Aus Traveller

I have noticed that prices have risen already, and I agree, that this will probably continue as supply decreases. The emails inviting people to bid for an upgrade are not sent by Princess, but by another company who presumably has a contract with Princess. This company probably isn't advised when a cruise is sold out so these emails go out anyway. I doubt that it is to determine what people are prepared to pay because the dollar value you have to bid is less than the original pricing of the cabin and it has sold anyway. I agree that Australia is a great market for cruises, but you are preaching to the choir. 😁

New Caledonia is regarded as part of France but some of the indigenous people (Kanaks) want independence. Vanuatu has been independent for more than 40 years.

Is there a problem with visiting ports in Vanuatu?

We cruise often on Princess and on P&O. The staff on both are excellent and I couldn't 'pick' between them but I prefer Princess mainly because of the inclusions and benefits from loyalty level. On P&O and also on Princess, the staff aren't angling for tips because they aren't expected. In January I went with my daughter's family on the Coral Princess, 14 days to NZ. Her daughters were 4, 8 and 9 at the time. They spent a lot of time in the Kids' Club and absolutely loved it. The staff were FANTASTIC. Every day they came 'home' with projects they had made and they also received some gifts, ending with a lovely soft toy for each child. We our meals in the Main Dining Room (except for port day lunches when they are closed). After the first night, we had a table allocated. When we went there, the waiter already had an activity sheet and coloured pencils out for each child, as well as their favourite drink waiting. The Head Waiters were lovely and made a fuss of the children, making them little animals out of the serviettes etc. If you like your cruise on P&O, you will love Princess.

You won't need a heavy jacket, just a light jacket and layers. On your itinerary you won't go into the Fiordland Nat Park early in the morning. By the time you get there the day will/should be warming up somewhat, but it can still be cool. If your cabin is on the starboard side, you will have lovely views of the coastline and mountains (probably with patches of snow) after you leave the first Sound (fiord) and before you get to Milford Sound. I will add a comment about Wellington - I feel a visit to the Te Papa Museum is a MUST. It is superb and, even better, it is free.

I don't believe there is a shuttle to DFO. A taxi would probably be your only option.🙂

The cabins that have the retro-fitted double-decker bunks are in the following categories, but NOT ALL of the cabins in the category have these bunks. Some have remained as two-berth cabins. That is easy to check, but if you book a GO fare, you can't choose a particular cabin, just the category. Deck 10 - balcony cabins BD, BI (inter connecting). interior cabins ID and II (interconnecting) Deck 11 - balcony cabins BD and interior cabins II Deck 12 - balcony cabins BE. We always book BC so haven't encountered these dreaded double-decker beds. I will advise my family members NOT to book the categories I have mentioned because there would be a fair chance of getting a bonus - double decker beds.

That is what I did. I compared the deck plans of the old Star Princess with the plans of the Pacific Encounter. This showed whole sections of cabins at the aft section of decks 10, 11 and 12 that have been converted from twin share to three or four berth cabins. I was surprised that my TA didn't already have this info. P&O staff at the call centre had no idea which cabins have the double-decker beds and I am pretty sure that the person I spoke to didn't know that the Pacific Encounter was formerly the Star Princess.

I am constantly amazed how many people don't do any research before they travel. Even on the world cruise last year I found many people who didn't research what their fare included and also important aspects of the ship and the trip. That is in addition to the ports of call.

Most people probably don't realise they can buy a Myki card in the terminal and many wouldn't know about a Myki card. This info is one of the benefits of Cruise Critic.😁

On a few cruises we have bought a Myki card in the terminal in Melbourne. We only had to wait around 5 or so minutes in the queue.

If a car hits something when it's travelling at speed, a seatbelt can save your life. If a plane hits something at speed, it doesn't matter whether or not you are wearing a seatbelt.😁 However, I keep my seatbelt fastened when I am flying. For comfort when I want to sleep, I loosen it somewhat. One experienced pilot said it doesn't matter if the seatbelt is loose, as long as you are wearing one.

I don't know if this applies in the case of the OP, but some special deals are sold on a 'guarantee' basis where you can't choose your cabin, just a category of cabin.

On my solo world cruise, I had meals at share tables in the dining room. I encountered the same people time after time and we became quite friendly.

As far as I know, you can transfer a booking prior to the final payment.

That's helpful. Maybe there are only a small number of these retro-fitted cabins. I am thinking of booking a cabin shown on both ship's deck plans as a 3-berth. That is all my son's family needs. It is highly unlikely that P&O would have messed around with a 3-berth cabin on the ship they inherited. On a quick look at the deck plans, I see what you mean. The same has been done to the aft cabins on deck 11 and a lot of the cabins on deck 10 where the inter-connecting cabins have bunks in one of each pair.

On last year's world cruise we had Christmas in July for the FB group. The ship put on a spectacular buffet meal and a visit from Santa. There were comments that other passengers were upset that they weren't included, but the numbers had to be limited. The ship then put on another Christmas in July event for everyone. I didn't go to the buffet - I left it for people who hadn't been to the earlier one. There were carols in the atrium with fake snow falling. Both events were lovely.

I have been comparing the deck plans of the Star Princess and the Pacific Encounter because they are the same ship. I thought I had it sorted out until I looked at a video of a cabin that is shown as four-berth in both the Star P and the Encounter. The video shows a bed on the wall opposite the balcony door and I don't know where the fourth bed is. That one is a bit of a concern. I might stick with one that is shown on both sets of deck plans as being 3-berth because that is all my son's family needs.

I am glad it is sorted out, but it shouldn't have been that difficult. All the best.🙂 I am trying to select a cabin for our son and his family. I definitely don't want one with the retrofitted double decker bunks. I phoned P&O. The girl I spoke to tried to help, but as I expected, they don't have details on which cabins were built with an additional bed/s and which ones were retro-fitted.

I want to select cabins (on the Pacific Encounter) that have a built-in extra bed, and avoid the retro-fitted double deckers. I have been comparing the deck plans of the old Star Princess with P&O's plans for the Pacific Encounter. I haven't looked at all the decks, but so far, I can't see any cabins on the Encounter with multiple beds that weren't shown that way on the Star P. However, I know there are some. It seems logical to me that cabins that were built with the extra beds would still have that configuration and wouldn't have the dreadful double-decker beds. Does anyone know a particular cabin number that has the double deckers? My TA isn't any help in this regard.

Yes - my husband is a good bloke. 🙂 Unfortunately mainly through self-imposed inactivity over several years, he now has limited mobility. For the last few years when we have been on cruises, he hasn't got off the ship at all so it was pointless for him to go on a world cruise. Even though I paid nearly double, he said he would rather stay at home. I didn't try to talk him into going. With his mindset, if he went, he would have been 'Mr Grumpy'. He has now decided he doesn't want to cruise any more (although we have booked a couple of 7-day cruises). I don't push for these cruises. It has to be his decision. I loved the solo world cruise. My choice was to go on my own or don't go. In 2017 I went on a 21-night Antarctic cruise and coped OK. On the world cruise I got to know so many people that I didn't really miss my other half. One advantage was having the bathroom to myself.🙂

I don't think the issue is false advertising. I think it is badly trained staff who haven't been able to help you.

I did manage to install the Princess Medallion app and use it. I suppose I will have to move with the times and use the P&O app.

When I cruise with my husband he insisted on keep the mini bar as it is, but when I went on the World Cruise on my own, I was able to customize the selection. 🙂 The alcohol swapped to gin and the soft drinks swapped to tonic.

I found the deck plans of the Star Princess very easily on the internet. I will attach a link. I knew I had the correct ship (not the new Star P) by checking the gross tonnage and the passenger numbers. If you cant expand the plans shown below you can easily access it on the internet by asking for 'Deck plans Star Princess 2015'.