joybook

I'm not trying to be smart but could I suggest that you make sure your cruise is leaving from Valparaiso. I was under the impression that all cruises are now leaving from San Antonio. We called at Valparaiso on our last South Amercan cruise but are departing from San Antonio in January. I believe the change has been brought about by continuing strikes on the dock in Valpairso.

Our experiences with this are all different but it does not stop us all from becoming experts on the topic. We will never know the truth until an executive from Princess comes here and clarifies the situation. That is most unlikely to happen.

Thanks for your comments and advice.

You are quite correct. Apart from price, the only real telling points in choosing a specific company are that they cover what you NEED, will honour your claims and process it quickly.

We did Bluff Cove a little over 2 years ago. It was great (including the drive out there) but there were only about six or eight King Penguins among all the others. We are doing Volunteer Point with Patrick Watts next January having booked months and months ago. It seems as though you have to book very early with him, but at least there is no payment until you get there. 

Hi cruisine21. I bet the cruise did not include USA. When I talked to Covermore about the USA with pre-existing they were not the least bit interested. I have never used them since.

In my humble opinion celebrations will depend on what part of the world the planned  cruise is in - that is not mentioned. If the cruise is in the Baltic it is most unlikely there will be Thanksgiving celebrations. We must remember that the whole world does no revolve around the USA.

Hope they get the engines fixed before we do the Antarctic in January otherwise things could get really interesting particularly across the Drake Passage.

Thanks for taking the time to respond. Yes. I understand what you are saying but a video recording of the experience always adds to the photos (which my wife has the responsibility for). Still photos don't tell everything. I have videos of all our cruises and holidays generally and we watch them more times than look at the photos.

I have yet to find a travel agent who gives me anything or does anything other than book what I have requested. Yes, they are little more than just booking agents - I have little time for them so whenever I can I book directly with Princess. I even had to tell one TA that I could get a better price on a tour once and the response was 'that we don't usually book through them'. it was to cost me thousands more so I told them to change the wholesaler they were dealing with - then they agreed. I just shook my head. I thought the idea was to get me the best deal they could - it seems I was wrong. I have not used them since.

There seems to be plenty of websites that will give you all sorts of tips on taking photos in the Antarctic but next to nothing that I can find in relation to video photography. Can anyone help either from their own personal experience or knowledge of websites etc. We are not doing an expedition cruise, we are doing South America which includes 4 days cruising in the Antarctic. Many thanks.

I'll also support the idea of giving InsureandGo a look. I've got pre-existing and always go with them. You will have to fill in a pre-existing questionnaire though. I think they advertise that they will insure you to 100.

No, I don’t think it will matter which side you are on. Funny though isn’t it? We are all creatures of habit. We have been on the starboard side on all of our cruises including Hawaii round trip from Sydney.

We have been on a few cruises over 30 days and have not worried about it but if I was on anything say 60 days and over I think I would.

I would also question paying for the gratuities in advance. As I see it all you are doing is increasing the massive financial float Princess has - why let them invest your money and increase their profits when you can do it yourself? Pay them later only when you have to.

Let's not get into this argument again. It really does become boring after all the threads we have had on tipping.

Two things - OBC is a gift - get over it. If you are relying on OBC to take a cruise maybe you can't afford to cruise.

Secondly. A poster mentioned the credit card charge in Australia. Not all retailers/service providers charge a credit card surcharge. It is entirely up to the individual retailer/provider. In my experience most retailers/shopkeepers do not.

Further to my previous post, the address was given by one of the passengers and it was very well done.

Yes. We were on a round trip Sydney/Hawaii/ Sydney cruise a couple of years ago over Anzac Day and it was indeed a very special service lead by the Captain who from memory was Italian.

Amen.

Once again this is the hottest topic on Cruise Critic. Naturally everyone has an opinion and speaks from their own experience. While I have never contemplated taking off the auto-grats,I was told by a crew member that ALL tips handed personally to a crew member must go into the 'pool'. If they do not hand it in and are found out they can be instantly dismissed. As said, we can only speak from our own experiences. That's why I said earlier that you must take all these comments with a grain of salt. They are not always the truth.

Based on my experience and discussions with crew members I would take most of these comments with a grain of salt. Believe them if you wish. There is a saying 'There are none so blind as those who do not want to see and none so deaf as those who don't want to hear.

Having cruised around Aust/Pacific a number of times and also overseas (Asia and South America) I don't believe you will detect much difference. It seems to me that most cruises have a real mix of nationalities on board - particularly the longer cruises. Naturally an Australian based cruise will have predominately Australians/Nzers on board.

Wow! These are really 1st world problems aren't they? I wonder if there are any people from 3rd world countries watching and reading? Just enjoy the benefits of being fortunate enough to be cruising.

The first thing I do on a cruise is to check with the Internet cafe to ensure that I am logging on and off correctly. That way I have always found my 'free' internet minutes sufficient for me. The only time I had problems and lost a couple off hundred minutes I was able to explain the situation and they were reimbursed to me. I have ALWAYS found the internet cafe people first class and very helpful.