LPGA Golfer Gal

This will be a concise review of some things I struggled to find before we left, things we wondered about and the trip in general. Sydney: loved the city. So much to see and do in the area. We arrived 2 days prior and thank good ness we did. The trip was long, especially the flight from LA to Sydney. There are all the chain hotels but they are relatively pricey, especially near the port. We chose to stay in one of many little boutique hotels that are quaint. Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel. The folks there are great, very welcoming and we loved our stay. The only issue was we were on the 3rd floor, no elevator and we had a lot of luggage. Loved having the location in The Rocks. Easily accessible and loved the vibe. Our full day in Sydney we booked a private sightseeing tour with Real Sydney Tours. They will cater to what you want to do. Loved our day! Getting around Sydney is very easy as they have great public transport, the bigger issue for us was pre arranging an airport pickup/drop off. When we travel we like to pre pay for shuttles. As indicated we did not travel lightly so we needed a “maxi taxi”. We wanted it pre paid and really had a challenge booking as we did not have a local Sydney cell phone. We managed but was not easy. At the port when we came back from the trip it was very easy to get sorted with a maxi taxi - you go upstairs once you’ve got your luggage and they are very organized without setting folks up with appropriate vehicle pickup. Cruise: So, very confusing before we left for Australia- to.d to book excursions once on board, but most of the excursions popped in prior to leaving for the trip. We wanted a scuba excursion to the Outer reef. I was desperate to find a way to book my husband and daughter on this bucket list excursion in our bucket list trip BUT I could not find the information very easily. Our stops for the 9 day trip were: Tangalooma (Moreton), Airlie Beach, Cairns and missed the sail around weather station(Willis Island). Tangalooma: booked Snorkel the Wrecks(power scooter) - booked pre cruise. This was a tender into the beach area on Carnival lifeboat/tenders. About 25 mins tender time. Enjoyed the excursion BUT did not realize there were time slots. Our trip was 9:30 and the cloud cover and conditions were pretty rough. There were a lot of people and the excursion felt a bit crowded. Loved seeing the wrecks, some fish and wobbegong sharks. If we did this excursion again I would suggest later in day when sun is up and the views would be better and warmer. Airlie Beach: Ocean Rafting- Whitsundays: Tender into port again but more like 30-40 mins. Gets quite hot in the tenders as they pack folks in. If possible stay outside (hot/sunny but more air). This was our favourite excursion. A large inflatable takes us out past the ship and around to a couple of the smaller Whitsunday Islands. The trip is 45 mins but well worth the trip. Unbelievable snorkeling, beautiful views, less crowded feel and very knowledgeable crew. Lunch was included at the end and absolutely loved the entire experience. Cairns: we docked here. this was the excursion I had been waiting for - The Great Barrier Reef - thanks to folks on the other group on FB I was able to read that it had populated in the excursions. The booking allowed you a ride out to the reef and snorkel included. Once on the catamaran (a great looking boat, very comfortable- Reef MagicII) you are able to then add the Scuba portion. This trip…. Hmmm… awful! Unbelievably rough and just nothing about getting to the reef - 90 mins- was enjoyable. More than half the boat got sick, me included. Once we arrived all was well. Get in the water and everything was great. Hubby and daughter got set up for their dive, they were happy and I joined the snorkel group to see the GBR. The reef is unbelievable and vast! It is amazing to see so many different coral, fish and sea life. The trip back on the cat was slower and thus better but really a rough way to get out there. Splendor: Despite the pink, the ship was great. Loved the trip, the crew went above and beyond. I would absolutely do this trip again, but I would consider a back to back as the trip there and back was long. Our family just did not have option to stay longer due to schedules but would do two cruises next time! Random thoughts: - loved having the REd Frog Pub for hanging out to play games - Serenity area is fantastic! - Fahrenheit 555 was fabulous - our dining room staff were fun and really enjoyed the meals Loved the Splendor and would do this again!

Very excited to read a review of Splendor, Sydney (we are on GBR next month) - excited to hear about whether there are extra excursions/different excursions available once on board. Not a lot available online and no Reef excursions to the outer reef to be able to scuba dive. Looking forward to reading more. Thank you for doing this review

Thank you! Truly appreciate the response and hoping as we get nearer the time things will keep being added. Will check out all options. Thanks

Thank you. We booked at start of Covid, hubby and daughter would love to dive the reef, but Carnival has mostly done away on last few cruises in Caribbean with scuba. Australia poet times do not allow for docking and making any trips privately to Reef pontoons. If you just look at all Carnival excursions (without logging in) it lists GBR excursions to reef pontoons where we can snorkel. We are at Tangalooma, Airlie Beach (usually lists a GBR excursion here), Cairns (also lists a GBR excursion here) Currently 100 days out and not one reef excursion. I really am hoping something will still populate on website in coming days. Im also confused as everything we read and on our booking says excursions can be purchased on board, but they clearly have many to book already and many are already sold out. Thanks for any insight you may have.

Any chance you could answer any questions on excursions on your cruise? Did you book any? Were there any available before or when you boarded? Booked in June on GBR and cannot see any excursions to Reef at all, hoping something will still show up or on board. Thanks in advance.

Thank you!

How long is the ETA visa good for? We cruise in June and want to be sure to get visa sorted out in pleNty of time, but is it only a 6month visa?

Considering MG and looking at balconies (we usually stay in balcony around Lido deck). No clue about this ship and best/worst options for balconies. Any help on what might equal basic balcony on MG would be helpful.

I will definitely be anxious to hear and hope that it allows diving! Maybe at the platform as an add on! Have a great trip

Did you all manage a scuba dive on this trip? We are hoping to get a dive in June but no private excursions line up with ships times.. we’re you able to book privately once on the GBR platform?

Well good for you. 2023 is off to a great start!

Hoping anyone recently off the Carnival GB Reef cruise or anyone getting ready to depart on one can answer an excursion question: is it possible to book the Carnival excursion the Great Barrier Reef and then still have the option once on the Reef pontoon to buy (at additional cost) a scuba dive once at the platform? Still trying to get clarity on the options and hoping we can book it in addition to Carnival reef excursion which will get us to the reef and back to the ship (none of the private dive companies line up for times with the ship). Specifically asking for Airlie Beach and Cairns stops. Thanks and Happy New Year!

Question: looks like we could get a ferry to Green Island and do a scuba dive there. Do you know anything about whether the ferry is an option with ship arrival/departure times? If they offer scuba as a private option (not through ship) and if this is feasible? Your excursion guide did not show much in way of trips to reef for Cairns. Thanks

Thank you. Hoping to see some options once on board. So hard to plan without seeing the options. Loved seeing the book of excursion options. Thanks for sharing