Cruisers47

3 minutes ago, mr walker said:

Eileen, we are not 'foodies' at all, grew up on meat & 3 veg, so more pub & club type food - steaks, parmi, fish & chips, hamburgers etc. One thing we have always enjoyed when cruising is trying all the different meals offered & the dining has always been a highlight of our 20+ cruises (RC, Princess, Carnival). Not so on P&O unfortunately - very limited menus in MDR & food not so great. We had gone with a low expectation & that was well met. The 3 rotating restaurants (asian fusion, Italian & 'general' cuisine) didn't work well for us, & we struggled to find more than 1 dish we would enjoy in the first 2, and thus went to the other one after the 3rd night. Also, the 'ambience' lighting (almost dark) was weird. We still got fed but it was not a good match for us. We went on a RC cruise about a month after the P&O cruise, and first night in MDR I looked at menu and said to Tracey - "now we are on a cruise". We didn't try any specialty restaurants. 

 

The ship was good - no problems, apart from an often stink on Deck 7 (near & in Adventure Hotel) & staff were all friendly and tried their best. There was a distinct lack of organisation onboard re tendering and disembark, but maybe we expected too much.

 

Your experience may be different & I hope you do enjoy

Hi Neil,

Thanks for your thoughts.   I appreciate it.   We are really RC now.  We have done over 40 cruises on various cruise lines.  We had to cancel a group of cruises we had booked because my husband got very ill and only now has he had the ok to go on one.  But the specialist said do not go overseas.   Hence P and O  this time of year.  Melbourne is cold in the winter and we so miss cruising but we will make the best of it and appreciate getting away.

thanks again.

eileen

On 5/14/2024 at 10:45 AM, mr walker said:

We did the Bounty cruise on Pacific Adventure in Oct last year.

 

We have been to NI a number of times over the years (flying) & we had family who had not been there before with us on this cruise, so we rented a car (booked ahead of time) and showed them the island. So much to see for such a small island. Took the tender ashore & the shuttle bus into town - the rental car place was right next door to the bus drop-off point.

For Tonga, in Nuku'alofa we just walked off and did a walking tour with some lovely students who were studying tourism at University. They had a small marquee set up along the wharf, not at the main Tourist Info marquee, & providing the tours was part of their studies. At Vava'u we just walked off the ship & walked around.

Neil,

we are going on Pacific Adventure next month as I want a trip during Winter.   It is more than 10 years since we were on P and O .   I am not expecting much but hope the food is not too bad.  I have booked a couple of dinners in the speciality restaurants,  

how was the ship??

thanks

Eileen

3 minutes ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

we have really enjoyed our cruise.

its always great to travel with mum and eat lots. p&o is not anywhere near as good as msc, royal Caribbean  or princess. but they don't come here and do return cruises so we made the most of it.

I'm off in 2 weeks time to Europe for 8 weeks  and will be booking a cruise for while I'm there. so I suppose I can't post on here as its not Australia / new Zealand.

if anyone has any questions about this cruise,  I will  check in here over the next few days.

Thanks for your comments.  We are going on a p and o in a month.   Accept that food is not as good as other lines but sometimes I think it is my fault for ordering the wrong dish,   But we will enjoy.   Enjoy Europe.

eileen

14 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

Yes, it's a big problem if you don't live in Sydney or Brisbane. I've spend weeks hoping the Melbourne to Sydney airfares would drop down to something reasonable, with no luck. Today, just for an hour or two, there were discounted fares on Virgin, literally half the price they were a few days ago.  I booked quickly. When I checked again two hours later, they were gone.  Wish I could also get the cost of a Sydney hotel for the night before the cruise to drop down.

Like you, I also looked at some excellent packages to Bali this winter. The accommodation prices are very low there at the moment.

I have used my frequent flyer points for most of my flights from Melbourne to Sydney.   That helps.   But we have started to fly the day before so yes, have to pay for a hotel overnight.  I would like to fly up on the day  of the cruise but with all the cancellations I don’t want to take the chance.

50 minutes ago, cruiser3775 said:

The Carnival Splendor cruise I'm on is showing as sold out, but the previous one from Sydney to Singapore, 15 days, departing on 21st July, still has few cabins left.  The itinerary has a lot of sea days, but many people don't mind that, and it certainly goes though warmer weather. They even offer a couple of "interior" cabins that actually have portholes, for a reasonable pice.

We have finally booked another cruise.  Due to ill health we have had to cancel numerous cruises but got the ok from specialist and doing a P and O cruise.  Sydney to Cairns and back next month.   Long time since we have done a P and O but looking forward to getting out of Melbourne as winter hits.   Hope P and O is ok but think the meals cooked, shows and no cleaning means we can cope!!!

eileen 

1 minute ago, rkmw said:

Yes you can cancel the booking online, if you sign into your booking and under the invoice details you will find it there but if you want to go on another cruise give them a call and they might let you transfer to another cruise

Thank you

21 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

I would call them up, there may be some more leniency due to the ill health, especially if you have the doctors certificate to back it up.

Thanks, I thought that might be the case,   I have looked up their information but can’t see that you can cancel online?

Hi

i have to cancel a carnival cruise because of ill heath.   
I booked directly with carnival.  Can I cancel it online.

Eileen

1 hour ago, Jet2727 said:

Originally from Sydney, first 35 years, last 15 in Melbourne. Love the aesthetic beauty of Sydney but it is a horror to move around, I travel there for work and to visit my family a couple of times a month. I love Melbourne, it’s theatre, food and vibe, I dislike the weather and I winter grey in particular. Have booked Viking cruise syd -Auck next Christmas, I will not be getting off at a number of stops, including Melb, I live in port Melbourne, good way to avoid the family issues re Christmas, visit them in syd and Auck! 

I have loved this conversation .   I live out in the suburbs of Melbourne.   Came here 50 years ago from Edinburgh,  I never thought Edinburgh was that nice but everyone tells me it’s a wonderful place.   Yes Melbourne is nice even the weather,   Remember having to shovel the snow in the winter in Scotland.  At least don’t have to do that in Melbourne.

lovely discussion.

Eileen

Just now, Cruisers47 said:

Sorry Chilli but I have to ask….did your shower..ha ha.

Regarding travel insurance issue.    I have the Christmas celebrity cruise  to NZ booked.  My bankwest cc now does not cover cancellation. I paid it with that credit card. My husband has found he has a very serious illness and is in hospital for 6 weeks.  Had to cancelled.   Just got a note from my TA.  I am getting a 25% refund although it’s less than 30 days from the cruise.  I am actually happy with that.   On our Mediterranean cruises this year  I took out extra insurance but didn’t bother with the Celebrity.   My fault but in the situation in the world I accept it.   That’s why I have now got a ANZ credit card which does now include cancellation and he does make the Brilliance cruise around OZ in February I will be able to claim.   Just hope Husband has recovered as I so miss cruising!   Anyway you live and learn.

Eileen

18 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

No one special Eileen .it’s the difference between Carnival and RCG.

 

Sorry Chilli but I have to ask….did your shower..ha ha.

22 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

I find that hard to believe,there must be another side to the story.

 

 I just got off Brillance and I didn’t have hot water in my cabin,which was a annoyance

not a big problem .

I just had a bit of a widge when paying my bill and Royal is giving me a full refund on the cruise. 

 

Wow chilli…is that because you know certain RC people.

Eileen

18 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

No. He doesn't shake the clothes out before hanging, and even worse, the pegs seem to get attached to whichever bit of the item he picks up. Well, maybe not quite that bad, but nearly. I just don't look too closely. However, he does like to match the pegs, 😁 just to each other, not to the clothes.

Ha ha..,it is good to have a laugh at their expense.   Mind  you I do not cut grass and am no good at anything technical except I am better with computer stuff and finance.   I guess we make a good twosome, especially after 57 years..,really that long..,I was a child bride…ha ha 

eileen

55 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

It seems a long time since i used a passport so i'll have to triple check also  i did leave it home one time and had to drive home to get it.  i only got a five year one and was starting to worry i wouldn't get to use it.

Mentioning passports.   Our old one was looking not too good and my husband had trouble with it through the system so I decided we should get new ones.   We did get 10 year ones.   Went to the Post Office and did he get a shock at the price.   He has no idea as I look after all the finances! 
 

Eileen

3 minutes ago, arxcards said:

I am banned from hanging clothes. I do give them a shake, but I don't use matching pegs or I use the wrong colour. My robot uses matching & colour coordinated pegs.

Yes retirement takes some adjusting to.  I appreciate the washing of floors and vacuuming and I am now not allowed to fill the dishwasher.  All of a sudden he takes time to do these things but he forgets I used to have to do all the things mostly by myself.   You know how women are multi skilled.   Remember the days when we first got guys serving in the supermarkets!   
 

really things have improved for us all.   But still love cruising and getting all things done for us.

Eileen

1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said:

I have got one of those machines that hangs the laundry out to dry - it is called a husband. 🙂

But does he shake the washing before hanging it out!   Problem …do you complain, it is not being done properly and are you glad it is just being done!

Eileen

3 hours ago, ekka49 said:

It would be good to be back at the 2012 exchange rate  A$1 for US$1.

I remember it well… we did a few Crystal cruises booked through a US website.   They were wonderful.   Good terrific OBC.  
 

Eileen

3 hours ago, Sparky74 said:

This reminds me of a line from an old George Formby song entitled "Pleasure Cruise". 
Down the companionway, you fall ten times a day…

 

For the young people in this forum:

A companionway is a ladder or steep staircase between the decks of a ship.
George Formby was an English comedic singer-songwriter from the first half of the 20th Century who often accompanied himself on the banjolele.

A banjolele is…

oh never mind!

Oh I remember it well!

Eileen…not the one from Queensland.,,whoever she was!!

32 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

You don't have to do a virgin cruise just because you don't have kids,

You can avoid kids most of the time.   I have been reading about how a lot of people are wary of the large ships!   We were on Wonder of the Seas on the Med last year.   As we don’t go on the water slides etc and are not pool swimmers, we prefer to sit on the lower decks to read and we had no problems.    The entertainment was magnificent and the MDR was excellent because of the many different people we met.  A lot of families stick to the buffet!

Eileen

1 hour ago, mum and son said:

I've only sailed NCL once and it was a long time ago, but I enjoyed it. I think you'll find a lot more upselling and additional charges on top of the basics. I found the general quality of the "free" dining options to be a little lower than Princess, but that's subjective. There was a good selection of specialty restaurants.

The ship was definitely more lively than Princess as it probably attracts a slightly younger demographic, and more families. The bars were more fun at night.

The Free At Sea deals make it a very easy way to enjoy a holiday.

Don’t know if is correct but read recently that although the Drinks are included you have the gratuities on top for each drink?   Can anybody advise?
 

eileen

4 minutes ago, mr walker said:

Ask 10 economists & you’ll get 10 different answers. The value is somewhat based on the strength of the Aus economy vs other countries. People make & lose lots of money trying to make money on Fx rates.

 

The cruise lines are not making extra, just charging in $A to the equivalent USD amount.

Its less than 10 years ago when the $A was higher than USD & our cruise bill was less in $A than USD - we were happy then 😁

Yes, I remember it well!🥳

Eileen

29 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Our days there have been great so far. There is a nice grassy area off to the side with great views of your ship. There are a small number of bench seats as well, and as long as the breeze is in the right direction, it is more than a pleasant spot to wait it out.

 

All you can do is keep your eyes and ears peeled for anything that will cause a delay. If there is a known delay, Princess will also push back boarding times and you can align your arrival to that. As you mention though, you have a shuttle booked so you are committed to being there regardless. The last time we embarked there on Coral, we were checking in at around 11:10.

Last year we did a cruise from Brisbane on RC and was pleasantly surprised at how many staff were on site.   We got on the boat very early with no hold ups at all.   Good luck. 
 

Eileen

54 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Having some people getting sick on any given cruise is a given, an outbreak is something else as it describes that certain numbers have exceeded the allowable quota before health authorities at the next ports need to be informed.

I am concerned as my friends are getting on Princess on Wednesday in Melbourne.    At what stage will they cancel the next part of the cruise?

Eileen

I was looking at the topic on CC, mostly US comments!

speciality restaurants on RCL at 12.99 US sale.   Just looked at my Feb cruise on brilliance.   Dinners are about $100 pp.

we really don’t get treated very well.

Eileen

7 hours ago, Ozwoody said:

Personally I like when I can blame someone else.

Really hate it when I have to point at me as the faulty one.

 

Have to do that to many times at home, when you know who gives me one of those looks.🥺

As if you would get one of these looks!    My husband says it’s the tone of voice I use..really!!   That’s why he never organises anything to do with cruises!  
 

Eileen