snoopy19

Hello

thank you. cant wait, never sailed p & o, so hoping it will be good. am waiting for the end of june to see what tours the ship offer and then compare to private tours.

sounds like you are having a great time Philmac. thanks for letting me know your thoughts on the Eden. enjoy the rest of the cruise :-)

Thank you Catjim :-) kangaroo island is amazing! i drove by myself from alice springs about 4 years ago in a getz and spent about 5 days there. totally totally amazing place!

Hello Wyuna1

thankyou for your reply. the written reviews raise eyebrows, but youtube videos give the eden a more favourable view point. I am glad you enjoyed the cruise. will ensure i pack the suncream, i can go lobster red rather quickly! :-)

Hi Philmac

enjoy your cruise next week :-)

Thanks Philmac, i look forward to your review. enjoy your travels, hope it is a fantastic cruise :-)

Hello

there is no roll call for this cruise :-(

anyone else going?

any hints or tips for Pacific Eden? we are on deck 5 mid ship window. our first p & o cruise. i did a royal cruise in 2015 singapore to dubai. my cabin mate has done msc and holland america. we are not expecting much but we figure it has to be ok otherwise p & o would not be in business :-)

anything you would recommend in PNG? never been there before so looking forward to the adventure :-)

we picked this cruise as only cruise line in australia in sep and its our birthday week :-)

many thanks :-)

Hello

safe travels down under!

heaps to do in sydney.

circular quay is a good spot there you can walk to the opera house in one direction and further to the gardens. in the opposite direction you can walk over the bridge and catch the train back over.

if you get an all day travel ticket (check with Valerie if they still have it) gives you all day on bus train and ferry.

our family tradition is a day on the ferries. using the above ticket. out to manly for an ice cream maybe up the parramatta river then ending over at darling harbour with a walk to chinatown for dinner. a very very long day but good fun!!!

or you could catch a bus or possibly a train to Bondi and see the lovely life guards :-). there is also a nice walk over to the next beach.

heaps to do!

in New Zealand on the auckland day you are going to where i was born. I was born in the Waitakere hospital and lived in Glendene. Mum lived her childhood in the Waitakere ranges. have not been to that side of town for years so your photos will be interesting.

you will have a great trip. hope the plane trips are not to tedious.

Hello

thank you for your replies.

my holiday is coming close, yay!

having trouble with my two day tours fingers crossed i get on.

still waiting to find out if i can wear prescription glasses in the shark activity at the Atlantis Dubai.

but reading and booking my tour to the falcons at Abu Dhabi. i read the reviews at expedia and some people mentioned a sulaki centre. but all the links dont actually get to a website. apparently it is close to the falcons. would anybody have a working website or have they closed down?

this is a blurb from lonely planet site

You'll probably hear them before you see them as a howl goes up when a visitor approaches this hound pound. A visit here involves entering the kennels, meeting the affectionate and well-looked-after residents, picking up a puppy or two and perhaps watching bath-time. Prized for their hunting skills and speed over distance, salukis have for centuries been man's best friend to the Bedu, and after a visit to this breeding and training centre it's easy to see why. It's in the Falcon Hospital Complex; prebook an appointment.

Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/united-arab-emirates/abu-dhabi/sights/other/arabian-saluki-centre#ixzz3Xq1gie2e

many thanks for any help

:-)

Thank you for your reply.

will re think the taxi situation. i might have to give up the sting rays. just thought buses cheaper and also in a herd. where as in a taxi i am by myself. i wont have a mobile/cell phone, due to the costs. it will be in my suitcase off. so i feel that i dont have a safety net when in a strange mans car in a place i am not used to. so for all i know he could be taking me somwhere strange. yes the odds are dramtically low but i do like my telly shows like criminal minds! in a bus they have a route to follow and people.

my brother is insiting when in singapore to go to a market and buy a cheap gold coloured ring for my wedding finger. i then must wear it in the UAE and if get hassled pretend hubby is near by.

yes finding tours companies in Asia to be slack compared to here in Australia! but it is hard to pick a tour when

company a states we go to a b c d e f

company b states we go here and see the sites. that is not useful!! my idea of the sites could be a b c your idea is drive by my wish list and then take me shopping!

i do live in a beautiful country town but we have to be careful due to some social issues we have. so i am pretty used to be alert for odd behaviour and try not to go out at night. when i do travel to work at the hospital radio is off and doors locked so i remain alert.

once again thank you for your reply :-)

Hello

my first visit to the UAE single female traveller.

I arrive in Dubai on 16/5/15. which i will see the shops as we are still on the cruise so will get feed by them :-) will see fountain show at the shops. hopeful i can get bus to and from the shops.

17/5/15 at some stage get kicked off the ship. Will get public bus to Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi 17-20/5.

18/5/15 mosque, falcons, mangroves

- can you get public bus to the falcon hospital. having trouble working the bus website.

- is it worth while to do the hop on off bus or cheaper by foot and bus

tour 19/5/15

Al Alin

deciding between EA tours and Arabian Adventures. EA sounds better as it is more described on their page. Still awaiting Arabian to answer their email. any body done this tour? was it good?

20/5/15

either foot/bus or hop hop off bus for the sites of Abu Dhabi

public bus to Dubai

21/5/15

thinking of doing Grand Canyon tour by Arabian Adventures. anybody done this, was it good? i want views not shopping!

22/5/15

hop on hop off bus with free trip to Sharjah

23/5/15

might go to Atlantis.

is this good?

anybody did the stingray feeding?

can you get a bus to Atlantis

24/5/15

depending on money get hop on off hop off

or look at the shops

25/5/15 fly home

note i was thinking of doing the dinner/sand bash thing. but my back is bad and i hate crowds! was going to do it with the old jeep company but have run out of money :-(

many thanks for your replies, thoughts and hints.

:-)

Hello

thank you for the replies.

glad we are not using lifeboats. was a bit worried about that. think too much watching titanic and boats landing on top of each other! or picturing me not co ordinating myself correctly and as i hop in i fall thru the gap! i am a tad clumsy!

there is a longer tour but it seems to be awfully tight. it is eight hours but we are only there nine. so if the ship is running late or traffic eeekkk! also sounds nice but it is three hours in a bus.

i really want to do the elephants so i might have to do the short tour and then potter about on the ship till we leave.

fingers crossed something longer appears.

many thanks :-)

Hello

on a cruise that will be tendered on 5/5/15 in Phuket from 11.00 to 20.00.

there is day tours on the website but nothing is leaping out at me. the one i would like to do is the elephants, cashews and Buddha but only goes for 4.5 hours. when i looked at the cruise before i booked there seemed to be heaps of options that were longer but they don't appear to be offered on this cruise.

in the info they mention Siam Safari treks so go have a look. well they don't take cruise people because of the taxis.

never been on a cruise before and this is the only tendered port. i am leaning towards a shore trip simply because i don't know how long it takes to deploy the lifeboats for us to hop in and get to shore. also been a newbie i know i will be back of the queue due to the suite people and people with loyalty points. so if do a private tour i will properly panic and or stress waiting for my turn worried i will miss the tour. i figure been on a ship tour they cant zoom off with out me.

so my questions are

- will they put more day tours out closer to the time? as i never been to Asia so a long to way to go and only use half the time on land (currently 61 tours for all the days on land)

- if i do the 4.5 hour tour is it possible to get a different boat back to the ship or to i have to stick with the group?

- anybody done this tour. are the elephants happy and well cared for. i love elephants so wont go on a tour if the eley is unhappy or getting walloped by its trainer.

many thanks for your help :-)

i so hope there is not one size fits all.

that photo (page3?) shows it is huge.

my hand and wrist is small, small enough to have trouble getting rings to wear.

therefore if i am given one suited for a basketballer i will have issues!

hello

going on my first cruise in may 2015 on rhapsody.

so how does Australian chargers go? i will need a special plug to go in the Usa power point so i can charge my cameras etc.

i was going to buy a plug for this and a power board.

i dont know how i will cope if on my 14 day cruise i have to ration the power on the camera so i can take a picture.

i might have to stock up on 14 batteries for the camera!

interesting thread :-)

hands down the train! try to get an express it is a little faster. if you sit on the left going up sometimes you will see kangaroos hopping about. if the carriage is an old one and the seats are all facing forwards you can usually flip one so it becomes a party of four. two facing forwards, two going backwards but you can chat to each other on the way up. if anyone in your party has mobilty issues have them last of the train. for some reason the gaps between train and platform are big. so have the strongest out first to offer a hand if need be. i nearly lost my suitcase in the gap once. so now my trick is suitcase in door way, hop out turn, get suitcase. (i am only 5ft)

unsure what the two things you have mentioned as my brother lives there so i can be chauffeured :-)

there is a ticket called an all day around $20 that gets you on all buses,ferries and trains. only expection is the airport stop. (really expensive).

i went on a train from the mountains to sydney, train to circular quay, all day on the ferries for $20 bargain! i went to cockatoo island for first time instead of fish n chips, it was great fun lots of walking and need sun hat.

my family like to do this a day on the ferries on the above ticket

out to the fish and chip stop exclusive place have them on the beach sorry i cant remember the name of stop. (been a few years)hopefully a sydney person can help

back to circular

out to manly for afternoon 50c ice cream at mcdonalds

back to circular

over to darling harbour for a look see

walk to china town for dinner

back to accomodation

a long day but great fun!

if you google sydney trains it will come up with the website. here it has a trip planner and you can also see how much a ticket costs. please note only australian pensioners get discounts on sydney transport.

have fun :-)

Hello

if this is one and only trip to australia go for it. please bring a fly net, water and possibly a jumper. i have no idea when your coming so winter it is very cold and summer very hot.

but i can suggest this been from Alice Springs

save up and come over for a week or more

5 hours drive to the rock sunset, sunrise, stars, walks, the Olgas two days here

4 hours to Kings Canyon, early morning hike, sunset

5 hours to Alice

day trips from Alice are plenty

Hermensberg and Palm Valley

West Macdonell Range stunning, you could even stay out at Glen Helen

plenty to do in town sunset, sunrise from Anzac Hill, Royal Flying Docs, School of the Air etc

two day trip up to Tenant Creek and the Devils Marbles

many companies do a three day tour from here to the Rock from backpackers to Emu Run to Kings. so lots of different options.

so it really depends on your travel budgets now and in the future.

best of luck with your decision

thank you for your reply :-)

it is in my favourites along with your blog so when i want to stop saving and buy something stupid at the shops this is the motivation required!

loved the look of the viking deck, thought was for only suite or diamond members but read your blog. so pleased to know a newbie in the tiniest room on the ship is allowed to enter! :-)

have a great week, a fun christmas and a brilliant 2014 (hopefully with a cruise or two!)

edit for spelling

hello

never been on a cruise before and heading off on the rhaspody in 2015 singapore to dubai.

i was expecting a little ship with mainly our rooms. it actually looks quite big and fancy but perhaps a little old (maybe my eyes!) . it looks like there will be plenty to do on the sea days and the bookworm in me spied the book exchange!

thank you for the video :-)

hello

unsure if this is what you mean

Sydney to Singapore april/may2015

Singapore to Dubai 3may to 17 may (my trip)

Dubai to Istanbul

perhaps further? it is a repositioning cruise.

hope that helps :-)

edit on board the rhapsody

hi Clarea

i tried that but sadly my cruise is in 2015 and therefore nothing price wise is available besides birthday cake etc info and pricing. shore trips, dining, spa etc not available and no pricing , no times and for trips nothing at all. i did click on spa and from there was a link to a brochure but that had no prices!

just wanted to know prices for budgeting purposes as i am on such tight budget at the best of times.

perhaps there is another hiding spot in the cruise planner that you mean and i have not found.

thanks for your reply :-)

thank you for the replies. travel agent apologised and does not understand why she has two numbers. that is a little scary! i did ask to change but she is the first one i saw when i walked in. she is nice and friendly but a little new i think. she is good at dubai though! after all that, there is nothing much to see as it is so far away. disappointed the fancy spa brochure does not have prices! yet to find prices for that. oh well.

thanks again :-)

Hi Folks

more than likely been inpatient but want to check i have the right number.

booked a cruise for 2015 with my travel agent last tuesday (aus) the travel agent said it could be up to a week for me to be able to access the website.

it is day seven still no go. so am a bit disappointed. glad to see reviews on this website because the service so far has been slow three days for an email enquiry, hour to talk to somebody and now a week to see your cruise come up on the site. if there was no reviews would be wondering what the service on the ship would be!

anyways my number is this, does it look right? or should i wait to my travel agent is back from conference and ask for number again.

my number (the last four are made up just incase)

JC/072235

the letters dont work but have tried with the zero and just with the seven. incase the zero is the letter o. also on an ipad as computer has died.

many thanks :-)

hello

i am unsure. i am new to this and using an apple ipad. but even the travel agent had issues. she thought she had got me a good cabin and when i heard i said that was right next to the lift. we then had a look at the plans and they had changed according to the travel agent,

last night after booking was trying to go to my cruise bit not been able to do that since i have booked. travel agent has said it take up to week for info to travel from aus to usa and then get it into the system.

anyways last night mucking about. i have only had the choice of the brown rooms but last night i got the choice of yellow rooms for $40 extra. then i went back later and i couldnt move between floors and i couldnt get yellow again! so unsure if yellow rooms are better or not!

so been a newbie i am unsure. i would have prefered a room on floor 2 but on tuesday it wouldn't come up so picked one on room three. this is with the travel agent. last night room two appeared briefly, then i had no brown rooms, then got yellow ones, then back to brown ones but with no assigned room.

this is for a ship in 2015. i just hope i got a good room! room 3501 on rhapsody.

hello

thank you for all your help. i have gone ahead. just hope that my budget is right!

:-)

after much number crunching i have booked today. things will be tight now if i do my standard roster but if I do penalty shifts i should be right. i should be excited but am actually feeling if i have done the right thing. i think cause it is so far away and we dont have any idea what is around the corner. i am sure i am going to be fine.

on another note how do you find your threads? i am going thru the pages to find them as there is no copy anywhere and searching my name doesnt bring up posts!

thank you to all the helpful posts

:-)