Jamietravelstheworld

Has anyone done an independent overland tour to the Taj Mahal recently (last couple years), and if so, what company did you go with? My ship's overland is ridiculously expensive and sold out, so I'm looking for other options. The ship's tour departs from Male, Maldives, but other departure options would be Mangalore or Cochin, India, with a return to Colombo, Sri Lanka. Thanks.

I was talking with a crew member who said she saw when they dropped anchor and the swells were high then and the ship was struggling with staying steady for that. (I may not be explaining this right but that was my understanding of what she said.) If it was tough to drop anchor, imagine how hard it would be to line the tenders up next to the ship.

I think she’s doing a good job. She got a great full day schedule out very quickly today when port visit was cancelled. And she seems to listen to passenger concerns/requests when possible.

Thanks everyone. I just cancelled (postponed) the cruise.

I have booked a cruise from Tahiti to Fiji for early 2025. After booking it I read that it rains 26 days a month in January in Tahiti so now I'm thinking of canceling. Can anyone who has been there in January tell me if this all day rain or tropical rain that comes late in the day? I know that Tahiti just had a cyclone go through, but that was early February. I want sun - am I likely to find that in early January in both Tahiti and Fiji or am I going to regret going that time of year?

I've been in Argentina recently, both Buenos Aires and Mendoza. There's no rioting. But while things are cheap for us Americans, this devaluation has been devastating for most Argentineans. They have much less money than they used to.I had Uber rides the other day that were 10-15 minutes long and cost me less than $3.00 but the cost of gas when coverted to gallons and dollars was about $3.50/gallon. In my calculation the Uber driver is losing money at that rate. Even though tipping for transportation is not the norm, I tipped generously. I talked with several locals who were telling me that they've had to move home with their parents to be able to survive - both rent and food-wise. And in some places with US cash I was receiving 1200 pesos to the dollar. (And I think my credit card is giving me around 965 pesos to the dollar.)

I had my own table in Polo and know several solo women who always had their own table. Personally, I prefer sharing so I only had my own table once. I think the challenge is that the tables for 2 (which also are the tables for one) in the speciality restaurants may go quickly in the reservations so if you want a table for one, you need to make those reservations as soon as your reservation availability opens up. I've only been on the Regatta (but boarding the Marina this coming week), and the cruise I was on was 3 legs. On the first day of each leg, there was a solos get-together and a lot of people came to it. On the first leg, the social hostess also did a solos luncheon. On the 2nd she said she was going to do a dinner, but never did. On the 3rd leg, we probably had 25 or 30 solo women. Many of them had traveled solo before on O's Insignia on the world cruise. O seemed welcoming to me of solos, but didn't do a lot to get the solos together, that had to be done on our own initiative.

It’s open but my understanding is it can be slow going due to fire trucks and such.

Yes, it’s just like bringing a drink from the bar.

Agreed. I was on a cruise last year where people took their own wine (by the glass) to trivia, dinner, etc all the time. May have been only one couple, not sure, but I’d hate to see Oceania take this privilege away like every other cruise line does.

I am on a Santiago tour today. The guide said she took a group to Valparaiso yesterday. Road is open but slow going. A lot of restaurants are closed as they’re serving first responders. i also met a couple who were in Valparaiso on Friday when the fire started. They said the city area itself was spared.

I know this has been asked before, and I tried to search, but I’m on my phone and it won’t let me search this forum only (which I can do on my computer). Is there a limit to the number of bottle of wine we can bring on board? And can we bring liquor on board? I have bought liquor to take home as a gift and am boarding ship next week.

I am currently in Santiago and as of yesterday the highway between Santiago and Valparaiso was still closed and tour operators were being asked to stay away from Valparaiso through at least this week.

When does your cruise arrive/depart? I am currently in Santiago and as of yesterday the highway between Santiago and Valparaiso was still closed and tour operators were being asked to stay away from Valparaiso through at least this week. This doesn't answer your question but might help, depending on when your date is.

I very much enjoyed the Carnaval Experience this morning so thought I'd share this, https://carnavalexperience.com.br/en/collections/frontpage/products/tour-regular. At today's exchange rate, it was about US $20 for an adult, they have a discount for seniors with ID and for children (although there were no children on my sold-out tour). The tour is 90 minutes. You go behind the scenes at Carnaval and learn some of the history, see costumes, see some Samba dancing, watch a short video, get a sample drink, and there are a few surprises. As Carnaval is in less than 3 weeks, we were not allowed to take pictures of the floats being constructed or the costumes being made, but we did see some of this, and we could take pictures of examples from past years. I believe it's walking distance from the pier, if not, it would be a very inexpensive taxi or Uber ride. It's indoors, so on a day like today when it was downpouring rain, I was to have an indoor activity too. And we got lucky and saw another group rehearsing outside. Our tour guide spoke excellent English as well.

Bonine is great and I now use the scopolomine patches which have been a lifesaver for me. I've got the Drake Passage coming up in February and waiting to see if the patches will work for that.

Has your wife looked at the prescription scopolamine patches? They have been a lifesaver for me. In really rough waters I combine them with generic Bonine, and I basically have no problems now. I've been on some small to mid-size cruise ships where half the ship is out with seasickness and I may lose my appetite but that's it. I've got the Drake Passage coming up in February and I'm dreading that, but hopefully, my system will work there too.

I was recently on the Regatta and the cruise director kept announcing to do it but they didn't make the web address easily available. You basically had to go to the computer room to find the web address and it was only active through the end of the cruise, and the internet was terrible most of the time. Clearly they don't want people filling it out but I did!

If you want to see wildlife in NZ, in Dunedin, I highly recommend https://www.natureswonders.co.nz/.

This place is AMAZING! https://www.natureswonders.co.nz/

I was just in Christchurch, and while there the NCL Spirit was in Lyttleton. I took an Uber from Christchurch to the Gondola, I think it was US $16, and no tipping in NZ. I took the #8 bus from the gondola back to Christchurch, $4 NZ (so about $3 US), and it wasn't crowded at all and took about 20 minutes, if that. BTW, someone else mentioned the punting. It was okay, but I don't know if I'd spend the money and take the time. The tram was nicer. But if you do the punting, you absolutely have to pre-reserve a time, it was fully booked the day I did it.

Medical center costs are ridiculous. Yes, they will crutches but the cost will likely be astronomical! Bring whatever you think you will need. Wear the boot and use a wheelchair in the airport.

I am a very experienced cruiser but have my first Celebrity cruise booked for January 2025 on the Edge. Reading the posts here, everything is so negative. Should I cancel? Or are the people with positive things to say just not posting? No cruise line is perfect, and every cruise has made cuts due to budget, but is it so extreme on Celebrity. My favorite cruise line is Azamara and I often cruise solo. I also like Oceania but find there's not a lot to do on the ships. I like Princess too, but they don't do enough to engage the solo travelers or help them meet each other.

Personally I didn't really enjoy Maputo when I was there in Feb 2023. It was really hot and humid and the ship's tour was not that interesting. The market had great crafts but the vendors were very pushy. The train station was interesting. The tours you mention I don't know anything about. I have another cruise planned that stops there in Feb 2025 and as of now am planning to stay on the ship unless I find a private tour that really jumps out at me.

The 2 things that come to mind are opals from Australia and merino wool products from New Zealand (although you'll find them throughout Australia as well, but they come from NZ). But that's only if you like those items. I personally really like Australian aboriginal art so I often buy a painting on canvas that I have stretched when I get home. But I don't travel to shop, so I don't feel the need to shop in those countries, only if I fall in love with something. And both countries can be expensive.