Princess Australia has a new rule from the Australian Govenment

[MicCanberra]

What about headache pills or sea sick pill or a tube of ye olde Pringles, surely they sell them to any passenger?:hearteyes:

Not if the shop is closed.:(

[NSWP]

Not if the shop is closed.:(

 

And the shops on the Carnival Corporation ships are operated by contractors. But still controlled somewhat by the Line.

[NSWP]

Wow, I know it is the law but so should have Princess, costly mistake for them.

 

Indeed, I reckon one or two of the Star Princess management might have got the punt.:eek: Geez that duty free Chivas Regal on the rocks was nice after a hard day at Kakadu.:whiskey-glass:

 

On the QM2 last month after we had left Airlie Beach on the way to HK, the shop had a day where all pax could buy 2 big bottles of duty free booze and take it away for cabin consumption. Apparently they do that often on the world cruise sectors. No wonder the bars and lounges were not crowded pre dinner. The shop nearly sold out of the stuff, i.e. 1 litre bottle of Dewars Scotch, US$10, lubbly jubbly. On our our table of 11 in the Britannia MDR we had 4 ladies who arrived at the table quite merry after slurping on a few duty free Baileys on their balcony. Way to go.

[By The Bay]

What about headache pills or sea sick pill or a tube of ye olde Pringles, surely they sell them to any passenger?:hearteyes:

The sales staff on Sun Princess told me we could buy "Personal Use" products. I didn't press the issue but assumed like you that those items would be Okay.

[NSWP]

The sales staff on Sun Princess told me we could buy "Personal Use" products. I didn't press the issue but assumed like you that those items would be Okay.

 

The Ship's Doctor would make a killing on those over the counter pills if the shop was closed.:loudcry: They don't bulk bill either....$100 flagfall. We always take ample supplies of pills, prescription and others like above.

[Brisbane41]

I was on the Golden Princess last November for a 3 night cruise from Sydney to Melbourne and the gift shop was open for all purchases on this cruise.

 

I am not sure if anything has changed since then for the relocation cruises when the ship is travelling between two Australian ports.

[MicCanberra]

It seems like the decision is much more recent as in the last few weeks.

[Brisbane41]

It seems like the decision is much more recent as in the last few weeks.

 

I will find out for sure next week when I board the Golden Princess again for its return to Sydney.

[MicCanberra]

I will find out for sure next week when I board the Golden Princess again for its return to Sydney.

Bon voyage.

[Brisbane41]

I cannot understand how this became an issue.

 

I can confirm that there is definitely NO, I repeat NO new rule for Australians on coastal cruises. I just did the 2 night cruise from Melbourne to Sydney on the Golden Princess and the souvenir shops and boutiques were all open for purchases. Duty Free alcohol and cigarettes were not available. Souvenirs including clothing, ships brand name clothes, perfumes and fragrances, pens, shot glasses and all the usual were all on sale from the ships shops. The ship did have some passengers staying on for the following cruise to Noumea.

 

I suspect that we have been misinformed about this as perhaps the person who posted it failed to realise that the Sun Princess was part of an international cruise and there is no way they would allow them to sell duty free items to passengers who just booked a coastal cruise.

 

All souvenirs from the ship were available for purchase on this coastal cruise between two Australian ports.

[rkmw]

I cannot understand how this became an issue.

 

I can confirm that there is definitely NO, I repeat NO new rule for Australians on coastal cruises. I just did the 2 night cruise from Melbourne to Sydney on the Golden Princess and the souvenir shops and boutiques were all open for purchases. Duty Free alcohol and cigarettes were not available. Souvenirs including clothing, ships brand name clothes, perfumes and fragrances, pens, shot glasses and all the usual were all on sale from the ships shops. The ship did have some passengers staying on for the following cruise to Noumea.

 

I suspect that we have been misinformed about this as perhaps the person who posted it failed to realise that the Sun Princess was part of an international cruise and there is no way they would allow them to sell duty free items to passengers who just booked a coastal cruise.

 

All souvenirs from the ship were available for purchase on this coastal cruise between two Australian ports.

 

well maybe its to do with the Sun & Sea Princess and the cruise had been to an international port but anyone who joined in Brisbane doing the domestic cruise could not buy anything from the gift shop and my post was backed up by post #39

 

i'm doing a 2 nighter again in a months time from Syd to Bris on the Golden and its part of the WC so we'll see if anyone thats only doing the domestic cruise can buy stuff from the gift shop

[The_Big_M]

i took my grandson on a coastal cruise from Brisbane to Sydney on the Sun Princess which we got off yesterday and he wanted to get a souvenior pen from the gift shop but they have a new ruling out (not sure when it started) unless you have been to an overseas port you cannot buy anything from the gift shop including lanyards....i was shown the paper from the Australian Government that forbids them selling anything unless leaving Australia so this will affect all cruises in Australia....if the other ships that only sail in Australian waters it should affect them if they follow the Government ruling

 

I posted about this about a year back, when it first appeared on Dawn Princess.

 

It's been implemented inconsistently.

[Wastegirl]

While I previously reported on this thread that I have been on several Australian coastal cruises with no international stops and shopping, other than alcohol and cigarettes, was no problem, imagine my surprise when talking to friends just last night that they had an issue with it.

 

They returned a few weeks ago after doing a portion of a Princess cruise that included an international stop after they left the ship. There was just 150 passengers on this particular portion, a special trip organised by their TA.

 

On their Cruise Card they had a pink spot (sticker) which indicated to staff that they were not allowed to make purchases and this was confirmed when one of them tried to purchase a sun hat.

 

So from this I conclude that Princess is enforcing this and it only impacts if you are on a section of an international cruise where you leave the ship while still in Australian waters.

 

I suppose on true Australian coastal cruises they reprice all the goods to include government charges and on international cruises the government charges are removed. Therefore if you are one of only a smallish group that are on a local portion of an international cruise the cruise line does not want (or cannot have) two lots of pricing in their shop, so the small contingent of local cruisers miss out.

 

You would think there would be a way around this, also something to watch out for if you book one of those specialised cruises (eg rail, train, etc) that big TA's periodically put out.

[By The Bay]

The two coastal cruises I did on Sun and Sea in April this year were both going to or returning from a Overseas cruise. On both I could not purchase items that we were able to as recently as last November on Dawn. And yes, our cards were identified by a second punch hole and a green sticker for the two April cruises.

[cheznandy]

 

So from this I conclude that Princess is enforcing this and it only impacts if you are on a section of an international cruise where you leave the ship while still in Australian waters.

 

I also posted somewhere on this thread that I thought that was the case.

Our recent 3 nighter on Carnival Spirit we were able to purchase anything in the shops.

All posts on this thread confirm that it must be the new rule....or old rule and they are now enforcing it;)

Thanks for all the info everyone, although we don't do many shorts cruises these days, good to know if we jump on one not to expect to buy anything:)

[Aussieflyer]

Such consistent inconsistency does my head in....:eek:

[Brisbane41]

There is no inconsistency and there is no new rule.

 

It is 100% clear that if you purchase a coastal relocation cruise on a Princess ship you are absolutely allowed to purchase items from the gift shop.

 

It is looking more like that the people who have experienced issues have purchased cruises through a travel agent that may not have been official Princess cruise itineraries. For example the travel agent probably had clients that wanted to disembark in a certain port and they sold their cabin for the remaining coastal sector to another client who did not go international and did not qualify for the international prices.

 

On every Princess cruise that I have been on that has no international ports and only departed between Australian ports the gift shops have been open. I have always booked my cruises directly through Princess as I do not wish to have any business dealings with travel agents.

[The_Big_M]

There is no inconsistency and there is no new rule.

 

It is 100% clear that if you purchase a coastal relocation cruise on a Princess ship you are absolutely allowed to purchase items from the gift shop.

 

 

There is inconsistency. No need to argue about that which you know nothing about.

It is looking more like that the people who have experienced issues have purchased cruises through a travel agent that may not have been official Princess cruise itineraries. For example the travel agent probably had clients that wanted to disembark in a certain port and they sold their cabin for the remaining coastal sector to another client who did not go international and did not qualify for the international prices.

 

On every Princess cruise that I have been on that has no international ports and only departed between Australian ports the gift shops have been open. I have always booked my cruises directly through Princess as I do not wish to have any business dealings with travel agents.

 

None of your above assumptions are correct. In case of different handling for me, many bookings have been through Princess. In any case the issue is an onboard one - nothing to do with the booking which would not be viable to handle onboard.

[rkmw]

There is no inconsistency and there is no new rule.

 

It is 100% clear that if you purchase a coastal relocation cruise on a Princess ship you are absolutely allowed to purchase items from the gift shop.

 

It is looking more like that the people who have experienced issues have purchased cruises through a travel agent that may not have been official Princess cruise itineraries. For example the travel agent probably had clients that wanted to disembark in a certain port and they sold their cabin for the remaining coastal sector to another client who did not go international and did not qualify for the international prices.

 

On every Princess cruise that I have been on that has no international ports and only departed between Australian ports the gift shops have been open. I have always booked my cruises directly through Princess as I do not wish to have any business dealings with travel agents.

 

how would the shop staff know who you booked the cruise with and they wouldnt care and what they go by if doing a domestic cruise on the Sun or Sea Princess they put a sticker and a couple of punch holes in the card so they know (i book with princess too but we still couldnt buy anything from the shop)

 

you have been told by other people but you dont seem to understand, it hasnt happened on the Golden not yet but we'll wait and see how long before it does

[By The Bay]

I made the three Sun class ship bookings, mentioned in earlier posts, direct with Princess.

 

No argument that the gift shops have been open, only that you are limited in what you can purchase. This has been confirmed by many posters.

 

 

There is no inconsistency and there is no new rule.

It is looking more like that the people who have experienced issues have purchased cruises through a travel agent that may not have been official Princess cruise itineraries.

 

On every Princess cruise that I have been on that has no international ports and only departed between Australian ports the gift shops have been open.

[cheznandy]

There is no inconsistency and there is no new rule.

 

It is 100% clear that if you purchase a coastal relocation cruise on a Princess ship you are absolutely allowed to purchase items from the gift shop.

 

It is looking more like that the people who have experienced issues have purchased cruises through a travel agent that may not have been official Princess cruise itineraries. For example the travel agent probably had clients that wanted to disembark in a certain port and they sold their cabin for the remaining coastal sector to another client who did not go international and did not qualify for the international prices.

 

Big difference between a turnaround day and an intransit port stop.

Your cruise on the Golden was a turnaround day....repositioning to Sydney.

The cruises others were on where they were unable to purchase goods were an in transit stop, part of a longer cruise where Princess sold the two days separately...... not the Travel Agents, they have no authority to sell half the cruise to someone and the other half to someone else.

[Brisbane41]

There is inconsistency. No need to argue about that which you know nothing about.

 

 

None of your above assumptions are correct. In case of different handling for me, many bookings have been through Princess. In any case the issue is an onboard one - nothing to do with the booking which would not be viable to handle onboard.

 

I think you need to go back and read my post. Perhaps you have difficulty understanding.

 

It appears to me that on cruises for example Singapore to Sydney on a Princess ship and that if a passenger embarks in Brisbane and goes to Sydney then they cannot purchase from the gift shop as the cruise is an international cruise and not a domestic one.

 

I strongly suspect in the above case that travel agents are making these coastal cruise sales without Princess making them official cruises.

[cme2c]

Could this have to do with the new "Gerry Harvey" law that GST is now payable on all overseas purchases, where it used to be only over $1000?

[By The Bay]

Could this have to do with the new "Gerry Harvey" law that GST is now payable on all overseas purchases, where it used to be only over $1000?

That makes sense, and explains why the change in recent times.

 

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Forums mobile app

[The_Big_M]

I think you need to go back and read my post. Perhaps you have difficulty understanding.

 

Ironic.

I strongly suspect in the above case that travel agents are making these coastal cruise sales without Princess making them official cruises.

 

They are official cruises. As I said in my post, and many others have said directly above - hence "ironic" - posters including myself BOOKED DIRECTLY WITH PRINCESS. Since Princess offered it themselves, what basis do you have to assert they are not "official?"