Cruisin' Australia - HELP!!!

[The Old Fogies]

We will be on the Diamond Princess going around Australia in Feb. 2015.

 

Seeing that there are still cabins available on all sides of the ship, I have a question - or two! We will be sailing from Sydney to Hobart, Melbourne, Adelaide, Albany, Bunbury, Perth, Bali (Benoa), Darwin, Port Douglas, Airlie Beach, Brisbande to Sydney.

 

The Mini Suites on most Princess ships get HOT because the extra room in the cabin is over the Tenders and it's not very insulated. Sooo - we try to get a cabin on the side of the ship that sees the least afternoon sun so the cabin doesn't heat up too much.

 

Am I correct in assuming that in Feb. (which is YOUR summer), the sun is more northerly. Heading west, we'll be on the colder side of Australia -- and heading east, we'll be on the hotter northern side of Australia.. So - maybe we should get a cabin on the right side of the ship - the starboard side - because then we won't be on the hotter side heading east.

 

Do I have you all confused???

 

My other thought was that I prefer a cabin that overlooks the dock or town. A friend who just did the trip (on another cruise line) said that it really didn't matter on this cruise - half the time their cabin faced the port and half the time it didn't.

 

Any suggestions about which side of the ship I should get our cabin on????

 

THANK YOU for any suggestions!

 

Karen

[Esilef]

Australia gets very hot in February. As for the side if the ship I don't think it really matters.

 

We are cruising in February and have chosen a covered aft cabin (not sure if your ship has these).

[Aus Traveller]

I feel you are 'over-thinking' the issue of the angle of the sun. Your cruise is in February which is well past the summer solstice so the sun is 'heading' north, but its location in the sky will depend on where you are on your round-Australia cruise. When you are in the far north the sun would be directly overhead or maybe a bit to the south because you are well north of the Tropic of Capricorn (I haven't worked out the exact details). When you are in waters off southern Australia the sun would be well to the north.

 

You shouldn't have too much trouble with sun heating the cabin when the ship is sailing east or west because the sun will be very high in the sky during the middle of the day. Near sunset it will be either in front of the ship or behind on different parts of your journey.

 

The hottest time of the day is in the later afternoon so I would avoid a cabin on the side of the ship (Port side) that faces towards the afternoon sun while the ship is sailing north along the Western Australian coast. This unfortunately means you will have a west-facing cabin on the run down the Queensland/NSW coast, but you can't have it both ways. :)

 

Having a cabin on the starboard side will give you the advantage of letting you see the coastline on the few occasions when the ship sails within sight of land.

 

Your friend is correct that any cabin you choose will sometimes be on the 'town side' and sometimes on the 'ocean side'.

[fishtaco]

We will be on the Diamond Princess going around Australia in Feb. 2015.

 

Seeing that there are still cabins available on all sides of the ship, I have a question - or two! We will be sailing from Sydney to Hobart, Melbourne, Adelaide, Albany, Bunbury, Perth, Bali (Benoa), Darwin, Port Douglas, Airlie Beach, Brisbande to Sydney.

 

The Mini Suites on most Princess ships get HOT because the extra room in the cabin is over the Tenders and it's not very insulated. Sooo - we try to get a cabin on the side of the ship that sees the least afternoon sun so the cabin doesn't heat up too much.

 

Am I correct in assuming that in Feb. (which is YOUR summer), the sun is more northerly. Heading west, we'll be on the colder side of Australia -- and heading east, we'll be on the hotter northern side of Australia.. So - maybe we should get a cabin on the right side of the ship - the starboard side - because then we won't be on the hotter side heading east.

 

Do I have you all confused???

 

My other thought was that I prefer a cabin that overlooks the dock or town. A friend who just did the trip (on another cruise line) said that it really didn't matter on this cruise - half the time their cabin faced the port and half the time it didn't.

 

Any suggestions about which side of the ship I should get our cabin on????

 

THANK YOU for any suggestions!

 

Karen

 

What I can tell you is aprox 1.5 days after leaving Perth (fremantle port) in Feb it will become very hot and around the second day it will be very hot and very humid:)

 

In Feb Perth usually experiences its hottest days of the year with quite a few well over 100 Deg in the old scale but as you head north it gets very humid as well.

 

The sun in feb will seem almost directly East West with the sun blazing directly above you at midday.

 

In Feb you will be hunting for shade no matter what part of the ship you choose, the morning sun burns just as much as the late afternoon sun.

 

larger Cruise Ships in Fremantle always seem to dock Port side but heading up the coast of Western Australia you have better views starboard but port side is best for sailaway.then right up the coast you want to be starboard until you head N/W to Indonesia.

 

Benoa Bali is a tender port and your best views when coming into Bali are from the port side .

 

I have been to Bali many times but cruising into Bali is one of the best visual events of my life or of any cruise I have had, the next best was cruising through the Lombok straight between Bali and Lombok where you have volcanoes both sides so best be up on deck not on a balcony either side:)

[Kiwi Kruzer]

If you are circumnavigating Australia you will be travelling in a circle....so for 1/2 of your cruise will have morning sun and for the other 1/2 it will be afternoon sun.

More important I would think , is to be on the side that is looking to the land. In the direction you are cruising that would be the starboard side. most of the time you will be well out to sea but there are times ,eg Far North Queensland, when you are cruising close to land.

As the others have said , as far as some of the ports are concerned , I sometimes wonder if the Captain docks according to which side of the ship needs a wash down or a paint touch up:D

 

 

 

[AussieVisi2r]

If you are circumnavigating Australia you will be travelling in a circle....so for 1/2 of your cruise will have morning sun and for the other 1/2 it will be afternoon sun.

More important I would think , is to be on the side that is looking to the land. In the direction you are cruising that would be the starboard side. most of the time you will be well out to sea but there are times ,eg Far North Queensland, when you are cruising close to land.

As the others have said , as far as some of the ports are concerned , I sometimes wonder if the Captain docks according to which side of the ship needs a wash down or a paint touch up:D

 

 

 

 

Exactly what I was going to say. Get a starboards room - enjoy the view and use your curtains to keep the room cooler in the afternoon.

 

Enjoy.

 

I just did this trip and it is super!

R

[gbenjo]

Just book an inside cabin.......problem solved :D:D:D:D

[Gunner22aa]

Can't answer your questions as I am from Canada but we booked the same cruise and I started a roll call for it. So far I'm the only one on it and think it has been bumped to page two by now.

[Cruise_me_Crazy]

Starboard will give you better land viewing, but I imagine port will give you better cooling ocean breezes.

 

I loved our balcony & the fresh breeze from it. Noticed the heat when the ship was in port/s regardless of the sun, as the breeze was gone.

 

I hope you enjoy the cruise regardless of what side you get. I imagine a mini suite will go far in making that happen! :)

[The Old Fogies]

WOW - THANKS for all your replies!!!!! I loved the one about booking an inside cabin. We just did that for our very cheap Christmas cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale. That was our first inside cabin in over 20 cruises and I felt like I was in a dungeon!!!! Not going there again!!! But we have friends who don't mind. Luckily everyone is different so we're not all fighting for outside cabins!

 

I have already contacted my Travel Agent and asked her to change my cabin to the Starboard side.

 

I also had this thought - seeing that there are 6 of us paying a lot for cabins, we could actually hire a large van and driver, be driven all over Australia for 25 days, stay in 5 star hotels and have 3 meals a day for what the cruise would cost us AND we would see a lot more of Australia!!!!

 

THANKS!!! OH - Check out the Sapphire Princess cruise on April 3rd from LA to Japan - 25 days - it's much less than half the price of the Australia cruise - but you have to get a Chinese Visa for the one stop in Shanghai.

 

Karen

Edited December 30, 2013 by Tennis Couple

[Cruise_me_Crazy]

25 days you wouldn't see much of Aus! Not to mention the hassle of driving. I would cruise hands down any day.

[bazzaw]

WOW - THANKS for all your replies!!!!! I loved the one about booking an inside cabin. We just did that for our very cheap Christmas cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale. That was our first inside cabin in over 20 cruises and I felt like I was in a dungeon!!!! Not going there again!!! But we have friends who don't mind. Luckily everyone is different so we're not all fighting for outside cabins!

 

I have already contacted my Travel Agent and asked her to change my cabin to the Starboard side.

 

I also had this thought - seeing that there are 6 of us paying a lot for cabins, we could actually hire a large van and driver, be driven all over Australia for 25 days, stay in 5 star hotels and have 3 meals a day for what the cruise would cost us AND we would see a lot more of Australia!!!!

 

THANKS!!! OH - Check out the Sapphire Princess cruise on April 3rd from LA to Japan - 25 days - it's much less than half the price of the Australia cruise - but you have to get a Chinese Visa for the one stop in Shanghai.

 

Karen

 

Cruising is certainly a very nice thing to do -- but Australia is probably one of the worst places in the World to cruise around for the purpose of seeing the country. Why?? Because of the great distances between ports, the few number of ports in that distance and the fact that there are only a handful of ports that have much merit for a visit- IMO. MOST Aussie ports require some kind of addon land tour to make them even remotely interesting -- I could name on one hand the ports in Australia that do not require this -- Sydney being the most obvious.

 

Personally, I recommend to come cruising in Aussie waters by all means -- but a longish land tour is really the only way to see and experience much of this country.

 

Barry

[MicCanberra]

I think you will find that Starboard is the right side to be on.:D

[happysnapper]

"fishtaco"

You mention in your post you have been to Bali many times and also sailed into the port. DH and myself plus another couple are doing the Nov 2014 round Australia and it includes 1 day in Bali. Have had a couple of trips there in the past but I am at a loss as to what we can do in the few hours our ship is there. Do you have any suggestions. The four of us are seniors but young at heart. Yes we have already booked on the Starboard side.

Glennys

[OZdownunder2013]

...... going around Australia in Feb. 2015.

 

Seeing that there are still cabins available on all sides of the ship, I have a question - or two! Am I correct in assuming that in Feb. (which is YOUR summer), the sun is more northerly. .....etc. Karen

 

Dear Karen, We did this exact cruise in Feb a few years ago. You will love every bit of it. It does not matter which side you are on, whether you have an inside or an outside cabin. Just remember not to get lost in Australia, the sun still rises in the east, sets in the west......but it goes in an arc across the northern sky.... (in an anti- clockwise direction). Long twilights occur in the southern states (Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide). The sun does not linger in the tropics (no long twilights) Cairns, Darwin, Broome etc when the sun sets... it sets and is gone (boom). Love the sun, in Feb it can be "stinking hot" and your skin may blister in twenty minutes (mine does). so Slip on a Shirt, Slop on some sunscreen and Slat on a Hat (and sunglasses) and take lots of photos. cheers from Sydney.

[MicCanberra]

Dear Karen, We did this exact cruise in Feb a few years ago. You will love every bit of it. It does not matter which side you are on, whether you have an inside or an outside cabin. Just remember not to get lost in Australia, the sun still rises in the east, sets in the west......but it goes in an arc across the northern sky.... (in an anti- clockwise direction). Long twilights occur in the southern states (Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide). The sun does not linger in the tropics (no long twilights) Cairns, Darwin, Broome etc when the sun sets... it sets and is gone (boom). Love the sun, in Feb it can be "stinking hot" and your skin may blister in twenty minutes (mine does). so Slip on a Shirt, Slop on some sunscreen and Slat on a Hat (and sunglasses) and take lots of photos. cheers from Sydney.

 

Good advice, (BTW, it is 'slap on a hat' not slat)

:D