Yaya_in_Oz

I had my 5th shot in July, a month prior to going overseas. I'll leave the next one till I'm going overseas again. I've got shingles to get now! and anything else that comes up in between.

I don't think anything is mined. Its derelict.

Thanks for the info. I doubt I'd go on any of these. Probably just as well you cut the prices off 🙂

I’m surprised about Melbourne. We have a large population base. Obviously they prefer other forms of travel. I hope I like P & O. Flying every time is a bit tiresome. Oh well, they may come back down the track.

Is it in Italy?

There are 3 sinks each side but they may not all be working and people don't like to queue! When staff are stationed there, I've only ever seen one person and while they are asking someone to come back and wash their hands, others could easily slip through. Everyone knows the rules, they don't need reminders. Its amazing how many irresponsible, selfish people eat in the buffet. 🫢

I was on the Island in Sep. It arrived at 6 am. on a Fri. Princess offered 2 transfer times 7-7.10 am and 8.05-8.15 am, with transfers to Terminals 2 - 5 on various buses in that time frame. I went on the second lot of transfers and it took about 2 hours. Cost US$59. They may have been a few minutes ahead of those times but not much. This was the time people left the ship and is included in that 2 hrs. Walk off started at 6.45 am.

Lovely pic, I used to be able to duck down here after work but only did it a couple of times 😄

Thats the one! The flight home tends to leave Heathrow about 9-10 pm so after storing my case, I take a bus or train and visit somewhere nearby. So in Sept, I visited Runnymede as I hadn't been there before. There are other monuments but I loved "The Jurors" sculpture. It commemorates the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta by King John. Your turn.

It is historic and it is a memorial but not a cemetery.

Well, I don't recall seeing the plane. This is a restful place to go when waiting for a plane but its a bit of a hike from the bus stop!

Is it the compass map in front of the Discoveries Monument?

Ahh, I can smell the history!

Testing. True story, just want to see what an old photo taken Jan '96 with a point and shoot of the time would look like online. I scanned it and made it a larger file. Yeh, it looks OK. Its Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston.

Correct. And they are painting more as I type😄

I wouldn't bother tipping, never have in Australia. If you would like to tip then if you have nothing else I think USD would be fine. They probably put it in a jar and when they get enough to be bothered they take it to a bank or wherever and cash it in. They probably get all sorts of money.

I first went there on a cold January day back in the 90's and there was a S. American group playing outside! It took it as a sign, bought a CD and went on land with lots of flights tour the following Jan. I've been back a couple of times since but its more touristy now, but Boston would be my favourite US city. Anwyay, this was my Covid hobby. Paint it and I'll go see it.

Thanks for posting. I enjoy your writing style. Too many sea days for me, shame they can’t make more stops but I guess that would take too long.

Boston?

Some stores have jars where you can dump the pennies, who knows what they do with them or you can leave them for your steward! I've seen a few empty rooms with bowls of pennies left behind. Why they are still in circulation is anyone's guess.

I've never come across that and I've done 10+ overseas cruises. I'll watch next time. I don't worry about tipping. I'm a bit of a left-brainer and like to understand how things work. I have a better understanding now of how things are meant to work but I don't have much faith in the system, too many variables. My next 4 cruises are in AUD so no gratuities and I'll just give a token thankyou amount.

I've had both- notification a few days prior to sailing and notification 6 weeks prior to sailing. My cabin was in the class I booked. I think upgrades will go to those who bid for them and are prepared to pay a bit extra but its possible you may get an interior cabin in a better location.

What about those that take off the tips and then don't tip anyone? Do Princess assume the staff are not handing in money? I'll stop there before I do my head in 😄. Awful way to make a living.

How does that work? The envelopes look the same, how would they know which ones come from the people who already paid the gratuities which the staff are entitled to keep and those which go back to the ship? All seems to be rather unworkable to me. Too much margin for errors.

I used to fill out the recognition cards for service but Princess seems to have done away with them and now you can only do that at the end of a long winded survey which sometimes I fill out and sometimes i don't. Its right at the end so I usually leave it blank as its too complicated, I've written enough.