Sparky74

4 hours ago, Jean C said:

Hi, you cruise a fair bit - would it be worth splashing out on a short Disney cruise just to impress/keep Cathryn happy?

She would not be impressed with the price. For what they’re asking for a 3 or 4 night cruise we can go on a 10 or 12 night cruise. 

DW is a Disney fan; she has over 160 Mickey Mouse watches.

But we won’t be cruising with Disney at the prices they are charging. 😱

51 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

I believe Royal Caribbean and celebrity still have the cruise with confidence program going but who knows.

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/aus/en/faq/questions/best-price-guarantee-policy

As I read it that’s only applicable if the price drops within 48 hours of booking. 

We booked an Inside Guarantee cabin on a P&O Comedy Cruise for next July (I432) at $756. Under the current Flash Sale an Oceanview Guarantee is priced at $758 but my TA says it’s for new bookings only and we’d loose our deposit if we cancel and rebook. 🤷‍♂️

What are the policies of various cruise lines around price drops in the Australian market?

1 hour ago, Zetta83 said:

… Can they fix up the road getting into BICT. Always have to snake left and right to avoid potholes. I do not think that this is the impression Brisbane wants tourist to have. ..

59 minutes ago, sewgood said:

Being unfamiliar with the area it was just as well for the roadside signs saying BICT as I was starting to get worried as to where our taxi driver was taking us.😄

As we’ve driven to the BICT I have commented to DW, "Imagine an international tourist. They fly in and have a couple of days in a nice hotel in Brisbane. Then they jump in a taxi (or Uber). They’d probably think they were about to have their throats cut in an industrial waste land. 
 

Last year we had to take an Uber to the BICT to retrieve our car following isolation in a COVID hotel. The driver hadn’t been their before and as there was no ship docked that day there wasn’t much traffic. I think we started to wonder where we were going and if we had nefarious intentions! 😱

36 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Similar difference between the class leaders as well, Voyager slightly older than Radiance.

 

For a year round ship, I could even see it dropping back to Vision class, at least for the initial season(s).

DW & I would love to see a Vision class ship home porting, year round, in Brisbane. Our very first cruise was on the Legend OTS and we sailed on the Rhapsody OTS several times. 

19 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

More likely an older ship like Adventure of the seas

Brilliance OTS was launched in 2002

Adventure OTS was launched in 2001, she’s not much older. 
DW has a preference for smaller ships but I think I could talk her into sailing on a Voyager class ship again. 

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

Yes, they have a burger grill on deck - same spot as the chips and microwaved frozen pies. They will assemble it, and you add your own sauce.

Are the burgers on Princess included in your fare or an extra charge?

1 hour ago, Jean C said:

…different ships are getting muddled in my mind…

I’m glad I’m not the only one who has this problem. 🤣

7 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

6 Dollars for a coffee!!  Premium "Hot" Tea is a better deal.

36 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Not if you would rather drink coffee.

Tap water is also a better deal than a dirty martini, but I would rather drink martinis.

 

A $6 coffee is cheaper than a beer or a cocktail. 

49 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Princess used to keep an extra ship down here over winter, mostly doing Top End cruises, PNG cruises, etc. We did a Top End cruise on Dawn Princess in August 2015, and a PNG cruise in September 2016. Great weather for both cruises. However once Golden went to P&O they stopped having the extra ship wintering over. 😪

We sailed on the Coral Princess out of Brisbane at the end of June last year. 

3 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

I think Royal will have a ship all year round out of Brisbane once Lelepa Island is functional.

I'd love them to base a smaller ship like Brilliance OTS out of Brisbane. 

3 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

One option would be for Aussies to fly to NZ or Fiji and round trip on medium size ships and cruise from there.  

I'm not as keen on long haul flights overseas to join cruises there as I used to be.  My daughter is flying Qatar Airlines next month to NY and is worried about the current situation. 

2 hours ago, Ozwoody said:

The only part of flying I don't like, is the bit between the wheels leaving the ground and returning to the ground, hopefully on purpose!!!

 

The part of flying that I don’t like is paying for it!

1 hour ago, MMDown Under said:

6 Dollars for a coffee!!  Premium "Hot" Tea is a better deal.

It’s not much more than you’d pay ashore. I always expect a mark up on a ship. 

7 hours ago, Ozwoody said:

I don't believe there is any intention to build a second BICT in the river, as previously said, the river does not have suitable areas to turn the new larger ships, that's why the BICT is located where it is now. 

There was and I assume still is, a plan to extend the BICT dock facilities to cater for two ships to dock at the same time. I don't know but would not be surprised if it could be extended to handle three ships if they needed it…

It’s a shame that the terminal isn’t utilised 365 days a year. Surely that would be better than extending it to accommodate two or even three ships

The cruise lines still em to operate within the American paradigm of Summer=Vacation. This is not necessarily true is Australia, particularly with our mandated 4 weeks paid annual leave. Besides I’d much rather cruise to North Queensland, the Northern Territory, PNG, or the Pacific Islands in Winter rather than in mid Summer. There’s also less chance of Cyclones in Winter.

Of course, globally we are a small market and are supplied with cruise ships during the North American off season. 🤷‍♂️
JMHO
 

@LittleFish1976 Apparently attachments can only be seen by the person who posted them. 🤷‍♂️

Our next cruise is a 3 night "Seacation" on the Coral Princess. 
This time we would prefer to be off the ship rather promptly but I’m guessing that most passengers will carry their own luggage off seeing as it’s such a short cruise. At least we won’t have to go through customs and immigration which can sometimes cause a bottleneck. 
On second thought getting off earlier mightn’t achieve anything as we’d have to contend with peak hour traffic as we head South. 🤔

We board the Crown Princess in 34 days but I’m sure someone will answer your questions before then!

14 minutes ago, cheznandy said:

A bleak 12c day in Hobart. Thinking of Mr Gut today.

Yes, DW had a call from her parentals who are onboard. Meanwhile we’re sweltering here in Grafton, NSW, with mercury expected to top out at 40° today. 🥵

10 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

Thank you for your beautiful photos which make me feel like cruising from Sydney again.  

8 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Always nice to cruise from Sydney.

A bit different from sailing out of Brisbane with a view of the sewerage treatment works! 

4 minutes ago, arxcards said:

In want of a better word, I was looking for a word to describe people who serve. Waiters, stewards etc are paid to serve as much those serving the public are public servants.

 

Not to be confused with slave.

 

 

Maybe "servers"?

I’m a little uncomfortable with the word "servant" but that’s just me. 

18 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Paying a pre-determined service charge doesn't make you American when you are cruising on American ships. It won't be long and all of the cruise lines will include those charges at the time of booking to take it out of our hands anyway. 

 

We have never had a waiter or steward fishing for extra tips. There are plenty that just do their job, but we have been way more fortunate to have had a few servants that have been absolutely incredible.

servants? 

1 hour ago, Korimako said:

I have been reading this thread with increasing anxiety. I am going on an Australian based cruise in a couple of weeks and I understood from the cruise line information I was given, that tips/gratuities are built in to the fare and I don't need to tip anyone at all - during or at the end of the cruise.

As a Kiwi, I feel very uncomfortable with the whole idea of tipping and would like to know if it's OK not to tip?
It was one of the reasons for choosing this cruise, to avoid (my) embarassment and discomfort at having to tip.

There’s absolutely no need to tip extra. It’s already been taken care of as yet he gratuities are built into your fare.