OzKiwiJJ

Thanks Evon, I've updated it.

When we were at Port Lincoln last month the shuttle buses were coming right up to the ship I think. We were on an excursion and excursion buses were loading on one side, and people were walking to other buses on the other side. I think there were Tauranga shuttle buses available on the Celebrity cruises we did pre-Covid but I can't recall if they were available on the Holland America cruise we did over Christmas. The new ferry was operating from just past the kiosk outside the wharf gates. We usually just walk to the Mount unless we're catching up with friends there.

After seeing a post elsewhere from someone who wanted to know if there were shuttle buses at the (unspecified) port I decided to put together a quick summary of the Australian and NZ ports. https://www.dropbox.com/s/460b0ginwpvmjih/Australia and NZ Ports.pdf?dl=0 Let me know if there is anything else I should add, there are a couple of ports I don't know much about which need more info. So far I've just kept it to type of port (docked or tender) and info on shuttles or proximity to towns. Should I add more?

Before we did the Hawaii/Tahiti cruise I thought five sea days would be too much but we soon got into a comfortable sea day routine and they whizzed past. We've got one set of seven on next year's world cruise.

I'd probably say "What? Only 3 sea days? Damn!" 🤣🤣🤣 It was really funny on the Hawaii/Tahiti cruise we did in 2019. It had several sets of 4-5 sea days and at the end of each set we'd grumble about it being port day next but, of course, we thoroughly enjoyed the port days as well.

I think the real decider will be who has a South Pacific itinerary departing from Auckland. Am I right in thinking that is only P&O? However if @Korimako is prepared to fly to Brisbane I would highly recommend Coral Princess, which is the best of the Princess ships currently operating here in my opinion. Some of the balcony cabins on Coral aren't covered so ask for advice if you choose this option.

For me: Disappointed - not really Getting bored with the same old same old - getting close. And for me there are three types of cruises: 1 - destinations/experiences - which now means either having to fly overseas, do a world cruse, or shell out for one of the Coral Expeditions cruises. 2 - catching up with family and friends so from Sydney either NZ or Melbourne or Queensland. 3- chill out time and I don't care where it goes or where it stops as long as it's warm and I'm on Princess ship with the Sanctuary.

If we're cruising with a drinks package we get bottled water and on Princess we exchange our Elite mini-bar for bottled water. Otherwise I pack our Brita water filter jug which is much easier to have in the cabin than large open containers of water to get rid of the chlorine taste.

I'm curious - why do you think Princess is "too busy"? We cruise Princess regularly and find it very relaxing. One thing Princess has that P&O doesn't is The Sanctuary - a pay extra area up on one of the top decks with super-comfy loungers and great service including afternoon tea served to your lounger. It's always very peaceful. We spend most afternoons there on our cruises , weather permitting. You have to up there as soon as you embark to book, especially if you want a lounger in the shade. $20pp for a half day.

They would be during the summer season as there aren't many/any cruises out of Melbourne in winter.

It's easier to filter it. We've had a water filter in our kitchen for over 20 years.

There are plenty of cafes near the Rendezvous.

Except that they have to add chlorine to it to keep it safe to drink after circulating through the ship's reticulation system. Unfortunately I can't handle too much chlorine in drinking water these days. I use filtered water at home.

I just checked the Australian Passage Contract for a cruise I booked recently and there are no restrictions at all on bringing non-alcohol drinks onboard. It's not even mentioned.

A lot depends on the length of cruise, the ship, and the itinerary. But is it really fair to compare today's fares with pre-Covid ones? Three years have passed since then and lots of things have gone up in price.

A friend of ours stayed at the Rendezvous Hotel Sydney The Rocks late last year and said it was really nice. It's near the Argyle St end of Harrington St so walkable to the cruise terminal.

I just spotted a thread this morning. Yes, it sounds like they are non-refundabke bookings in the US. Seriously? Princess expects people to book a guarantee cabin which will probably end up being an "F" category cabin at the same price "F" category cabins used to be and it's a non-refundable? Whoever came up with that idea must be away with the fairies!

What they have done is block out the lowest category of cabins in each class ie IF, BF, and have made those only available under the 'Princess chooses" option at the fare those cabin categories would normally go for. The first category that is able to be selected is therefore one higher than the lowest and is also at the fare that category would normally go for, but the way it's shown makes it look like they are charging extra for cabin selection. One other problem with this rather stupid idea is that some people prefer cabins in the "F" location but are no longer able to select those cabins. It's very deceptive and very annoying. Posts 46 and 62 on this thread in the AUS/NZ forum show a couple of examples of the price breaks for the various fares.

Otherwise find a nearby supermarket, buy some slabs of bottled water, attach luggage labels, hand them in with your luggage and they will be delivered to your cabin. Princess only though.

All hotels do it. It's common in Japan to ship baggage as there is virtually no baggage space on the Shinkansens. Your hotel should be able to advise you how to do it.

I also remember swimming at Scorching Bay and Worser Bay. And Paraparaumu and other beaches up that way.

I can remember swimming at a very young age but not how cold the water was. Actually I was a bit of a problem for my parents. Neither of them swam but I was a real water baby even before I could actually swim. I loved racing into the sea and jumping over the waves. Luckily I never got into trouble.

Jeez Marion, that's too long ago to remember! 🤣 But kids never seem to feel the cold as much as adults do. I certainly don't recall the water feeling cold but, then again, I'd only even swum in NZ waters (even in Dunedin when I was very little) so the temps were normal to me then.

Oddly enough there doesn't seem to be any discussion about this on the main Princess forum, unless I missed it. Given the amount of discussion about it here I expected the main forum to be in an uproar about it. I wonder if they're trialling it in our region only. Hopefully one of our overseas friends can check this and report back.

The wine packages were never available on Australian cruises for some odd reason.