joybook

I must be more tolerant or patient than others as it always seems to be someone else who has the bad experience.

Sydney is no worse than most overseas airports and actually much better than most. Nothing is ever perfect

The main issue will be to ensure that you declare that you are carrying them. If you don't and get caught that is when the trouble starts. I have been encouraged to always carry a letter from my doctor listing the medication I am on. I do this also but while I have been asked if the drugs being carried are for medicinal use, I have never been requested to actually show the letter. Better to run with the flow rather than risk trouble later. My wife had an occasion when she returned to Sydney on a flight and was carrying a packet of unopened biscuits she forgot she had and therefore had not declared it. They were discovered on inspection and a very difficult situation developed even though she had originally taken the biscuits from Sydney in the first place, so they were, in effect, just returning home. Lesson learned.

As you can see by my address, I live in Sydney. If I want to stay overnight in the city before getting on a cruise we always stay at Holiday Inn Old Sydney as it is just so close to the OPT. Just an easy 5 minute walk.

Forget about tipping in Australia and New Zealand. It is not the custom. The only person I would consider tipping would be the porter at the hotel and then it maybe only a dollar or two. Certainly not taxis, restaurants etc.

The first thing I would check is what cruise port are you going from. Santiago is not a port. It will be Valparaiso or more likely San Antonio. We are staying in both places ( Santiago and BA) in January but I would not necessarily recommend either place because I don’t know.

Wow!! Congratulations and thanks to those who have replied to my query.

Just slightly off-topic, but a question I am interested in. Am I correct in assuming any upsell, upgrade, move over, move down etc offer would only be made by Princess after the final payment has been made. I suppose they could only make an offer like these if you had definitely committed to the cruise by making your final payment. I might add that I have never received one.

Yes I agree that most office workers will be well back at work by 13th. Also I would not say that 9.00am is past the peak. Peak these days goes on until around 9.30am.

Would you have not bought it if you had known it was going to cost you $80.38 - just 39 cents more?

Over the months that this has been a hot topic I have remained silent. I really don't understand why you all complain and do nothing about it. I had a card with unused punches and was not cruising before the expiry date so I wrote to Princess and set out a number of factors in which they had mislead me when I first purchased the card. Also suggested that they we misappropriating my money and mentioned a few other things. While at first they were going to do nothing I again repeated my complaint to them and more strongly expressed my argument. I was then reimbursed for the unused punches. Now completely satisfied. So don't just complain to each other, do something about it. Although I would suggest that it is probably too late to do anything.

I agree. Just be yourself and be polite. People from other countries are just that, people from other countries. Don't try and be an Australian or New Zealander.

Firstly, this charge has nothing to do with currency fluctuations. Secondly, a credit card charge in Australia is quite common practice and usually around 1%. Not all retailers or restaurants/hotels etc charge it. The credit card charge is entirely up to the individual business eg some petrol service stations charge it, while some don’t. In my experience most businesses don’t but the practice is increasing.

chopper_1. That is as good as anything. There is no accommodation near White Bay. I think the ferry from Darling Harbour only operates on the actual day a ship is in dock at White Bay. I must admit that I have not had to worry about accommodation etc., as living in Sydney a family member usually drops us off. I might add that casual parking at White Bay  is very good.

Not everyone has problems with inside cabins. We went from balcony cabins for our first few cruises to insides and have had them ever since. We could not justify the extra cost when you consider how long you spend in the cabin anyway. We have never regretted the decision. Yes, though, I would take a balcony offer if it was a freebie or a great upsell offer too good to be refused.

I have yet to find a TA who will be at all helpful as far as a discount goes. They are all either hopeless or greedy. We do not seem to have the benefits that many seem to get in the USA. My strategy is to book direct with Princess as soon as I settle on a cruise I want, then monitor the prices almost daily. If and when the price drops I will call Princess and they, on most occasions, will honour the price drop with me. On some cruises I have been given more than one price drop.

I really do hope that no-one is going to come on and ask 'who is Stewart?'

Maybe Sidney will meet up with Stewart?

Yes, I must say that if I am happy with the price I pay for a cruise I just do it. If a price drop comes later and Princess give it to me after calling them then that is a bonus. If I was not satisfied with the original price on offer I would not have taken it up in the first place.

If you want a cabin in a particular location you are probably better off booking early and waiting to see if there is a price drop. This has been my way of handling bookings and Princess have always honoured price drops for me. If you leave it until the last minute you only get what is offered in relation to cabins and it may not be to your satisfaction. A late offer may not necessarily be for a cruise that you want.

I think you need to be a bit more specific about what your plans are. You are not going to get a tour from Sydney to Airlie Beach. Airlie Beach is in Queensland, a few hours flying time (and a couple of thousand kilometres) away from Sydney. You will not see turtles at any beach in Sydney.

I've been to Vila twice - once on a cruise and once on private visit for a week. Not once have I felt that I had been 'ripped off'.

I would suggest you go to the Internet Cafe and talk over your problem with the crew member in charge of the internet cafe. I have always found them very helpful and co-operative. And they know what they are talking about.

Yes. What city are you referring to.

We are with Princess and will be departing Santiago (SAN Antonio) on Coral Princess on 5th January for Buenos Aires via Antarctica. When we were last in Valparaiso we got caught up in a dock strike that day and my understanding is that things have got worse there hence the change to SAN Antonio. But as I said just check to make sure. The decision may be up to the individual cruise lines themselves.