OzKiwiJJ

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.

We've just finished a Xmas/NY NZ cruise last week and had gorgeous weather most of the time. One showery day in Napier and the rest were lovely. Mostly warm too. It was cool crossing the Tasman though, a bit too windy for sitting on the balcony. Weatherwise it was the best of the four NZ cruises we have done. We were exceptionally lucky. But I never do an NZ cruise expecting perfect, warm weather. Particularly in December. It can be very variable. On our first NZ cruise, also in December, it was 30°C in Akaroa, and 14°C in Dunedin the next day. Princess does have good kids clubs, if your children are old enough for them, so that's an alternative if the weather isn't the best.

I was one of those. It was hosing down and freezing cold, and a couple of idiots decided that they didn't have to leave the ship. There is no coffee cart in the OPT! 😡🤣

It was coachhire.com.au - we were part of the group that got scammed. I just checked their website and they are actually based in Newcastle. From what I gleaned from the reviews they contract other bus companies to provide the services.

Agreed and there is plenty of space for improvements to the area.

But those excursion aren't usually available on turnaround days for B2B passengers.

Like the Captain Cook ferry to White Bay? I got the impression that wasn't paying for itself. It also needs to be a suitable service. Yes, a ferry / train would be ideal but neither would work if people have to drag luggage a long way from the ferry teminal or train station to the cruise terminal. I think that was part of the problem with the White Bay ferry.

We also have to remember that cruise ships didn't operate in Australia for close to 2.5 years so ports did not get revenue during this time. I suspect things will improve in time - maybe not quick enough for some people though. Even Portside was a bit scruffy the first time we docked there in 2014 or 2015. You disembarked on to the wharf and had to walk a fair distance outside, with no shade or shelter, into the terminal building. By the time we visited there again a new building (apartments?) had been built which included a gangway and walkway inside to the terminal.

Exactly. Some people, knowing they have symptoms, might try to fudge the test but then they risk getting an invalid result and having to repeat the test, possibly under full supervision. Because HAL released the Covid numbers each day it was interesting to see how they developed. The initial mandatory test netted 12 cases. New cases were low for a dew days then started rising. The second mandatory test, which was only for those continuing on to Singapore, also netted 12 new cases from about two thirds of the passengers (the rest of us disembarked in Sydney so didn't need to test).

On HAL the cabin stewards checked all results. Much more sensible I thought.

If you are going to Noumea first there is an ATM at the supermarket diagonally across the road from the cruise terminal. That makes it easy to get enough to cover your New Caledonia and French Polynesia stops. You should be able to find an ATM in Suva for Fiji dollars if you find you need them but it may not be so easy if you are going to the smaller ports in Fiji. Also you might be able to use a credit card in many places these days.

I checked all the Princess steakhouse menus online - Crown Grill, Sterling Steakhouse and Bayou Cafe - and none of them mention sauces on the current menus. I can't recall if they did in the past though.

Aljay in the Good Spirits bar on Coral Princess was an excellent barista.

We'd also love to do a full Circle Pacific I've heard a rumour there could be one in 2015. It would have to be on a different ship to Coral unless they cancel the regular long cruises. I think it used to be a 75 night cruise.

No I don't. I'll just board Coral Princess in Sydney and she'll take me right around the world! 😊😊😊