Gnomey

There has been lots of painting and varnishing happening. Including painting the hull with paint rollers. To be honest also, there have been serious short comings that need to be fixed. Not worth whingeing over, but they need to be recognised and rectified. The Eden is still a lovely ship which is well worth sailing on.

Steve.

We've traveled on Dawn and Jewell recently and have just hopped off Eden. While we have decided that P&O is not our line, I would recommend sailing on the Eden or Aria as they are lovely ships with numerous features, nooks & crannies and nice big cabins. Give them a little time to sort out the crews and they should be OK.

Steve.

Good evaluation Royalty X, you told the ship story well. The cover charge for Angelo's and Dragon Lady was dropped on our "Inaugural Cruise" as the Waterfront and Pantry just couldn't handle the full ship. There were a lot of issues on the ship, some areas worked well and some didn't. Basically the ships (including Aria) are wonderful and a much more lovely (not just nicer!) experience than the rest of the fleet.

Steve.

We were on the Eden's first trip and it is lovely though the dining was a bit hap hazard. One must remember that it is still P & O.

Gnome.

We recently completed a top end cruise on the Sun and not only had no trouble with the card that was sold on board, but they let me finish off our old Sea Princess card as well. Everyone knew what to do and that was this month. I do agree that horizons coffee is awful though.

Gnome.

Interesting about the "wobble". Many of us felt this on Radiance of the Seas and I have heard other people since say they felt it too. Looking at the wake shows a zig zag pattern. I believe it is something to do with the "azipod" propulsion systems modern ships are using. Azipods turn the motor/propellor units for steering and if currents or winds require a bit of correction then they seem to go out of "sequence" so to speak. Not as smooth a progress as our old Sun class girls which use fixed propellers and rudder. Having said all that of course, I do hope Golden does have Azipods, if not - disregard my comment! ;)

Steve.

"but I doubt that the views of cruisers will play much role in the decision making." Close Blue Elephant, but I think it should read ..."views of the people", in general. When did "we the people" ever get what we needed or was promised at election time!

Steve

Yep heard that one often, "I'd get bored" also "there's nothing to do!" I was so concerned years ago on my first cruise I took a bag of books. Turns out I didn't even open the bag! You've got to try hard to be bored I reckon.

Steve.

Yep, do it all the time with our online agent in the ACT. I do ring them to tell them our number and it all works out fine with the on board credit moving on to the booking and all. Sure good when you really want to go on THAT cruise but don't have the cash handy! :D

Steve.

P & O's marketing seems quite odd to me. :confused: There must be better ways to market their cruises.

Gnome.

It is not just Carnival. We waited for many hours in Melbourne this year to board P&O's Pacific Jewel. No compo, the odd sorry from staff and when we finally got to the entry hatch, rude and unpleasant security staff. Some of these companies need to sharpen up their act.

Steve.

I have to agree with you there Barry, that's a pretty spectacular part of the world you've just been to. Scenery really on the grand scale. :)

Steve.

Hi Tigstar and welcome to the wonderful world of cruising and the Cruise Critic forums.

Your selections are about right by my eye and of the two choices, I think Carnival would be better. P & O tends to cater to partying adults more than Carnival and Carnival really aim for the family market and seem to do it well. I'm sure you will get more replies in the morning with more detailed information as well. Enjoy you holiday.

Steve.

Being a country person, I like getting close to Circular Quay as an option. A quick train trip gets you to the country rail and bus interchange as well as the airport. Barrangaroo was a bit of a pain to get to, nowhere near as bad as White Bay though.

Steve.

Hey Kiwi, I was just looking at that same view on bridge cam. Must be a quiet morning eh!

Steve.

Is anyone FLYING OUT OF ADELAIDE

to join an Island Princess Cruise

in the next few months????

Hey thanks for clearing that up Kiwicruiser, I was one of the many (I'm sure) who was quite confused by your original question!

Steve.

Hi cruisers

I am spending some time in the U.S Cruise Critic office in September and plan to tag on a cruise to review.

 

Which cruise departing from the U.S would you be most interested in reading about?

 

A: Mississippi River cruise

B: Washington State-Oregon (Columbia/Snake rivers) cruise to/from Portland

C: Ship departing from New York to Bahamas/Caribbean (which one?)

D: Ship departing from Florida (which one?)

E: Alaska

F: Canada/New England

G: Pride of America in Hawaii

H: Honolulu to Sydney

Other: ___________

 

Louise Goldsbury

Cruise Critic

Australia Editor

I guess I would like all of the above please!

Thankyou, Steve.

Must admit I swore off P & O after the last cruise with them, but I am now booked on another anyway! Our problem wasn't the ship/crew package but the P & O management stuffed things up badly leaving a really sour taste. Our crew were really good, the dining was wonderful, itinerary great but the comedy of stuff-ups P & O management performed was quite forgettable. We've tried RCI and they were good, but not quite to our liking. Princess just keeps us coming back for more, so I guess we just fit the profile with them. We also quite enjoyed P & O UK and will probably sail again with them. When on holidays it pays to make the most of what is offered, rather than getting bitter.

Steve.

The ship has swung around and the sun is at the right angle to give us a clear view of the steep cliffs you have to ascend in Santorini to get up to the town.

 

If I make it to the world cruise, that's one walk I'm not looking forward to! Think I'd have to make the effort though.

Steve.

Looks like I joined in 2012. Probably just wandered on to it through cyberspace but it has been a wonderful place for learning things and sometimes even offering info as well.

Steve.

We stayed in a cabin directly over the Vista Lounge one trip and only heard the big drums a little. It certainly wasn't loud and the lower notes didn't make it through the plating/floor/roof at all.

Steve.

Yep. worked for us too in October, really good value even when you add in the baggage charges.

Steve.

We are committed to advancing tourism opportunities and economic growth

That must be a good reason to can the new terminal straight up!

Thankyou all for your comments. All taken in and considered. I would probably include the trip with a land based tour of Alaska + inside passage cruise, some time in Vancouver and the Rockies as a minimum. Would love to travel around SanFran again, its been around 4 decades since I was there! North America is a bit like Australia, so much to see and so many options.

Steve.

Hello all. I'm planning some packages to fill in my spare time(!) and one I like is the final trip from Anchorage all the way down the west coast, through the Panama Canal and up to Florida. Has anyone done this and if so, how did you find it. Would basically mean covering all weather from ice to heat I guess. Awaiting comment.

Steve.