A cruise from Australia 🇦🇺

[little britain]

1 hour ago, Chiliburn said:

It looks like you are on Brilliance,are you on in 2 weeks? The Melbourne and Hobart cruise? 

Sadly not. We jump to Ovation. Sorry not to meet you 🍷

[Chiliburn]

2 hours ago, little britain said:

Sadly not. We jump to Ovation. Sorry not to meet you 🍷

Next time maybe.

 

If you’re a coffee drinker,Try the coffee in Vila ,it’s grown on a volcanic island called Tanna . A Outstanding cup of coffee.

[cublet]

4 hours ago, little britain said:

We took the Ashes 🏏 off him ( apparently!!) so good to see he has a second career!!  lol! 
 

 

Hello,

 

So has (Lord) Ian Botham with a selection of Reds in Costco!

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

PS: So too Gary Barlow but the least said about that the better.

[little britain]

Very impressed with the WiFi. 

[little britain]

Back to the wine: here is the MDR menu. As you can see many different Australian wines.

Don’t bother asking for the 5th Leg sauv sem as I will have drunk it all lol 😋 

 

 

Edited January 11 by little britain

[njkruzer]

6 minutes ago, little britain said:

Back to the wine: here is the MDR menu. As you can see many different Australian wines.

Don’t bother asking for the 5th Leg sauv sem as I will have drunk it all lol 😋 

 

 

Ok.  Recently had a bottle of Rosemont Shiraz and also the Grant Burge.  I tnink they were bottles we didn't open on the Radiance in October (Vancouver to San Diego and then through the Canal).   Since we were driving home after disembarking so we took our unopened wine home.

[kernow]

4 hours ago, little britain said:

Back to the wine: here is the MDR menu. As you can see many different Australian wines.

Don’t bother asking for the 5th Leg sauv sem as I will have drunk it all lol 😋 

 

 

I seem to remember it's not just the wines, they also had some different gins (and probably other spirits but I don't tend to drink those). Mark tried all the beers too.

[little britain]

1 hour ago, kernow said:

I seem to remember it's not just the wines, they also had some different gins (and probably other spirits but I don't tend to drink those). Mark tried all the beers too.

So, I forced myself to go to Vintages to check…! 

 

I’ll definitely try it another night! 

 

 

 

 

and the beers I mentioned earlier 

 

Edited January 11 by little britain

[kernow]

6 minutes ago, little britain said:

So, I forced myself to go to Vintages to check…! 

 

I’ll definitely try it another night! 

 

 

 

 

and the beers I mentioned earlier 

 

It's nice, I think they also had a cocktail with it too. 

[cublet]

Hello,

 

I lived in Australia for a year and went back countless times thereafter. In all that time I only ever heard  Foster's ordered twice - and that was the same guy on one night.

 

If LB reminds me next year, I'll tell a funny true story about Toohey's beer!

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[little britain]

Wow, the ozzies know how to party 🎉! It was 70s night last night. Many dressed up.. I think the other brands sailing from Australia have “theme nights” where most participate unlike RCI usually.  The Centrum was heaving.  
 

The shows and quizzes are also always very well attended. Large family groups playing cards or chess… and the kids are all very well behaved and polite. Yet again we say it has a very different feel. 
The prior night was formal.. some very pretty dresses on show on very attractive young ladies… how on earth do they keep that slim?!  
 

 

[Another_Critic]

2 minutes ago, little britain said:

The prior night was formal.. some very pretty dresses on show on very attractive young ladies… how on earth do they keep that slim?!  
 

Doing this at the 70s party

 

 

[LindaD22]

On 1/10/2024 at 3:10 AM, little britain said:

 

This is a tricky one to explain.. There is generally relaxed atmosphere onboard.. Australians prepay their tips with the cruise fare so, staff aren’t expecting tips and there is no overt (false) friendliness.  It just runs smoothly.  We have seen no tipping in the CL. It simply isn’t expected 

 

Another positive ✔️ from us! 

 

We are doing a NZ cruise from Sydney next month. I know that tipping is just not part of the culture in either country, but I’m surprised to hear that this extends to the cruise itself. We also prepay gratuities, but will give extra to our cabin steward and wait staff, along with the deserving bartender who gives us excellent service. 
 

But, if I’m understanding you correctly, tipping is not done as well on board? I guess I assumed that since the ship’s staff is international and being compensated in line with other RCI ships outside of Australia (I assume), then it would be the same as if we were on a Caribbean cruise. 

[cruiselvr04]

4 hours ago, little britain said:

Wow, the ozzies know how to party 🎉! It was 70s night last night. Many dressed up.. I think the other brands sailing from Australia have “theme nights” where most participate unlike RCI usually.  The Centrum was heaving.  
 

The shows and quizzes are also always very well attended. Large family groups playing cards or chess… and the kids are all very well behaved and polite. Yet again we say it has a very different feel. 
The prior night was formal.. some very pretty dresses on show on very attractive young ladies… how on earth do they keep that slim?!  
 

 

Good to know! I’ll pack my flashing disco earrings and necklace! 🙂

[Chiliburn]

6 hours ago, little britain said:

Wow, the ozzies know how to party 🎉! It was 70s night last night. Many dressed up.. I think the other brands sailing from Australia have “theme nights” where most participate unlike RCI usually.  The Centrum was heaving.  
 

The shows and quizzes are also always very well attended. Large family groups playing cards or chess… and the kids are all very well behaved and polite. Yet again we say it has a very different feel. 
The prior night was formal.. some very pretty dresses on show on very attractive young ladies… how on earth do they keep that slim?!  
 

 

The pacific island cruises are a more of a party.
N.Z  cruises,you will find more of couples and more sedate.

My favourite are the southern Australia cruises , they seem different again. People don’t need a passport and seem very lay back.

 

Enjoy Mystery Island,it’s stunning. If you’re adventurous try some kava.

[little britain]

46 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

The pacific island cruises are a more of a party.
N.Z  cruises,you will find more of couples and more sedate.

My favourite are the southern Australia cruises , they seem different again. People don’t need a passport and seem very lay back.

 

Enjoy Mystery Island,it’s stunning. If you’re adventurous try some kava.

It was very interesting listening to about 1000 singing the chorus to Will I Ever See your Face Again 😜!!!!!

I’m word perfect now lol!!

Edited January 12 by little britain

[little britain]

3 hours ago, LindaD22 said:

We are doing a NZ cruise from Sydney next month. I know that tipping is just not part of the culture in either country, but I’m surprised to hear that this extends to the cruise itself. We also prepay gratuities, but will give extra to our cabin steward and wait staff, along with the deserving bartender who gives us excellent service. 
 

But, if I’m understanding you correctly, tipping is not done as well on board? I guess I assumed that since the ship’s staff is international and being compensated in line with other RCI ships outside of Australia (I assume), then it would be the same as if we were on a Caribbean cruise. 

Australians pay the tips inclusive with their fare. 
We have not prepaid as I booked via USA and the $18pp is being deducted daily as normal. 
 

I assume the staff salary structure onboard these itineraries is different to compensate ? 

[little britain]

Day 4 - Mystery Island

An uninhabited island surrounded by blue seas, stunning coral and fish. 🐠 

Tender island: it took 4 hours for all tender tickets to be called! Thankfully we were escorted off early with the Suites! 
 

Locals come across from the neighbouring island of Aneityum to set up stalls, offer 💆‍♀️ massages, coconuts 🥥, hair braiding and boat tours. No need to pay the highly inflated RCI shore ex prices!!!

 

Tip: water shoes are needed 

 

The whole island

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 12 by little britain

[Chiliburn]

35 minutes ago, little britain said:

It was very interesting listening to about 1000 singing the chorus to Will I Ever See your Face Again 😜!!!!!

I’m word perfect now lol!!

It good to see you  immersing your self into our culture.

Here’s another Australian Ballad  you might like rehearse.

 

 

Edited January 12 by Chiliburn

[little britain]

6 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

It good to see you  immersing your self into our culture.

Here’s another Australian Ballad  you might like rehearse.

 

 

We have that one in England! 

[kernow]

8 hours ago, LindaD22 said:

We are doing a NZ cruise from Sydney next month. I know that tipping is just not part of the culture in either country, but I’m surprised to hear that this extends to the cruise itself. We also prepay gratuities, but will give extra to our cabin steward and wait staff, along with the deserving bartender who gives us excellent service. 
 

But, if I’m understanding you correctly, tipping is not done as well on board? I guess I assumed that since the ship’s staff is international and being compensated in line with other RCI ships outside of Australia (I assume), then it would be the same as if we were on a Caribbean cruise. 

We did an Australian cruise at the end of 2022. As usual we prepaid tips but we still tipped the bartenders for the free D+ drinks as usual, also saw some Australians doing the same. There is just not the same expectation and people mentioning tips that you find on US cruises, more like a cruise full of Europeans.

[dunrobbin]

13 hours ago, LindaD22 said:

We are doing a NZ cruise from Sydney next month. I know that tipping is just not part of the culture in either country, but I’m surprised to hear that this extends to the cruise itself. We also prepay gratuities, but will give extra to our cabin steward and wait staff, along with the deserving bartender who gives us excellent service. 
 

But, if I’m understanding you correctly, tipping is not done as well on board? I guess I assumed that since the ship’s staff is international and being compensated in line with other RCI ships outside of Australia (I assume), then it would be the same as if we were on a Caribbean cruise. 

Tips are actually hidden within the cruise cost when you book out of Australia.

[ShazM]

18 hours ago, little britain said:

It was very interesting listening to about 1000 singing the chorus to Will I Ever See your Face Again 😜!!!!!

I’m word perfect now lol!!

Good to hear you are word perfect. You can't be a part-time Aussie unless you know this song. On our transpacific from Honolulu home to Sydney there was a girl that played in the pub, Anna from Argentina. She actually went away and practiced this song and the Alice song and started playing it in the pub every night, even filmed it to send home to her mother in Argentina. The Americans onboard loved it.

[ShazM]

22 hours ago, LindaD22 said:

We are doing a NZ cruise from Sydney next month. I know that tipping is just not part of the culture in either country, but I’m surprised to hear that this extends to the cruise itself. We also prepay gratuities, but will give extra to our cabin steward and wait staff, along with the deserving bartender who gives us excellent service. 
 

But, if I’m understanding you correctly, tipping is not done as well on board? I guess I assumed that since the ship’s staff is international and being compensated in line with other RCI ships outside of Australia (I assume), then it would be the same as if we were on a Caribbean cruise. 

Most of us still tip extra to our room attendant and bar staff/wait staff that look after us but all other gratuities are included in the cost of the cruise and can't be removed unlike in the US.

[LindaD22]

15 minutes ago, ShazM said:

Most of us still tip extra to our room attendant and bar staff/wait staff that look after us but all other gratuities are included in the cost of the cruise and can't be removed unlike in the US.

Thank you for that explanation, we will do the same.