hitcharide

Fingers crossed no actual Tsunami xx

We got to the port at 1.30 and had long queues but it was well organised. Some people checked in at 11am and said there were no queues

 

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Thank you :)

How was boarding in Sydney?

We are directly across from you in 1298, so I am following with interest!

We'll be cruising the South Pacific and not Alaska though, but I daresay the noise levels would be the same?

Does the suites breakfast differ much from the offerings in the MDR?

Thank you for this, I'm loving it!

We are on Explorer in Feb and I can't wait! It will be my first time cruising with RCI.

A quick question about Izumi. Did you notice if they do any Teriyaki Chicken dishes?

Don't forget to pack the aussie flag bikini for the missus. Poms and Yanks will be doubly impressed if you have the matching thongs as well. A flag tied around the neck as a cape will make do in an emergency.

About half an hour before we leave for the airport.

Are the suite bathroom products pretty decent quality?

We'll be in an OS on Explorer next year and I'm trying to work out what I'll need to pack.

@hitcharide thank you for your honesty!! I work in a UK call centre for a major UK TV company and despite the good salary, I just end up getting all subjective on a suite (hence the mention of the mustang reference above!) when prices of a stateroom start creeping toward the wrong end of a four digit (almost five digit) sum total!

 

 

 

 

 

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No worries mate :) It's not something I would do on every cruise for sure! You only live once though hey :D

I guess it depends on which ship, how long you are sailing and where you are sailing, plus WHEN you book it.

We have booked an Owners suite on Explorer for an 8 night sailing of the Pacific Islands in Feb 1017.

Originally there was only 2 of us, and it set us back $AU5000. We've since added our other sister to the booking and it only cost us another $AU1000.

We booked this back in April or May of this year and they had a buy one get 50% off the second passenger or some other deal from memory. Either way, I recall the saving being about $AU2000.

This is our first time sailing with RCI so no point status with C&A as of yet.

As to how we are affording it, I'm a checkout chick at a supermarket so not exactly rolling in it lol. It's something I feel is worthwhile ( celebrating my 40th ) so I'm happy to scrimp on other things to save for it.

I must admit though that sometimes I look at the price and think Oh God I could fly to the USA and go to Disneyland for the price lol.

Our favourite spot when sailing out of the OPT.

 

If you mean the Old Holiday Inn.

Lol yep that's the one!

What's the Old Sydney Inn like?

We've booked for the night before our cruise purely for the short distance to the terminal and so my sister can finally see the Opera House. Costing an absolute bomb, I just hope it's nice.

I've been to ALL of those places :D

I am lucky to live in Perth and quite often get down to Busselton/Margaret River. Beautiful places.

Does anyone know if on cruises out of Aus, if Gold Cards can attend any show or only their allocated muster time?

Hi, we are sailing on the voyager in October Singapore to Sydney, it's our 1st RCI cruise so we aren't sure what to expect regarding children. In uk parents aren't allowed to take kids out of school for holidays. It's a 14 night cruise so hopefully we won't have any problems with kids, ( I hope)

It depends on whether you are cruising early or late October. Most Aussie states have school holidays that lap into October.

Aussie school holiday dates can be found here

http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/special-dates-and-events/school-term-dates

Here we don't really have any laws about taking kids out of school. My DD gets pulled from school for 4-6 weeks at a time every two years to visit family in North America during their summer time. A lot of families will pull kids out of school to go on holiday as it's much cheaper than during school holiday time.

What horrible little ****es! They should have been either locked in their cabins or the whole family put off the ship at the next port.

I would be horrified if my child even considered behaving like that.

Hell yes!

Thanks for the info. I'll probably just stuff some cake in my pockets and stand near the back

OMG seriously Dude you gotta stop. I'm laughing so freaking hard I snorted coffee out of my nose.

:D

Congratulations! Enjoy it :)

They have a nice little swimming area just off the tender area, in summer it's surrounded by shark nets. We have friends in the area so generally just get them to meet us down there and we have lunch and a swim.

We've also done a winery tour before but to be honest, it was just so busy and rushed.

Would they be interested in Kids Club at those ages?

You might find they will be happy just lounging by the pool most days or going off exploring the ship on their own.

Glad to hear it! I logged into my cruise planner this morning and saw a 30% deal for Voom so am seriously considering getting it. Only works out to about $100 for 8 days I think.

I'm not intending to spend loads of time online whilst onboard, but my teenager will be at home and I'd like to have everyday communication with her.

We're going to make a point of taking on some snacks, just things like a bag of pretzels or chips, maybe some nuts. There's times when you just want something salty and crunchy whilst enjoying a drink lol.

I'm actually surprised the US is so relaxed on this. Canada takes it much more seriously and a solo parent from the US would likely not be let in the country without that information, and I know the same applies for many other countries.

 

The US haven't been so relaxed the last two times we've visited.

My daughters father wants no involvement in her life and isn't listed on her birth certificate. Normally we don't even get questioned but the last two visits ( 2013 and 2015 ) we had to show her birth certificate AND they really grilled her as to where her dad was. God it was heartbreaking listening to her have to tell them over and over again that she didn't have a dad. I can understand why they have to do it though.

I think we've only ever had one visit to Canada where we haven't been questioned or needed to show her birth certificate, they have generally been really really strict about needing to see it.

OP - I'd get a notarized letter just to be safe.