possum52

8 hours ago, Reina del Mar said:

Used the AUD25 shuttle. Seemed fine but no one checked tickets on either outward or return journey…whether everyone had paid, I have no idea.

 

Disappointing this dock is so far from town. 25 dollars this time and 28 dollars from previous dock, so probably a little closer.

Sorry, it is so far out for you but really where would you expect the ship to dock? The bigger the ships get, the further out from river cities the ports have to be. The cruise ports for London are Dover (77 miles/125km and Southampton (79 miles/128km). The distance from Brisbane CBD shuttle drop off is 15.4 miles/24.8km to the BICT. 

7 hours ago, Yaya_in_Oz said:

I've never had anyone ask how much I paid for a cruise, I mustn't 'chat' enough.

We've had a couple hint that we say how much we paid but I just said we had a good price. But there was one couple who insisted that they tell us all about their cheap cruise every time we saw them onboard which seemed to be often. We tried to avoid them but they always seemed to find us.🤣

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

Slappers are a type of thong that have arch support and fit snuggle as to be able to run backwards in them. Very comfortable.

Aren’t they spelt Slappa, as in Slappa’s thongs? 

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

Wow, Max 4 pairs for me. Slappers, Walking shoes ( Hoka or Merrells), Boat shoes and possibly sandals if it is a warm weather location

My husband has two pairs of Hokas. His podiatrist recommended them once he was able to wear shoes after his two toes were amputated. He bought the blue ones as the place that he was referred to only had those in his size (13), He bought a black pair recently at the sports store where our grandson works at the weekend. 

Take care and don't overdo it Lyle.

Thanks Mic for putting up the scores. I was out watching my grandson play this afternoon. 

1 minute ago, arxcards said:

I have a fair bit of a family trace from Northumberland, but definitely not the Campbell clan. By some connection, I live in Northumberland County (the early pre-council pastoral & parish boundaries). Have a fair bit of my ancestry from around Hadrian's Wall

My Northumberland roots are in the south - North Shields, Tyneside and Bedlington. Interestingly, our former next door neighbour came from Bedlington and has moved back there to be closer to her family. I find it fascinating to think about how our Australian accent developed from the dialects and accents of the first settlers and convicts of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and then the immigrants from the mid 1850s from the various areas of England, Scotland and Ireland. Plus of course those who came from all over the world from the gold rush times up until now.

1 hour ago, ceeceeDee said:

Our's is Campbell 😂

31 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Then somewhere way, way back in the past we might have a common ancestor.

Both Rob and I have Campbell ancestors - his from Cork in Ireland and mine from Northumberland. I assume they were originally Scottish. I have not been able to go back further in tracing where they originally came from. 

3 hours ago, Kristelle said:

Memorial Hill, Parkes, Victoria?

 

PS little hack Kristelle uses - pick photos on your computer that you could use for this game, copy and paste into new folder - as you use one, put into sub folder of 'used already' photos

 

follow me for more handy tips 😄

Has Parkes moved states? Thought it was in NSW.

In our part of south west Victoria, we called it German sausage and there was also Strasbourg sausage, spelt a couple of different ways. My grandfather, a couple of uncles and cousins were all butchers and the highlight for my children was a visit to one of their shops and given a slice of stras,

15 hours ago, Mareblu said:

Yesterday was a rather dramatic cruising day.  Our tour bus for our excursion to Aix-en-Provence suffered sudden engine failure on the highway, with the driver finally pulling to the side near a paddock, just as the bus filled with acrid smoke. 

Fortunately, the injured passenger was back on board for sailaway, after treatment in  Vista’s medical centre.  He declined the offer of suturing at the Marseilles hospital, obviously because he wanted to ensure a timely return to our ship.

10 hours ago, Aussieflyer said:

 

I can imagine all the official vehicles attending. We once had a car accident in Devon when a motorbike rider ran into us at speed on a narrow road (Phil had seen him coming down the hill and had pulled off as far as possible and stopped). We ended up blocking the whole road and had police (including the senior officer of the area who was referred to as Ma'am), ambulance, air ambulance, fire brigade. Luckily we only had bruising and the bike rider did come off ok - how he wasn't killed I have no idea as the speed broke the bike into pieces.

 

Wow, you were all very fortunate with your respective accidents/incidents. The poor man who fell, I hope that his lacerations heal well. It just shows how easily a mishap can occur and how vital travel insurance is. 

Linda, enjoy your trip to Devon and Cornwall. 

Rob and I were given gift vouchers to the restaurant Meat & Wine Co so decided to have a night at Crown Promenade and use our gift vouchers for dinner which we did on Sunday night. The restaurant (at Southbank) is about a 400 metre walk from the hotel so it was perfect for us.

Dinner was amazing, we started with a small loaf of hot rye bread with butter and olive oil, we both had fillet steak with salad - I had chips and Rob had potato mash. Dessert was liquid - a Dom Pedro - vanilla bean ice cream blended with Baileys - so good. The steaks were cooked perfectly to our liking and overall, a wonderful meal. 
 

Yesterday morning we had a buffet breakfast which filled us to dinner. 

44 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

Hey Mic, thanks for asking. I have had a bit of enforced absence from here. Spring has sprung and all is abloom.

I had a bit of a spectacular fall last week and have had a few days of work. My ribs are sore but I hope to get back to work tomorrow.

I fell on Tuesday and didn't go to work since then. I already had Thursday and Friday booked off; Lynn's nephew came to be with us as we travelled to Vancouver to inter Granny's ashes as she had wanted. It was a sad reason for a good visit.

Lynn is still working through her grief, she is okay most of the time, but now and then she has a moment. As unfortunate as my fall was it has made it so I can be around for her a few extra days.

Sorry to hear you had a fall Lyle and hope you are feeling better. I'm sure Lynn is appreciating you being around even if you do have sore ribs. I still have moments of grieving for my Mum, it is nearly two years since her death. It comes on unexpectedly and I shed a tear or two. I think it is all pretty normal to do so.

6 minutes ago, resordanis said:

Morning all,

For all that know a lot more than me, I am told Crown Princess will dock in Cairns? What do you think?. Thanks

The Ports North Cruise Ship Schedule has her docked in Cairns. 

Cairns Cruise Ship Schedule

4 hours ago, mauimary said:

Does anyone know if there is a shuttle from Yorkeys Knob to Cairns? We will be overnight on Celebrity so it makes my options easier.  Where is the drop off?  I’m looking at some independent excursions. 

There are shuttles into Cairns CBD(central business district), which in the past dropped off near the lagoon. It is about a 30 minutes drive into Cairns.

A good win to Swans - too many good players compared to Eagles - 

3/4time - 

13 minutes ago, arxcards said:

A bit of a see-saw happening. Is it windy at Mt Barker?

Commentators said 2-3 goal wind which Eagles will have in last quarter. 

Half time - 

Swans v Eagles at Mt Barker South Australia. All AFL games are being played in SA this round. 
 

Quarter time - 

19 hours ago, yarramar said:

 

For Phillip Island, a whole day will give you plenty of time for wildlife including koalas, kangaroos and pelican feeding. The penguin parade is a must but you will need transport to it and back to Cowes for your tender to return to the ship. The penguin parade finishes just after sunset which is about 6.30pm on Sept 29th. 

 

 

The tenders dock at the Rhyll pier not in Cowes - Tender Docking at Phillip Island, although there are shuttles from Rhyll to Cowes.

3 hours ago, Cool Breeze Cruiser said:

My husband & I are booked on the Diamond Princess Sep 26th. This is our itinerary…

 

Spending two nights in Sydney before departing on Sep 26th. 

 

Sep 28th- Melbourne, Australia; 7:00AM-10:00PM

 

Sep 29th- Phillip Island, Australia; 8:00AM-11:00PM

 

Oct 1st- Kangaroo Island; 7:00AM-5:00PM

 

Oct 2nd- Port Lincoln, Australia; 8:00AM-6:00PM

 

Oct 3rd- Adelaide, Australia; 7:00AM-6:00PM

 

Oct 5th- Melbourne, Australia; dock at 7:00AM & spending one night before flying to New Zealand for a 15 day land trip.

I am in the beginning stages of research for excursions for our cruise as I have been spending most of my time planning the land trip to New Zealand & that is making my head spin! 

We like to see the countryside, absorb the culture, short hikes, etc as opposed to visiting museums, art galleries, etc.

If anyone has any recommendations for private excursions for any of these ports, your suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 
So far, I have looked at quad bikes on Kangaroo Island & the Puffin Billy train on one of our days in Melbourne (we will be in Melbourne the day we disembark too). 

Thanks, 

Juli

Phillip Island - definitely do the Penguin Parade, particularly if offered by Princess. It will be likely cool to cold in the evening at the Penguin Parade, so do wear warm clothes and take a rug or cushion to sit on. The wind off Bass Strait can be bitter even if the days are fine. 

Melbourne - has lovely gardens and parks which are great to walk around and perhaps have lunch. Or walk around and explore the wonderful lanes and alleys of the central business district CBD) - there are free walking tours you can do. Our coffee culture is well known and you can always find a cafe or kiosk selling great coffee. 

Puffing Billy is fun and you will get to see some of our native forest up close. 

13 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Stawell was certainly wet yesterday anyway.

It sure was. I was amazed they actually were able to run the final.

2 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Our weather guy said  Victoria was in for a lot of rain, perhaps it was Sunday nights news.

That was the forecast for yesterday afternoon, night and today. Melbourne only had 2.8mm of rain for the whole of March but starting mid afternoon  through to early this morning, we had around 60mm. More than the April average. 

4 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Richmond Tigers won 11.16 (82) beat the Sydney Swans 11.11 (77).

I didn't see the game but assume it was a wet , slushy game due to all the rain in Victoria on Sunday.

 

Swans are 3 wins from 4 on 12 points, 5th spot due to their percentage. The top 6 all have 3 wins so far.

What rain in Victoria on Sunday Mic? Not a drop of rain until mid yesterday afternoon in Melbourne when the Cats v Hawks game was stopped for a while due to a thunderstorm. It was murky though with smoke from burnoffs in the Dandenongs.