cruising22

Has anyone done their own overnight stay in Bora Bora. I am looking at a ships tour and it is mega bucks. Have found a overwater hotel only snag is if we book it it is non refundable.

Any tips, help. Thanks in anticipation

We have always enjoyed pre dinner drinks at the Sunset Bat but now they have done away with that. Discoveries bar is good for pre dinner drinks but gets very crowded and it is a shame it closes after dinner. It would be a shame to not be able to go to a bar just because it only serves cocktails. I will be looking at this board with interest seeing as we are on the World Cruise.

For those cruisers who are either visiting bali for a day or maybe on a pre-cruise stay on the Indonesian island my latest review could be of interest...

 

 

 

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2018/03/21/one-way-to-do-bali/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I cannot recommend ehe company, whose name is mentioned in the blog, more highly for a complete service at a most reasonable price.

Hi, loved your review and we are going to Bali in December. Can you tell me how easy it was to modify the tour as neither my husband or I want to spend so long on a trip. Also was it very packed at Tanah Lot watching the sunset. Thanks for the blogs we are going on 2 trips to other ports being guided by your advice.

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Whoops thank you for pointing this out

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As time is limited in Jakarta and I hear the traffic is horrendous I am looking to book a private tour with Azamara. My suggested itinerary is 08:00 leave ship then go to Sunda Kelapa old Harbour, Syahbandar Tower and Maritime museum, Fatanhillah Square and a photo stop at the National Monument getting back to the pier at approx 13:00.

I have asked for prices for 2,4 and 6 people. If anyone is interested in joining us please let me know.

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Hi, I wanted to do the Sunset tour in Broome but when I went to book it the tours finish in August. I am trying to get the best out of Broome but can’t see what to do. Is it worth just wandering about the town, the write up look good. Any help would be great.

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I am going on Jounery in May and so hope there is Schweppes on board as anything else ruins any drink.

Hi - I just thought I'd share my experience in Yacht club. It was fantastic and I long for yacht club again but with an autistic daughter who needs her own room it very difficult to get an executive or royal suite with a separate bedroom. When we did yacht club there were about 30 Australians, 1 German couple who spoke English. One American solo gent and an Italian couple with two small children who were on their honeymoon. Only the Italians did not join in we all gathered in the Top Sail Lounge and had a great time.

Thank you so much for this we are really excited about experiencing the YC again, especially as we will be away for our 35th Wedding Anniversary on 29th September. I hope we can meet up with a great crowd and would love it if some Australians were there as we have had some great cruises with them, although my head wasn't always that special the next day!!

My DH and I are doing YC on Divina in September and wondered how much it differed from our experience on a Canaries cruise where the clientele were mostly European, which was not a problem, other than they didn't speak a great deal of English. Did people mix well in YC and could people join each other for dinner. When my DH and I were on MSC Fantasia in YC there were very few english speaking people and we tended to be the only ones in the bar at night and there was no one to pal up with and join for dinner. We enjoy getting to know people from different areas and finding out the differences. We loved the YC theme which is why we are going back and will be interested to see what the differences are on the other side of the pond as it were. One of the things I loved about YC was the packing and unpacking, it was so great to get on a ship and not be bothered with that chore but to go straight to the bar and start the holiday.

As Amondo says, you'r hooked:) Welcome to the club:D

 

We have booked our very first Caribbean cruise and we will do a 14 night B2B on the......yeah MSC Divina:) Can't wait to fly over the Atlantic and explore the Caribbean waters.

Can't wait to hear about your yacht Club experiaece, we have done this once before in Europe and there were not many english speaking people to talk to and are looking to do a B2B in September. We love the Yacht club experience and love MSC ships.

The email address is :david.dingle@carnivalukgroup.com

 

Dai : A response yes, but not in that manner.

I have sent another mail to David Dingle to say that customer services still have not contacted me and how disappointed we are especially when I have heard that someone else has gone back to club dining. That was over an hour ago and still no response.

getting really angry now

Can you tell me what else you did to get the to change their minds?

jealous still waiting to hear back

You never know, I believe that families prefer freedom as 18:30 is too early and 20:30 to late for some children. Too me 20:30 is just right for pre dinner drinks, you can then spend a nice leisurely time over dinner and still have time for a few more drinks before you hit the sack.

I have just heard back from david Dingle who is getting custoemr services onto the case and he has pronised me an answer very shortly. So fingers crossed and thank you for the advice.

My husband suggested that they cordon off half the Freedom area to Club Dining and was told that this would be too difficult. So as someone says they obviously put themselves out for their passengers. I have never had this type of attitude before on all our cruises and it leaves a very bad taste in your mouth before you even get on board. No I am not some old codger but someone who enjoys life, a good laugh and have been known to have sample the old grape and grain. My huband and I are just the sort of people who P&O shoudl keep happy as we do our fair share at esnuring the revenue from the various bars is kept at a high level;)

Hi Janieb1962 hope to meet on the cruise and I have sent a mail to David Dingle so we await the outcome. Do you fly put on theFriday or Saturday, if it is the Saturday I will see you in the queue at 16:00.

I am also another very unhappy person who booked this cruise in November 2012 and was extremely upset to receive a letter from P&O at the weekend advising us that we were on Freedom dining. I personally loathe Freedom dining and if I wanted that I would either have booked Freedom dining or gone with another cruise line. We have done over 48 cruises with various cruise lines and were giving P&O a second chance but they have blown it out of the water. Part of the joy of Club Dining is building a rapport with your fellow companions and the waiters. One of my other complaints is that there was no real hint of an apology in the letter, our TA was outraged on our behalf but didn't get anywhere and neither have we with subsequent phone calls and emails. The last thing we need after a long flight is to stand in line waiting to see someone about our dining arrangements. Or as my husband says we will walk along the line asking the people trying to book their tables if anyone fancies joining us on a table for 8(round) at 20:30 every night.

You could always bring her with you:D

We could but out of consideration for fellow passengers we couldn't...or maybe our fellow passengers could keep her entertained.. teehee

I am soo jealous reading all these commenst and would love to do a SD at Christmas, only snag is we still have a Mother-in-law that we need to visit. Maybe one day but I can't wait for the SD2 fall crossing, flights and hotels all booked, eager beaver thats me.

Again with the Help of cruise critic we booked our own tour and having listened to the people that did the ships tours we had a great time. Ramses tours supplied us with a minibus, leather seats, driver Mr Mahmoud, and guide Karim. The driver was very smart and drove well, Karim was extremely knowledgeable and was very good at getting us through the crowds speedily and safely. It was a religious festival when we went so it was exceptionally busy at the pyramids and yes we have all the tacky pictures taken holding the pyramids etc. We also went in to the see the Sun Boat exhibition and that was superb, I won't say anything about it as that would spoil it for those who would like to see it. After that we took a camel ride, well I thought I had plenty of padding but after an hour on a camel I realise that I don't have enough. By the time we got off, 1 hour, we had got the hang of it but it was really great and so peaceful as we rode behind the pyramids with only 2 other camels and 4 horses. Then we went to see the sphinx and again the usual photos. After that we went in a 4 wheel drive trick through the dessert great driving about 50mph up and down the dunes. Then to another temple, lunch and back to Alexandria. Yes it was tiring but oh boy did we have a great time. I would certainly recommend ramses tours as everything from booking to actually taking the trip was very easy.

Just found this forum and love it. My 1st cruise was on P & O's Oriana 1978, 3 weeks, Southampton to the Carribean and back. I had a ball, even more so since I was on my own and single. When I got married in 1979 I tried to convince my DH that he would like cruising to but it wasn't until 1989 when he saw it on a travel show that he decided to give it a go and off we went in 1990 on the Sovereign of the Seas. We had a fantastic time, DH hooked and so decided to cruise every other year as we didn't have a great deal of money so we are still trying to work out how come 20 years later we have done 46 cruises. As my DH tells 1st time cruisers your 1st cruise will be your most expensive one , becuase if you love then thats all you will want to do. My only comment is that I do wish we could go back to the smaller ships and the way cruising was when we 1st started but then as they say that is progress, or not as the case may be.

Heres looking forward to Diamond Princess next April.

You know your hooked when you book one cruise as aa special event, love it so much you say you will go every other year but somehow seem to go each year. Can't wait for the SD2 fall transatlantic crossing we had a ball last time.