reedy8

Do the holiday cruises have something extra? Why are they so much more expensive?

I was a bit confused when I read this post, aren't all cruises holidays. Then I remembered (silly me) to those in the US time spent away anywhere having a good time is called a vacation where to us its a holiday. Ahh the complexities of the English language

Hello

 

This is only my second cruise (apart from a River Cruise) and my first on Princess. The other was on Royal in a Grand Suite thanks to the upgrade paid for by a kind benefactoress (which may have spoilt me for life) though I realise that Sea Princess is one of their older ships with quite small cabins so am taking that into account.

 

I have some questions, more perhaps from Australian Cruisers as Sea Princess does spend the warmer months in our waters.

 

I have read they have a happy hour, buy 1 get 1 drink for $1. Can you tell me what time the happy hour is please.

 

I'm confused about restaurants. The list of restaurants on Sea Princess on their .http://princess.com.au/ website doesn't match the restaurants on the deck plan.

 

Included Restaurants has:Anytime (new from September) Traditional, Chocolate Journeys, Horizon Court, Terrace Grill, Amuleto Cafe & Room Service

 

However, the deck plan has Cafe Cornice and lists the Buffet and Horizon as separate restaurants.

 

Is the Amuleto just a new name for Cafe Cornice?

 

Thanks

Back from the little 4 day South West cruise, was good. What I particuarly liked about Princess over RC was all the lounges you could sit in to read, play cards, have a drink with friends, much better than RC. Bit rough coming back around the south west cape but thats pretty normal. They still had BOGO $1, the pizza was very good and I have heard it will still be there after the reno currently being done in Singas but they will be adding more Italian food to the menu. Alas, after the refit we will get the Sun Princess in the west, the newly renovated Sea Princess will go east. Isn't that always the way.

We wanted to see some non coastal areas of Australia and we are looking at adding the 4 day Indian Pacific rail trip post cruise from Sydney to Perth. Has anyone done this trip and do you think it would be worth the extra investment in time and $$?

If you can book ahead, or are eligible for a seniors discount then its more reasonable.

Thanks - that is very helpful. Could you ask your friend about Internet access - are there any perks available on RCC. I know Celebrity does for suite passengers according to my reading. Thanks again.

Hello, checked but no, no special price however, just before the sail date RC sent out an email to passengers (perhaps all, she doesn't know) offering a special deal on internet access.

We were lucky enough to nab a GS on Explorer of the Seas for a great price. I have been busy trawling this site to familiarize myself with the various extra perks to the point where confusion is setting in !!! We have decided not to get a drink package and will avail ourselves of the Happy Hour drinks in the special room. Does anyone have a menu of what's available ?? Also are there any internet perks for suite passengers ?? I understand there are different eating areas for us - is this only breakfast and lunch ?? Is there anything we should not miss as this may be our one and only time in a suite ??? !!!!;):D

I have sailed on Explorer in GS1584 on deck 10, but not from Sydney, it was the first sailing to Australia Singapore to Perth nearly 2 years ago. It was my only RC cruise so far unfortunately and likely to be the only time I'll ever get to be in a suite :(. We were 3 friends and the upgrade was a gift from one of us. (nice friend huh!)

We could eat breakfast (made to order) in Chops grill, the Concierge lounge was opened about 2 - 3 hours in the evening (from what I remember) so if you timed dinner well you could have a pre-dinner drink, walk out of the lounge with a drink in your hand to take to dinner and then pop back in for a pre theatre drink. The concierge was great, nothing was too much trouble and he had a couple of cupboards of DVDs you could borrow if you just wanted a quiet night in. He would escort us to the front of the line for tenders, to prime theatre seats, it was really lovely yo feel special. A FULL menu for the next days lunch & dinner in the dinning room was left in your suite the night before so if you wished you could order room service. At the time, I don't know if they since changed it, our suite card let us in to the Diamond Lounge as well. We didn't use that during their 'happy hours' as it was often full, but it had a really nice outdoor area behind it where we could sit in a shaded area and talk, perhaps play cards/games that was quite quiet and they served light snacks and afternoon tea etc. There was a bar just outside it if we wanted a drink while we sat there. The concierge lounge is 'inside' and has no windows. The VIP pool area is very nice but there is absolutely no shade, so was hardly used.

The same friend went on the Voyager in March (South pacific) again in a suite which you probably know is the sister ship, exactly the same, just a metre shorter I think so if you have any specific questions I'd be happy to ask her and report.

Just off the Sea Princess yesterday and was surprised to see that she still doesn't have the IC as yet .

After talking with several different crew members during our cruise it became very apparent that there is still no plans for the IC in the near future.

Hard to believe when this is the ship for world cruising.

 

Items on the agenda for the scheduled dry dock later this month in Singapore.

New Princess beds.

Major cable refit (Ocean Medallion ?)

Changes to Cafe Corniche (pizza) deck 8

Minor repaint & hull clean.

 

Cheers

Johhno.

I was off the Sea Princess on Sunday too. I went to the services desk and asked staff what was being done in the renovation and they couldn't be specific, I got the impression they didn't really know. They actually painted our balcony on Friday (6th) hoping we were going into Albany. I hope the new beds include the linen, my quilt cover was very badly stained and torn at the bottom and the pillow cases were far from white. I really hope they improve the 80's decor in the cabins, it looked like a 3* hotel room.

The public areas were much better than the cabins, I particularly like that they had lots of lounge areas to relax in, great library though a bit hidden away.

Hoping they don't take the pizza's away from Cafe Corniche, they were very nice.

Just heard on the news - Carnival are coming back, albeit with the Sun Princess at the moment. Our leader Mark McGowan and Carnival seem to have struck a deal - and there is work going on at the moment in Broome so the big ships can dock - and work is being discussed re updating the Fremantle Port. Needless to say, I am Lizzie half a tale - so if anyone got all this from the beginning - please post.

Pity I don't have my dancing penguins on my signature - ' cos I could happy dance :D:D:D

Lets hope the other main group decides to do some WA sailings too.

Perhaps the other state Governments will do the same with their cruise terminals, make an investment in upgrading the docks so more ships can come, more tourist $$'s and more spent by the lines filling their freezers & pantries in Australia. If I was in Sydney where the lines complain about being unable to get a berth I would pay a Temporary small 'port upgrade' charge to help pay for it. We might even get some overflow here in WA with more 'round the top' or 'round the bottom' cruises.

You won't see a discount in pricing, as the offer isn't a literal discount.

 

 

The offer is a 1 class upgrade - in certain categories, and only within that category e.g. you can't pay for the top oceanview and get a balcony. So if for example you had chosen the lowest grade inside, or outside, as just a couple of examples, you would pay the same as retail price as you haven't taken the upgrade and there is no discount. How it does work is that you can select a grade 9 cabin, and pay the grade 10 price for example.

 

 

To avail this offer, you should advise your travel agent or Celebrity direct, and they can adjust the pricing for the cabin you selected, if the selections qualify. Limited availability e.g. if there is only one cabin type in that grade available, and that it meets the included categories can both restrict your ability to get this offer.

I didn't know that, is the cabin upgrade based on status?

Can anyone confirm if they still print the cruise compass on Ovation?

You might have to ask that on the main RCCL page, she doesn't leave Singapore on her way to Australia until the 23rd of November.

I can confirm that Sea Princess, which we disembarked from in Perth this morning still has buy one get one for $1 drinks available. Don't know what will happen after the cruise that departs today to Singapore for refurbishment.

Am I being naive ?

Can anyone else believe that ALL cabins, in ALL categories, on ALL of the next FOUR cruises from Fremantle to Sydney are completely SOLD OUT !!!

These cruises sail between 19 October 2017 (can believe that one) to 23 March 2019, with two in 2018.

 

What is going on here Princess?

 

I rang Princess to check and the operator said that the cruises out of Fremantle sell out quickly......but I cannot believe they already have something like 10,000 bookings already made for those cruises.

What do other members think ?

 

 

 

Sorry for the capital letters, but I am infuriated that my holiday over to Fremantle cannot be booked because I cannot get a cruise home to Sydney. :evilsmile:

 

Rosee

A Perth Travel agent has a number of cabins on Ovation of the Seas on cruise from Singapore to Sydney next October and have advertised a segment Perth to Sydney (then on to NZ & back to Sydney if you want) if you are interested in another line. I think it was about $1599. (last Saturdays paper has now been recycled). Can't name the travel agent, but its the name of a suburb bordered by Canning Hway to the west of Attadale. Discovered on a Sea Princess cruise that I arrived back in Perth on today that going around Cape Naturaliste towards Albany is often quite a rough bit of ocean though.

LOL, Emerald City?

'We're off to see the wizard,the wonderful wizard of ............"

That would have been a better hint wouldn't it.

Hi there

I wonder if anyone can recommend something like the above. Only looking at a week or so and not having to climb into high bunk

Many thanks

Dustytrails

Cruise Critic recently published this article that listed ships that do single:

https://www.cruisecritic.com.au/articles.cfm?ID=419

Its a lot of work though to look through it and find the ships in each brand that actually sail from Australia let alone Sydney.

Ovation of the Seas is based in Australia from about October till march/April and she has 28 single cabins, but they go very quickly. If you look at their website you can see which cruises depart/return to Sydney.

I think Norwegian Jewel, which is based part-time in Sydney from November 2017 has a few, but not many.

Cunard has some ships that visit Australia. QE2, and QM2 both have 9 single cabins but the brand is pretty pricey.

Azamara often has specials where they only charge 125% of the twin cost but they are also expensive.

Some of the other line do as well but they don't come here.

I often look at a website that shows the price for single,(you are paying for the whole cabin) twins, triples & quads, but we aren't supposed to name agents on this site. You don't have to book with them but its great for research as you can easily put in the departure port, month of travel etc so you can at least help him with itineraries.

Hmmm, how can I hint.

Judy Garland met a wizard there. cruising

Its 'Proudly Australian Owned and Operated

DW & I currently have 3 cruised booked. B2B on Carnival Spirit next month (October 2017) and 10 nights on RCI's Voyager OTS In February 2018. All three Roll Calls are very quiet.

 

Carnival Spirit 9th October 2017 has only 8 posts by 4 members. We did not have enough registered for a Meet and Mingle before the cut off. I'm sure this has happened in the past but this is the first time I've experienced it.

 

Carnival Spirit Roll Call 17/10/17-28/10/17 is faring slightly better with 19 posts by 7 members. There are 22 signed up for the Meet and Mingle so we might still have a chance of reaching 25.

 

 

Voyager Of The Seas February 15th 2018 has 43 posts and only 17 signed up for the Meet and Mingle.

 

 

In the past I have built quire a rapport with those on my roll call and it's been great to finally meet them in person on the ship. I'm wondering if Roll Calls and Meet and Mingles are going the way of all flesh or if these are isolated examples. Perhaps there have always been busy roll calls and quiet ones. Perhaps my presence on these 3 Roll Calls is the common factor. :eek:

 

 

What do you think?

Therer are none at all on my upcoming Sea Princess cruise next Wednesday 4/10 prap's as it just a 4 night one.

See subject

 

tia

That's why Australians like to have kettles in their cabins on cruises, even instant is better.

Burgmeister - thank you for posting this thread. I hope BOGO is available on our Regal trip next month, but I will budget extra just in case. I had no problem deducing what "binned" means, but appreciate the explanation.

 

I'm curious: Does the language barrier tend to work both ways or is it mostly we Americans who can't understand English? Even in America we have divisions of certain words - pop vs soda comes to mind in my region. I'm familiar with lift/elevator, torch/flashlight, and boot/car trunk (and now realize that bin is British). Are there other terms - especially cruise related - that would be helpful to know both versions?

Yes, it works both ways. yesterday I saw on another post that someone had suggested to take a 'sharpie' to mark things. To us it might sound like something that might be dangerous so I did what I usually do and asked our old friend 'Mr Google" . A 'sharpie' ended up being a black marker pen. Another was a spray often recommended by cruisers to take creases out of clothing. We don't have the brand here, but I found a subsititute in the laundry section at Coles (a supermarket in Australia) in a little spray bottle. As for food, for us a biscuit is your cookies, but your biscuits are like warm scones often served with fried chicken. Yum. I found this out in of all places at a KFC in Indonesia.

hello fellow cruisers! Help please. I'm flying into Sydney the day before my March 10 cruise and staying one day after as the flight leaves too early on debarkation day. Princess wants to charge me over $1200 for two nights. When I pull the hotel up on Expedia it's only in the $230 CAD range...I'm already paying more for the cruise being single but it looks like they are trying with the hotel. How difficult and expensive is it to get to hotel then ship, then hotel then airport? Thanks!

Hi Chrisygirl

The only Princess Cruise (according to their website) leaving Sydney on 10th March is a NZ cruise on the Diamond Princess. The cruise schedule on the Port Authority website says the Diamond leaves from the Overseas Passenger Terminal so you have quite a few hotels to choose from. (not like White Bay).

Just have a look on one of the major booking engines like wotif/trivago/booking.com etc and they will show quite a few hotels near the dock, find one in your price range, (look on tripadvisor for reviews) get the address then use google earth to zoom in on the dock. A box should come up at the side that gives directions, asks if you want to walk or drive etc and you put in from & to and it will give you walking directions, with a little walking map and the time it takes to walk there. Some ogf the hotel booking engines do that too. Its very helpful. The google map will also show you the 2 nearby train stations, one right near the Terminal.

yes its 220 total for upgrading from junior suite to grand suite

Here are the upgrade details from Junior to all other suites. You are treated very well and your gold suite guest card gets you into the Concierge Club for pre dinner drinks at no charge. (It also opened the door to the Diamond Lounge on Explorer which is the same class). For $220 all up, I'd do it. The Grand Suites are lovely.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com.au/contentWithHero.do?pagename=enhanced_program_for_suite_guests&wuc=AUS

DISCLAIMER:

Yes, I know that Singapore is not in Australia or New Zealand!!! But so many of us go there, I thought I would try my luck and post here as well to see if I get more response then on the Asian Ports!

 

So, I am wondering if anyone can recommend a reasonably priced hotel in Singapore for 4, (2 adults, 2 children).

 

We usually go for the rooms with 2 doubles or 2 queens as the girls can share a bed, but are really struggling to find much. Most hotels max out at 3 in a room. I really don't want to go down the option of 2 rooms as Singapore is expensive already!! I was willing to pay $200 but have Buckley's hope of finding anything in that price.

 

My husband so kindly offered to look and came up with a room with bunks and shared bathroom facilities....................so I am now coming to you for help! Please, I cannot do his well thought our suggestion.

The Bliss Hotel near China Town has family quads, a double and 2 singles and the room contains 2 rooms. I looked at early Oct and it was from $249 a night one one of the multi hotel booking engines

DISCLAIMER:

Yes, I know that Singapore is not in Australia or New Zealand!!! But so many of us go there, I thought I would try my luck and post here as well to see if I get more response then on the Asian Ports!

 

So, I am wondering if anyone can recommend a reasonably priced hotel in Singapore for 4, (2 adults, 2 children).

 

We usually go for the rooms with 2 doubles or 2 queens as the girls can share a bed, but are really struggling to find much. Most hotels max out at 3 in a room. I really don't want to go down the option of 2 rooms as Singapore is expensive already!! I was willing to pay $200 but have Buckley's hope of finding anything in that price.

 

My husband so kindly offered to look and came up with a room with bunks and shared bathroom facilities....................so I am now coming to you for help! Please, I cannot do his well thought our suggestion.

We had a similar problem finding a pre-cruise hotel in November 15, we needed triple share 3 beds and because hotel rooms are quite small in Singas it was a real battle. We found with much searching the Furama City Centre, its a very short walk either way to Clarke Key MRT (under a shopping centre where you can find a few places for breaky rather than expensive hotel breakfasts) and China Town MRT. Although it doesn't show on their website, they had a triple share that was quite big and would easily have fitted a rollaway as the room was quite long. It also didn't have the see-though bathrooms you see on the website. We found the triple room by looking at travellers photos on the travel website that 'advises people on their trip' (hint). The room we had overlooked the hotel atrium not the city, think it was about the 4th fl but they had city views triples on a higher floor but I don't know if the room was as big as we didn't see it. (2 of us don't like heights) It had quite a nice pool on one of the higher floors. We were on a budget, so by Singas standards it was reasonable. Cost us a whole $6 - $7 to get the the Singapore Cruse Centre by taxi. You might be able to get info if you email them directly.

Are you saying they have done away with the Buy 1 get 1 for a $1?

On the main Princess page there are a couple of posts, one about the new $86.99 cost and the fact that some ships are doing away with BOGO $1. However, and this will make you very cross, not on US cruises only on Oz cruises. Grrrrrr. The original poster was from the UK and he was looking for feedback from there. So far its been confirmed that Golden Princess has abolished BOGO $1 happy hour, I am wondering about the Sea or Sun Princess. Does anyone have any feedback please?

In Australia with Princess if price drop before final payment, they will reduce price - no penalty - no charge , like in USA. Done it several times in my 18 Princess cruises. They don't offer, you have to ask. Thus I monitor my Princess reservations re price fluctuations.

 

 

Bit tough they don't do if for the Brits.:evilsmile:.

I didn't know that! I'll make sure I do it next time.

The itinerary is the same. Both cruises are in March 2019 with the identical itineraries. I know the Sun Princess is a smaller and older ship but it has been refurbished and cabins added from what I've read.

I have never sailed on the Majestic. I am leaning towards sailing on it. Your thoughts, please.

The only thing I thought about was whether a really big ship like that could get into the Fiordland National Park. So, I googled it. Ovation of Seas managed it so Majestic probably could.

Hello

I've noticed on our upcoming cruise we can order a delivery of Guacamole with Tortilla & salsa.

It asks us ti choose a day, but not a time. has anyone done this and how do your arrange a time. I don't think I'd mind sitting on the balcony with a book and a glass of wine with some nice nibbles like that. :)

It's Spring. Nearly time for us to get our cruise ships back.So when are we expecting them to arrive? What new ones will we see here this year?

Not if you live in Perth they aren't, few and far between, grumble grumble