ilikeanswers
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I sometimes wonder when you see complaint posts and the OP never answers back could they be fake stories to bad mouth the competition:o? I have heard companies employ people to post complaints around social media pretending to be disgruntled customers of their competition.
It sort of has all the hallmarks. The 70yr old couple, an age group people tend to feel are more vulnerable and therefore more likely to sympathise with, the whole scenario of "all they needed was one more day", the focus on supposedly bad customer service (how could they not alert the frail 70yr old couple on visa requirements:eek:?), even the hole in the story, that they are seasoned cruisers is almost like they are trying to say other cruises companies are much better at giving you information and of course the high price tag, $10000 each, not too much that it is ridiculous but not so little as to be dismissed:confused:.
IDK maybe the cynic in me is just making me too much into a conspiracy theorist;p
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Maybe, But I can;t help but think that drinks packages encourage drinking. If your paying $95 a day for a drinks package your going to want to get "your moneys worth"
Yes I think one should not under estimate the psychological effect of prepaid packages. I have heard many times people say "well I am on holiday and I just want to get my moneys worth":rolleyes:. I do think there are people who will drink heavily no matter what but IME they deliberately seek out travel packages that have a generous drink allowance, so I think there is an argument to getting rid of alcohol drink packages.
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I've been reading this thread with interest as I too am curious if this is at all possible. Though I do wonder if you should consider a passager freighter voyage/cruise instead of a tourist cruise:confused:? Being a freighter they are highly unlikely to skip a port plus being freighters they might be better equipped and more amenable to shipping personal belongings.
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I'm not interested in a holiday for a holiday's sake, I'm interested in increasing my experiences:D. Unfortunately that comes with a bigger price tag:eek:. I will look for any discounts I can but I will save for particular experiences and easily give up any other luxuries in my life. You only live once so I want to make the most of it;p
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built to survive in far more extreme conditions than the Gold Coast will ever experience.
There is no alternative to a rail link of some sort to shore. The overall distance to be travelled from ship to calm water ferry terminal is around 1500m. Cruise companies will not even consider a tender type setup, and it's probably a bit far for people to walk, although a walkway could be included in the plans. .
Have you taken climate change into account? Regardless of what you think of climate change, investors do care how it might effect the future viability of off shore building projects and I don't know how you will convince companies to pour millions into an already risky, experimental project when weather modelling predictions indicate storms becoming more violent and frequent:o.
Will a rail link quickly and comfortably be able to disembark and re-embark up to 5000 passengers including the numerous cruisers who need wheelchairs:confused:? As cruise ships get bigger it will have to accommodate larger crowds, not to mention if you have cruises starting and ending at GC you'll have to accommodate luggage handling and the resupply of the ship.
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Apart from price and duration when choosing a cruise do you prioritise the port of calls or the amenities offered by the ship?:confused:
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The lack of information is why I stopped using travel agents:o. They would never give me a break down of costs, they would tell me they made the enquiries I asked for but instead invented answers they thought I wanted to hear, and definitely no itinerary. The one time I did get an itinerary it was a print out from two years ago:eek: and of course the information was outdated:mad:. Some people get lucky and find awesome travel agents, I have heard the great stories, the ones who really want to make your trip great but unfortunately they are few and far between. Most are looking to get a quick commission:(.
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Perhaps the money would be better spent on a fantastic new Brisbane terminal.
In addition to this, a link to the very fast train system between Brisbane and Melbourne, with provision of stops for the Gold Coast, (20 minutes tops from Brisbane), Ballina, Coffs, Port Macquarie, Newcastle, Sydney, Canberra, Albury and Melbourne.
I think the idea of a high speed train has a lot more merit than an open ocean cruise ships terminal. Not only would it be a fraction of the cost but it could be utilised by the locals to get around the coast, it would also increase tourism all year round not just when cruise ships are in port. Personally I would rather see money go into the development of a high speed rail network than on one cruise ship terminal.
It is amazing the passions this project seems to stir, I have to say I never realised it was such a big deal. This Glen from FB if his design has any effectiveness can it be put into a simulator so we can see it in practice? I know it won't produce a definitive answer, as they say scaling things up problems can become apparent that did not exist in the small version, and computers are only effective if you account for all the variables but at least it is a good way to verify whether an engineering project has any hope at all.
But I have to say I am mostly on the side of the "anti development greenie" (as I no doubt will be accused of being;p) This project makes no sense, even with the money tourism brings it still may take decades to recoup the costs and if the terminal does end up suffering recurring damage repairs will only eat into any potential profits.
On top of that I doubt passengers of cruise ships that carry thousands are going to find the 1km commute from ship to terminal appealing, (will there be a train on there? Buggies?) it may actually put people off from wanting to get off and I know for a fact that if a cruiser hates a terminal they will actively avoid cruises that start or end at troublesome ports. And that isn't even taking into account how you would get luggage, wheelchairs and supplies onto a ship with a 1km pier.
I don't believe it is impossible engineering wise but you do have to question if it is the best solution to increasing tourism on the Gold Coast.
On a side note, I know everyone gives Greenies a hard time for their zealotry but having visited the Gold Coast a few times and seen first hand the lack of green spaces I think it is a good idea to leave what little nature is left. Studies have found that cities with more green spaces have less people being diagnosed with anxiety and depression. A little green can be good for you:D
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A lot of cruise ships these days are filled to the brim with activities, facilities and utilities but you do hear people complain that cruise ships have gone overboard with these things. Have you ever been on a cruise where you thought if they just removed this one thing, the whole experience would be better? Are there things cruise lines persist with that you wish they would drop already?:confused:
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If you don't like DEET you can also use Picardin or Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (not Lemon Eucalyptus Oil, don't be tricked!:eek:).
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Years ago on 60 Minutes they showed a cruise line construction company in Germany and I remember they showed when the ship was finished and they float it for the first time.
Apparently it is at some river mouth and they have to wait till high tide and then squeeze this giant ship through a tiny gap to the open sea:o. What was funny was that Germans would come to the river bank to watch the "release of the ship";p. They would come from around Germany and make like a weekend trip of it:D.
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Not a lot of love for the cruise line in that article:o. Though the accusation that they kept the family on board because they were spending so much money probably has a kernel of truth to it. I've seen it myself in hospitality where badly behaved customers are given reprieve because they are spending big.
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I have woken and heard reports about other incidents that occurred when most were asleep..
The one thing I have notice people comment on is that the bars on the ships open too late into the night. I have seen a lot of previous passengers suggest that there shouldn't be all night bars,they seem to think that serving alcohol all night contributes to all the problems on cruise ships. Though I reckon if you closed the bars people would just drink in their rooms.
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For me it’s more the idea of putting the cash away towards Spain & a Mediterranean cruise, plus I’ve done the island on several occasions.
In that case I would definitely save up for Spain and the Mediterranean. I drove aound Spain and south France and they are amazing (though personally I preferred Spain a little bit more to south France). If you have already visited a few times try the new destination. It might be more effort but it will be worth it for a new experience:D
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Thanks for the feedback. I'm still trying to decide if I cancel my carnival cruise or not. A lot depends on if we go to Spain in September 2019
Don't cancel because of this incident. Realistically this is an anomaly. Very few cruises end in brawls and to be fair there is no way to stop @$$holes booking any cruise on any line.;p
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I read that the incident took place around 1am so I'm thinking the vast majority would have been sound asleep. But the detour to Eden would have affected the whole ship though in context it was only a few hours delay so unless you had a tight connection with a flight it shouldn't have been that big a deal.
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So it was more than one family, but they seem to be all friends with each other. You know I'm starting to wonder if they didn't instigate this whole thing as a compensation scam:confused:. The way they keep going on about their injuries, how badly they were treated, how carefully they have documented all their injuries and the insistance to talk to their lawyer...I don't know if it is the conspiracy theorist in me but it does seem almost planned:o
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Already I saw on the TV news, a couple claiming compensation for the next cruise!
I just saw a news item of a couple claiming they just got a trashed room on Carnival Legend that they believe was previously occupied by the Barkho family and that Carnival hadn't fixed the room up:rolleyes:. Of course they are asking for compensation:eek: I'd like to see if they can produce pictures of this trashed room:confused:
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I have a feeling we will never really know what happened on that ship:confused:. There are so many conflicting stories:rolleyes: Knowing their names though it seems they called the police on themselves:'). Wasn't it a Dave or David Barkho who called the police during the fighting?
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They are cashed up bogans
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5405103/Barkho-family-Carnival-Cruise-fight.html
I can't believe that house the cars are parked in front of looks like that inside. The levels don't even match:')I suspect a little imaginary license has been taken here;p
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You have to double check your insurance carefully; you said that you’ll have the cruise and a small holiday, I guess you’ll be travelling from home to port via other means (and possibly a different country?). Some insurance (eg from the UK) have a start/end UK only, and if you’re disembarking from another country (say, Singapore) to travel to another country (India), you may not be covered. It’s all in the very very fine print.
With my past travel insurance they always covered me the day I left the country, so unless having a cruise changes this I think I should be ok:confused: though I will double check this, better safe than sorry:D. My cruise does start from a foreign port but a week before we shall be visiting another place before flying into port for our cruise and then afterwards we are doing some more exploring before flying home.
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Call the insurance company for clarification. the call will be recorded so there will be proof if required of the advice given.
I have heard you can do this but I prefer to use email or messaging where possible since that way I have my own record of the conversation :cool:.
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There is a tipping option in the Uber App and an Uber Driver is not going to refund you if you do tip but generally Australians don't like American tourists practising their tipping culture here as there is an opinion that if it becomes common minimum wages will drop or not be protected. Tipping is only for those who go beyond the expected service.
On a side note have you considered using an Australian owned ride share? There is Go Catch and HOP in Sydney and if your a woman there is Shebah, in Melbourne there is Oiii, Perth and Darwin has Hi Oscar.
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I see a lot of votes for insure and go but are you sure the cruise insurance would cover the non cruise portion of my trip? Just reading through the "more information" everything says "during the cruise".
Mort1305 how did you manage to add car hire excess? I went through the sign up process and I never saw the option.
My parents were denied boarding on Holland America 30 day cruise, need help
in Ask a Cruise Question
Posted
My mother's friend told me back in the day Russians were running a bunch of cheap no frills cruises. No bars, no pools certainly no entertainment:p. The way she described them it made me think of a floating hostel. Rooms were small, no balcony option at all, (you were lucky if they had a window:')) many times it was dormitory but you got three meals a day and lots of stops, sometimes they provided tours but usually you had to arrange your own thing and apparently they were dirt cheap.
My mother's friend loved them, travelled the world with them all through her 20s and 30s even travelling with her whole family. She told me the big cruise companies as they became more established and flights became cheaper the no frills companies couldn't compete after all while she loved no frills most people do like a little comfort;)