arxcards

A bit of background that contributed to the unrest. The Times: Brutal French colonial history behind New Caledonia’s riots (news.az) The state of emergency has been lifted, but there are still plenty of restrictions. The problem has only been deferred, and there is lots of damage in Noumea. Lifou may have fared a bit better.

The first two I looked at for Sydney were sold out, so I didn't look further. I wasn't all that keen anyway, and the flash sale usually means they take away the OBC from the previous promo and take that much off the cruise fare. I can see one departure for Melbourne though - Aussie Day weekend. P&O Cruises 3-Day Sale* on now! | P&O Cruises Australia (pocruises.com.au)

These have been available to book via T/As or over the phone, but it seems someone forgot to flick a switch on P&O's web site. These are now available - P&O Cruises 3-Day Sale* on now! | P&O Cruises Australia (pocruises.com.au)

House wine on a cruise would be called Ship Wine? Silly buggers indeed! I gather you have consumed your Stellenbosch wines in the dining room. Do you have any plans for winery tours in your upcoming ports?

Pacific Adventure was due in Noumea today and as expected, they have bypassed their stop. It looks like they are just taking an extra sea day instead of a replacement port and heading on to their scheduled stop at Mystery Island tomorrow.

True. And they are still upgrading to be able to take most of the not so reasonably sized ships too.

Those English can eat. Was that just one meal?

+1 for HAL. For the Aussie part, it has QLD ports that offset the ports Azamara has in WA & SA. Also depends on whether you want to do pre-post cruise in Singapore & Auckland, or in Sydney.

It must have been triggered by a glitch onboard that kicked-off the error to start with. The non-refundable OBC should have been absorbed first by default, so the call centre bunnies are trying to justify the error in a way that they don't have to do any extra work to generate a refund.

Savanah was our CD last Boxing Day. Her approach was all Aussie, and I was unaware of her dual nationality. That makes sense of it all.

So can I. No family BBQ was complete without it.

Correct. OS seniors don't get a concession fare, so they may as well just tap on/off with their credit card.

Even some of the local higher-level staff had to move overseas to keep their jobs. Seems strange, no Aussie CDs on P&O, yet they have Aussie CDs here on Carnival. I think the short answer with why they don't have Aussie staff is very closely aligned with why the ships aren't registered here. Even P&O Australia is not much more than a sales & marketing office. Foreign owned, foreign ships, foreign staff, yet if they were Aussie owned, Aussie flagged with Aussie staff, very few of us could afford to cruise.

This topic is specific to Australian based cruises on Princess. The same also applies for P&O Australia and Australian based cruises on Carnival. It is not the same for NCL, or most other cruise lines where it is prepaid into your fare, or charged daily to your onboard account, depending on the cruise line.

For an Australian cruise? On Princess?

They get paid more as an offset to the daily grats they no longer receive. In the case of bar staff & waiters, they get paid more to offset the drink gratuities they don't receive here. P&O employ their own and most staff like the arrangement. Quite a few of our favourite crew have moved on to greener pastures since restart. For Princess & Carnival ships here on $AU seasons, some love it and others we have spoken with see it as a demotion - more money to be made on their newest ships based in the Caribbean.

While we were in the Majestic concierge lounge last year, one of the other passengers was talking about a free cruise as if it was probably just a casino offer via their mother. Turned out to be a win on Princess prizes, a free cruise anywhere, up to 7 nights in a balcony. It is operated as a sweepstake by the casino, so the house will always win, but nice to know there are winners out there.

One of the wags on one of the Townsville news social pages offered suggestions for shore tours. One was that the local teens could make some money by stealing cars and taking you for a joyride. Don't you just love a local bias of civic pride! 🤣

I don't know why there is a change for 25/26. If there was an issue with the channel silting up or the terminal being renovated, surely Pacific Encounter would be equally affected.

I won a medallion holder last year. I thought it most ironic - at the time, premier package included Princess Prizes and a medallion holder.

24/25 is saying docked in Cairns, 25/26 is saying Yorkeys.

Should be able. The ferry runs regularly enough from an adjacent wharf. As to what is readily accessible to do when you get to Maggie Island, I don't know.

Depends. If it is a bad cruise, it may have a dual meaning.

I do like their 1 night cruise on 23rd April 2025. It has been a while since we have done a 1 nighter. These are nice looking itineraries, and for those seeking variety .... If not for our Crown WC, it would be tempting. I am surprised they are not dual porting it with Brisbane to get their numbers up.

Here is the other piece of the puzzle. Larger ships have been unable to dock, restricted by the size of the shipping channel. This is already in hand, as they are doubling the width of the channel. https://www.dts.qld.gov.au/news/latest/2023/tourism-boost-as-cruise-line-giant-adds-townsville-to-itinerary-for-2025