OzKiwiJJ

Diamond has the Good Spirits Bar on deck 5. Good Spirits has an extra cocktail list with some very interesting cocktails on it, plus they make all the usual ones of course. Deck 7 has Crooners, a very nice big Wheelhouse Bar, and the Explorers Lounge. Swirls is on the Lido Deck, on the starboard side outside the midships elevator foyer, so you'll be able to get the Premium Desserts if you want them. My take on whether the Plus or Premier package is worth it mostly depends on how much and what you drink, and whether you want internet. Those are the important things to me. Unfortunately with Princess not providing the promised 25 wines by the glass for Plus (only 9 are available in the Australian region, I'm not sure about USD cruises) it does make it less attractive but you do get a 25% discount on buying wines by the bottle and you only pay the difference in price for Premier wines or other drinks which helps.

The cruise I'm comparing costs against will be our first Regent cruise. I'm very much looking forward to it. The only downside to Regent and most of the other luxury lines is that they tend to do one way itineraries in our part of the world so there is always the added inconvenience of air travel. We've always enjoyed being able to cruise Sydney return on Princess but we don't like the bigger ships that now homeport in Sydney and the recent changes, since the post-pandemic restart, are really downgrading the product. The Plus fares sounded like such a great deal when they were first announced but it was obvious the original $40pp per day cost wouldn't last, $50 was more reasonable but I object to paying an extra $15 for crap I don't want and will never use. Plus they have not delivered on the number of wines by the glass that the package supposedly offers - 9 choices is nowhere near the promised 25. 😡

Regent, of course, as you'd expect being one of the luxury cruise lines. The sad thing is that Princess isn't that far behind on pricing for a lesser quality experience. It will be interesting to see just how big the quality gap is. The two cruises are almost back-to-back - we have two days in Tokyo between them.

Yes, I just realised that and edited my post.

I just did a cost comparison between our two next cruises - one on Diamond Princess and one on Regent Seven Seas Explorer. Regent is all-inclusive including excursions. We have a mini-suite on Diamond so cabin style should be comparable and I added in all the extras to match what Regent offers. Both cruises were booked during sales. The difference was less than $50pp per day!

It was $50pp per day in August last year. It was $65 last week when a friend added Plus to an upcoming cruise, so you'll pay $15pp per day extra. Whoops, I misread your post. $85pp per day for Premier I think.

Next time maybe. The cruise lines sometimes offer some very cheap deals on some airlines - not the premium ones but still good quality ones. Sometimes you can get a one way business class fare cheaper than a premium airline economy fare.

Are you going to book through HAL? If not have a look what their fares are like. If they are comparable or cheaper book through them. Then if there is a major delay docking I believe the onus is on them to get you to the airport on time or provide you with an alternative flight. We booked through HAL when we flew SYD to AKL last December. We got a very good deal.

That's one change they should grandfather in to all Plus and Premier fares, regardless of when it was booked. It's annoying to find you've booked something in good faith a year or so ago then they change the rules so what you think you've paid for isn't what you'll get. And don't get me started on the wines again ...

Whichever you choose you will probably end up on a big catamaran with hundreds of other cruisers going to a specific fixed(?) pontoon that may or may not have really good quality reefs nearby, and those hundreds of people will all be trying to snorkel it at the same time. If you seriously want to experience the GBR then go to Port Douglas for a few days and go out with one of the smaller boats like Wavelength. That way you'll see three of the best outer reef locations at the time.

Bear in mind that the FAQs typically relate to US cruises. There can be variations in our region. Also the FAQs aren't always up-to-date The clip from the Passage Contract I posted above is dated June 2023.

This is what is in the Princess Passage Contract: 25. Smoking Smoking is not permitted indoors on any of Our ships. This includes in staterooms and on private balconies. For those who smoke, there are designated outdoor areas where smoking is permitted and this information will be communicated to You onboard. The use of electronic cigarettes is allowed within the confines of the guest's stateroom (balcony not included) and within designated smoking areas only.

Quite possibly. And will the pizzas still be free in the pop-up Alfredos held in Sabatinis on Coral on some sea day lunchtimes? The whole announcement seems to be very confusing and messy.

I'm sorry to hear that, Les. {{{{{{Hugs}}}}}}

I'd be even angrier with Princess than I was after the corkage fee increase except for one fact. In 239 days of cruising on Princess we've used room service on no more than 10 of those days, and 6 of those were when we were in isolation with Covid last year. Neither of us finds the room service menu appealing so if one of us is feeling unwell the other goes to the buffet and brings more palatable food back to our cabin.

I never managed to get the app to allow me to book an included speciality dinner pre-cruise without charging. So you have two choices: - leave your booking as is and get the OBC which will be refundable at the end of the cruise. - cancel your prebooking and wait until you board. Tip: if you have problems booking through the app go to the speciality restaurant on the first night and make your bookings in person.

Since I've never heard of any ships having outdoor casinos the no smoking indoors applies.

Post #93 has the current prices. The "champagne" is a Tasmanian sparkling and is a very nice drop. As good some lesser label Champagnes I've tasted in the past.

It is not permitted inside the ships but is allowed in specified outdoor smoking areas.

$7.50 and around $22 AUD.

No, Alfredos is one of the "casual dining" restaurants. If you want a pizza at Alfredos it will cost around $22 if you don't have the $65pp per day Plus package. Alfredos pizza isn't worth that much!

It would be good value if they had decent wines by the glass. They promise 25 wines under Plus but only have 9 available so not a good selection ie there are only two white wines - a semillon/sauvignon and an oaky chardonnay - neither of which I can drink.

Cutting back on the basics to "encourage" people to book the Plus or Premier fares. I wonder how long it will be until there is another price hike on those. The luxury lines are looking more and more competitive these days.

That's tUtheSD limit. The AUD limit is $22 still, I think.

Except they don't have reliable supplies. In the cruises we did in the past year Coral Princess (on a couple of the cruises), Grand Princess and Westerdam ran out of English Breakfast tea a few times, especially in their buffets.