arxcards

Approximately, and that is where your ship would be. The name of the village or the location please.

Correct. It is there in communications along the way. We board on Boxing Day, and have another "know before you go" email today. It definitely spells out the need for providing printed proof of travel insurance for any cruise visiting Noumea or Lifou. I understand the reason why people ignore this, as it was a "requirement* for many years before it was ever enforced.

Where was I?

I was thinking something silly like one of the kids clubs having a scavenger hunt and there was a ball on the find list. The actual reason is so much more incredulous.

Roma QLD. They have Sculptures Out Back there each spring, and several of the winners have taken up residence in the park.

- 8:30 seems about right for luggage drop, maybe a bit earlier. - Priority/faster to the fun boarding can be chosen from 11am, general boarding times can be selected via your online check-in 14 days prior from 11:30 onward. - As mentioned, once you are on you are ready to sail. No probs, drop all your non-essential luggage at 8:30, explorer and board after the crowd at 3pm. You have chosen some things to so that are nearby, and in sight of the ship for much of your exploring. That is a good 6 hours of sightseeing.

Glad that the Captain has finally got his balls back. It deserves some OBC as a sincere apology.

Ours was applied a few weeks prior to our Majestic cruise, I think days after Grand arrived here, the complaints became real and they mad an announcement about OBC for older Plus & Premier packages.

I sense a bit of deja vu. Just be careful with search terms 😉 My S.I.L used to live a few 100 metres away, but before these sculpture[s] moved in. I am a bit pre-occupied to take on the mantle atm.

In its simplest form, it is very different to the passenger act in the US. It looks like local legislation is about licencing, not about locally flagged vessels vs foreign flagged vessels. You would presume a seaworthy ship from a friendly country with a well treated crew would be afforded a licence to operate in Australian waters. Ahh yes, licence also means there will be a fee attached, and that would be an extra operating cost for each ship - of which we will all end up paying for in the end. Cynical me - the states get their revenue from pilotage and passenger taxes, but our feds have been largely missing out on their slice, only getting GST revenue on domestic cruise fares. Surely that GST revenue is enough to prevent them from rocking the boat too much.

I have used the Princess one twice in the past 6 weeks or so and have had OBC applied within days.

I don't have anything fresh, and figure you have probably been & gone by now anyway. P&O may have updated the furnishings, but the fixtures in the cabins are rarely updated from their former Princess identity - the St Lucia owners suite on the former Star Princess -

So, a bit of light reading ... Coastal Trading (Revitalising Australian Shipping) Act 2012 (legislation.gov.au) Interpretation will be fun, and raises questions: - A lap around Australia cruise - will it still be valid with/without an Asian or NZ port if you are returning to the port of origin (you aren't really being transported from A to B if you are returning to A) - Is a cruise to nowhere still OK if you are returning to your port of origin. Also, a 3 or 4 night return cruise including Eden, Tangalooma, Airlie Beach. These transport you to an Australian port but bring you back as well. Hard to know if they consider it a loop or a return journey between Australian ports. - The ones that concern me, as they sit outside of the rules and spirit, are line voyages between Brisbane/Sydney, Melbourne/Sydney, Melbourne/Adelaide. We have a cruise booked for February from Brisbane to Sydney via Newcastle. That was a really late decision for that cruise to be exempted, and I'm glad it is. We have a similar one booked on Diamond Princess in Feb 2025, which would appear to be an illegal cruise if the exemptions aren't extended further. Has this already been discussed at length here back in the days it was originally tabled in 2013? Any discussion/detail would still be relevant.

If you are carrying more than $10,000 in cash, you will need to explain why. This os a very normal question on visa or customs entry for any country I can think of, including if I wanted to travel to the US. The answer, assuming you have less than that amount, is NO. That will give them confidence that you are not laundering currency across their border. PS - if the amount is $1000, they also want to know that you can pay your way home.

I watched a well-to-do QM2 passenger being told by staff that she had 30 mins to return a Churchill's Lounge menu or security would be involved. Thieves are thieves, Kleptomanias are kleptomaniacs. I wouldn't consider Royal passengers have a moral high ground on this.

Just like school - everyone is kept in until the item is returned.

Balls!! On a Royal ship, they are Royal cruisers..

Watching with interest

You can use your medallions for no charge. The charge will only apply if you order food/drinks from your phone. I didn't detail from our affected cruise. We received $50 OBC for having our booking conditions altered. We chose not to dine at Alfredo’s and we chose not to use the medallion app to order, as we felt there was no value in activating on a short cruise. We spent the $50 on a Stanley bear for our upcoming grandcruiser instead.

Yes, ship time for passengers, UTC for the bridge. Can't have one without the other.

UTC Mic, not Kiwi time. Wed Dec 13th, 18:00 UTC = Thurs 14th Dec, 5am kiwi daylight savings time

Just a double-take here. Some ships list fiords as an AIS destination. Some ships don't as scenic cruising isn't a destination. Noordam is still heading toward Milford Sound.

Sadly for anyone aboard, if not yet announced, the AIS destination for Noordam has updated to: POE (Port Chalmers) December 13, 18:00 UTC (Thursday morning kiwi time)

This is all about marketing reach - brand familiarity stuff, and things like more people knowing who Buddy is than know who Daicos is. Not true fans, not members, just market awareness. In true terms, I no longer follow AFL so much, but do keep an eye on how the Swans are going. I guess that fits me in those numbers. It has to be Sydney though. It doesn't make sense to engage with a Melbourne club when they are taking their ships out of Port Melbourne - ironically, the original home of the bloods.

It isn't about being bumpy or slowing her down. Typically if the seas are over 3 metres or the wind is excessive, it is considered unsafe to navigate in/out of the sounds. Nice to be rocked to sleep, but not at the expense of missing the fiords. This is the BOM ocean prediction for AM tomorrow. The odds are slim.