arxcards

My mum only recently sold her lease out there. Not my idea of a nice holiday. I lose a week or so at Christmas, but have a few weeks up my sleeve. Most of that will be gone next June/July in the UK, but we are more restricted by Barb's lack of leave. Her surgery in April had an awesome result, but it used-up all of her leave. We loved Star Princess, and maybe she will be Carnival Encounter in a true sense by then. The aft pool decks will be awesome as the Serenity area, and the pool can cater for 20 mullets with floating stubby holders at a time. August won't suit though.

There is something different to the US market that happens down here, well beyond the details included in your CAPS and bold type. This is about the pre-paying of gratuities/service charges. For a US based cruiser, you will usually opt to have these taken out of your onboard folio daily, or choose to pay your cash tips personally. In Australia/New Zealand, we have no choice and these daily charges are applied at the time of booking - whether you like it or not. Given that the service charges have been pre-paid, yet no service has been rendered, it should make sense that these should be refunded in the same way that a pre-paid drinks package or shore excursion would be. In your country, these charges wouldn't apply until after you board the ship. As to the OP, it makes sense that they should be refunded, but I don't know where you stand. On the basis they haven't offered to refund the prepaid service charge part of your fare, I doubt they will be. I guess that is the downfall of living in Gods country and having an inclusive fare.

Great explanation. Until around 25 years ago, NSW pubs didn't have gaming licenses, which were only available to licensed clubs and state regulated casinos. In a way of attracting poker (translates as slot) machine players, good food and drinks would be cheaper that the equivalent pubs. Think of it like a Vegas buffet being an attraction for casino patrons. Then a NSW politician named Dick Face (yes, his real name) decided that pubs could get poker machine licenses, so clubs began to lose their edge. Many disappeared, but there are still plenty of good ones about, but there are as many good pub feeds too. Generally, a licensed club had to financially support an organisation or their local community. RSL/Diggers/Memorial clubs evolved from supporting returned soldiers Leagues/bowls/sporting clubs evolved from supporting sporting clubs Workers clubs evolved from the trades union movement Tattersalls has a horse racing background.

Yes, I noted the Luminosa one on another thread. If we enjoy Luminosa on our shortie next Feb, that one will be tempting. Splendor is comparatively boring - nothing longer than 10 nights.

A green shoot already. Carnival has released their 26/27 itineraries for Splendor & Luminosa. Feb 7th 2027 has a new "14-Day Fiji & South Pacific from Brisbane, Australia" on Luminosa which looks much like a bounty cruise - Brisbane > Norfolk Island > Nuku'alofa > Cruise Mutiny on the Bounty > Suva > Dravuni Island > Port Vila

Hey @CDaze71 Carnival has released their 26/27 season for Splendor & Luminosa. She departs Brisbane on 2nd April 2026, returning on 14th December presumably after doing the music cruise charters out of Sydney during November. Her 26/27 season currently ends on 4th April 2027, although there is no relocation scheduled at the end of the season. Itineraries appear to be more of the same

Yes, you can buy by the day. I am not up to date on the pricing.

Clubs are great. Not many left in Sydney CBD, as it just seems that the real estate is just too expensive. Lots of great clubs out in the burbs.

i am disappointed in my misjudgment of humankind. Looks like none of the above. Perhaps there was hope of us answering that Carnival had overstepped the mark and should be reported to A Current Affair immediately. Pays to put aside an hour to read those T&C's once in a while instead of just clicking the accept button.

The cakes at Le Renaissance are very nice. It has been a while since we were last there. I probably wouldn't recognise Port Mac. My grandparents had a van at North Haven for much of my childhood, but as for Port, I can only really recall the Fantasy Glades.

The bear pit must generate quite an appetite. Thanks for the heads-up on this Cheryle. I wasn't aware it was open to the general public. Lately, our "reasonable" in Sydney has largely been at cafes, street eats or market stalls, with breakfast at somewhere like City Extra or Pancakes on the rocks. When heading for a cruise, I guess we just don't want to spoil our appetite.

Most of us love a good deal. The long running topic of "El-Cheapo" is about sharing something that is pretty much a clearance price, as well as any general cruise line "sale" promotions. Traditionally el-cheapo is below $100pp per night twin, and should be deals that are generally available, and not insider or casino pricing. Check back over the few pages and see what is being posted by others. Just knowing the ship and departure date is all anyone here needs to suss out the deal via the cruise line website or their own preferred travel agent. Using terms like X1234 is speaking in travel agent language, which reads as somewhat strange when being used by a new member/cruiser. T/A discussion, referrals, links are not allowed on Cruise Critic, and moderators will remove. If in doubt, refer to the guidelines link near the top of the page.

Some NCL itineraries are indeed overnighting in Bora Bora, but the one I was referencing next May does not. How would you feel to book an itinerary that includes Bora Bora, but not be allowed to go ashore - hmm. Zaandam & Vasco de Gama (former Pacific Eden) could sail profitably with a 1200 passenger limit.

Internet is pretty basic? Nah, for the past year since Starnet was added, I can stream Foxtel better than I can get on 4G, and have had no issue with video calling. Unlike some cruise lines, there is no better package to pay for - you either have it or you don't. There are just occasional starnet black spots at low latitudes or in rough weather. I will have to make a point of doing a speedtest.

Coral Princess is larger than Sea Princess in ship GRT, but yes, with nominally the same passenger count. Neither ship would fit with the daily restriction for Bora Bora, but that depends on how you can think outside the box. The only set ban on the ports in French Polynesia is that ships of 3500 passenger capacity are banned from all ports. Norwegian Sun is around the same physical size as Sea/Sun/Dawn Princess, and nominally carries the same number of passengers. Bora Bora has a restriction of 1200 passengers per day, and is based on the human interaction with the island, not on physical ship size. You could have a 2400 passenger ship, and do an overnighter, with odds & evens on either day. Norwegian Sun isn't doing that, so I suspect you would only get ashore by booking a ship tour with numbers capped at 1200.

Norwegian Sun is much bigger than 1000, and still calls at Bora Bora. If Sea/Sun/Dawn Princess were still about, I believe they would be OK to still visit there. Alas, the commercial lines are obsessed with operating only mega ships. HAL's smallish Zaandam plus classic ships like CMV Vasco de Gama and Artania have Bora Bora on their schedules, but those NCL offerings are really tempting. 14-day Cruise to South Pacific: Fiji & Samoa from Lautoka, Fiji on Norwegian Sun (ncl.com)

It would X445N appears to be sold out. The PA24 is the travel agents own code, which is better left unspoken here.

Yes, pricey they are.

All of the mini suites on D deck offer very little overhead protection/privacy from above. This applies to all their mini suites though, except for a dozen of them that are aft on E deck. Maybe that suits you, maybe not. Otherwise, a nice mid-ship reserve collection mini-suite.We love the mini suites on Princess. The reserve area dining is open for breakfast each day, but lunch is only available in the dining rooms on sea days.

Navigator had her last drydock in only 6 months ago. That scenario would work for 2026/27, but not in this instance. With this announcement, Navigator still has all her itineraries intact. Get the cancellations out of the way, then announce a longer and more expensive relocation of Rome to Cape Town & Cape Town to Singapore - still my best bet. I don't think non-revenue is an option for something that would be on sale for a year.

Chez's previous answer pretty much says yes. April/May 2025, the 4th of 5 legs ends in Honolulu. From your initial post, you also have the option of flying home from Tahiti after the 3rd leg. Bali to Cairns 14-day Cruise to Indonesia & Australia: Lombok, Komodo & Great Barrier Reef from Bali (Benoa), Indonesia on Norwegian Sun (ncl.com) Cairns to Fiji 14-day Cruise to South Pacific: Fiji, Vanuatu & Great Barrier Reef from Cairns, Australia on Norwegian Sun (ncl.com) Fiji to Tahiti 14-day Cruise to South Pacific: Fiji & Samoa from Lautoka, Fiji on Norwegian Sun (ncl.com) Tahiti to Honolulu 14-day Cruise to South Pacific: Bora Bora, Kauai, Kona, & Maui from Papeete (Tahiti), French Polynesia on Norwegian Sun (ncl.com) As also mentioned, several ships relocate from Sydney to Seattle/Vancouver via Honolulu each April/May. Some split the trip in Honolulu, while others only sell the whole deal. This is the Princess offering for April 2025, Sydney to Honolulu. There are likely to be others available on the other brands. Cruise Details - 20-Day Tahiti, Hawaii & South Pacific Crossing - Princess Cruises

Rome to Dubai replaced with Rome to New Jersey. So similar. It is interesting they are not offering the alternate Voyager itinerary, especially as the word "redeployed" is being used. The previous Med cruises on 20th & 27th October have also been canned. I wonder if that just means she is leaving Rome a couple of weeks earlier so that she can still make it the long way round to Dubai for the scheduled 17th November departure. The Singapore to Brisbane cruise is still available for booking, but not the Dubai to Singapore leg.

I am also an optimist. I also see trends. I can recall the vision when Eden & Aria were added to P&O's fleet, and efforts were made to get homeport cruising going in Melbourne, Cairns & Auckland. For now, that is all being reversed. Dora represents where they are at present, and that means losing a ship in February with no plans of gaining a replacement. Yes, things will cycle around eventually, and I am keeping my eyes peeled for the first signs of green shoots.

Carnival is "simplifying" itineraries to count their pennies. It is disappointing, as I have a family connection to the Bounty, but I can't see them adding exotic itineraries any time soon.

The Pacific is a big space, with lots of Islands, including French Polynesia and Hawaii. Typically, the vast majority of cruises that depart Australia only visit islands in New Caledonia, Loyalty Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji. We have enjoyed a few different itineraries, but our cruise lines are largely lacking in imagination at present, so at a personal level I am finding them a bit repetitive. Currently New Caledonia & Loyalty Islands are closed to cruise ships due to civil unrest. This is making a mess of our shorter itineraries, so I would suggest looking for itineraries that mostly have Vanuatu & Fijian ports. There is another current thread that refers to an NCL cruise that has legs from Cairns to Vancouver that looks exotic. Princess and HAL will offer summer cruises to Fiji.