SinbadThePorter

At Bay of Islands things are very weather dependent, which is why it can be tricky to book an excursion ahead of time. If the weather is good I'd suggest a trip out to "Hole in the Wall", which is a natural tunnel through an island in the south of the Bay. If it's calm enough the boat will take you through the tunnel. You can book in Paihea.

You'll be able to spend much less than that. Also there is no need for tipping so your money will go 20% further.

For that you could just about rent the Opera House. 😎

Everything is better at $900 to $1000 per night. Me, I'll stick with cheap.

I just want to put in a word for one of the most overlooked historical places in Sydney, which is Cadman's Cottage. It's not exactly spectacular, but it is the second or third oldest building in Sydney (depending on who you ask), built in 1816. It's biggest advantage is that it is literally across the road from the OPT.

I have definitely been on the wrong planes. 🤓

Technically, the Chinese one is upside down. 😇

It was almost the only way to get onto Norfolk Island on a cruise. We went last year from Brisbane. It was a very good itinerary. I'm starting to suspect that Carnival and RCI won't be happy until we are all doing 3 day cruises to nowhere. It would make life much simpler for them.

There are two main "flavours" of AC electricity, 115V/60Hz and 230V/50Hz. There is some small variation in the voltage from place to place, which will not usually be a problem for most devices. Exclusively 115V devices running with 230V will usually burn out and/or catch fire. Most modern electronic devices are intelligent enough to know what voltage they have been plugged into. Many heating type devices are not. There are many different types of electrical plugs and sockets. However, on a cruise ship you will generally find wall sockets for North American type A connectors and usually European type F connectors. Occasionally you might also run across the Australia/NZ type I or the UK type G. If the power lead on your device has 3 pins then use a three pin socket, otherwise don't worry about it. Plug and socket types. When you use a converter for these sockets you aren't converting electricity, you are just converting the physical connections to match whatever socket your devices use. So the electricity that comes out of the converter is exactly the same as the electricity that goes in. Always check what voltages your devices can handle. Never plug a device into a socket if you aren't sure what it is capable of handling.

Both are probably more difficult to tender to than Norfolk Island and you know how hit and miss that is. 😱 We just do not have enough safe deep water ports or anchorages in Australia to vary the itineraries. There is only one such port not currently in use for cruises that I can think of, which is Gove and that is way off your track. Slightly off topic, but I wonder what happened to Sherrard Island?

I liked Waiheke Island. Plenty of hikes and beautiful beaches. You get there by ferry from Auckland CBD. There is a local bus service on the island.

Those locals of course are never ever tourists themselves. Never gone on a holiday in their lives. 🙄

Because they cry wolf so often with the "fake bargain" offers that they bombard you with, you run the risk of ignoring the occasional real bargains they have for excursions, internet and beverage packages. 😠

This link. https://senegal-embassy.uk/visas/list-of-countries-and-categories/ Would suggest that Australia is a category B country. "Category B: A special arrangement is in place at Dakar Blaise Diagne International airport (DSS) that allows applicants under this category to obtained a visa on arrival at Dakar Airport only. (documents to present are: return air ticket, valid passport, hotel booking/letter of invitation/business letter, yellow fever vaccination and no charge)." It would be strange if Regent could not make similar arrangements at the port.

It's pretty much the opposite. It's a very third world town. There is not much (anything?) to see in the town itself. Outside the port area there will be a free for all of taxis lined up down the road. They will all be touting for business. You take your pick of the most personable and negotiate a return ride to the blue holes or Champagne Bay. When I say "taxis", I mean private cars with some very dodgy looking characters driving them. I would not do it solo. Work out every detail of the ride before you get in the vehicle, make no assumptions about who will turn up where and how much it will cost. Do not pay for anything in advance. I haven't used them, but I have heard of Bonza Taxi Tours in Luganville they may be able to help with booking ahead for a large group.

So would I. 🤩 It was a Nov 2019 14 day cruise from Sydney to Fiji.

There was/is also a downgrade fairy. Early on the morning of departure of Ruby Princess I was once offered all my fare returned, plus substantial OBC, plus a free cruise on that same voyage in an inside cabin if I gave up a balcony cabin. Unfortunately, as I was on a B2B I was already onboard the ship with my phone in airplane mode, so I got the message way too late to do anything about it. The only free upgrade I ever scored was on Sea Princess from a window to a balcony. The only problem, as we found out the first night, was that the cabin was directly underneath the illuminated "Sea Princess" sign on the side of the ship. Night was turned into day. Not a deal breaker, but not something I would have chosen.

The itinerary looks good, but I'm not doing formal night. 😎

Wise friends. I also count myself amongst the Brisbane Carnival haters. I'd start a club, but I'm too busy planning Princess trips.

As you say Alaska cruise capacity is coming into question and there's still Lelepa to throw into the mix. If that happens, and it's a big if, Royal will have to do winter cruises from Sydney and Brisbane (and Auckland?) to make it viable. If Royal start cruising in winter, there will be extreme pressure on Carnival Corp to provide better than a couple of Carnival Cruises ships.

I'm not sure I'm reading that right, but Princess FCD can be used with anybody who books Princess cruises. If you book with an agent you get whatever OBC they are offering plus the OBC from the FCD. Another advantage is that FCD used as deposit is always taken as a deposit with the standard conditions, whereas the $50 deposits have generally more restrictive final payment deadlines.

To my understanding, if you apply FCD after first deposit then no OBC is applicable.

Not on Explorer last month.

I am sure it will. You'd have to be very unlucky for it not to work out. 😎 For those who can handle their own luggage, the very fastest way from the cruise terminal to the airport is to walk off the ship as early as possible, get through customs etc, then a 10 minute walk to Circular Quay train station, then 15 minutes on the train to the airport.

When I was on Luminosa last year there were a number of American passengers onboard. I have also noticed that over on the Carnival CC board that there are people posting who do intend to fly 17 hours to get here and board Carnival. I don't understand it myself. I wouldn't fly all the way to the Caribbean, the Med or Alaska to get on a budget cruise line. I suppose you go with what you know. 🤔