shuyak

Hi, Thank you alI for the feedback. I originally mixed up P&O (UK) and P&O (Australia) and posted the questions in the AU/NZ board. Re-posting here to hopefully gathering info from seasoned P&O (UK) cruisers. Thank you! We came across some P&O's good Norway itineraries from UK with quite attractive pricing, compared to major cruiselines here in the USA market. Read reviews on line, but would love to hear the opinions from fellow CC about how is P&O compared to cruiselines in UK market such as Princess, Norwegian, Holland American, Cunard, etc.? We are budget conscious and low maintenance in terms of room/food/ entertainment but will not hesitate to take unique experiences (such as flying over Mt. Delani). It appears that here in USA we need to call P&O to book. Not sure what other options there might be to hopefully get some better pricing and/or perks in addition to offered by the cruiseline? Also saw its mandatory insurance coverage for " all UK guests". Kind of strange - assume because it is UK based cruise? We always purchase insurance anyway, just are not familiar the products offered by P&O's partner. Appreciate any thoughts you can share!

Thank you all for sharing your experience and feedback! We are interested in its only 16 day itinerary hopefully with more chances to see northern light. I have tagged along/followed up with a thread in the P&O Cruises (UK) with the same questions. Will also re-post the questions in the UK board. Thank you again and happy planning and cruising!

Following - same situation as @Belle Belle and are considering the Norway itinerary for March, 2024. Is it correct that one needs to call P&O to book? Are there other options to hopefully receive better pricing and/or perks than book direct? Will also follow the insurance thread. Thanks.

@losfp and @Ozwoody, thank you both for the info! Apologize for my ignorance - should have digged deeper before ask.

Hi, although this is the fourm for Australia & New Zealand Cruisers, I gathered there are many experienced P&O cruisers perhaps I can ask the questions here. We came across some P&O's good Norway itineraries from UK with quite attractive pricing, compared to major cruiselines here in the USA market. Read reviews on line, but would love to hear the opinions from fellow CC about how is P&O compared to cruiselines in AU/NZ market such as Princess, Norwegian, Holland American, Cunard, etc.? We are budget conscious and low maintenance in terms of room/food/ entertainment but will not hesitate to take unique experiences (such as flying over Mt. Delani). It appears that here in USA we need to call P&O to book. Not sure what other options there might be to hopefully get some better pricing and/or perks in addition to offered by the cruiseline? Also saw its mandatory insurance coverage for " all UK guests". Kind of strange - assume because it is UK based cruise? We always purchase insurance anyway, just are not familiar the products offered by P&O's partner. Appreciate any thoughts you can share!

https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/02/13/jaw-dropping-image-shows-cyclone-gabrielle-from-space/ https://news.google.com/articles/CBMiLGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy93b3JsZC1hc2lhLTY0NjE3MDEz0gEwaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmJjLmNvbS9uZXdzL3dvcmxkLWFzaWEtNjQ2MTcwMTMuYW1w?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen Hope everyone in the impacted area is safe and with minimum damage!

We just applied the ETA's today and received the approval for both AU and NZ. Seeing many recent reports about issues with NZeTA app, and smooth process with AustralianETA app, sharing our experience below: NZeTA: The first few occurances, it took a long time (>15 min each) trying to recognize passport data after scanned. We then quitted and rescanned, repeat. Perhaps after 3rd or 4th attempts, it all of a sudden worked and allowed us to continue and finished the application. 17 NZD application fee plus 35 NZD international visitor conservation and tourism levy, a total of 52 NZD per person. Receipt and visa were emailed immediately after. The biggest obstacle I had (with small eyes!) was taking own picture - open eyes, open both eyes, open both eyes, relax face, do not smile,...😳 AustralianETA: The first time when the app is open, one needs to input a passcode of own choice, then confirm the passcode as prompted. The process and questions are very similar to NZeTA. Payment to iVISA service is 20 AUD per person. Receipt and Visa were emailed immediately after. The biggest obstacle for both of us is scanning the passport: keep passport straight, keep data in frame, avoid glare, repeat, ... What frustrating is if any of the recognized data is incorrect (and there are), unlike NZeTA, AustralianETA does not allow one to make correction and rescan is required. Keep passport straight, keep data in frame, avoid glare, repeat,... Bottom line is, both apps are currently working - taking the two us about 3 hours total from start.

In USA, we were prescribed with Scopolamine Transdermal patch when cruise ship crosspassed Hurricane Sandy out of New York 10 years ago. Slept through overnight without feeling anything while the wave hit Lido deck, drawers and cabinet doors sliding/banging, and many fellow cruisers and crews reported sever sickness afterwards.

QVM discount is for its 2 hr foodie tour which we have ruled out. Will look into MCG Tours and Museum, SEA Life, Yarra River, Royal Exhibition Bldg, State Library Bldg as well QVM to figure out the itinerary/logistics and perhaps some Melbourne coffee along the way. 🙂 It will be a fruitful day in Melbourne!

@lulu6, we were searching day tours to Spellbound and Hobbiton - FlexiTours was the only one offering that combination. We did look into 2 day Auckland -Hobbiton - glowworm - Rotorua - Auckland tours. There are a few operators, but all leave early on day 1 and return late on day 2. There are also one way Auckland to Rotorua tours and one way Rotorua to Auckland tours. We just can not make it work within our 2 day pre-cruise schedule. If you really want to overnight in Rotorua and if group tours can not work, the options might be a private tour or self drive. Good luck.

Thank you all for the info and verification! I am circling back to update with the reply from a Customer Resolutions Officer, Public Transport Victoria copied below (2 weeks from my inquiry of the likelihood of updating expiration dates): "I acknowledge receipt of your complaint regarding the PTV Website showing expired Myki Explorer attraction discounts. Thank you for raising your concerns with Public Transport Victoria and I sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to you. I have forwarded your feedback to onto the relevant teams for their review, and they have advised the expired attractions will be removed from the PTV Website as soon as possible, as the offers are only available for the set time periods." So, yes, there will only be 4 attractions currently with valid discount and only to those specified activities: MCG Tours and Australian Sports Museum Queen Victoria Market SEA LIFE Melbourne Sea All Dolphin Swims With that, we can better plan our day in Melbourne before and after the ~ 3 hr walking tour: starts from State Library Victoria and ends at Hamer Hall at Southbanknear Flinders Street Station and Federation Square. Thank you!

@lulu6, I contacted them a few times and they have been quite responsive - but all were before the recent flooding though. Copied below is the December 29, 2022 response from Philippa Dean General Manager/Director - FlexiToursNZ to my question about a March 15, 2023 tour. FYI "That day is fully booked for all tours as we have a large group on Hobbiton, Rotorua and Waitomo Caves"

Thank you all for the valuable info and suggestions: the ptv news link, the relationship between 109 bus terminate and 58 tram stop, Royal Exhibition Building dome tour, ...🙏

@boeckli, we will be in town on 25/03/23 and only booked the i'm free walking tours. Would like to fill in with some attractions before and/or after. Museum, Sea Life, Queen Victoira Market, River Cruise, etc. are all good options. Will see what are available/accessible within our timeframe when we get the myki explorer package then decide. Thank you for the suggestion! @buchhalm, thank you for the confirmation!

Correction: only 4 out of 11 attraction discounts have NOT expired!

@boeckli, thank you very much! Oddly and sadly, 4 out of 11 attraction discounts have expired on or before 31 December 2022 (2019, 2020?!).

Tourworks has already replied to my inquiries. No, we can only tour one place or the other, but not both for the day we will visit.

@buchhalm, thank you for sharing your recent experience - that looks wonderful! This will likely be our only visit to NZ/AU. Through guided tour, we hope to see/learn about the endangered Yellow-Eyed Penguin (hoiho) that is endemic to New Zealand. Likewise, we hope to visit the world's only mainland Royal Abatross colony to learn/appreciate this special bird. @mr walker, thank you for the lead! I just sent an email to tourworks asking them how to add Royal Abatross Centre entry to its Mainland Peninsula Tour and the cost. I also asked what will happen if there are less than the required 4 person sign up for the tour. If you have experienced similar situation, would you mind to share your experience? Thank you!

Looking for suggestions for Denedin excursion that will include guided tour to both Penguin Place and Royal Abatross Center. Most tours will include one or the other but not both. Both Elm Wildlife and Monach Wildlife Cruise have the program @$185 NZD but depart at 2 PM only and they will not offer AM tour for cruise passengers. The shore excursion group has the program but @$219 USD! Thank you!

We booked the BOGO air early 2021 for March 2023 NZ/AU cruise. Subsequently requested 2 day deviation on both ends and immediately received the updated itinerary with both deviations and the associated credits. Received the flight info this week, about 2 months from the departure date. Dates are correct, schedule/layover is good aside from outbound could have been 1 stop instead of 2. Considering the savings in airfare could almost pay for the cruise itself, we are actually very happy. Hope everyone will have similar happy results.

Fingers crossed! Thanks.

@Port Power, thank you for the current info. Will plan to get the myki Explorer at the pier. We actually look forward to take Sydney public transportation with credit card - no Opal needed!

@boeckli, thank you for the latest info - very helpful! All: Thank you very much for the reply! Yes, we looked up both metropolitan tram network map and CBD free tram map, as well checked out PTV Journey Planner to form some routing options. Will keep it flexible and enjoy the day in this wonderful City no matter what! Thank you.

@RosieCanberraand @Docker123, thank you both for the info about the availability at the port. We will be in Melbourne in 2 and half months! Am looking into the various attractions - at least we can narrow down the list and see how it goes on the day. Thanks.

@MicCanberra, thank you! Yes, if we understand correctly, there are perhaps 3 options to use trams from cruise port to CBD on a weekend port day: 1. Buy myki card @A$6 and load A$6.70 the weekend daily cap. 2. Use mobile myki (after setting up the google pay) for free and top up with the minimum A$10.00. 3. Buy myki Explorer @ A$16 and receive loaded myki card plus maps and attraction discounts. Attractions shown in PTV site (that leads to "Page Not Found") include: Melbourne Skydeck Immigration Museum MCG & National Sports Museum Melbourne Museum Melbourne River cruises Puffing Billy Railway Queen Victoria Market SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium Sea All Dolphin Swims Lyonhouse Museum Galleries Sovereign Hill We plan to join a CBD walking tour then explore on our own. Figured even mobil myki will be the cheapest way with minimum waste (only need A$6,7), the maps come with myki Explorer will be handy. In addition, if we can go to 1 or 2 discounted attractions, it will make better sense then getting just the myki card. The question remains: are those listed attractions for real? Seeking fellow cruiser's insight since PTV does not have much info about the myki Explorer. Thank you.