SinbadThePorter

The problem there being that if you are only, or mainly, interested in cruises, you end up effectively paying for two holidays. The cruise and an airfare/accommodation package that you don't really need.

I avoid jugglers, comedians and hypnotists like the plague. We are skipping Port Douglas and going straight to Cairns. I suspect that this is related to the missing of Conflict. No tendering due to some kind of failure perhaps.

Sailing past Horne Island right now. Sunny, warm and very windy.

I didn't see anything like that, but I wasn't looking since I'd already decided the internet package wasn't worth it. I've been posting whenever a signal appears on my mobile. Which is not often on this cruise. 😀 We were supposed to leave at 4 pm but we were held up as they couldn't retrieve a tender from the water until nearly 6pm. Part of the joy of being on a 30 year old ship. Off to Port Douglas now.

In Darwin today. Hot and fiercely sunny. The ship is in good condition for her age. The public areas look more stylish than they did with Princess. Food continues to be a bugbear for me. The free venues just aren't up to it. The food there is consistently disappointing. They have the ingredients, they have the workforce, I'm just coming around to believing that they need a Gordon Ramsay in the galley.

Skipping Exmouth due to seas too rough for tendering.

If the question concerns $1 or $2 tips, the answer is that crew generally do not want coins. If I tip it is at the end of a cruise and either a $50 or $20 note depending on cruise length.

I missed that turn because we were inside doing trivia. At least we won. 😇

Merci. 😀

I'm onboard Explorer right now in Fremantle about to cast off. Weather is sunny, if a bit cool. The ship is looking surprisingly good. Coral Princess is tied up next door. The food is unsurprisingly poor, so far.

I've got an Explorer cruise on Sunday, but that's not winter. I find that winter in the islands or Cairns tend to be a bit tepid and just doesn't have that tropical feel. I'm saving my pennies for summer cruises.

This sounds interesting. Edit: Just looked at the pricing. $300/p/n for an Inside cabin makes it much less interesting.

It was said by Mark Twain, but he himself attributed it to Benjamin Disraeli. But Disraeli is not known to have ever said it. It seems to one of those sayings that appear out of nowhere that everyone thinks was said by someone famous.

We're onboard Explorer in two and a bit weeks. It's good to know the old girl is still floating. 😁 Last time on was in 2017, just after the move from Princess. So my expectations are being very well managed. That pool in the "Sanctuary" is only ankle deep. I'm not sure it's deep enough for the kiddies.

It used to be that Princess cruises to and from Asia were in $A and included grats and cruises to and from North America were not. That was pre-covid. I don't know the current rules.