Any one doing any Winter Cruises?

[cruiser3775]

1 hour ago, ceeceeDee said:

That Norwegian pop up is driving me INSANE!!!!!! It's enough to put you off booking NCL in protest!😠 I don't mind if a pop up comes up once, but this constant repetition is getting ridiculous!

I'm on a different computer now, and having the dubious pleasure of constantly getting the NCL popup. When you cancel it, it just comes back again.   NCL are shooting themselves in the foot if they think this advertising campaign is going to get them bookings.

[ceeceeDee]

4 minutes ago, cruiser3775 said:

I'm on a different computer now, and having the dubious pleasure of constantly getting the NCL popup. When you cancel it, it just comes back again.   NCL are shooting themselves in the foot if they think this advertising campaign is going to get them bookings.

It may be a 'glitch'. If so I hope it is rectified soon. Doesn't make it any less annoying. Gotta love technology (not)!

[cruiser3775]

The Carnival Splendor cruise I'm on is showing as sold out, but the previous one from Sydney to Singapore, 15 days, departing on 21st July, still has few cabins left.  The itinerary has a lot of sea days, but many people don't mind that, and it certainly goes though warmer weather. They even offer a couple of "interior" cabins that actually have portholes, for a reasonable pice.

Edited May 3 by cruiser3775

[Cruisers47]

50 minutes ago, cruiser3775 said:

The Carnival Splendor cruise I'm on is showing as sold out, but the previous one from Sydney to Singapore, 15 days, departing on 21st July, still has few cabins left.  The itinerary has a lot of sea days, but many people don't mind that, and it certainly goes though warmer weather. They even offer a couple of "interior" cabins that actually have portholes, for a reasonable pice.

We have finally booked another cruise.  Due to ill health we have had to cancel numerous cruises but got the ok from specialist and doing a P and O cruise.  Sydney to Cairns and back next month.   Long time since we have done a P and O but looking forward to getting out of Melbourne as winter hits.   Hope P and O is ok but think the meals cooked, shows and no cleaning means we can cope!!!

 

eileen 

[Hogbay]

On 5/2/2024 at 4:07 PM, Kiwi_cruiser said:

Now that the wave session is over and we only have the Pacific Explorer, Pacific Adventure, Pacific Encounter and Carnival Splendor in Australia / New Zealand.

 

Any one got any winter cruises book? or are you waiting for next summer? 🙂

Should of done a survey ? Vote for Dora and a Splendor . And on the lookout for last minute bargains.

[Sparky74]

1 hour ago, Hogbay said:

Should of done a survey ? Vote for Dora and a Splendor . And on the lookout for last minute bargains.

Do let us know if you spot any last minute bargains, perhaps on the El Cheapo thread. It seems most ship are sailing full at the moment. 

[Jean C]

17 hours ago, Cruisers47 said:

We have finally booked another cruise.  Due to ill health we have had to cancel numerous cruises but got the ok from specialist and doing a P and O cruise.  Sydney to Cairns and back next month.   Long time since we have done a P and O but looking forward to getting out of Melbourne as winter hits.   Hope P and O is ok but think the meals cooked, shows and no cleaning means we can cope!!!

 

eileen 

I'm sure you'll have a great time, what's not to like when you don't have to cook or clean and you can go to shows every night. Some we've been dubious about turned out to be great. We seen the odd dud entertainer, but it still beats the usual diet of reality and home renovation shows our TV is flooded with these days 🛳 🥳

[LincolnLegend]

I so wanted a winter cruise but couldn't find one for a decent price once airfares were added, then picked up an amazing deal to Bali so spending 11 nights there in June instead.

 

It really sucks to have to add nearly $1,000 to every fare to catch the ship!

[cruiser3775]

2 hours ago, LincolnLegend said:

really sucks to have to add nearly $1,000 to every fare to catch the ship

Yes, it's a big problem if you don't live in Sydney or Brisbane. I've spend weeks hoping the Melbourne to Sydney airfares would drop down to something reasonable, with no luck. Today, just for an hour or two, there were discounted fares on Virgin, literally half the price they were a few days ago.  I booked quickly. When I checked again two hours later, they were gone.  Wish I could also get the cost of a Sydney hotel for the night before the cruise to drop down.

Like you, I also looked at some excellent packages to Bali this winter. The accommodation prices are very low there at the moment.

[Cruisers47]

14 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

Yes, it's a big problem if you don't live in Sydney or Brisbane. I've spend weeks hoping the Melbourne to Sydney airfares would drop down to something reasonable, with no luck. Today, just for an hour or two, there were discounted fares on Virgin, literally half the price they were a few days ago.  I booked quickly. When I checked again two hours later, they were gone.  Wish I could also get the cost of a Sydney hotel for the night before the cruise to drop down.

Like you, I also looked at some excellent packages to Bali this winter. The accommodation prices are very low there at the moment.

I have used my frequent flyer points for most of my flights from Melbourne to Sydney.   That helps.   But we have started to fly the day before so yes, have to pay for a hotel overnight.  I would like to fly up on the day  of the cruise but with all the cancellations I don’t want to take the chance.

[cruiser3775]

Yes, Sydney hotels are generally more expensive than Brisbane. My go-to budget hotel in Sydney is the Great Southern. It's on George Street, right opposite a light rail stop that takes you and your luggage down to Circular Quay. An old fashioned large hotel, not fancy, but clean and with good bathrooms, and lots of good eating places around it.   My other choice is the Grace Hotel, closer to the port, costs a bit more, but often has discounts.

In Brisbane, I usually stay in the suburb of Hamilton, which has a range of accommodation choices, and lots of places to eat dinner. Plus it's a good location for minimising taxi fares from the airport and then to the port.

[Sparky74]

6 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

Yes, Sydney hotels are generally more expensive than Brisbane. My go-to budget hotel in Sydney is the Great Southern. It's on George Street, right opposite a light rail stop that takes you and your luggage down to Circular Quay. An old fashioned large hotel, not fancy, but clean and with good bathrooms, and lots of good eating places around it.   My other choice is the Grace Hotel, closer to the port, costs a bit more, but often has discounts.

In Brisbane, I usually stay in the suburb of Hamilton, which has a range of accommodation choices, and lots of places to eat dinner. Plus it's a good location for minimising taxi fares from the airport and then to the port.

Yes, we have stayed at the Great Southern also. 👍

[Muffinz]

We've got nothing booked for winter, but have booked the 12 day Southern Australia Explorer cruise on Crown Princess in December - leaving Sydney 14 December

Neither of us have been to Adeleide, Port Lincoln, Kangaroo Island or Tasmania, so we're really looking forward to it

Managed to get a good deal on Air NZ airfares to Sydney, but are flying back on Qantas.

[JJK2008]

On 5/2/2024 at 2:32 AM, MicCanberra said:

Due to my surgery, we had to cancel a few trips, but none of them were domestic cruises.

Hey Mic, how is your recovery going??? Hopefully well. I know it put you out of commission for a while. You'll come back stronger and ready to go. I can relate, I'm having surgery Friday. This will be the second one since December. I'm saying my prayers on this one. We'll see how things turn out and I'll be back as well. Stay Safe & Healthy. 

John

[MicCanberra]

38 minutes ago, JJK2008 said:

Hey Mic, how is your recovery going??? Hopefully well. I know it put you out of commission for a while. You'll come back stronger and ready to go. I can relate, I'm having surgery Friday. This will be the second one since December. I'm saying my prayers on this one. We'll see how things turn out and I'll be back as well. Stay Safe & Healthy. 

John

Surgery went well, but due to being a reconstruction rather than just a repair, I will be in the boot for another 8-10 weeks.I have already been in it for 6 weeks and was hoping to be out of it in 4-6 weeks. It just means I am hobbling around on crutches still and sleeping in the boot is not ideal. Lots of reading and TV watching, which isn't too bad.My wife has been a Saint.

Hope your surgery goes well and your recovery is swift and full.

[dazadelaide]

On 5/4/2024 at 2:45 PM, LincolnLegend said:

It really sucks to have to add nearly $1,000 to every fare to catch the ship!

Yes we are from Adelaide so when I look at any cruise I automatically just add $2000 to the price for airfares and hotel accommodation.

We have taken most of the cruise options leaving or arriving Adelaide over the years but there are not many.

Due to that we have gone to Kuala Lumpur quite a bit over the years as we can get direct flights and very good hotels for a reasonable price.

Daz

[Muffinz]

On 5/4/2024 at 5:15 PM, LincolnLegend said:

It really sucks to have to add nearly $1,000 to every fare to catch the ship!

Same here - most of the cruises that leave from Auckland go around NZ and back to Sydney, or go to destinations we're not really interested in like mystery island, isle of pines, Noumea.

We've seen 95% of NZ so a cruise around NZ to everywhere we've been to doesn't really interest me

 

Celebrity are doing a couple of cruises in 2025 / 2026 from Auckland to Fiji, Samoa, American Samoa back to Tauranga / Auckland - but they are very expensive and I think they go in Jan / Feb which is the rainy season in the pacific Islands and the temp can get well over 30 degrees... no thanks.

Would love to go to the islands but when the temp is a bit 'cooler'

 

We priced the one on Celebrity Edge in 2026 and it was about $12k for a 12 day cruise to the islands

our one in December 2024 on Crown Princess to Sth Australia was less than $7k and even when you add in return airfares and accommodation in Sydney 2 nights pre cruise, it's still way cheaper

[ceeceeDee]

3 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Surgery went well, but due to being a reconstruction rather than just a repair, I will be in the boot for another 8-10 weeks.I have already been in it for 6 weeks and was hoping to be out of it in 4-6 weeks. It just means I am hobbling around on crutches still and sleeping in the boot is not ideal. Lots of reading and TV watching, which isn't too bad.My wife has been a Saint.

Hope your surgery goes well and your recovery is swift and full.

Thanks for the update, Mic. I can well imagine how inconvenient the boot is particularly for another couple of months!!! Hang in there cruising awaits you at the end.

[By The Bay]

On 5/2/2024 at 5:23 PM, cruiser3775 said:

I'm doing Singapore to Sydney on Carnival Splendor in August, starting with a week in Penang and a few days in Singapore before I get on board. But first I have to get through June and July. I hate winter.

We are doing two weeks in Penang and one night in Singapore before joining you on the Splendor back to OZ. Looking forward to escaping the dreaded westerlies 🥶 that arrive in August here in Nelson Bay.😎

[cruiser3775]

Hi By the Bay.   Glad to hear you are on this cruise.  Someone started a Roll Call for it, and some people are looking for participants in shore excursions, so might be worthwhile for you to look.  I'm not interested in large ship group shore excursions, but I am a solo traveller, and would like to find others to join with hiring a car plus driver for the stops in Bali and Lombok.  I'll put something on the Roll Call, so reply there if interested.

[lyndarra]

On 5/7/2024 at 12:51 PM, cruiser3775 said:

Hi By the Bay.   Glad to hear you are on this cruise.  Someone started a Roll Call for it, and some people are looking for participants in shore excursions, so might be worthwhile for you to look.  I'm not interested in large ship group shore excursions, but I am a solo traveller, and would like to find others to join with hiring a car plus driver for the stops in Bali and Lombok.  I'll put something on the Roll Call, so reply there if interested.

I did a ship tour on Lombok last year using cruise credit. It wasn't expensive and, due to traffic congestion and narrow streets, the tour operators use mini buses. We had about 12-14 people on our Lombok tour, a comfortable number. Complimentary iced bottled water was included. Also free tea and coffee at the Lombok museum.

[joejoe 59]

We are doing the Bounty cruise out of Brisbane in July. Booked way back in 2022.

I'm so looking forward to it, as we are away in our van at the moment & the weather is atrocious here in Port Stephens & has been for the most part of 2 weeks we have been travelling. 

 

[Mycruiseobsession]

On 5/11/2024 at 11:18 AM, joejoe 59 said:

We are doing the Bounty cruise out of Brisbane in July. Booked way back in 2022.

We have done this one, thoroughly enjoyed it and we were lucky that the weather was perfect.

[joejoe 59]

On 5/12/2024 at 12:30 PM, Mycruiseobsession said:

We have done this one, thoroughly enjoyed it and we were lucky that the weather was perfect.

Did you book a a ship tour in Norfolk Island or can you get around by yourself? 

Could you get around to see things on your own in Tonga or is the ships tour better?

[Mycruiseobsession]

Hi @joejoe 59 that is going back pre covid days but I am going to guess we booked a p&o tour because we  arrived on tenders!

 

I usually will book through the ship's tours when there is a tender this securing my spot off the ship as early as I can!

 

Actually yes, Norfolk we chose the cheapest  general sight seeing bus excursion  and then we were dropped back to town to wander and buy lunch, we caught the courtesy bus back to the ship.

 

We did book a tour in Tonga via the ship also, due to Tonga being different to Australia  in terms of healthcare etc and we like having the promise that the ship won't  leave us in countries like that.

 

Where as say New Zealand  I booked all those tours privately  online beforehand  because  I wasn't  worried if he got stranded there!