Booking Australia

[aam3]

I know the Carnival Australia thing was a conflicting topic a while back, so I hope this doesn't stir the pot.

 

We're considering a big trip to Australia next summer. Currently, you can book the Spirit Australia cruises on the Carnival Australia website, but not on the American website. Does anybody know if that will change anytime soon?

 

Also, does anybody know if Future Cruise Certificates are accepted if booking through international Carnival sites?

[Mum81]

I know the Carnival Australia thing was a conflicting topic a while back, so I hope this doesn't stir the pot.

 

We're considering a big trip to Australia next summer. Currently, you can book the Spirit Australia cruises on the Carnival Australia website, but not on the American website. Does anybody know if that will change anytime soon?

 

Also, does anybody know if Future Cruise Certificates are accepted if booking through international Carnival sites?

 

Hi,

 

I am from Australia and am booked on the Spirit myself for 2013. I personally don't think that they will ever allow you to book the Aus cruises off the American site for two different reasons.

 

1. Your cruises are soooo much cheaper than ours and if you could book the Spirit from the American website, instead of ours, I would have (our dollar is currently buying US $1.07!!)

 

2. A lot of our facilities/rules/policies/procedures are completely different (In my opinion, worse) than in the US. Just a few examples below:

 

* You cannot bring ANY alcohol on board with you, no wine, no beer, no spirits, no anything. You cannot order ANY alcohol to your cabin, bar champagne). They call it a no alcohol in cabin policy. You cannot buy whole bottles of spirits on board (for onboard consumption) either in advance or on the ship. You cannot buy buckets or jugs of beer.

 

*We don't have the advantage of early saver rates, and they certainly would not reduce our cruise cost or offer us OBC if rates dropped. It is a case of too bad, so sad. If this happens to us, our only option is cancel the cruise and re-book and cop any losses of deposit money.

 

*We cannot purchase bon voyage gifts and "funship dollars" etc are not valid to us.

 

*We don't have any tipping policy (our employees earn full wage), so there is so service charge, you can't pre-pay tipping, just tip cash for exceptional service).

 

*You can't pre-load money onto your sail and sign account.

 

There are many others I could mention, but I think it would be way too confusing to try and have two sets of terms and conditions, two sets of FAQ's, etc on the one site.

 

I just wish our cruising industry would come into line with you guys in the states as far as what they offer.

 

This is only my opinion as to why I don't think you will ever be able to book on the US site. I hope this doesn't turn you off the cruise. Sydney is a beautiful city (I am a 45 minute flight away) and we love Americans, we think you are so friendly and down to earth. Hope you come to visit :)

[CWcruisers]

I was at the future cruise presentation last month on the Dream and the Consultant giving the presentation said that if, and when, they ever marketed to the American market, it would be a number of years, and the biggest reason is the price. American's won't want to pay the cost of the cruise.

[firefly333]

The fact tips are included and not with American cruises, would be a issue and confusing.

 

I think you will have to book thru the Australian site or not book.

[aam3]

Thanks so much for your responses! I wasn't aware of any of those differences between the American and Australian policies.

 

Mum81, do prices on Australian cruises tend to go up and down like they do on the American sites, or do they pretty much stay at a fixed price? Our Canadian dollar is very close to the Australian dollar, but the price of the cruise we were considering did seem quite high compared to other 12 day cruises.

 

I think either way we'll end up booking eventually. We're really just in the starting stages of our planning, and have a few other vacations to enjoy before we'll be booking this one.

 

Thanks again!

[Mum81]

Thanks so much for your responses! I wasn't aware of any of those differences between the American and Australian policies.

 

Mum81, do prices on Australian cruises tend to go up and down like they do on the American sites, or do they pretty much stay at a fixed price? Our Canadian dollar is very close to the Australian dollar, but the price of the cruise we were considering did seem quite high compared to other 12 day cruises.

 

I think either way we'll end up booking eventually. We're really just in the starting stages of our planning, and have a few other vacations to enjoy before we'll be booking this one.

 

Thanks again!

 

Our cruises do fluctuate in price, but not as much as in the US. Our cruises are initially released with a "price breaker fare" or a "first in fare" are a bit cheaper than the full fare, but need to be booked by a certain date.

 

After that, the cruises go to full fare with the odd sale here and there. The thing with our sales is that they are only on selected sailings and the price doesn't drop tremendously. Getting closer to sail date, they may reduce the fares to fill the ship, but if you have booked at a higher rate, you never get the lower rate, unless you cancel and re-book.

 

In general our cruises are a lot more expensive than in the US. However there are a few considerations being that the price that is initailly displayed for our cruises includes and port fees and taxes (we don't have sales tax or state tax, only the GST which is always included) and I have noticed that on the US website it gets added after you see that initial price.

 

The other thing of course is tipping, Australians don't really do tipping unless we are in the US. I believe our wages are significantly higher and this is the reason. In the carnival brochure it actually says "There's no tipping required, because, you guessed it, that's included too."

 

For the best deals try to avoid our school holidays, which is the NSW school holidays. The cruises cost A LOT more in these times especially between say the 20th December and the end of January, this is our long school break.

 

If you want to know how much things like drinks, photos, etc will cost or anything else, I am happy to answer. :)

[aam3]

Thanks for all the info! We are both teachers so we can only do major trips in our summer (July/August). With that being your winter, should we expect prices to be higher or categories to sell out quickly?

 

I was looking into P&O Australia last night but wasn't too thrilled with the reviews I read or the photos I saw. Have you had any experiences with them? I'm thinking this may be one of those times where we should just stick with what we know. (edit: just noticed you sailed on the Pacific Dawn in January - how was it?)

 

As far as prices go, I guess once you add in the taxes and tips, the prices on the Aussie site are relatively similar to the prices on the American site. That makes me feel a lot better!

[Mum81]

Thanks for all the info! We are both teachers so we can only do major trips in our summer (July/August). With that being your winter, should we expect prices to be higher or categories to sell out quickly?

 

I was looking into P&O Australia last night but wasn't too thrilled with the reviews I read or the photos I saw. Have you had any experiences with them? I'm thinking this may be one of those times where we should just stick with what we know. (edit: just noticed you sailed on the Pacific Dawn in January - how was it?)

 

As far as prices go, I guess once you add in the taxes and tips, the prices on the Aussie site are relatively similar to the prices on the American site. That makes me feel a lot better!

 

The exact opposite! July/August is when our cruises are the cheapest. Or, I should say, you can get them the cheapest. They may not initially be very much cheaper, but they will struggle to fill the ship at this time of the year and will need to discount them getting closer to the sail date.

 

The reason for this is that this is our winter. There is a 2 week school holiday break in July sometime, but most Australians tend to stay home in this break, we like to travel in our April, September and Christmas holidays.

 

Don't let it being our winter turn you off though. I notice you are from Canada and assume your winters are fairly cold. Ours are not like that. I live in Port Macquarie 4 hours north of Sydney on the coast. Our winter days sit at around 18 degrees celsius (sorry I didn't convert that for you) and the winter nights around 10 degrees celsius.

 

I have cruised with P & O twice because we have nothing else (hence my excitement about the Spirit!) :D

 

If you were to consider booking with them I would tell you to do so, understanding that it won't be anything like you are used to. You would need to go with a really open mind & possibly look at it more as a mode of transport to the destinations. The ships will be smaller and older than what you are used to. You may find yourself wondering where some of the facilities are, only to find they are not there.

 

However there are some very good points that need to be considered. If you take a South Pacific cruise with P & O (or carnival for that matter) you will see some of the most beautiful untouched paradises you will ever experience. No hotels, no shops, no cars, hell, come to think of it, no anything, bar small villages of friendly locals, a couple of dirt roads and kilometres of the whitest sand and bluest (not sure that's a word, hope you're not an English teacher ;)) water you will ever see. It truly is like a post card. Look for Isle of Pines, Lifou, and Mystery Island in particular.

 

It will be warm on the islands, even in winter.

 

The other thing is Aussies love to have a good time. We are kind of the opposite of uptight. If shorts and thongs (do you call them flip flops?) in the dining room and bars bother you, it may not be your thing. We love nothing more than a few, or a few too many, cold beers and a BBQ. Don't be surprised if everyone calls you MATE!

 

We loved our time on the Pacific Dawn, but we go knowing what to expect, and you can't miss what you've never experienced. The other thing is we like to stay in a suite, which kind of guarantees that at least we will be comfortable. I will see if I can figure out how to post some photos for you. Anything else, let me know, I'm on 12 months career break leave from work and the days are long. :)

[jimbo5544]

The fact tips are included and not with American cruises, would be a issue and confusing.

 

I think you will have to book thru the Australian site or not book.

Not to jump ship on the thread, but I have heard that Carnial bookings for Europe will be handled the same way.