mare s.

Cabin Number 7090/7104

Ship Quest

Month/Year sailed 8/10 and 1/13

Would you choose this room again Y/N Most definitely

Is noise an issue Y/N No

Balcony size Normal/Larger/Smaller Normal veranda

Any other comments (keeping these succinct so the spreadsheet does not grow too much) Love floor 7 you are between cabin floors so no noise from public areas unless you're right opposite the laundry rooms (I think they are around 7078?.)

no need. laundry detergent is attached to the machines...just push a button.

Dr dawggy...yes that is what I meant. As for departure fee, we're on AA so I guess we're clear there too.

Thanks!

This has been such a confusing issue made worse because the visa info was in Spanish only at the beginning and also because you cannot get an answer from the Argentinian consulates. I still have not received a definitive response to my question about staying on in Argentina and flying to Iguazu, (TA referred me to cruise line and LAN...cruise line quoted the info about cruise passengers' exemption and LAN referred me to the consulate). So I'm just going with the info about cruise passengers and hoping we won't have problems at AEP.

BTW, our cruise documents made mention of a departure fee from B.A. Does anyone know if this is still in effect?

Yes, so true. And I would have checked anyway about a month before our departure (still will!) but I guess I've become spoiled...I usually get updates from other airlines. For example, our international flights are on American and we received an email from them a couple of weeks ago with changes in flight times and I guess they changed equipment too because they changed our seat assignments (to very undesirable seats) I quickly called and changed our seats back to where we wanted them.

A quick thanks to Dr__Dawggy for the reminder about LAN. We had booked our flight to Iguazu some months ago. When I read Dr's post about LAN I decided to check our reservation. Sure enough everything had changed! Our original flight from B.A. to Iguazu had been canceled and the return flight was at a different time than originally booked. Of course, LAN had never notified us. Fortunately I was able to call LAN and re-book on another departing flight and reconfirm our reservations. You can be sure I'll check LAN again before we leave on our cruise and even when we arrive in B.A.!

We booked a few months in advance. He has an 8 passenger van and it was a flat rate for him and his van for the day. We started out with just four of us, but three others whom we met on our cruise asked if they could join us so we ended up with seven (and a smaller cost per person as a result) I hesitate to quote a price because so much will depend on itinerary (and prices this year may not be the same as prices next year) I would encourage you to contact Graeme and see what he can offer.

Yes, Graeme does require a deposit, easily paid through paypal (and he has a cancelation refund policy too.) The amount will probably depend upon the itinerary you choose. I paid with a bit of trepidation, but Graeme was so prompt in responding to my questions (and he had been recommended by others here on cruise critic, so I felt he had a bit of a good track record) that I went ahead. It worked out perfectly.

Our guide was an Englishman, Graeme Chuter, who is married to a Slovenian woman and together they run a small travel agency/tour guide service. Graeme has an 8 passenger van (very comfortable) and he's both knowledgeable and a savvy guide. He picked us up promptly at the port and we stopped first at Ljubljana, took a walking tour around town and visited the open market. Then we drove to Lake Bled and visited the castle (I won't give too many details except to say it was one of the loveliest spots I've ever seen) and then went to a local restaurant for lunch. (and, because we loved the schnapps so much, Graeme negotiated for us to buy a couple of bottles from the restaurant owner, who blends his own) After that, we strolled around the lake a bit before heading back to Koper (we even had time after arrival to take a quick walk around town on our own) Chatting with Graeme gave us a real sense of life in Slovenia and we could certainly understand his attachment to the country. Graeme's contact info is on his website at http://www.4seasonstravelslovenia.com

p.s. had a bit of the schnapps tonight...truly yummy!

Just got back from our Med cruise and had an amazing day from Koper going to Ljubljana and Lake Bled...had a wonderful private tour guide (if you'd like his name, just ask...I don't think I can post it without a request) who made our day particularly special. Slovenia turned out to be the most pleasant surprise of the cruise itinerary...what a beautiful country and delightful people. We had a wonderful lunch at a local restaurant and, after sampling the blueberry schnapps just had to take a bottle home! A lovely, lovely day.

Our excursion is with Graeme too...we're in port from 7-6 and Graeme's itinerary for us visiting both Ljubljana and Lake Bled seems quite doable...we even have an hour or so upon our return to Koper to take a look around town. One nice thing about a private tour guide is that you can adjust your itinerary as you go, spending more time (or less) as you'd like.

Will let you all know how it goes.

Thanks....leaving in a couple of weeks and looking forward to this cruise soooo much. Will definitely post a bunch of info when we return.

mare

We're doing a private tour next month from Koper which will take us to Ljubljana Old Town and to Lake Bled and Lake Bled Castle. The scenery appears amazing. I'll post after we get back and let you know how we liked it.

Is it easy to use the metro to get from our hotel to the cruise ship pier in Piraeus or do you recommend using a taxi? We'll have a couple of pieces of luggage each.

Thanks.

Thanks for the info, Doug. we were hoping to be able to see Taipei on our own, but the time/distance factor may limit us, unless taxis are easy to use. Otherwise I guess we'll look at independent tour operators or see what Princess has to offer.

Doug...another question...how far from each other are the major sites...specifically the National Palace Museum and Taipei 101 (and the dim sum restaurant you mentioned..I've heard about it before)

Thanks.

Nurse George...I just have to add my thanks to you for writing such a wonderful journal of your cruise. I am thoroughly enjoying every post. We cruised Alaska on the Veendam three years ago...ran into a friend of our daughter who is a dancer...it was her first contract with HAL but she signed up again and again (last time I heard, she was on the Oosterdam)...she got hooked on cruising as a cast member. What a wonderful way to see the world! BTW, the Sapphire definitely is a beautiful ship...we were on her earlier this year on a Sydney to Auckland cruise...I love HAL but I have to admit I really enjoyed our Princess cruise (sorry HAL devotees) Can't wait to hear more from you, NurseGeorge!