mattie00

We are very happy we booked our 13-day New Zealand and 29-day Australia cruises for 2017 some time ago in Canadian dollars. Hoping exchange rate with Australian dollar improves before we leave as onboard accounts are Australian dollars. Also hoping CDN dollar improves against US dollar before then as we plan a couple of days stopover in Honolulu each way to break up the flights. We are wintering in southwest US and our usual spending habits have changed considerably because of the fact we are only getting $0.68 US for our CDN$!:eek::mad:

To me it was kind of 'creepy'...to much in your face everywhere we went. Actually quite rude to tourists. This was my experience, no need to go back.

Wow...different experience that what we had last April. We just loved the Spice Bazaar with all its colour and smells as well as the Old Bazaar. We expected to be harangued but the opposite was true. We used a guide for our various tours. No one approached us unless we stopped and expressed an interest. Even on the streets generally, that was the case. However, we kept to the main tourist areas so the experience was likely different off the beaten track as it is in even a big Canadian city. Everyone has different expectations when travelling and that is the beauty of travel...something for everyone. Too bad the people who rely on tourism to support their families in the cities affected by terrorism (and there are many all over the world) are suffering because of the evil minority.

So sad to hear about the latest terrorist attack. We visited Turkey, including 2 days in Istanbul, last April and just love the people and the country. We do not have any problems visiting Muslim dominated countries....the majority of Muslims are peace loving people.

Thanks Loonbeam. Ships seem to be similar in size to the smaller NCL ships that also only have 2 main dining rooms. We were told that the Australian market does not like freestyle dining where you can sit anywhere and eat anytime. Whatever the reason, this will be our first taste of the more formal set dining time and table. We can always eat at the buffet if we want flexibility. Eating arrangements are secondary to seeing the wonderful continent of Australia. :-)

Why not just do anytime dining on Princess then. Similar system, just some MDRs are reserved for traditional set dining...

We have been advised that anytime dining is not available on Australian cruises. Is that not correct?:confused:

We have cruised NCL exclusively and are now booked for almost 6 weeks worth of cruising Princess but only because NCL does not offer circumnavigation of Australia. We have never paid room service fee, just tip, but understand there is a room service fee for late night deliveries and pizza. We also have obviously enjoyed our cruises with NCL because they are a very port intensive cruise line and allow casual dress. Pretty hard to stuff formal wear into the limited luggage size/weight now allowed by most airlines without paying extra fee. Also enjoy anytime dining as we enjoy meeting different, interesting crew members and not having same wait staff every night. It will be interesting to see how we like set dining/table on Princess.

We have booked a 13 day Sydney return cruise of New Zealand and a 29 day Sydney return cruise of Australia that circumnavigates the continent. Booked with Princess for February/March of 2017. As we are flying from Canada we wanted to taste as much of the diverse area of Australia as possible. Breaking up our flight with a 2 or 3 night stopover in Honolulu. Total time away is approximately 2 months from mid-February to mid-April.

Very happy to see positive comments. We booked this cruise a few months ago and are very much looking forward to it as well as the 13-day cruise on the Dawn visiting New Zealand prior to this cruise.

Just a heads up.....I just booked a cruise through a travel agent and they will be filing for our Australian visas which are free to them. Therefore no cost to us. We are in Canada so I'm not sure if that makes a difference.

This was our experience with our TA as well. Possibly because we are also in Canada and part of the Commonwealth.

Happy Thanksgiving to our Canadian cruise friends !

Sali

And we wish our U.S. cruise friends a Happy Columbus Day.:)

And we wish the same for you and your family.:D

We were hoping to book this cruise during the Fall of 2017 but doesn't look like Princess will be offering it. Wondering if the schedule for Fall 2017 is complete? Or perhaps their still deciding ?

We are booked on 29-day around Australia cruise for March of 2017 which would be Fall in Australia I think.:)

Don't believe everything you read. Review are very personal and subjective. We, too, have read absolutely awful reviews before every cruise only to find no issue for us. We are very easy going, go with the flow type of people though and have never, ever had an absolutely horrible cruise. Sure, sometimes food isn't up to our taste or service a bit slow...but never anything to spoil a great vacation. Having said that, this is our first non-Norwegian cruise so we are hoping to have the same happy experience with Princess.

Female 66...no formal

Male 62...no formal

We are in Canada and use a TA. Reason for paying a week ahead of Princess deadline is to enable processing through TA to Princess by the deadline. We don't think this is unreasonable.

We sailed the Dawn Princess around Australia a couple of years ago and the onboard account was in AU$.

Hi there. We have the around Australia cruise booked for 2017. Do you have any tips to share regarding ports and "must sees". Would appreciate any information you can provide.:) Also, what ship did you sail? We are doing a 13-day cruise of New Zealand before the 29-day Australia cruise.

Thanks kruisey. I do indeed check the Princess website every day and call my TA if I see anything that I may be able to get. We have always gotten better prices through the TA as they use a tour aggregator who seems to always get at least $100 PP (and sometimes more) than the advertised special via the cruise line website plus some additional OBC. I only have experience with Norwegian however so other cruise lines may be different.

I am confused. :confused: We booked our cruises in Canadian dollars through our travel agent as we usually get a better fare than quoted on the Princess site so exchange rate doesn't come into play. However, I did notice that the fare for our cruises has gone up by approximately $1000 CDN from when we booked 6 weeks ago. That is likely a result of the horrendous USD exchange rate.:(

Just noticed that our trips booked for February/March 2017 to Australia and New Zealand are approximately $1000 more than when we booked 6 weeks ago. Always pays to plan ahead! Not only do you get the cabin and dining room seating you want, if the price goes up your fare does not; if it goes down, your fare does until final payment date. How can you lose? :))

Does anyone have information on the bus that travels from cruise ship port to Tarquinia? Times both going and returning? Cost? Duration of drive? We are on a B2B and would like to visit Tarquinia but don't know if we have enough time as we want to be back on the ship by 3 p.m. Likely off ship around 7 a.m. Thanks for any help. :D

Thanks for the very timely review of SPB Tours. We will be using them on our upcoming June 27th Baltics tour on the Sun.:)

I have taken a full size clothing iron just thrown in my suitcase on both the Spirit and Epic and never had an issue.

Thought the reason for no clothes irons was due to possible fire hazard if someone forgets to unplug.:confused:

You can have a glass of wine at any of the small outdoor coffee/cafe places. Some of the best views are on the Stradun or at the Pile Brsalje (Square). Just keep looking until you notice a spot with a view. Choose a nice wine, our Peljesac red wine is wonderful. Just remember that price does not indicate good taste. Keep researching and someone may mention bars with a good view. Enjoy your limited time in Dubrovnik.

Thank you. I truly appreciate the time you take to advise those of us who will be visiting your country for the first time.:D

Since I live in Dubrovnik, i cannot recommend any restaurants. Although I will tell you that locals believe that most of restaurants with a view do not generally have good food. Most of them are very expensive and not worth the money. Good luck, just keep searching for other recommendations. Many of the small side streets have small konaba's which do have good food, and there are many.

Thanks for the advice. We do know that the "touristy" areas tend to be overpriced and underquality. How about for just a glass of wine? Any place with a view for that?

Still looking for a recommended restaurant with a view along the Dubrovnik wall.:confused: