buchhalm

I think that's pretty self-explanatory. Take a sheet of paper and write the date on it. Place the RAT, a watch or somebody's phone and your liscense/passport photo page on that sheet of paper. Take a photo. Email that photo. (For such eventualities I briefly enable time and location stamp on my phone's camera as a backup proof). Of course that doesn't proof that this RAT is actually current, and not a old negative RAT that might have been buried in a drawer somewhere...

Don't you just love that "up to $xxx on-board credit" hyped advertising? And then it's in reality only for the most expensive suites (understandably), but for YOUR cabin it's $50 for 2 guests. Whoopty-bloody-doo!! 😁

God, I just can't relax during a massage on a cruise ship. That's because of th PRICES. We lived in Thailand and good massage treatments are cheap as chips, compared to even the most basic treatment on cruises. AND the constant trying to sell you stuff and ridiculous amount of tips on top of steep prices. I mean, what what kind of PRODUCT could you possibly need after a massage? A pile of "healing stones" or "essential " oils? (I made it past 50 WITHOUT such oils, so they can't be THAT essential 😉). And pushing for more services,? Skin treatments, radiation, INVASIVE procedures, peelings....? Meh. I stay well clear of the area That said, I had one of my BEST EVER hair cuts and shave on a Celebrity ship a few years ago. I asked my wife if we could adopt the stylist and take her home. .

Year ago we were in Cooktown on a 4WD tour from Port Douglas. I convinced a bunch of Yanks that the Cooktown Hotel (pub) was the very hotel where Captain Cook stayed when he first came to Australia.

Do you order your meat well-done (aka ruined)? If so, fair enough, I suppose. If not, throw the kitchen brigade over board.

I can only roll my eyes over this article.

Good option. Less than 5 minutes (slow) walk from the boat.

And straight back at you! Cruise on!!!

Anything BLENDED for the US market. Tazo, Bigelow, even the US versions of Lipton and such household names. The exception is Tea Forté, which has some quite lovely blends (Not to mention their "sexy" presentation). A - for example- Twinings EBT is very different in the UK, Australia, Germany, Asia.... The packet looks the same, but what's in the bag varies according to local tastes. At a hospitality trade fair, a VERY senior person from Twinings confirmed this to me personally. 🤷🏻‍♂️

I hope it's not getting too rough. I paid good money for a premium drinks package. 😉

Oh yes. GINGER! I love the stuff. The ships I have been on, had big bowls of the stuff around the place. No idea if it works, but it's yummy.

Ok.. there is a Wilsons car park at 155 George Steet. That is between the Four Seasons hotel and the DFS duty free store. That's about 300 meters at the most from the cruise terminal. Pre booked, the rates are fairly moderated. I just made a dummy booking, and for 3 days it was $106. I was expecting way more.

More like women who don't do as they are told. (BOOOOOOOOOO) 😎

Well, I believe you. I worked for an airline in a certain region and we were made to take a specific destination in one of the --stan countries into the network on the express order of the chairman, because he had "friends" there...

Oh, a good question We are leaving next Monday on Celebrity to eventually cross over to NZL. That was in the back of my mind too. As a precaution I got some over the counter seasicknes / motion sickness tablets. I only used them once before in far northern Europe. Worked like a treat. I think if you are not taking the stuff all the time, it kicks in quickly. No side effects, other than a bit sleepy for an hour. My wife takes her sea bands. I think these are more psychological.... Worst case, you can get a shot in the bum from the ships medical centre. I heard that stuff works VERY fast (*and seems to be free??). No need to suffer the motion of the ocean. But ALWAYS check with the chemist or doctor what is suitable for you if you are taking other regular prescription medicines!

I imagine a boardroom meeting where they discuss itineraries..... "Hey, guys, if have an idea. On the Sydney runs, let's stop in Eden". "Where the f... is Eden" "A bit south. No idea really, but yesterday I sneezed, and a booger landed on my map, right on that place" "Aha. The guys from land excursions will blow their lid. Probably f. all to do there. Let's see if they can get somebody to do some pretend folk dancing. That works pretty much everywhere if you put feathers or buts of fruit on people. Or basket weaving or some such crap handicraft. " ....

If at least they had a garden in Eden.

$760??? I do it for 500 😁 (One way)

Isn't there a convenient shuttle service from Newcastle to sydney cruise terminal? https://www.newcastleconnections.com.au/sydney-cruise-terminals/

Come to think if it, I must pack some if my favourite tea bags for my cruise next week. As nice as the posh brand Tea Forté that they serve on my ship is, I like a few cups of my bogan Twinings EBT.... And the buffet/after dinner dining room tea is 🤮 American "tea" in most cases anyway. 🙂

Let's start a new drinking game. Every time somebody writes COVID and cruise ship in the same post, we have a shot of (insert your drink of choice ) 🥃

I took a 1 litre THERMOS flask last time. Fill up with hot water from the buffet, and in the morning it was still hot enough for a nice cuppa. (All the other bits an pieces you can also get from the buffet. Our steward got the idea after day 2 and had cups, milk capsules etc set up for us!) I originally took the thermos to take cold water on tours, but then it became also our samovar

I'm not sure about it being permitted, but apart from that the fridges in the cabins don't seem to be cold enough More like a cooler box than a fridge at home. How about normal yoghurt and prunes? Every half decent ship has those....

Every now and then, I stumble upon Below Deck. I watch with morbid fascination. The gay lady captain can keep her flock well controlled. White hair Captain Botox seems slightly unhinged. None of the rest of the crew is realistically hire-able for a job in the real world. Especially that crass Australian "stew". Goes to show. Last time we heard from HER, was on the "real love boat" show...

Well, 1 x soft poached, 2 x scrambled *one only with butter, 1 x fried sunny side up, 1 x over easy, 1 x egg white omelette, ..... I'd have a meltdown too