QR Code in App

[Jean C]

1 minute ago, arxcards said:

Ahh, from my experience of travelling in small groups of 15 to 30, the bigger the booking, the harder you have to work to get adjacent tables. Maybe they will prefer it that way.

You could only book up to a table for 6, so that's what we did. If need be, we'll swap a couple of adults and kids, as a courtesy to other diners 😄

[arxcards]

1 minute ago, Jean C said:

You could only book up to a table for 6, so that's what we did. If need be, we'll swap a couple of adults and kids, as a courtesy to other diners 😄

If you do want to dine together, those rows of tables for two with the long bench seat along the wall could work - talk to the head waiter and you never know.

 

Or you could just send the kids up to the buffet 😂

[Jean C]

Just now, arxcards said:

If you do want to dine together, those rows of tables for two with the long bench seat along the wall could work - talk to the head waiter and you never know.

 

Or you could just send the kids up to the buffet 😂

Thanks for the suggestion, will definitely ask. At the buffet the kids will definitely fill up on bread rolls (even I can't resist eating more than 1), fries and cake! Not mine to worry about, thankfully. I'll be the frazzled Nana pretending I don't know them!

[patch nine]

54 minutes ago, Jean C said:

Thanks for the suggestion, will definitely ask. At the buffet the kids will definitely fill up on bread rolls (even I can't resist eating more than 1), fries and cake! Not mine to worry about, thankfully. I'll be the frazzled Nana pretending I don't know them!

Are the kids booked into the same MDR (there are 2 on the Coral)?  If their parents did the bookings then this could be the case 🤣

[Jean C]

1 minute ago, patch nine said:

Are the kids booked into the same MDR (there are 2 on the Coral)?  If their parents did the bookings then this could be the case 🤣

Same dining room. I did all the bookings, for my table I invited all the adults (I'd used our booking reference nos to link us all as a group), and for my granddaughter I booked a table for 6 as her and she invited her siblings and cousins. You're starting to give me ideas though, what if I inadvertently 😇 booked the rug rats into a different dining room - it's even on a different floor - how good would that be! 👿 

[patch nine]

My QR Code appeared last night!  It says check in window 12.30 - 3.00.  We are getting the 10am shuttle from our motel to the terminal in Brisbane so will probably be there about 10.30.  Does check in start earlier than 12.30?  We are platinum so have priority boarding.  We have not been to the new terminal before but I think I read there is now a cafe there.  

[arxcards]

50 minutes ago, patch nine said:

My QR Code appeared last night!  It says check in window 12.30 - 3.00.  We are getting the 10am shuttle from our motel to the terminal in Brisbane so will probably be there about 10.30.  Does check in start earlier than 12.30?  We are platinum so have priority boarding.  We have not been to the new terminal before but I think I read there is now a cafe there.  

On a good day, check-in opens around an hour earlier than the advertised time. On a bad day, anything that delays embarkation will see 1000 passengers trying to line-up for check-in before 12:30. Let's hope it is a good day for you.

 

Not your dine in type of Cafe, but there is a coffee shop there. We haven't tried it yet, but were more than happy with the caravan that used to set-up out the front. I suspect they have been asked to move on.

[patch nine]

20 minutes ago, arxcards said:

On a good day, check-in opens around an hour earlier than the advertised time. On a bad day, anything that delays embarkation will see 1000 passengers trying to line-up for check-in before 12:30. Let's hope it is a good day for you.

 

Not your dine in type of Cafe, but there is a coffee shop there. We haven't tried it yet, but were more than happy with the caravan that used to set-up out the front. I suspect they have been asked to move on.

Yes let us hope for a good day!  At least at the old Portside terminal if there were any delays you could go for a wander around the shops or go and find a seat down by the river to sit and wait.  But with the new terminal you probably won't know what the story is until you arrive there and then you are trapped!

[arxcards]

13 minutes ago, patch nine said:

Yes let us hope for a good day!  At least at the old Portside terminal if there were any delays you could go for a wander around the shops or go and find a seat down by the river to sit and wait.  But with the new terminal you probably won't know what the story is until you arrive there and then you are trapped!

Our days there have been great so far. There is a nice grassy area off to the side with great views of your ship. There are a small number of bench seats as well, and as long as the breeze is in the right direction, it is more than a pleasant spot to wait it out.

 

All you can do is keep your eyes and ears peeled for anything that will cause a delay. If there is a known delay, Princess will also push back boarding times and you can align your arrival to that. As you mention though, you have a shuttle booked so you are committed to being there regardless. The last time we embarked there on Coral, we were checking in at around 11:10.

[Cruisers47]

29 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Our days there have been great so far. There is a nice grassy area off to the side with great views of your ship. There are a small number of bench seats as well, and as long as the breeze is in the right direction, it is more than a pleasant spot to wait it out.

 

All you can do is keep your eyes and ears peeled for anything that will cause a delay. If there is a known delay, Princess will also push back boarding times and you can align your arrival to that. As you mention though, you have a shuttle booked so you are committed to being there regardless. The last time we embarked there on Coral, we were checking in at around 11:10.

Last year we did a cruise from Brisbane on RC and was pleasantly surprised at how many staff were on site.   We got on the boat very early with no hold ups at all.   Good luck. 
 

Eileen

[MicCanberra]

Perhaps check out but leave your bags at the hotel for a few hours. If it is a airport hotel, you could get the free shuttle to the DFO.

[Jean C]

3 hours ago, patch nine said:

My QR Code appeared last night!  It says check in window 12.30 - 3.00.  We are getting the 10am shuttle from our motel to the terminal in Brisbane so will probably be there about 10.30.  Does check in start earlier than 12.30?  We are platinum so have priority boarding.  We have not been to the new terminal before but I think I read there is now a cafe there.  

Woohoo, ours too 🙃 We're flying in that morning so will be at the cruise terminal around 11am. Family (and rug rats) are driving up from the Gold Coast and will be there at a similar time - although there'll wait for whoever takes the hire vehicles back to their base and will Uber in.

 

We were at the terminal last year when, because of an arrival of the ship delay, boarding was pretty chaotic. However we're also platinum and we're on board, along with friends we met along the way (the mum was offered a wheelchair so they got priority too), in no time.

 

There wasn't much seating downstairs, it seemed more of a herding area (bearing in mind the chaos we struck and the nos of people all arriving at once - all seats were taken and people were crowded  shoulder to shoulder), but once upstairs there were rows and rows and rows of seats. Being something of an observant person (at times), I saw where people were being picked to join the queue for the next stages, ie going up the escalator then scanning etc, so we placed ourselves conveniently nearby.

 

Getting so excited - PS, the rug rats are all good kids, it's just that if they get excited their volume control doesn't work so well 🤣

[patch nine]

3 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Perhaps check out but leave your bags at the hotel for a few hours. If it is a airport hotel, you could get the free shuttle to the DFO.

We are staying overnight at the Kingsford Smith Motor Inn as they offer a free shuttle to the terminal (but only to the end of this year!).  Maybe if we are notified of late boarding they may delay the departure of their shuttles. 

@MicCanberra I challenge you to get my husband to visit a shopping centre 🙂 

Edited November 14, 2023 by patch nine
update

[patch nine]

2 hours ago, Jean C said:

Woohoo, ours too 🙃 We're flying in that morning so will be at the cruise terminal around 11am. Family (and rug rats) are driving up from the Gold Coast and will be there at a similar time - although there'll wait for whoever takes the hire vehicles back to their base and will Uber in.

 

We were at the terminal last year when, because of an arrival of the ship delay, boarding was pretty chaotic. However we're also platinum and we're on board, along with friends we met along the way (the mum was offered a wheelchair so they got priority too), in no time.

 

There wasn't much seating downstairs, it seemed more of a herding area (bearing in mind the chaos we struck and the nos of people all arriving at once - all seats were taken and people were crowded  shoulder to shoulder), but once upstairs there were rows and rows and rows of seats. Being something of an observant person (at times), I saw where people were being picked to join the queue for the next stages, ie going up the escalator then scanning etc, so we placed ourselves conveniently nearby.

 

Getting so excited - PS, the rug rats are all good kids, it's just that if they get excited their volume control doesn't work so well 🤣

Yes it is feeling real now.  Seems so long since we last cruised.  Hope the kids enjoy themselves - have they cruised before?

[Jean C]

1 minute ago, patch nine said:

Yes it is feeling real now.  Seems so long since we last cruised.  Hope the kids enjoy themselves - have they cruised before?

Hi, yes, we're all excited and have started packing. None of the kids have cruised so they're all super excited (aged beyween 7 and 14, all girls but one). One set of parents cruised with Princess many years ago in an inside cabin, they love the "drinks around the pool" lifestyle, so are really looking forward to it. Other son-in-law isn't sure if he'll enjoy it, but I was sceptical before my first cruise, so I think once on board he'll change his mind. He's a bit more enthusiastic since a friend of his cruised recently and really enjoyed it. There are 12 of us altogether  so we have 3 x 4 berth balcony mini suites - 3rd and 4th passengers were free when we booked, so it worked out very reasonable. My first time in a mini suite, I hope it doesn't spoil me!

[patch nine]

2 minutes ago, Jean C said:

Hi, yes, we're all excited and have started packing. None of the kids have cruised so they're all super excited (aged beyween 7 and 14, all girls but one). One set of parents cruised with Princess many years ago in an inside cabin, they love the "drinks around the pool" lifestyle, so are really looking forward to it. Other son-in-law isn't sure if he'll enjoy it, but I was sceptical before my first cruise, so I think once on board he'll change his mind. He's a bit more enthusiastic since a friend of his cruised recently and really enjoyed it. There are 12 of us altogether  so we have 3 x 4 berth balcony mini suites - 3rd and 4th passengers were free when we booked, so it worked out very reasonable. My first time in a mini suite, I hope it doesn't spoil me!

Our first time in a mini suite too - they seemed to be cheaper on the Coral - possibly more of them ? - so not a lot more than the balconies.   

[Jean C]

17 minutes ago, patch nine said:

I challenge you to get my husband to visit a shopping centre 🙂 

Hahaha, man after my own heart 😊

[Jean C]

1 minute ago, patch nine said:

Our first time in a mini suite too - they seemed to be cheaper on the Coral - possibly more of them ? - so not a lot more than the balconies.   

Hmmm, we would have liked to have booked adjacent cabins, but 4 berth minis were every second cabin - we're forward Caribe deck, port side (I particularly wanted covered balconies) - if you're nearby, you'll hear their "outside" voices, even though they'll be "inside". I pity the poor couples in between our cabins as I'm sure there'll be a lot of door knocking and chatter between our respective cabins 🥴

[patch nine]

14 minutes ago, Jean C said:

Hmmm, we would have liked to have booked adjacent cabins, but 4 berth minis were every second cabin - we're forward Caribe deck, port side (I particularly wanted covered balconies) - if you're nearby, you'll hear their "outside" voices, even though they'll be "inside". I pity the poor couples in between our cabins as I'm sure there'll be a lot of door knocking and chatter between our respective cabins 🥴

We are on the deck above you, also forward, portside.  Like you, we wanted a covered balcony but unfortunately were only able to book a guarantee.  Luckily we were allocated a covered one that we would have chosen ourselves had we been able to and have been constantly checking the past few weeks to make sure Princess hadn't decided to move us!

[Jean C]

4 minutes ago, patch nine said:

We are on the deck above you, also forward, portside.  Like you, we wanted a covered balcony but unfortunately were only able to book a guarantee.  Luckily we were allocated a covered one that we would have chosen ourselves had we been able to and have been constantly checking the past few weeks to make sure Princess hadn't decided to move us!

You'll hear them on the balcony then, hehehe 🤣

[Jean C]

PS, they'll be on strict instructions not to call out to each other from one balcony to another, and hopefully they'll love the kids club so will be safely secreted away there 😄

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, patch nine said:

We are staying overnight at the Kingsford Smith Motor Inn as they offer a free shuttle to the terminal (but only to the end of this year!).  Maybe if we are notified of late boarding they may delay the departure of their shuttles. 

@MicCanberra I challenge you to get my husband to visit a shopping centre 🙂 

It is not just a shopping centre there is food and drinks area, with some comfy seats, perfect for waiting on.