sailor554

There have been a handful but only 4 night cruises.  It seems like 6 days is a decision point so hopefully the cruise company may provide some information

I am leaving Singapore on 10 December 2022 on an 11 night cruise.  I have received different advice regarding pre-departure testing for a fully vaccinated traveller.  I was told if the cruise is longer than 6 days then testing is required.  I have also been told it is not required.  Any recent traveller advice is welcome.

I typically like the side of the ship facing land but that is a personal thing.  If you are also liking to look at the coastline then choose the port side for your trip that has most of the land on its port side.  Pretty much all cabins on deck 7 are good except directly opposite the self service laundry.

On 10/18/2020 at 6:08 PM, Grandma Cruising said:

When I got up this morning and looked outside, the morning sun was catching the Sycamore Maple and Cherry trees that are on common land outside our house. They were looking beautiful in their autumn colours.

It really looks wonderful - I am glad you enjoyed your time there

1 hour ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Sorry to hear. So many beloved events have been cancelled in this time of COVID. And hard times for so many businesses. Hoping for better times in the new year.

Betsey

For a person who has been in many Sydney to Hobarts it is a sad day.  But the CYCA made a very responsible decision and were not driven by sentiment or politics

On 10/30/2020 at 5:18 PM, Grandma Cruising said:

That’s brilliant! 

Melbourne, with its strict lock down, came out brilliantly with no community transmissions for 50 days.  Queensland and most other states except NSW have been similar.  NSW has had a recent problem with a US sourced variant affecting the areas just north of Sydney with a lock down resulting.  The good results have been attributed to an assertive government response and good compliance to requirements by residents.  I expect Australia to be one of the first countries to open touring but restricted to a few locations

Has anyone had trouble accessing Australis Cruises web site over the last six weeks?  I cannot access it any more as it appears to have a broken link.

Hello Sailor, your quite right about facilities on east coast. Yes Newcastle has been given the nod to be a regular port of call for area shipping lines. The problem is that they, (the authorities) have no foresight or vision for the future or understanding of what a good facility is. They propose an O.S. shipping terminal in an industrial/coal loadind area. I have lived and worked around this port and firmly believe that the terminal should be alone the Lee WARF area where the tugs used to be stationed. This could be developed into an entertainment or conference facility which is also an International passenger terminal. It's just inside the heads and adjacent to the city. Walk to the shops and beaches. A two hour train ride to Sydney, 45 minutes to Newcastle Airport, 45 minutes to the vineyards and 45 minutes to Port Stephens, 35 minutes to Lake Macquarie, the biggest salt water lake in the Southern hemisphere.

I'm not really predudice just think I'm right but who wants to listen to an old retired ship builder from Lake Macquarie.

Hi Madfisher. Obviously you know the value of Newcastle port. Given that a number of shore excursions take in wine tasting at the Hunter (significant travel time from Sydney) and the vicinity of great beaches I believe that most tourists would welcome Newcastle on the itinerary.It also has good hotels a nearby airport and is generally a pretty safe and clean area. A similar outcome could be reached at the Gold Coast. I am not aware of the old tug wharf but I would suggest any southern shore berth would be good.

Not always that far out as other pollers have said they sail inside of the Great Barrier Reef under a pilot. The worst part of cruising on the east coast of Australia are the port facilities. Long inbound and outbound journeys to get to Cairns and Brisbane, a joke at Yorkey's Knob instead of Cairns, Hamilton Island is a joke, but Newcastle has promise but still not there yet. Efforts ar sill underway to open up a port at the Gold Coast but the NIMBY's and Greens will hold that off. Cruising the coast is fantastic but the facilaties and most ports are woeful

I don't want to sound negative but travelling on the Qantas 380 is like attending a boxing day sale.... just too many trying to get what they can. I have flown the USA to Australia flight over 40 times since 1977 and can say that none has been fun except flying Continental via Hawaiian and similar with Qantas in he same era. The 777 is much more comfortable than a 380 and really is the preferred plane. Choose Air NZ via and you wont go wrong. Second choice is Qantas but definitely forget any USA airlines

Try Air New Zealand as I believe they fly Houston to Auckland NZ and then Auckland to Sydney. You would enjoy NZ and its scenery.

Thank you for the valuable information and advice. I think I will go with a sports coat and leave my ball gown at home :)

A pretty dumb question considering the dress code is well explained. But I am doing a 10 day cruise in late January 2017 going though Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. I have always over-packed so should i take a suit, sports coat or just good casual clothes for dining and evening activities?

Have you checked X's website for some of the questions you have for on-board questions? That may be where you can find some of your questions of that nature for sure.

 

As for cabin selections and availability, have you tried re-calling the Official X sales office for Australia to get to another agent? Do you not think that they would not have some definitive information about cabins, reserving of cabins and related information which the original X agent was not aware of?

 

bon voyage

Hi -- I do look at the FAQ section and only contact (usually by email) only as a lat resort. In this case the answers were incorrect and the Miami Executive office had to correct the mistakes. By the time the error was corrected there were no cabins available so I stayed with the one I was allocated. In both cases the Exec Office has had to notify the Australian Operation of their errors.

You gambled trying to outsmart the system by moving your cabin from one region to another for a small discount (causing overhead for X along the way) and lost your cabin in the process. Seems fair to me!

Hi -- the quote difference was significant and the actual offer excluded the aa-ons that were available from other agents and Celebrity itself. The company I deal with in the USA is very reputable and I have used them a number of times and they agreed that a switch was probably worth it.

After initially booking through an USA based agent for an Asian based cruise I decided to re-book through Celebrity's Australian operation. The reason was due to some major pricing differences but not due to any other issue with the USA agent. I made the booking and wait listed my cabin that was booked with the USA agent and was informed that it would be available if no one else was in front of me in the wait list. Three days after making the booking with the Australian operation and paying the deposit I cancelled the USA booking. I did not get the wait listed cabin. I contacted the USA operation and was told that the Australian operation cannot wait list cabins. I was told the wrong information. At a later time I contacted the Australian operation to see if an iLounge or Apple sales outlet existed on the Constellation and was told it did not have one. The USA operation was adamant it did have one and actually gave me the manager's name. It seems as though you cannot rely on any information coming from the Australian operation. What have other cruisers experienced?

Hi - Australia and NZ cruising offers some exceptional opportunities. The biggest drawback is the infrastructure provided at most ports of call. Apart from the Circular Quay terminal in Sydney most other berthing locations are quite sad. Both Federal Governments really need to work on improving the overall situation. Brisbane is located well away fro the city and not that well situated but worse still is the slow voyage through Moreton Bay - this is replicated at Cairns and I hate it when ships anchor off Yorkeys Knob to avoid berthing in Cairns. The problem with not having good facilities is all over Australia and New Zealand. Rockhampton / Yeppoon recently hosted a cruise ship and did a great job but again the berthing facilities were lacking.

We can spend heaps on smelly airports but nothing on our tourist ports. It is time to turn the tide,.

Hi -- firstly I am an Australian resident splitting time between Sydney and Cairns. I was shocked to see how poor the planning was especially considering Azamara and it parent RCCL have had a reasonably long resident association in Australia (North Sydney). There is no excuse for this.

Cairns is a fairly mundane location. if you don't get to the reef, Kuranda, Atherton Tablelands, or Port Douglas then yu may as well saty on the ship - these destinations must be accomadated for. Hamilton Island is a waste if you are not staying there and going to places like Whitehaven Beach. Mooloolaba is nice but can be a problem in bad weather and as such may have been missed if the weather was bad (go see Australia Zoo or just sit in the Surf Club). Brisbane is OK but the dock is quite away from the city which is not that vibrant apart from Southbank and Fortitude Valley). A day trip to either the Gold Coast beaches or Moreton Island is worthwhile.

Newcastle is great if you can get to the wineries and the restaurants in that area (also the beaches are fantastic but remember it is a working port and not really that ideal fro cruise ships.

Sydney is great but not at White Bay which used to be a container port on the inner city fringe. If Azamara can't get a berth at the Circular Quay terminal then the only real option is anchoring in Athol Bay and tender to the Opera House (the views are magical from Athol Bay under Taronga Zoo) - optionally at Garden Island/Rushcutters Bay but White Bay is a loser.

I know I have gone on for awhile but I hope those at RCCL Sydeey take this in as I want Azamara and its guests to come back adn have a memorable experience Maybe some new staff are required in Sydney and let's not blame the on-ship crew.

Hi -- I am very interested in finding out your cruise schedule in Dec 2015 after Cairns Australia. Has this been determined yet as I would like to have a few family members living in Cairns experience Azamara Club cruises.

Hi Malcliz,

 

Quest June 17th sailing :

 

Master - Carl Smith

Hotel Director - Philip Herbert

Cruise Director - Russ Grieve

 

How's that for a quick reply ? :) I hope this helps !

Hi -- I think Captain Smith will be on leave at that time