Aussieflyer

Line up is not confirmed yet so could be in with a chance 😍

Though Princess started up in June which is getting on for 8 months. Other lines didn't arrive till October but should have had the staffing and supply issues sorted as most isn't from AU or NZ. And having been cruising overseas for many months at least before, I would have thought they would have ironed out most issues. The biggest impact would have been the reduced pax allowed on the earlier cruises. Princess has been fine but the QE one just seemed to be under-staffed in the bars. Very slow service. As I know you have an interest in sport Pushka, are you considering the QE Legends of Sport event cruise next year.🙂

Oh and for the sports tragics among us/you - QE has a Legends of Sport cruise in early 2024. So far only Brett Lee is confirmed but it could be an interesting week of they get a few big names. Pity that most of the legends from my days have passed on.

Off topic - We very rarely go down the coast but will do a bit of digging on the motel and restaurant. We went to Rockpool last September (one of the few places open on a Monday night) - it was pretty average though at least we didn't have a Neil Perry salad like on QF. If in Singapore I thoroughly recommend Odette (went there for the significant birthday last year) - superb 3 star Michelin. Back on topic - Where is the new cruise you have booked? I have just sent a query to Silversea for a Muse cruise in December.

Oh and while I am whinging I might as well add the internet - as a Gold level, I used to get an allocation of time (maybe 90 mins?) for the internet. This has no changed to money off a paid package rather than free minutes. An 'enhancement' I didn't want - so didn't bother and just used mobile in Melb and Burnie.😁

Glad you had great service. We really tossed up about giving our waiter anything extra. For example, he would place the plate down then rush off before we could even say thank you and we did detect a bit of an eye roll when we wanted cheese after dessert. We was asked to ask the sommelier to come as we wanted port. He didn't speak to the sommelier until we were finished. So really he was sub-par. Maitre d' was around a lot and very personable. Perhaps because it was a short cruise Grills pax were using the lounge more. Lucia seemed to be run off her feet on the one time we were there. We were a bit lazy and would make our own G&Ts and drink them on the balcony so any cocktails tended to be after dinner. We didn't really go 'off menu' - there was mostly something interesting on offer though we did have crepes Suzette one night and of course duck a l'orange - quite a spectacle. We were at the opposite end of the ship - on deck 5 overlooking the wake (we love the back end of the boat, as they say). Interesting other people had similar issues at times though. I have a feeling QE is going in for refurbishment this year so hope they attend to some of the problems (like a jerky lift). There were three Matt Moran dishes in QG one night - main was a steak dish and was really just a lump of fillet. I got the feeling he didn't really want to be there. Mark Olive has happy to engage with everyone - took him ages to get anyway as he kept getting bailed up. You might be interested in next year's culinary cruise - 7 days this time and includes Adelaide as well as Melbourne. Karen Martini is listed as the headline so far (though I certainly wouldn't call her a top shelf chef). I know of someone who recently did a trans Atlantic literary cruise and the program was so packed with activities you had to choose what to attend. This one was nothing like it (perhaps that was more like what I was expecting). There were no shipboard activities on the theme on port days - the expectation was that you took a shore excursion (of which only a few were food centred).

Oh and maybe a change to the previous cruise? Facemasks were only recommended inside and in crowded areas. They were mandatory for the terminal and on shore excursion transport.

It would be good if auto-correct didn't - the pastry chef's name is Darren Purchese. (https://www.burchandpurchese.com.au). He demonstrated Gin and Tonic scones. Mark Olive (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Olive) demonstrated barramundi in paper bark.

We have just disembarked and are home again after the shorter Culinary Cruise. We enjoyed it but probably won't be rushing back to QE. The ambience just wasn't there and she is not a patch on her bigger sister QM2. Like Mareblu we were Queens Grill but our actual waiter was very meh. He was on the way home after this cruise and whilst service was efficient, it seemed perfunctory. The chap who was to take over from him was much better in relating to diners. One of the main problems we found with Cunard and Grills is that you do have your own individual table, but you really end up eating in the same restaurant for most of the time, which gets a bit tedious (compared with Silver Muse which has many included restaurants). Our butler and assistant were fabulous and kept our tonic and ice topped up and the cabin immaculate. Unfortunately no hot water on the first morning and a toilet that didn't flush on one day didn't help. We thought the shows were average - though it was lovely to bag a box where you had the area to yourself. For the actual culinary cruise, whilst it didn't affect us, there were many angry passengers who had booked the Matt Moran degustation only to find that an IT glitch had wiped all the bookings. This was only available on 2 nights so there were people who thought they had bookings who missed out and others who made a very late booking who got in. Darren Purchase and Mark Olive both did demonstrations which were excellent. Matt Moran did not which was a pity. There was also a meat demo by one of the Cunard people with a rep from Meat and Livestock Australia, who did not shut up. We didn't do the wine tasting or gin experience but we did go to some panel discussions which were so-so, mostly because of the person hosting them. Unlike Mareblu, we tended to visit the Commodore Club after dinners rather than the Garden Lounge. Lovely to watch the sunset. The Grills lounge was packed on the only occasion we visited and like many of the bars, there seemed to be a lack of staff to both take and order and then make the drink itself. Service was generally pretty slow (but probably was better than the lifts which were woeful!). But then again, a day on the water beats my lounge room hands down and we did have a good time.

Not sure if things have changed since we visited Hobbiton (and it was great) but you may need to book a time for the tour. We were on a day trip from Rotorua and had a dedicated bus to the site and guide but saw lots of people waiting for their bus and tour guide. I would make that the first activity as it’s about 1 hr 30 from Tauranga and you will spend a few hours there. The port of Tauranga is a bit out of the way - Mount Maunganui near the port has walks.

From what I have seen recently for cruises over 2023 (AU based) it seems to be only suites and AQ that have the 'always included' included.

Agree Concierge doesn't look like the extras are worth it unless the difference in cost with the balcony is small. Aqua class is different though as they have their own restaurant. Haven't done concierge - usually AQ or Suite in the past though SIL and her son had a concierge next to our cabin on one cruise and our butler would sling them a few extras like priority tender etc which was lovely for them.

We do fly QF for the most part internationally, though sometimes more for convenience than anything else. We usually do not fly economy internationally so some of the pain is lessened. The dinner experience looks like it was the 'supper' service, designed as a small meal before sleep. I know that QF was doing this ex SIN before the pandemic (and even business did not have a full dinner menu). It sounded like a very unpleasant experience though and a terrible end to your cruise.

As noted above, apologies. And yes some free drinks between 5 - 7 at any bars according to the X site.

I stand corrected - apologies

I am Elite but haven't been on X for a while. In the past there was no dedicated lounge on most ships but free cocktails and canapés in one of the big areas in the evening. Looks like they have followed RCI and the free drinks are now available at all bars between 5 and 7pm (RCI had a max of 4 when I was last one them some years ago). I wondered why you were suggesting resordanis pop into the lounge when they looked like they weren't elite at all. That was just my question.

Which lounge are you referring to - I thought only Elite and above had a few free drinks included between 5 and 7pm. Although gratuities are included in $AU pricing, this does not include bars or spa (18%). resordanis - assume the 'gratuities included' in the drink package refer to bar grats not the daily service ones.

That sounds exactly the same as the Princess cruises I was on last year (three between August and November). No mask needed on the outside decks though recommended where it was crowded. Cunard seem to be the same as the others.

Re the drinks package - we looked (briefly) at it though at $US70 pppd, even though our cruise is only 5 nights, that would make it over $A1,000 for us. There is no way we could get through that much booze, specialty coffee etc. 🤣

You were very fortunate. We did a similar itinerary in 2019 and it was very cold. I bought a puffer jacket and a new thermal in Christchurch. Eating at the Hot Rock grill (which did have plastic covers) we had rugs supplied and we were well wrapped up. The only times the weather was warm was the first couple of days out of Auckland and when we reached Burnie.

From memory last time I disembarked in NZ, there were quite a few passengers lined up after having been sniffed out by the quarantine dogs - and I saw many had food stuffs they were trying to bring off the ship.

No, that is incorrect. The ABF site notes specifically that some foods can be brought in without declaring them - chocolate and confectionery and (some) roasted coffee are included: https://www.abf.gov.au/entering-and-leaving-australia/can-you-bring-it-in/categories/goods-without-declaring

That's all you can do. There is no 'playbook' of how any one reacts to treatment. Thinking of you.

A check in to say hope you are travelling OK (pardon the pun) Uncle Les. Not sure if treatment was kept up over the Christmas break - a bit of a two -edged sword as if it was, you can feel pretty ordinary but if they gave you a rest, whilst you might feel a bit better, it prolongs the course of treatment. Hope you are managing OK and family and friends can rally round for you. All the best J

Though there isn't a spot to declare many foodstuffs. Unless what a passenger is bringing in fits into one of the categories the answer will be 'No'.