Sailnsurf

Our upcoming cruise includes Taormina in late September. In order to plan our day it would be helpful to have information about where tenders are likely to land, how one gets from there to the town itself and how one gets from there to the Greco Roman theatre. Some of our group will have mobility issues so availability of trsnsport options would be useful to know. All tips would be appreciated.

What this policy indicates is that apart from direct tipping the best way to ensure exceptional service is rewarded is to put compliments in writing.

Thank you Ozwoody and Aussieflyer for your helpful replies. The weather information will I think give my wife the comfort she needs. We have cruised many areas where bad conditions could be experienced if unlucky but she does not want to take silly chances. HAL is a great line but is losing a bit of the illusion of exclusivity that somehow it managed to give. We are still very loyal to HAL and like her smaller ships. While QM2 has the same capacity as HAL Pinnacle class my research suggests she feels less crowded and that Cunard probably does feel a bit more exclusive. Thanks again.

Thank you so much Solent Richard for your reply and incredibly interesting and detailed links to your reviews of Capetown,Fremantle and Perth. This should be enough to give my wife, who is motion sensitive ( but has managed well on cruises though regions where adverse conditions could be experienced if you are unlucky) the confidence to make this trip.We plan to have an extended holiday in South Africa and then cruise back to Perth where we live.

Has anyone sailed this route? I am looking at a cruise leaving CT in February 2024. This is in the middle of the cyclone season affecting Madagascar, Reunion and Mauritius. This is a Cunard QM2 cruise. I would welcome information about this route, the timing and about the QM2. We have only cruised on HAL todate.

I am thinking of booking Cunard for the first time and would welcome information from anyone who has sailed this leg. One concern is that February (when depart Capetown) is cyclone season for the south west Indian Ocean coveringMadagascar/Reunion/Mauritious. But I would welcome any information about the whole experience.

Thanks Kazu. Good to know.

I noted from a recent view of specialty restaurant menus that there were very few drinks under$11. Can one order off the HIA package?

Thanks to all for their responses. Having followed the HAL board for some time to get a sense of the covid experience elsewhere I get a sense that the Aussie experience has been better. But I agree the arrival of the Transpacific ships will give further insight.

We have aNZ Tasssie Sydney cruise coming up next February and must make a decision whether or not to go ahead next month when the full fare is payable. My wife does not have the best immune system so the risk of covid is areal consideration. It is some while since cruising reopened in Aus so I would be interested in the experience of cruisers about how covid controls and the level of contraction of covid affected their cruise.