carlandlyn

An announcement was made at lunchtime today (18th Nov) that industrial action could not be held for the next 6 months, giving us some grace. Financial Review: The decision suspends Svitzer and the unions from entering into industrial action for six months. We will see what happens Lynn and Carl

Hi all, I am sure you are all keeping an eye on these prices, but the sales may have started early, Deluxe Beverage Package down to $97.66 AUS, not sure if it will get much cheaper, but still a week to the Black Friday sale. Thanks to all that replied to our request. hope to see you around some day. Lynn and Carl

Hi all, we are only 4 weeks away from our first cruise on Ovation and were curious about a couple of things now she has arrived in Oz. As we have seen the drinks packages have gone up a lot in recent months, and was curious what the prices are like onboard for coffees, beers, wines and spirits. Has anyone managed to grab a copy of those yet? We are also wondering about the 'free' items, such as iFly and North Star. There are paid experiences on line, but are there free slots, and how hard are they to book? We will be looking forward to the reviews over the next few weeks. Thanks in advance! Lynn and Carl

Hi, I don't have any menus, but we cruised princess a couple of months back. We paid $40 pp back then, but found that it was worth it then, and the current price is pretty good. As with everything, it comes down to your drinking habits, but if you are going to have a few decent coffees, and 4, or more, spirit / cocktail drinks, or 6, or more, beers then you will come out ahead. then you through in the odd soft drink or fruit juice........... And then you get the internet, which was actually pretty good cruising the Oz coast. We were able to do all basic email / web type options. We didn't try streaming anything though, but we did make audio calls. The princess plus package is bottom shelf drinks, but there is a decent range for beers and spirits, the wines are good - but you don't get a great choice. This was something we reviewed when we looked at the package, hope it helps, enjoy your trip!

Hi, can we ask how you did that? Ta......

We have done this on Solstice, but in reverse. We had a great time, the ship was lovely, and the ports magic. We did a lot of our own touring though as the prices were a bit expensive, but that's just our opinion. I did a number of the wine events, great to socialise, and a few nice wines as well. Hope you enjoy it! We were at Port @C (as mentioned above). Its only a short ride from most of the tourist areas.

Another example of inept Australian Journalism I am afraid. Media beat-up because they can't actually find any real news. An embarrassment to Aussies.

Its just so that when you get up in the morning to depart, you are not just left with the PJs you were wearing the night before. Some have packed everything into their bags, had the Stewards collect them overnight, and realise they have 'absolutely nothing to wear' when they go to depart!! 😲 If you loading on and off all your bags yourselves, then no problem. Have fun!! Lynn and Carl

Thanks for putting this together, interesting read. I did google a number of the wines (and I use Vivino, but Dans' price list works as well) and disappointed (but not surprised) by the huge mark up on the bottles of wine. I know how it is in restaurants etc. but...... Oh well. Cheers all 🍷 Lynn and Carl

So in the 23/24 summer season Princess does some SYD/Auckland runs. Celebrity does SYD/Auck and Auck/SYD in Feb 24. P&O are also doing some Auck/Auck cruises over the summer period. So there may be some options (and price tags) that fit. That said, if you have some time and want to see a good slice of the place both losfp and Ethel6666 comments are good, take a slow drive, a couple of day/overnight tours and see the country. Hope you have fun. Lynn and Carl

You can purchase the drinks package for one. I, like you, have a non-drinking wife. All you need to is call RCI and inform them your wife is a non-drinker, and they will sell you the one package. My wife does love a good coffee, so she gets the Refreshment Package instead. Lynn and Carl

We had a forward facing cabin on Explorer of the Seas, I am pretty sure it was 9204, just below the bridge. It was a decent room, and good view out the front. There were no obstructions of any kind in or outside. We usually book balcony's, but were quite happy with this for a seven day cruise. We did not anchor anywhere, so can't comment on the noise that may bring, but that would've been our only concern. Hope this helps Lynn and Carl

Can concur with all the above. One more I could think of is Tauranga, its right in the middle of a small town (quite nice, but not large where you berth), can walk anywhere, but its designed to be close to Rotorua and the geothermals, which is about 90mins (from memory) on the tour bus.