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Time for a bit of a wrap. Embarkation. Not good, but outside Princess' control. OPT might be in a great location, but they don't have an inside waiting area if there are delays. Those delays were, apparently, due to the extra checks required on the ships' arrival into Australia and a lack of Border Force staff available to conduct those checks. Disembark from the previous cruise was delayed by nearly two hours, and that backed everything up behind it. Our cabin - on the inside we thought it was nice. Minis have shrunk a bit over the years, but everything was comfortable. There is a dividing curtain between the bed and sitting area, so we could allow each other a sleep-in. The aircon controls actually changed the temperature when you moved the dial, which is an amazing feature compared to other ships where you can have it flat out cold for the whole cruise and still have a warm cabin. The bathroom was like-new, and everything functioned like that. Hot water was almost instant, with constant flow and temperature. The shower curtain clung to the side of the bath instead of your body, which was a major plus. We also had a little Princess travel toiletries pack waiting for us, as well as our elite mini-bar. Two USB ports bedside, but one didn't work. We also had an Aussie outlet plus two Euro and two US. The fridge was cold. The decor is typical Princess. Only one minor thing that annoyed the absolute bejeezus out of us. We had two large flat screen TV's. Sounds wonderful, but they both operated off identical remotes, and it was quite a feat to get one to turn on without turning on the other. We finally had it mastered, then it was time to disembark. Our cabin - on the outside and location - one of our worst. We didn't get any say in our category. When our Royal Princess cruise was cancelled, we got to swap our price, OBC and packages to this cruise. As the cruise included an additional night, our cabin category was downgraded to MF. No big deal we thought, extra night for nothing. These are forward and aft of the tenders on deck 8 and sit above the promenade deck. Starboard aft cabins sit above the smoking area, starboard forward cabins sit above the crew smoking area, which late at night, the smoke resembles a grass fire. There is no overhead cover to offer any privacy or protection from the weather. One late evening on the balcony, I couldn't figure how we had any sea spray or drizzle, then realised we were getting bits of spatter from the cleaning and squeegeeing of the top deck. Awesome of them to be sharing the dreggs with us. The deck 9 cabins sit further into the ship, which means their balcony doors are above the sitting area. This becomes an issue when the passengers above like slamming their balcony door shut. Our cabin was above the theatre. While I don't mind a bit of sound spill, the doof doof vibrated the whole cabin whenever they had a musical show. I recommend giving these deck 8 minis a wide berth when booking on Majestic or any other Royal class ship. On a rather large ship, being well forward or aft tends to lead to a fair bit of walking. Most of the time, that was fine, but it also led to having to navigate a couple of high traffic areas in order to get from one end to the other. The ship areas the theatre looked nice, but we didn't bother with the shows there. The private cabanas in Hollywood looked nice, but we only walked through. The casino looked typically glitzy, but we didn't spend time there or the "Vista Gaming Lounge" either. Princess Live was a nice spot for trivia and interactive shows. The International Café was well laid out, but always seemed occupied by 2 people at tables for 4 who always insist their friends will be back in a minute. The shops were very boutique like, and we didn't spot any of those incredible SALE tables or inches of gold. We bought a couple of bottles of duty free, which had a few nice alternate and premium brands, but a comparatively small range. We drank at a few bars, but when you find a favourite, it is hard to move on. Seaview and Wake View offered nice vistas, but the service was hit & miss. The TV's in the VIP lounge were good for watching a bit of cricket world cup, but the bar service was ordinary while we were there. Good Spirits at Sea at the best staff, and we made a couple of new friends there. Most of the other regulars were easy going, especially when we were seated on the bar stools. The only downside was that more and more passengers were congregating there each day, and it got rather busy in the evenings. There is not much of a promenade deck, so most people walk front to back indoors on deck 7. For much of the cruise, it was like dodgem cars, made worse by a US keep left rule being muddled by an Aussie keep right rule. In spots, the thoroughfare narrows between the atrium and Crown Grill, and it requires plenty of stopping, propping and patience. Pity not all passengers saw it that way. Dining we made an effort to try most areas with an open mind, depending on whether in port or if we just wanted a light meal. We didn't dine at the noodle bar, the ice cream bar, or the Harmony specialty Asian restaurant. International café was great for a light breakfast or a late night snack with your coffee. We were happy with the food options, which were just a little bit broader than we had on Coral. Dining Room had great food. The menus are a little bit smaller on choice than they used to be, but the meals were generally good to great. We reserved all our dinners in Concerto, as it was more central - especially having a forward cabin. Service was a bit inconsistent, but overall a solid pass. I found a new favourite dessert too, which was sadly a one-night-only, and their Crème Brule's were consistently awesome. The breakfast menu was rather repetitive for 11 nights, but all the bacon or egg dishes were very good. Lunch menus were pretty basic, but hey, better than a salad sandwich at work. Alfredo's we enjoyed a couple of port day lunches there. Pizza's and antipasti were lovely. We shared a pizza each day, as I think to eat a full two courses for lunch there is a bit much. Take care when wriggling across the bench seating. The Grill - Nice fresh burgers and "street tacos". I didn't spot a pie warmer, so didn't ask about pies. World Fresh Marketplace was one of my better buffets. There wasn't a huge choice, but there was a lot of variety among the limited options. Nice to walk out the back to an aft table on a sunny sea day. Bistro Sur La Mer (specialty). We had dinner there one night. It was lovely food, but the lack of ambiance does detract a bit. It is just tucked over to one side of the atrium, so not my idea of an intimate dinner. Crown Grill (specialty) was once again the highlight of our dining. We both agree that our previous cruise grill meal on Coral was a bit better. Perhaps I had leftover US steak bit I can't be sure of that. Everything was suitably wonderful, but had less flavour than for our previous cruise. The Ports - nothing new to us. We had perfect Queensland weather and calm seas for the last 9 days. For the tropical ports, we just walked around, spent a few dollars and relaxed with a cold drink or ice cream. In Brisbane, we caught up with old cruise friends, and enjoyed a drink and snacks at Portside. Medallion - worked fine, except we have noticed for both Coral and Majestic that orders near the open deck bars can be hit and miss. Having just arrived from the US, all the drink prices had been adjusted, but a $12 cap was being applied on the first afternoon. We adjusted that and a few other drink charges at the service desk through the cruise. Some waiters use the new technology correctly, while others still like using the old paper system. We noticed the drink charges that weren't zeroed against the package stemmed from dining waiters. We used all of our OBC, largely from an extra couple of Crown Grill sessions and duty free. We disembarked with a bill of less than $20. Overall - not our favourite ship, but still pretty damn good and just what we needed to get away from it all for 11 nights. There were times it felt like we were on Celebrity Solstice, while other parts of the ship were distinctly Princess. I am not game to jump on the scales to confirm the damage, but I have a fair few salads and glasses of water planned for the weeks ahead. I will look through my photos, and pick some to post later.

As far as I can tell, Princess' mid-level package is at least equal to P&O's premium level package, and includes internet if that is of interest. More inclusions on Princess, but more lively entertainment on P&O. IF HAL is your preferred brand, there is a much wider gulf between them and P&O.

They may be otherwise sold out. Booking times disappear from the app when that happens. You do need to tap on each time slot to check individually for each time.

Same applies for NSW. I don't think the terminal operator requires it either, as it wasn't required for us on 20 October for OPT or Majestic Princess. Grand Princess status hasn't been updated on NSW site today, but I don't believe there is an elevated risk. The ship may request it, or the terminal operator. Either way, bring a mask to the terminal. Seems to be a ship by ship, cruise by cruise thing. It could also be a Princess response to what they are experiencing on Coral, and apply for the whole cruise.

Class has nothing to do with style. I have met plenty of people immaculately dressed in tuxes that have very little class.

Reading up a bit, tier 1 is pretty good, but no tier is great. Tier 1 confirms a low level of covid, where no tier equals no positive covid tests aboard.

Yes, we have done that on a 3 night cruise. I only see value for money on short cruises, as the photo package and 2 x specialty dining are only applied once, regardless of the length of cruise. On a 3 night cruise, the extras cost us $105 each, for 5 nights it will cost $175 each, so still good value if you want to take advantage of the whole package. Talk to your T/A to upgrade it (or Princess if you booked direct). Otherwise as Julie mentioned, you can still buy the dearer drinks and only pay the price difference above $16 (a $20 drink costs you $4)

There is no overall mask mandate, but it is set by what the ship requires. Coral is currently tier 3, which is the first cruise to reach that level in the 5 months since resumption here. At tier 3, masks are required by passengers and crew. At tier 2, masks are required for crew. As mentioned, the tier will reset when the current cruise ends on 8th November. What masks Coral requires for 10th November will likely exceed what our governments mandate.

Both. In most instances, WA has the same measures as the eastern states, so whatever Royal wants in Sydney would probably match what Azamara wants in Fremantle.

She will be in Cairns tomorrow. She will be reporting to QLD authorities this afternoon, but I haven't heard of any issues.

Royal sold-off Azamara during the pandemic to an investment firm. Azamara cruises will no longer count toward Celebrity or Royal loyalty schemes.

I pack a tie in case the ship has high standards, but no longer bother with a coat on summer cruises. Recently on Majestic, I wore a tie on the first formal night and felt a tad overdressed. There were around 5% suits/tuxes, another 10% well dressed with ties. For me now on Australian Princess, I wear a dress shirt and chinos to dinner - every night. That certainly well passes muster on Aussie Princess, but if you still want to make an effort, go with whatever you are comfortable with. For Carnival, any collared shirt and trousers/chinos will be suitable, but you can always dress-up more if you want to.

That depends. Certainly was the case for Coral, but the states dropped the mandate for masks on cruise ships a couple of weeks ago. Unlike Coral, we had no masks waiting for us in our cabin. I am sure if we asked, we could have got some, but I would no longer take it as a given that they will be supplied on demand on healthy ships.

I was just waking up around the time of the first picture, and watched the bridge pass-by through the curtains. We had a late one the night before, and were only awake in time to knock over our dining room breakfast when it opened, then back to pack our carry bags in time for 8am requirement to be out of cabins. Always a great shot to be part of.

How ironic. No mandatory masks, which was great compared with what is occurring on the masked Coral Princess. Sometimes it just takes one, I guess.

We had to wait for my wife's phone to be found on the ship and bought down after we disembarked. The guy running the bottom level of OPT was still saying the same to early arriving elite passengers - come back at your boarding allocated time. This is in conflict to what they are saying on the ship, which is anyone with priority is always front of queue, regardless of the time they arrive. On good days, everyone gets on early. When there are delays, not everyone can board at the same time. For Coral's next departure, I expect some delays while border force sort out health documents and handling of any remaining passengers still in quarantine.

Same every cruise, every night - including key lime pie.

Barb prefers the soft comfy bench. I only scored that privilege a couple of times during the cruise.

Not at lunch.

Where did they find 253 special purpose tables I wonder?

Yes, we will let anyone in. I gather that with the current numbers, a RAT could be needed to disembark in any of the ports, and the day in Sydney might be complicated for some. If they can bring down such a big number to a smaller count, it will prove they can manage these extreme situations.

I heard that 253 from another source tonight. That is a big number, and for the current passenger/crew number, 250 would be roughly where tier 3 is triggered. Yes, 300+ from that many cabins, and that doesn't account for any crew either. It also explains why one of the dining rooms is closed - they haven't got any tables left. 😁

A bit of both I reckon.

We finally managed to get a window table at Alfredo's for lunch. As Barb was wriggling into place across the bench seat along the wall, she managed to knock the back of her head against a faux column that was sitting proud of the wall.