Journey to the “Center” of the World - Pacific Princess Black Sea Review

[waltd]

Oh No you're finished, The End. How sad. It was a great review with great pictures. Thank You so much for taking the time to write this.

Joe

[RicardoC]

Oh No you're finished, The End. How sad. It was a great review with great pictures. Thank You so much for taking the time to write this.

Joe

 

Thanks again for following...glad you enjoyed!

[rdsqrl]

I'm as sad to get to the end of your review as you were to get to the end of the cruise (well, maybe not as sad as you were! But still sad.). Sounds like you had a fabulous post-cruise trip, too. How did you score the Meyer-Wolff visit? Do they have tours for the public, or was this something you arranged specially?

 

Thanks again for such a thorough and well-illustrated review!

[RicardoC]

I'm as sad to get to the end of your review as you were to get to the end of the cruise (well, maybe not as sad as you were! But still sad.). Sounds like you had a fabulous post-cruise trip, too. How did you score the Meyer-Wolff visit? Do they have tours for the public, or was this something you arranged specially?

 

Thanks again for such a thorough and well-illustrated review!

 

I'm sorry for your sadness :o but stay tuned for summer, we are planning a trip that (if it works how looks like it will) will be amazing :eek:

 

Meyer Werft was actually pretty funny...I had been wanting to visit for a while (I think 2008-ish, when they were building Celebrity's Solstice) but didn't know how people did it. When I figured I'd be in Budapest with my friend I decided to email them and "get it going". My parents didn't want to go so I decided to go alone! I think they never took it very seriously (you know, parents always underestimate their kids :rolleyes:) but I did fly to Berlin and stay there for 5 full days (3 finding my way around the city, 1 going to Hamburg, and 1 to Meyer Werft). I had the tour scheduled through email and found it odd (but understandable) that the confirmation email was all in German...

 

I went to the Berlin HB the day before so I could get the train tickets and find my way around ahead of time (I could probably walk around blindfolded in many airports out there, but there is something with trains/train stations that I personally don't get along with very well...). The trip to Papenburg is long and you have to switch trains twice, but I eventually got there. The visitors center is cool but there was no "check in" or anything of the kind...of course, it was a company's tour!!! Yes, a "private" company arrived with 2 buses packed with Germans and apparently my tour was with them (I was the only outsider....awkward....). I tried talking to someone about the emails, tour, payment, etc. but no one spoke english...the guy just pointed to the guide implying that I could follow her...as the only outsider, non German speaker, for a German tour, with Germans only....again, awkward....:rolleyes:

 

Needless to say I didn't (or couldn't?) pay attention to her...so I just wandered around while she talked. It was a great tour though; I got to see all the models, pictures, projects, and ships being built, which was all I wanted. Of course it would have been great if I had an english speaker but it was interesting anyways...and hilarious now that I think of it :p. At the end they were even nice to call a cab for me (which they only understood I wanted because of my perfect German "Taxi, Banhoff" ) and off I went on my way back and eventually got back (after the change of trains + the train breaking down + a huge delay + an additional change to a working train)...now that I see it was an eventful day!

 

Ok...you got a bit more of a review there!

[rdsqrl]

What a great experience! Travel is full of fun stuff like that, but usually only when traveling alone, which is why I prefer to travel solo. Two or more people and you lose all sense of adventure and risk! Next trip, you should try the same thing as Fincantieri -- maybe you'd get to see the Regal under construction. Not to mention that Italian is easier to understand than German . . .

[RicardoC]

What a great experience! Travel is full of fun stuff like that, but usually only when traveling alone, which is why I prefer to travel solo. Two or more people and you lose all sense of adventure and risk! Next trip, you should try the same thing as Fincantieri -- maybe you'd get to see the Regal under construction. Not to mention that Italian is easier to understand than German . . .

 

That's a good idea...I'm pretty sure Fincantieri doesn't have a visitors area though...

 

I see you're doing the Ocean Princess' Suez? We'll be on the Mariner going the other way...maybe we'll sail by hahah

[Onelung]

Hi Rico

 

Could you tell me whether you tendered at Yalta and Odessa please, if so, did it take long to ge ashore?

 

Thanks

[5326jan]

Hi Rico

 

Could you tell me whether you tendered at Yalta and Odessa please, if so, did it take long to ge ashore?

 

Thanks

 

Don't want to butt in, but in case Rico is away, I can tell you that in September,2011 on the Pacific Princess, we didn't tender in either of those ports. Both piers were right in town so no shuttle was needed either. :)

[Onelung]

Don't want to butt in, but in case Rico is away, I can tell you that in September,2011 on the Pacific Princess, we didn't tender in either of those ports. Both piers were right in town so no shuttle was needed either. :)

 

Thanks. Our Celebrity Black Sea Cruise in September is listed to Tender at these ports plus Sevastapol I think. I guess it depends who else is in port that day!

[RicardoC]

Hey Onelung,

 

5326jan is right we docked in both Odessa and Yalta. In fact, the only tender for the whole cruise was in Nessebar. My only explanation to this is that maybe Connie is too big for the dock's depth? We were together with one of AIDA's smaller ships and I'm sure Connie is much bigger so maybe that's it...

 

By the way 5326jan is your bday January 26th? :rolleyes:

[friend of Eeyore]

Thanks for the review and photos! I'm so jealous of your Istanbul stop. A) you stayed there for a day and a half, and B), you saw the entire dome of the Hagia Sophia! We were there for only a day, and the dome was covered (1/4, at least) in scaffolding. Still beautiful, though.

[RicardoC]

Thanks for the review and photos! I'm so jealous of your Istanbul stop. A) you stayed there for a day and a half, and B), you saw the entire dome of the Hagia Sophia! We were there for only a day, and the dome was covered (1/4, at least) in scaffolding. Still beautiful, though.

 

I'm sorry for that...I hate when you go somewhere and the buildings are covered :eek::mad:

 

Glad you enjoyed!

[Dididi]

Rico, thank you for posting your review! We'll be on the Pacific Princess in July in a similar itinerary, and your photos and comments are much appreciated. We were on the Azamara Journey last November (Mumbai-Goa-Cochi-Male (Maldives)-Colombo (Sri Lanka)-Galle-Chennai, a sister ship to the Pacific Princess, so it was interesting to learn not just about our experiences at the various the ports, but also how the two ships are so similar to each other! Obrigada!

[RicardoC]

Rico, thank you for posting your review! We'll be on the Pacific Princess in July in a similar itinerary, and your photos and comments are much appreciated. We were on the Azamara Journey last November (Mumbai-Goa-Cochi-Male (Maldives)-Colombo (Sri Lanka)-Galle-Chennai, a sister ship to the Pacific Princess, so it was interesting to learn not just about our experiences at the various the ports, but also how the two ships are so similar to each other! Obrigada!

 

Glad you enjoyed....you'll love this itinerary!

Interesting to know about your Azamara cruise; I'd like to know how does it compare (service, food, etc.) to the Pacific. Also, how was India and Male? We're doing a post-cruise after our next one (Mariner) in May...7 days in India (Delhi, Agra, Jaipur) and 3 days in the Maldives :)

[DrivesLikeMario]

Fantastic review! I'm impressed with your courage to travel all on your own at such a young age. You have really been to a lot of unique places!

 

Congrats on passing your IB exams! The AP exams really helped my sons get their degrees quickly! :) I only wish they were as interested in travel as you are!

[RicardoC]

Fantastic review! I'm impressed with your courage to travel all on your own at such a young age. You have really been to a lot of unique places!

 

Congrats on passing your IB exams! The AP exams really helped my sons get their degrees quickly! :) I only wish they were as interested in travel as you are!

 

Glad you liked it! Hahaha like your signature says it's never enough ;)

 

IB is a really good program....too bad not many institutions accept their credits (it's rather a "new" thing in the US). I did get 34 credits though....more $$ to cruise :eek::rolleyes::D

[Dididi]

Hi Rico! Congrats on your IB.

 

Regarding India and the Maldives, you can read my review of the Azamara Journey's Nov 29th sailing on the cruise review list for that ship. Visiting Southern India was a wonderful experience, better than we expected. A large part of the success were the private tours arranged by Mumbai Magic (in Mumbai and Goa) and Stanley Wilson Tours (in Cochi). I would highly recommend those companies; Mumbai Magic can help you arrange your Delhi-Agra-Jaipur etc tour. We got to see what we wanted in Mumbai and Goa, and a lot more: get ideas from the company's website and other sources and tell the owner exactly what you want to do.

 

If you have time to make a short, couple of days detour to Goa, I think you (and your parents) would love it. The beaches, the vegetation, the old Portuguese churches and houses, and the food will make you think you're in Brazil, kind of, which is totally weird because Goa is on the other side of the world. In Cochi we took an amazing overnight boat trip in the backwaters.

 

We were in the Maldives for only one day, so took a boat to one of the resort islands to spend a day on the beach. Male, the capital, is one of the world's most densely inhabited places. There are buildings on every inch of the island, but not much to see tourist-wise. The airport is on a nearby island, and from the sea, it looks like the planes are landing on the water! You'll probably spend time at one of the resort islands instead. Don't forget to bring snorkeling/diving gear and a good underwater camera.

 

Looking forward to reading more of your reviews in the future!

[CruzinNoony]

Rico, your review was awesome! Thank you so much for taking the time to do it so throughly. We are going on an Eastern Europe river cruise in May and will be spending 3 days in Budapest. You spent a week there, so what would you suggest we not miss in this vibrant city?:rolleyes:

[RicardoC]

Hi Rico! Congrats on your IB.

 

Regarding India and the Maldives, you can read my review of the Azamara Journey's Nov 29th sailing on the cruise review list for that ship. Visiting Southern India was a wonderful experience, better than we expected. A large part of the success were the private tours arranged by Mumbai Magic (in Mumbai and Goa) and Stanley Wilson Tours (in Cochi). I would highly recommend those companies; Mumbai Magic can help you arrange your Delhi-Agra-Jaipur etc tour. We got to see what we wanted in Mumbai and Goa, and a lot more: get ideas from the company's website and other sources and tell the owner exactly what you want to do.

 

If you have time to make a short, couple of days detour to Goa, I think you (and your parents) would love it. The beaches, the vegetation, the old Portuguese churches and houses, and the food will make you think you're in Brazil, kind of, which is totally weird because Goa is on the other side of the world. In Cochi we took an amazing overnight boat trip in the backwaters.

 

We were in the Maldives for only one day, so took a boat to one of the resort islands to spend a day on the beach. Male, the capital, is one of the world's most densely inhabited places. There are buildings on every inch of the island, but not much to see tourist-wise. The airport is on a nearby island, and from the sea, it looks like the planes are landing on the water! You'll probably spend time at one of the resort islands instead. Don't forget to bring snorkeling/diving gear and a good underwater camera.

 

Looking forward to reading more of your reviews in the future!

 

Thanks for the review and tips!

 

It's nice to hear your positive insights on Southern India; our other option (instead of doing India + Maldives by plane) was to stay on the Mariner for its Dubai-Singapore leg that stops in both Goa and Cochi but our reasoning was as follows (since you've been to both maybe you'll tell if we did it right :eek::p ) :

 

-Really wanted to go to Delhi and Agra, which would only be possible as an overland tour that would make us miss both Goa and Cochi.

-The whole overland tour would be extremely expensive with the line and an extremely tiring and risky thing to do independently (as in delayed flights and missing the ship).

-6 days at sea (in addition to the 9 we are already to have on the Barcelona-Dubai leg) and a total of 26 nights onboard (our longest cruise was a 12night, this 15 one will substitute it).

-More expensive than the 15 night (without the supposed overland tour that would cost "another cruise" :eek:)

-We have been to Singapore just under 2 years ago.

 

So, that being said (or written), do you think we made the "right" choice? My point is we still want to make that itinerary someday (especially because we probably wont have time to fly down to Goa).

 

I can't wait to "land on the water" in Male! We got the tickets last week and we'll be flying in/out on an Emirates' 777! Can you imagine!? We are staying at a hotel in one of the islands on the Atoll next to Male's Atoll (half hour by water-planes...another first!) but I'm guessing they're all similarly beautiful...and best thing is they have snorkeling kits as part of the all inclusive rates :D

 

Thanks again!

[RicardoC]

Rico, your review was awesome! Thank you so much for taking the time to do it so throughly. We are going on an Eastern Europe river cruise in May and will be spending 3 days in Budapest. You spent a week there, so what would you suggest we not miss in this vibrant city?

 

A river cruise! That's awesome! We have been researching those in the past year or so...ordering the different lines' catalogues and all that good stuff...maybe we'll do it sometime soon...

 

Which boat are you going? Which itinerary? Just curious :p

 

Well....Buda+Pest:

 

Yes, they were two cities wayy back in the day...Buda and Pest....and then they united! What other idea that would make more sense than just combining both names, huh? Ironically I didn't know about it until a couple years ago when I met one of my closest friends who is from there. Yes, I felt stupid because I thought his dad was kidding when he mentioned it (how silly of me:o) but fortunately he didn't pay attention to my "ignorance"...living and learning...now enough of introducing the city.

 

I was there for a week (6 days if you count flying in, flying out, etc) and I stayed at my friend's house so I got mostly a "local" experience which was also cool. The main reason I went there was for an electronic music festival by Lake Balaton (about 1hr drive from the city), Hungary's "beach" surrounded by small towns with resorts, vacation homes, beaches, and parks like the one the festival (Hungary's largest of the kind - their "Ultra Music Festival") took place. My friend's house was away from the city center in the mountain and where you saw no tourists...it was cool because I got to visit malls, supermarkets, and all those places where we say are the best to actually "visit" a new place. We still went to the city a couple times though, and I'll put some "musts" in my opinion:

 

-The Parliament: come on, it's the largest in Europe, it's HUGE, and it's beautiful. I'm not sure if they have tours inside because I didn't have time but I'd do it next time (maybe for my river cruise too!).

 

-The Castle/Fort: some of the buildings on this "complex" are among the oldest there and they are located at the top of a hill...amazing views(as you can have an idea from my picture).

 

-Heroes' Square: the very "center" of the city where you find statues of (guess who??) some of the most important figures in Hungary's history...their heroes! You can also grab a seat in one of the restaurants next to it by the channel and the park and just chill...

 

-The subway system is the 4th oldest in the world so if you want/need it's pretty interesting...there's a station by Heroes' Square (and that's the only one I know because we had a car so only used it once).

 

-Walk around the city center: I found the buildings around the city center very nice...and one of the best ways to visit a place is to "get lost"...so why not?

 

-The Danube: well you'll see this one for sure :p but it'd be nice to walk by it too (maybe before/after your walk around downtown?). You'll probably have great views of the bridge and the Parliament from your boat but make sure you check it out at night too...and take pictures!

 

-Drinks: one good thing of going to Europe (and my homeland Brasil) is that I can legally drink everywhere...and it is an even better experience in a new country! They have a really good peach liqueur (which I don't member the name) that my friend's parents gave me one day and a desert wine they're famous for (Tokaji - try it!!). We have bought it at Total Wine a couple times since the trip :rolleyes: but it's always cool to try it there ;)

 

I think that is pretty much what I recall right now...but it's also late and I'm sleepy so I might come back with more things.

 

I'd enjoy reading a review and seeing pictures once you're back - they'd be appreciated :D

[CruzinNoony]

Rico, thank you so much for the advice on what to see in Budapest. We will be on the Viking Aegir sailing from Budapest to Bucarest. After many ocean cruises, this will be our first river cruise. Our ports are: Kalocsa, Hungary; Vukovar, Crocia; Belgrade, Serbia; Vidin, Bulgaria; Russe, Bulgaria; Giurgiu, Romania; and ending up in Bucarest with a three day added on trip to Transylvania. Sounds like fun!! What can you advise us as far as currency is concerned?:cool:

[Dididi]

Rico,

 

Combining the long cruise to Dubai with a land excursion of the Golden Triangle in India and a hop to the Maldives, sounds like the way to go. Visiting the Taj Mahal and the other Golden Triangle monuments on a cruise means leaving the cruise in Mumbai or Goa and not rejoining it until Cochi, so you'll miss seeing those cities, see the Taj Mahal all in a hurry, and spend more money than necessary just so that you can be on a trip that guarantees you'll be back on board in time.

 

A group of 15 passengers on our cruise took the $3K quick trip to the Taj (from Goa and rejoining the cruise in Cochi) and said that it was a once in a lifetime experience but a very hurried and tiring one. When it came to India, our choice was Taj or no Taj, and we chose no Taj (I could not take more time off work to take a land excursion before or after the cruise). Of course, everyone asks how could we go to India (for the first time) and not see the Taj, but we tell them that India is a huge country in terms of cultures and scenery (from the Himalayas to the tropics, with deserts and forests in between) and that we loved the slice we saw.

 

My advice if you wish to visit Southern India on a cruise in the future, is to keep an eye on itineraries. Azamara Journey will do the exact same cruise we took in two years time. The price has gone up a lot, but there might be special offers or other lines that will offer a similar itinerary. Some cruises that visit Indian ports are also stopping in Sri Lanka (wonderful!!!) and Myammar, so there are new and exciting ports to enjoy.

 

Re the Maldives, I still say take your mask and snorkel, but borrow/rent fins and a kayak at the resort. Get a window seat on the big Emirates plane and on any little seaplane you board so you can take pictures of the atolls. My Mom says Tahiti is even more beautiful, but the Maldives were mighty fine for us.

 

Enjoy your trip!

[RicardoC]

Sorry I took a while...

I was in Miami this weekend for a music festival and...let's say I was a bit busy :rolleyes::D

 

Rico, thank you so much for the advice on what to see in Budapest. We will be on the Viking Aegir sailing from Budapest to Bucarest. After many ocean cruises, this will be our first river cruise. Our ports are: Kalocsa, Hungary; Vukovar, Crocia; Belgrade, Serbia; Vidin, Bulgaria; Russe, Bulgaria; Giurgiu, Romania; and ending up in Bucarest with a three day added on trip to Transylvania. Sounds like fun!! What can you advise us as far as currency is concerned?:cool:

 

That's a great, different trip! Would love to see pictures of those places...the Balkan countries are just starting to open up and I feel like they have so much to offer. Well about the currency they use the Hungarian Forint and I'd recommend you to exchange a small amount (depending on how many days you'll stay here, of course) and slowly exchanging more as you need so you don't lose too much by exchanging back and fwd. ;)

 

Rico,

 

 

Enjoy your trip!

 

Thanks for the advices!

Sounds like we did a great choice then! Stay tuned for a (possibly "live") review of the Mariner :cool:

[jnc411]

Rico, thanks so much, great review. My daughter and friend from work are looking at doing this cruise, also on Princess. I was a bit unsure about the safety for two women traveling alone, but it sounds like you had no problems like that. The Ports sound so interesting. The cruise they are thinking of is Venice to Athens in August , so I think probably HOT. Your photos were great, I am going to tell my daughter to read your review. Thanks again

Cori

[jnc411]

Rico , quick question. Were the announcements on the ship in English or French ? German ? Just noticed that some of the excursions mentioned " French or German" wondering if it would be an issue . Thanks.

Cori