Mines

21 minutes ago, fourmile.ranch said:

Our cruise length pass came out to $18 a day for 16 days.

That sounds reasonable.  Did you think it worth it?

Does anyone know if they have a 3-day, 6-day or cruise length pass on Queen Elizabeth or Queen Victoria?

A charge of $35 seems high.  Is there a full cruise pass available at a discounted price like the do on HAL?

Thank you.  I am not looking forward to the stress of getting this EVOA, It seems complicated.

Does anyone know where Queen Elizabeth docks in Bali?  Research of the ports of call section on Cruise Critic only talk about Benoa Cruise Port but the Cunard site mentions tendering at Tanjung.  Has anyone been on a Cunard ship to Bali and able to shed any light on where the ship is docked?  If it is in Tanjung, can we just walk along the beach to Nusa Dua?

Non-extendable visa-free entry to Indonesia for 30 days is available to passport holders of Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, Malaysia, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

I don't see Australia on that list!

I think you need to complete the e-VOA tourist visa application.

2 hours ago, Goldconnection said:

Just completed our EVOA for Indonesia. We will port there in December on the Jewel. An address and correct postal code are required. Good luck.

What type of address and post code do they want?  Do you mean our home address or one in Indonesia?  Of course, we don't have one in Indonesia because we are on a cruise ship!

Can you use the OBC to pre-book speciality dining or shore excursions, or do you have to wait until you get on board?

Hi guys,

We have $100 shore excursion credit as part of the "Have it all" scheme.  My question is:  does this apply to only one excursion or is it a value credit?  For example, if I buy an excursion for $60, can I use the $40 balance as part payment on another excursion?

Thank you! I was trying to figure out where you catch the tram..it does look like a great orientation. I didn’t have any luck finding that info on line.....where did you catch it?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

You catch the tram at the Valongo Station in the historic centre. It is about 6km by taxi - should be fairly cheap. The tram (called bonde) itself costs R$ 7 per person (about $2) and takes 40 minutes. It runs from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. except on Mondays. The station is very close to walk to the Pele and Cafe museums.

After seeing the historical centre, take a taxi to Gonzaga beach and then another one back to the port. They are about equal distance (6km) from each other.

When we were on Equinox back in 2011, we docked at Le Seyne sur Mer. Even though the itinerary stated Toulon. They are a distance apart.

 

Joe

They normally use Le Seyne our Mer. It is on the other side of the bay from Toulon. There is a ferry that runs across to the port of Toulon. Try looking at the ports of call boards for information and experience.

Something is happening in October - November 2016. We had a TA that got cancelled.

There was a change of plans that involved Majesty, that was being transferred to Pullmantur, but is now being kept on the Bahamas run. Consequently, Majesty's replacement, Rhapsody, is now being diverted to Tampa and they will need to change the TA.

However, the gap does seem large, so they could take the opportunity to fit in a dry dock.

 

No sign of where Rhapsody heads following Rome or other Europe deployment.

They are probably waiting to see how the 2015/16 season in Brazil goes before deciding. Brazil has been dropped by RCL for 2016/17 due to the worsening economic situation and devaluation of the currency, but they will surely be back once there is a sign of recovery. The "round the horn" and Carnival cruises are highly successful.

We did this moving from Oasis to Infinity in Fort Lauderdale. We left the ship at 9:30 and took a taxi. We asked the taxi driver to take us first to the Infinity berth and wait for us to drop the luggage. The taxi then took us, free of luggage, into Fort Lauderdale to walk around the mall for a few hours. We then took a cab back to the port for embarkation.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I thought that I had posted this earlier in the day, but as I cannot find it, I shall repost and hope that I am not repeating myself to you.:p

 

We will be returning to the port of Santos on Royal Caribbean Splendour of The Seas at 8:30am on a Sunday morning (9th March, 2014) and I have worked out that after catching a taxi or independent transfer to the CGH airport and allowing for delays, we could book our flight to Rio at about 1;30pm or 2pm. I would even be happy with the 3:10pm flight. However, the Cruiseline is advising not to book a flight before 4:30pm.:( Also - if we wish to use their less expensive transfer, we MUST NOT book a flight before 4:30pm.

 

 

 

Has anyone with similar experience advice for me on a suitable flight time please?

There are flights between Sao Paulo and Rio every 15 minutes. The best bet is book a later flight to guarantee your slot, and when you arrive at the airport, swap to an earlier one, if there is availability.

I did this to my wife on our last cruise. Beleive me, she will be so interested and excited about the surroundings that she will not look at the small details. My wife never suspected a thing until opening the door.

The most difficult part will be the seapass card that says suite on it. Best thing is to keep it in your hand until passing the security. If you are lucky, she will probably be looking at the machine then so will not notice the card.

Thanks for the really cool details! Great photos. I never sailed on Monarch but my DH and I did Majesty in Feb so that we could sail on the smaller class of ships before they go away entirely! Maybe we'll try to do the farewell sailing of Maj! Does anyone know when that will be?

I think that the plan is to keep the sisters together. Most likely date for Majesty leaving is April or May 2015. She will go to the Spanish Pullmantur to join her sisters Sovereign and Monarch, along with the old Nordic Empress. Pullmantur will move Zenith to CDF Croisieres de France to join her sister, Horizon, with Celebrity's Mercury and Galaxy at TUI Cruises for the German market.

Don't even think about it

We loved him. He cracked me up. Much better entertainer than the Cruise Director which is kind of sad. I think it's fine to be funny and a Captain - we thought it was a breath of fresh air.

I agree with you completely. It may be a cultural thing, but this Captain is playing to the American / British audience and I am sure that 99% love him.

Walk the sea side of the city wall, you will see both Buzas from above. You can also pick up a map at our local tourist bureau office which shows both locations.

Dubrovniktravelady,

Your advice is most helpful. What should we do first, walk the walls or take the cable car. I guess we have to measure the difference between it being very hot later in the day and potential queues of visitors.

We do not wish to take a train, as we had a bad experience on a prior cruise (involving a transit strike and carrying heavy bags up and down steps at various stations.)

Thanks for your recommendations.

You could think again. Strikes do not happen every day.

Harwich is one of the most train friendly ports around. Direct service from Liverpool Street and the train stops literally in front of the ship. It would save you good money against a limosine service.

Travel R,

Great work. I saw you posted a question mark on the part relating to muster drill.

The answer is simple. All passengers must have a drill on the day of embarkation, before the ship can sail. Where there are multiple embarkation ports, they will only invite new guests to the drill. you have to attend - they know who you are and check you off against a list.

This procedure can be a bit boring for other guests who have to listen to the advance announcements, but they try to keep them as discrete as possible.

Should be no tax. However, is this an 'interporting' cruise where passengers embark and disembark at different ports? Or is Liberty starting all cruises from Naples?

 

If they are starting from Barcelona, and you are joining part way through then I don't know, but suspect you will have to pay the tax. How are they to know who joined from which port?

There will be tax on this one, because the ship does not leave the EEC.

Spanish VAT is payable on the entire voyage, if ship leaves from Spain and returns to Spain, and if it is not visiting a non-EU country. I'm on LB this weekend which goes to France and Italy, and will post if there is anything different but I'm now fully expecting to pay 10% on top of the 15% for the duration:eek:

 

No this is not new - when the ships enter Spanish waters you pay the tax. Some cruise lines don't pass this onto the passengers though - who were you with?

 

Mark - thank you for the info about the rose on board.

We visited Spain on both Mariner last May and on Celebrity Silhouette in December. We did not have any Spannish Tax on either.

My understanding is that this is an EEC law, not specific to Spain. If the ship does not call at a non-EU port, Value Added Tax has to be added at the rate applicable to the country of the port of departure. A transatlantic will ALWAYS call at a non-EU port (in this case Fort Lauderdale) so the tax should not apply for the whole of the cruise.

In any case, after leaving port, the ship will sail into international waters, which is when they can open the casino and shops, so I do not see why Spannish tax should apply just because the last port of call was in Cadiz.

 

INTERESTING POINT - I wasn't aware that while RCI ships sail within Spanish waters, a 10% local tax will be charged on all beverages and speciality restaurants

 

Could you please check on this? I have done many Transatlantics and never seen this tax. Is it something new?