colourbird

They want you to think you are in a hotel, hence only one chair.

A couple of weeks ago, during our return journey from Miami, USA to Australia, we had a layover in Houston. The scheduled time between our connecting flights was one hour and 25 minutes. We rushed between terminals and upon reaching the gate for the Sydney flight, had only 10 minutes to spare. The multiple delays during the initial flight added to my growing sense of unease, but it all worked out well in the end.

Our food in Razzle Dazzle last night. I'm not sure if this is representative of their regular meals on board (or just for this event) as it was more gourmet than the food on our previous cruise on Oceania which has the claim to have the finest food at sea. Even the ice cream they were serving was tastier than what we've had on Oceania ships.

We managed to look in the open cabins last night before our later dinner. The regular (VIP) cabins weren't that impressive, but their largest suites were. There was a spa on the private balcony, a telescope, a selection of LP records (including David Bowie), lots of music books, a bar, a selection of guitars and a Nintendo gaming console. We didn't like the look of the ship at first, but after about 10 minutes grew to like her and have come to the conclusion she's the best looking ship we've ever seen. I'd just be a little worried about sailing on her and being mistaken for an enemy warship.

We've got a dinner on board tonight. Looking forward to looking around the ship. Not sure why cruise ships don't have more of these events where the public can book a ticket to go onboard and check them out. I'd like to take some friends who won't go on a cruise on to one so they can see what a ship is really like.

I always have my lamb or beef cooked blue and don't have a problem. They get tough and chewy the more they are cooked.

The timing of this cruise should be good for me. I'll be able to retire from work in 2026 and if I don't take any extra unexpected annual leave before this cruise, my last day at work should be the day before we'd have to fly to Singapore.

We are also booked now, I've created a roll call for the 18 November 2025 cruise. It should gain some traction once the Americans start booking.

I've contacted my TA last week to make a booking for the Singapore to Sydney leg of the cruise. She's been out of the office, so hopefully she will get around to it today. We did a similar cruise in 2019 on Majestic Princess, however it started in Shanghai instead of Singapore. That was a great cruise with lots of sea days for relaxing.

This must have been a nightmare for the Pacific Adventure which was supposed to sail to New Zealand but ended up heading to Tasmania with all the extra sea days and not being in the expected ports where additional supplies would have been arranged. Not sure what happens if all the fresh fruit, eggs, meat and drinks are waiting in Wellington but the ship is in Hobart.

Thanks for that. I'll let our TA know. We haven't worked out which restaurant we will dine in that night yet, but i'm sure that won't be a problem.

Do you need to let them know about a birthday in a restaurant to get something like this or does it come up on their console? My wife will be celebrating a birthday on the ship in December and i'm not sure if I need to let anyone know in order for her to get a surprise dessert.

I'd ignore the expiry date. I checked the tests we have and the expiry date had been extended by a year. The manufacturer claimed they could even last longer as they weren't initially tested for longevity. You should be able to continue using them till they start showing an error indication.

I'm almost certain that I will book the Singapore to Sydney leg. We did a similar cruise on Majestic Princess from Shanghai to Sydney in 2019 which we really enjoyed. I will contact my travel agent once we return to Sydney. We just cruised through the Panama Canal a few days ago (which was amazing).

I recall when we travelled around New Zealand several years ago we were on a group tour. There were six Aussies and six Americans. The Americans all tipped the driver and guide, but none of us Aussies did, and that seemed to be expected. We only tipped when on a free tour, but not when on a paid tour. The same when travelling in Australia.

We regularly eat in Crows Nest. We've been to Rangoon Colonial Club Restaurant twice in the last couple of years (which is unusual for us as we don't usually repeat a restaurant). It's one of the Indian restaurants in Crows Nest, not on the main street though. They do a great blue cheese naan. For Italian, Farina Pizzeria is a pretty good option. Their pizzas are great., however desserts are a bit pricey for what's on offer, so if you want a good dessert after dinner just pop in to C9 Chocolate & Gelato where you will be spoiled for choice. Actually you could go there for dessert no matter where you have dinner.

When we were on Majestic, she was still done up as a Chinese ship and had the name 盛世公主号 on one side. The Specialty Chinese eateries weren't very popular on our cruise, and it appears they have been replaced with western ones. I see you are thinking of doing Diamond Princess on 10 February 2025. I wasn't planning to do a cruise in the first half of 2025, but my friend convinced my wife and I to book a cabin on her, so we are travelling from Brisbane to Sydney. Might see you onboard!

If that's the case, i'll have to leave it for the following year when I can retire and have the time for a longer journey. Not sure which ship it will be then.

That's interesting as we had a great time on Majestic. What you described is the opposite of our experience and sums up what it was like on Sapphire before we cruised on Majestic. We were worried about the quality of food and what the service would be like on Majestic after sailing on Sapphire, but were pleasantly surprised by how good it was. It must be the crew at the time that makes a difference.

I've been trying to work out which way she's coming as I might book that cruise (depending on where the cruise starts). A search of other possible ports hasn't helped as they aren't showing anything that far ahead. Asia may be better for us as I might not be able to get enough time off work for a longer cruise.

For quite some time Darwin port has been showing Discovery's first visit on Friday 28 November 2025 and Sydney port is showing her first visit on Saturday 29 November 2025. Either one of them is wrong or she's a very fast ship!

Not long after we booked P&O for a cruise last year, they advertised a sale offering $200 obc. When I checked our cabin category, the price had gone up by $200 over what we paid a couple of weeks before. So it wasn't much of a sale. On the other hand, we have saved thousands taking up sale offers on Celebrity, RCI & Norwegian cruises when they were advertised after we booked. You just have to keep an eye on the prices over the couple of years the cruises are available to purchase.

We've booked Celebrity Edge for her first trip from Sydney to NZ return. Looking forward to something a bit different. Discovery Princess is coming to Sydney for the first time in November 2025, and i'm interested in either a repositioning cruise or another cruise depending on the destination.

I booked on the Icon as soon as she was announced. I love water slides so couldn't resist. I was previously booked on Symphony, but those voyages were cancelled. I've been on smaller ships and larger ones and enjoy the differences. The largest we've been on so far was the Ovation of the Seas and we found crowds were managed better than on smaller ships, especially with regards to tendering. My only disappointment booking Icon will be that we probably won't get to travel on her larger sisters (for some time anyway).

We've also done this walk between the bus and cruise terminal. The walk is easy and the buses are frequent with adequate space for luggage. We wouldn't go there any other way.