arxcards

20 years ago, P&O had no rusty balconies - they had no balconies at all. I agree that P&O has slipped, but since around 2017. Trimming costs has also trimmed the overall experience. Comparing the ship condition of Pacific Explorer with Pacifiic Sun of 20 years past though, it isn't even close. Cruising on Pacific Sun was fine for us, but not because of the ship. Ooh, fancy recalling Pacific Sun arrived in Australia as our flagship 20 years ago. Then I realise how far we have truly come.

Or some extra staff so they can take more care. Perhaps a new menu or two would also relieve tedium in the galley. I have felt like quoting Gordon Ramsey a few times while exiting the Waterfront.

Good guess. Add that to your fare.

It was 4 ships this past season, and they sailed predominately full.

The Grand is being pulled from Brisbane in 25/26. I have noticed this morning that Crown has been taken out of Sydney from 21st December till 21st March and relocating to Brisbane to somewhat replace the Grand season that was cancelled. Unless the game of musical chairs has ended, it does seem strange to only having one ship in Sydney during the summer. We had four ships in Australia this past summer (Royal, Majestic, Coral, Grand), three next season (Diamond, Crown, Royal), and now only Crown & Discovery in 25/26. The word I keep hearing is yield, and there are more dollars to be made in other markets.

Looks like it is back on the table - just a different table.

As I noticed a short while ago, all of the those itineraries are changing due to Crown relocating to Brisbane from late Dec 2025 for a 3 month season. Hopefully they will offer an Auckland to Brisbane itinerary when the altered itineraries are available.

There may be some more cycling about to happen. At this stage on the Princess site, there is a gap in Crown Princess itineraries between 21st December & 21st March. It could be that all of those cruises have sold-out (possible), but would appear to have been withdrawn from sale while they do a shuffle. Christmas/New Year cruises could well be sold out by now. However, on 7th March she is supposed to be departing on a 3 night cruise from Sydney, yet now also has a port booking in Port Douglas. It got me digging further. Dec 21st to Fiji RT from Sydney per the schedule, yet she is also booked in Brisbane on 24th Dec. There may be some altered itineraries to dual port, however it looks like Brisbane has lost the Grand but scored a few months of Crown Princess instead. The BICT page has updated. Grand Princess dates have been removed, while these dates are up for Crown Princess: 24th December 2025 4th January 2026 12th January 22nd January 2nd February 16th February 2nd March 10th March 18th March There is a booking for Newcastle on 20th March during her return back to Sydney on 21st March. Great that QLD is not missing out after all, and I am ready to book the 3 nighter for 18th March.

These are typical of $AU prices for lots of overseas Princess offerings. I don't know if we are being overpriced as Aussies, or if this is relative to what others are paying around the world. Even late last year I was looking at a cruise around the UK for June/July next year, and the prices are scary. It seems now that the base price has jumped, although the Balconies & minis have only gone up as much as the base price has and appear to be better value in comparison. Just a couple of randoms around the world for a similar date, Princess.com inside guarantee standard prices: 10 night, around UK Aug 25 2025 - $2582pp ($258pp per day) 7 night Alaska ex Seattle Aug 30 2025 - $1885pp ($269pp per day)

City Extra is an easy option with a broad casual menu. They do have the space that you can reserve with no hassle, and they do split table bills without any fuss. We have had a few group gatherings over the years with those sorts of numbers, but we were already connected with most in the group. The table layout upstairs isn't the greatest setup for mingling though. Drinks come to your table, so and doesn't really have an area where you can just stand up and chat - just across the table conversation. I guess it depends on if you want a sit down meal, or a bar area with easy food. Rossini's is a similar layout. If for lunch, I would recommend the rooftop cafe at Museum of Contemporary Art. Nice food and basic drink options, plus the bonus of watching the hustle & bustle of the previous days ship loading-up at OPT. Alas, they close at 4pm. Nice options already mentioned and a couple of others that come to mind, but I haven't considered if they would suit a group.

WiFi calling might be an option.

Thanks. I am sure it will be right on the night, and I had been thinking about the Ubank option for a bit. Yes, especially for bills ticking over at home and we mostly have DDs and Bpay set up for them already. I am mostly wanting to be assured of easily transferring from a debit card to zero the credit card from spending incurred during travel, which would include 2x credit card cycles.

Thanks. I will look a bit deeper. I have an app for my current online banking, but it is IP sensitive and will request MFA if they think it is a risky transaction. Great for security, but a pain to be getting sms verification codes overseas.

Take care Les. I hope you mend well.