Aussieflyer

We didn't like her when we sailed on her as Dawn Princess back some years ago. She seemed very old then (I can still remember a pervasive sewerage smell in some areas). She put us off sailing Princess (although I have returned when a cruise appeals but MrAF is not interested).

I don't get it - my snip from the SS AU site shows that on a regular P2P it is 15% of the total cruise cost forfeited - so if the deposit is 25%, you will get in effect 10% of the cruise (and the deposit) cost back. I am not understanding the calculation that it is only 3.75% of the cruise cost you forfeit.

This is from the SS AU site. You may have different conditions

My reading is that the deposit forfeited is 15% of the total cruise cost (not of the deposit amount) - for usual P2P this is from the date of deposit until 151 days, for D2D this kicks the 15% kicks in at 150 days, before this, the deposit is refundable less $250 admin fee which becomes a FCC. P2P Prepaid I understand is non-refundable (though can be transferred to FCC? I am not sure on this as it is not very attractive for me to save only few $000 that on the extra 10% on offer with the restrictions.)

This is quite a common restriction in our part of the world on a number of different cruise lines. There are often sales for new bookings only so it's a bit of a gamble but "you pays your money and you takes your chances" as they say. Also it is common that if you cancel you will lose all the deposit. SS is not so bad.

It would also depend on which ship you are on - at Picton we were on Silversea and docked right in the town. A Princess ship in on the same day had to berth round in Shakespeare Bay and had to shuttle in. I visited the Edwin Fox - quite pleasant and also had coffee in town. DH had a kayaking ship excursion which he enjoyed. The Te Papa museum in Wellington is very good. We will be in Bluff in December - so can give some ideas after that. It seems to be a very small place and the ship has very few included excursions. A pity as Oban is much better and I am sad we are not docking there again.

I have done both the Drakes Passage and the Tasman (several times both directions) and certainly the Drakes Passage wins hands down for being rough. In terms of which direction has the rougher seas, both are much or a muchness and I have never noted any difference.

Late to the party Uncle Les but warmest wishes for your birthday. Hope you had a lovely night out (even though the food wasn't as good as under the previous owners). 75 is quite a milestone (though I am not far behind).

I think I would just be sucking up the NCL visa option - at least you know it is done and is correct and no hassles.

It will also depend on whether kec is travelling on an Australian passport. If not things might be very different.

We quite like Celebrity and have sailed on the line quite a bit. Edge is one of the newer ships in the line though haven't been on her. Our first cruise to NZ was on Celebrity Solstice. I hope you enjoy your trip.It can be quite cool in NZ especially. Last time we were there (late Dec) it was puffer jackets and thermals from about Christchurch south but then by the time we got to Burnie in Tas, it was back to T shirts. And it was too rough to get into the sounds so we missed them on that trip.

Australians ask this of ourselves frequently. I guess because we are willing to book the older ships (as that is all that is offered), cruise lines keep dumping them down here. Actually not all cruise lines. P&O Australia take many of the old ones and rebadge them, so the old Sky, Sea, Dawn, Golden Princess sail under the P&O flag (note this is a totally different company to the UK P&O and would be considered 3 star possibly). Some of the other lines are now sending newer (eg Virgin, Viking) ships here but as our mainstream cruising season is limited (October - March/April mostly), there are few options for us for all year sailing in the area. Carnival AU has a couple of ships here all year and also as noted above the P&O AU ones. Princess has Majestic which is not too old but also at times Grand, Sapphire and Diamond who are getting on a bit. Coral P is quite popular even though not new but is being deployed for world cruising at the moment. Silver Muse comes to do a summer season but it is generally one itinerary repeated several times so not much choice. Given the itinerary is really only NZ, for Australians the D2D option is grossly overpriced, even with included Business air. We are on Muse again in December, and we are calling to a few ports we haven't done before. But very disappointed Oban is not included this time. Silversea also does the Kimberly expeditions though I think the ship is Explorer which from memory is the old PA2 (which we went to the Arctic on in 2010).

I thought it was some generic ('special' RCI brand) in pump bottles. Certainly I would be taking my own stuff.

Yes - the socks are clearly marked L and R. They are hiking socks (quarter height) and there are definite differences in the left and the right ones with the way they are made.

I and my adult son are on Splendor the first week of July. We got emails for us to specify vax status and also info on RAT before boarding etc, seems to be the same as what we had last year on Princess, DH and I are on Silversea Muse in Dec out of Auckland - no updates yet on whether RAT needed. As we have all had out 5th shots we should be fine.

We are booked on Muse this December from Auckland to Sydney. One of the deciding factors for us was that this itinerary did not go to Burnie in Tasmania. It's a nice little town but we have been there several times. This cruise also picks up some of the NZ ports we haven't visited before. Sadly Oban is not being visited - last time we really enjoyed the walks there. This year we are going to Bluff instead. Have sailed the sounds before though last time on Muse (2019) weather was too rough and we missed them altogether. In terms of size, we like the Muse with it's variety of places to dine.

MrAF has quite a few pairs of Kathmandu socks - they have L and R marked.

We have been lucky but a friend lost her wallet in Florence when a group of Roma children ran into her - she was distracted trying to read a map and didn't realise her wallet was gone. Also have friends whose 5 star Air BnB was targeted in Europe. And I can empathise with MrWalker - MrAF left a pair of trousers at Machu Picchu lodge. He had to buy another pair at Inkaterra Amazonia where we went later. Back in 2012 and those trousers lasted until late last year when he discovered they don't like being ironed and they melted. And every time we go through Cooma on the way to Jindabyne we look at a motel on the right and say "I wonder if my shoes are still there". That was our honeymoon in 1973 and were his wedding shoes.😂

From memory when I did a Melb - Auckland trip on Golden Princess (so some time ago) it was 4 straight sea days, no ports.

From memory shouldn't get fat stains - you have a 'bib' and there isn't a lot of fat to begin with.

She used to - this year I think there was a segment from Sydney to Perth but nothing shorter. A friend boarded in Perth and sailed across to Cape Town - hasn't been home long. Looks like Cunard is using QE for those short 2 - 4 - 6 day cruises which is a pity as I really didn't warm to her at all.

Thanks Julie, this is very helpful. In Picton depending on what ship you are on you may not have a shuttle. Silversea docked right in the centre and although it is a working port, when we were there in 2019, they roped off a walkway for passengers - so it was very easy. We heard Princess was docked around the corner at the Log Port and needed shuttles into the town. Guess it might depend on the size of the ship docking for some places.

Love QM2 - way better than QE. Interesting to read views on the sea days versus port days - I enjoy sea days but MrAF loathes them - can manage 2 in a row maybe but after that he becomes a bit stir crazy. Guess everyone is different.

Have seen people dropping of luggage there - seems to be very well organised from what I hav seen.

There was a couple on our Antarctic cruise who were travel bloggers - they made money from their website and videos and also had cheap ship accommodation (not a premium cabin though). I checked their site later - if they can make money, anyone can. Videos and photos were done with iPhones so quality was not great and the website was full of typos/spelling errors and dodgy formatting.I had to wonder! A bit like the 'influencers' that seem to be running amok on the net these days.