buchhalm

That makes it even LESS attractive

Relax, Dear. That was tongue in cheek!

Very true. With all the sympathy I can muster, I am nevertheless 🤬 off. There will be plenty of people who will pay these extortionate prices, because the cruise lines count on people wanting to the "once in a lifetime " thing. For those of you who ARE still going on that train ride, a Kiwi friend strongly recommend to RUN 🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️ for the train and grab a window seat on the RIGHT side (the locomotive in front)

Just under AUD 500 for Celebrity (including a city tour) not much less without the city tour. 🤬🤬🤬💩💩

Cool. I'd note down my mileage before the handover. Not that they use the car as an uber for 3 weeks 😉

Well done! I would NEVER have thought of looking for such an option. It looks around $28 per day for this?

Hi all. We are booked for a January 2nd 2023 departure for a 2-week cruise on Celebrity Eclipse. I purchased the "Elevate" package for $500 per person.🥃🍸🍷🍹🍺🥤🍾🍶

Hi there Are you aware that the tap water on cruise ships is totally fine and safe to drink? They use it in the bars, dining rooms, buffets.. 🙂😉

Private table for that "lady". In a life raft, towed 400 meters behind the ship.

There must be a sensible cut-off point somewhere. That disembarking early, masking up and hiding away business seens to me a panicky over-reaction. (Go ahead, slam me) Responsible people are 4x vaccinated Do PERHAPS one pre-trip test if it is DEMANDED by the authorities or cruise lines. Pre all this, thousands of people were travelling with the flu or other infectious diseases. They had it and likely didn't know about it. Had people been tested, cases would have been found for sure.

Celebrity charges over AUD 400 for this. 6 hour tour, consisting of the train trip and a Dunedin city tour

Bon voyage, Coral Princess

And your problem would be?....

From Port Douglas (or even Cairns), I'd do the drive to the Daintree rain forest and Daintree village. At the rain forest there are a few lovely and very easy walking tracks. Go really really quietly and step softly and look left and right and above your heads. You are likely to see plenty of wildlife. From Daintree village (it's really TINY) they do short river cruises for crocodile watching. AWESOME beasts. So not the place to go for a dip. 🦎🐍🐊🐊 The drive from Cairns to Port Douglas is lovely. Wonderful ocean and beach views. If you are on a coach, sit on the right side. Port Douglas itself is a pretty small village with excellent restaurants, cafes and bars and the usual gift shops. Do make sure you try BARRAMUNDI. That's the local fish up there and it should be fresh (unlike in the rest of Australia, where it's more likely that the Barra comes from Vietnam...)

True. In the scheme of things... 8 K for a 2week cruise, 15 hundred for 2 x 1way AKL to SYD. 🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️

It's a shame, isn't it. They basically have us by the short and curlies.

According to an email I received from the train operator, we should "book via the cruise line ", and their own booking website won't let you book independently. 🤬

THAT is sneaky! I like it. Or so I thought until I read the barrage of 1- Star reviews of this company. And it's $10 per person anyway. 🤷🏻‍♂️

😂

Are we STILL going on about this? 🙂

21.20 And she's off...

Indeed she is. You beat me to it!

Meh. I agree that in Australia and probably the Eastern Territories (Or New Zealand, as they like to think of themselves), tipping is entirely optional. BUT nobody can stop me if I want to slip the service staff a little bit of cash when the service was ABOVE the expected standard. However, I refuse to partake in the horrid custom that is slowly creeping in where the credit/bank card reader gives you a "tip" option. That's a NO from me. For Bali, I always leave some change in local currency or Australian $. The people there make very low salaries, and a bit of extra cash meals a lot to them. $5 or me is peanuts, but for them it means a lot. Don't be stingy! And yes AUD there is absolutely fine. They can change it at a thousand places. But again, it is totally optional. They wont chase you down the street if you don't tip.

I guess that your tour will be finished by 5 pm. With a 7 pm sunset you have a good 2 hours to kill. The sun will set behind the OPT/Barangaroo/Crown hotel tower, sort of behind the harbour bridge. So anywhere along the opera house side of Circular Quay should be lovely. And you can look at the cruse ship, if it is docked at the OPT. As others mention, the eateries and bars along that area are not inexpensive, but quite decent. The best thing of the restaurants and bars is that you don't get a lot of foot traffic between you and the view. This link shows you what is available right AT the Opera House. https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/visit-us/eat-and-drink.html "Benelong" is excellent, but $$$$. And I am nor sure how they allocate window tables... Personally, I would grab a bottle of white wine, a dozen oysters and some fish-and-chips and place myself along the harbour wall seats or a high table at Opera Bar or Opera Kitchen to enjoy the hustle and bustle and sunset. If you want to eat after the sunset, there are some very good restaurants within 15 minutes walk from the OH. Personally I love "Mode Kitchen and Bar" in the Four Seasons hotel. Excellent food and service for very fair prices. (Considering this is a 5-star hotel) (Photos from a few days ago...)

Yes, but last night the 🤬 headline was focusing on Covid.... Then, during the segment it was something like 0.4% I don't think too many Ch 9 people will get free cruises any time soon.