Aus Traveller

BTW, regarding taking wine on board - it is easy. Each passenger can take one bottle on board without paying corkage. At the alcohol table, the steward counts the number of excess bottles (don't record their details) and writes out a docket for the amount charged. He will either attach stickers to the bottles or hand the customer a roll of stickers to do it themselves.

Invergordon, Scotland - Our first stop was the village of Alness, well known for its flowers. Then we drove into the 'bush' and took a short walk to 100ft deep Black Rock Gorge. The gorge was used in one scene in the Harry Potter movie, Goblet of Fire. We were able to photograph Carbisdale Castle, known as the Castle of Spite, built by a woman after a bitter divorce from her husband, a Duke. At the Falls of Shim there was a chance of seeing salmon leaping the rapids to get upstream, but we are a bit early in the season. Amazingly, we saw an otter. The highlight of our day was a visit to the absolutely stunning Dunrobin Castle. It has 189 rooms and is set in beautiful gardens. We were able to tour much of the castle, although the owners live in a private section. The tour also included a falconry display where the falconer gave us a lot of information on the birds and we saw an extensive demonstration of the skills of a hawk then a peregrine falcon. Driving back to Invergordon, we went through a nature reserve where we saw seals in the distance. We went into Dornoch Cathedral. In Dornoch we saw the beach (not impressed) and drove through the Royal Dornoch Golf Course where it costs 1,000 GBP for four people to play a round. We also went through part of the Hebel Castle golf course that is very exclusive and expensive. It was another great day. Our guide was George of Great Highland Day Tours.

It still says 'unavailable'. This is probably visible in your post quoted above.

Beautiful.

When I click on the link I still get the message that it is unavailable. I don't have the option to open in a new window.

Maybe you can open the link because you are using the same device that it was originally posted from. Just guessing here.🙂

PC. I have Excel on the computer.

Three of us have the message 'unavailable'.

This is the message I get 'This attachment is not available. It may have been removed or the person who shared it may not have permission to share it to this location. Even before I click on it, it has the following Ozwoody's (John) Princess Drinks Package Eval Rev B.xlsxUnavailable

Sorry John, but the message I get is that the link is 'unavailable'.

Dover - The weather was beautifully fine and reached a maximum of 23 degrees. Our first stop was at the WWII Battle of Britain memorial (free entry). It was very interesting. We drove through lovely countryside to Leeds Castle. We had discounted group entry into the Castle. It was a Norman stronghold more than 1,000 years ago and later was owned by several of Britain's queens. In the 1500s it was the home of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. The present interior furnishings date from the 1920s and 1930s. The castle is surrounded by a water-filled moat. The extensive gardens are lovely. Next stop was Canterbury where we had optional entry into the enormous Cathedral. Entry cost 17 GBP. The Cathedral contains the tomb of the Black Prince 1330 – 1376. It is also where Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in 1170. The old area of Canterbury near the Cathedral is gorgeous with buildings dating back to 1500. Even without the Cathedral, it is worthwhile visiting Canterbury. On the way back to the ship, we stopped for a walk to a lookout over the White Cliffs and Dover harbour. The tour today involved a lot of walking, but it was worth it. I can recommend the tour company, England Plus Tours. They were easy to deal with and the tour was great.

Cradle Mountain is one of my favourite places in Tasmania, but it is a very full day with not much time in the park.

I would prefer Wellington over Picton and Burnie (not much in Burnie!).

I would also choose Auckland to Sydney. Sydney harbour is one of the most spectacular to sail into or out of. Option 2 also calls into Wellington, the capital of NZ. If you choose this option, I strongly urge you to go to the (free) Te Papa Museum in Wellington. It is superb.

Cobh, Ireland - This is one of the few ports where I didn't plan to go on a tour. I had been to Blarney Castle and other towns in the area pre-COVID so this time I decided to go to the nearby large city, Cork. The railway station is literally beside the ship and the trip takes 25 minutes with a train running every 30 minutes. In Cork, after visiting the Tourist Info Centre I set off for the 400 year-old Elizabeth Fort. Entry was free but there wasn't much to see. Next was St Fin Barre's Cathedral. The outside is spectacular, but I had heard that the interior isn't worth the 7 euro entry fee. Then it was a long walk to the historic old town. The houses are tiny and the lanes are narrow and steep. I made it to St Anne's Church (closed) and then to the Cathedral of St Mary and St Anne. The interior is lovely. I went back to the railway station to return to Cobh. The small town of Cobh where the ship docks, celebrates 'Australia Day' when the Australian world cruise calls in. There were Aussie flags and live music in a few places. It was bright and cheerful with ship's passengers and locals having a fun time. The main part of town is only a few hundred metres from the ship. Summary - I enjoyed my time wandering around Cobh with its lively atmosphere more than my visit to Cork.

Greenock (Glasgow) - Our tour today went into the Scottish Highlands. Our first stop was at Stirling Castle, dating from the 15th and 16th centuries. We had a guided tour of some parts of the castle. Most of its history relates to King James I through to King James VI (son of Mary, Queen of Scots). Our next stop was at the Falkirk Wheel. England and Scotland have a network of canals, many with locks so boats can move from one to the other. The Falkirk Wheel was built to replace a series of locks. It lifts boats sitting in what is basically a 'bathtub' of water, 24 metres into the air to the level of the next canal. It was very interesting to watch. At our next stop we were able to feed Highland cows. The tour was interesting and we saw a lot of the Highland countryside. Our guide was Graeme of Scottish Terrier Tours.

Belfast - The night before our arrival, we were advised that we would have to do a face-to-face immigration check before disembarking. It was the fastest immigration check I have ever had. We set off through Belfast, along the coast road to the north, stopping at Carnlough with its picturesque tiny harbour. It was a filming site for the 'Game of Thrones'. We also saw the quarry that was transformed into the Wall in 'Game of Thrones'. Following the stunning coast road we came to a lookout where we could see the Carrick-a-Rede bridge, a rope bridge to a rocky island. We didn't go on the bridge because of time. It now costs 13 GBP (A$25). Next stop was the Giant's Causeway. The walk is a couple of kilometres and on a fair slope. We took the easy way and went by bus (return cost 1.5 GBP, close to A$3). The Giant's Causeway is a collection of large rock pillars that legend says were created by a giant who wanted to construct a causeway across to Scotland. Next was lunch in a nearby small town then a photostop where we could see the ruins of Dunluce Castle and also the stunning cliffs and coastline. There were another couple of Game of Thrones filming sites along the way. It was a good tour with an informative guide. Because someone else booked this tour I don't have details of the company or the tour guide. If anyone is interested, I can find out these details.

Thanks for your comments. Holyhead, Wales - We drove across the Isle of Anglesey and crossed the Britannia Bridge into mainland Wales. Our first stop was the medieval town of Caernarfon and its 13th century castle. It is lovely. We stopped at Lake Padarn at the foot of Mt Snowdon for a photo stop, then went to the National Slate Museum. This was very interesting and several people commented that they could have spent more time there. A scenic drive though the Snowdonia National Park led to the lovely little village of Betws y Coed where we had lunch. Continuing the drive through Snowdonia, we arrived at the little village with the long name (57 letters). Here there was a tourist shop that sold virtually everything, much of it discounted. After a great day we arrived back at the ship around 4.30. It was an excellent tour and the guide was superb. Our guide was Carole Startin from Celtic Tours Wales.

Lisbon - We arrived around 11.30am. There were seven people on our half day tour. First we headed to the Belem area. The Cathedral was closed because it was a Monday. Our guide pointed out the 'best' shop to buy traditional Portuguese tarts. They are the size of a cupcake and have very crispy pastry, filled with a custard mixture. Tradition states that they were invented by nuns who used a lot of egg whites to starch the collars of the priests and also to make communion wafers. The tarts were invented to use the left-over egg yolks. The tarts were 1.3 euros (A$2). In the tourist area of Lisbon they were up to 6 euros each. We saw the historic Belem Tower built in 1519 and the much more modern Explorers Monument that commemorates Portuguese explorers and mariners. We headed back into the centre of Lisbon where we had an excellent tour with numerous stops. Our guide told us about the tragic events of 1755 when an earthquake struck, followed by a tsunami that swept right through the centre of the city followed by a disastrous fire. The tour ended with an exploration of the Alfama, the historic old town before we headed back to the ship. I can recommend both the tour operator and the tour. The company was Gold Compass, booked through Viator. On the ship that evening there was a folkloric show of flamenco music and dance.

Good suggestion. Sorry I didn't understand what you meant in the previous post. 🙂

I don't believe a disembarkation tour could work in reverse. With the disembarkation tour, everyone disembarks from the ship at the same time, do the tour and are dropped at the airport. However, it wouldn't work in reverse because people arrive on flights over a period of several hours. For the OP, I feel it would be better if they go to their hotel by taxi and take a sightseeing tour from there. This could be pre-booked through Viator or a local tour operator. If they arrive earlier than the usual check-in time, the hotel would most likely allow them to store their luggage in a secure room until they come back from their tour.

Tangier - I organised a seven-person tour of Tangier (Morocco) with Abu Aboubakre, booked through Viator. A shuttle bus took passengers to the centre of town. We drove through up-market areas of Tangier to Cape Spartel where there were superb views of the Mediterranean and ocean-front walks. We had a "welcome'' cup of mint tea. Then we drove to a lookout where we could see where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean. As we drove along the coast, we could see beaches where many dozens of beach umbrellas were set up in neat rows. There were several camels for people who want to pay for a ride. Our next stop was at Hercules Cave that is open to the Atlantic Ocean. The sea was crashing into an opening on the ocean side of the cave. We had to pay an entry fee here. Next we went back into the centre of the old town for a walk through the Casbah. This was a fort built hundreds of years ago, but now crowded with houses, fronting onto narrow alleyways. The houses are all painted sparkling white and most have doors or window shutters painted bright blue. The whole area is a maze of narrow alleyways and stairs - very hilly. We came across a woman hand washing her clothes in bowls set beside the communal water supply. We walked to the Medina (souk or market). Part of it is small stalls selling food for the locals and the other section is handicrafts and general goods (clothes, handbags etc). Once again, the alleyways are all sloping, sometimes fairly steeply. It was a very good tour and our guide, Abu, was excellent.

You can have the medallion but not use it to order drinks etc. That is what we do. It is handy to have the cabin door unlock as you approach it. The medallion is scanned when we go to the dining room and obviously when we board the ship and disembark. We do all the pre-boarding paperwork on our PCs before we go and don't use a smart phone. The phone we have stays in the safe on board. I don't think you can use a card to unlock your cabin door as the system has changed although I have heard that you can ask for a card.

I have also never heard of the 'Bob Woods Tour Group' but I don't take package tours in Australia. The others have answered your questions regarding luggage.

As I said in my post, it was the Coral Princess world cruise. It didn't go to Australia, it started in Australia. Princess currently only operates two world cruises every year - one from Australia (currently on the Coral) and one from Los Angeles (this year on the Island Princess).