sunscreen

I was looking over shore excursions for my Feb 23, 2019 Queensland cruise on Sun Princess and I notice that there is nothing to select for Brisbane. I am wondering if this is just a glitch in the Princess website as the other 3 ports list activities or is it too early?

I am in need of accommodations for 1 night in Feb 2019 before our cruise and 3 nights Mar 4, 2019 and everything is booked already. Anyone know what is going on in Sydney during that time or is it their peak season???

I am booked on Feb 23, 2019 10 night Queensland coast cruise and it appears this may be the Sun Princess's last one Down Under! Upon checking various websites, this sailing is still open for bookings.

Am anxious to hear how your cruise was as we are doing 10 night Queensland coast in Feb 2019 and are from SK. I heard account is in AUS dollars which is a better conversion for us Canadians.

Very good information here. We too will be looking at one night precruise and I like the idea of cruise package which provides free transportation to harbor, White Bay in particular. Any other hotels offer this?

Thanks for the help and yes it was in Brisbane. The advice I had was to book thru the ship as traffic can be a problem and don't want to miss the ship. I just wasn't sure I would have enough time there. But checking the zoo map ahead of time to plan my exhibit viewing is probably best.

Have not found many reviews for the above shore excursion to the Australia Zoo and was wanting some feedback from anyone that has done it thru Sun Princess. I understand the drive from port is approx 1 hr to 2 hrs round trip. Somebody said that you are not given much time at the zoo and I was wanting some feedback from somebody that has done this excursion on the Sun. Appreciate any info...

Will be arriving in Sydney 1 day prior to cruise on Sun Princess. Arrive at 10:35 am and wondering what hotel would be good to stay at prior to cruise the next day which I believe leaves from White Bay. I am told to stay up and keep active so as not to let jet lag set in. Have never been to Australia before and after Princess cruise plan on booking 4 nights in Sydney at the Mantra 2 before we sail on Ovation of the Seas for New Zealand. Any feedback and advice would be appreciated for this Canadian prairie girl. :)

Not sure if this should go under Princess thread or not but wondering about shore excursions booked thru them for a 10 night Queensland Coast cruise. We have a large OBC and would like to use this to book shore excursions while on our Australian cruise. However I seem to recall now that you have to prepay for excursions. If this is the case, for the excursions to Australia Zoo and Great Barrier Reef, would we still have a good chance of being able to book thru the cruise ship directly on day of boarding or would these potentially be sold out? I just don't want to miss out on seeing some of these attractions but at the same time have a large OBC which I would like to put to good use. As well if I have to prepay it would be in US funds which suck right now as we are from Canada. Our on board ship account and OBC will be in AUS dollars which is a much better exchange. Any advice would be appreciated.

We are on the Sun Princess Sydney to Sydney 10 nights and I would be interested as well to know if I will be charged gratuities on my on board account.

Thank you. We are doing 2 cruises. Princess and RCI. Good to know.

I called Princess and they advised because the cruise originates out of Sydney, the OBA will be in AUS dollars not USA. Doesn't matter if I booked with US travel agent or not. I am thinking that RCI will be the same but I will be checking with them directly. You can opt to change it to USD if you would like which I do not because the exchange is so poor right now so CAN to AUS is much better exchange rate. All my OBC that I received the the US travel agent will also be in AUS dollars :)

If my NZ cruise starts and ends out of Sydney then would I be safe to assume that my OBA would be in AUS dollars unless otherwise requested?

Planning for arrival in mid Feb day before cruise of Queensland Coast. Need hotel for 1 night. Don't plan on too much due to time change from Canada. Arrival back Mar 5 for 3 nights in Sydney followed by 13 night NZ cruise. In Sydney would like to do, Opera House, bridge, Taronga Zoo, Blue Mountains. Any advice on where to stay, transportation to and from and arranging tours that pickup from hotel???

Yes I would be interested in this as well...

Looking at two rooms on Ovation of the Seas 9272 and 10250. Can anyone tell me if the bed is closer to the balcony or to the door of the cabin? I am looking at rooms specifically where the bed is closer to the balcony and cannot find the website which tells me this (if I remember seeing one:confused: Thanks for any help.

I understand Princess cruises originating from Australia have the onboard account in AUS dollars. When you fill out your information prior to sailing and they ask you what currency you would like your on board acct set up as, what is the best exchange rate for Canadians charging on Canadian credit card?

i.e. Keep the onboard acct in AUS dollars and use Canadian MC to pay bill taking into the currency exchange rate and MC 2.5% extra fee OR changing the account over to CAN dollars which means Princess would do the conversion onboard and add their fee. Any advice from Canadian cruisers who have done Australia and New Zealand cruises is appreciated.

On our last cruise purchased a future cruise deposit in CAN funds on Princess. Am now looking at booking an Australian cruise with US travel agency which will be paid in US funds. When I set up my on board acct, am I able to request that be in AUS dollars and transfer that FCC over to AUS funds as well? Much better exchange on AUS to CAN then from US to CAN right now. I heard that on Australian cruises with Princess it is automatically set up in AUS funds. Is this thru? Appreciate any advice.

We are looking at Ovation of the Seas arriving in Sydney at 0630 hrs. If our flight to Los Angeles leaves at 1030 hrs is this enough time to get to the airport and thru security if we ask for early embarkation? Not familiar with time it takes to travel from cruise terminal to Sydney airport. Is cab the best option or ship transfer? Any helpful advice will be appreciated for our first time visit....:):)

So I have been looking at doing back to back cruises for New Zealand and then the northern coast of Australia. I am having a hard time finding something where there is not alot of turnaround time as we are on a holiday time constraint. I would like to go on Majestic Princess for New Zealand but am having a hard time finding a Northern Australian cruise from 7-10 days to connect. Definitely want to hit Brisbane, Cairns and Sydney. Am open to various cruise lines for that shorter portion. Not many options available for that Australian portion. Any suggestions appreciated..

I was looking at the FCC form and on the bottom it appears to show that you can purchase FCC in whatever currency you would like. We are from Canada. Have booked with a US travel agent for our upcoming cruise and our onboard acct will be in US funds. We are planning on booking an Australia and New Zealand cruise with Princess in the future (which they offer in Canadian funds) so I was looking at FCC however I want it to be in Canadian funds since the exchange betn Canadian and Australian dollars is much better then Canadian to US. Can I purchase the FCC on board in Canadian funds using a different credit card then my onboard account?

Can anyone tell me where you call for the shuttle and where do you meet it at in the FLL airport?

I was looking at the form that you fill out to purchase your FCC and it appears on the bottom that you can choose what currency you wish to purchase in. So even if I booked with a US travel agent and my onboard acct is in US funds, I hope I am able to purchase my FCC in Canadian funds with a Canadian credit card.

We are looking at doing a back to back Austrailia and New Zealand cruise in 2019 with Princess. We have an upcoming cruise booked in Dec and are wondering if we should purchase FCC. I see on the bottom of the future cruise credit forms it asks what currency you would like to purchase in. Being that Aussie dollar is better exchange rate then the U.S. currency is with Canada, I am confused as to how to book this as my onboard acct on this upcoming cruise is set to US funds. Any advice or suggestions from fellow Canadians who have done "Down Under" cruises?

We will be on Princess in December for a Carribean Cruise. DH and I are looking at an Australia and New Zealand cruise for 2019. Itineraries are not yet out but wondering what perks we would get if we purchased FCC or if it was possible that far in advance? As well any feedback or advice from Canadian cruisers who have done this and have booked with Princess now that the dollar is almost at PAR with the Australian currency.