arxcards

Hi Den, Haven't done anything like this on P&O for years. The last time, it was pretty decent value for money. There should be no restrictions on the specialty restaurant, but it also won't be open slather on extras. I expect Luke Mangan's will include a fixed 3 course menu each - starter, main (+ 1 side & sauce) & dessert.

They came and go. That is right about Grand next season. True that 25/26 could be a placeholder, but they need something there to replace Diamond that will be moving on after a single season. Short of anything fancy to announce, place markers are most likely the scheduled ship. P&O was talking about Grand class more than 6 years ago, and some people assumed Grand Princess which was also the oldest of that class. After a bit of coin tossing, the Grand Class ship ended up being Golden. The following year it was Grand Princess being mentioned again, but was announced as Star Princess. Princess could drop a ship or two at any time, but P&O doesn't have the market for another big ship. The tipping point isn't Perth, Adelaide or Melbourne - but Sydney. They will normally place two ships in Sydney for December & January, but are struggling to fill one. Next season, Princess is taking a ship away, Royal is taking a ship away, so P&O is not getting another next year. Regarding place markers, P&O doesn't have any for an extra ship, for which also hasn't been announced or available for sale. Eventually, Auckland will get a full-time ship and Pac Explorer will be moved on, but neither will happen late next year.

That rumour was going around last year too, and usually fits with a view of Aussie passengers that the ship is feeling a bit too old for Princess. Princess have been selling cruises on her for Melbourne & Brisbane for "later next year" for the past 5 months, and are also selling a 2025 Alaska season. There are also forward port bookings for her to do yet another season in Brisbane in 2025/26. Things can change, but for this to happen a year from now gets a yeah-nah from me.

I suspect not as many, but it is a rite of passage for many to take the grandies to Disneyland. You will be one of the first to know.

There are no restrictions AFAIK for Carnival, P&O Australia, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity etc for cruises going to Tasmania. I just think NCL are waiting for an official communique that likely doesn't exist. Numbers are stable and under control for cases, hospitalisations, ICU and deaths.

Was scheduled to be, but was cancelled when all the return to cruising itineraries were announced. We were bumped from Royal to a "comparable" cruise on Majestic.

Yes, they chopped down the exhaust cowl from Golden Princess to allow Pacific Adventure to be given enough clearance to transit under the bridge. I believe that in times of peak tides that her movement under the bridge can be restricted. Generally over the peak summer months, she cruises out of White Bay.

Grand Princess is on her 2nd Tour. I am interested for others to test out Resilient Lady. When we were looking for cruises this summer, Virgin was just too awkward to commit to a calendar with so many bits and pieces itineraries. Maybe it would be more appealing if I had stashed all those FlyBuys points. Disney can wait till we have grandcruisers old enough to appreciate the trip. After many false alarms, Royal Princess is currently on her way to her first season in Australia, due to arrive on 23rd October (maybe that was meant in post #1). We were supposed to be on her last weekend, but they cancelled the early part of the season. We ended up on Majestic in November instead, as the dates worked out better for us than a similar itinerary on Royal. There are subtle differences between the two ships, but Royal doesn't bring anything new. Brilliance of the Seas is here for a one-off season. Same class of ship as Radiance that spent many seasons here, but was on our short list. The onboard pricing is a bit OTT for us. Celebrity Edge is a new class of ship for our shores. One we booked on when it was originally announced, but they removed Port Arthur from the itinerary (for Eden) so we decided to jump ship and save some money for a big trip in 2025. Of the new arrivals, this ship holds way more interest, and I may hold a bit of regret that we have cancelled. In the end, for our cruises booked this summer, I am most excited about going nowhere new on Coral Princess.

A good option, comparable with how busy the ship & ports will be. The busiest bit will be Sydney airport to fly home after the cruise.

Dang, I guess I should have checked. I just presumed OPT would be so busy in cruise season. Thanks for correcting Leigh.

I am not sure there is a right or wrong here. The Christmas cruise on Royal Princess is 25% dearer than the preceding cruise which is similar. Lots have been waiting for Royal to arrive, as season after season has been cancelled. This cruise has been available for 5 months. When launched, there was a launch discount & bonus OBC. That may have been the best deal available, as the price will only come down if there is way less demand than expected. That said, there is lots more cabins available than I expected. My general guide for Christmas & New Year cruises is to book them in ASAP after deciding what you want. Just had a look, and there is no rush. For now, I would go with Sinbad's comment, as Click Frenzy/Black Friday/Cyber Monday might throw-up something nice. I suspect it could be just $99 deposits or extra OBC instead of a price drop though. One of the key categories to assess demand is Reserve Collection mini-suites - when these disappear, a cruise is selling well. That is far from happening. The price of everything is going up, so I personally don't expect prices to come down much unless they become desperate to sell and that will be most likely a year from now after final payment is due. Holiday cruises will fill up first though, so there is more likely to be a deal on the 7th December cruise.

Our first little grandcruiser is due to meet the world a week after our upcoming cruise on Splendor. I think I have found a worthwhile activity for my wife to use up some OBC. I will let her know after we board.

They could hire Chelsey Sullenberger.

Yep, the CEO baled on CMV when the writing was on the wall, and then was the driver behind Ambassador. One of those situations where we used to have consumer protection around this sort of stuff, but it disappeared several years ago citing that there was no need for it. I have a friend in the UK that was fully compensated (refunded) for her CMV cruises. Lots of people in the same situation with Virgin Australia too - unsecured creditors. CMV, and now Ambassador, are really just badging agents that have nothing to do with the ownership of their fleet. I believe the ownership (money) that lives behind Ambassador is very different to CMV. I am not about to cruise on Ambassador, as it isn't really our thing. Mind you, the current itinerary in Canada bookended by Greenland & Iceland is an absolute banger.

For mine - all $AU cruises: Nov '23 - 3 nights domestic - $31.05 Feb '24 - 3 nights domestic - $33.35 July '25 - 57 nights - $25.65 Consistently inconsistent.

At last check, she still has some of that "special" carpet, which is not as classy as her external livery. I do hope that she gets a welcome party in Sydney on 24th February. Pity she couldn't also include a call in Brisbane, as she would have attracted quite a crowd.

This is a good read. She only escaped the breakers at Alang on a technicality, which managed to keep her intact long enough to find a cruise line that would extend her life. The disastrous voyage of Satoshi, the world’s first cryptocurrency cruise ship | Cryptocurrencies | The Guardian

The were the standard back before onsite parking was possible. If you are driving direct on cruise day, I figure they are the way to go. If you are staying a night in Hamilton, some of those hotels will let you park your car there for the duration at a lower rate.

Good Morning Stu. Grand's cam is pretty ordinary, so I won't put up the row of white dots as you were approaching the Golden Gate bridge. Really late sunrise at around 7am in SF. From Hyde St pier From Mersea Restaurant on Treasure Island

Something you don't see every day ... This one just popped up on Caribbean Princess' cam. The ship looks familiar.

This is what they are getting for by-the-glass in the US at present. This is Vines menu on Majestic as of June. https://eatsleepcruise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Princess_Vines_Bar_2023.pdf

Indeed, grandfathering would have at least protected those that booked the product of the day. Surely they must have felt the feedback already, as we are at the end of the chain here anyway. To have come up with a pithy $25 just displays a high degree of arrogance.

You could also drink yourself silly with bottom shelf wines by the glass - just saying.

We have the $65 plus for a half world cruise, so we get all the extra crap we don't want plus a whole 2 casual meals. So for the extra $25 each per day, we have 55 days where we get nothing else that we wanted, and the other two where we only get what we had already paid for. You get token OBC for that, we don't. I get your miffed, I will raise your miffed with piffed. To not get what you paid for on a one or two week cruise is bad enough. To get it for 2 or 4 months is crazy. We need to back this up by not paying for the things they are now charging for, and via a complaint to the CC loyalty host. We have bought in good faith too. Although our next one is just a shortie, it is Penthouse suite plus premier for an all exclusive booking - now complete with being squeezed for casual dining & Ocean now if we use it. We haven't decided whether to not incur the charge, or whether to hammer it each day with morning coffees through to a night cap. While I absolutely hate what is happening, what really sucks is the value still beats the heck out of the opposition, so it is really hard to jump ship. At present we are ready to pull our $130 x 57 day packages ($7410) and just having random "celebration" days aboard among plenty of conservative ones. Two can play at this game.

I read above, and the $25OBC will show on your folio on the 1st day of the cruise.