arxcards

Yes, just a day offset to align them to Sydney on an available day. We have done Newy a few times now, and I enjoy playing tourist for the day.

Brilliance should be small enough to dock in Eden without issue. Newcastle? 😪 😉. My shout for coffee or a drink if you decide to get off the ship. We were booked on the March one mentioned for Celebrity Edge which originally had a day anchored in Port Arthur. When it changed to a day tendering in Eden, we pulled the pin.

Yep, and theatre I presume. It differs a bit from line to line, but at least you can get out on deck and feel the breeze in your hair.

The close contact/travel party isolation has long gone. Now, you would test daily and if you remain negative, you are free to leave your cabin and move around much of the ship. There are some caveats around that ATM, but it is only those that test positive and cabin contacts who display symptoms that are required to isolate in cabin. This sort of pragmatic approach will still remain after testing and vaxx mandates are lifted.

Great day for us while docked on Coral Princess last October. We are there in November on Majestic, and I was hoping that the work would have been completed. It looks like that is a no.

I suspect he conflict is that Royal wants Ovation to dock and Eden wants them to tender. In other words, telling NSW ports to raise their game or we aint calling there.

It's OK though. Many Aussies struggle to adjust to the custom of tipping when travelling to the US too. Some will blatantly not tip because they don't agree with a tipping culture, which is equally ignorant.

This is a nice day tour from Hobart, and we have done smaller tours of the like in a mini van. Disney Wonder, right? I don't see a roll call for your cruise, so it might be worth starting one and hopefully a few other like-minded passengers will join-in and you can find shares. Disney Wonder Cruise Roll Calls - Cruise Critic Message Board Forums

To add to above, the testing mandate is still in place for the instrument that controls this, the Eastern Seaboard and Western Australian Cruise Protocols. It just no longer appears to be driven by the national framework.

Yes, they could, but there is the complexity that a cruise is available a year before the flights and accommodation. It would rely on an agreement with those 3rd parties to assure something was available. It is also what a good T/A would promote, and I am aware of a couple that offered fly - stay - cruise packages before the pandemic. Even then, if aligned to Virgin some want to use Qantas points and vice versa.

It isn't about the length of cruise. It is about establishing a base of cruisers that will cruise out of Cairns.

That is difficult. There is only 4 contemporary ships here atm - 3 are P&O. Bigger following, no. P&O has run short seasons out of Cairns for quite a few years trying to get a toehold but for much of the country, a return flight to Cairns is a deterrent. We did one a couple of years B.C. on Pacific Eden, and it was wonderful. Usually once P&O have established a new market, others will follow, but it is well short of that. Coral Explorer and the like only need a small audience. For most passengers though, they will just settle for doing a slightly longer cruise out of Sydney or Brisbane, where they also have the option of cruising to PNG with Princess or Carnival.

Eggs are included 😂 Not for me either, but the Disney fans will fill the cabins regardless.

Not an opinion from me. I can take it or leave it. I can comply with the current rules and don't find any of this onerous. The status quo is in play until at least the end of August. The double vaxx for 12yrs and over is still required. It might be under review for a change at the end of August, but it could also go on indefinitely. The restrictions are held in place by public servants, not politicians, so will be removed via risk assessment and not via any lobbying or pressure. It appears that the protocols have already dropped a mandate for pre-cruise testing, but it is still the easiest way for the cruise lines to comply with passenger screening. When they lift any blanket requirement for pre-cruise testing or cabin isolation, they will also remove any compensation should the ship doctor place you in isolation. The ship medical team has been able to enforce cabin isolation since way back before covid.

Another tip to saving money in Sydney, for a US perspective. The tip is - don't tip. Don't tip your cab driver, don't tip your tour guide or driver, don't tip the concierge, don't tip the maid, don't tip the waiter. The service is already included in the price. To stay in Sydney with a view of the harbour is expensive. Stay in the same hotel but no harbour view and the price drops down considerably. Stay a 15 minute train ride away and it is even cheaper, and there are plenty of good local eateries out in the suburbs, where most locals will eat. Then again, pay the price and have a view like this from your hotel room. Sometimes a discounted price also discounts the experience!

Find & Plan A Disney Cruise | Disney Cruise Line (go.com) Departures from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Auckland

https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/singapore-port-10?month=2024-01#schedule

And today, Pacific Encounter is at Kiriwina Island, while Pacific Explorer is returning to Cairns from PNG & Solomon Islands. Yes, February is too hot to be going there, not only for potential cyclones and high sea temperatures that aren't good for the ship, but heat & humidity at the top of the season. Only 1 each year, so I wonder if it fits with an anniversary or festival.

Of the bigger ships, Westerdam was also there in January on her relocation from Sydney to Singapore.

Yes, I like to pay upfront too, but pay close attention to a discounted fare first. OBC is money spent, not saved. They are giving you OBC as an incentive vs giving you a bigger discount on the fare. They get the OBC back from you on the ship, so your $500 credit only really costs them $200. Paying upfront for inclusives with a weak dollar is no different to getting a bigger upfront discount and paying onboard with a weaker dollar later. The $3392pp doesn't include $549pp in port charges, so it is $3941pp for a cruise that is just 6 weeks away. The $500 OBC is per cabin, not per person. Nice itinerary though As an interesting glitch, they are also showing you can book the same inside cabin as a guarantee for just $790,000pp

Pay for it in your fare or pay for it up to 55 days after you disembark. Either way you pay, and you are flipping a coin as to whether the dollar will be weaker or stronger now vs later.

Ahh, I see. Only one ship option till September, or November for anything shorter than 4 weeks.. I looked at a menu a friend forwarded to me this evening. There isn't an option for a poached egg on the Waterfront breakfast menu (fried or scrambled plus omelettes). And yes, premium +$9 each for eggs benny or eggs royal. I am also reliably informed they no longer have boiled eggs in the Pantry. I get that they used to charge for different stuff like breakfast milkshakes with donuts on top, but these egg dishes have been N/C on cruise ship breakfast menus since Adam was a boy. I guess that not enough people were falling for the shake & donut. I wonder how much their Premium Egg Package is going to cost per day. 🤣

All I can say is Wednesday - Thursday - Friday. Eggs are getting to be in short supply and expensive, but the same eggs on a hotplate are N/C, right. Pfffffft. I prefer my eggs poached, and especially Benny, so will be informing P&O that I will not be booking any future cruises with them. Big deal? Not really, but you have to decide where the line in the sand is. And seeing your signature, you do need to book something else 😄

Sadly that is the way Carnival likes it. They would prefer to have you think they are the only cruise line and all other sites are irrelevant.