Royal Princess Australian cruise ?

[Minnitub]

Hi, we are booked for an Australian cruise on April 1, 2025. We are Canadian and do not truly understand if we will be charged gratuities, charged extra for Canadian $ or Australian $.

If this could be explained, we would be grateful 

.Should we get the "Ocean Now" App? Is it worth it? We're not sure if it's necessary, only 1 of us drinks Alcohol.

.Do they not have open bars and waiters to serve us anymore?

.Also, Is there a free coffee/tea venue open in the mornings?

.Do they not offer free continental breakfast deliverd to your staeroom?

Thank you for any answers, we look forward to this trip, as our 1st trip downunder was canceled because of covid.

Minitub(

 

 

[EDVM96]

1 hour ago, Minnitub said:

.Should we get the "Ocean Now" App? Is it worth it?

Yes, it's nice to have. Install it and take a look.

 

1 hour ago, Minnitub said:

Is it worth it? We're not sure if it's necessary, only 1 of us drinks Alcohol.

The app is not only for ordering drinks. Also food, you can do restaurant reservations, read the Princess patter, chat with crew, look at the deck plans, etc.

 

1 hour ago, Minnitub said:

Do they not have open bars and waiters to serve us anymore?

Of course they do. Nothing changed.

 

1 hour ago, Minnitub said:

Also, Is there a free coffee/tea venue open in the mornings?

Yes, at the International Cafe in the Piaza on deck 5.

 

1 hour ago, Minnitub said:

Do they not offer free continental breakfast deliverd to your staeroom?

They do. You get an ordering form - just fill out what you like and at what time for the next morning.

Edited May 25 by EDVM96

[Mud_Shark]

You will be charged the daily gratuity just as if you were sailing in North America.  Only Australians, who pay a higher cruise fare, are not charged the daily gratuity (it is baked in for them).

 

Not sure there is "free" coffee/tea in the morning at the International cafe, but there is free coffee and tea in the Horizon court anytime is it open (which is pretty much all day long from 6am till later in the evening).  I thought there was a charge for coffee in the International cafe, but I only order specialty coffees there so am not 100% certain.

[PR-Texas]

Even though you don't drink much alcohol you might want to check out the Princess Plus option.  There's an entire thread discussing the pros and cons of getting Princess Plus.  The short answer is that for $60 per day per person you get gratuities, wifi, up to 15 alcoholic drinks a day plus sodas, bottled water, specialty coffees and teas, premium deserts, free room service delivery, ocean now, and some other stuff.  We don't drink but got Princess Plus for the non alcoholic benefits.  We also got it for the Pay it and Forget it aspect. 

Here's the thread:

 

[Dididi]

Minnitub,

 

Our Australia cruise was also canceled because of covid.  We have since cruised the South Pacific with P&O Australia, but let me not digress.  Here's my advice:

 

First, if you purchase shore excursions or other items before your cruise, they'll be charged in USD. If you wait until you board, they'll be charged in AUD.

 

Second, for advice on ports, tours (ship and local outfitters), and life onboard Princess cruises in Australia, NZ and the South Pacific, go to the Australia & New Zealand cruisers' forum:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/564-australia-new-zealand-cruisers/

Very friendly folk with local knowledge will answer all of your questions.

 

Third, International Cafe on the Plaza Deck is open 24/7. Because of jet lag two years ago, we ended up having a "pre-breakfast" hot panini at 400am. We didn't have a package and were ready to pay for regular coffee (very inexpensive, ~$2?) but weren't charged. It was fun to have the ship "to ourselves." Early morning continental breakfast usually starts at 6am, but check the Patter for any schedule changes.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

 

[PR-Texas]

A note on excursion charges.  The price quoted on the Princess Cruise Personalizer is in AUD.  If you book before the cruise you will be charged the AUD rate converted converted to whatever currency your credit card uses.  We're US so when we booked excursions for our Nov cruise we actually paid in USD after the conversion rate was applied.  As discussed in another thread the price of excursions can and does go up over time so you may want to go ahead and book the excursions now even if you haven't paid in full yet.

[Muffinz]

On 5/26/2024 at 5:47 AM, Minnitub said:

Hi, we are booked for an Australian cruise on April 1, 2025. We are Canadian and do not truly understand if we will be charged gratuities, charged extra for Canadian $ or Australian $.

If this could be explained, we would be grateful 

.Should we get the "Ocean Now" App? Is it worth it? We're not sure if it's necessary, only 1 of us drinks Alcohol.

.Do they not have open bars and waiters to serve us anymore?

.Also, Is there a free coffee/tea venue open in the mornings?

.Do they not offer free continental breakfast deliverd to your staeroom?

Thank you for any answers, we look forward to this trip, as our 1st trip downunder was canceled because of covid.

Minitub(

 

 

if the cruise is in Australia / NZ everything onboard will be in $AUD and there will be no gratuities payable

[Minnitub]

Thank you everyone for responding. We have booked all our excursions from Princess. A lot of them have little to no space left. I'm glad there's a coffee venue that's available.

 

It's been several years since we cruised with Princess. Our other cruise to New Zealand just prior to this cruise, is with RC. We are diamond now and like the perks. We will be booking half of those excursions with RC and half with Viator. 

 

We are traveling to Melbourne and Hobart as well. We probably will not make it back ever, so we don't want to miss anything.😄 

 

 

 

[Mud_Shark]

2 hours ago, Muffinz said:

if the cruise is in Australia / NZ everything onboard will be in $AUD and there will be no gratuities payable

This is only true for those from Australia/NZ.   You have to book through the Princess Australia site for this to apply.  Us North Americans book through the US Princess site and still pay the daily gratuity.

[OzKiwiJJ]

7 hours ago, Muffinz said:

if the cruise is in Australia / NZ everything onboard will be in $AUD and there will be no gratuities payable

That's not quite true.

 

If you book an Australia /NZ cruise in Australia or NZ there are no extra gratuities. However if you book from overseas you are charged the daily gratuities. 

[Astro Flyer]

Booked in the US for around Oz cruise & OBC is in AUD which we used to pre-book tours that are in AUD.

 

For an Auckland to US cruise OBC & tours are in USD.

 

@OzKiwiJJ Thanks again for your insights on cruising Downunder & the tips procedure when booking in the US & cruising in Oz.

 

[Muffinz]

2 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

That's not quite true.

 

If you book an Australia /NZ cruise in Australia or NZ there are no extra gratuities. However if you book from overseas you are charged the daily gratuities. 

thanks - I've just learnt something new!

[OzKiwiJJ]

7 hours ago, Muffinz said:

thanks - I've just learnt something new!

You might not have been following Cruise Critic as long as I have! 🤣🤣🤣

[Dulac14]

Hello!  We are a group of six traveling to Australia and New Zealand Feb. 15-28, 2025.  Hope to meet others who may be on the ship too!  I will start to look into private tours - would anyone be interested?