zumbalover

I'm on the same cruise and am interested as well. I've found the daily schedule with all of the happenings of the day on the Princess app including the enrichment talks, but I haven't been able to find anything about the port location/information either.

Thank you! That is really helpful.

Thanks for the information. Is Filipstad walking distance to the central train station or will we need to arrange transport? We will have our luggage with us.

Do we need to book train tickets ahead of time or is day of fine?

Thanks for your replies!

Hi All,

We have a late afternoon flight out of Oslo on the day of disembarkation and want to spend a few hours sightseeing before our flight. We dock at Filipstad port, which is the furthest port from downtown Oslo and doesn't have luggage storage that I can find. Does anyone have any recommendations for luggage storage in Oslo near the port? Or recommendation for a small group tour  with airport drop off? 

Thanks

We will be on our first Oceania cruise, July 21-Aug 5 Reykjavik to Oslo. We have a flight out of Oslo at 4:00 pm so are looking for a transfer/part day tour of Oslo with a drop off at the airport. I don't see anything listed on the shore excursions page for Oslo, nor airport transfers available. Does Oceania not offer an airport transfer with shore excursion on the last day like other cruises do? 

Thanks for your replies. Purple Traveller, your photos are stunning! We are just off the Emerald Princess in the mediterranean. I will definitely check out your review.

We have decided to stick with Princess for the South America cruise. While we would love to try Azamara, and the price was actually a little less than Princess, the deciding factors were the location/size of the cabin--Princess mini-suite mid-ship vs. small Azamara balcony cabin at the very front of the ship, going around Cape Horn and we have a Premium beverage package on Princess. With the number of sea days, we'd prefer the larger cabin and mid-ship location. It sounds like Princess goes through a bit of the Beagle Channel as well as around Cape Horn, so we get a bit of both. 

I appreciate everyone's response!

I am trying to decide between two itineraries and need some help from those that have cruised South America.

I am currently booked on a Princess South America cruise from Buenos Aires to Santiago that goes around Cape Horn. Beverage package is included. There is an Azamara Santiago to Buenos Aires cruise that is about the same price and is almost the same ports of call, with the exception of Cape Horn. The Azamara cruise goes through the Beagle Channel instead. 

We have cruised Princess many times but have never done an Azamara cruise. Is there a big difference between going around the horn and doing the beagle channel? Which would be your preferred itinerary?  And how does Azamara compare to Princess? 

Your help is appreciated!

Which direction are you traveling?

 

Viking always ask for a paper visa for Cambodia, but it is only actually necessary if you are on the northbound itinerary as you enter Cambodia on the river.

 

It is still worth having on the southbound route as it speeds up the arrival process considerably as the Viking group will bypass the normal immigration queue and go straight to baggage claim, but you can still get a visa on arrival if you are flying in from Hanoi.

We are going southbound and fly from Hanoi to Siem Reap. So, it is possible to get the visa on arrival flying from Hanoi? That might solve our problem if we aren't able to get one quickly otherwise. I would still prefer to have everything settled before we go, but it's nice to know there is an option. Thanks.

Another question--does anyone know if any additional vaccinations (other than the usual DPT and hepatitis) are required for Vietnam and Cambodia, or if antimalarials need to be taken?

Hello fellow west coaster,

 

We are also going on the Mekong River cruise next year but in April & on Emerald. We're going to be on the Mekong Navigator. As you may or may not be aware, you can get your visa for Vietnam from the consulate in Vancouver. $100 Canadian with a 3 day turn around. As for Cambodia, we get get their visa upon arrival.

 

Enjoy.

Thanks, I didn't know that we could get the Vietnam visa in Vancouver. Thanks for that! As for Cambodia, because of how/where we enter and exit Cambodia, we have to have the paper visa ahead of time, according to Viking. So, if you hear of any way of getting the Cambodian visa quickly, let me know!

We are Canadians going on Viking's Magnificent Mekong cruise tour next March and need to get visa's for both Vietnam (double entry) and Cambodia (single entry). Both visas need to be obtained before we leave Canada and must be paper visas, e-visas are not acceptable. Vietnam's seems straight forward on their website and doesn't require us to send our passports to the embassy.

However, for the Cambodian visa, we are required to mail our passports in, in order to get our visa. The problem is that my husband travels for work and can't be without his passport for more than a week or two at most. I contacted Genvisa (Viking's suggestion) and their 'rush' turnaround is 30 business days! There is no Cambodian Embassy in Canada so our passports and applications get sent to the embassy in Washington, DC.

Does anyone have any experience with getting the Cambodian visa quickly or suggestions as to how we might go about getting it within a week or two? Is there another visa service company that people have used that might be able to rush order? I understand that we can't apply for the visa until 90 days ahead of our travel dates. Any help is appreciated!

If you go to Australia's Blue Mountains expecting to see something like the Rockies, then of course you will be disappointed. What you will see is an area of geology unique to Australia, with cliffs and canyons that are completely different. The entire area has an abundance of gum trees and it is the vapour from these trees that gives the area, including the air itself, its unique blue coloration.

 

I can't see the point of travelling to the other side of the world and expecting to see something like you have at home, adn then comparing it unfavorably. Surely, one of the objects of travel is to see something different, something that you can't see in your own country, isn't it?

Of course we want to see something different! Our challenge is that two of our party will only have one day in the Sydney area and we will only have 5 days total, so in order to maximize what we see, the question is not so much is it worth the trip (of course it is!) but more whether or not that is the best use of a day when we have limited time. I appreciate everyone's responses and the information that has been passed on. Lots to think about!

I would DEFINITELY go to the Blue Mountains (I didn't go to Fetherdale, the Tauranga Zoo worked for me) exactly because it is not like other mountains - there are formations in the range that tell stories (The Three Sisters) others that look like they have actual visages or faces carved into them but are natural (more stories) and perhaps most importantly, this was once a place of Aboriginal settlement. Thus it's very Australian and unlike any other mountain range - certainly not with the vertical peaks of other ranges but no less alluring. Moreover there are flora and fauna throughout one won't find elsewhere in the world - I walked among kangaroos roaming freely, cockatoos flying overhead, walking among eucalyptus trees, falls and gorgeous flowers, ferns....

 

Thank you for the information, it is hard to make a decision based solely on the pictures I've been able to find. Your description of the importance to Australia and the Aboriginals, as well as the flora and fauna (which will be very different to what we have at home) certainly has helped us to make our decision. Thank you!

Thanks so much for your suggestions and comments everyone! I'm quite excited as we leave in a week for our holiday. I'm still not sure if we will do the Blue Mountains, I think we might wait to see what we can see and do in Sydney in our first few days there.

The cruise is to New Zealand so the only bit of Australia we will see is Sydney.

We aren't visiting any other Australian ports. The cruise is to New Zealand so the only bit of Australia we will see is Sydney.

We have one day post cruise and are looking for a tour to do. We will have spent a few days prior to the cruise in Sydney so will have seen the usual tourist sights. We are considering a tour to the Blue Mountains and Featherdale Wildlife Park, but are wondering if the long drive is worth it.

We live in a very mountainous region (think Whistler Mountain in BC) and have been told that the Blue Mountains are not what we would consider to be mountains and may be somewhat underwhelming. We have done cable cars and gondolas before many times. With that information, do you think the long drive to the Blue Mountains is worth it? Or Featherdale Wildlife Park? Is there something else that anyone might suggest that is a bit different for a day trip in the Sydney area?

All suggestions are most welcome!

We have one day post cruise and are looking for a tour to do. We will have spent a few days prior to the cruise in Sydney so will have seen the usual tourist sights. We are considering a tour to the Blue Mountains and Featherdale Wildlife Park, but are wondering if the long drive is worth it.

We live in a very mountainous region (think Whistler Mountain in BC) and have been told that the Blue Mountains are not what we would consider to be mountains and may be somewhat underwhelming. We have done cable cars and gondolas before many times. With that information, do you think the long drive to the Blue Mountains is worth it? Or Featherdale Wildlife Park? Is there something else that anyone might suggest that is a bit different for a day trip in the Sydney area?

All suggestions are most welcome!

We are on a cruise arriving back to Sydney March 28. Our international flight leaves Sydney on the 29th at 11:00 am. As it is an international flight we need to check in around 8:00 am.

We will have had 5 days in Sydney pre-cruise and have the 28th as well. Is it better to stay at a hotel at the Sydney airport on the 28th or stay in The Rocks/CBD area? How long does it take to get from the city to the airport and will we traffic be an issue at that time of day?

There are 6 of us in our group and for two people it will be their only day in Sydney. Regardless of where we stay we will have to go to the hotel to drop off our luggage so we can explore for the day. Any advice is appreciated please, including hotel suggestions. ~Thanks!

We are on a cruise arriving back to Sydney March 28. Our international flight leaves Sydney on the 29th at 11:00 am. As it is an international flight we need to check in around 8:00 am.

We will have had 5 days in Sydney pre-cruise and have the 28th as well. Is it better to stay at a hotel at the Sydney airport on the 28th or stay in The Rocks/CBD area? How long does it take to get from the city to the airport and will we traffic be an issue at that time of day?

There are 6 of us in our group and for two people it will be their only day in Sydney. Regardless of where we stay we will have to go to the hotel to drop off our luggage so we can explore for the day. Any advice is appreciated please, including hotel suggestions. ~Thanks!

We did a Baltic cruise this past summer. If you do a ship's excursion you don't need to get a visa, they will take care of it. Likewise, if you book with a private tour company, they will take care of the visa for you.

We used Ludmila tours and they were excellent. For 4 of us, we had a private excursion for 2 full days, saw more than the ship's tour and it cost less than the ship's tour.

However, if you want to roam around on your own in port and not take any tours then you must get your own visa. It is about $200 CDN each and quite a lengthy process to get. It is much more convenient to book with a private tour company or use the ship's excursion. The disadvantage of booking a tour is that you can't roam around on your own and must stay with your tour guide at all times.

I should clarify...he has been told that he is free to travel within the country at the moment, and that international travel can happen after 3 months so that he can get insurance. His cardiac function is good---they haven't figured out what caused the arrest because his heart if fine. Fortunately he was very fit before his arrest which helps with recovery.

Because this is all so new to us, we are really looking for other people's experiences cruising with an ICD. The cardiologist said to just 'go back to your normal life' which is a little hard to do given that 2 weeks ago he was in ICU. They've even said he is free to return to work whenever he feels up to it!

Thanks for the information about representatives in different countries...that is helpful to know!

My husband recently had an ICD implanted after a sudden cardiac arrest. We have cancelled our summer cruise as he recovers, and are planning now for next year. However this has raised some questions for us for travelling in the future---hopefully someone here has some experience with ICDs and can answer some questions for us.

We are looking at booking a Princess cruise to the Baltics for next summer.

Does anyone have experience on Princess or taking long flights with an ICD implanted? He has a card to carry with him and we know about the security screening, but are there any other things we need to take into consideration?

Do we need to let Princess know ahead of time about the ICD?

Has anyone had the misfortune of having one go off while travelling, and if so, what did you do? Is the medical centre on Princess equipped to deal with ICDs?

He is understandably nervous about travelling, we are in our early 50s and hope to have many years to travel, so any information or tips that anyone can pass on would be appreciated!

My husband recently had an ICD implanted after a sudden cardiac arrest. Fortunately, he received CPR and was resuscitated successfully and will make a full recovery. We have cancelled our summer cruise as he adjusts to this, but it has raised some questions for us as we love to travel and have a few trips planned.

Does anyone have experience cruising or taking long flights with an ICD implanted? He has a card to carry with him and we know about the security screening, but are there any other things we need to take into consideration?

Do we need to let the cruise line know ahead of time about the ICD?

We have never had the need for medical services on a cruise ship; are there any cruise lines that have better medical services than others or ones that have experience with ICDs?

Has anyone had the misfortune of having one go off while travelling, and if so, what did you do?

He is understandably nervous about travelling, we are in our early 50s and hope to have many years to travel, so any information or tips that anyone can pass on would be appreciated!

We have an early flight on March 29 (11:30) and there are 7 ships in port that day including the Allure of the Seas. I have read on here that it is easy to take a taxi to Fort Lauderdale airport, but with 7 ships in port will they be plentiful? Are we better booking a guaranteed ride with GO shuttles (there are 4 adults) or will there be enough taxis? With an early international flight we want to make sure we get to the airport on time!