OzKiwiJJ

Because Australia is south of the equator. Turning north would certainly be more interesting but would add many more days to the itinerary. South lets them line up for the run across to Tahiti etc.

Yes, that's what many of the extra dishes are.

If you like it I recommend an Australian winery that makes that variety - Landhaus. Pricey but they have regular sales, thank goodness. It's our new favourite white wine! 😊

FB. Someone on that cruise posted the change there. Check your email, Irene, you probably got a notice of the change. It may show as a booking confirmation.

No, they go to Busselton first then back to Freo. Busselton is replacing Geraldton. Freo is a reprovisioning port so harder to change apparently.

See the other thread. 😊

If you're prepared to try something different I recommend the Laurent V. Singing Grüner Veltliner.

@Jean Cthe beers are $8.50, Jack Daniels is $11 and coke comes free with it if it's fountain coke - you pay extra for cans. There are a few fairly decent Australian wines by the glass that we liked. Both Masterpeace label wines - a rosè and a merlot - which are on the Plus list. Also the Pirie Vintage sparkling, Devils Corner Resolution Pinot Noir, and Henschke 'Henry's Seven' GSM on the Premium list. Most of the other Australian wines by the glass are rubbish. Some of their bottle prices aren't much dearer than you'd pay in a half-way decent restaurant. Similar mark-up, 2-3 times bottle store prices. We didn't mind paying that in 2019 as the wine list then had some lovely European wines that aren't cheap here - I even found a Barolo that was $1 cheaper than at Dan Murphys. But most of the Plus wines are just bottled versions of the De Bortoli cask wines so the prices on those are outrageous IMHO.

It has just been modified. They aren't calling at Geraldton. They are going straight down to Busselton for that day then backtracking to the already scheduled Fremantle stop.

Only very slightly enhanced! I don't think we tried any of those enhancements on our last cruise. I think they were mainly pasta dishes and there were more interesting things on the menu that I wanted.

Judging by Cilla's photo it doesn't look like there is a curtain between the two areas. One tip I read somewhere is to take cheap shower curtains, one or two depending on size, and some magnetic hooks. Then you can hang the curtains from the ceiling if you want visual privacy between the two areas. Probably not so critical with small children though but useful for teens.

No difference apart from some of the artwork, and the Bordeaux restaurant has a corner sectioned off for Club Class dining. The menus are the same. Some cruise lines have one huge MDR with upper and lower levels. Princess has two or three separate ones which I think is nicer as they aren't as noisy. On Coral the MDRs are structured so there are slightly different levels between tables in the middle section and tables around the sides, which reduces that barn-like effect.

Not necessarily better as most of the MDR waiters are excellent but there is a better ratio of waiters to tables. Plus I heard the Club Class waiters get to "queue jump" to collect their orders. The menu is no different but they offer one extra off-menu dish per night.

If it was going to be cancelled they would have done it by now unless, of course, the WA government throws a hissy fit at the last minute.

It's not so much the food as the ambience as far as we're concerned. The MDRs are large and a little impersonal - the service is good but the waiters have many tables to serve. Whereas some of the speciality restaurants have a nicer ambience and the pace is more relaxed. The MDR food is good but it's mass-prepared, and always has been, and at busy times the waiters may have to line up to get some of their various orders whereas the speciality restaurants cook to order. Note - apparently Club Class waiters get to "queue jump" to collect their orders. On past cruises we've mostly gone to speciality restaurants for special occasions, or sometimes just for a change of scene on longer cruises, or once or twice when the MDR menu didn't appeal to us. I do think the charges are too high now on Princess, especially the steak restaurants where I've never had a steak as good as the ones I get from my butcher and cook myself. But Bayou is serving Maine lobster so that's a temptation.

I guess WA will catch up with the rest of Australia eventually. Hopefully before my Round Australia cruise in October 2023.

It may depend on how busy it's been. There were plenty of salads, sandwiches etc when we had lunch there on a port day but it was very busy most of the time.

I don't think it matters which of the two MDRs you go to. We thought the MDR food was in the top three of all the Princess ships we've cruised on so far. We didn't try the buffet, it's never my favourite place to eat on ships unless there is no other option. We like the relaxed ambience of dining with table service.

It actually went up about the time we joined the ship. Our meal at Bayou was $40 as we didn't book it until we were onboard. We used our complimentary suite dinner at Sabatinis.

$40 for the Bayou restaurant, $35 for Sabatinis.

Thanks, Cilla. I know how much to measure now.

It's off to one side, on the right as you enter, and you hardly know it's part of the MDR. It's lovely. This roughly shows where it is:

So it's just half the sofa width?

I know there used to be some sort of system with the old cruise cards so maybe something can be done with the medallions. Go to Guest Services on boarding day to see what can be done.

We just leave in on the bed before evening turndown. If there are a lot of Elites on your cruise it could take up to three days to come back so pack accordingly. In that case it's better to get small amounts done each day.