indyrocks

We did a Sydney to Auckland cruise in February last year. We thought it would be our one and only time, but we're already looking at going back. Our biggest expense was the airfare since I'm 6'5" and can't squeeze into an economy seat, so we need to upgrade to business class. We used frequent flyer miles for IND to SYD via LAX, and paid cash for the AKL-LAX-IND return. The 15-hour LAX-SYD flight in a lay-flat seat on AA is heaven; I slept at least 10 hours. And sitting in First Class for the 4-hour connection to/from Indy was a nice little bonus.

We did 4 days on our own in Sydney before the cruise and 3 days in Auckland after it. I thought I would prefer New Zealand but Australia really blew us away. We stayed near the waterfront with views of the Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, and the cruise ship pier at Circular Quay from our hotel room. Auckland was a let-down in comparison, although the rest of NZ was absolutely as beautiful as I thought it would be. As a movie fan, my favorite shore excursion was the Hobbiton Movie Set which we did during the Tauranga stop, although it can also be done from Auckland.

One oddity that we encountered was the fact that all prices in the Princess brochure and for shore excursions were quoted in Australian dollars (1 AUD is approx. 0.72 USD.) I don't know of anywhere else in the world where they do that.

I hope you get to see the world Down Under and have a great time there!

If you use the hanging card to order breakfast in your room, don't be too surprised if they are early by up to 15 minutes. We've often opened the door with very bleary eyes when breakfast showed up early. It also helps if you take in your Do Not Disturb sign as soon as you are up. Otherwise the room service steward may call your room from a nearby phone to make sure you still want your breakfast delivered, especially on the first couple of days. (They also call if you don't hear them knock.)

Give your laundry/dry cleaning to your room steward before 8 am if you want it back that evening. If you do any pre-cruise activities, they're more than happy to take your dirty clothes on the first night. But don't be too surprised if there is a delay during the first one or two days (even in suites). Apparently the laundry often gets backed up at the start of a cruise. If there is a delay a notice will be left in your room. But also remember that every ship has self-service laundromats so you can do your own laundry or a bit of ironing if necessary. And you meet some of the most interesting people while doing laundry!

At Ft. Lauderdale, it is much faster and cheaper to take your own cab to/from the pier rather than Princess transfers. That may also be true in NYC/Brooklyn -- we used an airport transfer one time and a cab the second time, and they seemed to be about the same cost. The transfers are a much better deal where the airport is more than 10 - 15 miles from the pier unless you can go in with other travelers. (e.g. A cab from Quebec City to Montreal can easily run over $100.)

If you want a decent seat at the muster station drill before the ship sails, don't wait until they sound the signal. Head toward your assigned location 10-15 minutes before the scheduled time. And always take your stateroom key card since they scan them to take attendance. Also, follow the current instructions about whether to grab your life jacket. On our last cruise they did NOT want passengers to bring them to muster stations but that was the first time we had experienced that change.

Many, many thanks to all of you who replied! You gave us a load of information to sift through.

We are beginning to make more detailed plans for our 2-week Santiago to Buenos Aires cruise on the Star Princess in February. The itinerary is Santiago, CL -- Puerto Montt, CL -- Puerto Chacabuco, CL -- Punta Arenas, CL -- Ushuaia, AR -- Stanley, FK -- Montevideo, UY -- Buenos Aires, AR (overnight). A few questions have come up which I hope you helpful experienced travelers can answer.

1. Shore Excursions
   Since this is our first trip to South America we're planning to play it safe and stick with Princess Shore Excursions wherever possible. Are there any specific SE's that you'd recommend? At the other end of the spectrum, any SE's that we should avoid? Does anyone have any private excursions that you'd recommend?
2. Credit Cards
   Wherever possible we prefer to charge our purchases to MasterCard because of the protection it provides plus the lack of conversion charges for the account we have. But we're not sure how commonly MC is accepted in the areas we'll be visiting. Can anyone let us know what to expect?
3. Cash
   We usually get some local currency from our local bank before we leave, especially since we like to buy hand-made items from each country we visit and typically the smaller shops or kiosks understandably are cash only. But we're wondering if that is worthwhile for all 4 countries that we'll be visiting. With the bank's conversion fees it's not cheap, but getting $200-$300 worth of both Chilean and Argentinian currency before we leave is obvious. But the situation is not so clear for the other two countries. We have some UK currency left over from a recent trip and I've read that it is accepted in the Falklands, even though they have their own currency. And it really doesn't seem worth the cost to get Uruguayan pesos for a single 11-hour port visit. There's always ATMs or banks I guess, but sometimes a shopping opportunity pops up at the most unexpected times when you're far from either. Any experiences or recommendations to share? Also, is the US dollar accepted very often, as in the Caribbean? We're not US-centric enough to expect that, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Thanks to anyone who can provide any information at all. Happy traveling!

As part of our annual escape from winter weather in Indiana we're booked from Santiago to Buenos Aires on the Star Princess for 14 days in February, 2018. We never had much desire to see South America until we talked to some people on our last cruise who had been there and highly recommended it. We took one of the last 2 mini-suites when we booked 6 months ago and then yesterday we were offered an upgrade/upsell to a full suite. Of course we grabbed it. Surprisingly 3 of the 23 suites are still available. We'd always heard that the cheapest and the most expensive cabins sell out first, but this is the 4th consecutive time we've been able to upgrade to a suite.

No stop in Antarctica on the itinerary unfortunately, but a fascinating group of ports nonetheless. And after seeing movies like Mutiny on the Bounty and Master and Commander I've always wanted to sail around Cape Horn. I know the Cape is just a bunch of small rocky islands but there's something romantic, and slightly dangerous, in the whole idea. By tradition anyone who has been round the Horn is permitted to put a leg up on the table at meals (both legs if they've been round the Cape of Good Hope as well), although I don't know if that would go over so well in the dining rooms. We haven't selected our shore excursions yet so we're as interested as everyone else in hearing about folks' experiences on South America cruises. We usually add a pre- and/or post-cruise stay at either end of the cruise but the restrictions on frequent flyer miles prevented that this time. Just counting the days now!

Price is all relative. Except for the couple of times were able to upgrade to suites, we've always reserved a couple of chairs in the Sanctuary on warm weather cruises. I can't walk long distances like I used to. As a result I haven't even left the ship on a couple of Caribbean cruises while my wife went off shopping or just stayed on board too. Knowing that our chairs were always available and the peaceful, quiet atmosphere made it well worth the cost in our opinion. I don't know if they do anything special in the morning but at lunch there was a special menu of light, healthy foods to choose from to be sent to the Sanctuary. The stewards would also order other foods from elsewhere in the ship (usually burgers, hot dogs, pizza, ice cream, and such, although we've seen items from the dining room lunch menus) and deliver them to you. And about 3 p.m. the tea carts are brought around. It's not quite as elaborate as the Royal Afternoon Tea, but it's very nice nonetheless.

The basic afternoon tea is available in the main dining room and the Sanctuary. Scones, fruit, and clotted cream are available in the Horizon Court. Everything is delicious. But the Royal Afternoon Tea goes beyond those basics. A traditional 3-tiered silver serving tray is stacked with sandwiches, scones, and various sweets. Three different teas are offered, each served with a different "course'. There is also a custardy imitation of the British "Queen of Puddings." All this for $10, or $20 if you'd like champagne. There are pictures and descriptions at https://destinationtea.com/destination-tea-regal-princess-cruise/. 

In this type of situation you might want to call the US State Dept, specifically the Passports and International Travel section. I learned this first hand on a Sunday morning several years ago.

I got an early morning call from my mother telling me that she was going to Scotland because my grandmother had died suddenly overnight. I told her that I would fly over too and help her with everything. We were in different parts of the country, so we would be traveling separately. When I looked for my passport (that I had just used a few months previous) I couldn't find it. All I could find was an old expired one. When I called the airline and explained the situation (this was pre-internet), the agent gave me a State Dept emergency number to call. The official there couldn't have been nicer or more understanding and promised that he would take care of everything for me. Did he ever! When I checked in for my flight later that day, a notation had already been made on my reservation that my travel was approved with the expired passport. The lead flight attendant on the transatlantic flight knew about me and made sure I was taken care of. Upon arriving in London, I was first off the plane and taken through Immigration and Customs by the British officials, who even offered "a spot of" breakfast. They made sure that I was taken to my connecting flight to Scotland with plenty of time to spare. I was supposed to pay a $50 fine for traveling on an expired passport when I re-entered the US, but the agent waived it when I told him the reason.

I don't know if this is the same office or not, but the Passports and International Travel section of the US State Dept. web site has this entry in the section on Emergencies Abroad:

From U.S. & Canada: 1-888-407-4747

From Overseas: 1-202-501-4444

It certainly couldn't hurt calling them, so I've added them to the Contacts list on my phone just in case (fingers crossed).

I've been told that pilots like to set up practice "attacks" on ships, although they usually don't get too close so as not to scare the passengers. I've only seen one of them, however, as we crossed the Gulf of Mexico.

I used to backpack through the UK, and it was common to see RAF and NATO jets. They would drop down to 100 ft off the deck and scream down the length of Loch Ness. They also used to do practice runs on trains that were running through the Highlands. I happened to see one of them lining up for a run on us and was later told it was very common.

It's been that way for the NCAA Tournament as well. It was only shown in public areas. I'm sure it's a licensing issue.

When we were relative newbies to cruising, I would rent a tuxedo for each cruise. It was delivered to your stateroom on embarkation day. I'm 6'5"/260 lbs and surprisingly the clothes fit pretty well. Except for the shoes, which were long enough but not wide enough. But it was only for a couple of hours on formal nights. I don't know if tuxes can be rented in this manner any longer.

More recently, and especially since the airlines started charging for baggage, we've cut down quite a bit on the amount of clothing we take. The free laundry perk for Elite members is also a key factor. My airline credit card allows for us to take one bag each without a fee. For really laid-back cruises in the Caribbean or the Transatlantic cruise we took last fall, we don't dress up. I don't take anything more than a couple of pairs of khaki trousers and 3 or 4 collared shirts. No tie, no jacket. A pair of brown shoes and a pair of tennis shoes. My wife takes similarly casual attire. Although the dress policy is rarely enforced in the main dining rooms, we're not interested in stretching any rules so we go to the buffet on those nights. We've met many couples up in Horizon Court with similar ideas.

On other cruises or when we're celebrating a special occasion (or just need updated formal photos), I take a black suit, white shirt, a couple of ties, and a pair of black shoes. My wife usually buys a couple of new items. A garment bag holds all the extra clothing for both of us. Either we pay the extra airline fee, or we upgrade to first/business class and the additional bag is free. (Upgrading is surprisingly reasonable on some domestic routes. For our upcoming trip, a first class seat on Delta from IND to FLL cost just $162 more per person round trip than a premium economy seat with all of the fees added in! And flying in a premium cabin is an unbeatable way to start a cruise.)

We just visited Greenock a few months ago. You are already close to three great courses on the West Coast. Royal Troon and Turnberry will be most familiar, having hosted The Open Championship (aka British Open) several times. Many people overlook Prestwick, which hosted the first 11 Opens, and 25 overall until it was removed from the rotation in 1925. It is still one of my favorite courses. There are 2 other courses in the area, Glasgow Gailes and Western Gailes. I don't know anything about them. Any or all of these courses may offer shuttle service to/from the pier in Greenock, otherwise you can reach them by taxi or by train.

If you're interested in going through to the East Coast to play Gleaneagles or the holiest golf shrine, St. Andrews, it will take more of an effort although the ScotRail train service is fast and frequent. You can take a shuttle into Glasgow and then take a train from Queen St. Station to Edinburgh. Or you can do as we did and take the train from Greenock to Glasgow Central Station and then walk a few easy blocks to Queen St. Station for the train to Edinburgh. I would imagine it would take 1 1/2 to 2 hours to travel from the ship to Edinburgh and another 1 1/2 to 2 hours to return. Having 11 hours in port will definitely work to your advantage.

Another option is to pick a course and then contact them directly. Some offer shuttle services to/from either central Glasgow or Edinburgh, or they might be able to put you in contact with a tour company that does. Take it from someone who has lived in Scotland and who still visits frequently, golf is a huge tourist industry in Scotland and they generally go out of their way to be helpful.

I hope you get to experience the farewell that we did when we sailed from Greenock. A pipe and drum corps from a nearby school played the bagpipes as we sailed away. To a Scot (or even a half-Scot like me) there is nothing to equal the sound of bagpipes.

Thanks to everyone for your kind comments, and sorry about the confusion. We've only had a similar experience once, many years ago, so I wasn't aware of the distinction between upgrade and upsell. As has been surmised, our suite will be an upsell, while G's mini is an upgrade.

Since G's original balcony cabin is now available there might be an additional bit of good news. We've been told the ship is full, so hopefully a couple that was previously wait-listed is now preparing to sail on Wednesday. The Royal Princess, along with her sister Regal Princess, were already our favorite Princess ships. I'm sure this will only strengthen that opinion.

We had a wonderful surprise this morning. Monica from Princess Cruises called to ask if we were still interested in an upgrade from a mini-suite to a full corner suite at the rear of the ship. We had received an upgrade offer in an e-mail a few months ago, but by the time we responded all the available suites were gone. Although we were a bit disappointed we were comforted by the fact that we still had "just" a mini-suite. But the rep said she'd put us on a wait-list in case anyone cancelled. Lo and behold, the unlikely happened and we got our chance less than a week before we sail. It's not necessarily cheap, but it'll be fun.

Just as I thought the call was ending, Monica noted that there is another reservation linked to ours. It happens to be my wife's newly-discovered cousin -- I'll call her "G" -- who is traveling alone. (My wife was adopted and only learned about her blood relatives last year after decades of searching. She's met a few of them during the last few months, but I've only met a couple. Three of her cousins are going on the trip with us, although only G linked her reservation to ours.) Anyway, Monica upgraded G from her balcony obstructed room to our former mini-suite at no charge. Complimentary. Free. G hasn't cruised in 20 years, so her re-introduction to cruising will be that much better thanks to Princess. We are so happy for her, much more than we are for ourselves!

So, God willing, all 7 of us will board Royal Princess in 5 days for what I pray will be a happy family event. I'm looking forward to getting to know my new cousins-in-law and their spouses. We all live in different parts of the US and this cruise offers the perfect chance to get together. And now we'll have plenty of room to host the whole group whenever we want to get together. I know it's just good business on their part but I'll still say it -- thanks, Princess!

Other than tracking where all of the ships are positioned during each month, we hardly ever refer to our copy of the atlas. And when we get a new one, the old one just goes to the recycle bin anyway, so it's just a marginal benefit of our Elite status. The Princess web site has much more current information about specific cruises.

Case in point: We just decided last week to look into New Zealand cruises early next year (6 or 7 months away). It's one of the few places left on my bucket list that I've always wanted to see, and even more so since the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies came out. But when we checked, all of the cabins we would like were already booked. Then we noticed that 2018 was listed on the web site, so we checked that. Voila! Although a surprising number of cabins were already sold, we now have reservations for a mini-suite on a February, 2018 Australia-New Zealand cruise (Diamond Princess). If we waited for the atlas, we might never get to go.

I have a suspicion that the atlas might go the way of the dodo soon anyway, and it would probably be just as well. In these more ecologically-aware times, that's a lot of paper and ink for something that could be downloaded as a .pdf. And it would save Princess quite a bit as well.

Thanks, Keith. I just read on another thread that the FCDs are only available on cruises or at special events near the ports, so that must be what my wife is thinking of. Since we still have an FCD to use, we'll get the on-board credit that accompanies it. I'll be calling Princess tomorrow so we can get away from miserable Midwestern winter weather in 6 months. (I so love being retired!)

The Sanctuary! And not just on sea days, either. It's been getting a bit pricey recently, be we love it. I can't walk as much as I used to, and often only with a cane, so I can't do many of the shore excursions or walk from the ship into town like I used to. A couple of times I haven't even left the ship during the cruise. My wife doesn't have the mobility issues that I have, so she can go off on her own (or not, if she prefers). And whether or not she goes ashore, she's back up in the Sanctuary for a healthy lunch and a not-so-healthy afternoon tea.

After using TA's for a few years (mainly because Princess did not accept direct bookings), I have made most of the reservations for the past few cruises. The one TA that I had good results with 2 or 3 years ago was the American Airlines Cruise desk. It was an easy job for our agent since we already knew the cruise, cabin, and flights that we wanted. Nevertheless, she was very friendly and kept us well informed. I don't recall any OBC's or bottles of wine, but the additional frequent flier miles were certainly welcome! Now that we've reached Elite level, we don't really need much more.

I do have a question if anyone can help. We've identified the Princess cruise that we'd like to take next February. I would just as soon book it now, along with the appropriate airline reservations. But my wife seems to recall some sort of bonus if we wait to book it on our upcoming Princess cruise in 6 weeks. (We deposited money for 2 or 3 future cruises on our last cruise, so that's taken care of already.) Does anyone know if there is a reason to wait?

Halfway through our just-completed Panama Canal Transit on the Island Princess, I used the Princess@Sea software to check our account. It showed drinks had been charged to both my wife and myself, on 2 separate nights and well after we would have retired to bed. The girl at the Front Desk said she would talk to the Bar Manager and it would be taken care of within one or two days. Nothing had changed after 3 days so I went back. A different employee took care of everything in 3 minutes while I waited. This is the first time that we've had any problem like this in our 17 Princess cruises.