Aussieflyer

Wishing Barb and you all the best and sending positive thoughts your way for a good report from the specialist.

I think you are right about the staff - usually service is excellent but yes, on Majestic they just didn't seem to be across it. I also missed Crooners - on Coral it is a lovely bar.

Agree about Coral and Crown/Bayou - it was great but thought the Majestic was pretty ordinary.

I do sleep on a plane but only at the 'front of the bus' (which is one reason I pay for business class). No hope of any shut eye if I am in a seated position. I am not sure if I have been a culprit with snoring - sincerely hope not.🤣

A bit of a price hike then! I am not sure the speciality restaurants on Princess are worth that amount - they are good but not great or WOW. On Majestic last November in fact I thought they were pretty bleh - not a lot of ambience and food so so.

I just hate autocorrect with a passion - Luminosa and not Luminous!!!!

Hopefully Luminous and balcony are good - I had an inside on Splendor the other week and it was the lumpiest and most uncomfortable bed I have ever had - even a 2 star motel was better. Usually beds on ships are great (though the doonas can make them a bit hot, so always ask for a top sheet).

I don't know anything about the companies but these came up in a Google search https://www.rpmobility.com.au/mobility-scooter-hire-sydney-australia/ https://www.wheelchairstogo.com.au https://www.sydneymobilityrentals.com.au And many more - so worth your friend having a look around.

Depending on the temperature, a jacket may be too hot to keep on so IMO it makes sense to hang it over the back of a chair. I remember at weddings in the past, the MC would announce that men could remove their jackets.

They probably couldn't fit it in with all the other themed nights on the cruise - super heroes, 80s, white knight etc 😂. The decorations were quite nice and there were some Christmas songs at one point. I think the kids on board probably enjoyed it. Me? Not so much. The MDR food seemed uniformly bleh so I don't think they would have excelled at a Christmas dinner to be honest.

It's certainly good to know if ever needed. Thanks for sharing.

Interesting find Sparky - I had a quick look at their website - as a private business it looks like non-QLD residents may be able to use their services as well.

If they had eaten in the MDR I can understand. People are different, we never really eat anything late at night after dinner so we didn't have a problem. We might have a drink though 😁.

I guess it might depend on who is doing the actual check in whether they decide they want to sight your insurance cover.

The price for insurance Bazzaw looks about par for the course - it is our age that makes it soooo much more expensive than under 70 and it just gets worse the older you are. Recent South Pacific 9 day cruise was around $300 for me (70) with no declared pre-existings. Son was about half of that (he is in his 40s). But we want to travel so we pays our money.

When boarding Splendor the other week we had to show our insurance certificates along with COVID vax and passports - they only asked about a neg RAT but didn't ask to see it. As others have said, I would contact your insurer to request a cover letter/email.

I have added some thoughts about the good and not so good in this thread as it is a bit OT here:

I am just off Splendor and as they say 'a day at sea beats a day at work' and whilst I did enjoy the cruise there were things I wasn't so keen on. Everyone's view is subjective but here are my (random) thoughts. The good? Foodwise: On the whole the buffet food was very good I thought. I don't usually frequent the buffet but it was better than the main restaurant. The additional Masala Tiger curries and the Pizzeria were both excellent. Guy's Burgers looked great but I didn't get a chance to try them as there was often a long queue. There was usually a table to be found in the buffet at dinner (though didn't try at lunch or breakfast). The Deli was great too and if you went early or later, there was not a long queue. Seafood shack hot platter for 2 was very tasty and very filling ($20 and well worth it). Chef's Table was very good but of course $140 per head. One dish (steak) was quite tough though. Long Lunch at Sea (Fahrenheit 555) was quite good as well ($45 per head). Alchemy Bar was by far the best in terms of skill of bar staff but their drinks were more expensive that others. It is on a par with the good bars on other lines. Soft drinks were well priced - only $2.95 for coke etc. Other: Lots of live music around the place which is great. The films on the big screen were 2022 and 2023 releases so very new. The App seemed to work well for booking in for meals and gave the estimated wait times (busy dinner could be up to 110 mins). You couldn't request a time though. Getting people on and off the ship was pretty well organised - lots of shuttle buses available in Noumea so hardly any waiting. Water shuttles in Lifou and Mystery Island but we went outside peak time. I had an inside cabin - fine for one but wouldn't want any more in there as it would be very squeezy. Bathroom small but good shower and hot water. The ship was in pretty good condition - some of the chairs seemed to have lost their springs and padding but overall nothing to complain about at all. Lots of cleaning going on all the time - tables wiped quickly, floors mopped etc. The not so good? Foodwise: Meals in the main restaurant were not great - edible but nothing 'wow'. Red meat was tough, seafood a bit dry and my son had pasta which he said was 'ok'. Service was a bit hit and miss in the main restaurant as well - sometimes rushed and other meals we seemed to be in black hole. Nowhere to have coffee in a 'proper' cup around the ship - the coffee outlets only had paper cups. No little snacks from the coffee shops (free) like on say Princess or Celebrity. You could buy donuts or cupcakes for $6.50 though. Other: The bed was the lumpiest I have ever had at sea and quite uncomfortable. Cabins are only serviced once a day (which is fine but having turn down is nice and a little extra to look forward to on other lines). Towels are quite small - certainly not big and fluffy. Photos were a big thing and there were lots of photographers set up every evening - taking away seating areas to set up their gear - but it must have been worth it for them as there seemed to be lots of people having photos taken. Meal orders were taken for all courses at once - on other lines it is usually entree and mains then the waiter comes back for the dessert menu/coffee etc. No table cloths in the main restaurants at all and if you wanted a printed menu you had to request it, other wise it was expected you would use the QR code on the table. It was school holidays and as expected the ship was packed - quite hard to find a spot to sit at times (especially one day when it was cool and there was some rain). I wasn't really prepared for the big extended family groups though. It is just me but I am not a fan of the theme nights and dress ups - and this was big on this cruise - Grinchmas in July, White Night, 80's, super heroes etc. I wondered why people seemed to have such big suitcases for a short 9 day cruise - well now I know - it is all their costumes!

I disembarked today from Splendour - it certainly was an experience! Unfortunately I forgot it was school holidays and the ship was full, including lots of large family groups (mum and dad, the kids, grandparents and cousins etc). I was quite interested in the pax demographics - there seemed to be 4 distinct groups a) younger people travelling with friends b) young families (with very young children - toddlers and the like) c) families with older or teenage children and d) much older (as in elderly) couples. Also a lot of first time cruisers There were some things I really liked but there were aspects that showed this is a 'budget' line in many ways. And as mentioned upthread, the decor is a sight to behold!

I always find (apparently this is borne out by research) jet lag is worse going from West to East and not so noticeable the other way - so it would mean the trip home to the US is worse than the flight to AU.

We tend to stay at an Accor (Sofitel Wentworth) or IHG property (Intercontinental) at CQ - both are easy to get to and then an easy walk across to the OPT as it is all downhill. Have also stayed at the Four Seasons and the location is great though rooms are a bit of an odd shape.

If you do book to come 'down under' crewsgirl, let us know and we can inundate with suggestions for things to do and see 😁

Not the whole hog then? 😂 Actually I wouldn't bother at all as we don't do any dress up for themes etc. I don't waste packing space.

Go for the wheels - so much easier when you are my age! 😂 Ours are indestructible Pacsafe (2 solid inset wheels) - a bit heavy so I thought I would get a newer one which was lighter but they don't make them anymore. I don't like the flimsy spinner wheels as if we ever do check in luggage, that is the part which is most likely to be broken.

though does your carry on have wheels - the ones we use do plus usually a smaller bag to carry.