Over from NZ

Interesting. Our 21-night cruise has 6.

So what you're saying is.. there's a tour operator you wouldn't recommend.. but you can't tell us who. Hmm.. that's helpful! hahaha.

I wouldn't have taken our 6 year old. We took him on cruises in the South Pacific.. but shore days there are days at the beach etc. A Europe or Mediterranean cruise on the other hand, has hardly any sea days and every day is a long day looking at ruins, churches, cathedrals and so-on. Either you're going to leave him onboard a ship on his own just about everyday for a couple of weeks.. or you're not going to get the "trip of a lifetime" or you're going to have to take a 6-year old on 8 hour excursions to see 1200 year old buildings. hmm lol. There's 2 many must-dos for 1 trip. My advice is whatever you do.. don't scrimp on excursions. Book the full day, the best of, the ultimate experience etc. The least exciting ports have always been the ones we haven't put any effort into. Some of the ports we have booked full excursions for that we didn't know a lot about have turned out to be real gems. Good luck 🙂

If it helps.. we did both (Amalfi & Pompeii) and used italytoursharing.com and they were outstanding. Arranged it on here with other cruisers from our cruise. Used them for Naples, Sicily, Florence & Rome.

It's listed as an exclusion with ANZ Platinum c/card insurance in NZ.. but that could be different in Australia. I didn't realise and was glad I checked and then purchased other insurance. But it could be different across the ditch. Even though it's all the ANZ lol.

I would if I was you. ANZ platinum card in NZ doesn't cover it.. and doing some homework.. that's a common problem with many insurers.

The dirty dogs the ANZ! lol. The ANZ in NZ only cover to 74. Be wary of credit-card insurance in general though. It has a lot of holes in it. Doesn't generally cover the cruise-company, airline or travel agent going bust.. which is real possibility with the way they're losing huge amounts every month.

Have to agree with the others. Bring on the kids! That means there's families.. and adults (their parents) that aren't geriatric. 🙂 Hopefully then Princess can up their game a bit in the entertainment stakes. We love most things about Princess.. but they are rather tame. It's bedtime at 9pm on most Princess ships haha.

Not sure where you're from (and therefore whether it would have relevance to you), but the Australian Maritime Museum in the Harbour in Sydney has the replica of Captain Cook's Endeavour which you can go aboard and we found fascinating (they've also got a retired Navy Submarine and a Destroyer you can go aboard). Also in that area is the Aquarium which was good and Madam Tussaud's Wax Museum which was cool. That would round out a good day 🙂

Hello. Looking for feedback if anybody has been on P&O lately. We haven't cruised with them for about 10 years (have mostly been Princess & Carnival). Am thinking of shouting my folks a trip on one of their cruises. Was really hoping to see a copy of the daily patter if anybody had it.

Scrap them all. They want my business they can forget silly wee perks and snobby names.. it's fares and itinerary they need to concentrate on.

If you ever come back - do the TranzAlpine from Christchurch. It's much better. Don't bother doing it if you're coming on a cruise though (they used to offer it to the cruisers, however they only took them the first half and then turn back due to time constraints.. and you miss the better second half).

No it's shut. Covid killed it. They haven't disposed of the assets yet and have effectively mothballed it.. but I don't see it opening anytime soon.. if ever. There was talk of turning it into a cycle trail which is probably a better solution.

Yes, calling it a castle is getting a bit carried away lol. 🙂

Close your eyes and pick one. Particularly if it's a short cruise as you say. It won't matter which one.

We used this company and they were awesome. https://www.santorinidailytours.com/all-of-santorini-in-6-hours-private/ It covered a lot of the Island including Oia, the beaches, a winery etc and finishes in Fira. And of course, with the commentary of the guide. It has gone up in price a lot.. but hasn't everything and hey, how often do you get to go to Santorini!! 🙂 If I could have changed it.. I would do the same tour.. but see if he could drop you in Oia at the end so that you had more time there. And then catch a bus back to Fira to get back to the ship.

And despite the size difference.. many say to allow more time for NZ than Australia. 15 days will give you a little taste of one or the other, but not really both.

Somewhere in the Hawaii Islands?

Hello. The homework I've done so-far; I think we want to go to Knossis palace, walk the old town and the venetian walls, visit Koules Fortress, Lion Square, Heraklion Food Market and visit the old port square. Am I right in thinking Knossis isn't that far out.. and the rest are all within walking distance of each other? We could catch a HOHO Bus to Knossis say in the morning and then spend the whole day walking round doing the other places? We're in port from 9am to 6pm. Any thoughts much appreciated. Thank you!

That doesn't sound like Picton.

French Polynesia

The Wavedancer out of Port Douglas to the Low Isles. One of the best excursions we ever did. Superb snorkeling. They provided the snorkeling gear, the stinger suits etc. Lunch onboard. Can't say enough how impressed we were with it. Went with my wife and out son who was 12 at the time. https://wavedancerlowisles.com/contact/

Thank you! The ship doesn't depart till 7pm, so there's lots of time.

Does anybody know much about this Spanish town? It's an option for a day excursion from Gibraltar. It looks interesting. We loved Gibraltar and last time did the "Ultimate Gibraltar" excursion which was a full day and included all the main attractions, so are looking for something different this time.

As others have said.. 1 day in Rome won't cut the mustard lol. Our first cruise over there, we made sure to start and finish in different ports. It ended in Rome and then we had 3 nights there before flying home. That was 'just' enough to squeeze in quite a few of the major things. We started in Athens and went to Santorini day 2. Funnily enough, we're going back June 2023. I would recommend stacking a few cruises against each other and see what has the most of your 'must see' ports. You won't get them all in one go and will need to sacrifice some.