ronbetty2001

We just got off the Discovery, Saturday. We booked this cruise because of the Magic Castle Conjurer's theme. It was a great time for us as we enjoyed the Magic Castle years ago. Trying to contact a member now to get some more invitations. Magic Castle is a membership club for Magicians and paying associates, it is a private club and you can only go if invited by a member or being member. There is a dinning room and bars to enjoy and there is a formal dress code enforced. Then, there are a number of different sized theaters where magicians perform every night practicing their craft. The themed cruise had private and public events almost every day and some nights. We did them all and enjoyed them all. Granted some people will not be interested in the magic and that's fine. I do believe that most people will find this new venue on board the Sun interesting and fun. There is a Conjurors cruise upcoming in November next year on the Sun. I am waiting to talk with a rep. next week to get some details on how this will be handled, is it open to all passengers or limited in some way. There were magicians and the owners of the Magic Castle on board and all were very personable. Magicians doing sleight of hand tricks etc all around the ship at different venues, lots of fun for us. We'll have to wait and see some reviews regarding the new venue after the ship sails in February of 2024. I'm sure the Magic Castle would like to protect it's brand, so I am hoping it will be done very well in keeping with the brand they have developed over several decades.

Hope everyone if doing fine.

Capt. Ron

Capt Ron, we're new to cruising and are doing a Princess cruise stopping both in Cambodia & Vietnam. In your opinion, is it best/cheaper to organise the visas yourself or do it through the ship. I understand as an Australian and travelling by sea, we are not eligible for an on line visa, is this correct? Any help would be very much appreciated.

I recommend that you let the ship handle all your Visas needed while cruising. They do it all the time, very simple, they have a system and know exactly what's needed etc. Visa cost charged to your on board account. No stress, no fuss, relax and enjoy. The experts on board take care if everything. Didn't know you could cruise to Cambodia.

Happy planning

Capt Ron

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We are hoping to do a similar cruise on Millenium next February with 2 days in Bangkok. I see a few people have left the ship and stayed overnight in the city, is this the best thing to do or can you do 2 single day trips from the ship?

Bangkok is a long drive in, like 2 hours one way. Most people stay over night in Bangkok as the 4 hour + round trip is pretty hard, staying over night gives you more time to sight see in and around Bangkok. Hotels in Bangkok are not expensive either so staying makes a lot of since.

Happy Planning,

Capt. Ron

Thought I would bump this post up a little bit,

Keep it going people

Happy Planning

Capt. Ron

Hi Capt Ron,

 

Was able to find out through Embassy and through Celebrity the visa issues.. seems different by nationality. Different prices for all however it still seems to be cheaper for most by doing it through Celebrity.

 

Regards

J

A agree just let the cruise line handle the Visas, after all you're on vacation and don't need to stress

Happy Planning

Capt. Ron

Hi Capt Ron,

 

I thought I would add this as you have been so helpful to us. I prepared a comparison of currency today with a little idea of Purchasing Parity based on Beer, Coffee and the Economist Big Mac comparisons. It is hard to keep all the currencies straight. Hope this helps others out.

 

Regards,

Jon

 

CANADA

- $1 CDN = .748 USD

- $1 USD = 1.34 CDN

- $1 GBP = 1.23 USD

- $1 GBP = 1.64 CDN

- 10 CDN = $7.48 USD

- 10 USD = $13.38 CDN. (My friend from Philly says Canada is on Sale so come up and spend your money

-

What will it Buy

- Pint Beer. $5.37 CDN

- Big Mac. $4.51 USD

- Coffee. 3.03 USD Latte

- Transit $10.25 CDN. $7.65 USD

 

SAN FRANCISCO

- $1 CDN = .748 USD

- $1 USD = 1.34 CDN

- $1 GBP = 1.23 USD

- $1 GBP = 1.64 CDN

- 10 CDN = $7.48 USD

- 10 USD = $13.38 CDN. (My friend from Philly says Canada is on Sale so come up and spend your money

 

What will it Buy

- Pint Beer - $7.56 CDN

- Big Mac - $5.06 USD

- Coffee. 1.95 grande - $5.08 Latte USD

- Transit - BART ONE WAY $8.95 USD SFO to Downtown

 

SINGAPORE

- $1 CDN - 1.05 SGD

- $1 USD - 1.41 SGD

- $1 USD - 1.71 SGD

- $10 SGD will cost $9.48 CDN

- $10 SGD will cost $7.09 USD

- $10 SGD will cost $5.77 GBP

 

What will it Buy

- Pint Beer - 8.09 CDN

- Big Mac - $3.89 USD

- Coffee - Latte 4.91 USD

- Transit EZ Link $10 one day +$10 for card = $14.10 but you get $7.10 for card back. USD

 

BANGKOK

- $1 CDN - $26.2 Baht

- $1 USD - $35 Baht

- $1 GBP - $43 Baht

- $10 Baht will cost $0.38 CDN

- $10 Baht will cost $0.29 USD

- $10 Baht will cost $0.23 GBP

 

What will it Buy

- Pint Beer - $2.94 CDN

- Big Mac - $3.35 USD

- Coffee $2.89 Latte USD

- Transit - MRT 18 stations - 120 Baht = $3.43 USD

 

 

VIETNAM

- $1 CDN - $17,078 Dong

- $1 USD - $22,842 Dong

- $1 GBP - $28080 Dong

- $10,000 Dong will cost $0.59 CDN

- $10,000 Dong will cost $0.44 USD

- $10,000 Dong will cost $0.36 GBP

What it will buy

- Beer - Depends on city $0.61 -0.77 CDN

- Big Mac = $2.66 USD

- Coffee - n/a

- Transit - n/a

 

HONG KONG

- $1 CDN = 5.80 HGK Dollars

- $1 USD = 7.76 HGK Dollars

- $ 1 GBP = 9.54 HGK Dollars

- $10 HGK dollars will cost $1.72 CDN

- $10 HGK dollars will cost $1.29 USD

- $10 HGK dollars will cost $1.05

 

What will it Buy

- Beer - Depends on region $5.89 CDN

- Big Mac = $2.48 USD

- Coffee Grande $4.38 Latte $5.14 USD

- Transit - MRT $65 HGK $8.50

 

BALI

- $1 CDN - $ 9,960 IDR. - Indonesian Rupiah

- $1 USD - $13.323 IDR

- $1 GBP - $16,375

- $10,000 IDR will cost $1.00 CDN

- $10,000 IDR will cost $.75 USD

- $10,000 IDR will cost $.61

 

What will it Buy

- Pint Beer - $1.19 CDN

- Big Mac = $2.33 USD

- Coffee 2.25 Grande - Latte $3.00 USD

- Transit - Car and Driver for day $40 USD

 

CAMBODIA

- $1 CDN - $ 3033 KHR. - Indonesian Rupiah

- $1 USD - $ 4057KHR

- $1 GBP - $4986 KHR

- $10,000 KHR will cost $3.30 CDN

- $10,000 KHR will cost $2.46 USD

- $10,000 KHR will cost $2.01 BPS

 

What will it Buy

- Beer - $0.58 CDN

- Big Mac = $2.33 USD

- Coffee n/a

- Transit - Car and driver for day $25 - $35 USD

 

CHINESE YEN

- $1 CDN - 5.16 CNY

- $1 USD - 6.9 CNY

- $1 GBP - 8.48 CNY

- $10 CNY will cost $1.94 CDN

- $10 CNY will cost $1.45 USD

- $10 CNY will cost $1.18. GBP

 

*Pint price from Pintprice.com

**Big Mac from Economist

*** coffee.. various.. not consistent.

**** transit.. looked up...

Thanks that was great, thanks again for adding to this post. I will check in from time to time to see questions are asked,

Happy Planning all,

Capt. Ron

(Next stop Egypt)

We are doing this cruise in October2017, interested in private tours can you recommend any we want to do Bangkok on 1 day and pattya on the 2nd also do we need visas for Vietnam thanks for great info Olwen

We did an overnight in Bangkok tour and stayed in Bangkok for one night. We used: http://www.thaitourguide.com

They did a very good tour for us. I'm sure they could arrange the type of tour you're looking for.

Happy Planning,

Capt. Ron

I have read this thread with great Interest. Thank you for providing such great information and guidance. We are sailing in Dec 2017 an itinerary with sone same ports. Do you know when the last tender for the 1st day of the overnight in Halong Bay is back to ship. We are planning a long day to see Hanoi.

Thank you in advance.

I'm sorry I do not as we stayed over night the first day on a Junk cruise. The ship did leave port at 1:00pm on the second day. You could call Celebrity and ask.

Happy Planning,

Capt. Ron

Hi Capt. Ron,

 

How did you get charged and pay the Canadian rate for the overnight visa?

I don't know how. They just charged our on board account the lower rate. You don't give anybody any money, they charge your account and the ship's personnel handle all dealings with immigration in Vietnam. We did see officials of Vietnam on board holding the passports on deck 3. But we didn't speak to any of them, the ship's personnel handed out the passports etc.

Happy Planning,

Capt. Ron

Hello Capt. Ron -

 

Could you post your guide companies info? THANKS!

Here you go:

Sam Sophea

Tour Operator

H/P & WhatsApp: +855 12 711 349

Website: www.angkorguidesam.com

TripAdvisor: Angkor Guide Sam Day Tours

Happy Planning,

Capt. Ron

Santrah,

 

Thank you... this is good to know what we are going to be dealing with. We have arranged to have the operator outside the gate however I suspect we are going to have the same issue. I will request that Indochina have the English interpreter available. However, i don't think this is going to help as they know we will be trying to get to our excursions.

 

My question is why is the cruise line not dealing with this? At the very least they should be informing us of this issue.

 

Do you know if they charged individuals that were walking through the port terminal? Would it help if we do not walk together as a group of 10 couples?

 

 

 

 

 

J.

When did our tour with Indochina Junk in October last year. The port had just started charging this fee of $15.00 per person, that day. It caught our tour operator off guard and took about 20 minutes to straighten out. We did not pay any fee directly and didn't exactly know what the holdup was until later regarding this new Fee being imposed.

I did ask the ship's officers about Vietnam and fees for VISAs etc. They said that Vietnam is strange that sometimes charges go up and then aren't charged, rules etc. are always changing, welcome to communism I guess. Vietnam is very unorganized in regards to immigration procedures and fees applied. They appear to be kind of new to this whole thing about cruise ships and passengers. All I can say is either go with the flow or don't go (LOL). Vietnam is very poor and backwards in a lot of ways. They look upon cruise passengers as being rich and a vehicle to extract money from. Good luck trying to figure these people out.

Happy Planning,

Capt. Ron

Thank you again for this information.

Hi: Not cruising this time but looking for a 13 day land tour of Thailand starting in Bangkok. As we are getting older, was interested in how strenuous your experience was. Petra and Luxor were both tiring excursions last year when we sailed through the Suez Canal. You can send your thoughts to d39watson@yahoo.com.

Thanks

Dave

Dave,

We did an overnight tour to Bangkok from the port. There was walking involved, but not very difficult. We did a couple of long tail boat rides, toured the palace and grounds, then to the site of the former capital grounds.

Seemed to be pretty easy and well paced, I would say you'd be fine. Just let your tour operator know of any limitations you have and they'll arrange things for you around those limitations.

Happy Planning,

Capt. Ron

Hi Capt Ron when you did the online check-in did you get Xpress passes for you and your wife /partner or did you only get one.?I have just checked in but it only prints One Xpress pass with my name on it

 

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We printed our passes on line at the Celebrity web site, one for each of us. You may want to call Celebrity to see why you can't print the other pass. They may have gone to just one pass for the both of you. I would call and inquire why both names aren't on the pass.

Happy Planning,

Capt. Ron

I stand checked. In Cambodia the money is called Riel and Vietnam it's called Dong. Both are hard to get on international markets. Both countries take US Dollars which is easy to get.

Capt. Ron

Capt. Ron,

 

This might be a rather mundane question but here goes. We're flying into Osaka and our cruise departs from Kobe. It's not very far away, but it looks as though we have a few options. 1) train - difficult with luggage. 2) high speed ferry to Kobe airport - the website's directions are a little confusing -- in reality is it? 3) taxi - pretty expensive for a rather short ride.

 

Do you have an opinion as to our best option?

Thank you for reading and considering my question. Much appreciated.

I am very sorry to say that I didn't go to Japan so I have no comment. Others on our ship did go to Japan and said the trains were very easy and comfortable. Being Japan you may want to look at the train web sites as luggage storage maybe easier then you think. In Europe the bullet trains had plenty of luggage storage with cameras etc. on that section. So very safe. I'm sure Japan would have the same. Check into it. As far as cost, Japan is a very advanced country and cost is high for that reason, similar to the USA.

Happy Planning,

Capt. Ron

Hi Capt. Ron,

Many thanks for that information. Just 21 days to go for our first cruise. Looking forward to it.

P

I'm sure you'll have the time of your life. This part of the world was very different for us and very memorable. Embrace and enjoy all the differences.

Happy Planning,

Capt. Ron

Hi Captain,

 

I am getting ready for a cruise through Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore , Myranmar, Ski Lanka and India.

 

Do you know if American dollars are accepted in any of these countries? I don't need a lot of cash, just small amounts if I might want to buy something from the small local vendors. Many times on ship's excursions, there isn't time to visit an ATM.

 

I appreciate any help that you can pass on to me.

 

Thanks,

Kathy

There are ATMs at the ports of call in Thailand and Singapore. At the Siem Reap airport in Cambodia they also have ATMs.

In Singapore they will only take Singapore Dollars, easy to get.

In Cambodia they will take US Dollars every where, they're Dong dollars are not internationally traded and are hard to get in advance of your trip.

In Thailand they only will except Thai Dollars, easy to get from ATMs at port of entry.

Didn't go to Myranmar, Sri Lanka or India so no comment on those countries.

I always order money in advance of my travels from my US bank, don't need ATMs that much. In most countries there are plenty of ATMs and banks to get local currency from. Vietnam is a little different as the ports of call don't really have a building etc. to enter the country so ATMs are not as convenient to find. Vietnam does except US Dollars almost everywhere you'll go (except small out of the way, non-tourist places), so no problem.

Happy Planning,

Capt. Ron

Hi,

Was there any difficulty boarding Millennium in Hong Kong without having already being in possession of a Vietnam Visa?

 

Your postings are very informative. Thanks

Sorry for the late post, been busy at work.

None what so ever as far as boarding Hong Kong was very efficient about boarding/immigration.

All VISAs are handled by the ship and very easy. As I've said before, if you are going to be off the ship overnight there is another VISA required, the ship will handle that for you. There is an additional charge for an overnight VISA, we paid the Canadian rate of $29.00USD per person (we are American which is $149.00per person), please take an extra couple of passport pictures with you as they are required. The ship can provide those also if you don't have extra's with you. Remember the ship visits theese ports often and knows what you'll need and will handle everything for you, just let them know your plans in advance (when you're on board) and they'll handle everything for you. Any charges are added to your on board account.

Capt. Ron

Cptn Ron,

 

Happy New Year!

Did you have to pay a port fee when getting off tender at Hanoi port?

Tour operator warned me that they my charge a fee.

 

J

No, any bribe was paid by the tour operator, which we ended up paying but not directly in the other cities we visited in Vietman. When we landed on the tender there was a time that the operator had to work things out in Ha Long Bay, which didn't cost us any more, I feel bad as this import tax/bribe seems to be applied not on a regular basis. Welcome to Communism in Vietnam.

Capt. Ron

Hi

 

Happy New Year and thank you for your offer to make recommendations.

 

Can you recommend any tour for Vietnam and we are also going to Manila,Tawain and Nagasaki. Not sure if you did these ports.

 

Any recommendation for private tours would very appreciated.

 

Thanks again

Send me what cities you will visit in Vietnam and I 'll send you the information on the food tours we did there. We did not visit Manila, Tawain and Nagasaki I'm afraid. We did land in Tawain on the way there and back, but, spent no time there.

Capt. Ron

Hi Capt Ron we are doing this cruise in Feb 2017. Party of 6 all mid 50's to early 60's. I am trying to put together a plan of where to go and what to see but following searches there seems be that many sites to get a real idea of where and what to see. I would like to post here if any members could help me put together a simple plan for each port. I would appreciate any help including any private guides to book through.

 

I have seen your reply Ron and I am going through that too, trying to go through that to gain some thoughts. Its the first time to Asia so its a bit of a learning curve. Thanks in advance for any help with my quest.

Send me your e-mail and I'll share our itinerary with you. It has all web sites, costs, pickup time etc. I think you'll find it very useful.

Happy Planning,

Capt Ron

? How long was the overnight, when did they pick you up from ship till they dropped you off and how much did it cost for 10 couples?

We were picked up from the tender location at 11:00am. We returned the next day at 11:00am. Basically the trip is 24 hours. We were back at the tender location by 12:00, the Millennium departed at 1:00pm. Cost for our 8 couples, including transport to and from the Junk was $2,502.00USD. Worked out at $357.00 per couple.

Happy Planning,

Capt. Ron

Apologies if already answered but what times were the shows in the theatre?

There are 2 shows each night. One after early dinner seating and one after later dinner seating. So, if you have early dinning or the later seating you'll have time to catch a show. Shows are at 7:00pm and 9:00pm. Celebrity Theater is on decks 4 & 5 forward.

Happy Planning,

Capt. Ron

Does Celebrity provide a shuttle from the cruise terminal to a more central area in the city? Was it easy to get to public transportation from the cruise terminal? Was it far? Are taxis readily available (disembarkation)?

Not sure if I ever answered this question for you, here goes.

The ship did provide a free shuttle to two malls. We used the one that took us to the Diamond Hill Mall as it had an easy access to the MTR (subway train). There were taxis, but didn't use them. There was also a public bus, again didn't use. Check the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal wed site for more information:

http://www.kaitakcruiseterminal.com.hk/

The terminal is the biggest we have been in and involves some walking just to get out of to the taxis and, shuttles and buses. If you are using a smart phone, suggest you load Google Maps, just tell it where you want to go and it'll tell you the nearest bus stations, number of stops etc. also for the trains. Very handy and easy to use. It will also show how to walk to places. There is a tourist help station at the cruise terminal, these people are great, they'll provide maps and show you how to use the public transport. Can't say enough about how much help they were in making the public transport easy, efficient and saved money over taxis. Taxis are not too expensive, but the public transport is just so cheap and efficient. I had originally planned on using taxis, after using the public transport we never found the need for taxis.

Happy Planning,

Capt. Ron