arxcards

Dirty bum ships have also been skipping Bay of Islands. The ports are less restrictive, as they are unlikely to prevent dirty cargo ships that link their trade with the world. Most ports are already contending with urban runoff and are hardly pristine.

I agree about concierge lounge on those ships. Concierge lounge becomes irrelevant for Star class with an included drink package. Hmmm, maybe that is a way they could ditch these lounges altogether. by including drinks packages in suite fares. We have always seen Royal's suites as great value vs the opposition. We have done a few over the years on Radiance, Voyager, Explorer & Ovation. The suites are really just bigger cabins + concierge lounge, but star class is pretty much all inclusive plus a genie making priority bookings and reserving seats. A few years back, a promo combination of launch fares, Crown & Anchor discount & 2nd person 1/2 price had us in Royal Loft at a really good price. Way bigger than we would ever need, and we could have spent the whole cruise in there and Coastal Kitchen. No OBC, but a $0.00 bill. If Quantum has no star class, it just reverts to being a bigger cabin with concierge lounge.

No class feel for me. If you pay for dearer cabins, you also get an exclusive restaurant. While this is seen as a class thing, the same applies on Royal Caribbean and it isn't a class thing. Yes, there is the more traditional nightly dress for dinner, but during the day it is just another cruise. You will get more than you would on P&O Australia, but you are paying for the privilege.

Does Andy have wrinkles in his dresses, or are they crimplene?

Star Class isn't sold out for the cruises I am looking at next season. There are grand loft and owners loft suites available on each of the Quantum cruises I looked at. Unlike Ovation, there is no mention of any star class benefits or a genie. It could be just an omission on their site, but of that I can't be sure. There is a grand each difference, which makes Quantum worth considering, but if there is no Star class drink package & extras plus adding flights etc, I would rather pay the extra for Ovation Ovation Quantum

I figure you will have your finger on the pulse Chili. I have been sussing out a short cruise on Quantum or Ovation in one of the bigger loft suites. Ovation shows details of Star class, genie, drink packages etc, yet Quantum does not. Does Quantum have Star class amenities?

Just an unofficial tip in case of last-minute issues, or indeed no phone signal/slow app response at the terminal - Take a Screen Capture of Your Green Lane with Boarding Letter as soon as you have it showing on your phone. If all else fails, show the captured image for access to the terminal and check-in scanning.

Everything has gone up, but as long as the quality is maintained, we usually like to have a specialty restaurant meal. The same applies on land as much as it does when we cruise. I am not keen on Royal's restaurants. $95 for Chops Grill, yet there is much unhappiness with Princess Crown Grill going up to $50+, and they have a much better meal. I agree that Wonderland is not much more than a concept, and Jamie's is not much more than Tapas. P&O Shell & Bones is hit & miss, but their steak & ribs are usually pretty good. My wife likes their lobster brioche roll, but we have heard so many bad things about the seafood tower that we give it a wide berth. Specialty restaurants need to feel special and not be all about the food. Even with current prices, we will usually have a night in a specialty restaurant - especially Princess Crown Grill, P&O Luke Mangan's, HAL Pinnacle Grill, Celebrity Murano.

Or vice versa

DIamond = no priority Junior suite = no priority, but anything above that is.

I always prefer to cruise towards home, so will always plum for Auckland to Sydney. I can handle longhaul flights when we are going away, but loath them coming home. While you are still a long way from home, a return flight home from Auckland is a couple of hours shorter than from Sydney.

If you are taking your own wind on board, I will be happy to pay for the corks. 😉😂

P&O has better entertainment overall compared with Princess, IMHO. Yes, dining is a bit repetitive, but you can mix it up for dinner between Waterfront, Angelo's and Dragon Lady which will help. That doesn't extend to breakfast and lunch though, and as much as we aren't fans of buffet or pantry, we mix it up there. Waterfront is closed for lunch on port days, so the pantry is the only included option for lunch on those days anyway. Throw in a night or two at Luke's for a highlight, if your budget allows.

Yes, much nicer cabins all round. PS, I was thinking Volandam or Zaandam would make a nice replacement for Explorer, but they are getting long in the tooth too.

Good luck

In short, no. a VIFP number only comes from doing a Carnival cruise. Try ringing Carnival. We had friends who have never cruised Carnival before that got a steal of a deal on Luminosa a few weeks ago. They booked over the phone.

No, off Carnival's AU website. 19th March - 4 nights solo balcony $648 23rd March - 3 nights solo balcony $612 Please don't mention specific agents, as cruise critic will make posts disappear.

All the initial PR from RCI was that all ships would have it by the end of 1st quarter 2023. That is still a few weeks away though, and there is a chance they will wait for Ovation to head back to the US before adding it.

The best deal would have been to book while you were aboard. Other than that, it sometimes pays to shop around, although no one agent has a special deal. If it is price you are after, Carnival Luminosa out of Brisbane is less than half the price of Quantum.

For their era, I quite liked the Sun class sisters, but their time has almost passed. The 4th sister. Oceana, was looked after by P&O UK and more highly regarded. The other three sisters are still laid up. If Explorer didn't have an expensive makeover just before the lockdowns, she could well be in the same boat. Another couple of years should see another castoff announced to take her place. Those ex-HAL Eden and Aria were really comfortable and nicely laid out ships, even though Eden already had many signs of old age when she arrived. Eden and Aria were both older than Sun/Dawn/Sea Princess that had already been here for several years.

It was about that price on Princess last week too. One wonders how long P&O will have it at $36.

The itinerary does say Noumea tomorrow, but the ships' AIS is saying Mystery Island anchorage and maybe that was part of their plans today. I can't see any chance of tendering to Mystery Island tomorrow anyway.

And the ones on decks 9, 10, 11 have much larger windows.

I have been watching Carnival Splendor with interest, as it seems a ballsy call to have left Noumea for Lifou yesterday. Today they are in Lifou, presumably safe close to the cyclone and their AIS is saying Mystery Island next.

I would hate that too but haven't seen anything that disgusting anywhere. The old Princess faux timber fixtures looked tired, but otherwise in reasonably good nick and comfortable. The sun class cabins are generally a bit small even by today's standards, but we have only had clean& tidy cabins. Cruising out of Cairns is nice - PNG?