Bpos

This has been discussed many times, just search this forum for Visas Vietnam etc and you will find all the information you need.

Princess will issue visas from the Ship but you will find, unless they have had a change of heart that they charged much much more than the other cruise companies issuing the same visas

The unhappiest couple I have ever seen in my life were two oldies sitting at  the same table two each night on an Alaskan cruise and had to put up with a table of 10 noisy Aussies nearby.  Indeed I believe they would not have passed more that two words between them at Dinner each night and the only time they smiled was when the passed wind. 

So not wishing end up like them we always like to share a table with others, even though occasionaly you get seated with someone who you would rather not.

1 hour ago, sho said:

I plan to arrange a private shore excursion from Chan May to visit Hue. Any recommedations of local tour guides or companies?

Can highly recommend Mrs Ha at Vietland Discovery Tours.  She is located in Danang and we have used her services several times from just day trips to a 21 tour of Vietnam.

Our first contact was with over 10 years ago and she continues to provide exceptional service as many reviews on Trip Advisorbwill attest.

I always thought that "anytime" dining is just that,  you rock up at the gate and wait to be seated.. We have always done anytime on all cruise lines for a number of years now and never had to wait more than 10 minutes at the most.

4 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

Avis haven't phoned back yet. On their website a mid-size vehicle is quoted as AUD$68.70.

Intermediate

Group C - Hyundai i30 Active Hatch or similar

Automatic Transmission

 

 

A full size vehicle is $74.43

Full Size

Group E - Toyota Camry or similar

Automatic Transmission

 

Maybe you could contact Avis on their website and proceed with a booking. However, if I can help you further, please do not hesitate to ask. 🙂

Thats a good price but you may have to add insurance to that or perhaps you travel insurance would cover the excess.  In Australia the excess is usually around $4,000.

If you can afford it I would strongly suggest you go for a smaller ship, say Azamara, Oceania, etc as their ships can go right up the rivers in Vietnam to Saigon and Bangkok and Shanghai etc.  These lines tend to have overnight stays and provide shuttles etc which will utilize your time much more efficiently than larger ships which have to often dock hours away and or in some cases tender offshore at some stops.

2 hours ago, floridababa said:

Looking to stay for 4 nights.  It says breakfast included but is it just cold buffet or is it a buffet spread with lots of choices and egg white omelette

At US the holiday inns serve premade eggs

Also is this better than the intercontinental hotel?

Thanks for the assistance

You could also consider staying in the Darling Harbour area which is close to the central city area and has excellent transport options on your doorstep to access the light rail and metro network.

I can highly recommend the Novotel Sydney on Darling Harbour.

A few months ago our family did a cruise from Sydney, some stayed at the Holiday inn and some at the Novotel.  In terms of breakfast options, facilities, room quality etc the Novotel was miles ahead.

1 hour ago, lyndarra said:

I can't help with info of the normal daily/weekly cap as I have a Seniors Opal card on which I ride all day for $2.50 on government bus, train or ferry.

That is a bargain!.  We used it for out last trip to Sydney but I was told that because I have a Veteran Affairs Gold TPI card I could travel for free, but at $2.50 a day who cares

5 hours ago, possum52 said:

If you are an Australian citizen, no. If an Australian resident, yes. ie if you hold or are eligible for an Australian passport, you will not need a NZeTA. If you live in Australia and have a passport of another country other than NZ, you will need a NZeTA.

 

Leigh

Thanks

8 hours ago, Kiwi_cruiser said:

We have never been to Esperance, Western Australia before.

 

I was wondering would you recommend doing here for the day?? and If you have been here before, what did you do there for the day??

 

Any ideas / suggestions are very welcome 🙂

Not much

Do Aussies need to get a 'visa" now,  Am going there on a cruise in Nov, no one has raised this with us?

16 hours ago, mizazu said:

Thank you.  I've done so much research on this, Princess travel counselor was not very helpful at all because they don't have any idea how the visa's are done on the ship.  They just keep sending me to their Visa agency which wants a boat load of money for a one day visa.  In the end with the help of fellow cruises we decided to bring 2 photos on board for Cambodia but will be getting our visa for Viet Nam in San Francisco.  Thank you for your time and information.

Getting your Vietnam visa from a Vietnam consulate or embassy overseas will probably cost you considerably more than getting one issued while on the cruise, even if you are sailing Princess.  As well you will need to submit your passports and pay for registered mail costs if you do not live near the consulate/embassy.  

57 minutes ago, datone said:

 

Fleece, daylight robbery, price gouging - where do I start with Princess over this visa.   10 times the price is ridiculous.  And what makes it worse is that US $55 is about $80 Aus so $160 just for us to step off the ship.   Will have to see if I can get it cheaper going direct then.

The cost for a 30 day visa from the Vietnamese consulate in Perth is now in excess of $100 per person and I do not think an e visa can be used if arriving by ship.  If going with Princess it is probably best to factor the cost in, some have suggested that the got one from Princess recently fo $35 but do not count on that.  

Please note that that even if you do not get off the ship you will probably still be charged the visa fee so you cannot win whichever way you go

7 hours ago, Kiwi_cruiser said:

I have not been to Albany, Western Australia before.

 

I was wondering would you recommend doing here for the day?? , what things did you do there for the day??

 

Any ideas / suggestions are very welcome 🙂

I am in Albany as we speak,  think about hiring a car for the day,  the old whaling station is fantastic and about 20 minute drive out of town, you can also visit amazing coastline nearby with the Gap to view the Southern ocean.  Emu point for lunch with a great feed of fresh fish and chips and finish off the day with a visit to the National ANZAC Centre.

12 hours ago, Pat317 said:

I just posted this topic under “PrincessCruises” but afterwards decided it is best to ask the cruisers on “Asian Ports” forum instead:

“Hi, my group of 8 will be cruising  2 weeKs on Diamond Princess Asian cruise this coming January 6th.  One of the group traveler was just informed by the TA that because we booked independent shore excursions in Vietnam (with Tours with Xuan) that we will need to get our own Vietnam Visas b/c Princess will apply short term visa for us ONLY if we booked the ship excursions with Princess. Is this true? I am currently in Turkey, so I can’t call Princess to verify. We were hoping to get our visa through Princess b/c it is cheaper (?) and more convenient. Thank you in advance for any info you can help me with.”

 

Good luck in getting a straight answer even from Princess direct.

My feeing is that providing you are not staying on land overnight in Vietnam, the visa will be organised on the cruise, abiet at an inflated price because Princess chooses to fleece their passengers on visa costs.  But probably the easiest way to do it.

21 minutes ago, datone said:

How long ago was your cruise as $6.00 is cheap.   Princess wants  US $55 for my upcoming cruise in February.   

That is because Princes chooses to fleece its passengers when the actual cost of the Visa is US$5.  Most other cruise lines just add an extra processing fee of $1 or so.

12 hours ago, yamanid said:

 

Hello, 

 

 Has anyone been to Koh Samui, Penang or Sihanoukville (Cambodia) who can help with 'things to do' from or around the Ports, or information that would be useful.

 

We are cruising on Sapphire princess in December taking in these and other Asian Ports.  Any help would be most welcomed.  Thank You.  so many of the Ports of call are far from where we dock.

 

THANK YOU 

If you use the search function above and enter the port name as you have already noted you should access a lot of information there on each ports and past cruisers advice etc.

Once you have done that you may want to come back with specific questions which may elicit more responses.

Overseas visitors to Australia should bone up on the following thread to enrich and enhance their visit downunder. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2362723 Couple of years old now but still relevant today.

5 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

It was last year. Not the school bus. Baria is more like 45-60 minutes from the wharf.

Your not confusing Baria with Vung Tau?  Baria is about 17 km from the port, whereas travel to Vung Tau is more like the time you have quoted above.  Know the area well, was there nearby in 1970.

The City of Baria use to put on a free shuttle service from the Port to the city (about a 15 minute ride),  at least this was the case on the two occasions we were in Phu My, the last being 4 years ago.  Does anyone know if that shuttle is still provided, I thought it may have been the yellow school bus in the photo above?

Have been to both these areas on a few occasions and as someone said above, unless you are at Cai Be floating markets very early in the morning there is not a lot of action after 8.00 am. Cai Be market, to my knowledge is no where near Can Tho city which has a very different floating market to Cai Be.  I believe the city  nearest Cai Be is My Tho.

Anyway, you will see enough whichever trip you take so I would also recommend the "Free" option and save the money for another excursion elsewhere.

12 hours ago, Sailaway John said:

Has anyone done the cruise from Fremantle to Sydney or reverse and visited the town of Hahndorf on an excursion?

 

The reason for asking is that both wife and I will be doing this cruise come March next year and was wondering on the ship tour how long do they give you to explore Hahndorf?

The rest of the tour sounds OK but time in Hahndorf is important to us . . . The tour name is "Hanhdorf with Scenic Views".

 

Thanks for any info and/or help.

 

I would recommend you consider hiring a car for the day to do this area and probably give you time to see a few other attractions around Adelaide as well.  As Aussies you know the road rules etc so easy peasy.  Hans Heysens (spelling?) gallery in Hahndorf is well worth a visit but a bit out of town so transport is necessary if you want to spend an hour there.

If you do not know your gem stones then there is every chance whatever you buy from whatever shop in Sri Lanka you will suffer the consequences of buying a "mystery bag" which will turn out to be not what you thought you were buying and cost you money.

6 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

It is easy to get photos with kangaroos and often in a natural setting, but it isn't as easy to get a photo with a koala. Wildlife parks have koalas, but in some states, visitors are not allowed to hold the koalas. It is permitted in Queensland under supervision. However, the setting isn't really natural-looking.

I wrote a warning for overseas cruisers wanting to hold a koala while visiting Australia.  i will repeat it here for the benefit of recent intending overseas cruisers.

On 6/4/2019 at 8:27 PM, Gwendy said:

Have only ever paid $5, charged to onboard account for the last few years.   This is for a landing card,.  Generally passports are collected on board and processed, you just show card as you leave ship and reboard.

I am a little confused here, on the Australian and NZ forum you said you paid the $5 visa fee on the Diamond Princess in 2013.  That is 6 years ago to my reckening.  Much has changed since then, particularly with  the cost of Princess arranged visas for Vietnam.