jajsmom

5 hours ago, Relaxing Robbies said:

We visited Brisbane on Coral Princess in March.  We did not take the shuttle, but this shuttle was available at a cost of AUD $39.95.

Thank you all!

Relaxing Robbies, that is EXACTLY the information I was looking for!  We plan to go to the Lone Pine Sanctuary and do some sightseeing in town.  and it looks like we can do all of that with this transportation, without the exorbitant Princess fees for the excursion, and without the ability to see more in Brisbane.

We're going to Australia with Princess this October.  Specifically the port of Brisbane, there is a new port for docking which is a good half hour away from the city center.  There is no public transportation from the port. Does Princess offer a shuttle, and if so, how much?  Also has anyone used taxi/uber from that location?  Trying to plan our own excursions, but want to be sure we can make it on time.  Thanks!

11 minutes ago, possum52 said:

It probably is better do it on a ship excursion. I assume you are on Majestic Princess for February 4th at Yorkey's knob? If so you are there from 8am to 6pm. 

If you decide to do it yourself, there may be privately booked tours or you could catch a taxi from Yorkey's knob to the Skyrail terminal at Smithfield and do the Skyrail to Kuranda and catch the train back to Cairns. Cruise ships usually have shuttles from there back to Yorkey's Knob but you need to check all the details and do a bit of research on what is best for you.

Thank you.  We're usually do it yourself people, but for these cruises, it seems better to use the cruise excursions for timing in ports.  For this port, we're on the Royal Princess in October, with port times also from 8-6.

Adding on.  Since for us, Yorkeys Knob is a tender port, is it better to do this as an excursion through the cruise line?  Or would we be fine transporting ourselves to the train and skyway on our own.  Thanks.

Did both of our Australia and New Zealand eta's today. Easy to do the Australia one on the app, but the NZ one would only go through on the computer.  Final cost for the two of us was about $100 USD.  At least that is done now, so we can start booking excursions.

Thank you both!

After not being able to get through on the NZeta app, my husband decided to do it online.  In addition to a NZ$23 charge for the application, he was being charged a NZ$35 fee for IBL, which is an environmental fee for visitors.  I have never seen this mentioned before.  The only thing he was not sure of when filling out the application was whether he was in transit or visiting NZ.  We will be on a round-trip cruises from Sydney, with all of our ports in NZ.  Thank you for any insight.

59 minutes ago, perakcruiser said:

I often have seen very large groups sitting together in the MDR, they make the arrangement. I don´t know if you have to inform MSC already before the cruise (I guess your bookings are linked together) or if it is handled after boarding. Better call MSC.

 

Concerning the buffet, if you are willing to walk to the farthest away tables then you will easily enough tables to sit together🙂 

Thanks.  Travel agent has linked us for dinner, but we will head towards the back of the buffet for embarkation.

Thank you!

This will be our 25th cruise, but the first on MSC (on Seaside.)  On other lines, we generally eat in the dining room for the first day lunch, but we are not in YC, and it does not appear that there are any dining rooms open for breakfast or lunch.  We are also traveling with a large group (14).  It looks like there are two different buffets on the ship.  Is one preferable over the other?  And will we have better luck finding seating for a large group?  We do not all have to be at the same table, but close to each other would be great.  Also, our group has all different loyalty levels, ranging from no loyalty up to Diamond.  Will everyone have very different boarding times, even though we will all be arriving together? And what time are staterooms generally open?  Thanks!

Thank you all!  I told you this always confuses me, even using the correct letters!  So I can book a 2025 cruise then, as long as I book it by next December.  Thank you!

This always confuses me. We purchased FCCs in December 2022.  Do these need to be used and sailed by December 2024, or do they just have to be applied to a cruise by then.  Thanks!

Along the same lines, are hair dryers in the staterooms?  We will be on Seaside, and someone recently told me that the MSC ship they went on did not have hairdryers.  Thanks.

On 3/30/2023 at 11:25 PM, Te Aroha said:

Hi, jajsmom

 

I live in Matamata, AKA Hobbiton and thought that this may help you to see what is available. This is the official Hobbiton site and has links to arrange tours with other operators from both Auckland and Tauranga. Some cruise lines also run tours.

 

Tour Information

https://www.hobbitontours.com/en/experiences/hobbiton-movie-set-tour/

 

Transfers

https://www.hobbitontours.com/en/plan-visit/transfers/

 

Enjoy your visit 🙂

Thank you!

Thanks.  It looks like we're up to 14 people now.

We are sailing MSC for the first time with a large group.  We're currently at 12, and may be adding a few more couples.  Will we all be seated together (reservations linked) or will we be divided into smaller tables.  Thanks.

On 3/3/2023 at 5:56 PM, 1kaper said:

 

I was not impressed on the Divina that did have a “designated” walking/running track that went through the smoking area. 
One side of the ship was very narrow and everyone was there watching us dock at ocean cay. It was very crowded. 
I thought I was in the wrong place but asked a crew member to be sure. 
 

My friend ran on Ocean Cay the next morning but I swam instead. Not sure if mileage but you should be able to get a run in as long as it’s not a super long run. 

Thanks!  I am a distance runner (minimum 5 miles on a trip) so running on a treadmill is just painful! I will try to run on the island, even if I have to make multiple laps.

Thanks for your responses!  I did not see any designated areas.  I've been cruising for years, and prefer the older ships that had dedicated walking and running areas.  the newer ships seem to have forgotten about them.  How are we supposed to manage our food intake on a cruise? 😂

I did a search and could not find any information.  Will be on MSC Seaside.  Other than a treadmill, is there any place to run on deck?  It does not appear to have a promenade deck, and I do not see a running path up top. Also, is there any path on Ocean Cay to run?  And if there is, does anyone know the milage?  Thanks in advance.

1 hour ago, Over from NZ said:

If you didn't want to go to the outer reef but still wanted to technically go to the reef and do some snorkeling (it can be a couple of hours across open water to get to the outer reef); I reckon this excursion was one of the best we've ever done on a cruise - https://wavedancerlowisles.com/

Turtles, coral, the works! And such a well-run excursion. We did it from Port Douglas. That left us the chance to explore Cairns from Yorkeys Knob. At Airlie Beach (Whitsundays) we took the excursion to Daydream Island for the day. That was awesome too. Got to use all their facilities, the pools etc. Great buffet lunch. https://www.daydreamisland.com/ 

 

Thank you.  It's good to see actual tour recommendations. I do not see as many specific companies recommended as I do for other cruise ports around the world.

Thank you both!  I'm learning so much here.

16 hours ago, possum52 said:

Hobbiton is on the North Island and Christchurch is on the South Island.  It is likely to be a tour to the area where parts of the movies were filmed perhaps Mt Sunday where the city of Edoras was built and filmed. 

Once again, helpful.  That's good to know.

16 hours ago, possum52 said:

From Airlie Beach, it is almost impossible to do the GBR by yourself. On the ship's excursions, you will be picked up directly from the ship and returned there which means you don't have to tender in and out to the port which saves alot of time and if you happen to be late back the ship will wait for you. 

 

I really like Airlie Beach - it really depends if you want to snorkle, be involved in other water activiities or want to sight see, on what you decide to do. 

 

Port Douglas - there is Hartley's Crocodile Adventures. Or just spend the day wandering the town, having lunch or a drink close to the beach. 

Thanks!  It's sounds like a port adventure to GBR from Airlie Beach is looking good.  We live in Florida, so we have our own resident alligators in the pond behind our house.  But wandering around Port douglas does not sound so bad either.

DH is a big Lord of the Rings Fan, so Hobbiton is a must visit for us.  Our cruise has three different ports that have excursions there (Christchurch/Lyttleton, Wellington, and Tauranga.)  Which is the preferred port to do this excursion?  Can we do this privately, or must we do it through the cruise line?  And tour recommendations please if we can do this on our own.  Thank you!

11 hours ago, beatleman said:

All the Ports are Tender ports so time at the stops is vital in your plans. Most boats leave the 3 above mentioned ports at 8am to 9am returning around 4pm so private excursions are a problem if your time is tight. The trip to the GBR takes about 70 to 90 minutes. The Cruiseline booking has the advantage of a pickup and return to the ship and takes the stress out of it. Port Douglas or Airlie are my picks to leave from, which leaves Cairns for a trip to Kuranda rain forest.Hope this helps.

Thank you.  I was thinking of the rainforest in Cains, but still not sure which of the other two ports (I know they are tenders) would be better to leave from.  I think we have to go with the ship excursions. What would you do in either Airlie Beach or Port Douglas if you did not go to the reef?