jarand

My understanding is that HAL and Princess both refund automatically.

I can tell you from experience that Carnival does not, nor do they want to honor them in any way after the expiration date. After many phone calls I finally was able to get them to allow us to use our expired Carnival FCCs for the deposit on a cruise, without OBC. I was fine with the ultimate solution, but it wasn't easy getting there!

Ugh. This menu is going to make it harder than ever not to pack on a few pounds on my next cruise. Thanks for the warning! :)

Excellent! The shows are one of our favorite things about cruising!

I know what you're saying Katie. When I called, I realized the opportunity for OBC was gone. I (wongly) assumed I'd just get a refund.

We based our belief on 1) What we were told onboard when we purchased them (and we asked for clarification); and 2) The way HAL certificates work--which is a refund once the expiration date is passed.

In the end, I'm okay with the way it turned out, and the Carnival employee who spend over an hour on the phone with me was pleasant. The purpose for my post isn't to gripe, but to inform anyone else who may have the same mistaken belief.

We had four Future Vacation Certificates that expired in Sept, 2014. When we purchased them we were told, very clearly, that if we had not used them by two years, just call for a refund after the date has passed. "It's a no-brainer," we were told. "There's no way you can lose your money."

Wrong! That's how it works for Princess and HAL, but Carnival won't refund it unless you call *before* the expiration date printed on the front. In fact, if you haven't booked a cruise before the expiration date, Carnival says that, unfortunately, even the money you paid is lost.

After a long time on the phone with a helpful employee who went through several levels of supervisors, I finally have an arrangement giving us an extra year to use the $400 we paid for the certificates, but no OBC. I'm fine with that.

Lesson learned. Carnival has discontinued this program, but if you have some of those sitting in your files, call ASAP.

Yes, we do plan to be OW certified. I see now why that wasn't clear. If all goes as planned, we will do our OW this June.

My thinking is we will spend a few days at Rainbow Reef before the cruise. It sounds really nice and a good place to refresh our skills (which will be very basic I'm sure). I've looked at many itineraries, and opportunities for easy and beautiful dives will be a top factor.

Thanks again. I really appreciate the help.

We are considering doing a Caribbean cruise or two in January, 2016 that would allow us to visit 3-5 beautiful, easy dive sites. We've cruised and snorkeled quite a bit, but at age 60 we are just now beginning our dive certification (I know... but better late than never!). We have nothing booked yet, so we are wide open for suggestions. Where are your favorite, easy places to scuba?

Also, if we were to do a refresher dive in the Fort Lauderdale/Miami/Keys area prior to the cruise, any suggestions there?

Thanks!

How about the balconies on the Caribe minisuites? Thx.

Would it be feasible to disembark from one cruise in Fort Lauderdale in the morning, then depart on another out of Miami that same afternoon? What would be the best way to get there? Thanks.

We absolutely loved Sydney! Besides the great sights to see, a few tips:

~Darling Harbor has fireworks on Saturday night. Then go catch the ferry over to the Circular Quay. It's a wonderful ride at night!

~The Opera house tour was well done. The Opera Kitchen is an open air restaurant by the Opera. It was good, moderately priced, and a fun place to eat if you can avoid seagulls stealing your food!

~From the Circular Quay, through The Rocks, and up to where you enter the Bridge is pretty steep climb. There is a bus that goes up there (don't remember the number), and it really helps if you're not ready for the hike.

~The Capitol Theater has 4:30 afternoon drawings for $30 front row seats to that night's performance ("Wicked" when we were there.)

~Harry De Wheels has the best meat pies (the Haymarket location is near the Capitol Theatre.) You really must try one "tiger style"! Pie Face is a larger chain that you'll find everywhere in Sydney.

~I'm Free Walking Tours are great, especially the longer daytime one.

~The best part about Manly is the ferry ride.

~There is a free bus that runs up and down Elizabeth Street during the day.

~We got an Opal Card (transportation). They are re-upped at 7-11's. It worked fine, but the MyMulti3 would have been more convenient for a week, good on all the ferries and trams, and not that much more expensive.

~If you do have an Opal Card, it stops charging you at $2.50 on Sundays. So that's a great day to take all the longer trips and ferry rides--ie Bondi, Manly, Watsons Bay, etc...

~The Blue Ribbon tour of the Blue Mountains was excellent. Not that much more than DIY, and definitely worth it. They also stop at Featherdale Wildlife Park which we thought was more fun than the zoo, and end the tour with a high speed ferry ride from the Olympic Park to Circular Quay.

~If you have an adventurous spirit, you'll remember the Bridge Climb long after the hole in your wallet. You probably won't need reservations, so just go when the weather's nice.

~It was wonderful to come "home" to a beautiful apartment, complete with expansive city views, cooking, and laundry. It also saved quite a bit just to be able to have breakfast and some light meals "at home." We had a great deal at the Meriton Apartments on Campbell Street. Can't say enough good about it. Ask for an upper floor room with a view, even if you have one of the cheaper rates.

Main cruise lines are Princess, Holland, and Celebrity. Sydney, around NZ, and back to Sydney is a great itinerary. Look for an itinerary with fewer sea days if possible.

Big pluses in an itinerary:

Melbourne

Hobart

Bay of Islands (near Auckland)

You probably won't find all of those in one cruise, but one or two would be nice.

Also research the seasonal temperatures, and be prepared for cooler weather when at sea.

We made the mistake of taking the port shuttle at $5 each way. We took it to the stop nearest the cable car, walked a few blocks, then paid $4 to ride the cable car up to the top of the botanical gardens. Total for two of us, one way: $18. Our friends went in a group of four and took a taxi from the port to the exact same location. Total for the taxi: $18! (It's about $18-$20 for a taxi to/from the port to the museum.)

The cable car was definitely not worth the time. But the gardens are lovely and the museum is fabulous! I'd definitely recommend maximizing your time there, and use a taxi to get to/from the port.

Definitely do *not* try to walk from White Bay to the ferry. Take a ship's shuttle or taxi.

Here is the sailing company we used.

http://www.aclasssailing.co.nz/

We did the Akaroa sailing (find it on Trip Advisor). Outstanding! The owner is Ray, and he is located literally right as you come off the tender. Maximum passengers on his boat is 7, and everyone takes a turn at the wheel. There are fairy penguins and hector dolphins in the bay. 2 1/2 hours for the equivalent of $75 AUD. It was one of our favorite things from our Australia/NZ trip. Then we walked around the nice little town, and found good wifi at their library.

I know some people who went to the Pohatu penguin farm on a private tour and really liked it too. Be sure to book that in advance as it only takes a small group.

I can't comment on the specific Celebrity tours, except to say that the harbor is very nice. We did the Akaroa sailing with Ray (find it on trip advisor). He's literally right as you walk off the tender. His boat takes a max of 7 passengers, and it was absolutely wonderful. $75 AUD for 2 1/2 hours. There are small hector's dolphins and penguins in the harbor. Ray is really great, and everyone gets a chance to take the wheel. It was one of our favorite things in our 7 week Aus/NZ trip.

I know some people really enjoyed the Pohatu penguin farm. I've not heard of the other places you mentioned.

The town itself is very tiny and easy to walk around after your tour. Free wifi at the library a few blocks up.

Thank you that was very helpful.

So from the Int'l terminal, I can use the MyMulti2 for the 400 Burwood bus to Rockdale; get off the bus at Rockdale and take the train into Central, still using the MyMulti2 pass with no additional fees. Correct?

Also, the MyMulti2 pass says it's good for ferries within 9kms, so that will take care of the ferry to Manly and the zoo?

I appreciate your help!

I'd just like to clarify a few things on the MyMulti passes. We will be there a week, and plan to use ferries. So as I read, we'll need the MyMulti 2. I just want to be sure that it will be good for the Manly ferry and the Blue Mountains train?

Also, if I understand correctly it will NOT be good for the airport train into town. I've read that you can take the Bus 400 to an off-airport stop, then catch the train using the MyMulti pass. How much of a hassle is this? I'm all for saving money, but if it's a huge extra hassle, the $16 for the direct train ticket may be worth it.

We will take the train to Central station, then we have about a 10-12 minute walk to our hotel. We'll probably do that, but if we should decide to get a taxi, any speculation about how much it might be? We're on 6 Campbell street, less than a mile away.

Thanks!

I was notified yesterday that there is a change in our flight from Denver to Australia. The change is only a few hours on the same days, but it will result in baggage fees that were not on our originally booked flights. We had booked on a promo for $300 off airfare and had a flex fare flight. Ironically, the change came one day after the cancellation period for the flex fare expired.

Princess was good about notification. They both emailed and called me, and apologized for the baggage fees. They offered to let me cancel, right then, if I wanted to, but wouldn't adjust price to compensate for the increase in fees. I've watched fares for months, and bypassed some options I probably would have taken had I known. But as of right now, those fares are gone and prices are up too much to do anything about it.

Just a head-up that this can happen.

At the end of our Australia/NZ trip, we will be renting a car and traveling some of the surrounding areas near Melbourne before ending up in the Melbourne CBD for a few days. I'm considering returning the car before the Melbourne CBD stay, then using the Skybus and hotel shuttle to and from the airport. I don't see that we'll use the car at all during those days. Cost-wise it's about even, with parking expenses offset by the Skybus return trip cost.

My question is about the advisability of driving to the airport on our final morning vs. the Skybus trip. Is Skybus frequent and reliable? About how long does it take from the Southern Cross station? If we were to drive, would there be much of a risk of getting stuck in traffic on a weekday morning? (We will be flying on either Virgin or JetStar to Sydney where we'll catch our international flight.)

Thanks so much.

Sadly, Holland America has since changed their policy to be in line with Princess.

We will be on the Sun Princess in November. Can anyone tell me the Australian rules for bringing wine onboard, and any experiences on how firmly they're enforced? Thanks.

Does HAL offer a luggage service where they will transfer your luggage to the airport (for a fee) at the end of your cruise? We are trying to figure out what to do with luggage for a day in Boston when we have an evening flight. Thanks.

For the customized version we did, with 8 people, it was $125 each. This wasn't where he started, but with some negotiations, that's what we paid. It included lunch and the fare for both the tram and the croc boat.

Thanks for a very helpful post!!!