Returning from Australia Cruise

Majestic Princess Disembarkation

We are just back from our shortened Australia - Asia cruise on Majestic Princess.   Princess Cruises made the decision to cancel the Fremantle (Perth) to Singapore segment of our voyage based on uncertainty around port availability in Southeast Asia region due to the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). 

Since we had booked our flights with Princess Air, they were automatically rebooked by the cruise line.   We got our flight arrangements in our cabin on Feb. 19th.

click to enlarge images

Our new flights were booked on Air New Zealand. We had a 7 AM flight from Perth (PER) Sunday, Feb. 23rd, to Auckland, New Zealand (AUK). We had about a two hour layover in Auckland followed by a direct 14 hour 55 minute flight to Chicago (ORD).

We had the option to stay on board Majestic Princess an extra day (Saturday, Feb 22nd) and then take a taxi at 3:15 AM to the airport. Since it was about a 30 minute taxi ride, we didn't want to risk having anything go wrong and missing our flight, so we opted to stay overnight at Country Comfort Intercity (Perth) hotel. They had a free airport shuttle which operates 24 hours a day, so that was the main deciding factor for us.

On Saturday morning, we disembarked Majestic Princess, handling our own luggage, and then took the Princess shuttle (provided for free) to Perth airport. When we arrived at the airport, we called the hotel to find out where to meet the shuttle. They directed us to Bay N (as in November). We weren't quite sure where that was, so we asked a flight attendant who pointed us in the right direction. We didn't have long to wait for the shuttle.

When we arrived at the hotel, we arranged to be on the 4 AM shuttle to the airport, dropped off our luggage in our room, and headed to Perth city proper by taxi for some sightseeing, including a Swan River Cruise which we booked upon arrival at Barrack Street Jetty (Elizabeth Quay) Perth. We'll write about our river cruise in another article.

Sunday morning, we got to the front desk about 15 minutes early and checked out. There were a couple other couples already waiting for the shuttle with one more also booked. Once they arrived, we headed to the airport which was a short distance away. By 4:15 AM we were checking in at the Air New Zealand desk in Terminal 1 (which is the International Terminal at Perth Airport).

Note: It is important that you know which terminal you are leaving from as they are spread out quite a distance and not easy to get to if you were at the wrong terminal. 

We went to checkin and were asked if we had a visa on our passports for New Zealand. Of course, we said "no" because we had never planned to be flying home from there. Our original plans would have been flying from Singapore to Japan to Dallas Fort Worth to Chicago. It never dawned on us that we'd need a visa, despite the fact that we'd had one last year when we visited there on our previous visit to the region. Princess Cruises had not made any mention of it on our flight change paperwork either. In fact, they simply listed the flight numbers and we needed to look up the itinerary online to even know the details.

The Electronic Travel Authority for New Zealand(eTA), is applicable to citizens from all countries that share a visa waiver agreement with NZ. Starting October 1st, 2019, visitors arriving from any of the 60 visa waiver countries are required to apply for an eTA to enter the island country.

Fortunately, there's an app for that. The Air New Zealand agent gave us an information sheet with step by step instructions to download the app and apply for the transit visa online. Here's the link to get a New Zealand Visa should your travels take you there (and you are staying in country). The cost for the NZeTA was $9 NZD. Within minutes we had applied and gotten the online visa issued and we were then able to checkin for our flights. We were really glad that we'd been close to the airport, so the we had plenty of time before our flight.

This was our first experience flying Air New Zealand. We really enjoyed the flights and service. The crew were extremely friendly. We had free WiFi on the flight to Auckland.  The food was good and the economy seating was decent for the long haul flight. I'd highly recommend them for a trip to Australia / New Zealand.

Ironically, in one of my travel professional publications today, there was a link to an article about an experimental Lie-flat Beds for Economy that Air New Zealand is investigating. Here's a video that shows their plans. We'd definitely pay for that upgrade on a long-haul flight. Hats off to them for their innovation. I look forward to a future flight in one of these #Skynest sleeping pods.

This is the first in a series of blog posts about our shortened Australia - Asia trip.  Despite the fact that we didn't get to Malaysia or Singapore, we will also share some of our past experiences, should your travel include Southeast Asia in the future.  We are starting in reverse order, from our disembarkation from Majestic Princess.   Hopefully, you've followed us live on our social media channels as well.  Don't worry if you didn't, as our anchor post will tie everything together for you.  Just click the image (left) to our diary post.

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5 Ways to Explore Cruise Ports

click to enlarge
download PDF

Preparing for Your Cruise Vacation

Whether this is your first cruise or you are a seasoned cruise veteran, you will want to do some pre-planning before your vacation begins.  The type of cruise (ocean, river, expedition) will factor into the amount of planning that you do as well as your overall vacation budget.

River Cruises

We'll start with the trip that requires the least amount of planning ahead of time.   River cruises usually include most of the excursions in the price of the cruise.   There might be some optional tours, which could be complementary or available for extra cost, available for each port of call.  It is advisable to review the list ahead of time and book the ones that interest you the most, if that option is available to you.

Local Guides

For the most part, you'll be docked near the center of activity in your port of call.  There may be times where you'll need to be shuttled, typically by bus, to your tour starting point.

Whether you are walking, on another vessel (like a canal boat), or a bus, you'll be accompanied by a local guide who will provide you with information about what you are seeing as well as background information including food, culture, and history.  You may have some free time to explore after the guided portion of the tour.

Your Cruise Director will explain the tour options, usually the night before arrival in port. Typically there are different difficulty levels which you'll select by picking the audio phone color of choice.

Ocean Cruises

Similar to river cruises, there will be a list of shore excursions published on the cruise line's website and brochures.   You can browse the list ahead of time and select / pay for the ones that interest you the most.   Booking shore excursions requires the least amount of planning on your part since the tours include the most popular attractions in each port of call.   Once again, you can select difficult levels by reading the descriptions and selecting accordingly.

Level of Comfort

New cruisers tend to use cruise line shore excursions because it is the simplest and there is no worry about finding your way around town or making your way back to the ship on time.  Another option is to use a tour company like Shore Excursions Group, who we work with on a regular basis, to find similar tours to those offered by the cruise line.   Those tours are usually cheaper and the groups tend to be smaller than the ones with the ship.  They will guarantee return to the ship on time or they'll get you to the next port of call at their expense.  That takes the worry out of missing the ship departure.

Private Tour Guides

Your vacation specialist can provide local guide contacts should you decide to book one or more tours with a local guide.   The internet is another source for finding local guides.  This is a great option if you are traveling with a group (even a small one).   The tour price is divided by the number of guests, and this option gives you a customized experience at a reasonable price.

On Your Own

If you are looking to blaze your own trail, you can explore completely on your own.  You will want to be sure to have the ship contact information with you and pay close attention to when you must be back on board the ship.   There usually is about a 30 minute window between the time to be back and the actual ship departure, but you don't want to cut things close and be left behind.

The least expensive option will be to head out on foot, perhaps getting some local cuisine or do some shopping (OK, that might not be cheap).  You will want to do some research before your cruise to see if there are attractions within walking distance or a short cab ride away.  For the sun worshipers, catching a taxi to a local beach is a great way to spend the day in port.   Most taxi drivers will be glad to come back to pick you up at a set time.

Another option we offer is Resort for a Day.  Instead of selecting a beach at random, you can play at some of the most magnificent resorts while your ship is in port.

Click on the Infographic above for some more details.  Browse our blog and website as well to learn more about our adventures.

 

National Plan A Cruise Month Promotions 

Cruise lines are offering special promotions and pricing on popular cruises to encourage consumers to plan their next cruise vacation now. We'll be featuring promotions on our website and social media.

Choose Cruise Month (click for mini-series)

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Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat 

Celebrity Edge Pre-Cruise

Heading to the Edge

Arriving at O'Hare International Airport on November 24th, we were greeted by festive holiday decorations in the terminal.  The skies were overcast, but weather was still favorable for flying.  As always, especially in winter time, we leave a day early, allowing for possible delays. 

The next day, a huge snow storm would blanket the area.  Had we waited to fly until the day of our cruise, we would have not gotten out in time to meet the ship.

Even though Celebrity Edge was embarking in Fort Lauderdale, we flew into Miami airport, because flights were cheaper.  Celebrity had arranged shuttle buses in both Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

Hilton Miami Airport - Blue Lagoon

Our hotel accommodations for the evening were at Hilton Miami Airport Blue Lagoon.  The hotel has a free shuttle service to and from the airport, which made it convenient for our pre-cruise stay.   We arrived at our hotel right about dinner time, so after we checked in and dropped off our luggage, we went downstairs to check out our options.

There were several choices including room service, a restaurant (which had been temporarily relocated to a ballroom), lobby bar, and pool bar.   We opted for the lobby bar.   We had eaten late, so we didn't need anything heavy. There were flatbread pizzas on the menu, so that is what we decided to share between the two of us.

Hilton Miami Airport Album

Embarkation Morning

Sunday morning, we made coffee in our room and had a light breakfast.  We knew that shortly we'd be on Celebrity Edge and as is typical on a cruise, the first thing you do is get something to eat (as the cabins are not usually ready).

We headed down to the lobby to wait for the shuttle back to the airport.  There we'd meet representatives from Celebrity Cruises who would direct us to the shuttle buses.  According to the schedule, they were going run every 30 minutes starting at noon.   We got there early anyway hoping they might start early.  We were told to come back at 11 AM, that they might be leaving shortly after that.    When we found out that they wouldn't be early, we shared an Uber with another agent who we met while waiting in the airport. We were on the ship before noon.

November 25-27, 2018   Trade & Press Sailing

Click on Celebrity Edge's Magic Carpet to be transported to our Preview Sailing adventure.  Be among the first to see the brand new ship before it is sailing revenue cruises.

Celebrity Edge Shutterfly Share Page

Check out our dedicated Celebrity Edge page on our Shutterfly Share Site.

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Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat

5 Ways to Explore Cruise Ports

click to enlarge
download PDF

Preparing for Your Cruise Vacation

Whether this is your first cruise or you are a seasoned cruise veteran, you will want to do some pre-planning before your vacation begins.  The type of cruise (ocean, river, expedition) will factor into the amount of planning that you do as well as your overall vacation budget.

River Cruises

We'll start with the trip that requires the least amount of planning ahead of time.   River cruises usually include most of the excursions in the price of the cruise.   There might be some optional tours, which could be complementary or available for extra cost, available for each port of call.  It is advisable to review the list ahead of time and book the ones that interest you the most, if that option is available to you.

Local Guides

For the most part, you'll be docked near the center of activity in your port of call.  There may be times where you'll need to be shuttled, typically by bus, to your tour starting point.

Whether you are walking, on another vessel (like a canal boat), or a bus, you'll be accompanied by a local guide who will provide you with information about what you are seeing as well as background information including food, culture, and history.  You may have some free time to explore after the guided portion of the tour.

Your Cruise Director will explain the tour options, usually the night before arrival in port. Typically there are different difficulty levels which you'll select by picking the audio phone color of choice.

Ocean Cruises

Similar to river cruises, there will be a list of shore excursions published on the cruise line's website and brochures.   You can browse the list ahead of time and select / pay for the ones that interest you the most.   Booking shore excursions requires the least amount of planning on your part since the tours include the most popular attractions in each port of call.   Once again, you can select difficult levels by reading the descriptions and selecting accordingly.

Level of Comfort

New cruisers tend to use cruise line shore excursions because it is the simplest and there is no worry about finding your way around town or making your way back to the ship on time.  Another option is to use a tour company like Shore Excursions Group, who we work with on a regular basis, to find similar tours to those offered by the cruise line.   Those tours are usually cheaper and the groups tend to be smaller than the ones with the ship.  They will guarantee return to the ship on time or they'll get you to the next port of call at their expense.  That takes the worry out of missing the ship departure.

Private Tour Guides

Your vacation specialist can provide local guide contacts should you decide to book one or more tours with a local guide.   The internet is another source for finding local guides.  This is a great option if you are traveling with a group (even a small one).   The tour price is divided by the number of guests, and this option gives you a customized experience at a reasonable price.

On Your Own

If you are looking to blaze your own trail, you can explore completely on your own.  You will want to be sure to have the ship contact information with you and pay close attention to when you must be back on board the ship.   There usually is about a 30 minute window between the time to be back and the actual ship departure, but you don't want to cut things close and be left behind.

The least expensive option will be to head out on foot, perhaps getting some local cuisine or do some shopping (OK, that might not be cheap).  You will want to do some research before your cruise to see if there are attractions within walking distance or a short cab ride away.  For the sun worshipers, catching a taxi to a local beach is a great way to spend the day in port.   Most taxi drivers will be glad to come back to pick you up at a set time.

Another option we offer is Resort for a Day.  Instead of selecting a beach at random, you can play at some of the most magnificent resorts while your ship is in port.

Click on the Infographic above for some more details.  Browse our blog and website as well to learn more about our adventures.

 

National Plan A Cruise Month Promotions 

Cruise lines are offering special promotions and pricing on popular cruises to encourage consumers to plan their next cruise vacation now. We'll be featuring promotions on our website and social media.

Choose Cruise Month (click for mini-series)

Follow Us On

        

Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers

Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat