joejoe 59

We enjoyed cruising on Voyager back in 2014 but I do think Brisbane deserves something younger. We cruised Quantum last year to NZ, I found the ship way to  internal. 

On 3/23/2024 at 8:42 PM, OzKiwiJJ said:

No, I'm not going off half cocked. I had a discussion elsewhere with someone who is currently on Coral, who had booked the Plus fare before December 2022, and who is limited to $16 without paying extra. I didn't believe it at first then I checked the T&Cs on the website which, as shown in my original post, now have two different sets of conditions depending on when you booked your Plus fare. I don't know exactly when this changed but it wasn't like that last time I looked although that was probably a few months ago. 

 

However there seems to be some variation as to what people are experiencing. It may be ship-dependant. It seems like a total mess. Since we only paid $40pp per day, as long as we get our internet, bottled water, coffees, some of our favourite cocktails abd liqueurs, and 25% discount on wines by the bottle we'll have got our money's worth. I've given up expecting Princess to offer decent wines by the glass.

 

Go to the bottom of those T&Cs and you'll see the weasel clause which gives Princess the right to change as much as they like about the drinks package, with no notice, and whatever version of the T&Cs are in place when your cruise starts is what you're stuck with. 

When did the change come in? We cruised last month on Coral with an old plus package, we paid $30 for. We had no trouble getting $22 long Island ice teas at no extra cost to us.

The information from princess we have is that it's organised by the cruise line & a visa fee will be added to our account. We cruise Brisbane to Singapore stopping at Lombok. 

I took a screenshot to put up but have no idea how to.

2 hours ago, anaco_angler said:

Yes, the weather will be much different from your Australian summer weather, but February should have more hours of daylight than December. I think you will appreciate that. Some of the Hurtigruten Bergen-Kirkenes-Bergen cruises are astronomy cruises. Those who are interested in astronomy book those particular sailings and they will have daily lectures as well as a resident astronomer on board. I believe there's an additional fare for those in the astronomy group (a small number of the total passengers on board) but in our experience, the astronomer will also have some lectures for the general public and he will be alert to when the Northern Lights are expected to be visible. The astronomer on our sailing was very generous with his knowledge, including best practices for photographing the Northern Lights. It was an unexpected bonus to be on that sailing.

As for the cold, yes, it can be very cold and windy, layers are important as are hats and especially gloves. Make sure you have gloves you can use while taking photos, especially if you're using a cellphone. Taking your gloves off in order to take photos is a recipe for very cold hands and potential frostbite. There are gloves which have touch-sensitive finger tips but be sure to try taking photos with those gloves before you get on deck. I had gloves, but not the right type. And if you're using a cellphone for your photography, make sure you have it secured in a lanyard around your neck. That way you won't worry about dropping it, and you can put it back inside your jacket between sightings, preserving your battery.

Frostbite doesn't sound good. Thanks for the info. 

I know that people are now denied boarding if they don't have any cover or correct cover for New Caledonia.

Hello from Australia, I've really enjoyed reading all your posts & information .

We are thinking of doing this trip next year in February.  I imagine February weather is much the same as December & very much different to our Australian summer weather 😄

20 hours ago, Mareblu said:

We've never been told that we have to have the actual card you book with.  If you're not paying until you arrive, any card should suffice.  Maybe it's a way to ensure international guests will actually arrive.  Seems a tad strange.  Europe has always required your passport, which they make a copy of, so maybe we're moving to that now.  I don't know why a photo ID is necessary.  We've never had to show photo ID in Australia.  As Mario just said, "all they want is your credit card"😉.  I've just sent you an email, Lyle.

We had to show our passports in Fiji in 2022. They took them & photo copied or scanned them, which i felt a bit weird about.

5 hours ago, arxcards said:

A nice suite breakfast in Sabatini's this morning, where the coffee is great & the crispy bacon is nuked off the planet.

 

It looks like a calm day ahead. A nice day to be at sea. I haven't heard any numbers, but if feels like the ship is only 75% full.

Haha that's a different way to present poached eggs, i thought it was mango & yoghurt until I brought the photo up a bit😁

Sound's like the perfect start to a cruise to me...enjoy 🍹🍺🍸

We did an overnight there earlier this month. It's definitely worth getting off & going for a walk. The harbour is beautiful early evening.  It was daylight saving still so only just getting dark when we arrived. 

I'm interested in what to do in Lombok as well. Not there until next year so plenty of time to follow what others do.

Thanks for all the good information on this thread.  

We are cruising to Singapore out of Brisbane next year on the Crown & will have to look into what visa & entry requirements we'll need.

I hope I can find my way back to this thread when needed.

50 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

Here’s a screenshot from a YouTube video of the promenade deck chairs @valantine80 mentioned aren’t padded.
 

@arxcards If possible next time you are on the ship can you please grab a couple pictures of the wooden slat chairs and loungers etc. that are all on the promenade deck. 

As of now I’m booked on her for 16-nights for a Panama Canal cruise and was very much looking forward to those chairs. 😁

Hi we got off Coral last Monday.  The chairs in your photo are definitely no longer there. They had upright slat chairs with a matching coffee table between, I found them quite comfortable. 

4 hours ago, lorri111 said:

Am coming to that conclusion myself. Now of course since I have decided to upgrade they are having technical problems putting the package on my booking -sigh

Hopefully you can get it sorted.

I don't have a price list but last week on Coral a glass of wine started at $14, beer $10.50  & cocktails about $16. We did have the plus package  & even though I'm not a big drinker...5 drinks most on one day, I think it's worth it with water coffees & wifi.

Thanks for your post. I haven't cruised Carnival yet but would like to. I'd love it if they cruised over winter out of Brisbane....dreaming I know.

Don't be hard on yourself over covid @TOPC72.  I'm an absolute hand hygiene freak but still managed to come down with covid the night we got off Coral Princess. i actually don't know what i could do differently. 

6 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Or up and down the river to the bridge and back.

Well they're have to do something to fill in time 😁

22 hours ago, JohnGc said:

Latest is 

P&O has advised people booked on a Whitsundays cruise out of Brisbane on Tuesday they will stay closer to home due to the approaching cyclone.

Instead of heading north for a day trip to Airlie Beach, the company has advised Pacific Encounter guests that they will visit Tangalooma, on Mulgumpin (Moreton Island), “where you will be able to experience all the attractions of an island resort”.

I know it's in the passage contract to change but there were a lot of disappointed passengers last night after finding out they were only going to Tangalooma. It's a 4 day cruise, so they might be doing circles in the bay.

15 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I'm sure that won't be far off. They'll wait until the furore about the internet price increase dies down then they'll announce yet another version of Plus and Premier.

Nooo please don't say that.

In the past, pre covid, we never had any trouble bringing bottles of wine back onboard when visiting NZ. Not sure if you can still do this.

On 1/18/2024 at 5:53 PM, aussienellie said:

We are also on Coral to Tassie on 25 Jan.  Being cyclone season, we chose this destination because we figured heading south we would probably avoid cyclones.  I think I'll pack my raincoat.

☔

It looks like we are leaving the rain behind on Thursday 🤞 We live on the Cooloola coast & there is quite a bit of rain predicted...as if we haven't already had enough.

31 minutes ago, datone said:

Apparently Princess is increasing the price of wifi from US $14.99 per day to US $24.99 for those that don't have packages and take the standard fare.   So US $10 per day or around $15 per day for us here in Aus.   A 66% increase which is steep.  This is if you take it for the whole cruise, otherwise US $30 per day for casual use according to the thread on the Princess board.  Makes you wonder if the next step is to increase the cost of Princess Plus and Premier.

Thanks for posting.  What a huge jump that is. I don't think it means the plus packages are due to go up, what I do think is they're trying to make the cost of everything very unattractive unless you have a a package. 

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

What day do you leave. Wed/Thursday predictions look bumpy all the way down the east coast,

We leave Brisbane Thursday.  I will be sure to start the Phernergan Wednesday night as I imagine it's going to be bumpy as you said.

We cruise from Oz to Singapore next year, lots of good info here for me to follow. 

We cruise out of Brisbane next week heading to Tasmania.  I don't expect itinerary changes but I do expect some motion on the ocean 🤮