OzKiwiJJ

Were you restricted to specific wines or just a maximum price per bottle? If specific wines which ones were they?

Ditto. It's unpredictable that far in advance.

You're in the US though. The credit card surcharge mostly occurs in Australia and NZ.

Public transport (but not by train from the airport) using a Gold (Seniors) Opal Card. $2.50 daily cap no matter how far you go.

Trade vessels are unlikely to go into Fiordland or the Bay of Islands as there are no commercial docks in those places. But cruise ships were operating fully in 2019 and early 2020 without any dirty hull incidences. So either: - hulls got dirtier than the cruise lines realised during the shutdown. - warmer sea temperatures have caused an unexpected increase in hull growths. - someone in NZ marine biosecurity is being over-cautious. Maybe a combination of all three?

28 Degrees did a credit card chargeback on a cruise that was cancelled in 2020. We got all of the final payment back through them but the deposit had been made outside the chargeback window unfortunately.

You don't bid on just an upgrade per se, you bid on a different cabin classes. We're booked in a balcony cabin so got the option to bid on a minisuite, a club class minisuite, or a suite. We have friends joining the ship for the final Melbourne to Sydney few days so didn't want club class dining so the only bid I put in was for the regular minisuite. All the options are currently sold out so it will depend on cancellations.

Ditto, and ditto no issues. We've been using them for several years now.

But how do you determine what that is? Especially if others have the same idea.

That's what I thought when I put my Grand minisuite bid in.

We used to enjoy going into Brisbane city from Portside on the ferry, pottering around some of the shops then having a leisurely lunch before catching the ferry back but the shuttle times were too restrictive so we didn't bother.

Yes, the Bananas in Pyjamas are premium balconies. Caribe deck, partly covered.

True. I have heard you do get a chance to turn the offer down if it's somewhere you don't want to be. I carefully checked the deck plans before deciding to bid on a Grand minisuite. 😁

Select Personal Information and Documents Then select Arrivals Then you should be able to select an arrival group, or you may have had one allocated to you if it's close to embarkation - in which case it should show. You should get priority boarding within that arrival group since you are Platinum.

As long as the rain is vertical not slanting into the balcony, which has happened to us a few times.

I prefer a covered balcony too.

Depending on the itinerary that can be very important on Coral. Afternoon sun on an uncovered balcony makes for a very hot cabin and the air-con on Coral doesn't always cope with that.

We spent an enjoyable port stop in Brisbane on the Round Australia cruise last October. We sat in the Sanctuary on Coral, which is aft, all afternoon watching boats on the river, birds fishing in the river, and the industrial wharves across the river. It was quite pleasant and very peaceful.

You just do a dummy booking. But it's irrelevant if they are sold or not at this point in time. People cancel at the last minute - which is how we managed to get a really good cabin for the Round Australia cruise last October, a week before departure date. I put in a lowish bid for a minisuite for our upcoming Grand cruise in March. All the minisuites are currently sold so we'll see what happens.

Usually February and March is the most reliable time for good weather in NZ.

I was prepared for cold weather but didn't even need a cardigan in Fiordland where I normally wear a fleece, hat and gloves.. It was surprisingly warm and crystal clear.

You do have the advantage of living halfway between two cruise terminals! Lucky you. I have a different problem. I live close to both Sydney cruise terminals but don't like the ships Princess homeports in Sydney. To cruise on my favourite ship in the peak season I would have to go through Brisbane. Luckily Coral Princess does do embarkations for the big cruises from Sydney as well as Brisbane.

I think OzKiwi is a popular one as well. If not here then on another forum. So I added the JJ onto the end of it. Woe betide anyone who uses my avatar though!

That's a lovely photo, Evon. Bummer that someone is using the same forum name though.

Portside Parking aren't that far from the Portside cruise terminal. I really hope they are able to get a new facility operating near the BICT eventually. I really liked their fully undercover longterm parking.