lyndarra

If you get confused as to whether you are going forward or aft, there are outlines (?) of the ship on the carpet, pointing correct direction, where you enter or leave passageways.

2013, our very first HAL cruise on Volendam, 16 days Sydney to Singapore via Indonesia. Loved the size of the ship and discovered HAL's penchant for varied itineraries. Three memorable events from that cruise. Komodo Island - dragons - and A wild excursion from Semarang port (Java) to Borobudur Temple. Six or seven coaches with police escort, at speed, to make it there and back in time due to horrific local traffic, and on a beautiful day, a couple of hours drifting on mirrorlike water of the Java sea when a power generator failed. No power on board except for the bridge and the casino😉.

Over the weekend I received and email for a cruise tour and also saw the same one from same TA advertised in a Sunday paper. It seemed really El Cheapo but it had a few pros and a couple of serious cons. Pros Return flights to New York on QANTAS. 2 nights accomodation in NYC (extendable to 😎 8 night cruise - Miami, Ocean Cay and Nausau Cons Very long haul flights Only 2 ports Miami and Nassau - I don't consider a private island beach a port. MSC But, at AUD2999, it is tempting just for the heck of it and I've never been to NY. Not much more $$ than a NZ cruise. Edited to add. Available this October

I have done many long haul flights to enable cruising from foreign ports. On a recent 14hr overnight flight from Canada, a thought came to me which I had not considered before - nobody was snoring. I cannot recall anyone snoring during flights I've been on. Many(?) participants of this forum, seem to have or know someone who has, problems sleeping and use CPAP machines. I know almost nothing about these things but have read that users are also snorers - correct me if I am wrong. I have never seen anyone using a CPAP on a flight, I'm not sure I would know one if I saw it. So where are all the snorers? Does one need to be recumbant to snore, are they in the pointy end? Can CPAP users fly overnight without their machines? According to my ear plug using travelling companion I am a snorer, but not when flying. Can someone enlighten me please? Is it just me?

HAL also do a circumnavigation. I have also done the round trip with RCI (Radiance OTS) but I don't know if they still do it.

My guess would be it will be USD as soon as you leave Brisbane for Guam.

When I started work in the CBA my pay was credited fortnightly directly into my account by computer. Each payday a printout was posted on a noticeboard in the branch. I would write the amount on the butt of a book of withdrawal forms, just like a cheque book, fill in a withdrawal form and cash it. This was in 1964. BTW, we could see what everyone else was paid on the printout!

In the past you could buy a copy of The Big Issue on the streets of London for a pound or two. Cash was becoming so scarce I have heard that The Big Issue can be bought using credit/debit cards.

I have only cruised Princess once for the same reason. I mostly cruise Celebrity and HAL - last four have been on HAL. They seem to have better itineraries. However I would never say and have never said I would not sail with Princess again.

Dealing with cash is very costly for banks, and governments which print and mint at a cost to the tax payer. Armoured cash vans, security guards, etc.. Back when I worked for CBA I also seviced ATMs on weekends and holidays - I didn't do it for nothing. Ever wondered why you can't convert foreign coin? Coins are heavy.

SOT. Source Cafe at Wickham do a great brekky burrito.

On my recent Alaska cruise I only bought one glass of wine - I usually like to have one wine with dinner. Settled for water. Instead I indulged in cocktails and mixed drinks during happy hour (HAL) .

A sign of things to come? HAL already charge USD20 per bottle payable on boarding.

Here's me thinking you're talking about a ship's hot tub. Doh.😁

I had a few grey cells left from my banking career so I had a rough idea. The cheque, $1300, was a premium refund from Shannons due to them not applying my multiple policy discount. A couple of weeks ago I received my annual home/contents renewal notice and nearly fell over when I saw the amount. I was expecting an increase but not almost double last years'. Anyhoo, they are paying me out a lot from the recent hail damage. There was too much damage to my LDV van to do a PDR (Paintless Dent Removal) repair so I now have to take it to a repairer to get a quote for a conventional repair. Which I would do but can't ATM. The van is with the dealer having some rust repaired - under warranty!! I am waiting still for an assessor to check the pool solar heater damage for which I already have a quote - $6000. I've received a $4000 payout for my deck roof repair which I am close to finishing.

Here's something different, something that hasn't happened to me in years. I received a cheque - in the mail!😨

That's my experience also.

I'm currently working my way through a bottle of Piggs Peake (Pokolbin) Feral Pig. Good stuff. https://www.vivino.com/AU/en/piggs-peake-feral-pig/w/9439381

On a HAL PNG cruise 2019 we had the owner of Conflict Islands giving a couple of talks after leaving Alotau during which he mentioned not using Kina on Conflict.

I also recall going to a farm somewhere near Rotorua however it was a long time ago so I am hazy on details. They had shearing and a sheep dog demonstration.

Shuffleboard? Didn't that go long time ago? Get rid of pickleball and set up cricket nets.

Take Kina with you. It's not easy for PNGn's to change Oz dollars, banks a few and far between. For my PNG cruise I bought Kina from local Post Office

That was the case with GO Rentals. They (and others) have an office a short distance away and have a shuttlebus pick you up (if you have pre booked) at the airport to take you to their office. https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&tbs=lf:1,lf_ui:2&tbm=lcl&q=auckland+airport+car+rentals&rflfq=1&num=10&ved=2ahUKEwiZ6pyfhPT_AhWKr1YBHUCtDRcQtgN6BAggEAI#rlfi=hd:;si:;mv:[[-36.989438396828014,174.8176299816895],[-37.01644504142439,174.7563468701172]]

https://www.wollombitavern.com.au/order-dr-jurds-online/

Can't say I've heard any untoward or negative reports about Rex, a regional airline, but I would never book Jetstar, they are cheap but IMO too risky.