clairebearinaus

Oh I love that last photo John, my father travelled here on the Oronsay in the early 60s.  He disembarked in Sydney though.

I can see the ships berthed at Station Pier on my daily walk and it'll be lovely to catch the Golden again, she's my favourite ship and I was on her for her maiden voyage to Melbourne when we were welcomed with a giant golden banner being held up by helicopters.  Sad I won't get to sail on her again before she leaves Princess.

I'm at Point Gellibrand watching her come into port now. Another half hour or so I'd say.

A few passengers are on a Carnival chat page saying that some of this group were offloaded in Lifou. But the rest continued on with the crummy behaviour.

I feel bad for the passengers boarding today, their cruise is only 3 days yet will be cut even shorter thanks to the late arrival of the ship into Melbourne.

We started disembarking the Solstice at around 8.30am last Thursday and were at the airport at 9.30am. We'd booked 1pm flights so it was a long wait :)

Baggage and Customs at OPT was a breeze and there were plenty of taxis including the Maxi we needed.

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I was booked on that Golden cruise, and switched to one on Solstice leaving this Thursday.

I hope everyone on the islands is safe.

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Ooh goodness I'm not sure if you're serious about the drop bears but just in case you are, they're not real, it's a hoax! We do have koalas, they're real, but very docile and not in city areas.

 

What??! Goodness me, you've led a sheltered life!

OP, I'd take the official word of the Australian Museum over anything posted here. Also, check out the Centennial Parklands on Facebook, that's a park in inner urban Sydney and only in the last few days they issued a warning about Drop Bears. https://australianmuseum.net.au/drop-bear

Nasty buggers. A group of local kids narrowly escaped with their lives a few weeks ago when they stupidly wore American NBA baseball caps in a heavily treed area.

Thanks again. It's Murano I'm interested in, though all you can eat sushi sounds appealing too!

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Thank you! :)

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Quick question for you if you're still reading my fellow Bear... :)

I know you didn't go to the specialty restaurants, but did you notice if there were any special offers? I'm going on 13/4 and wondering whether to book online for my night of choice, or wait until I'm onboard in the hope of a discount.

There's a Tiffany?! :O

Well, there goes my hard earned!

Thanks for the replies.

Fortunately gambling is about the only vice I don't have, but I tend to make up for it with irresponsible spending on other things ;)

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Hi all,

I hear there's quite an extensive array of shops on Solstice so I'd appreciate details from anyone who has travelled on her recently.

Aside from the usual souvenirs, sundries and jewellery what else can I look forward to?

How extensive is the cosmetics and toiletries range, is it the usual duty free offering or a bigger range? I'm thinking of just packing a couple of days worth of samples/travel minis and then topping up from the shop so would be looking for nice but not too $$$ brands like l'Occitane, Body Shop, Jurlique etc.

Thanks

Claire

What a shame. I can see how last minute port changes and extra tenders would be really stressful when you had planned to have certain 'experiences of a lifetime' on your cruise. I hope you do decide to come back one day and see our country properly :)

Oh no this is the first port 😣😣 for my virgin cruising friend !

 

If we are back in the port and in a queue.. surely the boat won't go without us ?

Does the boat keep our passports? Or do we take them to Bali with us ?

My friend will worry about the ship going without us 😢

If you're in the queue to get back on the ship at the required time, they keep sending boats back and forth until everyone's on board, you won't be left behind.

You'll need to check the last tender time in your Patters on the day. Most people would advise aiming to be at port an hour before last tender, with Bali traffic and a nervous companion I'd probably stretch that to two hours!

I left my passport on the ship, and took a photocopy in my day pack and as extra security had a photo of it saved on my gmail account. Also took the Patters with me, it had local emergency contact numbers in it.

The sea was like glass when we tendered off Sun Princess this time last year. However the hot and stuffy air inside the boats was enough to leave us feeling squicky.

I agree with icat2000 about the appalling traffic getting back to port, and the long long lines, standing in the sun, to get back to the ship. On our cruise there was only one small ferry and one lifeboat making the journey back and forth in 'peak hour' and it's a reasonably long ride.

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I'm not sure we've established if it was actually was a downgrade. Keen for the OP to return and give us more info.

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Like Diane, my reaction would depend on what other cabins were on offer. I wouldn't want to be inside for a cruise of that length.

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I'm not qualified to answer as I haven't been, but wanted to say hi as I'm on the same cruise :)

I'm having trouble finding French Pacific Francs (XPF, that is the currency for both ports as they are both part of New Caledonia) for less than a minimum order of AUD$500, which is way more than we need. I've been told AUD is fine on Lifou so will follow OwKiwi's suggestion and grab a small amount of XPF at an ATM in Noumea.

Googling 'Noumea foodie tour' will bring up a few articles and blogs with ideas for lunch and some recommended bakeries and chocolate shops. I hope a few things are open!

The last two posts are an example of differing opinions on the same aspect of a cruise. For Madfisher, the cabin was far too small for two people, whereas Clarebearinaus had two adults and two children in a cabin and was very happy. :)

 

We have cruised on the Sun class ships many times and find the cabins great for two people.

We were in two cabins :)

I think 4 of us in one would have been too much for a 12 day cruise when the kids are adult sized or close enough, but that would apply to most ships and cabins.

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While I haven't been on Dawn, we did that Treasures of Asia cruise last year on Sun Princess and it was brilliant.

My kids were 10 and 12 at the time and loved both the ship and the ports. They spent plenty of time in kids club, especially in the evenings.

Every day's a pool day on that itinerary but it can get ferociously hot from noon onwards so you'd want to be sure there are enough indoor activities to keep you happy.

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I'm another who has cruised on both, enjoyed them immensely but would choose Golden a million times over if all other things were equal.

The indoor pool is probably the clincher for me but just the overall quality of the ship and the extra choices its size give you are a great bonus.

Plus little things like the dressing area in the cabin and the wind break screens on the upper decks.

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Thanks for the Noumea information! Hope you're still having a great time :)

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Thanks for offering to answer questions! When in Noumea did you dock in town, or further out where they shuttle bus you into town?

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I'm just watching you sail out of Melbourne from Williamstown beach. Hope you had a great day here. Bit windy and choppy now so best wishes for a smooth ride :)

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I was on the Sun Princess right before its April dry dock.

Everything was open and working as it should, and the staff were fabulous.

The staff go on a break so they're probably hoping for extra tips!

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