Chanel#5

If you want to try the specialty restaurants, we highly recommend Share, food is superb and you wont go away hungry. This restaurant was the highlight of our recent Sun cruise. Left the main dining room for dead. Kai Seafood is also very good, fresh and delicious. Missed out on the steakhouse, left our run too late. IMO the quality of the food in the specialty restaurants is far better than the dining rooms and well worth the cover charge. Have been cruising for a little while and the food on board (on any cruise line) is not what it used to be.

Trip advisor is a good recommendation. There is a plethora of hotel accommdation to choose from. If you are cruising to Maui check if your port is Lahaina or Kahului. Lahaina is more touisty and will be a tender port, Kahului is the capital and the port is industrial.

We stayed at Glenferrie Lodge at Kirribilli on the north shore. A shuttle, recommended by Glenferrie, picked our family of five up from the airport and dropped us to the door. Our room consisted of two separate bedrooms with private bathroom in one wing of the lodge. Some rooms have share facilities but our family suite had private facilities. Room rate included buffet breakfast. Rooms were cean and comfortable. The garden out the back was nice to relax in. It was a short 2 min walk to the ferry, nice trip across the harbour the next morning to Circular Quay and on to the ship. Cant remember prices but it was quite a cheap option for both the room and shuttle at the time. Certainly much cheaper than the city hotels. Just thought this might be an option.

Enjoy your cruise

Was there much of a participation by the passengers, in regards to the dressing not the partying.

No not really. Don't remember seeing many in pink, there were a few leis and sarongs on island night.

Just got back off the Sun. Very happy with our photo package. My son also purchased one so we and he got copies of any photos with either one of our group in them, plus the digital copy on jump drive. We just went to the photo shop most days and got them to update our jump drives and print extra copies if needed. All photos had back drops, some were fun shots, some more formal, plus the usual port shots and various spots around the ship. Very happy with the quality, great family shots and great memories of our trip. Lucky to have spotted the online special price.

We got off the Sun Aug 20th. Our boarding on the 10th was delayed for both the ship and port terminal to be cleansed. I remember hearing at the time that Brisbane was experiencing higher than normal cases of gastro bugs. Once on board the normal practices of no self service, doors to public toilets left open and constant cleaning of tables and surfaces in common contact, etc. Not to mention constant reminders to wash hands and sanitise. We did not experience any problems nor did we hear of anyone with illness. Princess, like all other cruise lines, do a good job to minimise these outbreaks. I think we as passengers need to behave responsibly with personal hygiene too.

Cruised on Solstice across in November. Like a mill pond ......

We found the same when we sailed there in March on the Radiance a couple of years ago. Smooth sailing there and back (around the islands as well). You can be lucky

Just back off the Sun, they had a pink party one night and an island night another.

Sorry to hear you are having some health issues. Have loved your sense of humour and wealth of knowledge. Wishing you and your wife a speedy recovery that gets you back to cruising.

Just a suggestion, we took a tour in Dunedin that included pick up at port, great commentary on things to do and see on the way into town, and drop off at the Octagon for some free time to explore. We had plenty of time to grab a coffee with the locals at a cafe, visited the Cadbury Factory and the boys in our group toured Speights Brewery while we girls hit the shops. We were then picked up as pre-arranged and had a great tour of the sights of Dunedin including St Claire, Baldwin St, a lookout, drive through the countryside, university campus, local architecture and general points of interest. We were then dropped back at the ship at the end of the day.

The tour guide knew his stuff, very informative and entertaining. Our group consisted of two families, nine people and as the buses were mini buses, so we almost filled the bus. There were at least two buses that picked up that day.

We booked all our tours direct and saved heaps compared to the cruise tours, plus it also gave us the freedom of doing what we wanted, not having to commit to one tour with the ship or another. We think we got to see a lot (for the limited time you have in port) for our money. From memory, I think we paid $36 each for the shuttle and tour. We were very happy with our day.

This may be an alternative option for a shuttle.

Happy cruising

We cruised to New Zealand in a family ocean view on Radiance of the Seas. It was forward overlooking the bow with two large windows. Our family of five were mum, dad, adult son and girlfriend, and teenage daughter. Bed configuration consisted of queen and fold out sofa double in the main cabin area and a tiny bunk room (for want of a better description) with bunk singles. It was roomy enough with plenty of storage for our two week cruise. We typically do not spend much time in our cabin anyway, too much to see and do. We all had a good time and came home still liking each other anyway. Radiance is a very nice ship with great dining and lots of activities. Kids loved the rock climbing wall. The self-levelling pool tables were fun. Hubby and I really enjoyed the Chef's Table too. Would do that again in a heart beat. Happy cruising.

On returning from a recent trip to Hawaii, we (all five of us) had our bags checked with notes inside. Most were left neat and as originally packed, in fact I would not have known mine was checked at all if I had not found the note (at the very bottom of the bag). All locks were intact and none of us had anything that would have flagged us for inspection. I think that just like airport security, these checks are sometimes random. Anything that keeps me safe on a plane or anywhere else is ok with me.

My interpretation of the non-existent terms is any photo taken with anyone from the cabin is included in this deal for both printed and electronic copies?

Cheers...

That is what was confirmed via phone with Princess when I pre-purchased our package. Have a great cruise. Enjoy your photos

A lot of people find that Avomine is very effective. This was recommended to me by the medical centre on a ship several years ago and I have found it to be excellent. It is an antihistimine so it is best to take it at night. I find it can make me sleepy if I go to a movie after taking it, but while I am walking around I don't feel sleepy. The last time I bought it, Avomine costs $9.60 for 30 tablets at Chemist Warehouse. :)

I also have tried Avomine on our NZ cruise a couple of years ago, but found it ineffective. Dramamine/Travacalm has always worked a treat for me but is more expensive than Avomine, hence why I tried it. Lucky for me I took Travacalm as a back up plan because I needed it. Everyone is different, what works for some, doesn't for others. Myself, daughter and son all switched back to Travacalm but the Avomine worked well for my husband. Just have to find what works for you.

I am more than happy to be included in the upper middle bogan class. For me the photos are simply a fun momento. Always been very happy with the quality. Never had a cheesy shot yet. Only bogans in shot are us and the package on offer (now no longer available I believe) is a total bargain. Can't wait for August.

Have not done this with Princess but have done with Royal Caribbean. Dont miss this, you will have a great night and is worth every cent. On our RCI cruise we booked through our personaliser before embarkation. Have a great time.

We recently purchased the photo package for AU$128.70 for our cruise in August. Princess confirmed via phone that any photo that anyone in our cabin appears in (there will be three of us) is included in the package in both hard copy photo and digital copy on jump drive. The last time we purchased photos (about a year ago on Sea Princess) they cost AU$20 each. Still a bargain with or without the difference in our dollars.

Thanks Chez N Andy, I thought the exchange rate might have something to do with it.

You can also pre-purchase it on your cruise personalizer also at $56.35 per person, per day.

We recently booked a South Pacific cruise on the Sun and although the website quotes $59 (for Aussie sailings) per person, per day, for the all inclusive drinks package, when we tried to book the package on our personaliser it was charging $76 per person, per day. Anyone else experience this?

We recently booked a South Pacific cruise on the Sun. Princess advertises the all inclusive drinks package at $59 per day for Aus sailings yet when we go to our personaliser to book the package it is actually $76 per day. Anyone else had this experience? It does state that the price may vary from ship to ship but a variation of $17 is a bit steep. I have read that it is cheaper to buy the package once on board but have not had this experience.

Thanks everyone for your replies and tips. I am a bit of a planner, and the "go to " person for our group, so it helps to have this info, thankyou :D

Thanks heaps GoldyGolfer, great info, it all helps in the planning process

Hi everyone

We will be in Wellington soon on Radiance and are trying to plan for a shuttle to town for 5 people. Does RCI provide shuttles into town? How much does this cost and is it return or one way. We may walk into town if the weather is nice and shuttle back. The walk looks about 20-30 mins maybe?? If we decided to taxi it, would we need to book a maxi taxi or are they usually at the port? Does anyone know the cost of a maxi taxi? How about public buses, are they a viable option?

Thanks