two_black_dogs

Eurodam had two shipping containers on the foredeck (?) - is that because it is going to dry dock?

If you are talking about travelling in the December - January period, be aware that this is school holidays period for all Australian states. Any cruise you choose will have large numbers of children on it (although possibly fewer on a cruise to NZ than to the Pacific Islands), and definitely fewer on Princess than say Carnival for example.

Also be aware that this is peak holiday period on land, and that therefore land-based accommodation is heavily booked and also much more expensive.

Finally, think about the climate of where you are intending to go. Summer can be the wet season in parts of northern Australia, which could mean that you encounter wet, humid, steamy weather with less than perfect beach conditions (and possibly closed beaches due to stingers etc). We tend to experience either bushfires or severe storms/cyclones and floods at this time too which could also affect your plans, although of course Australia is a very big country and your plans might have you nowhere near any of these factors. Although having said that, taking two weeks out of a 4-6 week holiday for a cruise doesn't leave you with all that much time to see much of what this country is famous for (especially if you are planning to drive around).

I recommend thinking a bit more about exactly what you are looking for from your holiday on land to see if it is viable at that time of the year, as well as thinking about a cruise component.

thanks for that 138east - my Husband loved Fort Lauderdale when we were there last time and I think he would like to spend some more time there. I hadn't considered Boston - maybe we could spend some time in NYC, train up to Boston and depart from there. Is October fall? is that colour time in the North East? Perhaps a road trip might be in order - I'd love that but not sure he would be keen! But thanks, that is a start for us.

Hi East Coast Cruisers,

My husband and I, both early 50s from Australia are starting to think about planning our next cruise. A couple of years ago we did a Panama Canal crossing on Coral Princess, which we both enjoyed. Husband wants to do more cruising, I really want to visit NYC again, so we are thinking that perhaps we can combine a cruise and a NYC stay. I've had a quick look but am not sure about where cruises departing from NYC travel to. From what I can see the majority go to Bahamas or Bermuda - neither have really been places I have ever thought about but that doesn't mean they are off the agenda. Husband would like to go to Jamaica. We aren't tied to Princess - ie would consider other lines; we have no idea about dates yet except that we are looking maybe 18 months in advance; we would probably be looking for 7-10 days trip. It wouldn't have to return to NYC either if that gives us more variety - and now I've just thought of it, it we could also start at a different port too!

Too long/didn't read?: 2 50something Aussies looking for advice on a possible cruise 7-10 days to tack on to a NYC stay. Lots of time to plan - just starting to consider options now. What would you recommend?

I said I'd provide feedback about Travel Insurance Direct, so here it is.

To recap, my husband caught the flu on a recent Princess Panama Canal Cruise. We had to attend the Medical Centre. Costs for a consultation and medicine were approx $500 US.

We claimed from our travel insurance and had a swift and straightforward resolution to our claim. Money was in our account, minus the $100AUD excess that we had chosen in our policy, within a week of the claim. All done online, all very easy.

We've always received a good rate from TID and it has been easy to organise online. We've just returned from five weeks USA holiday including a 15 night canal cruise. Have never had to use the travel insurance before, but this time we will be making a claim, because my husband caught what we thought was a cold but was actually diagnosed as influenza B ( a communicable/notifiable illness for which he was confined to cabin in isolation for a number of days). We incurred about $500 of onboard medical expenses including tests and medications for both of us, so hope that we will be able to claim that back. We also left our video camera somewhere but have no evidence that we have lost it, ( or even that we had it in the first place!) so I guess we won't have any luck with that one! I'll try to remember to report back about the claim.

We've now cruised twice - once with P&O Aust and once with Princess. We made our booking with Princess then discovered we could add our P&O cruise which we did did by contacting the Captain's Circle representative, who made the changes quickly and easily.

That nasty "Coral cough" is influenza B - highly contagious and very dangerous if it was to be contracted by somebody frail or elderly. My husband, who is otherwise fit and well, was coughed on by somebody who had it, started feeling like he had a bad cold, felt worse and was then diagnosed with it and as it is a notifiable communicable disease, confined to cabin for a number of days. Both of us are on high level ( and expensive ) anti-viral medication just so we were able to be declared symptom free and therefore able to clear quarantine when disembarking.

The thing is, so many people were coughing and sneezing every time there were groups of people gathered together, it's impossible to know how many acTually had the flu as opposed to a cold. The doctor estimated high numbers but because people don't go to the medical centre, they just keep on passing it on. So if you have just got off the Coral and have a "cold" get your doctor to test for flu virus as you may be at risk and/ or spreading it around. It's just as serious as Noro (more so for older people.)

It has Princess@Sea but not the messenger service .

Was listed twice in the patter on the two week trans canal Coral journey just de-boarded today.

We will be cruising the Panama Canal on Coral Princess in April. I lurk on the main Princess board but would be happy to join in on an Oz-Princess thread. I sometimes get a bit of a beleaguered feeling out there when others start talking about Australians ( and their apparent shortcomings a tippers).

Thanks everybody for the replies. I've had a bit of discussion here and elsewhere and the consensus is that this is not available in the USA. He has tried other products before ( lozenges) and although they work to deal with nicotine cravings, they lead to very unpleasant flatulence! Not exactly what I want when cooped up in a cabin, although fortunately we do have a balcony so I guess he can "step outside" when needed!

Just in terms of the e-cig, he feels that this would be a backward step in the quit smoking process, as it is too closely related to the action of smoking. The spray is a quick squirt like a mouth freshener, very discreet and with rapid effect. I guess we have a couple of months for him to try and wean off his squirters, or if the worst comes to worst, I'll get him some charcoal tablets to deal with the farts!

Thanks again for your help,

Caz

*** also posted on Princess smoking thread, since we will be sailing Princess)

My husband has given up smoking but has not given up nicotine! He still uses Nicotine Replacement Therapy products, specifically Nicorette Quick Mist ( an oral spray).

We are travelling from Australia and spending approximately 6 weeks in USA including the two weeks of our cruise. He goes through at least four sprays a week, probably more, and we want to know if they are available in USA. I have tried searching online but can't seem to find them - other NRT products yes, but not the sprays. We usually buy from our local discount pharmacy, but they are also available here in supermarkets ( although more expensive). Can anybody advise on their availability? (where and how much would be great if you know! ) obviously if we need to I guess we could bring them with us, but it would be an expensive initial outlay, weigh a bit and take up space, all of which we would like to avoid. BTW, alternatives such as gum, patches, lozenges and strips are all out. It has to be the spray! ( but the brand can differ).

Thanks in anticipation, caz

The OP did refer to a law about offering discounted liquor. Whilst that seems unlikely, might it have something to do with Australian Responsible Service of Alcohol requirements? There are quite stringent rules around the promotion, provision and serving of alcohol that could impact upon the "all you can drink" concept of this package.

You say you "have been offered" - does that mean you were a guarantee and have now been allocated - or something else?

I ask because that sailing has been showing as fully booked for anything above and including balcony, and we have a balcony guarantee and are anxious to know when we might find out our cabin.

Actually, I'm an Australian keen to talk "price drops". I find that there is lots of conversation on these boards about receiving significant price reductions, and I'd love to know how to go about doing it for myself. So I'd encourage a discussion of prices and how to obtain discounts knowing full well that the 15 day Princess Panama Canal crossing we have booked for April is costing us a fortune in AUD.

We are booked for April 2015 and just moved from a balcony to a mini as we like the space, coach and bath. Karen

Just enquiring - are you on the 12 April sailing because for me that is showing no minis available. I'm booked on a balcony and have been thinking more space in a mini might be a more pleasant experience, but it doesn't look like there are any available. I'm thinking in regard to the 15 days aboard, not so much the one day of canal crossing.

So send yourself a bunch of OBC. That will take advantage of a good exchange rate. Being in the US has no bearing on this

Yes of course... But that can only be requested via fax or phone. If Princess change to give us the ability to do this online (which I believe was what was mentioned as well) we will do exactly that.

Prepayment sounds good to me. Currently the exchange rate is quite good for us although not back up to parity yet (AUD =0.94USD). Being able to pay now for something when the going is good means we MIGHT avoid having to pay double later on ( if the economic forecasts are correct). Ideally I'd like to be just buying onboard credit so I can actually use it on things we know we will have to pay but don't know the exact amount. Unfortunately the fax or phone call method doesn't suit us. I want my credit details floating around the real world as a fax transmission even less than I want my details going online via a secure server.

A change towards on line payments will be enthusiastically received here, and if the AUD manages to hit over parity, as it was for a while there, then we will certainly be paying as much as we can and advance and preloading travel money cards.

Not all cruisers are in the US!

Thank you - that's more or less clear. Is the lemonade served on Princess actually freshly squeezed lemons added to the syrup, or do you think it is more likely to be some kind of re-constituted lemon fruit drink?

Just curious to explore the differences :)

Cheers again, caz

All this talk of iced tea and lemonade has this Aussie stumped!

When you say " iced tea" it's an unsweetened "tea" flavoured still beverage, served cold and flat, yes?

But what is "lemonade" for you? To us here, it is a fizzy clear coloured sweet "soda". I suspect though that "lemonade" might be a flat sweet lemon flavoured cordial.

Could some so help me with this? It's been bugging me since I started reading these forums, and now seems like the perfect opportunity to find out the answer!

Cheers, Caz from oz

Interesting possibilities - a bit less dramatic than the instant impregnation or STD transmission theories -but still worthy of a "Jersey Shore" episode script.

Or indeed a script from The Love Boat.... I'm sure I saw that episode.... :D

Although I'm not cruising until next April, I have already started the dry brushing routine (just over the past few days) as I suffer from fluid retention at the best of times.

I've noticed it has made such a difference already. My ankles and feet have reduced in size, but also I've noticed around my chin/neck and upper torso, as I brush the lymph away from my face and upper body towards the lymph nodes under my arms. I just use a natural bristle shower brush from the supermarket. That brush is prickly on delicate skin, but at the same time energising and rejuvenating. Hopefully I can keep up with the time and motivation required to continue doing this as part of my regular routine.

(I have to say that at the moment I am tending to feel fairly bleah and sluggish - but i think perhaps this is because all that lymph that has just been pooling is being swept out. )

Wow, how complex is the business of school holiday scheduling in the States? Here in Australia, it is pretty much 4 ten week terms, separated by 2 week vacations, with a longer break over Christmas/January. There may be a week or so variation between the states but more or less we are consistent. The downside - if you work in a school there is virtually no way you will ever have a holiday when it is not peak season. Thank goodness for long service leave - I am taking 4 weeks in term time - on FULL PAY! Cheaper, less crowded, and a timeframe and itinerary that suits me. Mind you... It means I probably won't get another holiday for the next ten years, but I think it will be worthwhile :)

Congrats on your 50th! It's mine too, ( and Husband's) and we are doing a full transit on Coral Princess to celebrate. Have no idea what it will be like - we are going in April.

We were planning to go on the Pearl, but we found that we could book a balcony for only slightly more on Princess, so that was a clincher for us.

Enjoy your celebrations :)