Sparky74

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

Good guess. Add that to your fare.

So about an extra $24/person/day at the current exchange rate. 😬

3 hours ago, sewgood said:

I agree for an inside cabin plus airfares, I too will be looking elsewhere.

3 hours ago, arxcards said:

These are typical of $AU prices for lots of overseas Princess offerings. I don't know if we are being overpriced as Aussies, or if this is relative to what others are paying around the world…

 

45 minutes ago, Yaya_in_Oz said:

Prices have certainly gone up a lot in the last year...

I’m guessing although they are quoted in Australian Dollars, that the prices for Princess cruises from non-Australian ports do not include gratuities. 🤔

There’s an old jock which asks:

What’s the difference between an Australian and a canoe?

Canoes sometimes tip. 🤣

I didn’t say it was a good joke. 🤷‍♂️

Today I received an email advertising an expanded 2025 Japan and 2025/26 South East Asia Program for the Diamond Princess. The base lead-in price for an interior cabin on a 9 day cruise is $2,184. That’s over $240/person/day. 😱

Beyond my merger pocket book I’m afraid. 🤷‍♂️

We are considering going back to Alaska next year. I investigated the Rocky Mountaineer as part of the land portion of our trip. I’m afraid the fare is out of our price range. The term, "eye-watering", springs to mind. 

6 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

Yes, Sydney hotels are generally more expensive than Brisbane. My go-to budget hotel in Sydney is the Great Southern. It's on George Street, right opposite a light rail stop that takes you and your luggage down to Circular Quay. An old fashioned large hotel, not fancy, but clean and with good bathrooms, and lots of good eating places around it.   My other choice is the Grace Hotel, closer to the port, costs a bit more, but often has discounts.

In Brisbane, I usually stay in the suburb of Hamilton, which has a range of accommodation choices, and lots of places to eat dinner. Plus it's a good location for minimising taxi fares from the airport and then to the port.

Yes, we have stayed at the Great Southern also. 👍

1 hour ago, Hogbay said:

Should of done a survey ? Vote for Dora and a Splendor . And on the lookout for last minute bargains.

Do let us know if you spot any last minute bargains, perhaps on the El Cheapo thread. It seems most ship are sailing full at the moment. 

26 minutes ago, AJCM said:

My apologies to Cruise Critic, who clearly are not responsible. Thanks to Cruise Critic - the problem seems fixed. Safari CC site working as it should.

Indeed. It would seem that CC and NCL are just as much victims as you and me. 
Many thanks to LauraS and the team for finding a resolution and please accept my apologies for any harsh comments. Keep up the good work. 

2 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

 

It refers to Studio Ghibli whom one of the founders Hayao Miyazaki is considered one of the greatest film animators of all time. The clock itself was designed by Miyazaki and is stylistically similar one of his films Howl's Moving Castle. 

I have seen at least part of Howl's Moving Castle when there’s been nothing else on TV. 

1 hour ago, bazzaw said:

I am old and I don't know what a Ghibli is…

I’m old too. I’m guessing it’s nothing to do with a desert wind. Was there a car, a Maserati Ghibli?

5 minutes ago, cruiser3775 said:

Try changing your browser to Firefox, not Explorer.

I’m using Safari on the iPad. 

11 minutes ago, Ondine said:

I tried to click the "Learn More" bit to see if the ad would disappear like when you are watching muster videos on ships but this came up.  So back to square 1.  I will just have to give up on cc if it does not go away it's driving me crazy.

 

Yep. I tried that this morning with the same result. 🤷‍♂️

33 minutes ago, Ethel6666 said:

We’ve used UBank in Singapore, Hong Kong, France, Spain, Norway,UK. And our daughter borrowed it used it in Japan. No issues. I like it because there are no fees, good exchange rate. And also because I just transfer fairly small amounts at a time across from our main accounts at another bank so if it is lost/compromised, we can’t lose much.

Yes, that’s how I used to use the Citibank card. 

1 minute ago, cruiser3775 said:

Careful which card you choose. There are two with very similar names. Ubank is owned by NAB. UP bank is owned by Bendigo Bank.

Which would you recommend?

Discussion about the NCL pop-up ad are being consolidated to a thread on the Help forum. 
 

I have also emailed both NCL and Cruise Critic about this issue and would encourage others to do the same. 😁

19 minutes ago, Host Kat said:

…Again, please feel free send your email with your questions/comments/feedback to LauraS, Senior Manager, Community at community@cruisecritic.com. Again, please send the email from your Cruise Critic email address of record and be sure to mention your Cruise Critic user name. Please remember the Hosts are non-paid volunteers and work the boards when their real life permits. Most Administrators work regular weekday business hours.

 

Host Kat

 

Thanks, Kat. 
 

I have now emailed Laura. 
I realise that Cruise Critic is international and wonder what "regular weekday business hours" means. It’s currently about 9:20am on Friday here in NSW, Australia. 

14 minutes ago, Ozwoody said:

Can you reduce the size of the screen? ie: zoom out.

Its a bloody annoying add, all it does is irritate me, not make me interested in seeing what there offering.

Maybe CC have been paid a bonza for the ad, but think most probably, so smart arse hijack of the site.

 

If I reduce the screen size my arms won’t be long enough to see it. 🤓🔎

6 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

I watched it, it disappeared 

Define "watched". 
I tried clicking on "learn more" in the forlorn hope of making it disembark but the link didn’t work. 🤦‍♂️
Someone at NCL and someone at CC have dropped the ball on this one. 
Hopefully the ad gets pulled. 

2 minutes ago, Host Kat said:

Hello everyone!

 

Please note the following from the Guidelines we all agreed to follow when registering for our free Cruise Critic memberships:

Browse Before You Post
Browse a topic first to see if your question has already been asked or answered by someone else. Also, many of the major cruise lines forums have a FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) topic that has been created by our members. Give that a try first. Browsing is your #1 best resource! Please post your messages in an appropriate topic so that you'll receive the best possible response. It is very time consuming to move misplaced messages that are in the wrong topics.
 

Therefore, all threads about a possible problem with the software belongs here on the Need Help Using the Forums? Check Here! forum. I am tagging @CC Help Michell so they will be aware of this thread. You can also contact help@cruisecritic.com from your Cruise Critic email address of record to find out if it is a Cruise Critic software glitch. Be sure to mention your Cruise Critic user name. This is so your membership can be verified, and reply will be sent to your Cruise Critic email address of record. If your current Cruise Critic email address of record is not correct and needs to be updated before you send your email, please click the following: How To: Update your Cruise Critic Email Address. 

 

Happy sails to all,

 

Host Kat

Thanks, Kat. 
 

Unfortunately some of us feel that this issue is being hidden on this board. It is relevant to NCL and appears to be an Australian specific problem so I feel it belongs on those boards. I understand the desire to consolidate the discussion in one place but it’s giving the impression that CC just wants to push the complainants and frustrations off to the side. This may not be the intention but this is the impression it’s giving. 
 

Moderating a forum is a thankless task and I realise that you’re probably powerless to resolve this issue but could you PLEASE pass it up the food chain and let those who make these decisions know that the natives are restless. 
 

The constant barrage isn’t recalling doing NCL or CC any favours. 

Yeah, I tried rotating the screen but it didn’t help. I don’t have a VPN and I don’t want to get one just to use CC. 

The moderators are obviously aware of the issue as they’ve now moved my thread off the Australian board even though it’s obviously an Australian problem. 😡

I can’t even close the ad as the X in the top left corner is off the screen. I’ve changed my Safari settings (I’m on my iPad) to no avail. 
 

This is NOT giving me a favourable option of NCL. 😡

11 minutes ago, Pushka said:

We are all in Australia.  Try Australian boards and post there too. 

I’ve started a thread there. I’ve also emailed NCL. 

resoffice@ncl.com

1 minute ago, cruisermsoon said:

This annoying ad pops up each time you open a new page. Easy enough to click on the exit "cross", but still annoying. Not surprised it's from NCL, one of my least preferred lines. Likely to get them new  customers? Yeah, I don't think so.

I can’t access the X. It’s off the screen. 😖

5 minutes ago, Pushka said:

It is not just you and so far on the technical forum where a comment was moved to, it's happening to only Australians so far. Or the rest haven't woken up. I'll leave. 
 

At least you can click/tap the X in the top left corner. Mines off the screen. 😡

4 minutes ago, Bowm54 said:

You are not alone!

Norwegian are shouting from the rooftops promoting their new ship and have obviously given this website a “Bunga” to takeover our screens.

Well, I’m not happy. I’m disinclined to cruise with them as they’re negatively impacting my CC experience. 
I think I'll write to them