SinbadThePorter

That's fine, just bring sleeping bags and grab a big breakfast. 😁

Yes indeed. Based on my uninformed speculation I'd guess the probability of there not being a problem getting to the airport in time would be better than 95%. Still if I were to try it, I'd have a Plan B and a Plan C for how to get to there in the back of my mind.

The answer is probably. But probably would make me nervous.🥺

There is a cruise season here that runs basically from October to April. There are some local cruises outside of that time, but they are mostly P&O Australia (which is not P&O UK) and Carnival. Both of which are regarded as budget cruise lines. The luxury lines come and go irregularly. For balcony scenery, NZ hands down. The time of year for NZ, February or March. That avoids summer school holidays in both countries and also is the best period for weather in NZ. Depending on how much time and money you have available to throw at this trip, the base of it would be a NZ cruise from Sydney with some time spent in Sydney and surrounds. The other option would be catching one of the TransPacific cruises that leave Australia in April and transit to the US via NZ, Tahiti and Hawaii. Lots of sea days though.

Whenever the topic of the new Brisbane Cruise Terminal is raised it is something of a bugbear. A lot of people are upset because the old terminal at Portside was so convenient and well supplied with public transport. Others will point out that with ships now getting bigger than Majestic Princess, there are almost no cruise ships left in Australia which can travel upriver and actually reach the old terminal. So the new terminal gets so much criticism that we Brisbanites get a little defensive about it, because it's at the only place it could be and still receive modern cruise ships. But people call it ugly and in the middle of nowhere, which some of us think is a bit unfair given the alternatives.

I'm hard put to think of anywhere the French left voluntarily. Certainly not Algeria or Vietnam.

I think that the problem is a disparity between the first world lives of the French expatriates and the third world lives of most of the native born Kanaks. That plus land disputes. The Kanaks deeply resent land being alienated on behalf of expats. They are also tired of promises from Paris about getting a bigger share of the local economy. From the Kanak point of view, Paris is running New Caledonia as a South Pacific Club Med for expats and changing the rules along the way to make sure it stays that way.

One last remark about P&O. I did not realise that they bill your credit card daily, not at the end of the cruise. So you end up potentially with dozens of small transactions turning up in your credit card account. Had I realised this I would have put cash on the ship account instead.

Ouvea has been the core of support for Kanak separatism, as well as the other Loyalty Islands such as Lifou. It's doubtful the unrest would be limited to Noumea. 🙁

Weather is cloudy with a few showers around. Not too bad. Off home tomorrow. The following cruise is to PNG which we've seen often enough.

We are arriving at Cairns in the next hour or so. Staying onboard in Cairns tonight. The scuttlebutt is that there is a problem with the impellers, but that info may be worth what it costs.

The problem there being that if you are only, or mainly, interested in cruises, you end up effectively paying for two holidays. The cruise and an airfare/accommodation package that you don't really need.

I avoid jugglers, comedians and hypnotists like the plague. We are skipping Port Douglas and going straight to Cairns. I suspect that this is related to the missing of Conflict. No tendering due to some kind of failure perhaps.

Sailing past Horne Island right now. Sunny, warm and very windy.

I didn't see anything like that, but I wasn't looking since I'd already decided the internet package wasn't worth it. I've been posting whenever a signal appears on my mobile. Which is not often on this cruise. 😀 We were supposed to leave at 4 pm but we were held up as they couldn't retrieve a tender from the water until nearly 6pm. Part of the joy of being on a 30 year old ship. Off to Port Douglas now.

In Darwin today. Hot and fiercely sunny. The ship is in good condition for her age. The public areas look more stylish than they did with Princess. Food continues to be a bugbear for me. The free venues just aren't up to it. The food there is consistently disappointing. They have the ingredients, they have the workforce, I'm just coming around to believing that they need a Gordon Ramsay in the galley.

Skipping Exmouth due to seas too rough for tendering.

If the question concerns $1 or $2 tips, the answer is that crew generally do not want coins. If I tip it is at the end of a cruise and either a $50 or $20 note depending on cruise length.

I missed that turn because we were inside doing trivia. At least we won. 😇

Merci. 😀

I'm onboard Explorer right now in Fremantle about to cast off. Weather is sunny, if a bit cool. The ship is looking surprisingly good. Coral Princess is tied up next door. The food is unsurprisingly poor, so far.

I've got an Explorer cruise on Sunday, but that's not winter. I find that winter in the islands or Cairns tend to be a bit tepid and just doesn't have that tropical feel. I'm saving my pennies for summer cruises.

This sounds interesting. Edit: Just looked at the pricing. $300/p/n for an Inside cabin makes it much less interesting.

It was said by Mark Twain, but he himself attributed it to Benjamin Disraeli. But Disraeli is not known to have ever said it. It seems to one of those sayings that appear out of nowhere that everyone thinks was said by someone famous.

We're onboard Explorer in two and a bit weeks. It's good to know the old girl is still floating. 😁 Last time on was in 2017, just after the move from Princess. So my expectations are being very well managed. That pool in the "Sanctuary" is only ankle deep. I'm not sure it's deep enough for the kiddies.