cruiser3775

Thongs plural is what you put on your feet. Thong singular is what you put on your bum.

Does that include the "Resort Fee"? I discovered it when I checked into a Waikiki hotel and was informed that I had to pay a fee of $US46 per day extra. Some accommodation places include it in the tariff, but many do not.

I agree, but sometimes you don't have a choice. I do recall coming home after the 5 month trip around Europe and SE Asia on a budget as a young student. By the time I got home, I hated the sight of my travelling clothes so much that I bundled them up and donated the lot to the local Op shop.

Like many others, i can't go on a cruise without taking a flight to get to the port. So I am limited to the one suitcase, no more than 23 kg, requirement. I take an airline sized carry on which can be attached to the handle of the main suitcase for moving around the airport. I always plan on washing out my underwear and socks in the bathroom, but I draw the line at washing anything bigger than that. So I take enough clothes to get through a number of days, and then pay for laundry. I always take things that need no ironing. Summer clothes are easier, but for a cold weather cruise, I take layers, starting with thermals underneath. If have to take a coat for cold weather, I take a down filled coat that can be rolled up small and pushed into a stuff bag. Shoes are the heaviest thing, but you can buy good lightweight shoes. I only take one pair of light super comfortable ones for the plane, one pair of sneakers for shore excursions, one pair of walking sandals and one pair of light shoes suitable for evening. Sometimes it seems to me that it's all the extra things you need to take for the trip, not the clothes and shoes, that take up the most room in your suitcase.

Aldi have them on sale this week for $9.99. So you have $80.01 to get past until you get value from your Club membership.

Undoubtedly not. Having a sense of entitlement because you paid more than the peasants in steerage is unlikely to be the criteria used in evacuating people in a major emergency.

Love the pink Himalayan rock salt. Excellent flavour. You can buy it at Aldi in a salt grinder.

I suppose this means the prices for drinks on board is also going up. There's no way i can justify spending $109 per day. Would appreciate seeing the new drinks list prices per glass and bottle of wine, if anyone is able to photograph them.

I got my cabin changed on my last cruise at the point of check in. It was very badly handled. I wasn't told I'd been upgraded. I just noticed that my cabin was a different number when I went to check in. Being very particular about location, I had chosen carefully and had ticked the 'no upgrade' box. So I objected at the initial check in. I was told in no uncertain terms I would have to live with the cabin change, and to just get on board and then I could talk to guest services. I stood in a long queue at Guest Services and eventually got the same response. "Your cabin has been changed. No, we can't change it back, someone is already in your original cabin." After some fairly pointed words, the officer finally thought to tell me my cabin had not just been changed, I had been upgraded to a suite. Fortunately, the location was acceptable to me. While I did appreciate the amenities in the suite, I would have been fairly angry if the location had been worse than my original choice.

I returned to Australia from Argentina without a YF vaccination. It was the first question I was asked by the quarantine officials at the airport. As I had not been in one of Argentina's declared YF districts, like Iguazu, I was OK. But you do need to worry about returning to Australia, because if it is within six days, you can be quarantined at your own expense at the port of arrival. If you don't get any answers here, maybe ask the question on some other countries' forums.

The Australian government requirement for the vaccination only exists if you return to Australia within six days of being in a declared Yellow Fever area. Not the whole country, just particular districts which have been declared. Here's the information: https://immunisationhandbook.health.gov.au/contents/vaccine-preventable-diseases/yellow-fever

On my relocation cruise from Vancouver to Sydney on Grand Princess in 2023, the currency was USD, and gratuities were added each day.

The gratuities will be added daily to your onboard account. It is possible to ask for them to be removed or reduced in amount, but the poorly paid crew who would share them will then miss out. Because you are paying the gratuities, there is no need to tip any crew as well, unless you feel it is warranted for exceptional service.

Given that I never buy raffle tickets, I'd rather have the $90 to spend during the trip than hold out hope I might actually win the cruise raffle. My experience with this particular TA is that they give more OBC than I can get by booking directly with the cruise line. They also seem to have an allocation of cabins which are different to the ones offered by the cruise line direct. Sometimes these are in better locations on the ship, sometimes not as good. I still think they are a very good TA to deal with.

Yes, I think it's time to end this thread. I was enjoying it before it became clear it wasn't a level playing ground.

Shame you don't know how to spell it then. There are many links that tell you how to find metadata for photos. I didn't know you could do that until I looked just now.

I agree, but sometimes it is obvious that someone is using GPS co-ordinates, not personal knowledge.

Where is Jordon? I'm looking for the name of the road. For those who wonder why some contributors get it right quickly, try reading this: https://www.howtogeek.com/211427/how-to-see-exactly-where-a-photo-was-taken-and-keep-your-location-private/ I'm out of this thread now. Carry on if you wish.

Next photo:

Great place to see whales up close. Here's one I took of a mother and baby:

Following this thread, I found the Feb edition of the magazine (still in its wrapper) and sat down with a cuppa for a brief read. I was still reading 45 minutes later. It's actually quite an interesting magazine for cruisers. though a bit amateurish. Too many tiny photographs of ship interiors. Also has reports on new ships and destinations, plus trip reports from cruisers. These vary a lot, some being overwhelmed on the adjectives plus lots of cliches, others more professionally written. The Feb edition has a very good article on historical cruising from Australian ports in the 1930s. Well before my time, but a big contrast to cruising nowadays.

Head of the Bight, South Australia

I think that's close enough. It is taken in Steels Creek, but the view of the valley from Balgownie in Dixons Creek is almost the same. This was taken from the front garden of a house I used to live in. Balloons at dawn are a frequent sight. Your turn.

Not Healesville.

Wrong river valley