cruiselvr04

I had a friend about 20 years who went so far as to get an employee from the store to bring out a coat hanger to try to get into “her “ car. I laughed at her story until I cried. The person whose car she was trying to break into was not amused.

We are planning to do to Lone Pine Koala by cab also. Rome to rio is a good website to use to see transportation routes and costs. Our cruise line doesn’t offer this as an excursion and I can’t find a private tour that the times will work for. So we think a cab is the best plan or may use Uber.

I even have a special pair of leggings I wear when snorkeling. It’s doesn’t protect from jelly fish but keeps me from getting sunburned. Thanks so much for all your comments. I think we’ll bring our own umbrella just be sure I’m protected. It fits into a 25 inch suitcase and weighs about 7 lbs so not bad. It can mean the difference between a day at the beach and not. I’ve had some beaches say no in the Caribbean which is why I asked but have used it on US beaches.

Just went through the locks last month on Radiance. Glad your day is clearing. We found it interesting that the area around the locks and lake didn’t seem dry yet it’s a drought. The levels were not visibly low. I’m looking forward to doing it again someday.

This was just released as Jewels rerouting instead of going to Israel. The price will only go up. We are booked in a balcony. Our flights won’t be as cheap but we are expecting this to be a great cruise as long as Icelands volcanos settle down.

We tried a boardwalk on Allure deck 11, third from the end. DH said not again. He didn’t feel comfortable ever sitting on the balcony. As they are slightly rounded you feel even closer to your neighbors. Add the noise and lights, even though we don’t go to bed early, and I guess it was a one and done.

If you are happy with your decision that’s wonderful and as it should be. The rest of us are just jealous. I hope to do a world cruise one day so I do read and pay attention to what others are saying who have done one. Not sure Regent would be my style, I’d have to try it out first. I do think it’d be important to try a line and the class of ship before you’d invest in a world cruise. Serenade would work for me. Plugs by the bed are a great improvement. I wish they’d do that on all the older ships. We’re doing a measly 46 nights on Brilliance next year. I find the older Royal ships have great storage for longer cruises. Viking not so much.

Thanks so much for answers. As long as I can use an umbrella I’m good to go. I always use lots of sunscreen and a long spf shirt and hat in the water. We will definitely be going to the beach!

We’d like to visit one or both of the beaches while staying in Sydney. I’ve looked at pictures and searched but can’t find the answer I’m looking for. Due to multiple skin cancers I must have shade but I still love to sit on the beach and enjoy the sights and sounds of the water. I have my own travel sun umbrella, 100 spf, that I can screw/ secure into the sand. Is this allowed at either beach? Or is there a place to rent one at these beaches? I see some trees at Manly but they aren’t too close to the beach. I’m just not seeing umbrella’s in the pictures.

Don’t do what I did. I waited until evening to talk to the DH about an excursion that was on sale. It went up $15 pp while I waited. Still saved a little but I should’ve just bought it. So yes prices are changing frequently. I’m wondering if so many purchased that it then kicks it up?

What ship is the little one?

Sadly no Tutti salad in the MDR. Ships that have a Park Cafe make a scaled down version. I’m resorting to WJ make your own with what you can find. I like iceberg so it’s the burger bar area for a small portion of lettuce, then chicken salad with a small slice of cheese from the soup area, then over to the salad area for toppings. Sometimes they have ham in the salad area but I haven’t seen tuna or chicken.

Some prices are a bit crazy. Are people really paying that much for Coco beach club? Today I bought a couple of pairs of shoes that I need to break in for Australia and all the walking we plan on doing. I felt guilty for spending $150 for 2 pair of slip on sneakers that I’ll probably wear for the next 10 years. Compared to a day at Coco Cay I guess I’ll get my moneys worth. Tonight I’ll buy some water packages (still crazy prices but don’t want to lug them on board) and discuss with DH a couple of excursions that are actually reduced in price.

If we have to use the cruise shuttle into town as Christchurch is asking us to, is the bus interchange near? I don’t mind taking the shuttle to keep the bus open for locals to the center of town but how will we find the #8 bus from there?

I’ve been writing down prices from Royals website pre Black Friday sales which should start tomorrow. I got a water pkg for 22.99. They have now raised it to 32.99 so tomorrow they can lower it again and call it a sale. Excursion prices are the highest I’ve ever seen. A few we bit on because we couldn’t figure out how to do it on our own. Sometimes the cruise line buys out the train for instance. Websites have not been too helpful. I’m doing the Lone Pine Koalas by cab I think. Some tours leave in a city before we could possibly get off the ship and get to the meeting point. It’s been frustrating. Honestly if I’d known how hard all the planning was I might have canceled but we are committed now and will make it all work.

You’re in one of those cabins that has that weird built in behind, what I call, the chair and a half. It takes a few inches out of the room making it more narrow. Nothing to quibble about but what’s behind there? It’s mostly in forward cabins. I guess it’s a good place to put the phone and pool towels. I think the tiny table is going out on the balcony next cruise. DH gets irritated that he can’t walk behind me when I putting on make up at the desk.

We drive thru Corsicana on our way to Houston and Galveston. I didn’t know it had an international presence. Their bakery is yummy.

Been there done that for 10 days once when they nicked my bladder during surgery. Not fun but hang in there. After testing to see that all was healed they handed me a syringe and had me deflate the balloon and remove it myself. This too shall pass but it’s hard when you’re in it. Sorry you’re having to deal with it.

I too think some discussion is good. For the infrequent cruiser who comes to these threads, it may help them form their own opinion. It probably isn’t going to change the minds of those of us who cruise frequently. Personally I do not want to go back to envelopes and handing out cash the last night.

Great you can go to the party at the OH. We have booked The Magic Flute for the night before we board Brilliance in February and West Side Story for our last night in Australia. Both are opening nights. For us this is the icing on the cake for our trip to Australia and NZ. 5 years ago while on a river cruise we went to the Vienna opera, the Elixir of Love for our 40th wedding anniversary. Please post some pictures of your event!

I monitored pricing for a recent cruise down to 48 hours prior. Price never went down and I counted at least a dozen oceanview and inside cabins that went empty. Wouldn’t it be better to sell some of those and trust that on board purchases would make them some money in excursions, drinks and casino? I’m not a finance person but I thought it was interesting. Or do they get to a certain threshold and consider they are good?

Love all your pics. We will be in Sydney in less than 90 days now. It’s coming so fast. I still have about 10 ports of call or days in Sydney to plan, trying to knock them out so I can then relax and enjoy the holidays. We can not wait to see Kangaroos and Koalas! As a side note, Royal isn’t offering excursions in some ports of call or they are way over priced. I find the zero excursions strange. It’s mostly that way in Australia, not New Zealand. So about 1/3 will be Royal excursions, a few private when I could find them and the rest on our own. Hopefully all my planning works. It’s been a bit frustrating as a planner and our roll call is not active.

This is Sydney you’re talking about right? Tapping a credit card on and off sounds easiest. Is this for all public transportation including ferries? Do we each need to use a separate credit card?

We are planning to go into Christchurch on our own to the Antarctic museum. So we can take the cruise shuttle into the center of town and then take a bus or cab to the museum and reverse the same I assume after checking a timetable? We have 12 hours in port so feel like this is doable on our own. The cruise line wants $200 pp US for the same thing. Surely we do it cheaper on our own?

A positive I can say about the MDR is that they are getting you out quicker. The longest meal we had last month on 16 nights was 90 minutes and most were closer to 75 minutes. They are trying to turn tables quickly but this also gives us more time in the evening to do the things we want to do. Im sure this is hard on the wait staff but we like the faster service.