mr walker

Just so we can all understand what caused the problem to be aware ourselves, what was the thing that initiated the problem? Did you incorrectly enter your PIN which started the chain of events ie needing to answer security questions etc? It seems unusual for the problem to occur in NZ.

Most are conscious of needing a fallback to our 'primary' card, without the need to carry large sums of cash. We have a debit card, and a travel money card as backup should something go wrong. I don't want to spend my holiday washing dishes if my card is declined 😮

Glad you were able to get through it with your daughter's help

5 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

 Note that, even when this happens, it does not stop HAL from charging you 19% gratuities when you order drinks.

The auto-grats applied to drink purchases etc have nothing to do with gratuity applicable to services such as dining waiters & stateroom stewards 

Looks a great option Lyle.

Adding to what Mic already replied re the Sth Pacific Islands

- Noumea is on the main New Caledonian island Grande Terre & is a modern city & Lifou is an island in the Loyalty Islands province of New Caledonia  which is more rustic & basically a beach day

- Vila is a relatively modern city (by Sth Pacific standards) on Efate island of Vanuatu. Mystery Island is an uninhabited 'cruise-ship' only island, where locals come from nearby islands for the day - it again is basically a beach day.

- Lautoka & Suva are on opposite sides of the Fijian main island of Viti Levu, Savusuva is on Vanua Levu Island (I have not been there) & Dravuni is a very small island which is a beach day

All of these places are very interesting to visit, each different to each other. 

Based on you updated plan, when will you likely be in the Sydney area as I am keen to meet with you & Lynn and maybe visit Penrith & the Blue Mountains - Penrith is about 50km west of Sydney CBD and at the base of the mountains.

Cheers

Whilst none of us won, the good news is that Powerball has jackpotted to $100M in the next draw & we have a 'chance' to win that 🙂 Should be able to have a decent get-together for that!!

1 hour ago, Ozwoody said:

You know I'm surprised that no one has challenged me on my harvesting bromeliads from our bromeliad tree, what no gardeners out there?

I had/have no clue of what you were taking about & decided to not show my ignorance 🙂 I guess I could always look it up on my phone 😮

maybe instead of a ship, the process can be quicker if passengers arrive on a Yellow Submarine?

58 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Papua New Guinea would be off the cruise list for now, what with the locals playing up, looting, rioting, 15 dead in Port Moresby and Lae.   Out of control.  Been there twice, I don't like it anyway.

53 minutes ago, Mareblu said:

I think you’re right, sadly.  I would dearly love to visit my mother’s first husband’s resting place in Bomana War Cemetery, but that may not be possible for a long time.

 Not good news for PNG. We are glad we got to visit the Milne Bay area on our Sun Princess cruise in 2017 as Tracey's Dad served there in WW2.

I really do not know how the country can go forward. Australia has poured money into PNG for decades now, but it seems the country is no better today than before.

Quite a tale there John 🙂 Not sure I would have been as adventurous as you were.

I have learned to accept my shortcomings as regards to home projects etc & luckily Tracey recognises that I am pretty useless when it comes to anything involving tools and working with my hands. She accepts that in that regards I am somewhat similar to Frank Spencer or Victor Meldrew. Luckily I had a career that used my brain 🙂 

Luckily, I realised early in my life that having friends who were even worse in that regards was a good thing as it didn't make me look so bad. So few of my mates are particularly useful either 🙂  The mate who built a shelf for the microwave that gave way in the middle of the very first night has set a low bar for me.

My lot in life then has been to pay others to do many of the things that perhaps would be DYI for others.

20 hours ago, mr walker said:

Well, I'll play along on the idea of us doing somehting as a group - tonight's Ozlotto jackpot is $5M & we have a ticket. Let's see what we win & then we can make a plan 🙂 

Sad news I'm afraid - no win!!! 😮

Will keep trying.......................................

15 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

You had to do that at most NZ airports at one time - mid-90's I think.

Oh, that makes sense. I visited Palmy regularly as my major customer in NZ had their plant there. Didn't get to too many other regional airports as mostly travelled thru Auck or ChCh.

3 hours ago, NSWP said:

I will be drinking out of a paper cup soon, with the packing being done re my move end of Feb, to Moruya.

Good luck with the packing mate. I hope all goes well with the packing & the move.

Cheers,

Neil & Tracey

2 hours ago, colourbird said:

 

Another problem in America apart from tips was prices displayed on menus or in stores never showed the full price as they added tax at the time of payment.

From some American colleagues the story is that businesses refused to be tax collectors for the govt, or at least want people to know how much is going to the govt in the transaction. Not sure that their point is being made as they are collecting the tax, the customer is paying the tax & the govt is getting the tax 🙂 

Closer to home, well NZ. I recall a levy being placed on passengers flying out of Palmerston Nth airport. The airlines refused to collect it by adding/including in fare and so you had to line up & pay the fee and then show the receipt at the boarding gate.

It's a strange world. 

2 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Nah! Dream bigger than that! We'd all do a cruise with Lyle and Lynn. Maybe just a short one though!

Well, I'll play along on the idea of us doing somehting as a group - tonight's Ozlotto jackpot is $5M & we have a ticket. Let's see what we win & then we can make a plan 🙂 

18 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Oddly enough just after we bought the ticket I thought it would be fun to host a cruise get-together for all us regulars if we won the big prize! We'd have to wait until Lyle got here next year though.

Oh I can see it now. Julie & Rolf hosting a party at the Cruise Bar on the eve of Lyle & Lynn's cruise departure with all the CC folk attending 🙂 Who knows. maybe it will happen!

16 hours ago, boeckli said:

 

Boarded Majestic on Dec 10. Arrived at OPT 11.45, walked on to ship at 12.10 (15 mins of that was taken up going through the security snake)

Thanks for that. With no 'allocated' times for boarding, I will just book our shuttle pick up for 10:30 am & so should be at terminal by around 11:30 am & see how we go.

We can always drop the luggage and adjourn to a nearby cafe or pub - we will be on holiday 🙂 

We were on Ovation in February. There were shuttles from the port to downtown Dunedin. I think it was US$25 or so return. Can't be sure as we spent the day in Port Chalmers this time.

20 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

So I'm hoping my shopping luck carries through to the upgrade bid. Oh, and we also bought a Powerball ticket. If we win that we might just spring for a suite! 🤣

 

If you win big Powerball jackpot, a few of your friends here on CC will hoping you spring for a cruise for us - doesn't have to be a suite 🙂 

8 hours ago, NSWP said:

We need a review on the Princess Cruises Pie effort, Neil. Although I just noted they serve Mrs Macs, that is cheating, lol.

I'll be on the case from 10-Feb Les - expect a full review of all things pie related 🙂 

12 minutes ago, joejoe 59 said:

When do you actually get a check in time? (Window)  We cruise out of Brisbane in 2 weeks & don't have any info regarding check in. We are also Elite. 

That's my query also - we are on Majestic from Sydney 10-Feb. On the new app we have all green ticks & it says "Ready to Sail", can print tags. medallions ordered etc but there is then no information re boarding. We are Ruby only. I see where it says that boarding passes will be available 11 days before, but most lines allow selection (or allocation) of boarding slot ahead of time?

Over to all the Princess folks knowledgeable on these things.

Oh, while we are on it. Just a question on dining. We normally dine later with My Time or whatever it's called on each line. We see we can choose times thru to 8:20 in 20min intervals, in one of 3 dining rooms - any advice from people who know please?

On 1/7/2024 at 11:43 AM, Blackduck59 said:

So I think our 14 day cruise will probably turn into a 43 day cruise, and the road trip which was goin to happen before the cruise will actually happen before the cruise. Hopefully people will still be home in late February, early March 2025. ....... It's all up in the air right now but I think we are probably going to make this a true down under adventure, with many interesting stops on the way home.

Sounds like a plan mate. Sure hope to catch up with you here in Sydney at that time.

2 hours ago, Ozwoody said:

I spent the remainder of the cruise on formal night resplendent in suit with runners for shoes.

But with fashions these days, I probably looked quite with it........ Nah😂

I think you would fit with the 'modern' look of some. As long as your pants legs were about 4" short & you have no socks 🙂 

Sounds interesting to me. Maybe should have put it in "pie thread", but hoping they offer similar on Majestic  10 Feb 🙂 

Some familiar stories here about shoe failures. I had a pair of nice casual shoes I hardly ever wore, as I was always working, sporting of thongs wearing - they were a good fews years old and rarley worn. We went away for a few days to visit some family and were going to go to a birthday party. Cue the casual shoes.

We returned from dinner & were having a quiet drink when the party hostess (SIL) suddenly asked what is this mess on my floor? Answer: my shoes soles that had self-destructed. Lucky the floor was tile & the mess was easily cleaned up & the shoes in the bin 🙂 

I use very little cash. The only regular thing I use cash for is my haircut from the $15 hair cut man. As most places charge $35+, I am happy to drive 15mins to him and to pay him cash.

I occasionally check my wallet when a Pacific Island cruise is upcoming and put any $10 & $5 notes in an envelope for spending money on the islands. Most times I leave home with somewhere around $50-60 for the local island markets, donating anything left over at last port (not Noumea - they have more money than me 🙂 ).

4 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

Gift cards should be treated like cash when you receive them put them straight in the wallet. Had a friend who was doing a house clean out found $600 worth of gift cards, more than half had already expired😭. 

Yes, a trap for the unwary. I received a thankyou card from a kids sporting team I coached one year. Several years later I was doing a cleanup and opened up the envelope again, read the card again, I then saw that there was a gift card in it. It had expired 5 years earlier - thanks guys 🙂