Grey Nomad

We are going on Dawn Princess next Tuesday and our FCC letter says $100 each USD which will be converted to AUD but our cruise personaliser shows $100 AUD. Does anyone have experience of what happens on board with our account.

We are similar to yourselves and have been to Noumea several times and were not fussed each time by just walking around BUT on New Years Day this year we were there with our 2 adult daughters and son in law who insisted we had to do something because everything was closed. Noumea is a working port so the free shuttle takes you into the centre of town to the information centre. When we got there we decided to do the morning bus tour of 3 and half hours which you buy tickets at info centre. $45 Aud each (paying in Aussie dollars). The tour was excellent and took you out past Lemon Bay and Anse Vata up to lookout and then into country. Could not go to cultural centre as was closed for New Years Day. Overall very good tour and well worth the money.

We have done NZ several times. The first time was 21 days in a campervan with 3 teenagers and we did both Islands. What we learnt from that trip was never try to do both at once. You are far better doing less driving and really enjoying what you are doing rather than trying to see a bit of everything. We were there for 2 weeks last year and after going to Mt Mauganui and staying on the beach there (which you will see when you dock in Tauranga) we headed up to the Northland and stayed at Russell and Paihia. If it is January you will have excellent weather, and plenty of Maori culture at Waitangi. Just be aware that February 8th, 2016 is Waitangi Day and there will be crowds there. It would be absolutely wonderful to experience this but you would need to make sure you have accommodation. South of Auckland cannot beat Rotorua and Taupo. Good site to look at is Wises.co.nz for travel times and directions. We always use this site. Have a wonderful trip.

We were also on Radiance for the Christmas/New Year Cruise and we did really enjoy our cruise being with my 2 adult daughters and son-in-law. BUT we also found that they need a rocket up them by a supervisor as far as cleanliness is concerned. It was much different from Jan 2014 when we were on board. We always had breakfast out on the area on the back of Windjammers and were generally one of the first arrivals of a morning. We went in behind the service counter and got a clean chux and spray bottle and wiped our table clean and then dried it off with another chux. Otherwise tables are smeary and sticky always. We also found it absolutely amazing that most entertainment was held in the Centrum. On New Years Eve all entertainment was there and you couldn't fit in. A lot of guests that we spoke to ended up going to bed early. We were going to bed at 10.30pm and wanted a bottle of water so I went up to Deck 11 and Pool Bar was closed, Sky Bar was closed and Windjammers was closed, so went to Starquest where there was 2 waiters and 6 passengers and no music. Apparently the party started at 12.30 am on Pool Deck and most passengers in bed, But I believe it was well attended by staff.

We stayed for a week at the Quest Harbour Village apartments in Fremantle a couple years back when we did the 8 days Fremantle to Sydney on the Queen Mary and were able to walk on to the beach and watch the ship come in before having to pack up and get ready for boarding. Another very good hotel in Fremantle and not expensive where a friend of our has stayed is the Norfolk Hotel. Prior to that, when we did the Northern Explorer Cruise, we had a week at the caravan park south of Fremantle at Coogee Beach caravan park but we did have a little getz to get around and then dropped it back at Avis in Perth on the morning before walking to the terminal. I think the car hire was only about $55 per day. We like to do a bit of self catering while we are away as it saves on the budget and allows us to save the big eating until we are on board.

Very good review Nalla. Your Sydney selections seemed very good. It is a shame you were not more aware of what Auckland has to offer. Devenport is not on an island it is over on the north side of the Auckland bridge. If you had been able to hire a car for the day you would have had the opportunity to go over the bridge and do the northern beaches and the kauri museums and wineries and another day go to west of Auckland into the ranges and once again wineries and beautiful scenery.

Your question 'what to expect' cannot be answered. Because it is something different everytime you go and totally unexpected. It is wonderful.

We stayed at Mt Maunganui in a campervan last April and had the best time. The beach is beautiful and is where the Cruise Ships come in. The Mount itself is a great walk, we did it every morning. What a great way to start the day. A perfect place to have a lazy day on the sand.

Don't forget, flying up you gain 1 and half hours but coming back you lose one and half hours.

We have been to Ayres Rock several times as my daughter worked and lived there for 4 years. It is a 3 and half hour flight from Sydney. So leave here approx 10.30 am flight arrive 12.30 flight (different time slot being Central Australia time). Free shuttle to resort. If you didn't want to pay top dollar at Sails in the Desert you can stay at Outback Pioneer or Desert Gardens Hotel. Also Emu Walk Apartments is self catering. For buying food there is an IGA. Food can be eaten at any hotel, Outback Pioneer has a BBQ and Bistro which is cheapest. You don't need to pay the high costs of tours to the "Rock" but the 'Sounds of Silence' Dinner is extremely good. Other than that hire a car and drive yourself the 18 klms to the 'Rock" and walk around it, go to the information centre, you would then have time to drive to the Olgas which is all part of the overall experience. You will have to pay the National Parks entry fee. Dinner back at Yulara where the resorts are. All Voyages Resorts. Have dinner in one of the Resort dining rooms or dinner at one of the eateries in the shopping centre. Plenty of information at http://www.ayresrockresort.com.au. It would be very difficult to do it in less than 2 nights. The National Parks pass is for 2 days so you could drive out in the afternoon you arrive or just taken in the ambience of being in the centre of Australia. Free shuttle around the resort. It is hot in summer but the heat is a very dry heat and not hot and sticky. Hope this helps a bit.

I agree with all of the above as I have been on many cruises out of Sydney Fremantle and Auckland. My only piece of advice would be to plan carefully and do not try to put too much in to your itinerary. It is important to may be do less but really enjoy what you do rather than hurriedly do a more intensive itinerary. For example, it is pointless to fly quickly one day to Barrier Reef, spend 1 day there and then fly somewhere else the next day. You are not really taking the time to enjoy all that is there.

I have travelled on Radiance as well as other ships with a CPAP machine and I always keep a short extension cord in the pocket of the CPAP machine bag. I generally just roll it up and leave it on top of the machine during the day so it is out of the way. No trouble ever.

On Radiance in January, we were having lunch at the rear of Windjammers and my husband asked the waiter for cider and he ended up getting a waiter from the Pool Bar to come because they thought he wanted soda with apple in it. Once the Pool Bar realised what he had ordered he went a got him a cider from the Pool Bar and brought it out the back to us. It was strongbow. So yes they do have it but not at every bar and I believe it is part of the beer package.

First of all Raina. Your posts have been absolutely wonderful . Hope all is going well with Sarah. Secondly you are so lucky to be able to do this trip with your Dad (andy). I have been reading all this since the beginning and have loved all the posts. We are on Radiance on 23 December with our daughter, eldest daughter and son-in-law. Your blog is wonderful as this is a cruise we want to do. Secondly Thanks to goody cruising for some fantastic photos that we were able to show the family. Enjoy the rest of your cruise Raina.

I have always taken a small extension lead on all my cruises and never been queried. I use it for my CPAP machine and the power points on cruise ships are always on the opposite side of the room from the head of the bed. I leave one permanently in my CPAP bag as I never know where power points might be in hotels or wherever.

I know what the rules are but what I am really wanting to know is what happens in reality. If they are organizing a tour to a wine area do they relax the rules at all.

Sent from my GT-N7105T using Forums mobile app

Has anybody done a tour to Hunter Valley when docked at Newcastle and bought wine to have later on their balcony. Is it taken off you and kept to the end or do they let you take it on. I am talking about Radiance of the Seas.

Hi, don't know if this helps anyone but we went on P&O's Iberia for our honeymoon to Auckland and South Pacific leaving Sydney on 13th February, 1970 and then we did a New Year cruise to Suva and back on ORSOVA leaving Sydney on 27th December, 1971 for 7 nights. I just put these dates on the form for Princess when we claimed our Elite status and had no problem.

We arrived back on Sapphire Princess on 26th February at The Overseas Terminal and were in Purple 5 Group which was due to disembark at 7.45 am. We had to go to Fusion Club at 7.45 am and we were on the wharf greeting our daughter and son-in-law by 8.00 am. All passengers with domestic flights or tours were scheduled to leave the ship before us. We were also told that all passengers would be off the ship by 10.00 am.