OzKiwiJJ

Yes, it is considered an international port "visit" so that duty free can be sold onboard during the cruise. The actual visit is a cruise-by, sometimes with a commentary from one of the Willis Island staff. The casino may have other rules as well about when it can open but I'm not sure as we don't go there.

Yikes, that would have been scary indeed. I was at college that day and getting home was bad enough. A power line had come down right outside our place and was sparking right next to our wrought iron gate - I had to jump the fence.

Bullying? I don't believe the mask mandate onboard ships is bullying, and I never saw anyone being bullied into wearing a mask on the seven cruises we did last year. At most people were politely asked to wear masks in certain places. You have a choice: cruise and follow the current rules or don't cruise. It's no different to any other requirement on a cruise ship, in place for the safety of both you and other passengers.

Thanks. We were very lucky to score a last minute (six days before it embarked from Sydney) mini-suite - which was a blessing as I caught Covid on that cruise. We still enjoyed the cruise despite that. It's certainly a wonderful cruise if you have the time to do it but booking on the day it is released is essential. If you use a Princess Planner you might have a better chance of getting the cabin you want.

What? Verbally abusing people you don't know who choose to wear masks? Tsk!Tsk!

Oops! The last thing Wellington wants is another Wahine disaster.

That's odd, quoting a USD price. In the past ships repositioning to Asia stay as AUD onboard costs until they reach their destination. So the AUD prices would be in effect. I have heard rumours that they are going up in price sometime this month but aren't sure what the new prices will be. I'll find out next month when we cruise on Grand Princess.

Apparently they escorted each other down the coast from Auckland.

And I mostly disagree with you. Having lived in NZ for over 40 years, lived in Australia for over 25 years, and cruised both countries as extensively as I could, I think cruising NZ is far more effective as far as seeing as much of the country as is possible in a short time. Sure, there are some wonderful places you can't get to on a cruise ship excursion but, in the main, you can cover quite a bit of the country on a cruise. Of course it's even better if you can add in some land travel before the cruise but you'll see more for your money cruising in NZ than cruising Australia. Why? Australia has very few viable ports for its size so there are wonderful parts of Australia that you just can't get to from a cruise, and that are expensive to do as land travel. Unless you can afford the time and money to do a Round Australia, which has as many sea days as ports, then you'll only see a small part of Australia on a cruise. You have to choose: A Queensland cruise? A Tasmania cruise? A South Australia cruise? In my opinion some places in Australia are better visited on a land trip than on a one day port visit even if you can get there by ship. Australia is just too vast for cruises to be an effective way to see the highlights.

That's sensible. Napier isn't as sheltered a harbour as Wellington - as long as they avoid Barrett Reef on the way in.

Well said, Linda. 🥰

I think a combination of cruise and land travel would be best. For example if you want to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef the best way to do that would be to fly to Cairns, take the shuttle to Port Douglas and stay there for a few days. There are great snorkelling day trips to both the outer reef (usually visiting three different reefs) and the Low Isles. A day tour through the Daintree region is also recommended. Driving between our major cities takes a lot of time, especially if you want to sightsee along the way. Sydney to Melbourne can be done in one day but two is better. Sydney to Brisbane can be done in one very long day but, again, two or more is better.

I've seen some ads combining the Ghan or the Indian Pacific train trips with sectors of the Princess Round Australia cruise. I can't remember who they were from though. An Aussie travel agent I think. That would be a good way to travel through some of outback and, if the right combination was chosen, would allow them to visit some of the more interesting ports without all the sea days.

I found the bid email for our cruise. This is what we were able to bid on for a ten night cruise:

We're doing Melbourne to Sydney via South Australia, departing 21st March. The minimum bid for balcony to mini-suite was under $200 (can't remember exactly what it was) for a ten night cruise so we thought we'd have a go. The minimums for club class and suites were much higher but we don't want club class anyway as friends are joining the ship for the last three days, Melbourne to Sydney, and we want to dine together.

We had an email from Princess offering us a chance to bid for a mini-suite, club class mini-suite, or suite for our March Grand cruise where we currently have a balcony cabin booked. We put in a lowish bid for a mini-suite just for the fun of it. All bid categories were booked out when we bid so it will depend on last minute cancellations. I've heard you can decline the upgrade if the new cabin is not in a suitable location but haven't seen that for myself. I carefully checked where the minisuites were before deciding to bid. On Coral Princess you have to be careful bidding on mini-suites as there are some right at the bow that don't have balconies.

If you do a one way itinerary it's usually only four sea days out of 13/14 - one sea day rounding East Cape in NZ, two sea days crossing the Tasman, and one sea day going from Hobart to Sydney.

The apartments on Princes Wharf operated by Auckland Waterfront Serviced Apartments are great but I think they require a three night stay minimum. We've stayed there a couple of times. Perfect for if the ship is leaving from Princes Wharf - those apartments are opposite the Hilton so you have a very short walk. It's a longer walk to Queens Wharf though. Some of the other apartments on Princes Wharf are effectively AirBNBs with extra cleaning charges etc.

Because they need to offer variety in the itineraries, plus a lot of people want tropical cruises where they can lay by the pool and sip cocktails. Usually only a very small number of cruises are affected by cyclones. However I'd love to see more winter cruising from Brisbane and Sydney to South Pacific and Queensland ports. The Queensland itineraries were very popular when cruising restarted last year, but no South Australia / Tasmania itineraries please - sitting at Station Pier for three days was a bit tedious!

Just to clarify - ETAs for both NZ and Australia.

February and March are the best times to visit NZ. If you start your trip in NZ the weather should still be reasonably warm and by the time you get to Sydney it will be starting to cool off a bit.

Which is crazy as people can be infectious without symptoms.

It does make sense though. Most people don't go to those places several times each day, every day. On a cruise ship you essentially do that: breakfast, lunch and dinner in the MDR or buffet; maybe trivia or bingo; the theatre or a lounge for a show, lecture, or other type of entertainment; and bars. And on port days buses and tenders. Most people would be in far greater contact with other people on a ship than in their every day lives. And ships are relatively small enclosed spaces so the chances of Covid spreading is greater. I wish each ship would announce the daily Covid cases like they did on Westerdam. It might make some people more cautious, especially if they also stress that people who catch it can be infectious a couple of days before they develop symptoms or test positive. But the current Covid wave appears to be subsiding so maybe the restrictions will be eased soon. I'd still like to see masks being mandatory in theatres, and crowded lounges where things like trivia and bingo are held. Not just for Covid but for all the other respiratory illnesses that spread rapidly on cruise ships. I've been on enough longer cruises (12+ days) now to have noticed how often the dreaded cruise cough ramps up as the cruise progresses.

Definitely try to get to Sandbar. The food is amazing! Every dish is a work of art. The motel itself is comfortable but has a weird bathroom setup - shower and toilet in the bathroom but the handbasin is in the main room and is quite high. I'm average height and found teeth-cleaning a bit of a challenge.

Not so much better suggestions but additional tips. The stop where the 109 bus terminates is also the stop for the 58 tram (Toorak to West Coburg). This tram travels along Williams St into Victoria St with a stop at Victoria Market. It also has stops at Collins St and Bourke St where you can change to trams travelling down into the main shopping area. The 109 tram turns into Clarendon St before crossing the river into Spencer St, then turning down Collins St. Stop 124A, just before the river is the nearest stop to the Outlet Centre at South Wharf, and is also a good stop to change to the 96 tram (St Kilda Beach to East Brunswick) if you want to go to Bourke St in the city, or out to St Kilda Beach.