanding quality and high prices. Many years ago Conde Nast Traveler magazine surved business men in Hong Kong and they voted them the best tailor in Hong Kong. All work done on site--not sent to nearby China.

I've been looking at Asian cruises that stop in Tianjin for a trip to the Great Wall and other attractions of interest. Also, I think I've have seen that Beijing is a stop for the same attractions ? It seems that from Tianjin to the attractions it is a long 3 hour ride and an over night, or two night excursion is offered which is expensive. Is it better to stop at Beijing or Tianjin, does one bring you closer to the Wall? Are there local attractions at these stops as well?

Tianjin is the port for Beijing--Beijing is not a port for cruise ships--so obviously Beijing is closer to the Great Wall. Wherever you are the Great Wall is worth visiting!!

Beijing also has many many sights that are spectacular to see--Forbidden City,Summer Palace, etc.

In Sorrento, I stayed at Hotel del Mare. Look on trip advisor for reviews.

Have fun:)

Sorrento is a wonderful place to visit--at the beginng of the Amalfi Coast.You can visit the 2 old roman ruins by train and its relatively easy to get to Capri also.The Hotel Ecelssior Vittoria in Sorrento is expensive but one of the great hotels of Italy.

Specifically, their port facilities. We are on a 12 day, port intensive itinerary and thinking about skipping this port to rest. If we tender, is it worth just going to walk around in the port/town?

 

Thanks for your advice. I searched Argostoli, but no mentions of this.

My wife and I visited Argostoli this week We did not know what to expect.

We found a delightful city with many charms on a delightful island!! The movie Captain Correli's Mandolin was filmed here.

There is a dock--it is large enough for 1 large cruise ship.

Many thanks for your valuable input, much appreciated!

 

Some questions:

-How easy was it to find a taxi to take you to the Chinese cemetery? Did the taxi wait for you or ??

 

-clarky sorry you were sick and missed the next 2 ports Without meaning be too personal, do you think your illness was related to the food from your walking tour in Manila?

 

Again, thank you for your time.

I would recommend visiting the Manila Hotel--MacArthur's Headquarters in WWII--and Makati--the financial district--the most upscale part of Manila--ask a taxi driver to take you to the Shangri La Hotel Makati--you are right by Green Belt and Glorretta Mall--both very desirable areas.

Also the Mall of Asia in Manila I believe it is the largest in Asia--with an ice skating rink.

Klong Toey is in "downtown" Bangkok. I have no idea why the cruise ships are docking there. They are trying to clean up the area (they recently built a convention center and luxury shopping area), but directly across from the entrance to the port is Klong Toey slum, one of the poorest areas in the world. The "powers that be" are trying to get the poorest of the poor out of the area. There have been protests, murders and other problems. I think it is sheer insanity for a cruise line to dock their ships there. I certainly did not feel "tourist" safe when I was there in March for business purposes. I had a car and English speaking driver for two visits to the port to check on my shipments coming out of Cambodia. I was safe but I look at the world from a different perspective than most tourists. I spend a lot of time on docks worldwide in pursuit of my business (international logistics).

 

http://en.dpf.or.th/node/22

 

http://www.bangkokcrimes.com/2009/06/06/the-battle-for-khlong-toey/

 

Just make sure you hire a guide or book a tour. DO NOT go wandering around by yourself hoping to find a taxi.

My wife and I have docked at Klong Toey on Silversea, Seabourn and Oceania--smaller ships--.Docking here is not a problem--shuttle buses usually run continuously to the area of the Shangri La Hotel and back. I have never had any concerns about the area of Klong Toey--I have however never walked around--because you are in a large container port area not in the middle of the "slum". Klong Toey is not in "downtown" Bangkok--it is nearby on the Chao Praya River

My wife and I have been all over Thailand 1 or 2 times a year for the last 10 years--never had any problems. Bangkok is a wonderful city.You are quite lucky not to have to journey from Laem Chabang--It can easily be 2 hours or more.

I should also mention that not all taxi drivers know this port area --so stick with the shuttle buses.

Boracay has a very long beach (White Beach) --this is not the Shangri la beach--there are many small hotels and restaurants/bars.

I believe that cruise ships are relatively new to this island!

White beach is the most popular and is an excellent public beach. I do not know of any hotels that have day passes. I do not think this is necessary--because the beach is public and you can eat at any of the restaurants or hotels.There is a sand walkway the runs along the beach it's entire length.

My wife and I have stayed in Boracay 3 times and have been delighted each time--try Discovery shores or Fridays in Area 1--also visit "D Mall" in the center area.

My wife and I did the Falls on our own--stayed at the Sheraton--not sure why you would need a tour--we did everything available except see the Brazil side.

We went from BA intown airport

Blue Heaven is the best!!!

You can search http://www.parksleepfly.com or http://www.stay123.com for hotels offering cruise parking deals, but I would listen to Blue and the others and strongly consider parking at POM.

 

None of the hotels includes a free shuttle from POM back to your car, so figure a $30 cab ride when calculating prices.

You can park at any of these hotels for a cruise--but you have a taxi ride to the port.

http://www.airportparkinginc.com/reservation/search/mia?gclid=CKfvrq7XpcoCFQEnHwodShIEfA

I have used the Crown Plaza--maybe 50 times with my Mercedes--it is safe and secure!!

If you've never been to St Paul de Vence I would stick with the tour.

 

You may still have time to do a little bit of exploring around Villefranche after your tour.

 

 

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St. Paul de Vence is a very special place--Villefranche is nice but in my opinion does not compare to the tour.

15-20 is very normal for the Sir Francis Drake Chanel

Avis and Budget allow rental cars from St. Thomas to be taken to St. John. Some smaller companies not located at the airport also allow this.

For a 1 day trip travel to St. John is not recommended--the barge service can be crowded and the number of vessels in use can vary-so making in back on a schedule can be iffy. The cost is $50 round trip.

Also in the winter season most rental cars are booked days and weeks in advance--so availability can be difficult

Totally agree with this - after doing both, we've found that St Thomas snorkeling and swimming can be just as good if you know where to go. Lots of great spots that are not Meagans Bay, which can get crowded.

No way that the swimming and snorkeling on St. Thomas are as good as St. John.

My wife and I have owned a 2nd home on St. John for 36 years. We spend 4 months a year there. We have been to all of the beaches on St. Thomas and St. John many times.

St. Thomas is 50.000 people and St. John is less than 5,000. St John has very limited flat areas and 2/3 of the Island is a national park.

If shopping and some beach time/snorkling is your interest--and you only have 1 day--St Thomas would be fine and very enjoyable.

However, St John is one of the worlds "special places" and should not be missed on this or a future trip.-it does require more travel and time.

Life is full of choices--St Thomas is fine as I said-- if you want limited travel and are on a tight schedule.

Looking for help in finding Internet Cafe's, close to port on the following ports:

 

Cartagena

Colon (Panama Canal)

Manta

Lima

Arica

 

Thanks

Internet cafes are not as common as they used to be--tablets mobile phones, etc.

Try googling internet cafes in each of the cities,

Hi

 

I am in Boracay right now.

 

It seems there is only one location where a tender can dock. No, it's not a particularly nice area. It's a working "port", not a tourist spot.

 

But, there are nice beaches all over the island. The main one is White Beach. Very nice, commercial, lined with shops, restaurants, and hotels. It's a busy but lovely beach. Lots of restaurants with tables on the beach.

 

There are touts all over the place wanting you to book an island boat tour. I did one today, private, just me, for three hours on an outrigger to go around the island an with a snorkeling stop. I paid 1500 PHP... fair, considering it was just me. I went with someone who approached me as I was walking on the beach. No problems, nice guys, had a lovely time. If I had tried I probably could have haggled them down more.

 

The tour quoted above sounds like a fair deal judging by what I've seen here. You won't have a problem doing things on your own here.

My wife and I have been to Boracay 3 times for a week each time. For cruise ships this is a Tender stop.

White Beach is the place to go walk on the sand "sidewalk" and have a nice lunch--try the Italian restaurant on the beach side end of D'Mall.

You might also find a visit and drink at the Shangri La Hotel interesing.

On White Beach we usually stay at Discovery Shores--which is very very nice.

We will be going in Dec. 3 cruises in town same day, but ours will be 1h earlier than others. Hopefully that gives us some advantage in avoiding the crowd. We are planning to go to both Maho and Trunk. Trunk for the view, and Maho for turtles. Is this possible? How can I get from Trunk to Maho?

This is pretty much impossible--you run the risk of missing your departure unless you charter a boat to take you to both.

It is not there. All Verizon service is roaming, using other carriers towers. Use in STT is not included in any package, you will pay standard international roaming charges.

My wife and I own a second home in St. John, VI--ATT is the dominate carrier there because they treat calls like you were i the continental USA--Local and calls to the mainland are included in your normal plan.

I thought i would add that we did take a cruise that went to Ha Long Bay that offered a tour to Hanoi. We opted to do a tour of the Bay and in my opinion is one of the most beautiful places in the world. We talked to people who did the tour to Hanoi and all of them said the trip there and back was horrible, crappy roads and not the greatest buses. However i don't recall anyone really wishing they hadn't gone but not sure if the trip was worth it or not.

 

On our cruise it was only 1 day in Ha Long Bay as well.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Enjoy your cruise.

My wife and I have done the trek to Hanoi on 2 different occasions. While I agree that Halong Bay is beautiful ---you will see a lot of it on your arrival and departure. Hanoi --IMHO--is a special visit to see the French Quarter--where Ho Chi Minh lived, the "Hanoi Hilton" and the old city Have lunch at the Mocha Cafe, etc.

Generally you will need local currency--some small vendors might take US dollars---Credit Cards are accepted almost everywhere--