arxcards

Amazing. Thanks Leigh. I was only aware of the one outside of Hobart. VDL was rarely a destination of choice in those days.

No visa required for Australians. Yes, there is a fee for cruise ship passengers. It is levied on the cruise line, and going forward it will be built into the fees and charges part of your fare. Yes, there is now an electronic version of an arrival card.

Get up on deck though. Based on Majestic, you have to listen hard to hear it on the promenade.

And us.

Goosebump Moments

I wonder if there is a connection to Tassie's Female Factory.

We use the wide ones for every cruise line. It is simply an A4 page folded in half, then tri-fold in the other direction. Royals tags display all of the relevant info in those wide ones too. I am tight, and I am not sure I would pay for them. Ours were free from our T/A who issued them with each cruise at one stage, so we have a few. Not that all agents would have them, but a polite ask might find your agency could have some hanging around in an office drawer somewhere.

They aren't allowed to make a noise departing White Bay, but I am not aware of specific restrictions at OPT, at least for daylight departures. The tune is not as loud as the usual foghorns. We have heard the Love Boat whistle being played during departures from Sydney and Brisbane. As mentioned, it is only the newer ships that have it - as for Sydney, it will only be Royal Princess this season.

Mostly Tauranga. Can't help either way. Non-refundable if the ship doesn't dock, but that is pretty common in NZ. Nice looking site, with photos and videos borrowed from the attraction or the local tourism bodies. No reviews or endorsements on their site, no current reviews on their social media page.

Going by my personaliser, which is where you should see it listed under beverages, it is currently $27.42 per day. (US price is $14.99 plus 18% gratuity ($US17.69)).

Also for the full world.

We were lucky. Our first P&O cruise was on Pacific Sun and nearly everyone knew where the library was, because at dinner time it morphed into the Steakhouse.

Because of the circumstances, those cabins were not sold-out. After the changes to the itinerary to avoid the Red Sea, there were plenty of cancellations and there were vacant minis until very late.

That is the dilemma. For years I wished P&O could be more like Princess, but there are plenty that love P&O the way it is and prefer it to Princess, so it is really about my taste and not about P&O changing. I know this isn't true, so I am only stirring the pot - perhaps vigorously. As they say, readers are leaders. One could sarcastically think that Carnival has removed Splendor's library because not many of their target market can read.

They have an issue that they lack a brand identity after March next year. It is no longer P&O, but they are saying (for the P&O customers) that it will be a P&O product. Carnival will take over but have yet to announce anything much apart from VIFP and that there will be further announcements. So it isn't really P&O and it isn't really Carnival. It could be the best of P&O retained with the best of Carnival woven in, or it could be the opposite. Carnival & P&O/Carnival itineraries are out for 26/27, but I think I will wait till next month to see what itineraries Princess is going to offer. Looks like it will still be Crown based here plus Royal from Sydney & Grand from Brisbane.

Also an awesome library on QM2, which I would recommend you get the opportunity to visit at least once. If a library is an important consideration, don't cruise on Carnival.

Proof of travel insurance is not sufficient. Claims can be denied based on pre-existing and other conditions.

This thread mostly relates to Australian passengers. Our law doesn't allow Stockperks to connect directly with our broker, so it allows us to upload a copy of a shareholding statement. I don't know if that option is available to US passengers.

Personally, I believe something must be available before you can auction it, but you can bid on any higher cabin on all cruises, whether sold or not. For Princess in Oz, the suites and minis tend to sell out first, which differs on the other side of the world. I would be keen to hear of anyone scoring a winning upgrade bid in a mini-suite or higher on an Aussie based cruise. I do agree though, you have to be in it to win it. I will be putting in bids for our upcoming Princess cruises too.

It is that time of year.

Let the excitement roll. Winning upgrade bids on minis and above are like hen's teeth, as they offer you to bid for an upgrade on cabin categories that have long been sold out. It is also conducted mostly by bots from an external company. Good luck all the same.

I trust you are high and dry for Milton? That is quite a 1 - 2 punch.

They have around 20 visits a month over the summer - P&O UK, Celebrity, Norwegian. No Princess or others. Here is ours. I had an inkling it may have had Flam changed to Olden at some stage.

That's funny. Every other cruise on Adventure in June 2025 is offering $49, but not that one which is showing a flash sale instead. It is like they are trying to see what bait works best. I do wonder if someone made a mistake with the pricing. Anyway, minis are currently showing as sold out. Byron mini showing as available, but $2K pp.