Advice needed: Land Tour Australia

[Princess Cruises Fann]

That tour did not include the Opera House, but you have a nice view of the Opera House and the Sydney Bridge as you leave the harbor and head to Bondi Beach. 

 

Part of the land tour will include the Sydney Opera House. That was the last part of the land tour before we boarded the Majestic Princess. We could see the ship in the harbor as we touring the Opera House. 

[Worldtraveler 4727]

Interesting!

After the 3 hour flight from Cairns, the time spent retrieving luggage, boarding the motorcoach, driving into Sydney, that there is also time for this tour before boarding the ship that day. 
Once again, I wish this tour itinerary was more specific! We do not want to miss the tour of the Sydney opera house, and have tour reservations for it before the land tour begins, but it is silly to tour it twice if this is going to be a part of the land portion tour.  However, it is not listed anywhere. 🫤

[Princess Cruises Fann]

On our tour, we flew back from Cairns to Sydney the day before the ship was scheduled to disembark. In the morning, we stopped at a couple of sites in Sydney and toured the Opera House and got on the ship early afternoon. 

[Worldtraveler 4727]

4 hours ago, Princess Cruises Fann said:

On our tour, we flew back from Cairns to Sydney the day before the ship was scheduled to disembark. In the morning, we stopped at a couple of sites in Sydney and toured the Opera House and got on the ship early afternoon. 

 

@Princess Cruises FannThanks for the added note. I checked our itinerary again, and we do fly back to Sydney and board the ship on the same final day of the land tour.

I emailed Bob Woods Tour Group through their website to ask about the Opera House Tour.

🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻hoping they will respond so I will know whether to cancel the tour reservations we have or not.

[ragtoptn]

@Princess Cruises Fann We are scheduled for this cruise tour in March 2024. We fly from Sydney to Ayers Rock where the itinerary says we transfer to the Sails in the Desert Resort, then do the Aboriginal Culture Tour. My question is does that include dinner? We'd really like to do the Silence of the Night Dinner, but I wasn't sure if the included tour does this.

[NavyVeteran]

26 minutes ago, ragtoptn said:

@Princess Cruises Fann We are scheduled for this cruise tour in March 2024. We fly from Sydney to Ayers Rock where the itinerary says we transfer to the Sails in the Desert Resort, then do the Aboriginal Culture Tour. My question is does that include dinner? We'd really like to do the Silence of the Night Dinner, but I wasn't sure if the included tour does this.

Look at the Itinerary & Experience tab in the Cruise Personalizer for your tour. For the date at Ayers Rock, click on "Read more" at the end of the description. In parentheses at the end of the description will be one or more of the letters "B", "L", and "D". This will tell you what meals are included. The description will also describe any special inclusions.

[compozer]

There is no “read more”.  At the end on our itinerary.  It is 

very frustrating that we can not get any info regarding our land portion.  Bob Wood’s tour group does not answer our questions.  One time they came back with  call Princes.  And of course, no one there knows anything.

[Worldtraveler 4727]

We leave on this same land tour in just ELEVEN days. 

NO WHERE on our itinerary is there a "read more" that will list "B" "L"or "D"

There IS a "view details" on the itinerary that is VERY BRIEF, and most often just lists BUFFET BREAKFAST at the hotels we will be staying at  (including Sails in the Desert)

As for trying to GUESS what this itinerary might include (i.e. dinner etc) GOOD LUCK! My traveling companions and I have been begging for information and clarifications here on Cruise Critic for months as well as MULTIPLE attempts in trying to contact Bob Woods Tour Group for bits of information. 

EXAMPLE: One gentleman who did this tour last January said that they were taken on a tour of the Sydney Opera House before boarding the ship. No where in their itinerary was this mentioned (and it is not on our itinerary either) so I attempted to contact Bob Woods Tour Group through their FaceBook page AND via the contact information on their website to simply ask the question: Will there be an inclusion of the Sydney Opera House Tour? I have made reservations for a tour, but would like to cancel it if we will do the tour with your group. No sense in seeing the same tour twice.

Answer: Radio Silence.

How difficult would it be to simply rely: Yes, it is included OR No, it is not.

SIGH!
Good luck finding any answers here or with the tour group. 

I am tempted to do a day-by-day blog of this trip as I did for the land and sea Alaska trip we took in 2018, for the same reasons: not enough information for travelers who would like to plan and see things on their bucket list. 

It is unconscionable of these tour groups to not be responsive to travelers in their group regarding simple requests.

 

 

[Worldtraveler 4727]

@compozer So true.

The SINGULAR time Bob Woods Tour Group responded to an email or via FaceBook was to respond:

Please contact Princess Land Tours with any questions you may have.

Have you ever spoken to anyone at Princess Land Tours?

They have the exact same information posted on the tour's itinerary--and nothing more. 

They respond by reading to you what is there, and when you ask a question or for clarification, they read you the paragraph again--word-for-word from the itinerary you already have.

Don't waste your time.

I do not want to count the minutes--dare I say hours--that I will never get back by trying to deal with Bob Woods and Princess Land Tours. 

[skynight]

Many years ago we took this Princess tour and stayed at Sails in the Desert which is beautiful hotel. I remember having breakfast, but not dinner. I really can't remember where we had dinner. Maybe at the hotel, or there was a small shopping area near the hotel where food was available, but not sit down dinners. We may have ate there. During the entire tour I think we only had one dinner included. It was a a meal that included local dishes, kangaroo, croc, barramundi, things like that. We kind of stayed flexible. There were 39 in our group. Some of us got together and planned on the spot. I remember in Port Douglas we took the short walk into town and dinned at a nice open air restaurant/pub style place.  

[NavyVeteran]

13 hours ago, compozer said:

There is no “read more”.  At the end on our itinerary.  It is 

very frustrating that we can not get any info regarding our land portion.  Bob Wood’s tour group does not answer our questions.  One time they came back with  call Princes.  And of course, no one there knows anything.

I just looked at the descriptions of Tour 4G and Tour 3G in October 2023.

The description of 20-Day Ultimate Australia - Tour 4G includes the following after selecting "Read more" for Uluru (ayers Rock), Australia:

 

Sun, Oct 29 Uluru (ayers Rock), Australia

Rise early and travel to the Uluru sunrise viewing area to watch the first rays of the sun rise over the desert landscape. Be mesmerized by the changing colors of Uluru at first light and experience the wonder of the Australian Outback as the dawn emerges. Then travel to the airport for a flight to Darwin. Enjoy the rest of the day at your leisure. Overnight Hilton Darwin. (B)

 

The description of 19-Day Australian Outlook - Tour 3G includes the following after selecting "Read more" for Sat, Oct 28 and Sun, Oct 29 in Uluru (ayers Rock), Australia:

 

Sat, Oct 28 Uluru (ayers Rock), Australia

Enjoy seamless travel as you board a plane to Cairns. Tour the rainforest village of Kuranda before a one-way Skyrail journey for aerial views of Baron Falls. Overnight Pullman Cairns. (B)

 

Sun, Oct 29 Uluru (ayers Rock), Australia

Today's activities are among the most exciting - unwind aboard a reef cruise to the Great Barrier Reef, one of the world's most phenomenal UNESCO World Heritage Sites! Dive or snorkel among the colorful corals and unusual fish beneath the water's surface, and don't worry about breakfast or lunch - we'll make sure you get fed! Overnight Pullman Cairns. (B,L)

 

Note the "(B)", "(B)", and "(B,L)" after the descriptions for each day. I have seen this same meal information on the description of every Princess pre-cruise and post-cruise tour that I've looked at.

[Worldtraveler 4727]

Copied and pasted from the itinerary provided to us.

No "letter" notations are included.

 

/23Uluru (ayers Rock), Australia
-Hide Details

TRANSFER: AIRPORT TO HOTEL 

 

Transfer: Airport to hotel

ABORIGINAL CULTURAL TOUR 

Aboriginal Cultural Tour This evening you'll be introduced to the culture and 40,000-year history of Australia's Aboriginal people on an enlightening cultural tour. Walk along the base of Uluru and watch the colors on the rock shift at sunset.   (Please note that some tours have the demonstrations and base walk the following morning after breakfast).

SAILS IN THE DESERT 

Sails in the Desert Resort Yulara Drive Ayers Rock Resort, NT 0872 Phone: 011-61-8-8957-7888 Fax: 011-61-8-8957-7474   All rooms feature air-conditioning, hair dryers, tea/coffee making facilities, television, and private balconies. Facilities include a pool, tennis court, and three restaurants. Located deep in the Outback, sightings of "critters" (lizards, flies, ants, etc.) are not uncommon on the grounds. Your accommodations are the highest available in the region.

 

 

Sun, 10/29/23Uluru (ayers Rock), Australia
-Hide Details

ULURU SUNRISE TOUR 

 

Uluru Sunrise Rise early to travel to the Uluru sunrise viewing area to watch the first rays of the sun rise over Uluru and the Red Center. Be mesmerized by the changing colors of Uluru at first light and experience the wonder of the Australian Outback as the dawn emerges.

BUFFET BREAKFAST 

Buffet breakfast

TRANSFER: HOTEL TO AIRPORT 

 

[NavyVeteran]

16 minutes ago, Worldtraveler 4727 said:

Copied and pasted from the itinerary provided to us.

No "letter" notations are included.

We were looking at different versions of the itinerary. I was looking at the one on the Princess website that is visible to anyone looking to book the tour. You were looking at the one in your Travel Summary. You may want to search for your specific tour on the Princess website and look there also.

[ragtoptn]

NavyVeteran You are correct. If I go back to the Princess.com page and look at the original description of the cruise, the info about meals is there. It's not listed in the itinerary that we received after booking. Thanks for responding!

[Worldtraveler 4727]

Difficult to know which one to trust…

[Princess Cruises Fann]

3 hours ago, skynight said:

Many years ago we took this Princess tour and stayed at Sails in the Desert which is beautiful hotel. I remember having breakfast, but not dinner. I really can't remember where we had dinner. Maybe at the hotel, or there was a small shopping area near the hotel where food was available, but not sit down dinners. We may have ate there. During the entire tour I think we only had one dinner included. It was a a meal that included local dishes, kangaroo, croc, barramundi, things like that. We kind of stayed flexible. There were 39 in our group. Some of us got together and planned on the spot. I remember in Port Douglas we took the short walk into town and dinned at a nice open air restaurant/pub style place.  

They had a picnic setup for the sunset viewing of Uluru Rock that included cheese, fruit, kangaroo, and drinks. Dinner was not included that night. Some people ate at the hotel and others ate at some of the restaurants close by. We were fine with the spread they had at the sunset picnic so we chose not to do dinner since we were going to get up so early the next morning. We hung out in the pool for a while and then went to bed to get up for the sunset at Uluru Rock. Breakfast was included that morning. It was a buffet breakfast at the hotel. 

[Worldtraveler 4727]

@Princess Cruises Fann As always, thanks so much for the added bit of information. 
Sure wish the itinerary had such details…if only to happily look forward to things like this. 

[skynight]

2 hours ago, Princess Cruises Fann said:

They had a picnic setup for the sunset viewing of Uluru Rock that included cheese, fruit, kangaroo, and drinks. Dinner was not included that night. Some people ate at the hotel and others ate at some of the restaurants close by. We were fine with the spread they had at the sunset picnic so we chose not to do dinner since we were going to get up so early the next morning. We hung out in the pool for a while and then went to bed to get up for the sunset at Uluru Rock. Breakfast was included that morning. It was a buffet breakfast at the hotel. 

Yes, I remember the same things at Uluru and the buffet breakfast. 

[nasa1974]

Don't forget to purchase head nets for the gnats. Definitely needed them at Uluru.

[inthesun789]

On 10/15/2023 at 5:43 PM, ragtoptn said:

@Princess Cruises Fann We are scheduled for this cruise tour in March 2024. We fly from Sydney to Ayers Rock where the itinerary says we transfer to the Sails in the Desert Resort, then do the Aboriginal Culture Tour. My question is does that include dinner? We'd really like to do the Silence of the Night Dinner, but I wasn't sure if the included tour does this.

We are on a similar land tour in december.   If your itinary does not say dinner (which ours did) we booked silence of the night dinner on our own and the evening light things on our own.

[Worldtraveler 4727]

Warning: we are currently ON this  tour (land and sea) and we did NOT stay at Sails in the Desert two nights ago! We stayed at a different hotel. In fact our entire itinerary was also reversed and we did not find this out until we met with our tour guide on day one! There have been many changes. (See above for the many pre-trip frustrations regarding this itinerary with no clarifications from Princess or Tour operator!!!)

[Worldtraveler 4727]

On 10/17/2023 at 8:28 AM, nasa1974 said:

Don't forget to purchase head nets for the gnats. Definitely needed them at Uluru.

We were there yesterday. Although we worried a lot about the flies, not a single one was there! Guide said sometimes they’re there and at they are not. Do not buy head nets before you go. They are for sale for $11 AUD everywhere. 

[Worldtraveler 4727]

On 10/17/2023 at 5:26 AM, skynight said:

Yes, I remember the same things at Uluru and the buffet breakfast. 

Here is a perfect example of how our tour is different than yours and future ones may differ as well:

Because post-Covid so many things in this world has changed— most specifically the number of flights, the number of pilots, the number of flight attendants, the number of restaurant workers, etc. etc. we have all felt the changes— so one of the big changes we had in our tour this week was that the only available flight from Darwin was to Alice Springs, and not Uluru. Therefore, we landed in Alice Springs and took a six hour coach bus ride through the.Outback to get to Uluru. It was not awful, we just got to see a lot of the.Outback. However, we did not see Sunset at Uluru. We went to the sunrise viewing though the next morning. We then boarded a plane at Ayres rock for Sydney. This is our final day in Sydney, and we board the ship this afternoon. There has been nothing but changes in our itinerary. We were originally scheduled to spend two days in Sydney at the beginning of the tour and then go right to the ship from the airport on this day. That was another change in the itinerary for us. We spent one day in Sydney at the beginning of the tour and we are currently in a Sydney hotel (back at the Amora Jamison)and will spend a half day in Sydney here with a bus ride tour of the city AND A TOUR OF THE OPERA HOUSE, which I begged the tour company to tell me before we left if it was included since it was not listed on the itinerary at all. And calling Princess Land was a joke. They couldn’t tell me anything that wasn’t already on the itinerary I already had, and a great deal changed when we got here. Our tour guide said that the itinerary we are currently on was set in March! But I could not get any clarifications from this tour operator or Princess. Our tour guide said Princess definitely had the itinerary last March as well. 
Very frustrating. 

One couple’s itinerary stated they were staying at the Four Seasons in Sydney. Upon landing, they found the tour guide in the Sydney airport, and he was there to pick up all the people coming in and take them to the Amora Jamison. That was the hotel on our itinerary as well, but we came in to Sydney two days early. Anyway, he had two small buses and could only take the exact amount of people that flew in that day and were on his list. This couple was not on his list, but are definitely in our tour group. They had to pay a $90 cab ride to the Amora Jamison hotel because  the tour guy did not have them on his hotel list, but he had them on his tour list. 

[Worldtraveler 4727]

BTW: Uber works perfectly in Sydney. Prices of Uber, and cabs vary according to the time of day, like any city. We arrived about 11 AM, and paid $55 AUD from the airport to the Amora Jamison hotel. We intend to do the same after the cruise from the cruise terminal to the airport. You can save yourself some money, and have your Travel Agent take off  the transportation charges on your invoice, which I believe are $100 per person per way? 

[cleoruby]

On 11/1/2023 at 2:32 PM, Worldtraveler 4727 said:

Here is a perfect example of how our tour is different than yours and future ones may differ as well:

Because post-Covid so many things in this world has changed— most specifically the number of flights, the number of pilots, the number of flight attendants, the number of restaurant workers, etc. etc. we have all felt the changes— so one of the big changes we had in our tour this week was that the only available flight from Darwin was to Alice Springs, and not Uluru. Therefore, we landed in Alice Springs and took a six hour coach bus ride through the.Outback to get to Uluru. It was not awful, we just got to see a lot of the.Outback. However, we did not see Sunset at Uluru. We went to the sunrise viewing though the next morning. We then boarded a plane at Ayres rock for Sydney. This is our final day in Sydney, and we board the ship this afternoon. There has been nothing but changes in our itinerary. We were originally scheduled to spend two days in Sydney at the beginning of the tour and then go right to the ship from the airport on this day. That was another change in the itinerary for us. We spent one day in Sydney at the beginning of the tour and we are currently in a Sydney hotel (back at the Amora Jamison)and will spend a half day in Sydney here with a bus ride tour of the city AND A TOUR OF THE OPERA HOUSE, which I begged the tour company to tell me before we left if it was included since it was not listed on the itinerary at all. And calling Princess Land was a joke. They couldn’t tell me anything that wasn’t already on the itinerary I already had, and a great deal changed when we got here. Our tour guide said that the itinerary we are currently on was set in March! But I could not get any clarifications from this tour operator or Princess. Our tour guide said Princess definitely had the itinerary last March as well. 
Very frustrating. 

One couple’s itinerary stated they were staying at the Four Seasons in Sydney. Upon landing, they found the tour guide in the Sydney airport, and he was there to pick up all the people coming in and take them to the Amora Jamison. That was the hotel on our itinerary as well, but we came in to Sydney two days early. Anyway, he had two small buses and could only take the exact amount of people that flew in that day and were on his list. This couple was not on his list, but are definitely in our tour group. They had to pay a $90 cab ride to the Amora Jamison hotel because  the tour guy did not have them on his hotel list, but he had them on his tour list. 

How was the land tour overall?  We are on this tour starting the 11th and supposed to stay at the Hyatt in Sydney and fly from there to Ayers Rock.  Were you allowed to take a personal bag along with carryon on the flights in Australia?