ozziepost

Another vote from me for Princess. I call doing a Princess cruise going into rehab being spoilt rotten and coming back refreshed and feeling new again. 

The Eden is now called the Vasco Da Gama gets mixed reviews on Trip Advisor. Only did one trip on the Eden which we enjoyed but not sure if I would like to do a cruise on her as the VDG.

Did only one trip on the Pearl and what an eventful voyage that was. We had a blonde female master who's hair must have been turning grey by the end of the cruise. The service in the restaurants was sub standard, ran into a force nine gale after leaving one of the islands whose name escapes me.

Couldn't get into Port Vila because of risky conditions  with the result there was a bunch of grumpy passengers who couldn't get the cheap DF grog from Vila. Outside Sydney she broke down and had to be towed into port and didn't come alongside until about 10am. As she was being docked one of the planks that line the wharf fell into the water with the result they had to move the stern clear of the wharf while a forklift retrieved the plank. 

Those who booked their flights home before 12n missed them. The risk of an incident like that is the very reason we have at least one night post cruise in the port we are disembarking at. We just wrote that cruise off as something of an adventure and when I see photos of the Columbus it brings back memories of that trip.

What you are looking at will be ok. We like to stay at the Great Southern Hotel in George St when in Sydney for a cruise.

It's close to Central Station, Darling Harbour and China town although its budget priced it is rated 4* with clean and comfortable rooms and good Aussie pub grub in the restaurant. Might not be everyone's cup of tea but we like it.

I'll let others comment on more hotel options in Sydney.

On 12/7/2019 at 10:09 AM, OzKiwiJJ said:

The Worldfresh Marketplace is even bigger so you'll probably come back fatter!😜🤣🤣🤣

Yes and you will probably lose weight just walking between the food stations think I prefer the buffet in the Horizon court or heaven forbid the pantry on some of the P&O ships. 

There is a lot of chatter about the dramas being experienced on the VDG with a long thread on Trip Advisor cruise forum not very happy vegemite's is an understatement indeed.

Well you would be kind of crazy not to travel without travel insurance. I am aware of some passengers who happily spend literally thousands on a cruise and then baulk at the thought of spending a few hundred bucks on quality TI.

We visited Noumea on the Majestic last month although I didn't take a hard copy of our policy with us I could have accessed the policy stored in a folder on my email account if needed.

6 hours ago, NSWP said:

Where the heck is Mystery Island ? 

Been there many times. Sometimes though it remains a mystery as it is a tender port and conditions aren't always conducive to launching the tenders. If you hop into the Cannibal Soup pot on the island you can have a somewhat charming kitsch photo taken complete with locals armed with spears in one hand and soup vegies in the other. One of those must have photo's as a reminder of your visit.

3 minutes ago, louand47 said:

Hi all,

 

Can you take coffee sachets from uk to Australia and New Zealand.

 

Also does anybody know how much the coffee card is.

 

Many thanks

 

Lou.

I think we paid about $36 each for a coffee package when we were on the Golden earlier this year we will be on the majestic soon and I expect the price will be similar. I don't see any problems in taking coffee sachets from the UK to Australia or NZ though I would declare it just in case to be safe. Having done a cruise from Southampton last year I reckon our coffee is much better.

1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said:

The prices on drinks on Australian-based cruises are higher than on Princess' other ships. The gratuity is build into the price you see on the menu. What you see is what you pay.🙂

Ok you are probably correct and I may well be wrong with my comment about a service charge being added to any drinks etc purchased which I thought had happened when we did a trip to NZ on the Golden earlier this year. I'll make a point of double checking our receipts for purchases we make when we do our trip on the Majestic soon. 

Cheers

Agree the prices you posted look about right soft drinks are about $2.75. The ships water is perfectly fine to drink free and probably better than what we get at home. We never buy water on board and just take our favourite water bottle and refill from the dispensers on the ship. We are on the Majestic soon and will purchase a coffee package each, take our own water bottles with us and buy our drinks as we go. Note too that no gratuities are required to be paid on Princess cruises doing cruises from Australia as it is built into the fare but there is a small service charge for purchases made on board including drinks.

 I don't like drink packages as I feel they are overpriced, while they work for some you have to be very careful. If you are involved in an incident on board and hurt yourself especially if alcohol is involved and that can happen I think you would have a very interesting and expensive discussion with your travel insurance company. The only drink package I can recommend on Princess ships is the Coffee package @$36 you get 15 specialty coffees for the price of 10.

One option that can work is that you gift yourselves OBC and just buy drinks as you go any left over credit is refunded to the card you have registered for your shipboard account. 

We just caught the ferry over to Devonport when we were there on the Golden in January and just chilled out walking around enjoying the sights and visiting the RNZ Navy museum before catching the ferry back easy to do and didn't cost much. The ferry terminal is virtually alongside where the ship docks. When we got back we just wandered around having a look at the maritime museum and the waterfront before going back on board. We found Auckland was an easy port to DIY its a really good idea to keep an eye on the time though especially if you are only there for a limited time as we were.

Agree the coffee package is great value and we purchase one each as soon as we go on board. 

Hi I have used a number of travel insurance companies including RACV in the past. I now use Australia Post TI which is now my go to company when looking at TI. There is a cruise option and an online assessment for pre-existing conditions the price is competitive and is best purchased online rather than over the counter at a Post Office. I cant tell how good they are as thankfully I haven't had to do a claim but mates who have used the company and have made claims have had no problems doing so.

Hi can you add Ozziepost to your list we are doing the 14 night Mediterranean Adventure cruise from Southampton on the 12th May 2018.

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Saw the report on the 7 news tonight and wondered what ship it was. They said the culprits boarded in the UK.

When you consider the level of security on board you wonder how on earth they managed to get the stuff which was a sizeable amount on the ship.

Still where there’s a will there’s a way I wouldn’t mind betting the authorities were monitoring the shipment from its source until it arrived in OZ and then pounced.

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We visited Esperance back in ‘87 as part of a road trip and this time would have liked to have explored further afield but hey you can only do so much in the limited time you have when doing a Port visit on a cruise.

That part of WA is indeed a beautiful part of the country enjoy your visit.

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We visited Esperance on the Eden in April and just walked around exploring the town and really enjoyed it especially the museum which was like taking a trip back in time. There are local tours available and I would also consider what the ship has in the way of tours.

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I booked a P&O cruise about 6 weeks due a great deal a selection of cabins and then had to move quickly to secure reasonably priced flights and pre/post cruise accommodation. Whilst on another deal I just had to take whatever cabin was offered.

There are a number of factors to consider when looking at pack and go deals as well as the points covered above if you are still working arranging leave from your employer at the last minute which can be a pain in the bum.

With Princess it’s not often I see many pack and go deals and would be loath to book any later than 4 - 5 months out for fear of missing out on the trip I was interest in.

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If you open a bottle before you clear customs you run the risk of being charged customs duty on all of the alcohol you have with you. I personally would risk it and just buy the amount you are allowed or just a bit less depending on the size of the bottle.

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We visited Alotau in September on the Sea Princess and just handed in the quarantine form and I can’t recall if we were even charged for this. Certainly didn’t need passport photos though.

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There was no real competition on that cruise as the only international Port was Alotau in PNG where I believe DF wasn’t available.

I wonder what the prices would have been like if we had been doing a SP or NZ cruise where the shore prices Would have been much cheaper than what the ship was offering.

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This is from a list I obtained on the Sea Princess and was current as of September this year.

 

Vodka

Absolute Blue $31.99 or two for $59.99

Grey Goose $69.99 or two for $132.99

Ice Vodka $18.99 or 3 for $49.99

Stoli $29.99

 

 

Scotch

Specials

 

Dewars white label $29.99 or two for $54.99

Chivas regal $54.99

Glenfiddich $69.99

 

JW black $55.99 two for $105.99

JW blue $184.99

JW double black $49.99

JW gold reserve $69.99

JW platinum $99.99

JW red $39.99 two for $74.99

Laphroaig 10 years old $74.99

Muirheads blue seal whiskey $15.99 or two for $29.99

Chivas royal salute 700ml $138.99 20% off.

 

Drambuie $53.99

 

I have kept the list if there is anything else you are looking at let me know.:D

Here is the rest of the list.

Rum

Bacardi Superior 400Z $35.99 or two for $64.99

Bundaberg Black OP $59.99 or two for $114.99

Bundaberg Up $35.99 or two for $60.99

Captain Morgan Spiced $35.99 or two for $69.99

Malibu Coconut Rum $34.99 or two for $64.99

Liqeuers in addition to the Drambuie already quoted.

Baileys $35.99 2 $69.99

Cointreau $45.99

Frangelico $46.99 2 $89.99

Grand Marnier $67.99 2 $119.99

Jägermeister $42.99

Kahlua $36.99

Midori Melon $45.99 2 $84.99

Mollys Irish cream $19.99 2 $34.99

Mr Boston Butternut schnapps $14.99

Ouzo 12 $33.99

Southern comfort $45.99 2 $89.99

Tia Maria $39.99

Mr Boston peach schnapps $14.99 2 $19.99

Valentino Black $29.99 2 $49.99

Valentino White same price as the black

Whiskeys and bourbon

Crown royal whiskey $34.99 2 $64.99

Jack daniels $44.99 2 $84.99

JD gentleman jack $54.99

Jim bean black 8 yr bourbon $46.99

JB white $36.99 2 $69.99

Kentucky gentleman bourbon $17.99 2 $34.99

Wild turkey 86.8 $39.99

Gin

Bombay sapphire premium $39.99 2 $74.99

Gordons $29.99 2 $54.99

Cognac

Courvoisier VS $64.99 2 $110.99

" " VSOP $75.99

" " XO $159.99

Tequila

Jose Cuervo gold $39.99 2 $74.99

Patron silver $72.99

Brandy

Only item listed

Rodell Napoleon brandy $31.99 2 $59.99

The ICE vodka listed earlier was 1 Litre bottles

That should be the complete list I don't think I missed anything hope this helps.

Cheers.

I honestly didn’t find the prices of DF on the Sea Princess all that exciting and didn’t bother buying any. The only overseas port on that trip was Alotau as the cruise was the north western explorer visiting mainly Australian ports so I don’t know if that had any influence on the prices charged.

In respect to Vila on the cruises we have been on that have visited that port I’ve found the prices on the ship quite competitive although the variety somewhat limited we have often purchased on board rather than ashore.

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