Bourdieu

My thanks to everyone who has taken the trouble to respond to my query. That's very helpful.

On 3/28/2024 at 12:38 AM, monkey@cruise said:

The ship will dock at Busan Port International Passenger Terminal Cruise Terminal. Compliment shuttle will drop off at the main building (2500 feet away). Busan metro is nearby, Busan City Tour Bus (BUTI) Station is near the The Korean Teachers' Credit Union (KTCU) Building.

Many thanks for the information monkey@cruise.

On Celebrity Millennium in May with a port stop in Busan, South Korea. Is it possible to do Busan on your own? Is there a shuttle bus at the port and, if there is, where does it take you?

Most of my cruises have been on Celebrity or Royal Caribbean, but I was on the Iona last month after 10 years away from P&O and the experience exceeded my expectations. Since Covid, most cruise lines appear to have made cut backs impacting on staffing levels and quality of food. I didn’t find the Iona any different to my recent experience on Celebrity, and I thought it was better than an autumn 2022 cruise on Princess. Moreover, I thought the entertainment was really good – especially in the Limelight and 710 club. The resident band, led by Harrison, in the 710 was amongst the best I’ve seen on any cruise.

I thought breakfast in the main dining rooms was disappointing owing to the very limited menu. Surprisingly, I much preferred the buffet. Perhaps it depends what time you go for breakfast (around 9.15am for me) but it never seemed overly busy and there was no problem finding a table.

We were in Concierge when we were on the Solstice last year. We, too, were concerned about whether we would be able to get off on time to join a private tour at a tendered port. We spoke to a member of the concierge team about it and she organised tender tickets for us, enabling us to get off with the first group of tendered passengers.

We are considering the One Day Blue Mountain Tour with Dingo Travel from Sydney. It's been hard getting recommendations for a good tour company on Tripadvisor. Dingo Travel has popped up a few times, but is a bit more expensive. We want a smaller tour, Dingo uses 14 passenger vans. Has anyone used this company or knows anything about it? There is also a "Dingo Tours" but they aren't in Sydney. The company we are interested in is Dingo TRAVEL. Also any other recommendations for the Blue Mountain Tour out of Sydney would be greatly appreciated. We need to go on a Sunday so that does limit our choices a bit.

Thanks

 

Rather belatedly, I've just seen your message. My wife and I went to the Blue Mountains with Dingo Travel in February, along with 12 others who got together on a CC Roll Call. We were all really impressed with them. Our driver/guide was Menashe, who is one of the partners in the company. He is very knowledgeable and did all he could to ensure we had a great day. This wasn't an easy task as, weather wise, the day was pretty awful and visibility in the Blue Mountains was reduced to zero. This was disappointing, as it's unlikely we'll be returning and we saw nothing. However, in a strange way, it was still a fun day and that was down to Menashe. He led us through a valley, where the mist was not so bad, and to a waterfall. We saw an Aborigine show and we went to Featherdale Wild Life Park which was very enjoyable. The food, included in the price, was also good.

My thanks to everyone who's replied. We'll follow the advice and use strong repellent and cover up.

Vegemite and Penguins are used as a precaution against Australian Drop Bears, not sure they work on Sandies in NZ. Dawn and Dusk is worst time for the little devils. in OZ we use Rid, however the locals will sell you a repellent that works.

 

Thanks for the advice. I've heard hopping on one leg and saying words like sheila and crikey helps keep drop bears away.

Are you cruising or driving along the West Coast?

 

We're doing a 10 day coach tour before cruising.

Just been warned about the sandflies on the west coast of South Island and how vicious they can be. I gather that to repel them you either need to carry a penguin as bait or cover yourself in vegamite! How serious a problem are they likely to be in February?

I always compare prices between UK and US. For our next cruise I've booked with a US agent as they were offering a reduction for seniors which made it cheaper than in the UK. I've not come across any UK agents offering senior's rates.

 

After paying our final balance, I learned that there had been a substantial price drop on unsold cabins and asked the US agent if we might benefit from that. We were subsequently offered a double upgrade and two additional perks. I've not experienced UK agents doing that.

Irony.

 

Thanks for generating a fascinating thread. Seems like you've been having more fun on this message board than you had on your cruise!!

I couldn't resist reading the review and now wish I hadn't as I'm sailing on the Queen Victoria (first time on Cunard) in a few weeks time. I hope my experience will be more positive. Will compare notes on my return.

Really grateful for all your responses. Very helpful. Thanks very much.

Thinking of booking a balcony cabin on Deck 6 of the Solstice. Category 2C and 2D are described as 'partially obstructed' and 'obstructed' respectively. I believe this is caused by the lifeboats that are located on Deck 5. Does anyone know how obstructed the view actually is on Deck 6 and should these cabins be avoided?

I would also like to thank you for the suggestion concerning Butrint as I, too, was wondering what to do in Sarande.

I'm hoping it will be possible to stay onboard. I've emailed Cunard about it but I've not had a response from them.

Have you explored the Cunard excursions for Athens. They usually feature a but tour, that highlights the city and then heads to the airport.

 

Jonathan

 

Thanks for your response. I have looked at the excursions for Athens but none of them mention going to the airport.

On disembarkation day at Athens, my wife and I have a Cunard arranged BA flight at 20.00. Our worry is that we will be transferred from the ship to the airport in the morning. Does anyone have any knowledge or experience of evening flights and whether transfer was in the morning, or if there were other options such as staying on the ship longer or excursions that drop you at the airport?

Baltic cruise on the Constellation in 2006 remains the benchmark against which all subsequent cruises have been judged. Returning to the Baltics in 2016 - this time on the Eclipse.

[quote name='blitznbobs']Seems to be a love it or hate it with little in between... is this an age split or just an 'outlook' split..

I've booked to go on Ventura in June next year and was wondering if I was the right kind of person to enjoy it...

(I'm in my 30s, with a young child, a medic and a member of the judicary and like dressing up but also like to 'throw myself into' things ... in a work hard, play hard kind of way... and I have been known to have the odd drink occasionally)

Bx

Give us a clue what type of ppl like Ventura...[/QUOTE]

It really is fascinating to see how divided people are on this issue. I'm recently back from my first P & O cruise on Ventura. It wasn't awful, but I can't rate the experience as higher than average. Everything, to me, just seemed so bland and basic in comparison to other cruise lines I've been on (e.g. Celebrity). I'm not saying I'll never cruise with P & O again but, based on this experience, they will never be my first choice.

Just back from a cruise on Ventura which docked at Vigo. I'd been there before and was underwhelmed on that occasion. This time I searched online for something to do and came across a company that did tours of Vigo for only 15 euros per person and booked it for a 3 euros deposit. This turned out to be a really good tour and great value.

 

Whilst I still regard Vigo as a bit of a 'filler' destination with nothing of any great interest there, this tour left me with a more positive opinion than the one I formed when I was last there. I would certainly recommend the company Tours 4 Cruisers which can be found at http://tours4cruisers.com/en/

A company called Luggage Forward advertises collecting luggage from disembarkation ports around the world and sending it to your home or next destination. I think they're expensive but they may be worth a look.

http://www.luggageforward.com/cruise-luggage-shipping/

Thanks for taking the trouble to provide this information. Sounds like you had an amazing time.