SinbadThePorter

Nov 19 this year, Luminosa is going to PNG. Not only that, but she visits Conflict Island twice on that cruise.

I've always thought P&O should sell the Cairns cruises as a fly/cruise packages. Perhaps P&O could block book some seats and save some of the inevitable price gouging the airlines get up to whenever a cruise ship hits town. Same could apply to Darwin.

$1000/cabin/night? No thanks. Not even for mouse ears. If I wanted to lay out that sort of money for a cruise I'd be looking at Viking or Regent.

They also went across the Top from Fremantle to Cairns last month.

For NZ the best months are Dec-Mar. Dec and Jan are school holidays in Oz and NZ. For cruising I recommend Feb and Mar. But if you want to connect to a TransPacific cruise they generally depart in Apr. I don't drive in right side driving countries anymore. I've tried it and it just wears me out mentally. Everything feels wrong and my driving instincts are turned around. I can imagine the same happening to people coming to left side driving countries like Oz and NZ.

Not really, for me it would depend on the ship. For instance, I would prefer to go on Coral Princess or Brilliance of the Seas over Majestic Princess or Ovation of the Seas. But that's just me. As for land travel in NZ, yes it is better in many ways than cruising, but it is also more hassle, more expense and more time consuming. If it was me I would do one or the other, not both at once. But I'm not coming from the other side of the world. The idea of flying into Auckland catching a cruise to Sydney and getting on a TransPacific cruise to go back home sounds appealing.

We expect you to let us know what it looks like from the top. 😁

On any cruise I've been on, when the ship is offshore the land is almost always far enough away that you need a good pair of binoculars to tell what you are looking at.

You definitely want to take in the South Island. Most cruises will take you through the fiords there, and then the first stop at Port Chalmers. Port Chalmers is surrounded by what you seem interested in, but I would suggest a visit to the Albatross Sanctuary. Next stop is usually Lyttleton. Nearby Akaroa is worth a visit, but a bit of a drive. The cable car lookout above Lyttleton is very scenic on a sunny day. There is also a walking track up through there called the Bridle Path. Next is often a choice between Wellington, Napier or Picton. Wellington being the capital is very urbanised, but Zealandia Wildlife Park is worth a look. Picton has a nice steam train, but the charm of Napier escapes me. Next is Tauranga, a nice hike up nearby Mount Manganui. Most tourists head to Rotorua or Hobbiton for the day. It sounds like Rotorua might be more your thing. Tours can be booked just as you walk off the dock. Then Auckland. This is a major city, but the islands offshore can be reached by public ferry. Waiheke Island is probably the best for exploring. Sometimes your cruise may also visit Bay of Islands before heading back to Australia . None of mine ever have so I have no suggestions. Most cruises will go around NZ anti-clockwise. A few go clockwise. Some will only do the North Island, but most do both.

We were on the Ruby Princess from Sydney to Fiji in Nov 2019 during the fires and we didn't get out from under the smoke until we left Lifou in New Caledonia. That's about 2000 kilometers.

No language has rules, they only have usages. In other words, whatever works. 😇

Not so bad in the tropics. 😎

I think now the only Princess ship with a trolley handle is Caribbean Princess.

But no trolley handle. ☹️

Around Brisbane, there is: Syd's Pie Shop, Loganholme Muzza's Pies, Coorparoo KP Gourmet Bakery, Carindale Wavell Hot Bread, Wavell Heights Carby's Bakehouse, Wavell Heights All worth a go.

I think the window to solving this closed 20 years ago. I don't think that politicians don't want to solve it, I think that they don't want to admit there is no solution. Which is why I get a little upset with those who complain about the new Brisbane Terminal. It was a response to a closing window. It was as good as we could expect to get and if it hadn't gone where it did go, it would not have gone anywhere at all. In which case Pacific Explorer would be the only cruise ship sailing in Australia (apart from luxury lines) capable of docking at Portside and all other cruise ships would have been banished to the Grain Terminal.

If Botany Bay is out and Garden Island is out, how about HMAS Penguin? It seems to me that Penguins' duties could be carried out anywhere and doesn't involve shifting a lot of heavy machinery. I suppose there is an argument that road access is a problem. If that's the case then I expect that nowhere on Sydney Harbour will serve.

An excellent idea. There could be a morning shift from say 6am to 2pm and an evening shift from 3pm to 11pm. They would need to move people off and on more quickly, but it would seem on the face of it to be doable. It would double capacity without the need for building anything.

As I understand it (and I might not understand it), P&O are offering balcony cabins for the price of obstructed window cabins on some cruises, but only if you select either the Value or Value Plus option. Not the Go Fare option. You had to select a balcony. It will then offer it at a price equal to an OV cabin (plus $100 OBC/cabin). If you bought an OV with the Value option, I would give P&O a call and see if they can do anything. You are right though, it seems ridiculously convoluted to me. To avoid these sort of confusions with P&O and to select a particular cabin in the booking process, I usually don't book on the P&O website, but go elsewhere. It makes me feel like a guru.

Given all the whinging over the location of the new Brisbane Terminal, I was expecting the same for any Botany Bay cruise terminal. So at least we miss out on that.

But for purists it's the old locks or nothing. 🙂

1/ Also Princess. 2/ Royal Caribbean which charges in USD onboard, does not charge gratuities for Australia/NZ cruises. 3/ The exchange rate is a killer at the moment. $US1 = $A1.50.

It's about halfway between Townsville and Cairns a long way north of the Whitsundays. It's hard to get to, but well worth it.

Best island of all, Hinchinbrook Island. Most Hawaii like of all our islands. Honourable mention to Broughton Island as the only offshore NSW island that has a sheltered beach to land on and a proper camping ground. Thanks to Terry for all these posts. I've been reading them for years and they are always fun.

I don't think that Insure and Go do annual policies any more.