linanles

Hi Mic finally got a cruise ship to Coffs Harbour.

Damn. Spent the weekend in Coffs and didn't see this rare sight.

when us aussies travel on the Auckland buses we dont get any seniors discount, we have to pay full fare .....can you tell me how you get the discounts

I can't recall exactly. When we traveled from the airport into Auckland back in March we prepaid online and selected seniors. I can't recall what we did to get seniors rate on the buses.

After my last post I checked on the Australian and New Zealand Governments reciprocal seniors agreement and it appears that it is more of a voluntary thing by participating companies and some government agencies. Try showing your aussie seniors card when purchasing a ticket and if they don't want to give you the seniors rate say "I thought there was a reciprocal seniors agreement between Australia and New Zealand" and see how you go. I had bus driver refuse my Queensland Seniors Card in Adelaide and when I said there is a reciprocal agreement between states he gave me the free seniors ticket.

Check this website it says the reciprocal rights are for all NZ Gold Card participants but not government concessions which I guess includes transport and I guess the airport bus must be a private service.

https://www.qld.gov.au/seniors/legal-finance-concessions/using-seniors-card/

NSW Opal Card is avaialble to Seniors Card holders of ALL Australian States and Territories.

I wonder why they don't give concessions to Kiwi Seniors. I thought Australia and New Zealand had a reciprocal seniors agreement. I know we get all the discounts and benefits of Kiwi Seniors when we visit New Zealand.

The attached files will be useful for organizers of M&G. Noticed however that for the door sign, print has " Meet & Mingle". Meet & Greet for Princess.

Thanks for sharing.

A good application for modifying graphics is Gimp. It does everything Photoshop does but it is free.

You may have to convert the pdf file to a graphic image first e.g. jpg to modify it and change Mingle to Greet.

A good website for converting files is Zamzar.

http://www.zamzar.com/convert/pdf-to-jpg/

Here are some pdfs and docs that will help.

http://www.user.shentel.net/cbarden/ccdoorsign.doc

CCnameTags.pdf

CCdoorsign.pdf

CCletterhead.pdf

I arranged a M&G for I cruise I was on recently. I made up invitations, non-specific, and took them to the Service Desk on the afternoon we boarded and asked them if they could put one in each Senior Officer's mailbox. The Captain, Maitre D and a few other officers turned up and gave short talks on their areas of control and anything in particular we should know. By arranging it through Princess we got a private bar, pay for your own drinks, and some finger food.

I just used a CC image downloaded from this website for the letterhead.

I had previously sent it to both so figured it was worth doing again, especially in light of the delayed actioning that seems to be occurring.

Agree. I've just forwarded my original email to defencebenefits@princesscruises.com.au to be sure.

Okay, we have sent off for our OBC, we received the response email straight away, now to see how long it will take for me.:D

What address did you send it to? I sent ours off to defencebenefits@princesscruises.com.au on 2nd September but have had no auto response.

When renting a car in New Zealand you will need to purchase insurance. US car and credit card insurance does not cover rentals in NZ.

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That's good to know. Is it only US credit cards? Does Aussie Credit Card Insurance cover car rentals in NZ?

We are on Diamond Princess in November and I have taken the advice of others on Cruise Critic and got a Citi Bank Debit Card and 28 Degrees Credit Card. With the Citi Bank debit card you can withdraw cash world wide at any ATM in local currency with a good exchange rate and no ATM fees. 28 Degrees also have a good exchange rate and don't charge foreign exchange fees.

Search CC and you'll find what others have to say and look at the Citi Bank and 28 Degrees websites. Applications for both are online and you have the cards in a couple of weeks.

At the bottom of the Princess page there is a link

Thanks for that. I had seen it before but thought it was just a wall chart like a Year Planner and never bothered to look further. I'll contact them next time I want to make a booking.

I think we were lucky with our next cruise. I saw it at a good price but was waiting for it to drop. When I logged in and rechecked the price it went down $400pp so I booked it. If it was a mistake they didn't say anything and honoured the price. It is now $300pp dearer when you login. If I'd booked through a planner they may have realised there was an error and corrected the price.

I attached the proof of shares documents to an email to my Princess cruise planner this morning, as she had suggested a while ago that she would organise it for us.:eek::p

 

I love my planner!!

What is a Princess Cruise Planner and how do you get one?

I booked online with Princess instead of through a TA for the first time and the only responses I got were emailed booking confirmation, upgrade, final payment due etc from reservations@princesscruises.com. Never anything personal or a contact name.

I think I will send in for ours (November cruise) now, so that it comes in time..

I sent ours in a few days ago for a November cruise. After all it is now less than 90 days to go.

Does anyone have experience with WiFi availability in the following SE Asian ports?

Kota Kinabalu

Nha Trang

Phu My

Laem Chabang

Ko Samui

Yeah, but the round abouts, the round abouts......

They put them in so you get a good look around. :D:D:D

Sorry for getting off topic I was just trying to inject a little humor.

There's a lot more I could say about the distortion of our language but I'll butt out now and let this thread get back on topic.

After all, they drive on the wrong side of the road.

I did a double take when I saw this I was sure they drove on the correct side of the road the same as us here in Oz. Then I realised (note, no Z in realised) that you are from South Carolina where they drive on the wrong side of the road and change the spelling of the Queen's English. ;):D

Can you tell me how to find and get to the Princess Cruise Secrets 2015 thread? Sorry to sound so "green" about this, but your help is appreciated.

It's a secret. :D:D:D

No seriously goto Cruise Lines "P-Z" > Princess Cruises and at the top of the page click on Search this Thread then enter "secrets".

Cheers,its getting a bit late to order C/Cards from banks.These seemed quick and secure.:)

I say go for the Citibank Plus Card. No need to load with various currencies just load with Aussie dollars and withdraw in local currency at any ATM overseas.

Apply online and you should have your card in a week, maybe 2 weeks max.

Sounds like Adelaide in the early 90's.:eek:

Our visit in the 70s was from Adelaide and at that time Adelaide was more alive than Brisbane on a Sunday.

Even the Brisbane port stop will be interesting as we are there on a Sunday which means the Eat Street Markets will be open, right next to the cruise terminal.

You're lucky. When we first visited Brisbane in the 70s, Brisbane was closed on a Sundays, it was like a ghost town. How things have changed.

I have also heard that if anyone has a pacemaker, it does not pay to keep it in a shirt pocket.;)

What, the pacemaker? :D:D:D:D

We thought if we can get up, have breakfast and check out of the hotel we can drop of our luggage, except carry on, then go for a walk to the Gardens by the Bay, It is a 2.5km walk, before checking in.

Just in case someone is searching the threads for this information, I just received an email from Princess advising that Bag Drop in Singapore opens at 8am.

In the USA thongs mean a kind of underwear with no coverage on the butt cheeks, that's why people were confused why you would have them on in the shower.

What Americans call Thongs, we in Australia call Bum Floss. :D:D:D