TalkingTravel

Hello fellow beer lovers! Would anyone have photos of P&O’s beer menus please? 

5 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Did you use a travel agent?

They can set up special requests

No, we booked direct unfortunately. 

Hello there, 
Does anyone have an email address for Oceania that I could use to organise a 30th wedding anniversary surprise for my husband prior to boarding please?  I tried SpecialServices[at]Oceania[dot]com a while ago but haven't heard back.
Thanks for your help!

No, unfortunately. The group babysitting is only available for kids enrolled in the kids club.  If you have a 15 month old and the ship has no nursery your only option is to cruise with family/friends who are happy to babysit your little one. 

17 minutes ago, pink845 said:

Going to be in Sydney Monday to Saturday.  Arriving at Sydney airport, may take cab or may not to our hotel at Kings Cross.  If we choose to take the train, I gather we need to pay a Gate Fee to exit the airport and then a train fee.   I was reading up on the OPAL card.   There appears to be Caps on the fares.  One can ride the various modes of transport all day and the cap is $16, while the weekly cap is $50.   Can we buy this Opal Card at the airport and when we buy the card, do we put $50 dollars on it and then we can use it to our hearts content from the Monday to the Saturday and not have to pay one cent more.  Do we add the Gate fee of $19.60 to the $50 dollars that we put onto this card so that we can exit the airport or do we put on only an extra $15.    Confusing!!!!!    I have traveled to a lot of other cities and usually there is a 2 day, 3 day, 5 day, 7 day pass for a set amount of money.   This Opal is something different with these caps. Can someone explain. 

If you don't want a multi-day pass and/or would prefer to avoid the hassle of buying an Opal card, you can just tap and go with your credit card when you enter and exit the train station. 

Cruise Critic did a story on it a while ago which had more information. No Lime & Coconut unfortunately https://www.cruisecritic.com.au/news/4215/?cache=disable

Hey angie.w, My 15 year old son's advice is that it's very important to go on the first night as that's when the teens tend to drop in and check things out. He said to hang around a bit if there is no one there at first as they will usually drift in during the evening. He tells me this night is when friendships start being formed so if you don't go on the first night it can be harder to make friends later, especially if quite a few teens turn up on the first night and you're not there. How much he enjoys the teen's club depends on who is on board. However, there has only been one cruise where he hasn't made at least one good friend to hang out with and even then he still had people to play video games etc with, just no really close mates on that cruise to eat dinner with etc. Every family is different, but we have a rule that he has to eat one family meal with us per day, usually lunch as he's not a breakfast kinda guy.  He mostly goes to dinner with friends he's made at the teen's club as he prefers the buffet for dinner and my husband and I like the main dining room. I hope the above info helps and you have a great cruise!

Something also worth noting is your choice of ships will be very limited as it's not Australia cruise season then. 

Go to any supermarket and buy a packet of Pineapple Lumps, Whittaker's Chocolate (similar to Cadbury, but a Kiwi version) and a Pinkie or two.

I've lectured on ships in Australia, but not with P&O. You need to get any discounts you are entitled to in writing. Once you are onboard the ship, the only thing that counts is what's in your contract. This is what they will check to confirm what you're entitled to onboard. An email from whomever booked your lecturing sailing should suffice at a pinch, but having it in your contract is better.

Has anyone out there have experience with either or both of these ships in Austrailia/ New Zealand or anywhere else and would like to share their experiences and preference?

 

Thanks.

This story provides a good overview on both ships and compares the two. Noordam will have had a refurbishment by the time she comes Down Under again next season.

https://www.cruisecritic.com.au/articles.cfm?ID=2214

It's showing as available for purchase in the cruise planner for our November 2017 cruise on Ovation: AU$12 per person.

Eventz in Paradise look after bookings for RCI in Australia http://eventzinparadise.com/

Thanks for your responses. Sounds like perhaps they are not offering the 3 and 5 night packages on our cruise. It's a long trip so they might figure people will want to book the specialties for a change so there is no need to discount. I'll keep checking though.

I am sailing on Ovation in November and would like to book a 3 night dining package but so far only the Ultimate Dining Package is listed in the cruise planner. Anyone know when (or if) the 3 night package is likely to be released for sale? Also, how much does it sell for? Thanks!

When I was on the Reflection this April it was $10.00 per session I believe there were 3 offered on different subjects, they were informative.

Thanks for the info MarkE!

Hello there, Does anyone know how much the paid iLounge classes cost please? I know there are free ones but some of the more advanced ones cost $$. Thanks!

I used to work in the kid's program on Celebrity and they absolutely do. It has been a few years now, but when I was on board we would have a special carnival type program with easter egg hunts, crafts, and the Easter bunny.

Thanks for the info everyone. Our son is 13 but will no doubt still be up for an Easter egg hunt if there is one on offer. We're in port on Easter Sunday but hopefully there will still be time for some Easter fun and games.

Hi everyone, I am sailing with my family on Celebrity Solstice during Easter. Does anyone know if they do anything special for the youngsters (and the young at heart) with regard to chocolate eggs, bunnies, etc? If so, can you recall if the celebrations last throughout the Easter long weekend or just on Easter Sunday? Thanks for your help.

Greetings from Brisbane (5 mins drive away from Lone Pine, it's very close to my place). This is one of the few times I would heartily recommend a ship's tour over visiting an attraction independently as the cost of a shuttle to/from the Grain Terminal is usually around $25 (and there is no public transport alternative unfortunately). I am not sure how much the NCL tour to Lone Pine is but once you factor in the 'added value' of not having to pay for the shuttle and the convenience factor, the ship's tour is probably a pretty good deal. Lone Pine is great, by the way. I went back there for the first time in about 30 years recently and was surprised how much I enjoyed it given the animals aren't that unusual for me as an Aussie. Don't miss the sheep dog show, raptor free flight bird show and koala keeper talk which take place at certain times each day. It's worth planning your other activities around these things. Also the platypus enclosure which is a bit tucked away but easy to find on the map.

We flew to Sydney to board our cruise but told our son we were staying at a hotel called 'Hotel X' for a few nights and asked him to find it for us on the map and get us there. We had marked an X on Circular Quay and said the hotel 'should be around there'. Wish I had a photo of his face when he looked up and saw the 'X' on the side of the Celebrity ship and finally worked out what was happening!

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but there is a 'new policy' whereby children have to be 13 to sign themselves in and out of the Kids Club. We discussed this with the staff and they confirmed it was fleet wide. Our high school age son who is taller than his Mom was not impressed.

I am a travel journalist, keen cruiser and the mother of a 12 year old boy. I really hope you find the following info and tips and tricks helpful. Some of it has come from interviews I’ve done with kids club staff. Other stuff is from me. I hope you and your family have a wonderful cruise!

It can be good to have a family meeting and set some ground rules prior to the cruise to avoid misunderstandings that could spoil the holiday mood once you are onboard. For example, Are your kids allowed to have friends back to the cabin? Do they have to return by a specific time each day? Can they get themselves treats at the buffet between meals? We use a notebook in the room for messages to help keep track of each other and have a mandatory 10pm curfew.

We also have a ‘mandatory check back’ time when everyone needs to be back in the room. Our time tends to be between 4.30pm and 5pm but it could be anytime. We use this to touch base and see how everyone’s day is going and make any final arrangements for the evening. More often than not our son would choose to stay to hang out with us for an hour or two around this time, either in the room or around the ship.

We have a rule that everyone needs to have one meal a day together (it doesn’t have to be the same one each day, you can have a family meeting and agree on what this will be the day before). We grown ups prefer to have a romantic dinner so it’s seldom in the evening for us, but you might feel differently. We love the fun of ticking the little boxes for breakfast and then having breakfast in bed as a family or squeezing onto the balcony. A burger for lunch can be fun too or sometimes we go to the main dining room for lunch together on sea days.

Once he has sign out privileges, your son might want to spend all his time hanging out with his friends and not so much time with you. To combat this we schedule ‘family challenges’ rather than calling it ‘mandatory family time’ (even though it is!). Our familyof three chooses an onboard activity each that everyone had to try (even if they aren’t keen!). On Voyager of the Seas it was Flowrider (me), climbing wall (Dad) and mini golf (son). It is extra fun if you award a small ‘prize’ from the onboard gift shop for the ‘winner’ of each challenge. We all had a ball trying activities that we wouldn’t normally do and even surprised ourselves sometimes (although my dodgy attempt at the climbing wall on Voyager of the Seas is probably best forgotten!). We did one of these activities each day (or a repeat of a favourite activity once we had done them all).

This info is from a Kids Club manager and is important for that age group (perhaps even some 9-11 year olds too). Even if your teen says they aren’t sure if they will join the program, it is very important for them to attend on the first day as this is when friendships are formed. If your child skips this session but decides to join in a few days later, it can be much harder for them to make friends.

Our son made friends at the kids club in the first 2 or 3 days and they usually met there and then went off and had a meal together or did an activity. Sometimes he and his friend would arrange to meet in a designated spot, other times they would stay at the club depending on what was on.

We liked the fact that on a cruise our son could have the independence to enjoy a more ‘grown up’ relationship with his friends in a safe environment.

Bon voyage and happy cruising!

Hi there, Could someone who has sailed on Celebrity Solstice in the past month or so please confirm the current pricing for the specialty restaurants? Thanks so much!