Cruise_me_Crazy

More like staying with relies at there house type cruise. One bathroom, two families :eek:

Hmmmmmmm. Forgot about those trips staying at the rello's house. All the kids bunked in on the floor!! :rolleyes:

I'm worried the water from the buffet or from room service won't be hot enough to make a decent cup of tea. I'm planning on taking my own teabags as I prefer a particular blend of tea.

 

I'm wondering about taking a travel kettle with auto-shutoff. I went through the Princess T&Cs online and couldn't see anything banning them. Any thoughts, anyone? :confused:

I took my own plunger teapot and made my cuppa up in the Buffett. By the time I walked down the stairs to our cabin it had brewed just nicely for a cuppa on the balcony.

I had to walk past the biscuits after getting the hot water ;), so we often had a fresh biccie or slice to accompany it!!! Worked a treat! :)

I don't think they'd have any spare rooms. I think the accommodation on a barge is pretty basic. :D

It is like the camping version of cruising! :p

 

I think I'll pass on an Antarctic cruise...:eek:

Wonder if they adjusted the heating on the cold side :D?

Sorry, I must have missed that. I've had friends staying most of last week, and family saying this week so haven't had a chance to keep up online.

 

The boat was overnighting at Rudesheim. I guess the "pick-up" time was as designated as they had to arrange the little train to take us back to the boat. I was walkable, but a long walk. We were having such a great time we just felt it was a bit earlier for us, others may have been quite ready to head back to the boat. It would have been nice if there had been two return times.

 

I didn't notice much motion on the boat. We passed lots of other river traffic - other cruise boats, barges, small ferries - travelling both upriver and downriver like our cruise. The Rhine is a busy river and is used for lots of commercial traffic as well as pleasure cruising. It's wide enough for boats to pass easily even in the narrowest part of the Rhine Gorge (I think). Some of the river barges were fascinating. Families live on them and we saw at least one with the family small car on board. They have potted plants to brighten them up and pets, and earn a living transporting goods up and down the river.

 

Most of the river cruises operate in both directions, and sometimes differ slightly in itinerary depending on which way you are travelling.

Oh wow :). Imagine renting a room off them for a few weeks whilst the went about their courier business!! :D now that would be an adventure!

Thanks so much! :) very very grateful for all your efforts.

Thanks everyone!

:)We booked the fares as part of a package. The exits are not available at thus stage!

Thanks for the heads up re screaming babies, I thought there would be a reason as to why they were not taken!

We do not seem able to change up or down decks so we may be limited to a bargain area!!

I'll be pretty excited regardless of our seating, so I reckon I'll hold my own with any annoying pax!! :D

Can anyone explain what that means? What they are? Bassinet seating? On the seating plan they appear to have more legroom (huge amounts). If we were to select them or seats next to them, do we run the risk of sitting next young babies / families with kids?? :( or risk being moved to other seats to accommodate them??

I have never seen them before, but the leg room appears to be massive (ie it's a walkway missing a row of seats in front) which means no seats reclined into your knees either! :)

You are able to select them so I am assuming they are like ordinary seats but cam accommodate a bassinet??:confused:

Appreciate any info.

Which part of Phuket will you be going to?

Phuket Port?

Phuket Town?

Phuket Beach?

You wont make it too far past the port gates

without a bevy of drivers offering their services.

We had a car and a driver for the day.

Went to beach and tourist area, he waited for us

Went to the elephants, he waited for us.

Went around the coast road.

Went to the town, he waited for us.

Dropped us off back at the ship.

In the evening the ship invited some of the Ladyboys

from one of the Phuket Clubs on board

and they put on a show for the passengers.:rolleyes:

That was interesting:eek:

 

 

Forgot about the ladymen! They were there bak then too! :D

also, the night the CD came to rustle you guys up to return to the ship from tea on shore..... was this a pre-arranged service or was it to round up the stragglers before the ship left? :o

 

did you get much motion on the river? Did you pass other river boats (either in your direction or traveling opposite? I imagine there are certain spots where this would be able to occur and others where it couldn't. Just wondering if they timed it that way? :confused:

Don't forget these questions please :)

Good point, I suppose with the ocean cruise ships they just build bigger ships or add more cabins (big and small) to the existing ones to bring in more revenue.:D

Also if there isn't much time on the ship, then they won't be able to revenue raise with add ons like the ocean variety do!

Flipper and Kate...thank you so much for your info. Haven't decided yet how we"ll get to the zoo...but I know how to spell kuala !! Haha

Actually, I think we will play it safe and do a ship tour.

Thanks again.

Glad it helped. Either way enjoy it! At least you will know what the value in their costings are!:)

Hi, Thanks for all your replies not sure what I will do yet. maybe take the fake tan bottle.

Regards Zanny:

Stripes or splotches Zanny :D:p

Do they need any more friends?

:mad: I was so busy elbowing ozkiwijj. Outta the way to be their new bestie and you snuck in before me!;)

That'd really be a different experience. I wonder how they compensated for the different cabin grades... unless everyone got a significant refund based on what was paid.

I think they were given credit for a future cruise, however as Europe is what it is, I don't think they bothered again, so it was wasted. I must ask :confused: & will post back when I remember to do so. They were family of friends of ours, so not actually known to us.

Sheesh.... i cannot believe I haven't answered this question..... :rolleyes:

What is the spa facilities like, in particular - spray tanning ??? Bwahhhhhhhh :D

Are there many activities on board? A pool? other than the lounge, public spaces???

As mentioned by Cruise-me-crazy's friend. They had to use coaches to get around instead.:(

they never got on the boat :(. bussed the entire time.

Haven't been to Phuket in years, pre tsunami in fact. I do remember hitting the markets the day of a cruise ship. Everything was super dear :(. We kept saying "no no, you said this much yesterday". They would look about to see who was listening and say, "you not on cruise? You here yesterday? You tell no-one ok?" Then make the sale :D. If you are shopping, don't let on you are with the cruise mob ;) for better bargains! :)

also, the night the CD came to rustle you guys up to return to the ship from tea on shore..... was this a pre-arranged service or was it to round up the stragglers before the ship left? :o

did you get much motion on the river? Did you pass other river boats (either in your direction or traveling opposite? I imagine there are certain spots where this would be able to occur and others where it couldn't. Just wondering if they timed it that way? :confused:

If you book a river cruise, beware that the cheapest cabins - which is usually the price advertised have windows that just look out just above water level.

 

Given it's a river cruise so there are sights continually, unlike on ocean cruising, it's not ideal to be so low down.

 

And then if you want the balconies up higher, the price rise is significant. Hence, it's quite expensive as a holiday.

thanks for the reminder ;). seems like if it is worth doing, then doing it properly is the go!!!:)

Mmmmmmmmmm all that yummy food :D! Ozkiwijj, thanks heaps, feel free to keep sharing notes!

Thank you for those notes. I just remember on my cruise having salad as one of my courses in an attempt to fit it all in :D. The cheesburger n fries as our 3pm 'tie me over" must have stacked on the calaries too ;), but you cannot be sitting about whilst everyone is eating their own treats and not indulge :p!!!

Gee Les...your starting sound a bit like a banana bender :p

I wondered why I like his voice ;)!!!

Half the time I'm not sure what some of you are talking about (I am an "old" cruiser) but you've gotta love this A & NZ site:D

I agree, I do a lot of smiling and nodding like I know what everyone else is talking about ;):rolleyes:. I must admit kirst123 "puma pants" post has me LOL'ing still :D!

I live in Brisbane (Brissie or sometimes called BrizVegas) and was on Celebrity Solstice when we visited in Feb 2013. On the roll call I originally sought to arrange a small group to show them around my home town, including a trip to Lone Pine Koala sanctuary.... but I ended up with a mob of 30+, mainly from USA. The flavour of the tour was to show folk how Brissie people lived, worked and played and I ended up hiring a Bne Council bus to take us around. I mention this here because I did a lot of research into Lone Pine, and I would recommend it as a place to visit.

 

You can get there 4 ways: by car, by the Mirimar ferry, by cab or by bus from the CBD. For independents on a cruise ship docked at Fisherman's Island (which you will be) I would suggest getting either one of the ships shuttles or a cab to the CBD and then taking the bus. When we were on Solstice there were no other operators at the pier. There are also very limited facilities.... a bit of a blight on Brisbane I am afraid.

 

At Lone Pine I would further suggest you get your photos taken with a koala first (you can take your own pics only if you also have the pro pics taken). This then gives you time to stroll around the rest of the park, then come back, collect your pics and have some lunch in the very adequate cafe/canteen set up. Plan to spend about 2 hours there.

 

Here's an example of my less than Pro Pic taking :o

 

 

The bus terminus is right outside the park gates (in the car park actually) so this is why I recommend using this service back to the CBD...also gives you a leisurely and scenic view of the place.

 

Hope this helps

 

cheers

great advice :), and from someone who has done it!

Go for your life (as long as you're not associated with the company, which you don't seem to be :-) )

Oh I second that! Someone already posted the TIDTHANKS code :) that worked a treat!;)