joejoe 59
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Posts posted by joejoe 59
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As I am travelling with three of my own children tomorrow, the question (and I am the one who asked it) is about schoolies week. No need to start reading more into it than there is.....
I am not a party animal type of person, never have been. I would not have gone to schoolies myself even if they had them in my day because I am not into getting wasted. Anyone have a problem with that?
Well said christoden, i dont think anybody resonable has a problem only the above poster;) I have 3 young adult kids myself, & would not want to be on a cruise ship or anywhere else when schoolies was on.
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Actually, in my son's schoolies year most of them were 17.
Yes in all 3 of my kids last year at school they were 17. As were most qld kids unless they had started school a year late or got held back.
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on P&O they are wash and reused, and you must hand in the goggles and snorkel or you get charged for it.
On P&O in June this year you hired them for $49 per adult & the snorkel was yours to keep, yay. For hygiene reasons of course.
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Not sure who your cruiseing with, but P&O charge $49 per adult to hire their snorkel gear:eek:. Go buy your own gear once & you will have it for every upcoming cruise you book. I need snorkel & fins, but hubby only needs the mask, depends how strong a swimmer you are i think.
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If you read the info in the Lonely Planet for NZ, which i did, they reckon sandflies can be so bad in the sounds in summer that they just about carry you off:eek: We have been there both winter & Feb last year & didn't have a problem. though it was really cold & we were well covered in warm clothes.
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I have been there several times by ship only. Everytime we visit there we notice improvements to the town, shops etc.
We were only there a couple of weeks ago and it was good to see that the Police were checking every taxi to ensure it is carrying insurance to carry passengers. Apparently many didn't. Those that didn't were not permitted near the port to either pick up or even sneakly return with passengers. The Police were everywhere.
We did notice that the prices in the shops had markedly increased since our last visit a couple of years ago. Some clothing prices were a lot more expensive than Australia. The Duty Free shops are still value for money, however we did notice that Fung Wei (spelling) isn't the cheapest anymore. There's another one quite a lot cheaper.
It would be ashame if the shops priced themselves out of the market putting the tourists off spending their money when going ashore.
Love the friendliness there which seems to come naturally to those who live there. :) We always choose our Pacific Islands cruise to include Pt Vila.
Jill:)
Hi Jill do you know the name of the cheaper duty free shop you mentioned :)
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The Jewel of Fiji is a good tour - we also did it through the ship. I didn't know this tour is available privately.
Yes they do, but because they pick up & drop off from all the hotels it doesnt get back until 6pm, the ship sails at 5pm just a bit of a problem. Has great reviews on Trip Adviser. :D
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It is good to do your own thing in a lot of the ports, but on our upcoming cruise we have decided to do the ships tour for Suva as we have heard you do not want to be left behind there:eek: The ships version of the tour is about $60 more each than the privately booked tour, but well worth it. Its the Jewel of Fiji Tour. :D
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Thanks for your review Maree, so glad you enjoyed it. Now the fun begins all over again planning your next cruise :D
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The food in the MDR and windjammer is good. I've preferred some things over others, and of some things I've said, "It's okay, but I wouldn't order it again", but I've also had things so good that I've come home and searched for the recipes. In general, I skip the bread; it's just ordinary stuff, and it's not worth the calories in comparison to the other choices. I really like their soup options. Dessert often is just so-so -- I definitely make better in my own kitchen -- but occasionally something'll pop up and be incredible.
So why do people pay extra for specialty restaurants? I think it's the gotta-have-something-special attitude that's become pervasive in the last couple decades. Going on a cruise (or any other vacation) is already something special in and of itself, but many people feel they have to have that little-something-extra to make their vacation "their own", to make it a little better than the standard experience. It's the same reason people insist that they "must" have a suite, or "must" book a cabana on the private island, or "must" book an exclusive shore excursion.
In the end, if you choose to spend extra and go to the specialty restaurants, you'll enjoy the meal. If you choose not to do so, you will not find yourself gnawing on stale bread crusts.
Very well said, & oh so true. :)
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Oops sorry double post
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Thanks for your review. We cruise on her at the end of March for the first time. Much like you we choose this trip as she sails out of Bris. so no airfares. What did you do in Suva, we have booked a ships tour as a way of getting away from the city. :)
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So glad your mums ok. Im really enjoying your travels:D
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Just booked on Solstice, our favourite ship for Nov 28th, 12 nts to NZ. Last minute deal Balcony $1360pp. v happy with that price.
Well done such a great price, my dad is doing this cruise & paid a $1000 extra each, but i wont tell him:eek:
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Yes, tea and coffee are available when the buffet is open (most of the time), and served at the end of the meal in the MDR.
You can also buy 'premium' varieties at the café.
Yes, you can take on water and soft drink - though the onboard water supply is fine to drink from.
Sydney OPT operates that check-in system and are pretty firm about it. You can certainly drop your bags off earlier, but they may only check you on earlier if everything is really quiet. Given Solstice is one of the largest ships here though, it is usually quite busy.
I must have been typeing the same time as you, as our answers are just about the same :D
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Hi there, how exciting your first cruise. Yes you can take on soft drinks & bottled water, though the water on the ship is very drinkable. You will be able to find tea & coffee & iced water usually in the buffet area 24 hrs a day. But be warned American coffee can be a shocker, as we found on Voyager earlier this year. As soon as we got to our first port we went & bought a jar of coffee & took that up to the buffet whenever we wanted a coffee. Take your chances with getting on the ship earlier, even if you can't get on, you can drop your luggage off & go for a walk around without heavy bags to lug around. :) Have fun.
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So many handy hints regarding Suva, so thanks to all :D We visit on Sea Princess in March, & i would like to do the Jewel of Fiji tour, Princess doesnt have a tour called this, so will have to make sure i find the right one.
I just had a look at doing this tour privately & it doesnt seem to get back to the ship on time, so that could be a bit of a problem;) One got back at 5pm & another 6pm:eek:
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So many handy hints regarding Suva, so thanks to all :D We visit on Sea Princess in March, & i would like to do the Jewel of Fiji tour, Princess doesnt have a tour called this, so will have to make sure i find the right one.
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A couple of super duper specials for January cruises on the Pacific Dawn ...both 19th and 26th sailings have Outside cabins from $599 .....yep thats right OUTSIDE cabins from $599....we couldn't help ourselves :p......booked the 26th sailing........ yay............:D:D:D.
Wow what a great price, enjoy :D
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We fly into domestic airport on a Sunday morning, for our Voyager cruise, are there plenty of Maxi Taxi's around to take us to opt. There will be 4-6 of us, so lots of luggage.
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What sailing is that? I want to do the jan 5th Tasmania trip but it's $1412 per person (inside) for 8 nights or $176.50 per night per person.. That's about $86 more per night then what I will pay. I'm going to watch closely though. I'm on Xmas close down then and can get organized to go quickly if the price is right.
Another one I'm looking at is the april 9th Queensland sailing on the radiance of the seas... This one is $976 per person, Or $97 per person per day... But I'm waiting to see if it drops in price as well...
I recently went on the spirit and paid $86 per person per day ( when you take into account the refundable on board credit given), so my tight arse ways now only want to pay around that price to cruise.
Anyone here use a USA based agent to book on Royal Caribbean?
Thanks
We cruise on the 27th Jan to NZ, booked with on line Aussie agent in July i think.
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I got a bargain..... Voyager of the seas dep Sydney 8th December 2012 , 14 nights , twin inside for 1915.00... That's $957.50 pp
68.39 pp per day ... BARGAIN :)
Wow that is a bargain.
I think there will be more bargains coming up with all the ships here. We are doing Voyager in Jan & paid $82 a day & that wasnt booking last minute, as we booked in July. :D Enjoy your cruise.
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Cant wait for a review :D I also heard there was a lack of activitys to do during the day.
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14 nights to New Zealand on Voyager of the Seas out of Sydney on 27th January 2013, only $2,390 for 2 people Inside Guarantee including gratuities.
That's just over $85/person/night
:D
I know thats what we paid as well, with grats. included, gotta love that. We choose our own cabin though, deck 9. We are on the same cruise as you. Cant wait, the ship is a destination in its self :D
What do you think of Port Vila?
in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
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What would you reccomend to do in Noumea Only visited from 3pm twice, next time we have the whole day:)