Sparky74

We’ve just booked a 7 night RCI cruise to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary in November. That means no self-service laundry and no Carnival shareholder OBC. 😱 But as Diamond C&A members I guess we'll get 4 drinks/day each; not bad for a couple of teetotallers. 😁 I'll have to decide if we pack enough clothes (we will be flying to and from Sydney), or hand wash, or pay 😱 to have laundry done. I wear button up shirts, not T-shirts, and I don’t think they qualify for the wash n fold special.

I haven’t witnessed a laundry riot (yet) but I remember a story that I probably read on CC years ago. Someone got cranky because someone else had taken "their" dryer. I’m not sure if they removed the clothes or just jumped the queue. The offended person stormed off and returned with a packet of crayons they’d purchased onboard. They opened the offending dryer, threw in the crayons, and restarted the dryer! 😱 What’s wrong with people?!🤦‍♂️

Our Alaskan cruise in 2022 was a splurge. We sailed with HAL and bought the laundry package for $49US. We left the previous days clothes on the bed in a paper laundry bag each morning and they were returned each evening, clean, ironed, and folded or on hangers. Absolute luxury! When we were in Airlie Beach last week, I showed DW a HAL laundry tag still on one of my garments. It served as a reminder of that fantastic trip. Isn’t that what souvenirs are supposed to do? 🤷‍♂️

I never intended to open such a can of worms! I just wanted to let people know that I’d found these pods on special at what I thought was a good price. I hope I haven’t offended anyone. If you get good results from laundry sheets, great! If you carry a small plastic bag of laundry powder from home, great! If you book a suite so you have extra room to hang your wet washing, great! 😁

I’m sure she does too but I would hate for her to be imprisoned for murder. I can’t see a price for that suite on my favourite booking site but 8720 is showing at $31,286. We wouldn’t be offended if you wanted to pay for an upgrade as anniversary gift to us, Geoff. 🤣🤣🤣

It was a lovely room. I do like the "Princess" layout with the walk-in wardrobe outside bathroom although I’m not a fan of the sensor light. When we’re back on the Pacific Encounter next month I’m going to try covering the sensor with a little piece of duct tape. The photo shows more "view" than there was; it must be the angle from which it was taken. 🤷‍♂️ In the past when we’ve had a balcony we’ve hardly used it. If (when) we cruise Alaska again we'd probably book an inferior cabin (as use the 💵 for shore excursions) as the days a so long and we didn’t use the balcony on that cruise. Actually I’d have to check if we had a balcony or just an oceanview. 🤣 Having said all that, last night I booked 7 nights on Ovation OTS for our 15th wedding anniversary in November. I got the moths out of my wallet and chose a balcony as it’s a special occasion. I haven’t told DW what cabin category we're in. I did look at the price of a suite but then had to have a lie down! 😱

Actually, Choice suggests using half the recommended amount of laundry powder.

I too have washed our smalls in the handbasin, using shower get or shampoo as detergent. We used to bring a "pegless clothesline" which consisted of two lengths of elastic twisted together with a hook on either end. You have to get a bit inventive to hang it up (stay away from the smoke defector and fire sprinkler 🌧) and it does make the cabin look like a Chinese laundry! I think the cost of a balcony cabin would outweigh the cost of using a clothes dryer but you do you. 🤷‍♂️ These days we’re trying to travel with less clothes full stop so it’s not just underwear to be washed.

Glad to hear that people are having success with laundry detergent sheets. The Choice website isn’t complimentary. https://www.choice.com.au/home-and-living/laundry-and-cleaning/laundry-detergents/buying-guides/laundry-detergents#why-don-t-choice-test-laundry-sheets

I squeeze my cruise dollar and try to get as much out it as I can, so I’m happy to use the self-service laundromat onboard. (The absence of such a facility on RCI ships is a bugbear. 🤷‍♂️) Rather than pay through the nose for powder on the ship, I used to bring a small ziplock bag of laundry powder from home but we're trying to pack lighter (and that necessitates more laundry). When we visited the USA a couple of years ago I purchased a packet of Tide Pods and have kept these exclusively for travel use. Imagine my dismay a few weeks ago when I went to retrieve them from the laundry cupboard and discovered that they’d started leaking! 😱 They obviously have a finite shelf life. Fortunately some were in a seperate zip lock bag and those ones hadn’t leaked and so I used them on our trip. The ones in the leaky collection will be used at home in the next week or so. I considered purchasing laundry detergent sheets but the Choice website didn’t have much good to say about them. Today I was in my local Coles and they carry several brands of laundry detergent "pods" including Tide. But a plastic tub of 18 Cold Power Triple Caps is currently on a half price special so it works out to just over 47c each. 😁

We booked an inferior cabin but I bid for and won an upgrade to an obstructed oceanview for $50/person. It was a VERY obstructed view but we were happy to have natural light in the cabin.

One last photo of the Pacific Encounter. We’ve just disembarked at BICT following a 3 night comedy cruise. We board her again 5 weeks from tomorrow!

The Pacific Encounter at Brisbane International Cruise Terminal this morning.

I always struggle to sleep on planes. When we went to the UK I took 25mg of Phernergan and it had no effect. On the return trip I took 50mg and still didn’t sleep. A year or two later I’d had several sleepless nights at home and in desperation took 75mg. 😱 That did the trick but I did feel a bit doughy the next day. Since then I’ve found that 10mg will give me a good night's sleep. I suspect the 25mg tablets might have been a bit old. 🤷‍♂️

Well, it’s our last morning in Airlie Beach and the weather has “turned” as evidenced by this photo taken from our balcony. Even if there was a cruise ship out there you wouldn’t be able to see it!

DW had left the packet of Kwells in the unit at Arlie Beach, so upon arrival at Hamilton Island I popped into the chemist. I was served by the pharmacist and he suggested 2 x Trava Calm Orginal half an hour prior to boarding as a stronger drug than the Kwells. Apparently 10mg Phernergan is the next step up. Also both can make you drowsy. The return journey was much smoother and I managed to get a couple more shots of the Pacific Encounter from the ferry.

We made it to Hamilton Island. It was an VERY bumpy ride! Even though we both took a Kwells before leaving DW had to make a quick dash to the loo.

It’s been pretty good up here in Airlie Beach. My elder sister had to go home early for work. 😔 They flew to Brisbane on Tuesday and reported it was cold, wet, and windy upon arrival. We've been here since last Friday and today would be our "worst weather" day but I’ve been out for my morning constitutional in T-shirt and shorts! I will, however, take my light jacket to Hamilton Island today. I'm more than happy to accept this as mid-Winter weather!

I That’s the cruise we’re on! 😁

Ship Ahoy! An early glimpse of the Pacific Encounter for us before we board her in Brisbane on Saturday. This photo was taken from the balcony of the unit we're staying in at Airlie Beach this week. It’s not the clearest weather and it’s a bit windy; and it’s forecast to pick up as the day progresses. I’m not sure I’d like to be tendering ashore today. But then again we’re booked to take a boat ride to Hamilton Island today!

Correct! 😁

Mike has just released a new video about Monarch of the Seas.

We we sail on the Pacific Encounter this Saturday for 3 nights. We booked an inside guarantee and today I received an email to say my upgrade bid has been successful. 😱 I’m happy to pay an extra $50/person for an obstructed oceanview. DW doesn’t even know that I bid. I'll save the surprise for once we’re onboard. 😁

Bold words, Geoff! 😱