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Everything posted by colourbird
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That's how we always travel overseas. Singapore Airlines newer A380s were configured with a double bed separate to our seats in our suites. It's worth saving up all your money for.
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A unique way to disencourage tourists
colourbird replied to MMDown Under's topic in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
We were in Barcelona last month on Norwegian Viva. They managed the crowds from the multitude of ships really well. We just walked into the city, but there were loads of taxis available. -
Room Selection - False Advertising
colourbird replied to LxLx12's topic in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
I found that by calling P&O every day and wasting their time, you can get some service. One of the guys realised I had called up so many times and in total over 100 minutes, they finally relented. -
A unique way to disencourage tourists
colourbird replied to MMDown Under's topic in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
Shouldn't be too much of a problem. I have been looking at cruises to book for the end of 2026 and most of the large ships and the newer ships are all in the Caribbean or Bahamas. -
A unique way to disencourage tourists
colourbird replied to MMDown Under's topic in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
it wasn't all that long after cruise ships started sailing in Australia after the shutdowns so quite a few passengers would have been infected! -
A unique way to disencourage tourists
colourbird replied to MMDown Under's topic in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
When we were in Darwin last year we were in the chocolate shop and a woman walked in and called out to the saleswoman that there's another ship in the port and there's a plague of tourists everywhere. We said, yes we're from that ship and we're buying chocolates from this shop. I'm sure they love getting our money, but maybe they prefer us to place online orders and have the stuff posted out rather than turn up in person. -
There were 2 cruises in September 1993. Not much info has been archived though. It's probably the 19 September 1993 cruise. https://web.archive.org/web/20060620055212/http://tssfairstar.com/cruises/ListCruises.cgi?9097
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Recommend a cruise line, thanks
colourbird replied to Paul_BB's topic in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
When we were on Celebrity Edge in December 2023, they had details of the food intolerances of guests hanging in the galley so they could prepare meals they could eat. This one mentions the guest is extremely allergic to several items: No dairy/milk products No egg No mammalian meat/gelatine (Alpha Gal) No coriander plant (commonly referred to as coriander, cilantro, Chinese parsley, or dhania; includes all parts of the coriander/cilantro plant and leaf/stem/seed) It also instructs the team to always offer the next day's menu and to call Maitre D' Luminaire if the guest is in their restaurant. -
Recommend a cruise line, thanks
colourbird replied to Paul_BB's topic in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
Except for Norwegian that is. When we were on Norwegian Viva in May and June 2024 there was barely anything in the buffet suitable for people with dietary requirements. Labels on food were often vague and didn't show what was in a dish / if it was vegetarian or not. We spoke to some people who needed gluten free food in the main dining room and they were struggling to get anything decent or appetising to eat. Not that the regular food was much better (although it looked really good). -
Recommend a cruise line, thanks
colourbird replied to Paul_BB's topic in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
These were menus from Aquamar Kitchen (a healthy eatery) on Oceania Vista from our cruise in November 2023. There's a breakfast and a lunch menu. They could also adjust any of the meals if required. -
Recommend a cruise line, thanks
colourbird replied to Paul_BB's topic in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
This was a menu in the Blu restaurant (for Aqua class guests) on Celebrity Edge in December 2023. They were able to cater for any dietary requirements and would even bring food from the main dining room or drinks from cafes if you didn't fancy anything on their daily menu. Their buffet had dedicated areas for various dietary needs. -
Recommend a cruise line, thanks
colourbird replied to Paul_BB's topic in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
When we sailed on Celebrity Edge in Aqua class we had access to their Blu restaurant which offered healthier choices (along with regular meals). We had lots of smoothies with our meals and the food quality was very good. https://www.celebritycruises.com/blog/how-to-eat-healthy-on-a-cruise -
Recommend a cruise line, thanks
colourbird replied to Paul_BB's topic in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
What are they like in term of dietary requirements? -
Recommend a cruise line, thanks
colourbird replied to Paul_BB's topic in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
Celebrity catered for dietary needs very well in their restaurants and the buffet. (It's not adults only though, although it's not one of the lines lots of kids go on like RCI and Carnival). Steer clear of Norwegian though. -
Cruise borders simplified
colourbird replied to woodscruise's topic in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
On our last few Aussie cruises (from 2022) we haven't needed to complete and hand in any incoming passenger forms. -
Norwegian charged the higher upfront fare and daily grats separately.
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They were making money by not paying any crew which they mentioned. They said our $20 to $25 daily gratuities was to pay staff. They did a roaring trade in the casino and the raffles. I'm sure they skimmed profits from the stores and speciality dining rooms that charged over US$100 per person. They took payments for return shuttle boats directly into the city at some ports at US$20 when the regular price was 4 euros. We even had to pay for shuttle buses to get out of wharves which you couldn't walk out of. The food was no frills which saved them money too, so over the life of the ship they wouldn't be losing money. This ship also had a large Haven section for passengers paying first class fares. We managed to get a discount during one of their promotions which saved us several thousand on the initial price we booked at. But the total cost was on par with a concerige class fare on Oceania for a similar length cruise which wouldn't have been no frills and would have included gratuities, some tours and thermal suite).
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Our last two cruises (which we have just completed) on Norwegian Viva had 3,400 and 3,500 passengers on board so that's around half a million dollars profit per 3 days going by the above table. That's just one ship, and so they are raking it in.
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Crown Princess Question
colourbird replied to resordanis's topic in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
These must be the balconies we always look down on!