Porky55

Latest news is that Military and Cruise ships will still be docked. There are other tug boat Companies able to do this job. 👍

On 10/6/2022 at 10:02 AM, jemdot said:

Hello! I am interested in this exact shore excursion with Celebrity, sounds beautiful and amazing.  Do you remember if you returned to the ship in Dunedin early enough to do another shore excursion in Dunedin?  I called Celebrity directly but the customer service rep didn't have that information.  Thank you!

Don’t honestly recall, but pretty sure not. Think there was something we went to on the morning of our return to the ship. Still highly recommend this tour 😄

2 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Looks quite calm - all I can say is have a great day and looks like the Captain got the weather right 👍

OK, caught this while browsing this morning and just wondering how Princess fans feel about what he is saying 🙄
 

All his points, both good and bad we have encountered and not sure I’m liking the look of the future Princess. About to cruise on Majestic so can judge it against the smaller Coral. Just really love these smaller ships 😮‍💨

1 hour ago, MMDown Under said:

10-17 showers, partly cloudy.

Hope all passengers have a great day in Melbourne. 

🥶🥶 that’s way cold for us 😀

5 hours ago, bcwife76 said:

Someone mentioned why the Dream or Fantasy aren't being sent down under and there are many reasons for this, the most important being that apparently those ships are too large to make the Panama Canal crossing to get to the west coast in order to do a trans pacific crossing.

That seems the most sensible reason why not the newer ships, but other lines  manage to relocate larger, newer vessels to Aus 🙄

No doubt the Disney Wonder will appeal to lots of people and that’s a wonderful thing for the market 😄

The only shame about this is the seemingly coincidental continued relocating to the Australian market of the “older ships”. Disney Wonder definitely is NOT a current cruise ship - Built in 1998 and probably full of the same plumbing and wear problems that accompany this era. This isn’t to say it won’t be a wonderful ship - but why didn’t we get Disney Dream or Fantasy?

Source: Wikipedia

Disney Wonder docked at Nassau
History
Bahamas
Name	Disney Wonder
Owner	The Walt Disney Company
Operator	Disney Cruise Line
Port of registry	Bahamas[1]
Ordered	1995
Builder	Fincantieri Marghera shipyard, Italy[2]
Laid down	May 5, 1997
Launched	February 23, 1998
Sponsored by	Tinkerbell and Mickey Mouse
Christened	October 1, 1999
Completed	June 18, 1999
Maiden voyage	August 15, 1999
In service	1999–present
Identification	IMO number: 9126819
Status	in active service
General characteristics
Class and type	Magic-class (Disney) cruise ship[2]
Tonnage	83,000 GT[2]
Length	964 ft (294 m)[2]
Beam	106 ft (32 m)[2]
Draft	25.3 ft (7.7 m)[3]
Decks	11
Installed power	43,000 kW (57,600 hp)
Propulsion	Diesel-Electric; 5 × Sulzer16ZAV40S; two shafts
Speed	Cruising 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph), Maximum 23.5 knots (43.5 km/h; 27.0 mph)[3]
Capacity	2,400 passengers[2]
Crew	945

8 minutes ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

22 nights.

We joked that mums wore out first because she used it so much at the casino.

 

Well, that’s gonna be fun on the WC - every 20 or so days, off to Guest Services to have your battery replaced 😆🤣

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

Adults only area. Not somewhere we usually frequent. Aft, and should be accessible from decks 12, 14, 15 & 17. The aft pool and tiered rear deck that used to be there on Star Princess was accessed that way.

On Pacific Encounter isn’t the adults only area the Byron Club and only available to those who are booked into Byron mini suites, or by paying like the Sanctuary on Princess?

Well, answered the question by looking at the deckplans - Byron Beach Pool is in the middle of the spas, gym etc 🙄   The Adult's area is the Oasis one deck down. There you go 😄

5 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

I booked myself on a 1 pm flight for the end of my first cruise in November.   Looks like I'd be safer paying the money for the cruise transfer from the new Brisbane terminal.  Can you do that in advance on the medallion app?  Or just book it once on board?

We booked a private transfer and the driver met us at the terminal. Cost $75 - still less than Princess transfer and guaranteed terminal to airport at the time WE wanted. Just a suggestion 🤔

On 8/17/2022 at 2:07 PM, OzKiwiJJ said:

Hopefully nobody caught Covid on the reef excursion. How was that excursion? Is it good value for money? I like snorkelling but DH doesn't so we're tossing up between that or the Whitehaven Beach trip. However we are going to wait to see what the weather forecast is like before booking anything. We'll take the risk of missing out but never mind.

I found the reefs closer to shore to be much nicer than the Outer Reef - where all the big day cruises go. The tour operators like Thunder Cat and Ocean Rafting seem to be more aware of the lovely vertical reefs that aren’t as affected by sun bleaching. So the colours and varieties were quite beautiful. This is off Airlie btw - I assume that operators out of Cairns or Port Douglas would be the same as these guys - know all the spectacular small reefs near shore. Just thought local knowledge could help you decide 👍

Rose

Considering a case of wine (12 bottles) can weigh anywhere between 15 and 19kgs I wouldn’t want to be carrying it to the Hilton, and then to the ship with luggage. 😳 😆

“How Much Does a Case of Wine Weigh? The average case of wine weighs between 30 and 40 lbs or 14.25 to 19 kg. Since there are 12 bottles of wine in a case, we can estimate the total weight based off of a single bottle's weight. The standard 750 ml bottle of wine weighs an average of 2.65 pounds (1.2 kg).”

Won’t the couple who are on Coral now for 795 nights take out the MTP in 2023? 🤔😆

9 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Duty free is duty free, it is classed as an international island so enables the duty-free items to be sold.

I haven't  been on any cruises that qualify since Covid but they have had the desk just past immigration  point in the now long ago past.

Didn’t see any TRS claim desks at Brisbane and our cruise went to Willis Island 

I think the “Duty Free” circuit around Willis Island is for the purchase of alcohol and a minimal few cigarettes.

In all reality it is a domestic cruise.

21 hours ago, gogo65 said:

the flight from Edinburgh to Tromso is my one risk factor, fingers crossed masks will be worn!

No reason you can’t wear a mask yourself, just to be sure.

I found that going through checkin and security at any airport here and overseas to be more of a challenge - other passengers just don’t consider personal space during this time.

32 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

They sometimes put on recorded music when entertainers are taking a break in the various venues in the evenings but it's usually fairly quiet. I don't whether that's from something that is playing ship-wide or just something setup for each particular venue.

Agree -  Perhaps it’s so low key its unnoticeable 😁

4 hours ago, cruisermsoon said:

There  may be some areas where Princess have downgraded the experience a little, however my main gripe with Coral is the dawn to midnight incessant American-sourced "upbeat" music piped thoughout the ship. 

Not classy, tiresome, and very "Carnival" !!!

We were on coral for 7 days and can’t recall hearing any piped music either 🤔

18 minutes ago, arxcards said:

While we are happy to cruise on pretty much any ship, I do feel at home on Princess as soon as we get out of the embarking throng around the atrium. Coral and Royal class will offer us something a little bit different in layout, but I expect we will know it is signature Princess within minutes of being aboard.

That you will 👍

Have done this one and highly recommend it. The one we did in 2015 had overnight at Queenstown first night with a Steamship on Lake Wakatipu out of Queenstown to Walter Peak Farm tour (bbq lunch included) which was fabulous, then day two on bus to Arrowtown overnight - with included a stop at a bungy jump tower, was amazed with the amount of passengers (and their ages) who actually made the jump 😳 

Arrowtown is an old gold mining town and was very interesting too - then next day on to Dunedin to reboard the ship - was fabulous. We have been to NZ a few times before so this was something new for us.

This was actually off a Celebrity cruise, so not positive the stops will be the same, but this was our experience. 
Edit: just checked and it is this one we did!!
 

We have booked the 2 night Overland Hobbit tour - Trilogy of the North in December on Majestic - because, why not 😁

Below is Walter Peak Farm - just stunning 🥂

11 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

I have been in London during a heatwave and it was very unpleasant.  Buildings aren't built for heat.

Agree with this fact, however, the heat in the UK will have passed by Monday.
 

Actually, heat gone tomorrow 🙄

1 minute ago, arxcards said:

.

guess we will cross that bridge when we need to

When …… don’t you mean IF ? 😳

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

The HEPA filters are a work in progress, and as mentioned there, are fitted in key areas of the medical centre and isolation rooms. That works great until passengers are told to isolate in their cabins, as was the case last week when the isolation rooms were full of crew members.

Perhaps you are right, but if only 4(four) or 10(ten) passengers are currently infected than something is working, don’t you think? 😄

4 hours ago, arxcards said:

In the sequence tracing aboard Diamond Princess, the HVAC system was found to be the weak link that bypassed all the cleaning and sanitation efforts. The genome tracing found it spreading through blocks of cabins that shared the same air. You can sanitise your hands, but not so easy to sanitise the air.

Agreed about this pre Covid.

But Princess have advised that the HVAC system aboard their ships have been upgraded to HEPA filters, akin to an aeroplanes and have increased the volume of fresh air circulating though out the essential areas, or so I read.

Will try and find the article for you.

1 minute ago, Pobman said:

 

Credits for isolation period. They return onboard purchases to the debit/credit card and return isolation days as a future cruise credit. No idea how long it takes, did ask while on the ship and they couldn't say.

So, you had Covid and were isolated on a recent cruise?? How long did you isolate?

Credits don’t generally take very long, as a rule.