Zeikah

It's a bit annoying. We are coming from Australia in May. Although I didn't book the cruise just to go to see the gardens it was one of the excursions I was really looking forward to.  I know I will be refunded the price I paid but it leaves a bit of a sour taste. 

This will be the 1st and only tine we will there. 

21 minutes ago, trinitygirl said:

Hi there, I cruised out of Rome in August and Southampton in November 2023, booked and paid in AUD but onboard folio charged in USD.  I had the Plus package for both cruises.  I prepaid the crew appreciation charge for both cruises via my online account back in 2022 shortly after booking.  Once on board I took this thread to guest services to ask if CA was included in my Plus package so that I had paid twice. I was told both times that CA was not included in the AUD version of Plus.  I was also told that I was able to turn my prepaid CA to OBC if I didn’t want to pay the CA charge (but needless to say I did not do that).   Hope that is clear? 

Thanks for your response. Yes that clears it up. I have already asked for a refund but will now just let them put it on my onboard account

Hi all,

I realise that this is a old post but just wondering if have any Aussies recently have any experience with this in the plus package.

I had paid the extra as it was an outstanding amount on my account. I was looking on my app today for my upcoming Alaskan cruise in May and under packages it states that it is included. I phoned Princess but they say it is not included. (couldn't explain why it says it is on my app)

I have asked for my pre paid amount to be refunded then see what happens onboard. If I still need to pay nothing is lost.

Thanks

Thanks,

Cash is better for me as I already have USD and my credit card charges international transaction fees and the exchange rate they offer is not that good.

Hi all,

Can I still use cash in the slots or is it all medallion based and use onboard account? Will be on Discovery if that helps.

Thanks

Anyone have any ideas on this? Still debating on getting mocktail package

Thanks

Hi,

Are the mocktails in the package limited to the ones I can see on the mocktail menu? On Princess I could order any cocktail as a virgin!! Is this the same with P&O?

Thanks in advance

Hi All,

Looking to book a cruise for my 60th next year. My dilemma is my birthday doesn't fall at the best time for a Europe cruise.

I have narrowed my choices down to two.

Queen Anne. Northern lights cruise to Tromso departing Southampton 15th October 2024

Norwegian Prima. Italy, Greece departing Rome 28th October 2024

Can I ask some advice from some cruising experts on which itinerary would be the best due to being shoulder season. I understand it is not going to be the best weather on either cruise. But just some general advice to help me choose would be helpful.

Thanks in advance, 

41 minutes ago, Zeikah said:

Ridiculous pricing.

 

$4,500 pp aussie dollars for ocean view balcony. Around 2850 usd 

 

Think I will hold off and wait to see if they bring the Wonder to Australia in 2024 like they are saying.

Just looked on the US website. I think we Aussies are being ripped off. 3723USD for balcony on deck 12. That would equate to around $5450AUD the same cabin/date on Australian website $8,717aud. 

Ridiculous pricing.

$4,500 pp aussie dollars for ocean view balcony. Around 2850 usd 

Think I will hold off and wait to see if they bring the Wonder to Australia in 2024 like they are saying.

Hi all,

I will be flying in from Australia landing at LAX.

I am currently booked on Prima out of Galveston so will obviously need to connect through to Texas but I am wondering if I should change to the Bliss from Los Angeles due to the ease of joining the ship. Also Bliss around $1,000 Aussie dollars cheaper. 

To those that have cruised both east and west Mexico which would you suggest? Is one side better than the other?

PS Cruise not until March 2024 so I have plenty of time to change if needed

Thanks in advance.

Hi all,

I will be flying in from Australia landing at LAX.

I am currently booked on Prima out of Galveston so will obviously need to connect through to Texas but I am wondering if I should change to the Bliss from Los Angeles due to the ease of joining the ship. Also Bliss around $1,000 Aussie dollars cheaper. 

To those that have cruised both east and west Mexico which would you suggest? Is one side better than the other?

PS Cruise not until March 2024 so I have plenty of time to change if needed

Thanks in advance.

Thank you for the responses.

I now understand.

I have paid the extra $299aud service charge (for the dining room/restaurant staff, your cabin steward, their helpers, the laundry room workers, etc) The extra service charge for Beverage package and SD must of been in the total cost for the cruise. You are correct TA has not itemized costs.

Thanks again

Hi All, 

I have purchased 7 nights on Bliss which included free ta sea (beverage package, dining x2, wifi & shore credit). I am from Australia so was charged in AUS dollars. I have prepaid service charge for 2 adults $299aud which roughly is around 210usd 

It states on NCL that the service charge for beverage package is 19.80 pp that should be around 277USD for that alone without the service charge for specialty dining.

Is there another service charged at time of sailing for main dining room attendants? as I have I paid on other cruise lines!!!!

Thanks in advance.

4 hours ago, Norwich Cruiser said:

I’d stick with Seaview as not a great fan of those particular Mediterranean ports although always enjoy the Malta visit the sail in is worth getting up early to view.

If you could find a Greek Islands cruise which works with your timeline that may be a better option.

Thanks. Can't seem to find anything for the Greek islands for that time. Maybe March is not the right time? If I could find a Greek island cruise, that would sway me.

2 minutes ago, perakcruiser said:

Difficult. 

 

I would say this depends on how many times you been to Europe and these places. Certainly they are much more interesting than Bahrain, Doha and AD. The big highlight in the Middle East is Dubai and some places in the UAE you can visit with rental car (Liwa Oasis and so on). But the Seaview should be also a great destination in itself. As the Virtuosa will be certainly.

Thanks. We have never been to Europe or UAE.

Yes I am more about the ship as the destination. My wife on the other hand is more about the destination. Hence my dilemma. haha

Hi all,

I know you can't decide for me but some advice from those that may have cruised both places might be able to help me decide.

It will be our 25th Anniversary holiday March 2021. We have decided on Dubai for a week + 1 extra week. (flying from Australia) I love cruising so I think a cruise for the second week might be the way to go. 

I have narrowed it down to two options. I can either do 7 nights on the Seaview from Dubai. (Bahrain,Doha,Sir Bani Yas & Abu Dhabi)  or 7 nights on Virtuosa from Barcelona. (Marseilles,Genoa,Rome,Palermo & Malta).

March in the Gulf will be nice weather but the ports seem not to excite me too much (Abu Dahbi will be ok) Also I can taxi to the ship.

March seems not to be as good weather in the Med. Ports will be more interesting but we need a 7hr flight each way to do this one.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Hi All,

Thinking of booking a cruise from Dubai. I see that there a lot of theme nights with MSC. I will be travelling from Australia and taking a full wardrobe of clothes is probably not going to work. We will obviously take clothes for elegant night but what sort of percentage dress up for the other theme nights? Will we feel out of place in neat casual on these nights?

Thanks in advance.  

2 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

It’s not negotiable.  You will pay a $100 per person penalty to change ship or sail date.  The balance  if the deposit will be issues to a future cruise credit that has to be used within a year.  

 

Bottom line is you are out $200.

Apologies for hijacking!!!

Just to clarify, I have paid $400 NRD if I re-book a different ship they will transfer $200 (2 pax) to the new booking. IE: If the new deposit is $400 again I pay $200 plus the $200 from previous booking? Or pay the new $400 and that NRD $200 is used towards a different booking within 12 months?

Hope that makes sense???

30 minutes ago, The_Big_M said:

Depends how analytical you are. 😉 There are differences but many of them are less visible, or minor.

 

The most visible difference is the specially constructed musical instrument on Quantum, which none of the others including Ovation have. If you're into music, that's a standout. If not, it'd be much of a muchness. There is also a difference in shows, but it's not as though one is better than the other - they're just different. There's also some minor fitout differences; again I prefer Quantum, but most people wouldn't notice. For example, Quantum has a swing, which Ovation lost, and Quantum has a DJ telescopic booth in Seaplex which Ovation lost.

 

In the back-end, there are substantial backend dining and other operation differences, which aren't visible unless you compared. I prefer Quantum for these. And the suite concierge operates differently; personally I much preferred Quantum.

 

All in all, if you've never sailed either before, and Ovation was the first, you wouldn't realise the things that aren't there, and they won't make massive differences to the overall experience. Also, depending on what you prefer to do onboard, you may not notice those things anyway even if on Quantum. For me though, Quantum was way better.

Thanks so much for your reply. I think we will switch to Quantum.

Hi All,

I already have a booking on Ovation from Sydney but am thinking about switching to Quantum from Singapore.

Trying to understand if there any differences between the two from anyone that has been on both? Is one better than the other or nothing much different.

Thanks in advance.

10 hours ago, DENBET30 said:

I booked three cruises on the Oasis this year when I noted they had literally dropped to about half price from usual averages. If memory serves me I think this sale was in April and the sailings were definitely all fall sailings. My question, does RCCL have an annual cyber sale or was this a random event based on inventory? Interested in your experiences in timing.Thanks 

Be careful with the sales. I booked Ovation virtual balcony cabin (for Australia sailing) then the next week RC had a "WOW" sale with second guest half price. I was so annoyed but then I did a dummy booking to see how much I'd paid extra. It was $220 ish per person extra with the sale and half off the second guest than what I paid with no sale. So Sales are not always sales.

Hi all, Just a FYI not a question!!!

I booked a VB on Ovation for $1,703 aud per person (nor refundable deposit). I was so annoyed when a week later I see a "WOW" sale with second guest sales at 50% off. Well to my bemusement when I did a dummy booking to see how much I would of saved I found it was $1,929 aud per person.

Anyway no complaints just found that sales don't always mean they are on sale. Will be curious if the price drops back to $1,703 tomorrow when the sale finishes.

Depending on when you want to eat you may encounter lines. You may have to go through the entire line and then get a pager and wait some more. There is definitely a time frame where it seems almost everybody wants to eat. If you go before or after that time you are far less likely to have to wait.

Sorry to hijack!!! If I make a permanent booking for the same time every night do I skip the line or still join the queue

Thanks

Hey. does anyone know the current usd to aud exchange rate princess offers. I am trying to see how best to pay for my shore excursions so want to know how much they would be in aud. Thanks. :confused:

I just bought OBC for my upcoming cruise. The cost per $100 usd was $135 Aud. You can buy the OBC to pay for shore excursions or whatever you like. Also the credit card treats it as a purchase not a cash advance.

Sorry you were after the reverse.