Back on the Grand, Mar 10 - 17

[Yaya_in_Oz]

This is a cruise to Hobart via Eden, Freycinet scenic cruising and Port Arthur. I will post the Patter etc. and a few pics.

if anyone else on board wishes to post it would be wecolmed.

 
I arrived at the Port around 1.15 pm. A bit earlier than usual but I wanted to get there before any rail and tram lines buckled in the heat.

My suitcase was taken at the entrance to the pier, a new one on me. Perhaps it was due to heat and I walked with hand luggage to the terminal and there was a water station about halfway. It took about 30 mins to get aboard. The man at the counter told me that lots of people had ‘new to Princess’ on their app even though they weren’t so I won’t give that another thought. I got my Grand medallion though.

The bunker boat didn’t arrive till afternoon so the ship wasn’t fully refueled until about 9pm and with tides we sailed away about 11-11.30 pm. Captain says we’ll still arrive in Eden on time.

I’m in an OV obs room. Nice with the bed against the wall not under the window. Aus PowerPoint near the bed.

Nice and breezy outside today. They are still busy making favourite sweeties.

Happy to answer questions if I can.

 

Edited March 11 by Yaya_in_Oz

[aussielozzie18]

Following along.  Sailing on the Grand in approx 6 weeks time. Didn’t realise they had Aussie power points.

[Ondine]

eeeee Is this some new rule for getting on in Melbourne?  When I sailed in Jan and early Feb we were still allowed to drive onto the pier.  When boarding Virgin late Feb we dropped off our luggage at the gate but put this down to a Virgin thing since they do everything different to other cruise lines!  I know that there have been hassles with frustrated lines of motorists when the "traffic cops" favour one line over another leading to very loud horn honking.

You have my sympathy boarding in yesterday's heat.  That's a long walk to get onboard.  No shade either if you have to queue prior to getting through the gate.  I join on Sunday for the Qld trip.

I see that the blue lounges have been replaced by white/cream ones on the back pool deck.  What was that passenger thinking sunbaking in 38 deg heat.

Enjoy your cruise.  Like following the posts.

[arxcards]

Interesting about the "new to Princess" issue with the app. It might be the reason we received no elite amenities on our recent cruise. In a suite, but only one lot of mini-bar, no wine tasting invite, no enhanced bathroom amenity.

 

All in our stride but might be why it seems our loyalty status was ignored.

[Yaya_in_Oz]

Eden today.

 

[robncruise]

Off topic but looks like Princess down under didn't get the memo. The new Sun Princess has reverted to calling the "Princess Events Listing"  The Patter. Interestingly this was discussed at our table at the MTP lunch on the Royal in January. All the ships staff consistently referred to checking the Patter for the days events yet the sheet said the Event Listings. Was likely confusing to new Princess cruises = what's this Patter they are talking about.

[Yaya_in_Oz]

Eden was hazy today due to back burning in order to prevent bushfires. They had 4 large buses running complimentary shuttles into town. It only took about 5 mins. Very long queue but it moved quickly. As one bus was loaded another took its place.It would have been quicker to walk but not up that hill in 30 degree heat!

A local said to me, it’s not just the eco mic benefit, the town loves the vibe and energy the cruisers bring. Sure enough, all the shops and cafes were packed with most of the 2500 passengers from the ship. Apparently they will have had 42 cruise ships this season. Won’t be long before they overtake Melbourne as a cruise hub😱. Volunteers work for 2.5h and all day staff are paid employees.

After a wander around the shops I visited the Mary McKillop museum as she has links to the town as her mother died in a shipwreck offshore and then up yet another hill to see Old Tom in the Killer Whale Musem, then walked back to the ship. It’s so steep the pathway zigzags down the hill.

 

 It’s the first I’ve had a lady steward. My nightie has ended up in all sorts of places including the window sill but last night after the theatre I returned to this. Ah,a woman’s touch 💐

[Yaya_in_Oz]

17 hours ago, robncruise said:

Off topic but looks like Princess down under didn't get the memo. The new Sun Princess has reverted to calling the "Princess Events Listing"  The Patter. Interestingly this was discussed at our table at the MTP lunch on the Royal in January. All the ships staff consistently referred to checking the Patter for the days events yet the sheet said the Event Listings. Was likely confusing to new Princess cruises = what's this Patter they are talking about.

The staff including the CD are still calling it the Patter. Most people would know and newbies can probably work it out from the context of what is said. It will always be the Patter to me, old habits die hard 😄

[Yaya_in_Oz]

Eden, in summary is well set up for cruise passengers. There were plenty of benches and seats around the wharf and in town so you didn’t have to go into a cafe. Public toilets near the shuttle bus drop off. Market stalls around the wharf and along the Main Street. Lots of friendly locals. Water station in the park and paper cups and water provided at MM museum and water fountain at KW museum. There are quite a few walks I could do if I stopped here again. Last time I went on a scenic drive to the Seahorse Inn. I actually went into the Visitors Centre and picked up a brochure for a driving holiday along this coast 🙂

[Yaya_in_Oz]

Scenic cruising this arvo. Cloudy with a few blue patches. Should be OK

 

[Yaya_in_Oz]

Sky cleared and a lovely arvo of scenic cruising. The pilot pulled in just before 2 pm. He gave some commentary as we passed various points of interest. It was breezy on the Prom deck but warm sunshine on Deck 15 and out above the bridge. In a couple of spots the ship stopped and did the 180 so everyone got a view

[Yaya_in_Oz]

[Yaya_in_Oz]

Well, skip that. Captain announced at 7 am that there were 30 knot SW winds and 1metre swell at Port Arthur expected to last the day so it was not safe to tender so we continued onto Hobart disembarking just after 12. I didn’t realise Port Arthur was an iffy tender. I was disappointed to miss it even though I’ve been twice before but over 20 years ago. Likewise for others.

I wandered around the shops making my pilgrimage to the Cat and Fiddle arcade. It was open air when I fist went there. I bought some postcards and sent them and then visited a few of my favourite heritage spots like St David’s Park and Salamanca. It was getting dark so I gave Battery Point a miss. I clocked up 16 000 steps so I must have seen something 😄.

Had I I known of the change earlier I would have gone to MONA but I wasn’t in the right headspace to enjoy it having read so much on Port Arthur.

Back on the ship I went to the theatre to see the brothers from the Ukraine perform acrobatic type thins, clown act, drumming, abut if everything. It was very entertaining.

[boeckli]

3 minutes ago, Yaya_in_Oz said:

 I didn’t realise Port Arthur was an iffy tender.

 

 

We also missed Port Arthur last week on Noordam due to high winds and swell (same as in Nov 2018).

[Yaya_in_Oz]

Some pics from the day.

 

[aussielozzie18]

I love Eden.  Been twice on the short cruises from Sydney.  Nice to explore on foot - down to the beach and the lookouts and up to the lookouts closest to the ship.  Also the whale watching cruise in season and the guided walk into the National Park (ship excursion).

Like you. would love to return for a road trip to the area.

 

Sorry you missed out on Port Arthur.  Our cruise had most beautiful weather day.  The water was sparkling. Such an interesting and sad place to visit.  
 

Been wanting to your cruise for a while for the scenic cruising portion.

[Yaya_in_Oz]

[Yaya_in_Oz]

I went on the excursion to Bruny Is today. Like most of the others, had visited Tassie before but hadn’t been down to Bruny. Alan multitasked as a driver, tour guide and waiter. He was excellent. The excursion was from 9 to 4 pm with an included lunch of crumbed morning fish, freshly caught oysters and a drink. We visited the Neck lookout. I went to the first landing and then did the boardwalk. We also stopped at the beach st Two Tree Point. We visited the homemade Chocolates (wish I’d bought more), the Honey Farm. I don’t like honey but the little tub of icecream was nice as you could barely taste the honey. The whiskey/gin place was potent but expensive. That was all rather I interesting but I prefer scenery but only do much you can see in a few hours with bus and ferry ride needed to get there.

Some pics for the day. I take most of mine on a camera as phone battery runs down quickly the way I snap. 

 

 

Edited March 16 by Yaya_in_Oz

[Yaya_in_Oz]

It was morwong fish which I hadn’t heard of before (either has this phone🙃).

[Yaya_in_Oz]

Homeward bound.

 Captain has announced it should be smooth sailing and arrival home at 7 am as expected. A bit breezy out but sun shining and vivid blue seas.

 I didn’t ask for a particular disembark group but they put me in Navy 6.

 

[Yaya_in_Oz]

They put on the special seafood lunch and cakes today in the buffet.

To conclude, the Grand is the oldest ship in the fleet but I’d go anywhere on it. The service is great and the smaller the ship the better. I’m not a fan of queueing.

A number of people I’ve talked to are disappointed that Princess will no longer be cruising out of Melbourne. I intend to give P and O a go next summer but most of their itineraries are not appealing with themed cruises to nowhere or to Kangaroo Island and back. While I’m on the train I may as well connect with Skybus and fly to Hobart for a short break. Or just get in the car and drive somewhere. Locals love chatting to me 😄. I am going on the Diamond in Sep. but overseas once a year or so is enough for me.

I wish @Ondine a wonderful cruise on this old darling as she heads to QLD tomorrow after dropping me home 😎.

[OzKiwiJJ]

On 3/12/2024 at 6:53 PM, robncruise said:

Off topic but looks like Princess down under didn't get the memo. The new Sun Princess has reverted to calling the "Princess Events Listing"  The Patter. Interestingly this was discussed at our table at the MTP lunch on the Royal in January. All the ships staff consistently referred to checking the Patter for the days events yet the sheet said the Event Listings. Was likely confusing to new Princess cruises = what's this Patter they are talking about.

On the Diamond Princess cruise we did last November it varied from day to day. Some days they were Patters, other days they were Events Listings. 🤣