Womble99

You could easily help fund moving the RAN out of Sydney by land value capture on Garden Island. The land would be worth billions, and by selling parts of it off to private developers, you can easily pay for at least a good portion of moving them out.

The other problem is when Defence moved out of an area for development it is in the expectation that the area is given up at either cents in the dollar or gratis. No one ever pays full price for commonwealth land, we expect to be given a hand out by the govt not the other way around.

I do not think it was for the security of your information.

 

I think it is to eliminate the possibility that the e-mail and/or the attachment has a computer virus or worse attached to it. Thus, it is to protect their computer systems.

Sorry but to use the excuse of protecting their computer systems is a poor excuse, this is the 21st century and email is a standard form of business. If you are not effectively protecting you business IT system to allow your customers to send email attachments then you are not operating in the 21st century. If this is the case I would be more concerned about the security of the information they hold on you the customer because it would most certainly not be secure if they can't even secure their own email service.......

That's the difference between Princess Australia and Princess US.

When I applied for our last cruise I was told I would have to do it through my TA as it would affect my "financials", what ever that meant. I think when the person dealing with it realised they were wrong they got the sh...ts and gave me $99.99 OBC.

 

I think regular cruises are better informed than Princess Australia staff.

The $99.99 has come up a couple of times for us as well, it is a result of the crap IT systems they have and how it deals with the US - AU conversions similar to the webpage. Frustrates the hell out of our PCP when we talk to her but makes us laugh when we get $99.99 for one and $100.01 for the other :rolleyes:

OK, that makes some sense ie that it is included in your duty free allowance on return but I still don't know why our government has a scheme where they employ people & spend on affiliated resources to refund GST to people, including Aussies, for goods they buy, just because they are going overseas, either temporarily or permanently.

 

So I buy a camera for $1100 at say Harvey Norman, and thus pay $100 in gst. A few weeks later I travel to NZ for business, take the camera & receipt to airport, fill out a form at the TRS counter and then get refunded $100. Later that week I return and use my camera for the next 10 years just as i would have if I never went overseas again in my life. Why is the government subsidising my purchase?? And spending money to do so - the TRS dept only exists to give taxpayers money back to travellers. WHY?

The intent of the scheme is for people who are traveling out of the country to purchase items duty free (ie refund the GST) it is aimed at TOURISTS hence the name Tourist Refund Scheme. However they made it available for Australians to use it for outbound goods, gifts etc (non commercial). As a traveler you are allowed to take a reasonable amount of items out of the country and be refunded the GST as the items will no longer be part of our economy. However if you bring those or some of those items back into the country you are only entitled to $900 duty free exceed that and you are required by law to refund the GST as the items are now part of our economy again which was the reason they had the GST on them in the first place.

A tourist on the other hand is probably never going to bring the item back to this country just as the items you purchase in other countries are not likely to return either which is what the scheme is intended for. Unfortunately there are loopholes which means easy money so guess what, that's what people do.

Sorry but that is 100% incorrect. There has never - in the entire existence of the TRS scheme - been that requirement.

 

I claim items every year such as laptops or cameras, iPhones etc. Whatever I have upgraded pre trip. When re-entering I show the TRS receipt to show I have already claimed the refund and am not charged additional duty on the items.

 

 

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You may want to have another read of the conditions of TRS, in particular the section titled 'Bringing goods back into Australia for which you have already received a TRS refund' Any item brought back into Australia counts towards your duty free limit, if you exceed the limit you are required to pay the duty and repay the gst on all items.

OK I'll bite![emoji48]

 

Is that suit RAN issue?

 

Why does it matter to the military where they're based? The view? The proximity to 'the cross'? Or 'cause "we" got there first?

Maybe it matters so we have the ability to keep cruising? I don't know the reason why the Navy needs to be at GI, I am sure the govt does though or they would have moved after one of the several requests over the previous years. But going on the user pays option would you still be keen on cruising?

If the bill for moving the Navy out (not purchasing the land back or building any new facilities mind you) was footed by passing the costs on to the paying customers (that is you the cruiser) you would be looking at adding around $900+ to your fare in port costs *working on the assumption that there is a ship for all 365 days with an average of 3000 pax, even if you took it over 10 years at $90 you still need a ship every day which won't happen

Then you also have the residents of the Greater Sydney region who have to deal with the loss of around a billion $ from their annual GDP as it moves to another region.

Sydney is our favorite port to sail out of and it would be great to have more options however the harbor is full and sometimes I think we forget how much we already have and want too much more without looking at what it actually could cost. Maybe we have to accept it and look at alternatives, I honestly don't think the increase to the cruise industry is going to bring in more revenue than the Navy does to Sydney.

The 90 day limit doesn't show in this document but it does still appear on the request form.

I thought I'd try early and sent my request on 8th October. No reply by today so I phoned them and was told the 90 days still applies then I received a reply to my email which included this statement.

Which form are you using? The 2017 form has no mention of the 90 days to reflect the alteration made on the Carnival shareholders page. The 2016 form and those previous had the requirement. Try again with the current form, like a lot of things if you call again you will likely get a different answer......

I have attached the 2016 and 2017 forms to this post for you if you haven't got the current version.

ShareholderRequestForm_05_2017[26220].pdf

Princess_Shareholder_Request_Form_2016.pdf

This is also one of my favorites, along with a tropical blend. I am curious as to what's in a Miami Vice.

They looked interesting so I asked Mr Google and he came up with a recipe which can be found here

If the Victorian Government was smart it would encourage the new owners of the Port of Melbourne to invest in a major redevelopment of Station Pier and Princes Pier. Sydney is about to lose more cruise business due to continual delays in deciding on new port infrastructure.

Newer and bigger ships will not be able to fit under the Sydney Harbour bridge anyhow so Sydney loses it's attraction.

Plenty of tourist dollars up for grabs Victoria....do it!;p

Unfortunately Melbourne needs to do a lot more than just upgrade the facilities at Station pier to get the bigger ships in. The navigation into and out of Port Phillip Bay is not ideal for the larger ships and can be very hazardous. Tight turns and wind are a bad combination for cruise ships.

got it in one there Mr Gut.

 

Again, there is not a single reason for the Navy to be at GI, other than they were already there. Move them on, and build a world class facility which includes a cruise terminal.

 

There will always be the negative nellies & neds of this world. There would be no harbour bridge, no opera house, no Darling Harbour etc etc if someone with a bit of gumption and foresight just didn't say "shutup - we are building it."

 

In this city we are finally starting to see the type of infrastructure we need as a 'world city' in spite of the whingers. We are getting roads, light rail, convention & entertainment centre etc etc. We just need a new cruise terminal and accompanying infrastructure.

But how rapt are Joe Public and his mates going to be with your plan for a cruise terminal at Garden Island when they are told they have to cough up more than $40 each? That is every person in Australia would need to contribute through taxes over $40 just to move the Navy out, considering the cruiselines wouldn't be paying for it and only a portion of the population (those working or making an income) pays taxes.

It seems like a great idea to move them out but the cost to do it and the loss of revenue they bring to Sydney is unlikely to be exceeded by what it is replaced with. If it was then I have no doubt that the NSW govt and industry would have pushed it through a long time ago. We just have to face it that while we love to cruise out of the harbour with the great view it is going to be limited or we will have to pay for the privilege just like those who live on its foreshore do.

Reading through some of the senate estimate reports I can see why no one in NSW has been in a hurry to pull the trigger on moving the Navy out of Garden Island. For some reason I am not sure why they would want to move out an industry that brings in nearly a billion a year to Sydney? Not to mention the cost of moving it runs at a billion plus o.O

How come it comes down to Garden Island or move it out of Sydney? The only options that seem to come up are GI, Pt Kembla or Newcastle? There is another perfectly good port in Sydney that could already have the capacity to take as many cruise ships you want to throw at it? Plus you wouldn't have to upset the latte drinkers to build there........

Thank you, how generous of the Carnival Corporation Bean Counters to offer us such wonderful benefits, Not !!! How about some $30 a day cruises like the North Americans get, they are getting red hot bargains to the Hurricane affected Caribbean currently.

Best I got offered yesterday was just on $100 a day for some balcony rooms, certainly a far cry from the sub $100 for a whole cruise being offered in the US but by far the best offer I have had from Princess here.

 

Plus if it was that simple, why was a brilliant, deep water, 4 ship, passenger facility at Woolloomooloo Bay sold off just a couple of decades ago? And resold to private developers for their profit? Those have less call on remaining there than the Navy - yet oddly nobody brings that option up! As usual, the industry wants the easy option, with a handout from the government/public purse, than paying the true market cost of that access.

Shhhh don't mention things like that, people might think they would actually have to pay for things instead of just having them handed to them. This is how the rich become richer and the rest complain the govt is broke................

But it’s not really a question of settled in so much as “Can they share?”

Considering I can't get my kids onto a military base any more, I am thinking it might be more of a case of can cruiselines share? Would they be prepared to meet the required security to operate out of a military base?

It is a little unfortunate that a former state MP may have a different opinion to the federal govt though. All well and good the for a state govt to make a decision to move domestic cruise ships to GI it would still have to convince the dept of def, they may be a little harder to convince?

Well Carnival have announced that MedallionNet will provide guests with easy-to-access Wi-Fi that features exceptional speeds and bandwidth, pervasive stateroom signal strength and unprecedented service consistency.

 

Sandra

So has the Grand even made it to the list for the roll out for the Ocean Medallion yet? I haven't seen it on any of the releases so why would it have MedallionNet installed?

We are on the Sea Princess on the Fremantle to Brisbane cruise on 18th November.

Have been watching the price and terms of the AIBP/PBP over the last few weeks.

Today I have checked on my CP and it now says this:

"Premier Beverage Package £46.91 per person, per day

 

The Premier Beverage Package includes any individual beverage item such as fountain soda, bottled water, cocktails, spirits, wine by the glass, beers, coffee and tea, up to $16 AUD (retail value). A 25% discount is also offered on all bottles of wine when purchased in bars, dining room or specialty restaurants."

 

That works out around AUD79 per day.

 

The Terms & Conditions say:

"The Premier Beverage Package is offered at $59.99 USD per day plus a 15% service charge (totaling $68.99 per day) for all itineraries except Australia. For all Australia-based vessels, through October 31, 2017 the package is available for $77.00 AUD per day including the service charge. Starting November 1, 2017, the package will increase to $86.99 AUD per day. Pre-purchased package pricing is converted at the applicable currency conversion rate from the US base price, is subject to fluctuation and may vary from onboard pricing. The full amount due for the complete voyage will be charged at the time of purchase. 


 

Maybe they have had a change of heart and are gradually putting the prices up.

Actually the email we received has the offer that we can purchase the premier beverage package at the reduced rate Prior to October 31 2017 for any of the cruise we have already booked (Australian only). If I was so inclined to cough up those ridiculous prices ($77AUD, I didn't think it was really worth $59) it is available on the 2019 cruise we have booked. But for those who do use it then it maybe of use if you have a booking a fair way out and you think the price may change again?

Time to move the Navy base to Jervis Bay or Newcastle. Give Garden Island back to the people and the cruise lines, bring some money in to Sydney.:halo:

.

Why is there a need to bring more money into Sydney Uncle Les? Pretty sure there is plenty of it there already the residents stare at it everyday held within their 4 walls............. Maybe we should share the love and move the money to other areas like Newcastle or Jervis Bay? :eek:

Copy of EMail sent by Princess Cruises to Moderator of Princess Cruises FB Site for Info only

 

 

"In regards to the price increase on the new ‘Premier Beverage Package’, during our review of our package offerings and pricing, it was discovered that the Australian price published on our website and in our materials, had not been pegged to the actual rate of exchange of the Australian currency. As such the price published had remained stagnant for several years, while the rate of exchange continued to climb. Instead of marginal increases of the price over several years as the AUD strengthened, we now have a correction that appears sharper than normal due to the proper application of the current exchange rate. The new AUD price reflects the same price as the US dollar based package, it has just been converted into Australian Dollars at the current (correct) exchange rate.

The AUD daily amount also already includes the daily service charge, whereas the US dollar amount is often published without that built in.

Lastly, it is important to note that even with the F/X correction, Princess is highly favorable in AUD pricing as compared to other Australian based lines, such as P&O Australia. P&O prices their package at $105.00 AUD, and caps their menu price at $15.00 AUD, Princess is priced at $86.99 AUD and caps the menu price at $16.00 AUD.

At this stage, we have not been officially informed about any changes to our Happy Hour and Buy one Get one for $1.00 program.

Cheers

Curious, why is the price of alcohol pegged to the US prices but the other commodities on board change with the Aus region pricing? eg watches etc? I notice the US prices on those are removed and replaced with the Aus versions when the ships transit to down under to reflect regional pricing structures.

Was disappointing to see a watch I was interested in go up in front of my eyes :( and no it certainly didn't go up by just the exchange rate conversion, god bless the down under tax :mad:

I guess if the Golden is leaving the fleet in 2020 this means P&O is transitioning to Ocean medallion in 2020 as well? Hadn't heard anything of the other Carnival lines being transitioned yet but I can't see them taking it out once they have spent the money putting it in?

 

Thank you for the explanation. It looks like you are getting hit twice. Once for the 20% increase in the package costs and then the addition of the gratuity that was not charged previously.

Not sure about being hit twice, gratuities are not charged on Australian ships as they are built into the fare and I guess for drinks they are built into the price of the drinks. So if that is the business model they are running then the previous package would have had the gratuities built in already as that is the way the market works down here.

LOL, :D

 

Normally I would agree but apparently I have matured (since last week) and also I have run out of popcorn due to FB and the postal vote.;p

Hmm over that postal vote, thank the lord I don't have FB it's bad enough the constant text messages we keep getting reminding us HOW we Should vote. Wish I was cruising at least there is no phone/internet/tv coverage.

Anyway back to the important stuff, damn you Princess our booze is getting too expensive :mad:

Last week before the increase was the cost of the Australian package AUD$72.16 (some as the other markets. Or was the price last week actually AUD 57.49.

The price has been $59AUD since it was made available here in Australia there is no gratuities added just a flat $59. The new price is $86.99AUD which is the same as the US price with gratuities converted from USD to AUD.

LOL, you can't beat stupid in a debate.

No but you can lob in a grenade and breakout the popcorn ;p