J-D

At the risk of complicating your decision, one related issue is whether the Falklands/Malvinas tensions will affect cruising when you travel. Depending on the year, ships that stop (or are scheduled to stop) in the Falklands could be at increased risk of complications at ports in Argentina.

John

I certainly concur with The_Big_M and Aslaw about the cramped quarters in Economy on the ANZ B777-300 aircraft. What made it tolerable for us was spending somewhat more (much less than Premium Economy) to reserve a "SkyCouch" -- see my post #18 above. That gave us 3 seats for the two of us -- a big advantage, though it obviously could not solve the tight seat pitch and narrow aisle problems.

John

We stopped for a day at each of Port Vila, Lifou, and Isle of Pines two years ago during a HAL Volendam cruise. What info are you seeking? -- I will answer if I can. However, for more details than I can provide, you should check the "Pacific Islands, All" board, where those ports are periodically discussed.

John

During a port day at Stanley (Falklands), it is easy to see King, Gentoo and Magellanic Penguins, along with many other types of interesting seabirds and waterbirds. At the ports in Argentina and Chile, the Magellanic is the only penguin species normally seen. Another consideration is that, though the risk of missing Stanley is probably somewhat higher, the southern South American ports (Puerto Madryn, Ushuaia and Punta Arenas) are also sometimes missed due to weather or other reasons. We have done an 'around the Horn' cruise twice; on the first trip we had a great day in Stanley but missed Punta Arenas. On the 2nd trip, we missed Stanley. During cruises in that part of the world, one must accept that the weather is highly variable and there is a chance that one (or more) ports will be missed. The Falklands are unique, and are of interest because of their history, landscape, resolute population, and remoteness -- not just for the diversity of penguins. If we get back to that region, we will no doubt opt for a cruise that is scheduled to stop in the Falklands.

John

...and yes, make sure your carry on is not over 7 kg, more than one airline checks this and depending on which airline on how many pieces you can have, they are cracking down on that as well.

Check the carry on rules that apply to the type of ticket you would buy, and to your frequent-flyer status. On ANZ, for example, a notably more liberal carry-on allowance applies to people in Premium Economy or Business, or with Star Gold (or higher) status. On recent ANZ flights in Economy (both trans-Pac. and within NZ), based on our Star Alliance status, we each had a 10-kg (22 lb) limit for our main carry-on, plus the ability to have a 2nd smaller carry on. We would not have had the extra carry-on allowance on Quantas.

John

I have commented previously on this Board about our good experience during an extended stay (Feb.-March 2013) at the Hotel Orly in the Providencia district. Near restaurants, moderately priced, in a safe area, 5 min walk to subway (and then 10 min to downtown). We stayed in the main hotel (nice breakfast included). They also have self-contained apartment units in a nearby building. My detailed review is at

http://www.t*********r.ca/ShowUserReviews-g294305-d314480-r183592100-Hotel_Orly-Santiago_Santiago_Metropolitan_Region.html

John

Oyster cards are GREAT !

 

Easy to buy, easy to use !

 

:)

Right, and much more flexible than short-term passes that are limited to certain [centre-city] zones.

John

We want to spend some time in the wine country around Santiago and never made it past Valparaiso on our last cruise. Having done BA to Valpo and then back to BA again we want to do a different itinerary. We were also considering the outrageously expensive (as much as our 17 day cruise) Princess 3 day/2 night tour to Machu Picchu from Pisco to the second day in Lima. Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

After missing out on our planned 6 nights in the Valpo / Santiago area in early March 2010 due to the earthquake, we were glad to be able to stop there for several days between the end of our 2nd BA-Valpo cruise (Feb.'13) on the Grand Pr. and the start of the Valpo-LA cruise (March '13) on the Star Pr. During the 11-nights between cruises, we were to do a 4-night side trip (on airline points) to Rapa Nui / Easter Isl. as well as 7 nights in the Santiago / Valpo / Vina del Mar area. Unfortunately, illness forced cancellation of the Rapa Nui side trip, so we had a lengthy stay in Santiago -- a very interesting mixture of historic and modern areas, and an easy and pleasant place to visit. We stayed at the Orly Hotel, which was excellent and very accommodating when our travel plans changed suddenly. However, fewer nights there plus the side trip to Rapa Nui would have been better! We used "About Chile" to arrange local tours and transfers in the Valpo / Vina / Santiago area, including a winery tour, and we were happy with them. We have another scheme in the works to get to Rapa Nui in 2015...

John

Yes, we were on the same cruise and did stay on all the way back to BA. Despite everything that happen on that cruise, it was one of our best :). We are booked on the Golden next spring from Valpo to LA, but might switch to 2016 on the Star. Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

We enjoyed the Valpo to LA cruise on the Star in March 2013. Lots of sea days. Everything ran like clockwork under Capt. Todd McBain, in contrast to events on our two BA-to-Valpo cruises. We particularly enjoyed the "overnight plus two partial days" stop in Callao/Lima. I believe the lineup of port visits has been been changed slightly since then -- now Pisco instead of Manta (Ecuador), which apparently did not get good reviews from many passengers. We were originally supposed to stop at Acapulco, but that was dropped from the itinerary a few months before we sailed, and I gather it is still off for 2015. Overall a good trip, but not (for us) as outstanding as our two BA-to-Valpo cruises, which we also found to be excellent despite the drama.

John

On our SA cruise high winds kept us at the Ushuaia pier until after 11:00pm. As a result, we had to skip Punta Arenas. The plus side was that we did a leisurely two hour cruise by the glaciers in the Beagle Channel and we were fortunate to have a starboard cabin. Going through the Channel in the daytime it is starboard for west bound cruises and port for east bound cruises. At Cape Horn and Amalia Glacier the Star rotated so all had a good view. Don't remember any time other than the Beagle Channel where it made a difference which side you were on. Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Hi IECalCruiser. I believe we were both on the infamous 18 Feb. 2010 BA to Valpo cruise on the Star Princess, with the delayed departure from Ushuaia, daylight transit of Glacier Alley, missed Punta Arenas, and then the earthquake adventures. We stayed aboard til the Star got back to Ushuaia and flew home uneventfully from there. As I recall, you went all the way back to BA on the Star. We did the BA to Valpo trip again on the Grand in Feb. 2013 -- that time we missed Port Stanley; had a good stopover in Valpo and Santiago before boarding the Star for the trip north from Valpo to LA.

John

I was always under the impression that the sun class ships were panamax ships.

The Sun-class are very close to the Panamax limit in terms of beam (around 106 ft), but are considerably shorter than the limit (857 ft vs. Panamax limit of 965 ft). In contrast, the Coral and Island are at almost exactly the upper limit in both of those dimensions.

John

We are sailing from BA to Santiago. Is there a big difference in scenery in starboard vs port balconies on this trip? Or, is the view good from either side of the ship?

Thanks.

We have cruised BA to Valparaiso twice. We chose starboard both times, thinking that would be better, but in retrospect I don't think it makes much difference.

At Cape Horn, we went counterclockwise around Isla Hornos on one trip, and that put Cape Horn on the port side. On the other trip we travelled west past the Cape (on stbd side), but then reversed course to the east (Cape on port side). Ship movements at Cape Horn depend on local sea conditions and are unpredictable in advance.

If you are fortunate enough to go through the Beagle Channel west of Ushuaia -- glacier alley -- in daytime, then starboard is definitely best there. The glaciers are on the north (starboard) side of the Channel. If your cabin is on the port side and you traverse that area in daylight, you should definitely move to an outside vantagepoint looking starboard while passing those glaciers.

At Amalia (Skua) Glacier in the Chilean Fiords, on both trips the ship rotated 180 degrees in front of the glacier, providing good views to both sides.

Elsewhere en route, I don't recall there being much to choose between the two sides.

If we travelled BA to Valpo again, I would probably select starboard again, on the general principle that the land is to starboard more of the time. However, as a previous poster said, usually the land is far away. From either side, the views are often excellent.

John

The Trafalgar Square Citadines was our favourite of the three we've used in London, given its central location. However, the OP expressed particular interest in Kensington. The South Kensington Citadines is a 5 min walk from the nearest tube station (Gloucester Rd station), beside which there is a supermarket. Walking distance to the Natural History, V&A, and Science Museums, Kensington Gardens, etc.

John

On different trips to London, we have stayed at three of the Citadines apartment hotels, including the one in South Kensington as well as those near Trafalgar Square and Holborn. One of the studio units was small with uncomfortable twin beds, but another studio unit plus the one-bedroom units were very comfortable. Kitchens are small but serviceable. You could probably find a somewhat less expensive rental apartment elsewhere. However, the Citadines apartment hotels are predictable, as easy to reserve and access as any normal hotel, and very well located relative to London's abundant attractions and subway system. I expect we will use them again in future.

John

The varying propulsion equipment is another notable difference among various of the "Grand variant" ships. I have no "inside information" on this. However, from public sources, it appears that

- Caribbean, despite its increased size, has the same types of diesel engines as in the Grand/Golden/Star -- four larger and two smaller diesel engines in each ship.

- Diamond and Sapphire have four diesel engines with less total power than in the aforementioned four ships. However, Diamond/Sapphire also have a large gas-turbine engine embedded out of sight high up behind the exhaust stacks. That engine is a derivative of the large CF-6 jet engines used on many early wide-body aircraft. (The Coral and Island are the only other Princess ships with combined diesel and gas turbine (CODAG) propulsion.)

- Crown/Emerald/Ruby have four large and two somewhat smaller diesel engines, with slightly more total power than the six diesel engines on the Grand / Golden / Star and Caribbean.

These engineering details are probably not of interest to most passengers, but are another indication of fundamental differences among the four groups of Grand-variant ships.

Rgds... John

I would group them a bit differently and put all of the Grand variants into one class. The general layout and features of those ships is quite similar and the cabin and balcony arrangements basically the same on all nine of the ships. True that Skywalkers and the Wheelhouse Bar are in different locations, some have a Club Fusion and some have a Vista lounge, the Caribbean, Crown, Emerald and Ruby have a Cafe Caribe and on the Crown, Emerald and Ruby Sabatini's is on the Sun deck but they are more alike than different and IMHO not really different classes,

...

Grand Class

Grand, Golden, Star -- 107,517-108,977 (2600, 41-42)

Caribbean -- 112,894 (3082, 37)

Crown, Emerald, Ruby -- 113,561 (3082, 37)

Diamond, Sapphire -- 115,875 (2670, 43)

...

The nine "Grand variants" are certainly more similar to one another than to any of the other Princess ships, but some of the differences are fairly major in my opinion. If I were to group them at all, I'd put

- Grand, Golden, Star, Diamond and Sapphire in one group,

107,517 - 115,875 GRT (2600-2670 pax, space ratio 41-43), and

- Caribbean, Crown, Emerald and Ruby in a different group,

112,894-113,561 GRT (3082 pax, space ratio 37).

However, the Diamond and Sapphire are significantly different from the original Grand-class (Grand, Golden, Star) in that they are broader in beam and thus more spacious, have relocated Skywalkers farther forward, were built by Mitsubishi in Japan rather than Fincantieri in Italy, etc. (Of course, Skywalkers has been removed altogether from Grand.)

The last four ships differ notably from the five listed first in that they have the extra deck of cabins, many more passengers, and less space per person. The Caribbean is much like an original Grand-class ship, but with the extra deck and poorer space ratio. The later-built Crown, Emerald & Ruby have various refinements relative to the earlier Caribbean

Overall, I think those nine ships are best thought of as being of four closely related classes, with differences that matter to some people and are unimportant to others. Of course, there are also differences within the four Grand-variant classes, and these differences proliferate as individual ships are modified during periodic visits to dry-docks.

John

When going to Anytime dining with no reservation, we always ask to sit at a table for six. (With eight people, I rarely can hear anyone other than the two people on either side of me. Princess really should install a few acoustic panels in the dining rooms to cut down on the din.)

As others have said, at 8:00 pm, there is rarely any problem in being assigned to a table for six (no reservation needed). At 7:30, we sometimes have to wait a few minutes, or fend off "pressure" to sit at a table for eight.

John

Current Princess ship classes in increasing order of (approx.) GRT, with lower-berth capacity and space ratio:

Ocean, Pacific -- 30,277 GRT (672 pax, 45 GRT per pax)

Sun, Dawn, Sea -- 77,441 (1998, 39)

Coral, Island -- 91,627 (1974, 46)

Grand, Golden, Star -- 107,517-108,977 (2600, 41-42)

Caribbean -- 112,894 (3082, 37)

Crown, Emerald, Ruby -- 113,561 (3082, 37)

Diamond, Sapphire -- 115,875 (2670, 43)

Royal, [Regal] -- 142,229 (3560, 40)

John

My wife has learned that she can also request a carton of soy or rice milk from room service, store it in our cabin refrigerator, and bring some to the Horizon Court (or elsewhere) herself. That avoids the long wait time that sometimes occurs when she asks one of the wait-staff to fetch it from wherever Princess stores it.

John

The Falklands are the best place to see penguins in part because it is easy to see at least 3 species there, including the large King Penguin. At the usual stops in southern S. Am., one is likely to see only one species, the Magellanic Penguin. However, one should be prepared for the possibility of missing one or more ports, especially Stanley (Falklands). During our two cruises "round the Horn", both in February, we missed Stanley on one trip, and we missed Punta Arenas on the other. Even if the Falklands is the primary place where you plan to visit penguin colonies, it would be wise to plan to visit at least one of the colonies in S. Am., e.g., during stops at Puerto Madryn or Punta Arenas.

I am not sure about the seasonal schedule of the various species on the Falklands, but the Magellanic Penguins that one sees around southern S. Am. start to leave their colonies by late February, and numbers present thereafter will be reduced. Also, numbers present and visible on land vary from day to day even at a specific time of year -- another reason to plan for visits to penguin colonies during more than one port. Our visit to Otway Sound near Punta Arenas on 22 Feb. 2013 was on a relatively warm and near-calm day, and unusually small numbers of Magellanics (even for 22 Feb.) were visible that particular day.

With some planning, it is quite possible to see much more than "just" the penguins during visits to any of these ports, so giving some priority to the penguins does not preclude seeing other things.

John

I am the OP, and we are finally making our definite plans! Since I started this thread, and forgot about it, I re read, and there is so much information. I thank everyone that has posted, ... We will be coming to Australia mid Jan/2015. ...

I think you have worked out a good itinerary for a first trip to Australia & N.Z., and will greatly enjoy it. It is impossible to see all parts of those countries in one trip, even a long trip. Your current itinerary will leave out wonderful additional destinations such as South Australia, the Centre, Top End, southwest W.A., the Kimberley, etc., plus most of the interior and west side of New Zealand. And then there is the possibility of a side trip to New Caledonia, Vanuatu, etc., which you mentioned initially. It has taken us quite a few trips over many years, on land and on cruises, to get to all of these places.

I recommend not spending too much more time worrying about whether your currently planned itinerary is ideal. All major parts of it will be interesting. What you really need to do, I suggest, is to acknowledge that you will need to return to Australia, preferably at a different time of year than Jan.-Feb. -- a time of year when the weather in the Centre and north is more conducive to touring. And then you'll need another trip to New Zealand, possibly adding a cruise to the Pacific Islands; and then perhaps a land trip or cruise across southern Australia... There is no end of interesting places to visit in this region.

John

Why not do both!

 

One week on a cruise such as the PG or similar and then a week on an island preferably an atoll as the cruise would cover the Society islands.

...

Another thought would be to do a 10 night cruise and then 4 nights on Moorea. ...

I support Tiki's recommendation. On our first trip to FP, we spent a few days ashore in each of Mo`orea and Tahiti, combined with the 10-day Princess cruise through the Society Islands plus Rangiroa. To us, that seemed to be a good compromise, allowing us to visit several islands at least briefly while also experiencing two of them in more depth and at a more leisurely pace. (Actually, we also spent a very enjoyable 8 nights on Rarotonga before flying to Tahiti, further increasing the proportion of time "on shore" during the overall trip.)

John

...Don't go to Venice any later than mid-October, definitely not later than Nov. 1st.

...After mid-October there is increased likelihood that low-lying areas like St. Mark's Square will be flooded by acqua alta.

John

A blue navy blazer/sports coat will be absolutely fine in either the MDR or certainly in the specialty restaurants on formal nights. You will be welcome and will not feel out of place in these venues. Too many folks on these boards get intimidated by the "Clothes Police". NO ONE will say anything derogatory to you on the ship.

Concur that a nice sports coat with tie & dress slacks will be fine in the MDR as well as specialty restaurants -- that is my normal attire for formal nights on Princess. More specifically, we did the B.A. - Valparaiso - LA cruises on Grand and Star Princess a year ago with that attire. For us, luggage space and weight are always limiting factors on a long trip, and there are many higher-priority things that one actually needs. That said, in (partial) deference to the rules and sensitivities, I would not attempt to go to the MDR on formal night without wearing at least a sports jacket, tie, and decent pants.

John

...Although there are trains to Canberra they involve a bus trip from the outskirts - it's not a through service. Canberra's a nice enough place to visit, with museums and interesting landmarks but usually isn't a primary focus for tourists.

We think that Canberra is often under-appreciated. It is, we think, an excellent destination for at least some overseas tourists -- especially those interested in history, government, the arts, and spending some time in a medium-sized and less hectic city. The museums and galleries are excellent, and there are attractive outdoor areas for hiking, bird-watching, etc. We have spent a few days in Canberra on three different trips, and I expect we will be back in future.

John