adstz

5 hours ago, rocklinmom said:

If we stay in Greenock, what is in the town?  Was planning to walk around there that day. 

Check out Inverclyde Tourist Group online.  They have 2 hour local tours run by local people.  They work on donations only, no charge.

We are going on the ship's tour to Edinburgh at 5 pm that night so this sounds like a good way to see the area.

On 10/8/2018 at 3:04 PM, cherylakers said:

we will be in Edinburgh next August and want to do a private tour to the tattoo. There are 6 of us.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks

Cheryl

Hi Cheryl,

I believe we are on the same cruise (and we will be joining you on your tour in Cobh). To see the Tattoo you need to do it from Glasgow (Greenock). We arrive at 7 am on 8/23 and leave at 2 am on 8/24.

For Edinburgh we are only in port from 7 am to 7 pm and the Tattoo doesn't start til something like 9 pm.

On 10/5/2018 at 6:26 PM, Odesitka70 said:

British pub is good but not on my priority list right now. What we need to figure out now is how to get to London from Southampton after we disembark.

Go online to The London Toolkit.  I found a tour on there that picks you up from the ship in Southampton, goes to Stonehenge and Windsor Castle and drops you near (if not at) your hotel

I have been looking at excursions for the Military Tattoo on my British Isles trip for next August. Princess is currently offering seating in Premium and Front Corner.

Do they ever offer seats in the sides? I know the end is supposed to be the better place to sit but I like the idea of the sides better.

Thanks.

I have been looking at excursions for the Military Tattoo on my British Isles trip for next August. Princess is currently offering seating in Premium and Front Corner.

Do they ever offer seats in the sides? I know the end is supposed to be the better place to sit but I like the idea of the sides better.

Thanks.

It has been our experience on cruises in Europe people dress better than they do on cruises leaving from US ports. In July 2017 we were on a Baltic cruise on the Crown traditional 8:00 pm MDR, my DH was one of the few men not wearing a tux he wore a suit. This was a cruise from South Hampton lots of British folks that looked great. We are doing a TA on the Crown 11/3/2018 for the first time in 38 cruises my DH is thinking he may not take a jacket for packing reasons. I think he will be in the minority.

My husband usually wears a nicer casual shirt and slacks. He hates dressing up.

I wear a nice (sort of fancy) blouse and usually black slacks.

As we will fly from San Francisco to the British Isles we won't be taking any fancy clothes.

Hope neither of us feel uncomfortable in the dining room as we enjoy making new friends at the early dinner.

They are basically the same. The different numbers indicate "desirability". Lower numbers, M1 or MA will be a cabin in a better location. MA will be mid ship while ME could be forward.

Of course, "better" is subjective.

But it also indicates a price difference too. M1 and MA will be higher priced cabins.

There is little to no difference in actual cabins or amenities (on the same ship).

Mostly, a mini is a mini.

Correct the correction: 1/2 mile between pier 27 and pier 39 in San Francisco, CA USA

From Mapquest - showing from Pier 39 to Pier 27 the NEW cruise terminal is 1.6 miles.

The OLD cruise terminal was more like 1/2 mile away from Pier 39.

Pier 39

James R. Herman Cruise Terminal

via The Embarcadero

7min 1.6mi

Going on a cruise tour that starts in Ireland then flies to Southampton to catch the ship.

There is a charge on our invoice of $118 for "transfers". I am presuming that the charge is for airport to first hotel at the beginning of the cruise tour and ship to airport at disembarkation.

My question is what about the flight from Ireland to Southampton? Is that included in our price?

I am looking for someone who has experienced this NOT an opinion from someone who hasn't been there/done that.

Thanks for any info and insights.

Very wrong. 27 to 39 is an easy, flat 1/2 mile. As noted it would probably take longer in a taxi with traffic along the Embarcadero. Have walked here dozens of time, with or without luggage.

Correction: the distance is 1.6 miles.

Still easy to walk but do heed the warning about Fleet Week. Very busy weekend.

Chilkoot Tours in Skagway. They have a number of options including the train.

We have done the all day tour 3 times, twice taking friends. My favorite is to take the bus "up" to Canada, travel to Carcross and Caribou Crossing (for lunch) then head back and get on the train for the ride back to Skagway. It is called the Yukon Bus & Rail Excursion. You can do either bus or train first.

Beautiful scenery and on a small bus, not the big one the cruise uses.

Well worth the money.

Thank you for your review. I'm doing the same cruise later this month.

 

I've got a few questions. Did you go to the shows? How early did you have to show up to get 2 seats together? Did they have the BOGO happy hours? Did they sell the wine packages?

 

Thank you!

We did not go to any of the shows. Some we had seen before and the others did not interest us.

BOGO was every day in the Wheelhouse Bar. I think it was 3 to 4 every day. Includes mixed drinks and sodas.

Neither of us drink wine so I can't speak to that.

For those who are still waiting to go on the Sun Princess from Auckland and want to know about disembarkation tours.

Princess provided NO DISEMBARKATION tours to those of us getting off in Auckland. If you got off in Sydney there were plenty.

The only thing offered by Princess was a bus to the airport leaving at 9 am. My flight wasn't til 8 pm so that left me plenty of time to take a tour if offered. I talked to a number of people who would have loved a tour of the city and perhaps a stop at a museum before heading to the airport.

PRINCESS DROPPED THE BALL BIG TIME!

We were not happy at all about the lack of tours. It turned out well enough. We got off the ship, stored our luggage, spent the day on the Hop-On Hop-Off bus (and went to the museum), took the Sky Bus to the airport and got there in plenty of time. Had a great time on our own.

Three week tour of Australia and New Zealand in January 2018.

I am 63 and my husband is 65.

We splurged and flew Business Class with Air New Zealand. What class!

Our land tour of Australia was arranged through Kensington Tours. Loved the small groups.

Visited Sydney, Yulara (the Outback) and Cairns. 7 nights and 8 days total.

Boarded the Sun Princess on Saturday 1/13/18 in Auckland. We had room B404, a mini suite. We love the size of the mini's and especially the ones on the Sun. This is the "square" shaped mini not the long thin mini. I much prefer these as they feel larger. With the long thin mini you have to walk past the end of the bed (very narrow) to get anywhere in the room.

The Sun Princess is old and is showing its age. We found lots of things that could be done to make her feel nicer such as the carpet in our room. The carpet itself appeared rather new but it hadn't been cut to fit the room. Next to the sliding door the carpet just curled against the edge. Very sloppy. See picture.

Next day was Bay of Islands. We took the Princess excursion - Puketi Kauri Forest, KeriKeri and Meetinghouse. The meetinghouse was the highlight of the tour though it was all beautiful.

The next 3 days were at sea. It was supposed to be only 2 but we hit some weather. 30 to 36 foot waves at the worst time. Not fun. BEWARE THE TASMAN SEA!

Sydney was next. Since we had been there earlier on our trip we took the ferry over to Manly Beach and walked around The Corso.

After another day at sea, Sunday found us scenic cruising in the Fiordlands. The weather was decent. Cool with some sun and a little overcast. Overall beautiful and worth the trip. Reminds me a lot of Tracy Arm in Alaska. Same kind of majestic beauty.

Monday was Port Chalmers/Dunedin (dun - eadun). We took a tour with Good Company Tours. Because our time in port had been shortened, our roundtrip train ride to Taeiri Gorge became a one way train and one way bus. It actually worked out better as we got to see more of the beautiful countryside.

Our next port was Wellington. This was my favorite port. Very walkable city. We walked over 7 miles according to my phone. We took the free Princess shuttle to downtown. We headed down the street and found the cable car. Beautiful trip straight up the side of the hill. Great shot of the bay and downtown from up there. We opted to walk back down through the Botanical Garden. You end up in the government section of town but you are only a few blocks back to where you were dropped off. We continued walking down the shoreline and went to Te Papa, the national museum. Fantastic! We probably spent over an hour and could easily have stayed 3 or 4. Wonderful display about Gallipoli.

Wednesday was Napier. Caught a shuttle to town and walked around. Very pretty town in pastel colors. We also visited the National Aquarium of New Zealand.

Next was Tauranga. We took the ships tour to Hobbitton. I was a little skeptical at first but this tour was worth every penny. It is an hours drive from the ship with not an awful lot to see on the way. Once there I must have taken about 100 pictures! Our guide was Nikko and he did a fantastic job of telling stories of how it was built and the filming of The Lord of The Rings movies.

Back to Auckland. Here is where Princess screws up. This cruise is actually 3 possible cruises. You can get on in Sydney and come back to Sydney. You can get on in Sydney and get off in Auckland. You can get on in Auckland and come back to Auckland. We did Auckland roundtrip. There were NO disembarkation tours for those of us getting off in Auckland. As I am from near San Francisco, this left me with 11 (yes, eleven) hours to fill till my flight with no help from Princess. We talked to a number of people who would have bought something to fill the hours til their flight to the States if Princess had provided it. The only thing Princess offered for purchase was a bus to the airport. It left at 9 am. My flight was a 8 pm that night.

We walked off the ship by 9 am and went over to the Ferry Building about a block away. For $10 NZD per piece, we left our luggage with the place that sells tours. We then bought tickets for the Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus. We spent the rest of the day touring on our own including a long stop at the National War Museum up on the hill. Well worth the time if you have it.

Back at the harbor, we bought tickets for the Sky Bus to get us to the airport. We had to walk about 1 1/2 blocks with our luggage to get the bus but our price was $36 NZD for 2 people. I was told a taxi would be at least $95 NZD.

This trip was a bucket list trip and we are both so glad we did it.

Three week tour of Australia and New Zealand in January 2018.

I am 63 and my husband is 65.

We splurged and flew Business Class with Air New Zealand. What class!

Our land tour of Australia was arranged through Kensington Tours. Loved the small groups.

Visited Sydney, Yulara (the Outback) and Cairns. 7 nights and 8 days total.

Boarded the Sun Princess on Saturday 1/13/18 in Auckland. We had room B404, a mini suite. We love the size of the mini's and especially the ones on the Sun. This is the "square" shaped mini not the long thin mini. I much prefer these as they feel larger. With the long thin mini you have to walk past the end of the bed (very narrow) to get anywhere in the room.

The Sun Princess is old and is showing its age. We found lots of things that could be done to make her feel nicer such as the carpet in our room. The carpet itself appeared rather new but it hadn't been cut to fit the room. Next to the sliding door the carpet just curled against the edge. Very sloppy. See picture.

Next day was Bay of Islands. We took the Princess excursion - Puketi Kauri Forest, KeriKeri and Meetinghouse. The meetinghouse was the highlight of the tour though it was all beautiful.

The next 3 days were at sea. It was supposed to be only 2 but we hit some weather. 30 to 36 foot waves at the worst time. Not fun. BEWARE THE TASMAN SEA!

Sydney was next. Since we had been there earlier on our trip we took the ferry over to Manly Beach and walked around The Corso.

After another day at sea, Sunday found us scenic cruising in the Fiordlands. The weather was decent. Cool with some sun and a little overcast. Overall beautiful and worth the trip. Reminds me a lot of Tracy Arm in Alaska. Same kind of majestic beauty.

Monday was Port Chalmers/Dunedin (dun - eadun). We took a tour with Good Company Tours. Because our time in port had been shortened, our roundtrip train ride to Taeiri Gorge became a one way train and one way bus. It actually worked out better as we got to see more of the beautiful countryside.

Our next port was Wellington. This was my favorite port. Very walkable city. We walked over 7 miles according to my phone. We took the free Princess shuttle to downtown. We headed down the street and found the cable car. Beautiful trip straight up the side of the hill. Great shot of the bay and downtown from up there. We opted to walk back down through the Botanical Garden. You end up in the government section of town but you are only a few blocks back to where you were dropped off. We continued walking down the shoreline and went to Te Papa, the national museum. Fantastic! We probably spent over an hour and could easily have stayed 3 or 4. Wonderful display about Gallipoli.

Wednesday was Napier. Caught a shuttle to town and walked around. Very pretty town in pastel colors. We also visited the National Aquarium of New Zealand.

Next was Tauranga. We took the ships tour to Hobbitton. I was a little skeptical at first but this tour was worth every penny. It is an hours drive from the ship with not an awful lot to see on the way. Once there I must have taken about 100 pictures! Our guide was Nikko and he did a fantastic job of telling stories of how it was built and the filming of The Lord of The Rings movies.

Back to Auckland. Here is where Princess screws up. This cruise is actually 3 possible cruises. You can get on in Sydney and come back to Sydney. You can get on in Sydney and get off in Auckland. You can get on in Auckland and come back to Auckland. We did Auckland roundtrip. There were NO disembarkation tours for those of us getting off in Auckland. As I am from near San Francisco, this left me with 11 (yes, eleven) hours to fill till my flight with no help from Princess. We talked to a number of people who would have bought something to fill the hours til their flight to the States if Princess had provided it. The only thing Princess offered for purchase was a bus to the airport. It left at 9 am. My flight was a 8 pm that night.

We walked off the ship by 9 am and went over to the Ferry Building about a block away. For $10 NZD per piece, we left our luggage with the place that sells tours. We then bought tickets for the Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus. We spent the rest of the day touring on our own including a long stop at the National War Museum up on the hill. Well worth the time if you have it.

Back at the harbor, we bought tickets for the Sky Bus to get us to the airport. We had to walk about 1 1/2 blocks with our luggage to get the bus but our price was $36 NZD for 2 people. I was told a taxi would be at least $95 NZD.

This trip was a bucket list trip and we are both so glad we did it.

We were on the Sun Princess in January 2018. My husband and I used the computers in the Internet cafe as we had free minutes.

Yes, it is slow but, most of the time not too bad.

Only once did we walk away because it was taking too long to connect.

Loved the trip but beware of the Tasman Sea!

Just in case anyone really cares about the final answer -

We tipped in USD and received hugs and handshakes and thank you's. It was greatly appreciated by Noel (steward) and Reynauld (waiter - who was going home the day our cruise ended) and assistant waiter who's name I can't recall.

My husband and I got off the Sun Princess on Friday, January 26. We had quite the rocking and rolling ride crossing the Tasman Sea from Bay of Islands to Sydney on January 15, 16 and 17.

We took an extra day for the crossing (3 days instead of 2) to try to avoid the worst of a storm. Didn't really work as we still encountered 9 to 12 meter waves.

Thank you Scopalamine!

And if they are caught pocketing tips and not reporting them, they can be fired.

When I use the envelope, I hand it to the person who is getting the money.

The standard paperwork from Princess says boarding is 1 pm to 4 pm in Auckland. However, our ship does not sail til 10 pm.

How late can I check in?

I am looking for answers from someone experienced with Princess AND Auckland, please.

(posted on Princess boards too)

The standard paperwork from Princess says boarding is 1 pm to 4 pm in Auckland. However, our ship does not sail til 10 pm.

How late can I check in?

I am looking for answers from someone experienced with Princess AND Auckland, please.

We are on the Sun Princess departing Auckland on January 13, 2018.

It states that we can come aboard between 1 pm and 4 pm. Departure is at 10 pm.

We will be touring the area with some friends during the day and would like to wait til later to board. I was thinking of having an early dinner with them before boarding.

I know we need to be on board no later than 90 (?) minutes before they leave but can we still board between 4 pm and 8 pm with no problems?

We are on the Sun Princess departing Auckland on January 13, 2018.

It states that we can come aboard between 1 pm and 4 pm. Departure is at 10 pm.

We will be touring the area with some friends during the day and would like to wait til later to board. I was thinking of having an early dinner with them before boarding.

I know we need to be on board no later than 90 (?) minutes before they leave but can we still board between 4 pm and 8 pm with no problems?

For what it is worth, I have always read/heard that if auto tips are left on, then the extra goes to the person intended. Perhaps they have to turn them in first.

When I give an extra tip, I put it in an envelope with the recipients name, our cabin number, our names, and the words "auto tip left on".

I truly hope that this extra thank you goes completely to the intended person.

I will be tipping in USD. Thanks for all the help.

What kind of temperatures can I expect while scenic cruising in the Fjordlands? Will be there mid January, 2018.

Thanks!