arxcards

Those rocks in the foreground are infamous.

Not Hobart.

New home, no. Just a day visit.

Which Beach?

Is that the name of that surfer? On close inspection, it definitely isn't Anthea 😉

Good ole inflation, so we are putting them up by 12.5%. You need a full moon and a medallion 🤣

I saw some pictures from an online friend yesterday. The colour of the water was stunning.

Not if you are from overseas (I don't know the location of the OP or others referencing the topic). If you want to use Opal cards, you also need one for each adult which means opening and preloading 8 accounts. From Circular Quay, it is also possible to buy 8 single trip adult tickets with cash or a single credit card. These are adult fare with no concession. Ditto for single tickets from Taronga Zoo back to Circular Quay. The only thing that is critical when using your credit card is that you use the same card for tapping off that you used to tap on. Otherwise, you just use them exactly the same as your Opal - way more convenient for someone visiting NSW. If you qualify for a seniors concession, it is worth setting up an Opal card for multiple trips, but not worth the hassle for a couple of small trips.

Even more gnarly when ships ride those waves.

Not on Carnival but P&O Australia. They are supposed to be similar when it comes to the activities. It was fun, busy and the activities were on-topic. You need to at least have a mild interest in horse racing to make the most of the extra activities. Your fare includes transfers to Flemington, and general admission to the races.

Yes, it has. Neither port will be open in January, and Royal Caribbean has changed their itinerary. Mare is extended through 2024, and Isle of Pines is indefinite. Rather than earlier "reasons" given by those ports, it seems they just don't want cruise ships.

Exciting news in my inbox yesterday. Your Ocean Medallion Order Receipt and Shipping Confirmation WooHoo, awesome, green lane coming up. Alas, fine print says it has been "shipped" to OPT for us to pick-up on Saturday.

I am hoping the medallion will bring me my moonshine this weekend.

Where was I

Love those pancake balls.

Tulip Tops Gardens?

Yep, I am keen to get into the nitty gritty of some of this on Saturday. A few grrr moments when they told us we were getting more via the addition of casual restaurants, then proceeding to charge for what used to be included. To quote another thread - Not happy Jan!

Are you Jan?

Cheese platter, choc dipped strawberries, prawn plate- these are the sort of +$ items that have been available to pre-order via the personaliser, so it was natural they would carry a room service price as well. Pizza always did have a delivery charge, but then they wanted people to use the medallion and they dropped the charge for a bit (for slices). Now they have added a dining charge to Alfredo's, they were always going to charge for pizza via room service again. A question from above about only activating one Ocean Now delivery charge - that is entirely possible. For anyone on the newer packages, it is included and not an issue. However, if you are on the older packages, you wouldn't be able to order 2 espresso coffees to your room, as they would split one to each account as is the norm on drinks packages. We are going to trigger the charge on both our accounts, and use the service repeatedly to get some value out of it. Phone ordering is priced per order, and is separate from Ocean Now - I think I read $7.95 for AU. The only charge if ordering via the app is the $24.99 activation, plus the menu price if applicable. Room service breakfast is N/C when ordered via the door knob card. By wording of the email, you will get the $25pp OBC. However, the call centres and ships are saying it only applies to Plus/Premier packages purchased before 14th December. Passengers with the current versions of those packages have that charge waived, and a bit of dissatisfaction led to the earlier packages being partly compensated for the charging of Ocean Now & Alfredo's.

I was thinking about a renewal of vows, but I was worried she would leave me standing at the alter.

For visiting cruisers, they already have shuttles running into the city. The issue is the cost, not the lack of service. Those on ship or independent tours will already be out & about. For turnaround days, there is no timetabled public bus running up to the terminal for those that think there should be. A separate issue. I am happy enough to fly from Newcastle, spend a night at Portside then spend money for a cab on cruise day. Travelling past the service hangars at the back of the airport can be a bit interesting, and we often peek through the ugly bits to see the nice pointy bits of the ship. Sometimes I feel that people in Brisbane are embarrassed about what visitors will think. We don't think, no need to be embarrassed. You have a nice new terminal with a less than flattering drive from the terminal gates to the Trade Coast, I get it. At least you now have 4 home based ships there each summer, giving you more choice and cheaper pricing. It is that extra choice of ships that brings us to Brisbane to cruise. If the only option was Pacific Explorer from Portside, we wouldn't bother.

I agree that that stuff all needs doing. I just can't see there will ever be an appetite for those in charge to improve the corridor beyond patching potholes. I would also like to see them spend money to provide a better first impression of Brisbane. Portside was nice, but arriving up the river on ships like Pacific Dawn or Dawn Princess wasn't a pretty experience either. With so much tidal land around those roads, it is expensive to keep a good base under them. I certainly think it could be made a better quality road at least tas far as the Tangalooma Ferry. With so many private land holders along the stretch and industrial neighbours, it is going to be hard to make it look attractive. There is always that battle of who needs to spend the money between the ports, Brisbane City Council. or the QLD government It isn't necessarily about votes, but everything seems to be cycled through a cost/benefit analysis whenever a govt department wants to upgrade anything.

As Princess refunded the fare, that went a long way towards not compensating the cost of the lack of enjoyment. The judgement maxxed out that claim to be the cost of the fare, which had already been repaid. The hope of a big payout is why it wasn't coing to be settled out of court. That was a win for Carnival. Concordia? That would be based on Italian consumer law. I can't recall if/what level of compensation was around. I don't think the judge would have considered any legal precedence from Concordia.

We all went through this to some degree or another. Carnival has to pay because they had a commercial arrangement. There was no commercial arrangement with NSW Health (a government instrument), so even though there were findings against them, it wasn't about compensation. The case is Karpik v Carnival PLC, not the Special Commission. You alleged corruption, and I only call that out as arrogant. It is a court case, so there is always disagreement depending what side of the decision you are sitting. There is no corruption.

That is to allow a city to function day to day. Public transport around the world is geared to commuting, not tourism. The ports make money from the ships, and the city makes money provisioning turnaround ships. Tour destinations make a bit from a throughput of visitors, so QLD wants people to book a tour to Australia Zoo for a win/win experience. The city is not about to subsidise transport for a tourist dollar they aren't going to recoup. This isn't just a Brisbane thing but happens around the world.