bvm49

Maybe they thought that Aussies wouldn't miss the lobster as our cruise consisted mainly of Aussies and New Zealanders with only a few Americans.

On our last cruise which was a 28-night around Australia in October last year, they had lobster on the last formal night but disguised it as king prawns on the menu. Also, there was only one lobster night for the whole cruise instead of several as in the past for a long cruise.

Just done a 35-night cruise on Coral Princess and thought the food was good. Our experience is 50+ cruises with 28 on Princess. But was disappointed that lobster wasn't offerred except if you paid extra for it (either on the bottom of the MDR menu or at the paid restaurant). The only thing offerred on the last formal night was king prawns which were nice. I did ask the waiter but was told no free lobster.

Brian

22 hours ago, NeilonBoard said:

Just a fortnight ago we requested and received a kettle on Coral Princess from our room attendant. It's the first thing we do when we arrive at the cabin. Not always available on other lines but Princess are pretty good. We take our own coffee and tea and bring down a glass of milk the night before from the buffet which we keep sitting in a separate glass of ice in the cooler. I can't drink the coffee in cruise ship dining rooms.

Yes, we were also successful on Coral Princess during recent around Australia cruise. When my wife got Covid, I phoned guest services for a kettle. At first she said that they were not allowed and anyway there were none onboard; to which I replied that someone else had requested and received a kettle. Shortly afterwards a kettle was delivered to our cabin!

Brian

Thank you for your very interesting review.

The only port we've stopped at in PNG was Alotau in March 1916 on a cruise to Hong Kong. We walked into the town from the dock which in retrospect wasn't a good idea. It was probably the hottest we've ever been. My wife even used her travel umbrella to try and get some shade during the walk! Living most of our life in north Queensland, we thought we were used to the heat.

We did stay in the general/department store for a long while standing in front of their air-conditioner.

Yes, the locals were very friendly.

Brian

7 hours ago, kenexx said:

We just did the Sydney Brisbane part of this cruise.  Had a great time but a staff member at the front desk said every passenger was getting a 15% credit on their next cruise due to not all facilities being available.   Does anyone know more about this at all?

This was offerred to the passengers on the 28-night cruise as a goodwill gesture. I doubt if it would apply to the following 2-night cruise.

Princess seems to be eliminating formal night as on our present around Australia cruise,  2 of the formal nights are now "dress to impress". It may be just in Australia.

5 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Unfortunately we won't be in Melbourne on Friday.

 

Due to weather conditions, plus the medical emergency just after leaving Busselton, we won't arrive in Adelaide until Thursday. They haven't announced which of the remaining ports - Melbourne, Burnie or Hobart - will be axed.

According to the TV location, none will be missed as the sea day between Adelaide and Melbourne is gone.

19 hours ago, Cbtours said:

Do you think that’s cos of having package though? I ordered ginger ale for Frank via the app and it showed as a charge

The girl said you have to phone her on 9000 to order drinks free.

We're enjoying this cruise- getting back in the grouve after almost 3 years absence. We did a lot of walking in Darwin today which probably wasn't a good idea as it was stinking hot.

Our favourite departures were at all the ports on our 10 night Japanese cruise on Diamond Princess in April 2014. I don't know if it was because they had just started cruising around Japan, but the locals put on a great show at all the ports - one was in pouring rain and another had an amazing fireworks display.

As a funny sideline, Princess said there wouldn't be anytime dining as the Japanese liked meal times to be fixed. This rule quickly changed on the nights when the departure time clashed with the early dining time!

18 hours ago, arxcards said:

And P&O as well.

 

It isn't just about gratuitous swearing, but about being loose with political correctness and mature content. Some of the funniest comedians I have seen don't swear much at all, but are sharp in observational comedy. Princess, among others, tone everything down and not just language. There are a few comedians that can still be funny that way, but often bland comedy is just not funny, especially if we have heard it all before.

We had an American comedian on a cruise a few years ago who made a joke about the last US president. Although we thought it funny and to the point, some of the Americans weren't impressed.

Brian

9 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Where did you find the reviews?

Click here: https://www.cruisecritic.com.au/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=278

Brian

Thanks for the great reviws of this ship - very helpful for our upcomming (hopefully) round Australia cruise🙃.

Thank you Garry. I have been followering your adventures since the beginning last year. All the best with your upcoming cruise on Princess.

Princess has just started cruising again after Covid here in Australia and we hope to rejoin them (20+ Princess cruises so far) for 28 nights in Oct/Nov.

16 hours ago, GKTV32162 said:

World Cruise Day 134/152 - Portsmouth, England - The wind-down has started

 

 

https://kolbsontheroad.blogspot.com/2022/05/world-cruise-day-134152-portsmouth.html

I have been following your blog since the beginning and have found it fascinating. As we have been to a lot of the ports during our 45 cruises, it brought back wonderful memories.

Your details of ship life gave me much to look forward to as we have booked our 1st Viking cruise for 28 nights early next year.

Thank you Garry and wish you all the best.

Brian

9 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

On a 2019 cruise, we were printed in Singapore (port call - not the end of the trip). I recall it because it added a lot of time to disembarkation and the terminal was very busy. That's the only port call one in our experience so far. 🥌🍺

In November 2017, we were fingerprinted by the Singaporean authories as we boarded a ship to sail to Australia. I remember it well, as they had to use several different machines to finally get my DW's fingerprints! Also, as we had been given a free upgrade to a suite, our swift progress boarding the ship came to an abrupt halt🙃.

I couldn't understand why they needed to do that as we were leaving the country!

Aussie Brian

40 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I hope not. And she's also got a dry dock scheduled in Singapore around October 2023.

 

But so far there aren't two sets of deck plans on the Princess website. Usually when changes are made, or in the pipeline, they show the current and new deckplans and you select which one you want based on date.

Yes, when I checked the options for balcony cabins for our Sep 2023 cruise on the Princess website; the deck plans haven't changed.

Brian

21 minutes ago, ekka49 said:

Please don't do this to me. 

Booked on the Coral Princess 2023 for  67 nights 

Coral Princess 2024 for 110 nights

I thought I was doing well with my 28 and 35 night cruises booked! If it is correct, it will be disappointing.

Brian

On 11/24/2021 at 12:02 PM, OzKiwiJJ said:

😯 I hope they aren't planning on butchering Coral. She's heading up to Europe at the moment for a dry dock.

Yes, with the proposed start in Australian waters delayed due to the government refusing to allow ships to recommence cruising; maybe Princess has decided it would be a good time to add the extra 100 cabins to try to recoup some of their lost money.

Brian

3 hours ago, Renmar said:

This is a screenshot taken today. It looks like there would be enough time to do the refit. That would be too bad because we like the Coral as is.

Theo

Yes, the proposed start in Australian waters has been delayed due to the state governments here refusing to allow ships to recommence cruising. Princess has delayed the start to at least the end of May next year. Maybe Princess has decided it would be a good time to add the extra 100 cabins and try to get back some of the lost money.

Brian

In the new Princess 2023-24 Australian mini-brochure, Coral Princess is listed at 2200 passengers - instead of 2000. They are only referring to 2 passengers per cabin, as Majestic/Royal is listed at 3560 and Grand at 2600. Their previous 2022-23 brochure had the Coral listed at 2000 passengers. I was pleased that the Coral is coming to Australian waters as it is the smallest ship in the fleet and a big improvement on their previous ships, Sun and Sea Princess - as a result, I've booked a 28 night and a 35 night cruise.

Do you think this is just an error; or, do you think Princess is finally going to butcher the Coral like it did to the Island which now has 2200 passengers?

Brian

11 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

There are already a lot of upper berths, presumably the pullman type, on the Coral. The 2,000 pax capacity mentioned is 'lower berths', not counting those upper berths.

Yes, I read there are a total of 1000 cabins for passengers.

Reading the email 2023-24 brochure, I noticed 2 strange things:

1. On P 4, Coral Princess is showing 2200 passengers instead of 2000 - maybe they have confused it with its "sister" ship,  the butchered Island Princess.

2. On P 23, Coral Princess has a gap from 19 Aug to 5 Sep 2024 - it does have to sail from Sydney to Perth for the next cruise. 

Brian

Thanks for the suggestions. I also posted this question on the Princess forum and got a reply that stated that as the cabins are in back-to-back pairs, the front cabin of each pair will face forward as the bathrooms are built together. 

I also found the answer in this link that had photos of many cabins: https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/cabin-pick.php?c=319

I now know which cabin to pick.

Brian

Thanks, I knew the cabins were back to back but didn't think of the 1st one in line facing forward.

I now know which cabin to choose😀.

Brian