arxcards

They had an interesting chat on ABC radio about that a couple of weeks ago. It was thought that he was selling-out his own, but was only selling-out a competing clan.

Take care Les. I hope the nurses are kind and the beds are comfy.

I am hoping it heightens our cruise experience. And the fancy toilets too.

Enjoy. We thought about going, but are saving pennies. Here comes the sun - rising on a lovely day. Let it be a great concert.

All good. One of those features that isn't really one at all.

If you were flying with Alan, you could end up in Mexico with no luggage.

The Crown is replacing Coral - will be based here full time from late 2024 2023/4 Coral full time till late 2024, Majestic, Royal, Grand 2024/5 Crown arrives as full time, Royal, Diamond (they were planning Discovery, but market is soft) 2025/6 (based on port bookings) - Crown, Royal, Discovery, Grand

Itinerary should win. It will be the reward for spending so many hours in the air. I hope your travel buddy isn't Alan Joyce 🤣 Our NCL's have been on Jewel & Pearl, and I would be happy to cruise on either again. Viva has a fresh look to it though.

I hope we can be aboard and look forward to the opportunity. Apart from planning that hybrid b2b 11 nighter in 2025 on Diamond, we might also be adding a 3nighter on Luminosa and a night in Brisbane as a prelude. We are looking to book the Diamond cruise with FCD's while aboard our upcoming Majestic cruise. I will get to have my big 6 - 0 aboard. Yes, Majestic was the Asian ship very much built for the Chinese market. Maybe that is why it is feels a bit sterile even with a lot of the Chinese features removed. Harmony is still a specialty restaurant that rarely books out. The Vista Lounge is the Vista Gaming Lounge, and the big bottle of Asian champagne is still present near the International Cafe. We had the opposite on Diamond, which while fading in the distance, is still likely our best cruise to date. This Auckland to Sydney cruise was way back in 2009/10, well before she became the Japanese ship. I expect there will be more of an Asian flavour compared to the earlier cruise - 15 years apart, where does the time go. As Asia gets back to normal, it is looking like Diamond's season might be a one-off. It is looking like Grand will back again to replace her in 25/26

I am not a betting man, but you could probably write your own ticket. 🤣 Majestic is OK, if not a bit big. It helps not to have a forward cabin, as the ship seems huge to navigate from there. We will end up doing something on Royal and something on Discovery, and 360 sounds like a dining experience worth doing. I just can't stand the PR spin of putting a cookie cutter ship in to replace a cookie cutter ship. Yes, Majestic can feel different to Royal, or Discovery, or Regal or Enchanted; but that is more about the staff and the style, not the ship and the substance. But, club class dining, crown grill, premier drinks at Good Spirits and a comfy cabin await us on Majestic in 12 days. There are bits of the ship we aren't fans of, but we won't be spending any time there.

Only the poster can see the attachments they post. Shows as "unavailable" to everyone else.

Majestic will indeed be finalised. Discovery is taking her place.

Tonight should be fine, but tomorrow afternoon you will be cruising into the next front. http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/charts/viewer/index.shtml?type=sigWaveHgt&tz=AEDT&area=SEAu&model=CGW&chartSubmit=Refresh+View

Yeah, yeah, it was announced by John Padgett on Royal Princess this morning. It was mentioned here months ago, as she has been listed in port bookings around the country for at least that long. Forgive my lack of excitement - they are replacing a Royal Class ship with a Royal class ship. Amazing, lets spin it for all it is worth. I do believe it has the 360 dining experience, so that at least adds something new apart from the name of the ship.

They both derive from the word serve, but yes.

In want of a better word, I was looking for a word to describe people who serve. Waiters, stewards etc are paid to serve as much those serving the public are public servants. Not to be confused with slave.

Looks that way for the private stuff - they will run from the info centre where the shuttles drop you off. What did you do to Lyttelton Chili?

Paying a pre-determined service charge doesn't make you American when you are cruising on American ships. It won't be long and all of the cruise lines will include those charges at the time of booking to take it out of our hands anyway. We have never had a waiter or steward fishing for extra tips. There are plenty that just do their job, but we have been way more fortunate to have had a few servants that have been absolutely incredible.

Cruisers love Lyttleton, but Lyttleton doesn't love cruisers. Arriving by cruise ship At the start of the 2023 cruise season there are no busses from the ship that will stop in Lyttelton. The only way you will be able to reach Lyttelton is to take the shuttle rom the ship into the centre of Christchurch walk to the bus exchange and take a number 8 bus back to Lyttelotn, and in order to get back onto the ship you will have to take the 8 bus back into town to pick up the shuttle back to the ship. Please note that there is no walk/on walk off access from the cruise terminal. You must leave the berth by bus/shuttle which will take you into Christchurch. https://www.lytteltoninfocentre.nz/transport-and-lyttelton https://www.christchurchnz.com/news/solutions-to-lyttelton-community-cruise-concerns-underway

The make it easier here with taxes woven into the price. Sunglasses have GST included, some drinks don't have GST. I agree, it is hard to keep track of, so you tend to hand over larger denominations to make sure you have covered the cost. All those dollar bills in change get used up as tips, but the pile of pennies seems to grow every day no matter how hard you try to use them up.

How good has this weather been!

Nice if you are looking to do your own thing in Christchurch. This coming season, they are trialling free bus shuttles from the port to Christchurch to overcome local complaints about the town of Lyttelton and the public bus network being clogged with cruise passengers. On other links, it has also been mentioned that you can no longer walk off the wharf, and there will be no shuttle into Lyttelton. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/500713/cruise-control-lyttelton-to-bus-passengers-straight-to-christchurch https://www.thepress.co.nz/a/nz-news/350095953/cruise-ship-passengers-be-shuttled-straight-central-chch

There isn't any. It is trending that way and P&O has long held an ambition of having a fulltime ship in NZ. For 2025, they have ditched plans to cruise out of Cairns and have extended the Auckland season by around 7 weeks which would place Pacific Explorer there for more than 6 months. As the market grows, so will the season.

Some good coffee up in Eden as well. Enjoy your day.