mum and son

I've enjoyed successful upgrade bids on two Princess cruises this year, one earlier this month on the Royal with the Seawalk thing. I was bidding for an upgrade from an obstructed deluxe balcony to a mini suite. The only bidding options were for a minisuite or a Reserve (Club Class) mini. I didn't have the option to bid by specific category, and even if I had, they can always give you a cabin in a class higher than you bid for. I fully expected (if successful) to get a cabin under the Seawalk, which I think are MC category. I ended up in MC category but just forward of the forward elevators on Marina deck. I usually choose to be aft of midship but actually quite enjoyed our location. We were lucky to be below the few Lido deck cabins so no noise from above. We moved to another mini on Marina for the second cruise of our B2B which was between forward and mid and was a lot noisier due to being under the Lido pool area. I have plenty of photos if you need any.

Enjoy the rest of the cruise. it's a lovely itinerary and it looks to be quite a good crowd. The passengers seem to be a lot more lively than on the Tas/SA cruise last week... which was a very elderly crowd. I knew the destinations would attract a certain crowd but thought maybe because of Easter and Qld school hols it might skew a bit younger, but it was definitely the oldest demographic I've seen onboard. I'm very surprised at the family mix on the current cruise, being that it's a long cruise and ends in Japan. I'd say the average age is about 20+ years younger than last week, at least. I was not expecting that.

Ok, someone approached me and couldn't work out where they knew my face from. They were from Port Macquarie and cruise a lot. Anyone else on CC I could be missing?

Did you speak to me in Allegro dining room tonight, thinking I looked familiar??

Captain just announced a 3hr delay for us docking tomorrow so don't hurry to the terminal.

Noordam sped past us today. Captain just announced a 3 hour docking delay for us too due to Pilot access. I'm actually enjoying feeling the seas roll a bit. First time I've felt like we weren't still docked 😄.

I doubt we'll be off the ship by then (we were originally scheduled to meet for transit disembarkation at 9.30am)... luckily I'm not rushing for a flight and will just be re-boarding the ship to take me home to Brisbane.

Don't rush to the port. The Captain just announced over the cabin speakers that we are expected to dock 3 hours late as the Pilot will not be able to get to us until 7.30am, instead of 4.30am.

Worst we've had so far 😄!

I'm on the Royal Princess and we're just turning north from the south east tip of Victoria to travel up the east coast. Sydney tomorrow and Brisbane on Monday. We've had mill pond seas for a week in Bass Strait so let's see what happens over the next few days!

Thanks for this thread. I'll be there next week and haven't organised a thing! Great tips.

Thanks everyone - lots of great options 😃

Hi all, Can anyone assist with suggesting a food venue near the above hotel at 55 George Street to cater for a group of about 15 people next Thursday night? We're catching up with family pre-cruise so don't want a stuffy restaurant, more pub vibes or even something with share plates. My elderly parents can't walk a long way from the hotel and we're looking for something easy. I know it will be hard in that location to find what we're looking for but hoping someone might be able to suggest a winner! I've tried to call the hotel but it rings out, even when I select the room reservation option... 🙄

Thank you all very much.

Hello wonderful cruisers, I'm cruising on Princess next week and am just wondering if I need to locate the QR code for my parents to board the ship? I have mine in my app but they don't use smart phones so won't have an app for check in. I've completed their check in information online for them but think I remember once reading that our cabin can check in using my QR code, or did I just make that up (it's entirely possible that I did!)?? Do I have to print something for them or is it unnecessary these days? Thank you!