arxcards

Ms Julie, I don't have a plate of chocs, but do want to thank you for taking us along for the ride again.

Standard size, so they can have the stackable plate cover for trolley delivery.

I read the earlier post, and though Grand Princess would have to go the clappers to make it in the morning. At least you got your packing done early. 😂

Manoeuvring into Port Phillip Bay is usually the wobbly bit. Bass Strait looks calm tonight.

Some of Royal's have been pretty wild. I haven't done a Princess one.

Do you get penalty rates?

There has been plenty of teething problems with the app, but I have been able to overcome everything that it has thrown at me so far. We spent months talking about it last year, and have mostly moved on. You wouldn't normally be logged out when you close the app.

Splendor pulled the pin early for Mystery Island due to weather, but they are now going to Lifou. Does Royal ever call in Lifou?

I am not aware of any success coming from deleting and re-installing the app. Most of the issues stem from the data that sits on Princess servers, so nothing changes by re-installing. The PCP's can refer it to have it sorted. We have had cruises that wouldn't add to the app and they were resolved via their online chat, which is more of a helpdesk person than a booking person.

I have some friends that enjoyed the "rotational" dining at new years. The size of Angelos and Dragon Lady on Explorer are too small to successfully rotate any more than 1/2 the passengers, so there are plenty of leftover numbers that will dine in Waterfront more often and it isn't ideal to be seeing the same menu on consecutive nights. It is great they are changing-up the Dragon Lady & Angelo's menus. On 7 or 8 cruises with P&O since those restaurants began, I had only ever seen the same menu for each every night. Still, every other line changes their MDR menus nightly, with the flexibility to choose where you want to dine based on the menu of the day.

It is much like embarkation. They treat wine differently to beer & spirits. Wine is OK in restricted amounts, especially on the ships that visit for the summer. Those Aussie T&Cs can also apply to wine on their fulltime ship(s), currently Coral Princess. The Aussie policy originates from Carnival Australia, not Princess. If unsure, it pays to ask on the ship if it is OK to bring a bottle of wine back aboard with you.

Wow. That puts cruising in perspective. Family comes first for sure. I would be surprised if you don't fall in love with Alaska. C702 that we have a hold on is next door to C628, so good enough for us.

Our two last year were both in minis. The first was D620, right near the vista suites. It was easy to get around with just 2 flights down to the prom. The other was A504 and handy to midship lifts, but lots more traffic and too many flights of stairs for my knees. Walking is fine though, which was usually past a bar or international cafe. The price difference between minis and suites on this 3 nighter is so negligible, that we will enjoy the extras included - a bit of time in the thermal suite, an included Bayou dinner, Sabatini's breakfast and heaps of room. Just a minor thing - have they improved the tiny TVs? The minis had 2 big screens that were easy to read info from, but the suite pics I have seen have older and smaller screen(s).

Yes, Grand is a couple of years older than Coral. Been a while since I was aboard for Alaska out of San Francisco. Nice ship, and a great way to cruise Alaska. Thanks for the food tips, that always goes down well.

Thanks. I was just looking at the available suites and am now surprised how few Coral has. I was wondering if it was only a location difference between the Vista and Premium. There is quite a price difference between the two locations, and the aft lifts look super convenient to me. I did place a hold on C702, as it was the only port side Vista cabin left. From photos, the ones on Caribe appear to be at least 80% covered. Nicer views for entry into Sydney & Newcastle, but no view of the coast heading south. I will give a bit of a rethink toward a Dolphin starboard suite.

Also, it appears that Club Class minis are a thing of the past, and now called "Reserve Collection"

@Cbtours Irene, (and others), I can't recall a specific thread about Coral's suites, but recall you managed to try a couple out. What cat did you have (Vista, Premium, Penthouse etc) We can't stay away from Coral, so are looking at a suite for a shortie next Feb. Some good prices with their 3 for free promo, and I am wondering how Vista Suite C702 stacks-up. I have seen a few pics online, but they don't have a storyline with them.

The menus will be pretty much the same as last time you were aboard pre-pandemic. Angelos and Dragon Lady haven't changed since they were launched on Eden & Aria in 2015. There is also a lot of sameness about the Waterfront menus, and I found it hard to notice much difference from menus on Pacific Explorer in 2019 and early 2020. The food is generally OK, but we have already eaten all of our preferred dishes on earlier P&O cruises and they are long overdue for a shake-up of their menus. Personally, we are happy to do Angelos once or twice per cruise and skip Dragon Lady altogether. Waterfront once or twice for dinner is more than enough for us, so we pay extras for Luke's or Shell & Bones to change it up a bit.

The prices of most things aboard are going up from 20th February. The Plus package has recently gone up to $65 for cruises after this date and specialty restaurants are going up as well. It is fair to presume that most amenities will also go up, including bar prices & wifi.

Impressive!! Thanks for a great read and a few nice tips for our next UnZud trip. We have a cruise booked on Edge early next year and have been tempted to cancel it. Your review reminds me of some good times on Solstice, so you have helped X hang-on a couple of customers. It seems comedy is a virtue for X captains. Tasos is also funny, and much like you have described, would outdo the comedy acts they are booking.

For formal night

That is sort of the deal, but Luminosa has no plans to call in Sydney. Majestic is doing an 11 night QLD coastal next month Sydney to Sydney which interlinks with a 10 night cruise Brisbane to Brisbane. There is also some short Sydney to Brisbane cruises to fill the gaps. 27th Feb in Brisbane is: Port day for those that boarded for 11 nights from Sydney Disembark day for those that boarded for 3 nights from Sydney Embark day for those starting their 10 night cruise from Brisbane.

Just remember to pack your fig leaves.

I was wondering the same - Majestic Princess? The general rule is no getting off after embarkation, which apparently comes from border restrictions. P&O have never allowed it, while Royal used to, but they wouldn't let us off a few years back on Explorer of the Seas - said they weren't allowed any more. There is some sort of chance if it is a domestic cruise and also being a port day for other passengers.

There will be shuttle buses, for a fee.