Foxlins

We travelled in early December 2015 with family from another state. Due to differing finishing dates, our daughter only missed 3 days of school. Her cousin missed about six. There were quite a few kids on board of school age. Definitely didn't have a negative impact on our time though.

Different schools seem to have different views of taking the kids out for travel. Ours says that you must "apply" to take them out for more than five school days. But I don't know how well that is managed. We know a few families who have taken their kids out for longer, but I don't think that they applied. Our school also told us when we asked for work to take away with us a few years ago that it is school policy not to provide work for kids who are taken out during term for holidays.

I think in the early school years, travel can be such an education itself. I don't see an issue with missing a bit of school. I think schools need to be a bit flexible, some people don't have the option of holidaying in school holidays.

BTW... We cruised with Carnival. The children were 10,9 and 5. In the entire 10 night cruise, I don't think I heard the words "I'm bored" once. They were constantly being entertained and were exhausted from being on the go so much!

Hi!

We have recently visited three of the above with Carnival. One of my biggest tips is to look for private tours where possible. We did, and got longer tours in smaller groups, for less cost. We were initially concerned about not making it back to the ship on time, but we were assured by both of our private tour companies that they have never been late back, their businesses rely on their reputation, and we chose according to high numbers of excellent reviews online. I won't mention the company names, but they are easily found.

Noumea - my second visit, but the first for all I was cruising with. I like Noumea. This time we took a private tour to Escapade Island. They picked us up from the Cruise Terminal, took us for a tour of Noumea, and then to the markets. We got some shopping time before boarding a ferry to Escapade Island which was a resort. We had a big lunch in the restaurant there, before having the afternoon to swim. The kids loved it. They got to snorkel and swim with Sea Turtles. The fish were amazing. We caught the ferry back and then were transported back to the ship. It was a full day out, and cheaper than the ships tours.

Mare - Carnival ran a few tours here. We paid for the transport to Yejele Beach. This is a must do in our opinion. It has some of the best swimming and snorkelling of all the islands. It is accessible easily from the beach, so the inexperienced among us were able to enjoy it too.

Port Vila - Another one we chose a private tour for. We loved this one most of all. We did a tour which included a cultural village visit. This alone was worth the cost. We learned a lot about their hunting and food gathering. They danced and fire walked for us. After leaving this we also visited the Blue Lagoon for a swim and snack. This is a popular destination and was busy, but afterwards we were taken to a river on private land, where our group of seven and our guides were the only ones in this beautiful, untouched river. Amazing! We had a private lunch at another resort, where we could also use the resorts pool while waiting. Then we were taken Duty Free Shopping before returning to the Ship. Our guide was the best we could have asked for. He was so full of knowledge and so easy to talk to. It was like being with family. The three children in our party loved him and were sad to leave him at the end of the day.

I have not been to Isle of Pines yet, but it is on my list of places to visit!

We are still in the process of sorting well over 1000 photos, so I can't share any yet. I am more than happy to answer any questions though. We are already looking forward to our next adventures!

We checked the Information Centre at the Rocks about luggage storage only a few days ago, as we were looking at doing the same thing. It was going to cost something in the vicinity of $20 per suitcase and a smaller charge for smaller luggage.

Emma Nixon.......how does she rate as a C/D??

We have just returned from a cruise with Emma on the Spirit. Loved her. Still keep expecting to hear her voice! The kids loved her too. Especially when she joined them on the water slides!

Sailing out of and back into Sydney Harbour was one of the highlights of my only previous cruise. I will be doing another cruise out of Sydney in December and can not wait for that experience again. It was worth getting out of bed very early to see the sun rise as we headed towards Sydney.

The dining room will be there every other night, don't miss the views during your exit from the harbour!

It looks as though the Spirit arrived back about 20 minutes ago. There are photos on the Carnival Australia F/B page. That made it about 12.45 Sydney time. They made better time coming back than expected.

Hopefully all goes well for this evenings boarding and departure. I can see there are a number of people quite unhappy that they have to have their kids up so late!

Is it only Royal Caribbean making the changes? We are due to go to Lifou with Carnival in December.

I would pick Carnival as well. For both the Itinerary and the ship.

Whichever way you go, you are in for a treat, the South Pacific is a beautiful area.

I was on a P&O cruise back in 1989/90 which went through this passage. It was listed on our ticket and we went through during the day. If my memory is right, we had to slow right down here. They made announcements to give people enough time to make it to a good vantage point.

I am cruising again in December. I would be thrilled if we go through again, but I am guessing it would be during the evening or night.

Yes, we booked through the website.

I haven't cruised Carnival out of Sydney yet, but will be in December. :D

Differences I have noticed just from reading here... no alcohol packages here in Australia due to a commitment to responsible service of alcohol. And gratuities are included in your fare.

Hi!

There should not be many school age children on board that cruise as it is during school term.

We are cruising on the Spirit in December this year. Also in an extended balcony, midship, portside. Looking forward to seeing her now she has been in having her makeover!

What other ports will you be doing?

Here in Australia gratuities are included in the menu price. You don't have to add extra. (As far as I am aware, someone please correct me if I am wrong!)

I am almost ashamed to say I live so close to KI, and yet I have not yet visited. Hubby is keen to take us over there some day, so it is only a matter of time.

Thanks for posting this. It is great to see some more Australian ports being shown to the world.

Checking in here regularly to read your updates. Thank You for doing this one, I would love to do a Mediterranean Cruise one day. It is a long way from Australia though!

As already mentioned, the Spirit is in dry-dock now being upgraded. Definitely my pick over the Legend. We are cruising on her with three children between five and ten years of age in December. :)