Ondine

Spirit of Tassie relocated 12 months ago last October. The reports prior to moving were that they could not come to an agreement with Port of Melbourne regarding an increase in fees so they built a new terminal in Geelong (Corio) and went. Geelong were happy to have them and in the past have touted getting cruise ships there. One mayor was offering to build a new terminal for cruising but I don't think he is still Mayor. Perhaps Port of Melbourne want the cruise ships to contribute to a new terminal like they did in Brisbane but that was prior to covid ruining everything.

There is no date on this letter. How long prior to the trip was it sent out?

Not sure where they got that figure from. Melbourne Ports has 100 visits scheduled for 25/26 and that is the total number of visits including all the day stops by all ships some of which are here multiple times. It is not an indication of home porting which the article is really about. Day visits don't require all the infrastructure or staff that turnarounds do. Fewer ships home porting means less fuel and food supplies needed.

My pet hate was a dude who wore a cowboy hat to dinner in the main dining room on Grand Princess each night last month. Never took it off. Not sure where he tied his horse up. His lady wore normal clothes. In fact I don't like seeing men keeping their hats on at dinner at all especially the ones who wear baseball caps backwards. Guess I am old fashioned. Or come to think of it why people are wearing parkas on formal nights in the dining rooms.

Just newspapers beating up the cruise industry with half baked news. Yes there are new port charges which come in effect on Jan 1 and apparently were just announced last week but they are not very large. Other things are at play. Cunard announced on November 3rd (4 weeks ago) that they were pulling out of Australia after the 2024/25 season. We have known for 6 months that after this season 2023/24 QE would not be returning to Melbourne and in 2024/25 would home port Sydney, later announcing that this would be the last time for Sydney. No mention of this in the Press! When the new itineraries came out for Princess about 6 months ago we Melbourne people complained on this forum that there were very few cruises listed for Diamond Princess in 2024/25 and if you look at the Melbourne Ports schedule you can see that they were not planning to come back in the near future. P&O have got a lot of slots for 2025/26 booked but this is only an indication. Disney and Virgin have committed for 2024/25 cruising but things can change. I am looking forward to Norwegian Sun coming in 2024/25 and hope that the cruises are not too expensive because I would like to support any company who comes here. Interesting itineraries although would have to be B2B. I believe another problem is the scarcity of ships. Princess have announced that they will be home porting Cape Canaveral from this season so that takes another ship out the mix left for Aus. I heard that they are also going to do the Antarctic voyages again which is in our summer. It took us too long to get started after Covid lockdown and companies have looked elsewhere to position their now limited number of ships. Remember they sold so many off. They work years in advance.

Slightly off topic but I got an email this afternoon from Princess giving us $25 per cabin OBC on our 8th Jan cruise because of the rule changes (read room service and charging for Alfredos etc) last December. We had booked in October 2022, a standard fare prior to the changes, That will give us one pizza from Alfredos or pay for some room service which was previously free. 14 night voyage! We didn't get anything for the voyage just completed so there must have been complaints.

I managed to lop $1700 off my October Diamond Princess cruise this morning with Princess Black Friday upgrade from a balcony to Mini. BF to ME. Haven't as yet been able to specify a cabin but have asked. Want a covered one if possible (the original booking had one) but with that saving I will take what they give me. I swear that the specials did not come out till Friday because I was checking and only the Landmark sale was showing for Melbourne. Happy Little Vegemite.

The Grand is 25 yrs old. Oldest Princess ship. I was also grumpy because my cabin was above the Vista lounge and every night there was loud music until 11.30pm. Sometimes even live bands. I was not very impressed and rather sleep deprived by the end of 3 weeks. On her again 8th Jan so hope that the bug is under control by them.

Are they giving any compensation? It got very tiring having to vacate cabins and pack up on the first voyage and all they did was keep reminding us the wash our hands and use cabin toilets. I would have if they were working which my area they weren't in the mornings for the first week. Other areas were having problems with toilets also. Heard people from other decks complaining. I know that somehow they have to get rid of it but a little compassion and even $50 would have softened the inconvenience which we went through. Really puts a downer on the voyage especially if it is a long one.

Can you status match? That is what we did.

The Deep Blue Extras etc was extended to sailings until end December 2024. It is on their loyalty page.

I caught the tram down to Port Melbourne just to have a look at Pacific Eden when she first came. Booked a 4 night cruise on her to KI and then a longer (I think 12 nights) one to the Islands. Very much a boutique ship after Pacific Jewel. All that brass and velvet.

Are they banning cargo ships and tankers or only cruise ships? If it was only the Sounds then surely ships could continue to the main ports. I believe they have also been banned in Tauranga in the past. Do I smell a rat?

Oooh our coffee is pretty good.

It is the perk for their loyalty program at the moment. They status match. Hopefully the link will take you there. Priority boarding/laundry/$100 drinks tab etc. Not bad. https://www.virginvoyages.com/sailing-club

Yes one of the stops is near to the entrance for the cable car. First stop on shuttle.

I saw Emma Cruises youtube and she said that she could get Diet Coke at certain bars. I understand that you get coke from a fountain (?) if the machine is there but if not then you are given cans of coke from the other bars. Son lives on coke so we will find out in 2 weeks. I discovered 2 days ago that Deep Blue Extras have disappeared from my booking so am now trying to get them reinstated. Problems I don't need!!!

Err don't you mean bare baby. Not much fur there.

I found this in FAQs From your waiters and stateroom stewards to the many more people supporting behind the scenes, every Cunard crew member puts their heart and skill into ensuring you experience Cunard's legendary White Star Service. To ensure crew in these areas are rewarded for the service they provide to you, and to eliminate the need for tipping, a hotel and dining service charge is added to your on board account and every dollar collected goes directly to the crew members. There is no administrative fee. Of course, should you wish to individually reward any other crew member who has made your time on board particularly memorable, please feel welcome to do so. Casino personnel do not share in the hotel and dining service charge as not all guests use their services. For all bar, wine and salon services, a charge is automatically added to your on board account for each purchase, which is shared amongst the crew in these teams. How are these charges calculated? Hotel and dining service charge Amounts vary by stateroom category as follows: Queens and Princess Grill Suites $16.50 per person per night Britannia Staterooms $14.50 per person per night For bar, wine and salon services A 15% charge is automatically added to your on board account for each purchase

Don't forget to do Status Match and apply for Deep Blue Extras.

I have Cunard for Christmas and was expecting this. I notice if you look at booking confirmations I used to wonder why P&O Au would charge in excess of $450 for Port charges and fees in NZ yet Cunard was only charging around $90. Then one day the penny dropped.

No but I notice when I put in a Coles online order it suggests every thing I ever bought at the supermarket. Handy but I hate it.

Do we have to use Stockperks when applying for local Australian based cruises? I was watching Allison on Lets Go Travel Tips on Youtube the other night and she was describing how to apply without giving them very much private info especially bank account details etc.

Brings back memories of one of my last cruises BC. Was on Carnival Spirit and it was just prior to shutdown in the March. Everyone getting a bit paranoid about this new bug. Rushing along to trivia and faced with the choice of hanging onto the handrails or not I decided not to and promptly tripped on the metal angle on the edge of the stairs and down I went. Fell headfirst about 4 steps and although did not break any bones one foot was around twice the size of the other with swelling and lots of bruising elsewhere which I had to try to explain when I got home to my kids. I was travelling solo. No one came to help me. An old Italian guy waiting for the lift asked if I was ok - which I wasn't and then said he had to get the lift he was in a hurry. When I finally managed to lift myself off the floor and find a chair in Alchemy I managed to signal a cleaner who found a young waiter who came over. I asked for ice and the only thing he could find to put some in was a pair of rubber gloves which he did. Interesting trying to hold them to my face. Major injury was to my dignity. Now regardless of what bugs are circulating and how late I am running I hang on to handrails for dear death. I'll take the bugs anytime.

Thanks for the info about grats/service charges. I was under the impression that because the ship charges in USD that I would have to pay them but it appears that this has been altered over the years. Still charged on drinks, spa etc but that won't worry me.