Brisbane41

It is not a bad airport once you are past the gates and waiting. If you have club access to a lounge then it is even better.

Arrivals are not so much of a problem unless you are one of the first flights into the airport of a morning. Sometimes they leave aircraft parked at the gates and have to ferry passengers in buses across the runway for first flights if the staff have been too lazy to remove aicraft from the gates to allow the first flights in to dock and disembark passengers. This is something that may happen on a flight from Japan as the QF26 flight was one of the first in when I was doing that fairly regularly. I know you are not on that flight but it is just one example of how things can go wrong. Situations like this also cause extreme queues in customs and immigration first thing of a morning.

Staff may be incompetent from time to time. One experience I had was an arrival from Japan where too many people were in the baggage collection area waiting to clear quarantine inspection. I was queued up for some time before they moved the queue and then allowed people who had not queued up to form a new line and direct them out. This upset a few of us in the line that had been moved twice (a line where they instructed us to wait), not having anymore of this garbage I walked right up to the person at the gate, told them exactly what they did and how long I was waiting and told them directly that I am walking through right now ahead of this new queue and there is nothing they can do to stop me. I said if you don't like it call your manager and I will tell them why I am pushing in. They were completely shocked and did nothing to stop me walking through and by then others who had been waiting followed along.

Sadly after this weekend we wont get anymore brilliant morning arrivals of cruise ships when "morning robbery" time starts. I am hoping to see Golden Princess arrive in a few weeks and with a bit of luck will get to see it arrive when it is not dark.

16 hours ago, voljeep said:

huh?

Didn't you know that when Princess comes up with different promotions and deals that if you book under one you are not covered under their price guarantee? Well that is how it is here in Australia. If you book under a promotional deal you cannot get your price dropped to another promotional deal. You have to cancel and rebook.

As a result I cancelled, got my cruise credit back and booked the cheapest possible inside cabin purely out of spite and at a much lower price than I had budgeted to pay for in the first place.

I have been in everything from an inside cabin to the most expensive suite on the ship. To be honest to be able to even go on a cruise that I really wanted to do the cabin grade would not matter to me. I have done 49 nights on one cruise in an inside cabin and 31 nights on another cruise in a balcony cabin. I have done 10 nights in a full suite on one cruise.

The cabin does not really make or break the cruise. It can make a difference if you enjoy scenic cruising from the balcony or enjoy a private escape to a more pleasent cabin but that is about it. There are plenty of super rich people that regularly cruise only in inside cabins because even they know the increased price is not value for money on some cruises if you know you are going to be spending more time in ports, out and abour around the ship, watching shows, drinking in bars.

For a Princess cruised next year I booked early for and booked a balcony. Unfortunately Princess kept reducing the price under different price promotions meaning it was not covered by the price guarantee. So I thought screw you Princess I will just cancel it and rebook the cheapest possible inside which is exactly what I did. If Princess wants to play games like that then I can too. Now that the cruise appears almost sold out I have locked in the cheapest possible price and will gamble on an upgrade when the make or break final payment sorts out the winners from the losers in the game of who gets to go or not.

Sea Princess did a rare treat today and docked at the International Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay.

4 hours ago, Landsnark1 said:

A previous poster (whom I won't embarrass by identifying) stated that the  bidet-ladened toilet seats were easily removed and that the crew does this all the time.  That's "curious" since we spent four days trying to get anyone to remove and replace ours.  We started with the cabin steward, then a supervisor, on to maintenance, to the Purser's Desk and finally the Captain Circle Host (as we are Princess "Elite" passengers and among the most traveled passengers on the ship.  In short - I don't think so.

 

We also had no ton ksatsu burgers (nor "English" pies, although they were listed on the Grill Menu).

Well your level of elite-ness is probably not as high as mine! or maybe they just did not like you! who knows but I can assure you after the amount of times I have done that ship in Japan it is a task they do for many passengers each year.

It is a health and hygiene risk as the device makes the circumference of the seat narrower preventing an average sized human being from sitting on the seat and depositing all waste through the hole and into the bowl. If a male were to sit so far forward as to allow a certain bowel movement to take place then the waste coming from the front end would not go in and sitting back you get the same result. Now I am average size of athletic build and only weight no more than 75kg and my body size was too big for that seat. The stewards on that ship certainly do not like removing excrement from the rim of the seat and will be more than happy to remove it for you.

It is a simple task of bringing back an old seat, taking the electronic one off, unplugging the water supply and taking the power socket out. It is simple. I have seen it done for the past 5 years.

It is normally done on embarkation day when you inform the steward that the circumference of the  seat is too small for you to deposit your waste.

I have been cruising to Japan on Diamond Princess since 2014 and have spent a total of 69 nights on the ship. There is a reason I keep going back and it is because it is so good and the ship and atmosphere is more relaxed with a friendlier vibe to it. The ship generally is kept in good condition.

No real major changes have been made for the ship for the Japanese market apart from the Japanese baths and the alternate restaurant serving sushi. These are just minor areas and do not impact the rest of the ship and enjoyment of it as the rest of it is exactly the same as all other Grand class ships. The toilet seats that have the water jet cleaner for down below are removable by maintenance and replaced by regular ones if it is not to your liking. This is a simple task they do often. There is however a problem with shower water pressure. I do not know the reason why but the water pressure in every shower I have been on in the Diamond Princess has been excessively slow.

The food is exactly the same as all other Princess ships. Some of the names have been tweaked to represent the Japanese language and a bit more creativity but that is about all it is. The Princess favourites still exist and the popular menu items on Princess are still there. Just the same as when a Princess ship comes to Australia there are additions of Australian style food the same can be said for Japan and Diamond Princess. There is plenty of Japanese beer and Sake available.

Entertainment is exactly the same. The bars are exactly the same and the activities are exactly the same. In some ways the ship functions more quickly having more Japanese on board.

I also find it more relaxing cruising out of Japan. I know what cruise ships can be like how you tend to get a crowd that are not so much "undesirable" but just inconsiderate or absent minded or a situation like the brain goes on holiday at the same time as them. I find that being based in Japan the language barrier and distance prices out the ones who go on cruises that you do not want to go on cruises with. So in short do not expect to see too many deck chairs being occupied by a book all day long or soaking wet lounge chairs where someone has gone inside with wet swimmers or kids jumping and running around the pools or loud chanting parties celebrating whatever significant milestone they are having.

Prices of excursions can be expensive. That has never been an issue to me. My level of Japanese is at JLPT level N4 officially but I could well pass the next level if I bothered to try. For me getting past immigration and touring has been simple and fast.

I will let you know in a few weeks if it is on the Majestic Princess.

Just to be clear it is NOT an environmental issue at all if people dispose of their waste properly. I dare say Princess is doing this to avoid the extremist protesters who like to intimidate/harass/bully/abuse and publicly shame companies and individuals into conforming to their idealistic views that may or may not be sensible.

For information much has changed in the last 17 years I have been doing cruising. On my first cruise they still had the paper streamers being thrown from the ships during sailaways, the air conditioning and heating was more powerful, the pools were much more heated.

If Princess wants to take my advice for the environment then perhaps they could cease wasting all the paper they are using with those silly little jewellery, art, boutiques pamphlets that turn up at your cabin door.

I do not take kindly to protesters and  the foolish and misguided people that take to the streets to protest the climate and environment. These stupid fools will hold up traffic for hours on end leaving cars idling and burning fuel on the road contributing to much more emissions than there would have been had they not had their silly protest. We are having this in Australia quite a lot now.

I have seen this one in the news. I have to agree with the passengers/customers in this case. They booked a river cruise and sadly it could not be delivered. It was rather unscrupulous to not be up front with the guests in the first place and explain the situation to them that due to water levels the river boats could not operate and as such they would substitute it for a bus tour. The guests should have been given the option to pull out or cancel with a full refund.

The people running this travel company would have to have no scruples at all to not inform the guests and to deceive them as to what they were getting. The company knew that they would be selling "bus tours" when it as obvious and apparent that the river boats could not operate. They wanted their commission and it is clear the bus tour would have been much cheaper for them at the same price they were selling a river cruise. Its just pretty deceptive and lousy customer service. Their entire package was unavailable from the start. They should have told their guests and offered them full refunds or the chance to do the bus tour.

I will be trying it out too in a few weeks. Going with an open mind but am still not sure if I will like the larger capacity.

Here is a video of its first arrival:

Things are changing and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

The thing about the new system is that the ships management will be able to track and pinpoint your every move around the ship. The company will now get a profile of what bars you use, where you eat, what shows you go to and what areas of the ship you are in at any time of the day. It wouldn't surprise me if there was in instant notification to security the first time anyone went overboard with any of these things the moment the ships wi-fi network no longer detects your signal on board.

It would not surprise me at all if you have a favourite bar on the ship you go to to have drinks at and the company profiles you and before you know it a alarm goes off at the bar when it detects your signal to alert the waiters of your imminent arrival to have drinks ready.

9 hours ago, Signet said:

I received an up sell offer to a full suite earlier this week. Although not a super deal, it was good enough for me to want to take advantage of the offer. So I call me TA, the same day I received the e-mail offer.  They had to leave a message with Princess, so I waited until the next evening, called my TA back. They said they have not heard back yet ,and it could take up to 48 hours. So I waited, called back the next evening, still no word from Princess. My TA gave me the phone number and extension to call. I called Princess,  same thing had to leave a message. It has now been just shy of one week since the up sell offer. No reply from Princess as of this morning. I have checked and there are still suites available on my scheduled cruise.  I have never experienced  a company that wanted more of my money, but when notified of my acceptance of the offer, never call or e-mail back, either my TA or myself.  Is this normal? Make an up sell offer then ignore the attempt to purchase it?

Your problem was you had a travel agent and they did not treat it with a sense of urgency. Time is the essence when it comes to these and you need to be on the phone to Princess almost immediately after you get the email or someone else will get it. The travel agent probably put it in their pile of things to do and got to it in turn by which time the upgrade was probably already given to another passenger.

I have had full upgrades like this to suites before and they are well worth it.

It is possible if you do it every day and bump up the effort like you did last time.

If you think you are tough on yourself look at how I punish myself before and after a cruise but only in the school holidays when I get the time to do such things. This is on a bike against head winds, up hills, down hills, across busy roads weighted down with a 10kg backpack just to make it harder.

I have my health insurance backed by NIB that gives my frequent flyer points with Qantas and in the past year I have made 45000 points just by exercise. Those points would easily upgrade my economy fare to business next time I fly to Japan.

Here is a fitbit trace of where I did a ride from where the starting point is the football stadium in Newcastle where there is a car park that links up to all the bike tracks in Newcastle.

21 hours ago, Toryhere said:

Thousands of people and supply trucks trying to get through on one road from the Harbour Bridge through a residential area? I can see why the government baulked at it. 

Also, it might sound nice and easy to compulsorily acquire people’s property, but having represented several victims of such resumption by government I can tell you that they don’t always see the benefit of it. 

Its all hypothetical of course, but in reality of the government wanted a solution for another cruise terminal it would have been a good option with an existing wharf that needed extending and nearby property acquired. 

Unfortunately the problem with Sydney and Australia is due to the over development of areas like Sydney Harbour for example when a desperately needed facility or service is needed there is no room as no planning was ever done.

Obviously my scenario cannot go ahead and will not go ahead, but it was still a possible option if the government was serious about it. There were better chances of getting the properties surrounding that than bailing up the likes of Turnbull and asking hin to surrender his mansion for a desperately needed cruise port.

4 hours ago, gbenjo said:

You are joking aren't you??    Whats next ..convert  the Opera House into a cruise terminal.

No I am not joking. Have you taken a look at the map and history of the place? It is a former naval base and wharf where the Oberon class submarines were docked in Sydney. There is nothing heritage listed about it. Now comparing a former naval dock to the Sydney Opera House that really is stretching the realms of credibility.

There is a single access road to the dock that links directly to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The location of the ex-HMAS Platypus site is ideal. The only obstacle would have been about up to 8 properties in the vicinity of the north entrance gate to the site. Acquire all the properties on the corner of High and Hipwood streets and possibly another property on Kiara close and then you have access to the site sufficient for coaches and delivery trucks and tourists. Once the roads are cleared there is enough room on the existing space of the site to berth and operate cruise ships that it would have no impact on the neighbours.

The site is the former naval base that based submarines and most of the technology used around them was classified "Top Secret" and the government would have gone out of its way to make sure the site was out of the line of sight of residents so that no national security secrets could be exposed by residing close to the base. That means it is private and the barriers around it would keep such a site secure for immigration and customs as well as keeping it private for residents.

It would work but it is clearly not to be. 

Really... comparing a former naval submarine wharf to the Opera House 🙄

41 minutes ago, gbenjo said:

It was announced recently that HMAS Platypus is to be redeveloped as a public area with cafes walkways park etc so you missed the boat with that one. It would never have worked as a terminal as vehicular access is far to restricted and congested.

If the government was desperate for a solution it could have worked. Compulsory acquisition orders to take the property needed to make it work would be the way to go. When you factor in how many ships visit Sydney and what berths are available on the east side of the bridge it is not all that unreasonable to demand the property of residents to make such a thing work. There is really only one road there that comes directly off the harbour bridge. Widening that by taking a few properties would have been the way to go. It all comes down to what the government thinks is the best solution to the number of cruise ships coming and how to accommodate them and balance up if the income from them is worth it.

15 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

Brisbane 41 we haven’t had a rant from you for a while.

Was it you I saw in Hong Kong leading the protests?

Newcastle Port has a lease to Chinese part owners. Issue with the construction of the cruise terminal is the cost associated with it being asked for by the port.

Solution is simple. Terminate the lease, take over the port and the government can then control the costs. Given the Chinese communist parties cyber attacks and attitude towards Australia it would not be an unreasonable response to terminate all leases the Chinese hold on Australian ports as retaliation which would give us more control on what we can do with our ports. 

13 hours ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

If the Federal government would only co-operate, HMAS Penguin has 14 hectares of land on Middle Head.

 

A cruise terminal would surely only need one hectare and access to the shore.

 

Unlike Garden Island the naval facilities that are still there could easily be moved to HMAS Creswell at Jervis Bay or some other naval base.

I have always had that opinion that ex HMAS Platypus where the Oberon's were based would be ideal for an additional cruise terminal. Penguin may be problematic for such a use due to the facilities and operations that still go on there.

Probably in a slightly different location as to not upset the pilots and the air draft problem caused by the winds hitting the ships side on. Hopefully it gets built in a place that pleases everyone. Newcastle is upset that they are not getting theirs. Perhaps the Federal Government should have unilaterally terminated the leas of all ports around Australia to the Chinese in retaliation for their hacking into government computer systems.

I think it is time these anti-vaccination groups on social media are categorised the same as these extremist terrorist groups or extreme political movements. This is not free speech. It is a targeted attack on established scientific fact. Thanks to social media now these loonie extremists have a platform to present their warped and twisted views and other gullible people believe them and as a result vaccination rates drop and diseases and illnesses on the brink of eradication find their way back. In my opinion all anti-vaccination movements should be banned from all forms of communication with the public and other people. There is no scientific, logic or any sensible fact to it.

The Royal Australian Navy saw to it that I was vaccinated against almost anything and everything that my childhood vaccinations did not give me. I am safely vaccinated. I feel comfortable when I travel by sea and air that I am not going to pick up anything nasty.

Apparently more people are dying per year of measles than from terrorist attacks yet this "elephant in the room" does not attract and attention from lawmakers to outlaw these anti-vaccination movements.

I know what it is like with Princess.

When you book solo with Princess you pay for the whole cabin at double occupancy regardless. If you want to add a friend at a later date generally there is no extra fee at all. This I have done on multiple occasions including just last week. The only thing you will have to do is increase the deposit amount to avoid the booking from cancelling if the final payment is not due.

The above option is better if you are not sure who can come with you. You are guaranteed a cabin yourself and generally you can add people at a later stage.

With Princess the person listed as the number 1 occupant can not be removed from the booking. You can change the name of the number 2 person if they cannot come. That I know can be done because I had two friends do that in March this year.

Also with Princess sometimes their fares and sales vanish for a single person once they have sold their allocated quota for single passengers. To get around this if you really want to go is to book as a twin and nominate a friend or relative as number 2. You can still turn up as a single regardless if they intended to cruise or not. You can change the names of the second occupant before sailing if you manage to find someone.

Also when doing this with Princess it is best to call someone in the Australian office to handle your matter. If you select new bookings you will likely get put through to the Australian office or American office. If you select the option to discuss an existing booking then you will get connected to the Philippine office and unfortunately they do not have the power or authority to make such amendments.  They only know how to cancel bookings as most people ring up for that if their option is to discuss an existing booking.

If it were me it would be a big fat 0. I am big enough and strong enough to carry my own luggage and always do. Makes life a lot easier by actually having your luggage get on the ship as the same time as you. Being ex-Navy I know how to pack bags properly with methods designed to conserve space and weight.

17 hours ago, brian1 said:

Over on the Princess board,people are filling their bags with Walmart plastic straws,cos they're outraged at the introduction of cardboard ones onboard.I'm speechless.

Well they have not tried the cardboard straws. They are much better in my opinion, feel much better and seem to be much more premium. There is a McDonalds that started using them at Sydney Airport near Sheps Mound. The cardboard straws are much better than the plastic garbage.

As far as rubbish in the ocean is concerned a great deal of it comes from unregulated Asian countries like Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, India, Vietnam and Malaysia which are all notorious for extremely heavy waste disposal into the ocean. It is sad but true. Visiting these countries on Naval ships you will soon see that the water surrounding them is full of their own garbage. Australia is reasonably clean when it comes to waste disposal and so is New Zealand.

I have never found Melbourne to be unsafe. I have been out plenty of times of a night. Only thing I can add is if you see people that look suspicious or the type to avoid then simply do not go near them and ignore them. It would be no different to any other city around the world. Fairly safe but like every city there are drunks, druggies and the unfortunates that you often find around various streets at night.

2 hours ago, greykangaroo said:

Cruise Ship Crime

Personally and thankfully I have never witnessed a crime on board a ship during any cruise and it is a surprise to learn the prevalence of this activity.

Below you will see just how much criminal activity we are very close to when cruising.

Cruise ships are required to report serious crimes. This includes a homicide, any suspicious death, an assault that results with a bodily injury, or a sexual assault. Any money theft above $10k is also supposed to be reported. Outside of these crimes, however, the cruise ship company can resolve the case internally without saying another word. Needless to say, there are thousands of victims of cruise ship crime that will never see justice served.

Incredibly since 2011 more than 950 crimes have been reported to the FBI by cruise ship lines.

 

According to the head of the FBI of New York's city division, almost every cruise ship that comes into port in New York requests agents to come on board because something had happened.

These reports ranged from people going overboard to sexual assaults and thefts.

Makes you want to look over your shoulder on your next cruise. However be aware.

 

A lot of it would probably be bickering and incidents between crew. With a high passenger turnover it is less likely to be a passenger committing crime all the time. It does happen but I was in the Navy once and know what it is like working on a ship. Once a crew gets entrenched into the ship and daily life becomes routine it is possible for crimes of opportunity to occur. Sexual assault is probably high on the list among crew with crew being away from family and a mix of both sexes and the opportunity for it to occur it is likely to happen more regularly than we think. It gets to the point of sexual favours to overlook dismissable disciplinary infractions.

The reason we never hear about it so much is because it does not usually involve a passenger. If it involved a passenger then it will make headlines and we can all remember the headlines over the past years. Incidents like the Brimble case with P&O Australia and the Smith case with Royal Caribbean hit the headlines big time. If it is crew then the incidents are easier to contain and keep from the public.