arxcards

Probably right. It takes them two days to Noumea. They would be able to make Mystery Island for 8 or 9 in the morning, which would be fine for summer, but not for winter hours. They can do 2 seas days to Mystery Island or Lifou from Brisbane, but Sydney is touch & go. Champagne Bay isn't a good tender stop for a large ship, especially with less available daylight hours in the middle of winter.

All cruise ships have varying degrees of bogans, grunts, snobs, yobbos, tossers. Yes, P&O is pitched at "cruiselings", so there are plenty of them aboard. All cruise ships have mirrors too. Life imitates cruising 😉

How have the shows and activities been, particularly with the variety? Our turn for Dover to Sydney next year, and while we booked for the itinerary and love a Princess day at sea, there is quite a lot of them.

Not personal FOMO for us with P&O. We take inspiration from Mic. When a new season is launched, we are usually booking something same day and getting in before FOMO.

I think that had mostly gone by the wayside already. They introduced that when they were chopping & changing post-covid itineraries while also being short staffed. One of our Princess ones was applied 5 months out late last year. I am hoping I can also add all of our 2025 cruises in one go.

The end of P&O FOMO has kicked-in, but the start of "operated by Carnival" FOMO appears to be much, much, much, much more restrained. Barb thought she was cruising on her birthday next month, but I re-confirmed (for the 4th time) that we embark 3 days after her birthday. She was sad, so I told her I would look at Pacific Adventure on 1st July and we could S2S with the Carnival one already booked. I have checked frequently for 3 days, and not a single cabin has bobbed-up - booked solid.

That is a shame if the MDR is no longer open for boarding lunch on P&O. On our previous Explorer cruises Waterfront was open till 1:30, but haven't been on P&O recently. Another piece of Carnivalisation?

For multi cruises, it will be a breeze. I am certainly happy enough using it. Our next batch will be for 3 cruises, almost S2S2S, for Carnival, Princess and P&O. It will be much easier than sending 3 separate emails.

Lifou has been skipped by all ships so far. While the unrest isn't as bad, the same issues are present there. Passenger safety would be compromised in Lifou until New Caledonia has things resolved. 9 nights, 2 ports - I think you are being dudded a port. I think Mystery Island should be doable as well.

That was exactly how I thought it would translate.

After the past few months of news, it feels like someone grabbed last year's report by mistake. Sure, Crown Princess has larger capacity than Coral, but no Majestic Princess, no Resilient Lady & no Brilliance of the Seas. The last two months of the forecasted season also include the loss of Pacific Explorer and the absorption of the market leader. It doesn't feel bigger & better, but there must be a stat hidden in there somewhere.

Indeed, interesting. P&O, the market leader, yet also insignificant. Hmm.

It isn't just about the pizza, burgers & US passenger expectations. There are lots of similarities in what P&O Australia and Carnival offer, but there are lots of loyal P&O cruisers that hate Carnival and vice versa. The word unprecedented gets used way too much these days and I am fascinated in how Carnival Australia is going to manage the expectation of both camps. Both brands are already 80% the same, yet with parochial passengers. PR communication comes with an agenda and is as much about what isn't being said. From last week's shock announcement, you start to notice things that haven't been said recently, such as why Marguerite's position hadn't been replaced by the Carnival hierarchy. Now it is just the local team and crafted communication.

Is that for Carnival UK shares?

Thanks for your comments Adrian. Keep a handy supply of popcorn handy, as this could be an interesting 8 months ahead. Both Carnival and P&O are being truthful, but they are also being candid. There are subtle differences on what Carnival are saying in the US vs what P&O are saying. Carnival's JH has been quoted as saying they have further exciting news to drop, while it is all business as usual for P&O. At the core, Christine Duffy has been quoted as saying the ships will be rebranded during their 2 week pause, while P&O is avoiding that message and saying it is just about technology upgrades, Hub app, VIFP, crew training for a P&O cruise being operated by Carnival. PR is about promoting product and managing expectations. For P&O, it is about having those already booked expecting a P&O like product. For Carnival, it is about those thinking they are booking a Carnival cruise receiving something that resembles Carnival. I just hope they can find a way of keeping everyone happy. Pricing structure - I take this to mean fare pricing, as this was also an answer to concerns that the fares would be going up. Do you think this also refers to pizza & soft serve? Some things can continue on for the life of the ship, such as the complimentary dining venues and steakhouse, and that ticks the box with P&O's PR statement. Then, as an example, there is the lack of specific detail about Luke's vs Guy's. Bland PR is telling the truth, regardless of the outcome. We have a P&O cruise booked on Adventure prior to the change, and are looking forward to it. We have Carnival cruises booked on Splendor & Luminosa and are looking forward to those as well. At this stage, I am not interested in a hybrid "Carnival Operated" P&O cruise until they have more clarity. ----------------------------------- From 29th of March, 2025, all itineraries will be operated by Carnival Additional benefits on Carnival Carnival operated cruises offer the P&O onboard product and experience with the additional benefits of Carnival: The Carnival Loyalty program The HUB app Any other changes will be notified to you prior to your cruise.

It is indeed a complex issue. The pier can hold three ships, but it can't handle three shiploads of passengers. The port charges are an issue. Sydney charges more, but direct from those funds they paid for an OPT upgrade, White Bay cruise terminal, and the next big terminal if they can decide on where it can be. Melbourne was levying a price increase to the Carnival brands, not only without improving amenities, but also waiving much of Virgin's port charges at the same time.

Without the name of a spokesperson, I don't believe that comment. Also, the ships are being parked for two weeks, just to train the existing crew to the Carnival systems - yeah, right. Carnival ships = Carnival product. I do believe there is a phase over of some things due to existing contracts/supply agreements, but Carnival have yet to release specifics on that either. Examples are P&O Edge, Luke Mangan, Purple Rabbit etc, which possible could mean Luke's remains the steakhouse for the time being instead of Fahrenheit 555 (purely an example only). But rest assured, a Carnival ship will have N/C on their burgers/pizza/soft serve/eggs benny.

I reckon you should get a day in port, then overnight before disembark. The crew love overnighting in ports, as they get a bit of time off-ship.

All good. You only take your luggage off if you are disembarking the ship.

By sea, you are entering NZ, so will be completing an arrival form. On that form is a declaration, for which you should honestly answer the questions. You do not need to pack-up and take your luggage off the ship.

Is not per day. $156pp profit I believe is per average cruise, which should be somewhere close to a week.

Thanks Charlotte. I had one to claim for next month, so thought it would be nice to tick boxes on some other cruises early next year and get them out of the way. I did try with the app last night, and it stated to comeback in November for 2025 cruises. All good, I will take care of them then. It can be useful to lock OBC in early when you can use it to pay for tours, specialty restaurant bookings etc.

I think they have geared the 1 nighter for a media night.

Good PR on their part, but it doesn't fit. The void is for mainstream cruises ex-Melbourne, Freo, Cairns & Auckland. That is the void that a departing Pacific Explorer leaves behind, and that is only if Carnival chooses not to replace the ship in the year ahead. It may not be Luminosa, but it makes sense for Carnival's Brisbane ship to spend the off-season in Auckland, Freo & Melbourne. There is another void here, and the reason why Cunard, Princess, Royal, Carnival/P&O, Virgin have all taken a step back. The void of cash/yield/profit is what will discourage Azamara from ratcheting things up. If anything, look a little closer at how NCL is trialing departures from Melbourne & Cairns. Those itineraries are already available, so they are several steps further into the void.

I was just poking around with a semi-related topic, and thought a Melbournians might get a bit of a grin from this media release: https://www.carnivalaustralia.com/media-releases/2016/november/victoria-sails-into-biggest-summer-of-cruising-as-emerald-princess-makes-maiden-visit.aspx