arxcards

Welcome home Stu. Thanks for the ride.

One of my faves. Who needs tenders when you can swim.

Alas, the ferry from Sydney only goes to Argentia and doesn't go all the way to St Johns

Looked at a water taxi once a few years ago for 8 people, Rose Bay seaplane base to Darling Harbour. Water taxi = very expensive. For a group it is cheaper to charter a shuttle.

A couple of extra inflationary bits for the base bargain price: - Fuel price - Even on the $AU ships, the underlying currency for wages & corporate profit is $US The $100 per day price is getting to be more of a bargain every day.

There were several hundred passengers that had the same sentiments when Majestic Princess arrived last season. As far as I can tell, both of your cruises will be international, as the around Australia cruises visit a foreign port. Also, I am not sure how it goes with NZ, as we share quite a few relaxed border arrangements. Majestic Princess returns on 4th November after a trans-pacific crossing, to be followed by a 3-night domestic cruise. I expect those staying aboard for a B2B might be unpleasantly surprised.

Inside guarantee of $100pp twin per night is still a line in the sand price. Dropping below that is only going to happen on cruises that aren't selling quickly, or open loop flights that also require the added cost of flights and potentially a pre-cruise hotel as well. You say NOW, and that is leading into the summer months. More ships, but more demand too. From what I am seeing, there is less demand in Brisbane, so there will be cheaper prices there. Looking at next March, Luminosa has a few cruises with sub-$100 insides, but also has balconies from $120 per night twin. For P&O out of Brisbane, it seems the locals only like doing short cruises. Longer PNG or NZ cruises tend to have sub-$100 insides and sub-$150 balconies. A couple of days ago, we decided to book a pre-cruise night in Sydney, and I was flabbergasted at the recent jump in prices. I found a deal, but it is still much dearer than earlier this year.

I think I prefer the first photo. It would be nice if you could catch a Sydney ferry to have a view like that 😉

Wow. It gives a Canadian vibe .

Yes, we look at all options, but are finding it hard not to book Princess. All the same, we won't try to judge Carnival Splendor as Splendor Princess. We know it will be different but are happy to bend to what makes for a good cruise on Carnival. We are both thankful for the dining tips and will mix it up to find what we like. Whichever way, it will be an end of year reset and much needed downtime. I have seen a room service menu. I presume that suites don't have an extended room service menu on Carnival.

Just don't pay the ferryman, until he gets you to the other side.

Hopefully winter doldrums of 2025 will include Carnival.

Good that it is an option, but I will pay the bit extra for steakhouse. I can't recall ever leaving a Princess MDR dinner table unhappy - rarely perfect, but consistently very good. By the time I compare drink packages or what we will spend, Princess has been working out cheaper per day against anything else out of Sydney. We had originally booked Carnival Spirit for Hawaii to Brisbane and have only kept the booking active because of the amount of OBC.

If anyone else wants to jump in with the clues, go for it. It will be a few hours before I can get access to my photos to be able to roll on.

To add, the commission isn't the main consideration. You would expect government sites to store your information correctly & securely, and not to on sell any of your information to a 3rd party. There is not the same level of assurance for a 3rd party site. There is also a lack of an "about us" page to confirm where they physically operate from. Our Privacy Policy in iVisa.com Not saying they are good or bad, but there are added risks to handing over your personal information to a 3rd party. Not many regulars on this part of the forum apply for Australian visas or ETA's through official channels, let alone having personal experience with 3rd party sites.

This is a link to ivisa. I can't verify their credibility, as they are not a government site. They also take a $AU13.56 commission per application. https://www.ivisa.com/australia/eta

It would be a good spot for the Poseidon to cruise past.

Don't worry John, she'll be apples.

On the topic of new ships, the first (not new) arrival of the season - Luminosa arrived into Brisbane this morning. Come next weekend, they will be everywhere.

I have been there, if it is the place I am thinking of. I will let it roll for a bit, and see who else can crack it.

I think we might head underwater for our meals. Splendor is anchored off Bundaberg again today. The hull should be polished so clean that you could eat off it.

It all adds up. This year is 69 cents for Aussie, 64.5 cents for NZ. Quite a handy buffer in your favour vs today's official rate.

I was aware of their hedge, and that passengers actively seek it when the rate of the day isn't as good. I hadn't twigged that it was based on the time of booking, thinking it was just their hedged rate of the day. What even twigged me to check was that the rate we have for next month is much more generous than that mentioned by the OP. If we needed money to spend aboard, I would buy ahead. In these days of Plus & Premier, dining vouchers and a bit of booking OBC, we aren't spending anything aboard - 28 degrees is well rested. We won't be getting OBC to pay for any Alfredo's 😂

Whether you need to disembark as a transit passenger or can stay aboard depends on the itinerary. If you are doing an international cruise and the next cruise is domestic, everyone has to "arrive" through customs as the following domestic cruise will not have an active customs process. If you are arriving into Australia from a cruise starting overseas, you also need to take your luggage off the ship for customs, then take it to the baggage drop. If you are doing domestic followed by international, you aren't departing Australia on the 1st cruise. You need to cycle back through customs so that you can have your passport scanned to depart Australia for the 2nd cruise. Luggage can stay aboard. If you are doing B2B domestic, you can stay aboard. If you are doing B2B Aussie based internationals, you can usually stay aboard. As I read it John, you should be able to stay aboard and have stuff shifted next door with assistance from your steward, who is likely to be the same for your next cruise as well. Accounts are finalised after each cruise, and new sail passes issued for the next. If you are required to disembark with transit cards, you are front of queue to reboard.

You QLDer's need to jump on your ships, as P&O has to discount Encounter to fill it through the winter. It is an awesome time for a winter getaway to the tropics. Watch out for Carnival when the 25/26 itineraries come out.