cruiseaholic78

No idea on the budget but a few tips for the flights, if you can, fly business or otherwise premium economy. Not sure of the airlines available to you but P.E. On Singapore Airlines was fantastic, you can also choose a stopover in Singapore which is a great place to visit and recuperate. That said we were still Zombies for three days because of jet lag and time difference. Since our first down under cruise we have progressed to business class after a cheap upgrade to South Africa which made us decide business or not for the ‘long haul’ flights. That said after our last Australia cruise in December with two plane changes with five hours between we have now said as direct as possible. Depending on the time precruise if in Sydney and longer than one or two nights we booked the Meriton suites Sussex street which gave us the freedom of an apartment. It was situated between Circular Quay and Darling Harbor. Happy planning we loved our visits to Australia and New Zealand. Rosalyn

Copied from the British Isles/Europe forum, it seems the article has caused some (un)necessary panic among future cruisers. ‘A few corrections/nuances from a local because the Guardian article is missing some details which seems to have lead to misinterpretations of what was actually decided; the city council has not voted to shut down the cruise terminal and it doesn’t take effect immediately. For some time now there is a debate going on in Amsterdam about how to control the huge number of tourists that visit the city each year. On top of that there is increasing awareness about the huge air pollution caused by ocean cruise ships. As you may know, their engines still need to run, at a lower level, to generate the electricity needed to power all systems on board. For years, there has been talk in Amsterdam about moving the cruise terminal to a place outside the city. In 2016 for instance, the city already decided to move the cruise terminal to somewhere more near the harbor, but concrete action was never taken. The city did reduce the number of ocean cruise ships that are allowed to dock at the Amsterdam cruise terminal to a maximum of 190 ocean cruise ships per year. Yesterday, the city council has decided to speed up the process of moving the cruise terminal for sea cruises. In other words; it’s time we stop talking about it and start taking action. That’s it. So there is no immediate shut down of the cruise terminal in Amsterdam. And until the new cruise terminal is ready, which won’t be for many many years, ocean cruise ships can still come to Amsterdam and dock in the Cruise Terminal.’

To be honest I think anything goes! This was on the Journey last month.

I am definitely one who does not agree that Oceania lives up to their reputation (constantly acclaimed) of the best cuisine at sea. We spent 35 days on Regatta circumnavigation of Australia, many times the food was a disappointment, often nowhere near hot enough. To be honest food did improve after the midcruise survey and some people who had complained had been phoned about their comments. In March we took a cruise on Onward to see if Azamara was as good as we had experienced pre covid and we were absolutely blown away by the welcome buffet awaiting us. All I could say was “Oceania eat your heart out” the quality of the food was extremely good and the Sunday brunch once again surpassed all expectations. Joining the Journey on Saturday and hoping once again to be totally Azamazed, as previously posted pictures can speak louder than words.

There have been some negative reviews about the Westerdam but as most are about night life we are not worried. We will be on the second part of your cruise boarding in Yokohama and disembarking in Singapore, great itinerary. Here is another thread with some positive reviews of the Westerdam, don’t let a few people stop you taking a fantastic cruise. Do join in the roll calls, there are three in total one for each leg and one for the combined Yokohama Singapore. Happy planning Rosalyn

Enjoy Seville, we certainly did, having lunch at the Terrace cafe with views over the city was a wonderful experience. I am sure you will have visited or planned a visit to the Plaza de Espana its a short walk from the ship. When there the Military museum is worth a visit, we had not planned it but just walked in to have a look. Enjoy the rest of your cruise and look forward to seeing you onboard, or at our unofficial M&G at 17:00 in the card room or after the drill. https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g187443-d590989-Reviews-Museo_Militar_Regional-Seville_Province_of_Seville_Andalucia.html

I have never sailed Celebrity, our cruise in March was on Azamara Onward , we were so pleased to sail Azamara again we are now booked on Journey depart next Saturday.

Was anyone able to sign up for a M&M? I presume yours was on embarkation day, we are on the next Journey and have independently chosen a place and time (depending on drill). At the moment I think there will be six of us unless Azamara posts on the Insider but unless registered how will they know! Have a great cruise can’t wait for Bordeaux boarding. Rosalyn

If you also have a Celebrity account you can login and see all your points. I have just done so and they are all there except our last one in March which does show the booking but no points (yet). Just copied and pasted everything and sent to self, will wait until after new cruise next week to claim extra points as we are still Discover and nowhere near next level. Rosalyn

One not mentioned yet is Azamara, similar R ships to Oceania but personally our preferred line. Tips are included as are most drinks at all times, small ship, great library (except Azamara Onward). Hop over to the Azamara board they are a very friendly bunch even though at the moment there have been some glitches due to their new computer system. Happy planning

You might want to check out this info as well. happy planning Rosalyn

You can of course go to the Blue Lagoon and the retreat spa sounds great but why not just contact the hotel and ask what the extra cost would be to have an earlier checkin. ?

This site is a wealth of information with many photos of cabins etc, just click on Pinnacle class. https://halfacts.com/ happy planning Rosalyn

Do a quick search on the forum, based on these and not based on personal experience I would book my own! Here is just one of many threads.

This might help. https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/visa-calculator/

The last three veranda cabins aft on each side of deck 4 have showers only and one of them is the famous 4168 with the larger balcony! Happy planning. Rosalyn

Sssshhhhh, don’t tell anyone you have hit the jackpot! Best balconies ever and we had no issues with noise whatsoever, there is a small galley between the cabins plus the stairs. Had similar on Eurodam and Nieuwe Statendam (they have different numbers same enormous balconies though), we usually choose the one with the shower as we don’t like having to step in/out of the bath. Happy planning Rosalyn

This could help. https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/southern-norway/kristiansand/listings-kristiansand/holland-norway-lines-kristiansand/229103/?lang=uk Rosalyn

Azamara Onward March 2023, need I say more?

A word of advice, we flew ANA last year AMS FRA TYO SYD and SYD TYO FRA AMS so we do have some experience with them, perfect flights. Outward journey we both booked the middle seat and on our plane you had the table in the middle (for one) and on your right of left towards the aisle. Having the table between you and the aisle makes getting in or out difficult and harder to get a nice sleeping position between the two tables. We changed the seats for our return to an aisle with the table in the middle (still giving privacy to neighbor) and a window seat with a table next to the window. Made a lot of difference and really glad we did this. In retrospect we realized why so many aisle plus windows had been booked instead of two in the middle. I obviously don’t know your plane type but if you look at your seatplan and you have the same you will know what I mean. Have a great journey it is a fantastic country and will be a great cruise, we are going Tokyo-Singapore in October. Rosalyn

Can I throw one more into the mix “Meriton Suites” Sussex street, it is their newest one and we spent nearly a week there precruise. It is between Darling Harbour and Circular quay so ideal for walking everywhere. It even has a pool, we really enjoyed the freedom of an apartment not that we did any cooking except reheating something in the Microwave. We loved our simple Granola yoghurt breakfast and being able to bring a sandwich home for lunch, having a large fridge and finally the use of the washer/dryer meant I started my cruise with all clean clothes. happy planning Rosalyn

I am afraid I don’t understand why anyone would not book a return straight away, two singles are way more expensive than one return even if there are different airports used. The only time I can imagine doing this is when one has a Transatlantic or only flies one way. If you are unsure of your travel plans you can also look at the refundable options. Whatever you book my advice is to book as early as possible, we booked our Asia flights in January albeit independently but the prices have now doubled!

This might help, maybe your cruise ship will offer a shuttle! Happy planning Rosalyn https://www.visitbruges.be/en/oooh-bruges/bruges-in-360

We were there last November after visiting Tokyo/Japan twice during the cherry blossom time. To be honest cherry blossom is amazing but can be very crowded but Autumn can be pretty amazing too!

To be honest I have never had one of these cabins but would not choose them for two reasons. The balcony is considerably smaller then usual and you will/might be trying to sit there with three of you. Secondly they are also much further forward you might know the term “the more you pay the more you sway” not good for anyone prone to seasickness. We always book the VB cabins aft on deck four which have some of the largest regular balcony cabins.