Gnomey

Around Australia is a great cruise. Do keep in mind though that the heat we get in the Aussie tropics is not like Arizona heat. Humidity will be very high for most of the trip and that will limit outside activities. In December you should see some pretty spectacular storms up north too. When in Sydney plan to come on up to the Blue Mountains, apart from being a bit cooler we do have a bit to see here. Also search "the Web" for activities that appeal, I always suggest the ferry ride to Manly and/or Watsons Bay as great outings.

Steve.

That ship is on my wish list for a longer cruise, as well as Adonia for a shorter cruise.

Unfortunately Marion this year was her last trip downunder as P&O reckon she's getting on a bit and they are keeping her closer to home. I see though they are going to South America for a long trip, might be worth the flight to England for that one!

Steve.

Well here is an unexpected ring in.....

P & O UK's Aurora. Spacious decks, nice cabins, rides very nicely. The crew was great too. A truly elegant ship.

Steve.

It is the "wet" season in Queensland. It will certainly be hot and very humid, when it's not raining! It is not the time of year I would travel north, but of course you may have fine clear weather too and then it would be hotter.

Steve.

Well that's sad news Gut, even more sorry now we missed you on Emerald last year. I am also one who has cheated the wheelchair for some time due to back issues so I can understand your pain. Keep your chin up and try to think positive. Steve.

There was this one time.......on the Emerald.......we met an Elf:eek::').......but I wont say much more because he is around here sometimes:*

Oh my stars, did we meet on Emerald last year? Although I am a little taller than an Elf, and tend to stand in gardens - we can sometimes be confused! :D

Gnome.

We loved our few days on Aurora, even made an English friend! As for the "Princess girl", she must be kidding. We will easily be tempted back on to Aurora, there wasn't anything to dislike really. We found the Indian crew much more friendly on Aurora than Arcadia. Arcadia had a different "feel" to it altogether. Enjoy the rest of the cruise, I'm sure you will.

Steve.

Rui Pereira - Golden Princess for our March 2017 NZ cruise.

Rui is a good man. We've had him a couple of times now and he seems to run a good operation all round. Also has an extensive wine cellar in his cabin! ;)

Steve.

Beautiful ship Aurora, great crew too. Not coming back next year though, that's a bit sad.

Steve.

I might mention zumbalover, check the weather if at all possible before you head up here to the "mountains". We are heading in to March when drizzle and fog start to move in a little. If it is a clear day then come on up by car/train/tour bus and enjoy our different vistas.

Steve.

We made Mystery Island OK in February with Princess last year no problem. Lovely place, just watch out for the very slippery black rocks in the water!

Steve.

Hi Pagan,

We did Brisbane to Freemantle in Nov. 2015 on Sun Princess via Lombok Indonesia and it was great. We had still, flat seas but it was very hot and humid. We had a week on the ground in Western Aust., which was great, then finished the round Australia bit on Pacific Eden. Princess usually schedule scenic cruising of the Kimberly Coast in West. Aust and that was amazing, as was the barrier reef cruising.

An overseas port is often included in Australian cruises so we can do some duty free shopping.

Steve.

They need to fix the issues on Dawn Princess when it goes in to dry dock, not just "tart it up" like they did with Aria & Eden. We were on Dawn this year and they had numerous issues with toilets in particular. Same goes for the rest of the P&O fleet, reliable hot water and functioning toilets are expected, not optional. One great thing about Emerald Princess recently was the lack of sewerage smells and the reliable functioning of the ship. Even the tenders looked "new"!

Steve.

Hi Aus Traveller and Merry Christmas. We have another "world cruise" coming up next year. Long one this time, Adelaide to Sydney! ;) What's amazing about this trip is the glossy booklet P&O sent us for our 6 day world cruise leg with details about shore trips and ships facilities etc.

Steve.

I concur Mr Gut. We didn't even need passports for our World Cruise on Arcadia, from Sydney to Melbourne :D. Government issued photo ID did the trick.

Steve.

Mr Gut we missed you! We hung around Outriggers looking for a "big" foot on a "big" boy but alas team Gnome had to leave early for dinner at 6pm. There were only a few of us there and it was a pleasant area to be as well. I found the ship to be surprisingly good at carrying its 3,500 odd passengers, we all seemed to spread out pretty well. I also thought there was not as much variety in the dining room, but must say that Crown Grill was delightful in dining and decor, easily worth the extra charge. How about the list when the wind hit us coming out of Port Arthur :eek:. Man that was interesting!

Steve.

Hi Kalyn,

As previously mentioned each of your areas are great to visit. New Caledonia/Vanuatu is lovely, usually hot and well suited to snorkeling/swimming just be careful of the slippery rocks at the beaches! The area is beautiful, lush (mostly) and tropical and the people are lovely. Around Australia is a great cruise, particularly if the weather is friendly. It is hot in the north in Summer and relentless in the "build up" around November. I found it very relaxing with sea days between most ports. New Zealand is also beautiful and a great place to visit, when it is not shaking (like last night!). Very busy with a port each day, once you arrive and each port is very different with lots to see and do. The people are lovely, especially if the All Blacks are winning!

I think a combined Australia/New Zealand cruise would work very well for you, coming from overseas. Doing a back to back including the South Pacific Islands would be pretty much perfect, if you can fit it in. Happy planning.

Steve.

Hi all, further to my earlier further to.........it seems we risk becoming criminals with my planned cruises in North America! Apparently we will be fined under the PVSA, which has been discussed elsewhere in CC. Princess have told us to cancel one of the two cruises or be fined $300 each for being in breach of the act. It all revolves around what is considered a "distant foreign port", and anywhere in Canada is not classed as being foreign, even though it is a different country! And I thought we had some crazy regulations! Our TA was caught out too and is discussing options with Princess, we get to learn what we can do soon.

Reading through CC forums many others have been caught out with this crazy Act, which goes back to 1886! I know its poor form to knock other country's laws but this one might need a bit of a "modernising" I think.

Steve.

Hi Bizzie, I was thinking of going with Great Alaskan Holidays. Their website is straight forward, services/shuttles look good, price seems better than the lower 48 too. So much to think of though, with ships/planes/hotels/3 vehicle hires all up.....:confused:

Steve.

Thank you all again for your valuable comments, suggestions and pictures even. And now for something completely different.....

It seems we are going in May/June next year, hopping on to Island Princess in LA and cruising all the way to Whittier, then doing the motorhome in Alaska, flying to Seattle and doing another couple of weeks in British Columbia and Washington state, and finishing off with a couple of days in LA to see some basic sights. The American Rockies (Colorado, Wyoming etc) in Fall will have to wait for another year!

We will certainly miss the full promenade deck on Island P. I'm sure we will manage though, it is only two weeks of our life after all! We do find ourselves looking forward to this trip now than plans are firming up.

Steve.

We went in February this year and didn't need visas, but I suggest checking with the cruise line.

Steve.

When we were there last year the ship's shuttle only went to the pub in town. The local bus service was very good, but our cruise left much earlier than yours. It also left at a different time to what Princess said in the itinerary, so watch out for that. I think it was a very late call to change departure by Princess too.

Princess may have a sunset trip available for sale. That would be more reliable maybe.

Steve.

Study pictures of the ship(s). On deck 8 there are some cabins with big windows that accommodate 2 people only. You pay a bit more for them and they sell out pretty quickly too, but the bed is against a wall and you have full advantage of the picture window. Our favourite cabins on these ships.

Steve.

We did tender in to Able Point Marina, where some rather flash boats were tied up. The two different companies we cruised with did offer some excursions, whitehaven beach was one, out to the reef another an area trip and I think a run to a Coffee plantation.

Steve.

Hi Les,

I've been to Airlie Beach a couple of times recently and each time just wandered around town. The walk from the marina to town is very pleasant and they had markets set up at the Beach park which were OK. The town itself is a bit touristy but very nice and they have a great town beach which is a huge pool with sand, shallow and deep bits included, sorry though no sharks or jellys!

Each trip they had wonderful ambassadors at the marina and shuttle buses in to town. There is a large "facility" at the marina which can feed and water you if you wish and a stroll around the moored boats can be in interesting too ($$$).

Be on deck somewhere for the sail in (early rise!) and sail away, it's really pretty.

Steve.