MMDown Under

Forgot the big ones - cruising from Australia charging on board in $US cruising from Australia to USA charging gratuities

Did you know that beforehand?.

Thanks for the laugh to start the day. When choosing a cruise line it helps if you know what you don't like. I have discovered I don't like ships - with multi languages. non maintained, with toilet issues, leaking roofs, etc. with too short a time in port

I agree the menu staying the same is poor. Usually on ships I find “the crew favourites”’were my favourites. On Luminosa the Indian meals were my favourites. I don’t like the idea of paying extra for food, which you have paid for! Specialty restaurants are different, as you can choose not to go there.

My younger daughter was only 16 so I took her overseas to avoid Schoolies. Schoolies is not for underage children. She wasn’t keen, but her school friends thought she was mad. I let her pick the itinerary.

You could catch a taxi/Uber to Eagle Junction Railway Station then a train to Southbank. You could also catch the train from the airport but there is a surcharge for the train from the airport,

For P&O UK keep an eye out for segments in Aust/NZ of the world cruises.

Excellent suggestions from a local. Pace yourself when it is humid and you’ll love Cairns like a local.

Sorry Leigh I’m travelling in a car but thought it was relatively recently.

It got big publicity at the time because both countries took for granted being able to share equipment and staff!

When I first went overseas for a year it was by ship. Both ships were old and passengers mainly from the UK were on a world cruise. No mention of Ship but all about the itinerary.

It happened last year for a short period and that created a problem, yes unusual

It is a big problem when both countries have bushfires at the same time!

I imagine cruising on the same ship all the time would be like Aussies who camp in the same camp spot every year for the long Summer holidays.

Sorry to hear about the out of control bush fires in Western Canada. How frightening for 25,000 having to evacuate at night! I hope fire fighters get the wildfire under control soon.

Yes engaging with passengers is key, a musical famiiy. We had one who knew everyone’s names. If you tried to discretely sneak in late, mid song he would say “where have you been, Marion. We missed you.”

How exciting. Bon Voyage!

Thank you. I just wondered if it was really necessary. I received no individual information.

First piano bar though! 😭😀

I don’t recall being on the same ship twice but I’ve been with the same cruiseline twice and Hurtigruten more timesl. I’d go with them more often if I lived closer to their cruises.

Luminosa’s piano bar was on a through corridor which I didn’t like, not intimate but not hot either.

Good idea. Bon Voyage! I knew someone who did that after he aged and said his around Australia cruise was his best ever. I changed my bookings in advance when MSC changed a cruise to USA from Genoa Italy to departing Germany. It was a shock to me to realise, as I always booked flights and accommodation with my cruises, I would have been greatly inconvenienced. Now I mainly book after final payment!

I love a good piano bar. One where the talented pianist knows tastes of his/her passengers.

Have you considered Coral Expeditions, an excellent small ship coy based in Cairns. You can put your name down for Standby if you are willing to cruise at short notice.