waggie

Thank you Rita,

I will take a look at the website.

We are taking the Celebrity "Bangkok on your own" trip to take advantage of the coach but do independent sightseeing while there as we have visited before and would like to re-trace our steps. I agree - we will monitor the situation.

The second day we hope to visit Pattaya either by independent taxi or through a local agent.

Ruth

Thanks JB,

We also do DIY which can take months of planning - half the fun of travelling for me! For many of these I have formed small groups from roll calls and they have been a wonderful way of seeing places, and meeting new people.

For Asia it seems that most tour providers want hefty deposits, so I am not too keen to go that route.

I have been in touch with a guy - I took the details from other roll calls and reviews were favourable, but it was quite pricey for two. I will see if we can find another couple to join us, otherwise I will heed your advice about taxis at the port.

Thanks again,

Ruth

John,We will be on Constellation in February and overnight docked for Bangkok. We will be going to Bangkok on day 1 and staying more local on day 2.

I had thought of a trip to Pattaya, Sanctuary, Gardens etc.

Can you recommend a tour/company?

Thanks,

Ruth

We have booked Dung Pham for our February cruise based on both the reviews here and his professional responses to emails.

I am sure we will not be disappointed!

We have four hours to wait at marina Bay terminal for our planned transfer to Changi. Is there really nothing to do there - no cafes, no shops etc as their website makes no mention of these. Wondering whether to try to rearrange our transfer.

Would it be out of the question to see if Etihad have a day flight?Or leave the ship the evening before -whatever you decide pace yourselves well as it is a long day.

And as you say.......it was the cabin you chose that has now been taken from you without explanation. I agree with all the positive points from cc posters here, but that explanation will help you decide what you want/can do. Here's hoping you have a wonderful time onboard.

Thanks again

Ruth

Thanks from me too! We have 7208 for our -Asia cruise in February. The pictures of the balcony are great. Is the cabin the standard layout? Do you any photos? We have never had concierge before -is there much more space on m class?

Hi,

 

I know this question has probably been asked before but I can't find a thread that specifically relates to this scenario.

 

Basically we booked our cruise (27th November, Millennium, Far East) quite some time ago. It had some pretty nice extras (credit & drinks) and we booked a FV room. I think the price ended up as somewhere in the region of about £3400 when we paid gratuities.

 

I looked on this week and similar rooms are on sale at £600-800 cheaper (it may have changed since) and I just wondered if anybody has had any luck trying to get their cruise reduced in similar circumstances before?

 

I'm aware we don't have the same guarantees as UK passengers and I didn't book via a TA, however some people have said that they've managed to get an improved deal just by trying. I won't lose sleep if we don't get anything as I was happy with the price at the time, but as I could cancel and re-book and still save money I didn't know if it was worth asking them.

 

The thing in their favour appears to be the drinks package from what I can see as I haven't seen it offered in recent deals.

I have just tried to mock book a FV and there are several available. Interesting since there are very few 'standard' balcony cabins available. The cost for cruise only is showing as £2578. I cannot see what perks if any, so cannot see if the deal would be worth you trying for. You say that you didn't use a TA, so did you book direct with celebrity? Also, as other people have said you do have to consider the deposit loss if you do not have Captains Club status. It is worth asking the questions, and let us know how you get on.

Wrinklies may not like the 1,000m walk to the watering hole, where the dragons are fed to stay there for the photos and not to snap at the tourists. You may even see one on the beach, no bathing! Some guides even take you on a 4,000m walk up a hill, so it pays to say something like "Orang cacat", pronounced "tshashat" or "handicapped" person if the guide's English isn't the best, but they all learned English from watching ABC TV International.

The new concrete pier is also very long (1,500m ?), so if you are not to well on your feet like my wife just get off the shorter wooden pier, look at the souvenir shops, wild deer, pigs and dragon at the beach and get back onto the tender at the shorter wooden jetty.

Some good advice here, but.....what are wrinklies?

Thank you for such an interesting post. We are off to Vietnam and Thailand in February - I will hunt out a copy of the Quiet American today!

I will also take a look at Jomtien beach for our second day in Laem Chabang.

Waggie

Creative.rccl......a good description!

I have just received the following from Celebrity - I hope it helps some of you!

Yes you are correct there is a lot of confusion regarding needing a visa

for Vietnam.

This is our latest information that we have obtained directly from the

ship.

At present there is a visa exemption for UK travellers for up to 15 days

but they must have more than 6 months left on their passport.

If this changes then you can obtain a visa on board the ship.

The current cost is $5 plus 10% VAT for guests who are only going on day

trips and $45 plus 10% VAT for guests that are staying overnight off the

ship, or disembarking from the ship.

This will be added onto your onboard account.

They will also have to present a passport size photo.

The ship will advise them how & when they will be issuing them. This

information is for UK passport holders only.

Thank you pointing it out -I had been so busy checking the visa details for my upcoming cruise I posted the wrong info here.

I am sure the op will get the right advice - and have a wonderful cruise.Sorry to confuse further.

and after apologising I forgot to post the info I had from the Embassy websites and http://www.gov.uk!

Thailand -since 20 December 2013,Nationals of (G7) the following countries who enter via a land crossing or enter via an airport will be entitled to a 30 day visa exemption , UK, U.S.A, Canada, Italy, Germany, Japan, France

Indonesia -You don’t need a visa to enter Indonesia for visits of up to 30 days

Thank you pointing it out -I had been so busy checking the visa details for my upcoming cruise I posted the wrong info here.

I am sure the op will get the right advice - and have a wonderful cruise.Sorry to confuse further.

There are so many threads on CC about this and the information can be confusing.

The Embassy says :01 July 2016

The Embassy has just been officially informed of the decision by the Vietnamese Government to extend visa exemption policy for British, French, German, Italian, Spanish citizens travelling to Viet Nam (single entry, for all purposes, and passport having at least six-month validity) for up to 15 days to 30 June 2017.

I then checked with my TA who says that 2 ports without leaving Vietnam waters is fine for 'single entry'. Just to treble check i have emailed Celebrity for their answer.If I get a response I will post this on the general Celebrity page so that everyone can see it.

Sorry, I can't help with Bali.

You are correct - they come in $25 increments.

Have just returned from a Black Sea cruise which included several DIY ports. Burgas, Varna, Trabzon and Sinop.

In Varna we had booked a half day walking tour with a delightful young man called Milen.

He met us at the port and showed us around the main sights of the town. His English was excellent, he was very knowledgeable and had a truly kind nature. Our whole group (20) agreed that we could recommend him.

email: mimoph@gmail.com.

Waggie

It's interesting that these photos clearly show the sign asking people to keep the doors closed.

and......the sign requesting that you completely extinguish all cigarettes and cigars:eek::eek:.

We will be in A1 deck 11 Constellation next week and I will report back - assuming I am not still stuck on the balcony:)

Thanks Project Gal,

I did receive immediate email confirmation, but no detail of the transaction, so I emailed and asked for this - it arrived from Miami within 2 hours.I take your point and will check my cc statement tomorrow.

Should you miss the office hours you can also buy obc from the 'gift' section online.

One part of the website that worked well:)

I am sorry to read that your cruise has been cancelled. I understand that this is due to a charter booking rather than the unrest in Ukraine.

As someone taking this cruise in 6 weeks time I was quick to check the fact with Celebrity.

I hope you will enjoy the cruise you have now got....and everyone else booked in the next few weeks- panic over!

Perhaps this is a UK requirement - We always complete this information during online check-in - along with emergency contact details and travel plans.

After some searching I have found this reference:

There is now a catamaran service that takes passengers from the cruise port to the docks by the Old Town. You buy a bracelet at the port store for $10 and it allows you to go to the Old Town and back for one price. The trip takes about 15 minutes each way and run every 30 minutes. There are 2 catamarans and they each hold about 120 passengers. During the trip you get a good view of Bocagrande as well as the old town and Convention Center. There are restrooms on board as well as refreshments and a guide to provide maps and other information.

I just hope the service is still running!

Waggie

I would hate to mislead you, but when we were there 2 years ago we took a taxi, 'agreed' a rate which was more than the sign - which we had missed! and he took us into town. On our return we saw that there was a boat service alongside the dock. Lovely, modern, large vessel which docks across the road from the walled city and made for a super return trip right back to the ship! Shame we didn't notice it on our way out to join the taxi queue!

As others have said, Cartagena is a gem of a city and you shouldn't miss it.

Enjoy!