ceeceeDee

Like you, we prefer to have a sofa so that means a mini suite. I'm open to correction here, but I THINK the mini suite balconies on Emerald Deck are covered? They also appear to be in an aft location.

Wonder if they will have a 'flash' sale or just a mediocre one?🙄 (that's if they have a sale at all). As we say in the theatre 'better to have slightly lower returns and get bums on seats'.

That's awesome!

I've not sailed on her, but it would appear from doing a bit of research that Dolphin Deck (Deck 9) balconies on Crown are uncovered which is also the case on other grand class Princess ships.

Yes Darren thinks the same. I opine that he's convinced it's a close relative of the self cleaning oven.

Wanna make a bet?!🤣

🤞

It most certainly is a shame for Brisbane!☹️ Autumn in the Caribbean is not too bad either, if you are prepared to risk the odd hurricane. And the prices are usually pretty good.

Thanks so much, Geoff. Really appreciate your advice. You're a font of useful tips. Cheers CeeCee

We haven't bothered much with duty free on our cruises, though I was aware that Port Vila duty free shops are pretty competitive. (Vila is halfway through the cruise, so a visit to Fung Kuei would be well timed). I was under the impression that if you bought duty free on land you were required to hand it over when re-boarding the ship and it was returned to you prior to disembarkation in Australia. Does this not apply to a carton of cigarettes? We've done quite a few cruises, but are not big duty free purchasers so I guess I'm a bit gormless with the regulations and it's at least 6 years since the last South Pacific cruise.

Yes, that's why we don't bother to buy a carton. 😒 Possibly the rules are different in WA and Qld, as you say. I'll be interested to see what the go is when we do the South Pacific at Christmas.

Now I'm really getting confused............. We paid around $30 to $40 (or whatever the price is at 'home') for a pack of 25 over the bar when we cruised up the Qld Coast (with P&O) last June and the only 'foreign' port was Willis Island. We bought them prior to getting to the Willis sail by. That's what prompted my query about how far off the Australian Coast you have to be for the $15 price tag to kick in.

Thanks for the update, Mic. I can well imagine how inconvenient the boot is particularly for another couple of months!!! Hang in there cruising awaits you at the end.

How far out to sea do you have to be for that price to kick in?

Or, make like a shepherd and flock off 😆

Looks like the issue/glitch (whatever-it-was) has been resolved. Celebrity has finally decided to leave me in peace today.

It's definitely worth asking your cabin steward. In my experience they do their best to accommodate requests wherever possible. They may have a spare dining style chair which is what is used at the desk in the mini suites. As the old adage says 'If you don't ask, you don't get'.

It may be a 'glitch'. If so I hope it is rectified soon. Doesn't make it any less annoying. Gotta love technology (not)!

Thank you. Most people on the CC forum try to be as helpful as possible. We all love cruising and sharing information is what it's all about. Having some idea of what you need to budget for drinks, etc. saves getting any nasty surprises. 🙂 Please post your thoughts on your cruise when you return. It's always interesting to get people's opinions. In the meantime Bon Voyage!

Well, that only leaves you the option of sitting on the beds. Not ideal.☹️ BTW, if the coffee table looks like this, maybe it's a stool?

And the wines..................

Here is a portion of the cocktail menu. The prices look about the same as 12 months ago, so maybe the new prices haven't kicked in on the current cruise. However, if you allow maybe an extra $2 per drink you shouldn't be too far off the mark. At least you will have some idea.

You're amazing! Thank you so much!

Thanks so much for your observations! If you happen to have the time, would it be possible to post a photo of the cocktail menu/prices please? Would really appreciate it.

You are more than welcome. I'll see if I can get the current cocktail prices.