robncruise

I was on the the infamous cruise and apart from one woman in a large group in the MDR on the last night I and my travelling companion did not see any evidence of illness on board . Illness was rife on my previous cruise (Xmas/ New Year 2019/20 on the Golden Princess from Melbourne . All 3 in my party got sick and months later once we knew about covid the thought crossed our minds did we have covid back then ! But whatever that that bug was it was rampant in Melbourne too - even some of the NZ cricket team came down with it in Jan 2020.

While promotion onboard credit converts to the onboard currency at 1:1 , any pre purchased OBC is in units of $25, 50 and 100 USD and is transferred to AUD$ on board. I pre purchased OBC for my Majestic Princess cruise in Feb this year - my $100 USD (which I paid 155 NZ$) translated to $145.10 AUD on my onboard account

Was on the Diamond Princess in July and the Plus wines by the glass had no name just merlot , cab sav, chardonnay etc ! They were not good and sometimes very bad . No idea what was served sometimes so bought by the bottle only. The cheapest by the bottle was 46USD + 18% grat. - wines that would would cost about $12 in NZ. Different venues had different wine lists so you had to go around each one to find a wine to buy by the bottle.

I had one of these cabins on the Diamond Princess (sister ship to Sapphire) in July - B101 and it did have balcony furniture. There was a sign near the balcony door that the bridge could control the balcony lights but no instructions about keeping curtains closed at night or restrictions on the use of the balcony. It was an extra large balcony partly covered and considered obstructed view because the solid metal railing. I assume these cabins on the Sapphire are the same.. I would book this again.

I have been to Mystery Island twice and both times there has been a very extensive market set up by the locals who come from the neighboring island . There has also been various cultural performances throughout the day. Easy swimming and snorkelling . A relaxing day on an island with a fascinating history.

Quite likely - the loungers have gone or will be going. Was on the Diamond Princess in July and MID cruise saw all the loungers smashed i in a dumpster on the wharf in Korea and then once we sailed all new upright chairs were in situ on the promenade deck. Looks like thos might be a fleetwide thing

I think you have to also have to take into account that the Aussie Princess Plus does not include grats. I have heard that other nationalities would have the daily gratuity added to their folio on top of the $65AuD for the package

IT IS SO HOT AND HUMID in summer. Have been to Japan twice in August - the most recent July 10 - 20 this year and while still enjoyable the port days were quite gruelling because of the heat and the humidity. Would recommend spring or autumn for a more enjoyable experience.

Wouldn't count on cushioned loungers on the Promenade deck. Was on the Diamond Princess ( sister to Emerald) and mid cruise ( a 9 day cruise) they removed the cushioned loungers which were in high demand and replaced them with straight backed cushionless chairs !!

The problem with these changes is that they are not "enhancements" to the Plus and Premier Packages.. They were already there for all cruisers. If you have the package and want to eat at Alfredos more than twice you will now have to pay The "spin" is so annoying. All Princess needed to do was say we are introducing charges for casual restaurants and Ocean now/ room service delivery. Would have been frank and honest and would not have created all this for/against confusing discussion. And if I book a cruise today on the NZ website it states quite clearly ( in 2 different pages of the booking process) that one of the benefits is "complimentary 24 hr room service"

Diamond Princess only has Kai Sushi. No Vines no Alfredos and no IC. Cruised on her last month and a 3 course meal was $20 now if I read right it has dropped to $15. Menus I have seen uploaded here appear to be the same as last month

Have had no trouble booking solo cabins on PCL. Just off Diamond Princess Japan - booked single balcony cabin just 6 weeks ago and met several other solo travellers on the cruise. Also have a New Zealand cruise booked solo for Jan 24 in an obstructed balcony cabin. And many other solo options available for other cruises I have looked at.

Cut off dates and penalty rates are different for Australian and NZ cruisers on Princess. Penalty period starts at 6 months - lose deposit and final payment is 90 days - believe final payment is 75 days for US cruisers and others ?

Just off Diamond Princess and Kai Sushi also offers a "set menu" for $20. You get a choice of two appetisers miso soup or edamame. And then a choice of 1 of each of nigiri sushi and sashimi options (2 pieces of each) and 2 choices from the maki roll section (about 8 small pieces of each roll) and matcha ice cream for dessert. I enjoyed it as a change from the main dining room. Open for dinner every night and lunch on sea days.

This passenger is travelling to SFO from Sydney. My experience is that it's best to use the transfer if you have EZ air flights because if the the ships arrival OR the ships transfer makes you miss your flight Princess/ EZair will handle flight rebooking.on your behalf. If you use your own transfer method to the airport and miss your flight it is all on you. as the previous writer has said if Ezair has let you book a flight at 11.30 they are confident you will make it. I had a flight at 9.50am and our transfer bus was at 7,15 for the port we were in and we made it in plenty of time to check in for an international flight. So as per previous reply I would definitely recommend taking the Princess transfer.

If you are on the NZ website the Princess Plus info does not refer to crew appreciation being included. The cost is $65AUD - $71.50NZD , The cost for US passengers is $64.99USD (equivalent to $104NZD approx) which includes crew appreciation. So the extra $16USD ( $26 NZD approx )per day crew appreciation actually works out quite favourably Crew appreciation is included in the fare for Aust/NZ cruisers on Aust/NZ itineraries but not for other international cruises.

No smoking allowed anywhere indoors in Australian waters - only smoking areas are outdoors on deck 7 and deck17 aft

Was on Majestic Feb/ Mar and while there is no Crooners the Double Down Bar adjacent to the casino is the comparable venue with the piano player every night til late. More seating than the Crooners location and was packed every night.

Yes - has happened twice on 2 separate cruises. Hesitate to say stolen but went missing. My mother "lost" a lovely outfit . She had packed and said she hadn't seen her outfit which she had worn the night before . I said she must have packed it but it was not there when she got home! Mixed up in the laundry change on the last day ? Also my uncle had a very distinctive hat go missing. The room steward located in the laundry ! Mixed up in the laundry change laundry change?

As stated by others tisjust another confusing/ incorrect/inconsistent piece of info on the website, Downunder we are not able to access US fares or T/C's or so we think . Was reading through the passage contract on the app for my new booking and says that final payment is 75 days before sailing! It is a NZ sailing and final payment is due 90 days.

Wow different T/c's . Our final payment Aus/NZ date ( for cruises less than 24 days) is 90 days ( used to be 75 days and the Passage contract on the app still says final payment is 75 days !!). Cancellation between 43 and 89 days prior is 25% of total cruise cost.

I don'.t recall how long before final payment the OP cancelled but my understanding is if a booking is cancelled between 90 and 180 days prior to the cruise then the deposit is lost whether it is a FCD or cash deposit.

I was just wanting to state for the record that my experience of the Ruby Princess disembarkation in March 2020 was very much the usual procedure contrary to what a number of passengers reported to media at the time.

Just got off Majestic in Sydney yesterday. 1st cruise since covid hit. Was on the ill fated Ruby Princess cruise and was always puzzled by the comments made by numerous disenchanted passengers. Such as "they couldn't wait to get rid of us", "we were rushed off the ship", "didn't even check our passports", "didn't even ask for transfer tickets for transport to airport" etc etc. I felt at the time the disembarkation was the usual. And yesterday proved that it was. All disembarkation groups off by 9.15 am, no passports required to be shown, and our transfer tickets not collected when we got on the bus to the airport !! It made me so mad that people made accusations at that time. Yesterday was no more than 10 minutes from our group being called through luggage collection and onto bus and a really nice touch I hadn't experienced before . Two young port/ bus staff travelled on our bus with us to unload our luggage at the airport.

Havn't looked at desserts in evening. Could be different for Australian cruises than American