OzKiwiJJ

Credit cards are accepted almost everywhere in Sydney these days. There might be a few small cafes that still only accept cash but that's becoming rarer every day.

We had some black ones on our first cruise last year but they didn't hold the medallion in as securely as the ones shown above. My medallion dropped out a couple of times so we tried these ones. They are much better.

Anything that fits an Apple Airtag fits the medallion. We use these which we can clip on bags or belt loops. Bought through Amazon Australia.

Sad new for those doing the Hawaii/Tahiti cruises. The whole township of Lahaina on Maui has been wiped out by a major wild fire the other day. The beautiful 150yo banyan tree which was close to the tender wharf has been badly scorched and probably won't survive. Lahaina was a lovely place to visit with interesting shops, great restaurants and a decent-sized outlet centre. My heart goes out to the residents of Lahaina who have lost both homes and businesses. 😪😪😪

That's a shame. We always enjoy going round to Anse Vatu and Baie des Citrons but not to swim. There used to be a really good cafe at Anse Vatu plus a great souvenir shop with quality items, and the Lemon Bay restaurants were good.

If Carnival is anything like Princess then the quality of the cuisine can vary greatly from ship to ship. Same menus but it's amazing how different some of the dishes look and taste. On one ship everything was oversalted even for me and I like salt a bit too.much for my health! Sloppy presentation and plating also detracts from the enjoyment of a dish. And stretching escargot with mushroom should be a crime!

Thanks, that has solved the mystery. Maybe they haven't got around to taking a photo of the Premium lanyard yet. That would be par for the course for Princess 2023. We hate wearing lanyards so the complimentary ones, which they insist on giving us, just end up in the bin.

Maybe she got confused. 🤔🤣

I got the impression from my friend that it was the thin Princess one they're now charging for. She was doing the pre-cruise stuff today so it could be another of their new charges.

A friend of mine is doing a cruise out of the US in five weeks. Apparent Princess are now charging $7 for their lanyards.

She is indeed and she's small enough to still look like a ship instead of a floating resort hotel.

It was funny, when I heard about that before we did the Carnival cruise I thought "oh no!" but by the end of the cruise we were actually enjoying the nightly song. It made everyone smile and most people sang along if they knew it. Pure kitsch but definitely better than the Baked Alaska parade.😄

Is it an overseas cruise? The Plus fare sold through Princess Australia is still $65pp per day even for overseas cruises, so it would only be AU $2730. Remember it covers internet, one device per person, which is worth $20pp or $10pp if you're Elite. Then it's just a matter of deciding whether you can use the rest of the value on drinks and the other included perks. If you like a cocktail or two, wine with meals, espresso-based coffees, bottled water, soft drinks, then it can still be good value for money. One thing it doesn't cover is the daily gratuities on overseas cruises unfortunately - they aren't included in the fare like they are on Australian cruises.

Well let's face it, Coral and Island are the smallest ships in the Princess fleet now and are probably low priority as far as ensuring they fit the new package options. I don't think Princess gives a damn whether they actually fulfil their promises. They've been promising 25 wines by the glass under the Plus package since it's concept but still haven't provided more than 9.

Yikes! My mind boggles as to how many different currencies you'd need to have to use cash everywhere possible!

Given that Coral doesn't have a dedicated Alfredos, and Sabatinis is open every night, I think the idea of having a pop-up Alfredos in that space during some sea day lunchtimes is a fair compromise. Perhaps they could also offer Salty Dog pub lunches in the Bayou restaurant. It would be nice if they'd have those pop-ups on some port days as well since the MDR isn't open for lunches on port days.

Mmmm but dark chocolate goes so well with many red wines ... Next time you're on Princess, and if you decide to have the Love Boat Dream dessert one night, try a glass of the merlot with it. It's a perfect match!

They did it several times on the Round Australia cruise last year but that probably had more sea days. Plus they had it on at least one of the shorter cruises we did but those had very few sea days.

Coral has an Alfredos pop-up for pizza, held in Sabatinis, on some sea days. It used to be free for everyone. Also I think they held the Crab Shack a couple of times when we were on Coral last year but I may be wrong. That was always extra cost pop-up dining, usually held in part of the Horizon Court.

🤞🤞🤞 The online menu shows Ahi Tuna Poke so that'll keep me happy.

I think the South Pacific ports are a bit limited these days for various reasons - damage from storms, limitations on the size of ships visiting etc. We've done one cruise on Carnival, on Legend several years ago. It was amusing in many ways and the MDR meals on that ship were surprisingly good. They also had wine packages back then, 5 bottles from a short list that worked out about 15% cheaper. I didn't like the shows but we loved the Piano Bar for after dinner entertainment. We'd cruise on them again as a last resort but still prefer Princess (just).

Yes, theoretically we should be entitled to do it twice but ... I guess we'll find out once we're onboard. We tried Kai Sushi on Sun Princess - it was OK but not worth paying for so we didn't bother going to it on Diamond. If we get it included it might be worth trying again.

I wish they would keep the boarding groups as it allows people to choose a time that suits their travel plans rather than just arbitrarily being allocated a time based on which deck you're on. People who are overnighting in a hotel before embarking may want an early boarding time or may want to do some more sightseeing before boarding. Those who are travelling to the port on the day would want a boarding time that fits their travel plans. I've always thought the Princess idea of boarding by decks was a bit stupid.

I haven't got a clue what the $13.05 is. The "costs" shown alongside each item are the perceived value of the perk. It's only a 9 night cruise so the actual cost was $585pp. It will be interesting to see if we get Kai Sushi free, if we decide to go there for lunch on one of the sea days.

No, the Travel Summaries haven't been updated - see my post #109 above. That cruise was booked early this year so after the magic date.