Rondo

Thanks for that information!

Anyone have an approximate cost of an Uber or a taxi to EWR?

Yep. That’s not a problem for us.

Oh, thank you for that information!! That is how we did it in Sydney and was hoping it would be the same in Amsterdam. Truly the easiest way to pay.

Do you know what company she used?

Shuan must be popular, as I did not get booked with him as he is full for the date I needed.😐He did give me two other possibilities, but have not heard back from them. I am afraid I might have to settle for a lesser tour on Viator. Seems like Volunteer Point tours are sold out for Jan. 11.

Thanks for the response. I now feel confident this will be the quality of excursion as before with Patrick.

We are very interested in this tour for January 2024. Is this company Adventure Faklands? Looks like Patrick retired and the company is now under Shaun Jaffray.

On Ovation in Australia we just took a picture of our negative test strip and that was sufficient. We are on the Vision in February with a stop in Columbia. My understanding is if you are fully vaccinated you do not need a Covid test. Are you unvaccinated and need the test? Am I confused on testing requirements if vaccinated?

I used my Diamond drink voucher in April at Johnny Rockets on Symphony for a shake. No problem. I’ve done it on several ships.

We’re interested in renting a cart for February. Does the rental cost include gas? Or will need to fill up the tank at the end like a car rental?

In April we did Explorer and Symphony B2B. Food on Explorer was not the best. Food was much better on Symphony and there was more selection. We were quite impressed with selection in the buffet. We just returned home from Transpacific and New Zealand cruises. The Transpacific was on Celebrity Eclipse and the food was not good at all. And we weren’t the only ones that noticed. Tasteless bread, soups and meat.The buffet was very bland and very little selection (especially of cooked vegetables). The New Zealand cruise was on Ovation and the food was much better. After two nights we stopped going to dining room because we had a much better selection at the Windjammer and it tasted as good or better than the dining room. Food was definitely a step up from the Eclipse….much to our surprise. Desserts…never have liked any dessert on a cruise. Maybe the food is better on bigger and newer ships???

CptBoatface…I see not much response to this post….but……because I had someone try to tell me again we needed the booster shot to get off in FP, I emailed our local tour guide in Moorea and he said there are NO requirements of any kind to visit FP. Masks are not even mandatory, He said it was super quiet there.

I redeemed points Monday for onboard credit. On Friday we got an email with an updated invoice, which included our onboard credit. I checked the cruise planner the same day and it was listed there already.

I have been trying to keep up to date on this. When France dropped their vaccination requirement awhile ago, I kept checking requirement for French Polynesia. I understand that we do not need to show proof of vaccination nor do we need to test. Am I teading it correctly or missing something??? FOR TRAVELERS DEPARTING FROM HONOLULU, LOS ANGELES, SAN FRANCISCO, SEATTLE, NOUMEA AND AUCKLAND TO FRENCH POLYNESIA Travelers no longer have to complete any health formality before their arrival in The Islands of Tahiti, in France or overseas, and the presentation of the health pass/proof of full vaccination schedule is no longer required, whatever the country or area of origin; The compelling reason is no longer required; Travelers are no longer required to present a certificate of non-contamination and a commitment to perfom an antigenic test or a biological examination upon arrival on the national territory (tests are no longer required); Unvaccinated travelers are no longer required to perform tests to travel between mainland France and French Polynesia Here is the updated page I copied that info.https://tahititourisme.com/en-us/covid-19/

Thanks for the replies on which currency to use. Am I correct that when the crew spend their money on the ship it is in US dollars? So they could potentially spend US dollars on ship and AU (home port) if they are allowed to leave? If that is the case, I will give them whatever we have in remaining AU dollars as we will need to get rid of most of it before going home and then finish off with US dollars.

Should tips be given in AU dollars or NZ dollars? The ship leaves from Australia, but most of the ports are in NZ.

We had a very similar experience as BridgeMates. Very easy to do. We maybe met one or two people on the way. I think we walked right by a police station, so felt pretty safe. We walked to the USS Iowa the day before and got the lay of the land and we walked right to the ship with no problems.

Yes, please. It is on my bucket list within the next two years.

We were on Symphony with a 10:45 flight on May 7. I think the time for carry off luggage was 7:00 a.m.??? We went to the location a little early and people were lining up and we basically joined in the line and walked off. We took a cab and had no problem getting to the airport on time. We were there in enough time that I’m sure we could have made a 10:00 flight. We did have propriety checkin and TSA precheck. I had done online checkin the day before and was going to use the kiosk for luggage and I think that option would have been better than stand in line for regular checkin, as it looked longer, but it might have moved quickly. There was also curbside checkin (American Airlines) which might be a time-saving option, too. My advice is get to the location for walk off luggage early and get to front of line. The actual drive to the airport was a quick. When we got off Explorer in Miami on the first leg of our B2B we knew people that had earlier than 10:00 a.m. flight and they made it. Good luck! Shirley

I will certainly try to remember to come back and report on our experience! We will be on Air New Zealand. I’m hoping to do online check in the day before our flight on the Air New Zealand webpage and then use the kiosk to get our luggage tags. 🤷‍♀️ We would also be able to use Priority Check in, if Air Zealand has that for Premium Economy. This has worked on other cruises with American Airlines.

Good info to have!! Thanks!

Having to have a Covid test to get back into the US entered my mind briefly. Good news today- testing to return to the US has been dropped!! Now we only have to deal with Murphy’s Law. 😉

Not really in a big rush to leave, but it is the end of a 38 day trip and we will be ready to get home. We will have a week in Adelaide, Kangaroo Island and Sydney after our Transpacific and before our NZ cruise, so will be catching the sights we want to see. No need to stay longer. There is no flight that leaves the day after and we would have to stay 2 extra nights. There is only that flight during the day, no later options. Words like “probably”, “generally”, “doable, but tight” gives me enough ease to book the 11:55 a.m. flight. We do have insurance if plans fail. To some extent there is a risk no matter what day or time we leave.

Thanks for all the responses! I think we will plan to carry our own luggage off at earliest time and take a cab. We have done it before with good success. It sounds like we have a high percentage of making it to the airport by 9:00/9:30 for our almost NOON flight. If not, we have travel insurance. 😉 Since this will be the end of a 38 day trip with several days visiting Sydney beforehand and there is no option of a flight the next day we’d have to stay 2 extra nights. I think we will take the chance. Now I just hope they don’t change our flight time. Glad to know the cab won’t be that much more expensive than train and less hassle with bags. We have done the ship shuttle before and missed our flight. Our luggage was first on the shuttle and last off at the airport. 🫤