rugbypopsie

Seriously I am so glad there are sites like this to give fellow travellers a hand. We realise that Australia and NZ are a long long flight from pretty much everywhere. The best advice I can give is to not to be too optimistic about how much you can see in one visit. I think its more important to have a great travel experience in a smaller area than to rush through thousands of miles and see almost nothing..just my opinion.

One more thing...because our distances are huge, population relatively small and the train options few...yes they are VERY expensive.

Sue

As a near Sydneysider can I just say again how disappointing to see that every overseas cruise visitor seems to be told to spend their one day in Sydney going to the Blue Mountains there must be a huge profit margin in that tour.

Please reconsider...the Blue Mountains are lovely and if you have a few days i would put them on the list but not for your only day. You are visiting one of the most beautiful harbour cities in the world. You can buy a one day public transport pass which gives you unlimited travel on all public ferries, buses, light rail and trains. Just to start take a short walk around to the iconic Opera House, and walk through the gardens bordering the sparkling harbour to Mrs. Macquaries chair for fabulous photos, the Art Gallery is also located nearby. Or you could catch a public bus from the Quay to Bondi Beach and do a clifftop walk (easy few steps) to Tamarama Beach..spectacular. You could climb one of the Harbour Bridge pylons for wonder views up the Harbour...or take a ferry to Manly Beach for lunch...so many choices. If you go to the Blue Mountains you will see miles and miles of boring residential development and spend hours and hours getting there.

Sue

correction delhi to cairo is mar 2014, and am now on solstice 4th november 2013

Sue

Home grown bargain...Celebrity Solstice balconies for the same price as insides..Milford Sound NZ itinerary will go like hotcakes...great ship great itinerary..around $1600 go for it...I did!

Sue

Nope didn't lose deposit Aussie agent has been very obliging unlike P & O. Can you now put me down for Celebrity

Soltice 4th November NZ. Excited to be trying a new ship with lots of good reports on her.

Sue

The inaugural cruise according to P & O's original media blurb [was "timed to co-incide with the annual canoe and kundu festival held annually". The festival is on 1 to 3rd November Pacific Dawn will arrive on the 4th. The real festival is a unique opportunity to see a culture which will surely become commercialised etc. before too long. I wanted to see it as it is...not a watered down version. P & O have cobbled together some sort of cultural "experience" which is NOT what I expected or what was advertised. Therefore I am very disappointed/angry and not going.:mad: Nevertheless I hope you all enjoy your visit to a unique part of the world and a glimpse into a disappearing culture.

Sue

/SIZE]

Please take me off the inaugural PNG sailing....thanks for nothing P & O.:mad:

Sue

Both ships are lovely...Luganville town has nothing but there are beautiful blue holes a fairly expensive taxi ride away. I would opt for the extra time to spend in Australia.

Sue

On Princess the auto tips go down to the dishwashers and the laundry people, as well as your own stewards. In my earlier posts on tipping, I refer to Princess as 95% of my cruising career has been done with them.

Yes that is why I am an advocate for leaving the hotel charge on...so that it is fair. Cruise lines positioned permanently in Australia have rolled the hotel charge into the fare so you pay it one way or another.

Sue

Not to mention unfair to those "behind the scenes" the dishwashers, laundry staff etc. "wage subsidy" which is what the hotel charge is really about the money should be for them too.. I appreciate those clean sheets and towels and am damn glad I am not in the kitchen washing thousands of dirty dishes and pots. If you think the wait staff or steward did an absolutely superlative job by all means give them extra...but don't forget the others. Not flaming anyone...just my opinion.

Sue

hello everyone newbie cruiser here, we are going on solstice in 2014 and ARE leaving the auto tips in place, however if we get a fabulous cabin steward, waiter, barman etc at the end of the cruise can we give them extra and if we did are they liable to give that extra to the head of department or can they keep it all. FYI aussie here !!!:);)

If you leave the autotips in place then anything extra you give to staff is theirs to keep.

Sue

Absolutely right Barry as always you are absolutely right. However the first thing non cruisers say to anyone booking a cruise is, "oh you will be bored and seasick". I believe if you get onboard in the right frame of mind to have a great cruise then you will irrespective of the length of the cruise 3 days or 30. Enjoy.

Sue

Hi all

we are going on a cruise in a couple of months for twenty five days. It is our longest cruise. Can anyone tell me what it's like to travel for that length of time please? I've been told it's too long and that I will get bored, what do you think.

Gwen

It will be lovely....there is always plenty to do onboard. The longest I have cruised is 42 nights and I would have been happy to stay on...next month I have the whole of March at sea including lots of sea days and I cant wait.

Obviously whoever told you that was not a cruiser. Relax I am sure you will love it.

Sue

Whee Meeee! Just booked Aegean Odyssey Delhi to Cairo 18 Mar 2014...life long dream to see Egypt and Taj Mahal in same trip...fabulous!

Sue

If you can afford it do both.... if you have to pick one do the bridge climb..

Sue

Its so infuriating to read about how our new and relatively new cruisers are given such misleading information....if you are listening cruise executives...staff training matters!!!!

I'm available if it comes with cheap cruising....LOL

Sue

GREAT photos....I love Erakor Island.

Sue

It seems a little unreasonable that my elite level on Princess does not get me anything on P & O Australia and yet if I had done all my cruises on P & O they would count towards loyalty levels on Princess? Have I got that right...

Sue

Sutho its not cool to post identifying information about someone else on the net...if she wants people to know how she earns a living she should be the one to post dont you think?

Sue

Exactly what flygirl said... the ones which were were not in the spirit of this forum..i.e. rude, argumentative or generally inappropriate.

Sue

No Rabaul...went there on the Cherry Blossom...this one is the inaugural P & O cruise to PNG..looks a beauty. Financial Controller is DH I am the cruise addict he is the ways and means man. LOL

Sue

Rugbypopsie and the Financial Controller 31st October 2013 Pacific Dawn to Papua New Guinea

Sorry about the rude people Flygirl most of us were very interested in what you had to say about working on the ship. Thanks

Sue

Thank you for posting, I was not aware until recently that the casino staff were not part of the regular "tips/hotel charge" pool.

Would you mind telling us which cruise line you worked for?

Sue

Australia is not well served by trains...I have done the Indian Pacific from Sydney to Adelaide and the Ghan from Adelaide to Darwin. The trains whilst nice inside are very expensive and the scenery well...we have a lot of lovely scenery just most of it is not viewable from the train. Flying to Central Australia is definately a better option, the locations there are unforgettable, the earth so red like blood and the sky a brilliant clear blue..huge rocks bigger than apartment buildings scattered like lego blocks in the desert and the mountain ranges around Alice Springs so ancient and mysterious. Lots to see and experience.

Dont attempt a day trip from Alice Springs to Ularu as the OP said its six hours away with only a pub and a singing dingo to back the monotony. Once you are there make sure you take a guided walking tour around the base of the rock to hear about the legends on the indiginous people of the area..fascinating. As for climbing the rock...mmm heart attack territory..many have died and the local people respectfully ask that you observe their request not to climb.

If you are really into trains then perhaps the Indian Pacific from Sydney to Alice Springs is a better option, it has a stop in Broken Hill which is an interesting place in its own right and famous for its outback painters and there is a bit more to see as you pass over the Blue Mountains on the way.

Sue