drron29

Have never used the SS hotels so don't know. but I am presuming you are talking about the benefits of a Virtuoso booking. If so I doubt you would get them as Barbara muckerman's talk to us on the muse a month ago said SS has contracts with hotels for a fixed number of rooms which means a discounted rate. When we book a Virtuoso hotel the Virtuoso rate is more expensive than doing it direct however the benefits make it a better option. Especially so with Intercontinental hotels as i have diamond status. have never missed out on the Virtuoso upgrade with a second diamond up grade. So often get a suite and sometimes club access as well.

Indeed once when it was time to pay in full when we made the booking on board a deposit was accepted as a hold for I think 3 days. So we emailed our TA to pay from our card that they have on record. The extra benefit for us is that our agent is a Virtuoso agent and most SS cruises are Virtuoso cruises so you get OBC or an Excursion thrown in. There easn't going to be that much difference if we lost the 5% booking on board and our TA doing it and getting the Virtuoso benefits. It was much better though to get both.

On our last 3 cruises Dawn, Moon and Muse the people more likely to try it on at restaurants on formal nights were usually older persons. and i mean older than me. I am 77. All of our first few cruises were Expedition cruises.definitely no formal nights.

Yes.

We always book door to door without flights, transfers and pre cruise hotel. They have always done this for us. Then we still have the better cancellation coverage.

The only photos that I have that are rotated are ones from my iPhone. I go back and rotate the photo on my iPhone and re post but that doesn't always work. However it doesn't happen to my iPhone photos on other sites i post photos.

According to CD Bruno on the Muse Moss has only signed on for one contract with SS and told them it is his last. So you are doubly lucky having him on the World Cruise.

I think the problem with your long wait was in fact your waiter. You know the Trainee Maitre'D Pablo and when he was our waiter our starters would appear within minutes. After those dishes disappeared it was less than 5 minutes until mains unless we asked for a little delay. We had a few talks with the restaurant manager and he said in passing on one occasion that Pablo would go and select our dishes and made sure no one else who ordered later got their dishes before us.

I love lemongrass so wouldn't have been a problem. Rojaan doesn't do curries but twice a week we go to a Vietnamese restaurant where she has the same dish every time. yes it is lemongrass beef.

On the Dawn in March 2022 and the Moon March 2023 we arrived at the ports ~ 11am and were able to begin the checkin process. On board before midday. In October this year we arrived ~ 3pm as it was pouring rain and we had a 4pm hotel checkout. Thought the hotel would be the more pleasant place to watch the rain fall than the Muse.

The Hilton on the wharf. The facade of an old pub. We stayed on board until about 9.30 in the Arts Cafe. Our flight was just before 4pm but I was hoping if we left now we might find the Qantas checkin open before a previous flight. The fiendish plan worked perfectly as all look liked they had been checked in for the 10.30 flight so we walked in to empty check in lines and soon had left our bg behind and went to the qantas lounge for 5 hours. From our flight I got one last look at our home for 14 days. So that's all folks. In just 8 days time we leave for Japan for Christmas with our family. After Christmas they leave us to go skiing in Hokkaido whilst we head to Bangkok to warm ourselves up. In 3.5 months we will again board the Muse in Bali and sail to Japan with a voyage around Honshu as well for cherry blossom viewing.

Our last morning has us approaching the Cairns Cruise terminal.

Our last dinner. Rojaan started with the prawn cocktail and then her favourite dish the NZ lamb. I decided to try the vegetable vol au vent and I likedit. I then had the lobster bisque and my favourite main the fillet steak. And we both had the night's dessert.

The afternoon was spent watching the coast and the Reef, This I think is Point Flattery. There was a trawler in action of this island.

During the morning only distant views of the Australian coast and reefs that are part of the Great Barrier Reef. So it was off to our last Atlantide lunch. Rojaan had the crab cake and the lamb. unlike me she likes meat very well done so this was perfect. I had the Penne and then the squid which was not overcooked. Then we both had the cheesecake for dessert.

I was back to the ship after 2pm so it was down to the Arts Cafe for a light lunch. I went the savory option with a salad and salami on a bun. Rojaan went the sweet option with a fruit platter and banana bread. Not long after we set sail heading for Cairns and the cruise's end. Though there was another sea day to enjoy. We were to go through the narrow strait just off Cape York but the pilot thought it would be too dangerous so only pictures of Islands just north of the Cape and possibly the east coast of the cape. Dinner in Atlantide. For mains Rojaan asked for the chicken thigh appetiser and certainly got a larger serving. I had the chateaubriand.

So i have completed a circuit of most of the town. Very relaxing views. And now the freight port. Across the road an imposing building. Was the second Customs house built in 1938 beside the original wooden building which was demolished. Now Border Force. Then the tender ride back. I thought it would be smoother as we were going with the swell. however the tide was coming in fast and 2 currents met making it extremely choppy for the first part.

And the littlest church. A big ant's nest. Slightly left of centre below the mangos. One of the biggest frangipani trees I have seen. Wow. Get the local news. Obviously recent fires.

A couple of times I managed to get them left off but most went back to the kitchen. A really bad example of fleet wide catering.

Quite a large supermarket. # other smaller ones in town as well. I got a shock when i saw this. Woolworths is one of Australia's largest supermarkets. Was surprised it might be here. But walking in with me was the store manager. They just have a deal with Woolworths to use their buying group. Prices higher than the mainland but not outrageously so. Then the next church. And I found this hard to believe. It certainly was the busiest pub and it was lunch time but with burgers $20+ and main meals $35+ I decided I wasn't hungry.

The Quetta church.

So scenes around TI. The playground and memorial park.