mr walker

Yes HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to all the mothers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy your day.

Strewth mate, that's no good. Tracey & I both wish you a speedy recovery. Hope you weren't up trying to wash the top of the car or similar 😮 Take care!!!!!!!!!!!!! All of your friends want you to be safe & healthy

A number of years ago I decided to not comment on tips/tipping. I'm sticking to that 🙂

For our Oct 16 '25 37N Grand sailing (Sth Pac, Hawaii, French Polynesia) that has been cancelled, they are offering a switch to 28N Crown sailing (Round Oz) 23 Nov '25 with $250pp OBC. Unfortunately, the 2 offerings are very different & the new date, which is after we would have returned from original itinerary, doesn't work for us ☹️ And we had $400 pp OBC on original cruise. Looking at options but very disappointed to miss our 'dream' cruise.

We explored the various options when we did our landtour (Calgary to Vancouver via Banff, Kamloops, Ketchikan, Whistler) ahead of our Alaska cruise in 2014. We elected to hire a car and drive it - the roads were good & we got to see what we wanted & for how long. Remain happy we made the right decision.

Had just seen this posted on social media. We were so happy to find that cruise as it was just what we wanted, and now it's cancelled. Back to the drawing board I guess. We had only paid $100pp deposit via FCC, so not out $'s but still very disappointed. Will wait for our PCP to contact us I suppose. ☹️ As I was typing the email came from Princess confirming!!

I don't think that anyone could ever understand the Princess booking system. When onboard Majestic back in Feb, we made a booking for Grand Princess for Oct '25 with the onboard booking lady - she could only offer guarantee. Upon return called our PCP and she at first said the same thing & then suddenly she was able to book us a specific balcony in our preferred location at same fare - she knew what we wanted from past experience. ????

Yes those prices look good (not the OC as Julie pointed out 😮). By comparison, fare for our Grand Princess cruise in Oct 2025 (Sth Pac, Hawaii, French Polynesia - Syd to Syd) is also 37N & for balcony price is A$11,600 pp! It's only money & you only live once, right 🙂 Of course no airfares required for that one, so need to factor in flight to SA and from London & likely accomm costs for this cruise for a true comparison.

Small samples size (1 P&O & 2 Princess cruises), but certainly not our experience.

I reckon the drinks are a lot cheaper in your place than onboard mate, so that must be a plus 🙂 Yes, you did make the most of the time you had travelling - good luck to you. I know you have some great memories. Cheers

Is progressive trivia going to be every seaday as it often is on other cruises? That's going to be an awful lot of questions with what 70+ sea days on your trip 😮 Maybe a few repeat questions?? 🙂

What time was sail away scheduled. On Ch9 news it shows ship still berthed?

ENJOY your cruise - we will be following along Cheers Neil & Tracey

As I understand it, the Upgrade Fairy was superseded by the Upsell Fairy

We are currently traveling back from QLD & are in TamworthNSW where I attended the Dawn Service this morning instead of usual home venue of Penrith. Good turnout & lovely service. Lest we forget

Strewth mate, you two take care of yourselves & get better soon.

I hope the rainfall does not meet the maximums predicted & I hope everyone stays safe & any flood damage minimized. We’re hoping it clears by Sunday as we head off to QLD from Sydney for a driving holiday, including a family wedding in Sunshine Coast next week. good luck all.

Almost every ship sails 'full' or close to it. When people talk about filling the ship, they are talking about selling it out at 'full' price. Unsold cabins are filled by discounting, some of which is not visible to all. TA's have clients who can sail at short notice at the right price and this fills unsold cabins. An old rule of thumb is that 80% of cabins sold at regular prices meets the costs of the cruise, the other 20% can be filled below 'cost' as those passengers will drink, take excursions etc which provides the all important revenue. I have been receiving emails from RC once or twice a week for months offering special deals - they are always for Quantam out of Brisbane, not for Ovation out of Sydney.

Might be the time for savvy investors to buy in - in the 21st century the (bad) news cycle is very short. And no, I'm not going to invest 🙂

Getting that close to Sydney, and turning back, is almost like teasing the passengers hoping to board now on Sunday 😮 Hope all goes well.

A$230 pn for presumably an IC for the Anthem cruise is certainly showing that cruise costs are high. Gone are the days of a $200 balcony 😞 Lucky we get the C&A 'price' for drinks 🙂

Between 2014 & 2018 we travelled to Norfolk Island each year. The little dog was always there upon arrival sniffing around. The dog detected something with a woman's bag just along the line from us. The officer asked two or three times if she had any food. She replied "no" each time, and was becoming a bit annoyed & her husband also asked her about whether she had anything. A banana was located in her bag, she said she didn;t remember having it, and then her & her husband had 'words' - not a great start to a holiday on NI!

I hope it arrives back in Sydney before 22 Nov - we are booked 37N roundtrip from Sydney departing 16 Oct 🙂

Imagine my surprise when we awoke in Noumea, expecting our starboard balcony view to be out over the beautiful harbour & city, only to see piles of ore & an ugly cargo vessel. Never expected that the master would have chosen to reverse park 😮

Agree on that for sure. Whilst Elvis was the King, and we have enjoyed 'Elvis shows' over the years on land and at sea, I can't imagine enjoying a whole cruise entertainment schedule being Elvis' or perhaps it's Elvises or Elvii?? We have done a number of country music themed cruises, but a variety of artists, even in the same genre, would be our choice. Slim or Willie of even Dolly every day would not work!!