3littlepigs

Not that one...the ferry goes around the bow of the ship into a little cove on the port side

I saw those pictures on facebook :eek: and i am glad the caught the person who did it.

 

Whilst i do appreciate the these short cruises tend to be party/lots of drinking type cruises, i do wonder if these all inclusive drinks packages are causing more of these types of issues to occur :rolleyes: we did the 3 day cruise in Jan and we were quite uncomfortable with the amount of drinking the occured on the ship...esp the early morning people wandering around with an alcoholic drink in their hand. I wonder if we would have seen this if there are no drinks packages around?? :confused:

Can you point me to the pictures on Facebook? I'm hopeless at searching that site ;)

There was certainly a whole lot of drinking going on. It was nowhere near as bad as the Princess 2 night cruise we went on a few years back though. The price of the X cruise was much higher though. Princess didn't sell the drinks package on their short cruise. X sells it from 3 night cruises upwards, it did appear a lot of people had the package. I wonder whether they should make it from week long cruises upwards though, the cost may make people think about whether they buy it.

The lemon drop is particularly good!

We loved the CL on Radiance. We were lucky when we sailed last year, had great people in the lounge with us. Very nice outdoor seating area as well.

There was a very well known TV personality on our sailing which made the Karaoke night an absolute hoot!

Definitely backed in.

Just back from the 3 day cruise to nowhere on Solstice, very nice!

Thought the regular cruisers would be interested in an "event" (Celebrities word) that happened on Friday.

We were poodling along at 7 knots enjoying the sun when the ship changed course and headed for an orange coloured object in the distance.

As we approached they announced over the PA that an emergency safety device had been thrown overboard and they needed to retrieve it. Turns out it was one of those liferafts that expand out of the white capsules that look like 44 gallon drums you see on the side of the ship. They are huge and bright orange when they expand. I think when it deploys it would set off an emergency beacon as well so as well as getting the expensive equipment back on board they would have had to deal with the maritime authorities.

The crew brought the ship around so it was on the windward side of the raft (huge orange thing) to keep the raft out of the wind which was pretty strong.

'

A rib was put into the water and two staff members climbed into the liferaft and got ropes onto it to hoist it out of the water. There was about a 2 metre swell so the rib and the liferaft were doing a fair bit of bobbing around. The captain used the bow and stern thrusters to keep the ship in position.

Once attached they hoisted the liferaft up out of the water but couldn't take it right onto the top deck because the wind kept catching it and it blew around. They ended up tethering it to the top of one of the other lifeboats.

Amazing work by the bridge and the crew who retrieved the raft. They worked as a great team. Makes you very confident that if something went wrong they would swing into action very efficiently.

Talk onboard was that those rafts cost around £90,000. The captain said they would offload it to a contractor in Sydney who would repack the raft.

Apparently they caught whoever the idiot was that threw it overboard, wouldn't like to be in their shoes! I hate to think what the cost of the damage was and if they set off an epirb the fine from the maritime authorities is huge!

(I have photos but no idea how to post, I imagine there could be film up on youtube by now!)

We could see the arrangements for boarding Solstice from our cabin this morning.

The tenders will drop at a pontoon in Campbells Cove (right at the bow of the ship) and you will walk over a little ramped "bridge" onto the end of the new concrete platform then board from forward deck 2. Easy peasy!

Looks good!

(I have photos but no idea how to post!)

Thanks Guys!

Super efficient checkin and gorgeous ship on a perfect Sydney day.

Passengers are in party mode already and the bars are packed. Here's hoping for smooth seas!

We have had no problem on numerous trips bringing declared factory sealed packs of chocolate,chips,biscuits etc through customs usually in our checked luggage.

Packaged snacks are usually ok but still have to be declared. We find the best way is to actually write on the customs declaration exactly what food you have with you, that way if its all okay they will let you sail through quickly.

Thanks for that! We are just throwing the last few things in our bags before heading for the city!

Thanks for that! He can at least try, if he can't get back off then he can come back and check in later.

Thanks!

The weather forcast is good so far!

As far as I know you can still get off the ship after checking in ( I will try and confirm this for you tomorrow) but if not ..yes you can check in at different times as long as the first person checking in registers the credit card for on board charges.

 

Which cruise are you on? The three nighter on the 23rd or the one on the 26th where you will be checking in at White Bay?

Thanks for that!

We are on the 23rd. Our check in time is 11.30. If we can check in separately it's not really a problem, I can go first and he can follow when he is free, it's my credit card on our account so that will work. Himself would like to check in early with me but if he has meetings in town he will either have to wait and check in later or hope he can get off and back on later.

Last year when we sailed on Radiance we could leave the ship after check in as long as we boarded again before the sailing time.

We are on Solstice this week and I am wondering whether we can do the same. Himself may have meetings in the afternoon so wondering if we can check in at our allocated 11.30am time then he can trot off to his meetings while I enjoy the ship!

Alternately can we check in separately or does everyone from the same cabin have to check in at once. We have cruised many times before but always checked in as a cabin full whether the 2 of us or the whole family.

There is quite a lot of discussion about this issue on the Australian/New Zealand Cruisers part of the forum, if you have a look there they appear to have been told that there will be shuttle buses from the OPT to the White Bay Terminal for people who turn up at the OPT.

The ferry ride along the harbour and under the bridge will be very nice, take your camera!

Ive had 2 automated phone calls and 2 emails from Celebrity this morning about my 30 October cruise - that pax must adhere to allocated check in time AND complete online checkline.

We had the same sort of thing for our 23 October Cruise, tricky when the X site is so dodgy. I checked in last week when we booked but have been trying to sort a few issues and havent been able to get anywhere for days, if I can get on the site it goes round in circles and says my Captains Club number doesn't belong to my name (aaaah, yes it does!) or says come back later.

I hope people stick to the advice they are given about the check in times or Celebrity have someone at the wharf letting people drop their bags but sending them off to come back later if they come at the wrong time and there is a line!

Its a BIG problem for people cruising out of Sydney!

They are doing major construction work on the cruise terminal and access is very limited, they have emailed, Facebooked and text messaged requests for people to be sure they check in online (to make processing at the pier easier)...pretty tricky when you can't get on the site and the first Solstice cruise sails on Thursday! A lot of cabins have been sold in the last couple of weeks so there will be a lot of people trying to check in.

I checked in last week when we booked. Managed to get on the site straight away. Since then it has been a whole world of frustration trying to sort out the mess the Captains Club people made with my husbands account.

Reminded me of the fuss and frustration we had last time we sailed with X about 2 years ago...I can't believe they still haven't fixed the site, the problems were ongoing then! We have cruised RCCL and HAL in the meantime with no online issues at all. Perhaps X should grab the programmers from RCCL to come and get this mess sorted for once and for all.

We had 9156 (marked 9150 on your photo) on Millie. It is, in effect, a suite, being a bed room, separate lounge room and that crazy huge verandah. I would book it in a flash! The next two cruises we went on after that we booked suites...because we loved the extra space!

Only a long flight until you fly to Europe. Then US is a quick trip. :D

 

Raina

I'd do the Europe flight any day in presence to the Flight across the Pacific, there is something ugly about that flight, maybe it's the timing.

The partners we flew with VA were Virgin America who have main cabin select which is the front row of economy with extra space and all the food and drink you want, and Alaska Airlines who offered an upgrade to first class (our domestic business class) for $80 which was an absolute bargain to go all the way from LAX to DC.

We have done Premium Economy on Virgin from LAX to SYD.

It us an incredibly long overnight flight. They basically give you dinner when you board then turn the lights off until a couple of hours before you land then serve breakfast. Good luck finding a flight attendant in between! They have a little passageway in front of the PE cabin where they leave a self serve bar and very basic snacks (packets of peanuts, chips etc)

The planes are all fairly new. Seats are what we have as business class on domestic flights in Australia. There is adequate room between rows until the person in front of you reclines their seat fully ( and in my case reclined his seat fully then sat up straight all night working on his laptop...what that was about I don't know!) then it's a bit squeeze to get in and out as the seats recline a long way...good for sleeping!

Would we choose to fly that way again...definitely. It would be my second choice on that route, only the Qantas A380 Premium economy would be ahead for me.

Did I mention it's a horribly long flight ;)

Lots of great replies Susan. Each to his/her own. I agree that Avomine is the best seasickness tablet you can buy in Australia but it really is renown for making you drowsy - you know the kind that says, I have to go to sleep NOW but I guess that's better than "I need to ... NOW! (lol)! Taking it at night may help but I prefer the Bonine - of course you have to get your hands on it. I have Sea Legs and I don't agree that it is the same as Bonine but do agree that it is good.

 

Anyway, your Bonine is on its way to you:D and Bon Voyage - hope you have a great cruise.

 

Cheers

Di

Sea Legs and Bonine contain exactly the same drug, Bonine is a higher strength though.

If you are stopping off in New Zealand (or know someone who lives there) get some Sealegs brand (meclazine) tabs over the counter. Very effective and I'm not sure why this medication isn't available in Oz.

 

On a round Australia cruise our captain was accompanied by his lovely wife who was terribly afflicted by mal de mer even thought it wasn't rough seas. She had been more or less confined to his quarters for the first week and tried all and every remedy suggested to no avail. A Kiwi couple offered her their Sealegs to try and she instantly felt better and continued to be so for the rest of the trip.

Sea Legs is the NZ brand name for the same drug as Bonine. You can get it over the counter at any NZ pharmacy.

We have done a Celebrity cruise and a short Princess cruise. In my opinion Celebrity runs rings around Princess in every aspect of the cruise.

Hobart is one of our favourite places for a short break, we go most years for a long weekend. It's fantastic and the cruise terminal is walking distance to most things.

I am a bit biased, I wouldn't cruise Princess again out of Australia, the deal breaker for me is fixed dining, I want to be able to eat when I want to, not at a particular time, but everyone is different and that obviously suits a lot of people :)

There's no compressor or freezing unit in the chiller. It will keep cool things cool, to about 20-25 degrees below room temperature. If you put things in there already chilled

 

Thanks for that! We will have to make sure the stuff we put in is cold...and stop himself from overloading the poor thing!

Hi --

 

Am taking a long circumnavigation cruise of Australia and would like to purchase a nice man's opal ring. Where are the best cities and stores to do this? Am spending extra days in Sydney front and back of the cruise.

 

ZU

I agree with travelbug2!

For more info on where to purchase I would post your question on the Australian Cruisers forum rather than here. There are lots of locals there and I am sure someone would be able to give you good shopping advice...although, strangely enough, Australian opals aren't generally popular in Australia!

We were on Radiance just before Christmas and had about 400 kids onboard, I thought that was quite a lot and was impressed at how they behaved. Staff told us that over the Christmas school holidays they often have over a thousand kids onboard.