OzKiwiJJ

So no longer under the umbrella of the 400 Gradi chain, now just a regular cruise line Italian restaurant and pizzeria? Interesting!

That's wonderful, Stu. Have a great cruise. Friends of ours will be on that cruise so I'll no doubt hear all about it.

The beauty about places like Maxwell Rd is that you can choose what looks good, you're not just ordering off a menu. Many years ago I went to the Newton Food Centre and spotted someone having a very interesting fish dish. I asked what it was and where it was from. It was Sliced Fish Hor Fun and was delicious. After that trip I went back there a couple of times to have it but, sadly, on the second visit that outlet had closed down. Maxwell Rd used to do a really good Hainan Chicken Rice.

The Singapore MRT network is quite extensive these days so it should be easy to find somewhere near a station. It's definitely the best way to get around Singapore - cool and comfortable. But taxis are quite cheap there too but sometimes in the evenings it can be hard to get one.

See if there is anything suitable in the Chinatown area, or even just back from Orchard Rd. The Marina Bay area tends to be expensive. Look for somewhere near an MRT station. When are you going there?

Thanks, we'll plan accordingly.

Do you know what the turnaround time was for Elite laundry?

In Singapore you can eat very cheaply, and very well, at the hawker stalls and food courts but there are also some very expensive restaurants there.

But it's obvious what the perfect solution is ... just kick the navy out of Garden Island! 🤣

That would be even worse to get to than White Bay and much more expensive if going by taxi or Uber.

It was fine when we were on it last year. You just have to accept it isn't one of the new ships but IMHO it's one of the best. Very spacious public areas and aft viewing decks with loungers if you want somewhere quiet to sit outside. The Sanctuary has it's own pool which is lovely. We loved the Good Spirits Bar - here in Australia it was the best place for coffee during the day if you didn't want snacks - there is also an International Cafe for those that do want snacks. We liked it so much we kept booking additional cruises and ended up doing 66 nights on it.

They were when we were on Coral Princess last year in the Australian region. We worked our way though most of the Good Spirits menu during the various cruises we did then. We never got charged anything extra.

I agree, and I'm another ex-ITer with 30+ years experience.

We stayed at the Royal on the Park in the CBD. It's an older hotel but very comfortable. It's across the road from the Botanical Gardens so easy access to the riverside walkway. There seemed to be plenty of restuarants nearby but we chose to dine in the hotel restaurant which is excellent with a great range of modern Australian/Asian fusion dishes. Check online booking sites as well as the hotel site - we got a much better price through one of them even though it wasn't a last minute booking.

Happy birthday, Lyle. Have a wonderful cruise.

I hopevyou have a great cruise. I'm really interested in seeing what you think of HAL.

As long as you are only in transit in Auckland, staying airside within the teminal, you don't need to fill in an NZ arrivals card.

Then the Light Rail is definitely your cheapest option. 😊

Typically Wellington shuttles (for all cruise lines) stop near the iSite information centre in Wakefield St, which is a short walk to the Te Papa museum. They often have another stop i the city which has varied a bit over the year - apparently last year they were stopping in Brandon St, near the corner of Lambton Quay, which is a short walk to the cable car. I suggest meeting at the iSite.

Yes indeed. We'll probably do the world cruise next year with them as they are the only cruise line that offers a world cruise round trip from Australia but after that we might not cruise Princess any more. And for the world cruise we still have time to cancel (up to the end of October) and if that idiot does any more downgrading of what we booked we might very well cancel.

I think it's the new guy. I can't see it getting better - it may even get worse. It was bad enough when they upped the price of the packages adding the desserts, juice bar, fitness classes to Plus and whatever they added to Premier but to take something away from Standard fares that has essentially been one of the Princess staples - free room service except for pizza - has gone beyond the pale as far as I'm concerned. Then adding in things like theatre reserved seating for Premier and we're starting to see a new level of "class" within Princess that detracts from the whole experience.

Thanks, Evon. I am taking detailed notes of your comments as we're doing the world cruise next year. Now where did I put those thermals ...

Hopefully Coral will have a reservation to go through it. We went through it at this time of year in 2018, on Crystal Symphony. It was a great experience. I hope Coral gets through OK.

I feel sick just reading that! We have that "perk" on our Japan cruise late October. I'm tempted to go and get one just to see how bad it really is. I doubt I'd actually eat any of it unless I can dig my way down to the gelato if it's chocolate.

Oh bummer! I was hoping for something a little more authentic based on the blurb in the Travel Summary. Never mind, we've got a couple of days in Yokohama before the Princess cruise and a couple of days in Tokyo before the Regent cruise. Now if only I could remember where the really good restaurants were that we discovered in 2018 - assuming they're still there, of course.