dennisamor

Hi Kiwi Kruzer,

It was a day excursion ... set off at 7am and arrived back at ship at 11pm, an hour before she was due to sail!

And to add insult to injury, the buffet on QM2 was SHUT and they flatly refused to reopen it until the schedule time, so we had to wait another 20 minutes!

Would you believe, we were welcomed back on board with a champagne reception ... the last thing we needed. FOOD would have been more readily received.

As a diabetic, Cunard was lucky it didn't have seriously ill passenger on its hands.

Not the sort of day I would have expected from such a reputable cruise line.

QM2 Bullet Train excursion

Had an absolutely disastrous Heaven on Earth bullet train excursion from Shanghai to Hangzhou while on a recent QM2 cruise from Oz. Cost around $200 each.

Main complaints ... 17 hours (yes, 17 hours!) with only ONE meal ('brunch, 4 hours into trip). No spare time to buy coffee or snacks during the rest of the tour, dreadful organisation, marathon dashes on foot between tourist spots where only a few minutes were allowed for sightseeing, appalling toilet facilities etc etc.

Cunard agreed to repay passengers 50 percent of cost as compensation. Five weeks later am still waiting to be paid .

Any other passengers having the same problem??

Dennis Amor

Had an absolutely disastrous Heaven on Earth bullet train excursion from Shanghai to Hangzhou while on a recent QM2 cruise from Oz. Cost around $200 each.

Main complaints ... 17 hours (yes, 17 hours!) with only ONE meal, No spare time to buy coffee or snacks during the rest of the tour, dreadful organisation, marathon dashes on foot between tourist spots where only a few minutes were allowed for sightseeing, appalling toilet facilities etc etc.

Cunard agreed to repay passengers 50 percent of cost as compensation. Five weeks later am still waiting to be paid :confused:.

Any other passengers having the same problem??

Dennis Amor

TEN days since disembarking the QM2 in Hong Kong ... and still battling the Cunard Cough! :(:(

On a recent Diamond cruise, I checked my account on the screens provided and discovered they had included gratuities. A quick visit to the information desk and they were removed without any hassle.

Have a great cruise.

Dennis.

Lookiing forward to our mini-cruise on Diamond Princess in a couple of weeks time. Anything we should know about her? We have booked a balcony cabin for the first leg, and have a mini-suite for the second one.

Dennis Amor

Aurora has taken us to many wonderful places and she's a ship we have grown to love. Unfortunately, our last voyage on her, from Brisbane to Shanghai last year, was a little disappointing. Entertainment sadly lacking, mainly due to technical problems in the theatre.

Would we cruise on her again? You betcha!

Dennis Amor.

We were in Manilla while on P&O's Aurora world cruise this year.

Many of the tourist spots are within easy walking distance of the ship so it's possible to sightsee in the morning and then return to the ship for lunch.

We took the afternoon shuttle bus to the main shopping centre (not sure whether all ships provide this service, though).

Grab a tourist map as soon as you get off the ship and then you can't go wrong. Tourist spots are well marked on it.

Good sailing!

Dennis.

Never have understood people who can remember and spout on about how many cruises they have taken ... seems quite irrelevant to me :confused: I certainly couldn't say how many I have been on, but it's a few.

I like taking other kinds of hols too.

I suppose the most memorable cruise for me would have to be my first ... on some Greek line (can't remember it's name, but it was in the 60s or 70s and on the 'Delphi').

Rod Stewart's Maggie May was all the rage and I can remember it blasting away in the disco located in the bowels of the ship.

Brisbane's problem will be resolved ... when the new cruise terminal is built on the Gold Coast (and I say that with tongue in cheek) :rolleyes:

Dennis

There'll no doubt be a shuttle into the city centre ... plenty to see and do there.

The Info Centre in Queen St Mall is very helpful.

CityCat ferries are cheap and will take you along the Brisbane River from one side of Bne to the other.

South Bank parklands, site of the 1980s World Expo, are well worth a visit.

You could even hop on a train to the Gold Coast for a spot of sightseeing there, too. Regular service, though it does take around 90 minutes all-up because you have to use the local bus from Varsity Station into Surfers Paradise or Southport.

Enjoy!

Dennis Amor

Hmm ... not sure I would class Brisbane's Portside Cruise Terminal as being excellent. Adequate maybe, but a dull and boring trek from the checking-in desks to the actual ship. And just one elevator to cope with around 2000 embarking/disembarking is a joke! Just ask guest lecturer Terry Brown who I saw a couple of years ago cursing as he struggled down the stairs with his luggage :-(

Dennis

I agree Gnomy. The former Birmingham detective was guest lecturer on Oriana (HK to Brisbane two years ago). Brilliant guy and enjoyed every minute of his lectures and team game (where pax were divided into teams of detectives to solve a HK hotel "murder").

My last vision of this guy and his wife was of them cursing as they dragged their luggage down the stairs at Brisbane Cruise Terminal.

BTW, no P&O favouritism for them ... they were accommodated in an inside cabin opposite us!

Hope to see you again sometime Terry ... you're great.

Dennis Amor

"And I don't take questions and answers after my talks ... there are too many nutters around," announced the somewhat ageing lecturer to his astonished audience aboard P&O's Aurora during our recent cruise from Sydney to Hong Kong.

And true to his word, he was seen virtually ignoring passengers on the decks during the three-week voyage. They were lucky if they got even a couple of words or a smile out of him.

Maybe it would have been better had this guy shut himself away from the world so he could reminisce with his somewhat boring film snippets alone.

At least he would be safe from us 'nutters' who pay good money to be entertained on Aurora ... and not be insulted by someone who should have retired from public life gracefully!

Dennis Amor.

BTW, I spent over 40 years in the same profession as this man and had been looking forward to his talks. I was sadly disappointed :mad:

Welcome to Australia again Aurora! Looking forward sailing on you again tomorrow :)

Barry,

Have sailed into HK twice in the last several years ... each time docking at Kowloon, a fabulous location with views over Victoria Harbour and HK Island as a backdrop.

Mind you, not sure where we'll end up this year. I gather there's now a new cruise terminal on the site of the old airport runway :confused:

Dennis and Patricia Amor

Thanks David, appreciate the info.

Dennis and Patricia Amor

Problem solved ... we've booked an extra couple of days (Sydney to Brisbane two-night sector at a price we couldn't resist!) and will now be sailing from the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay in Sydney.

Only hiccup is that we couldn't get the cabin we've already booked from Bne to Honkers so it will mean swapping in Bne.

Won't be unpacking for the first two days so it'll be casual clothing for the first two nights ... and meals up in the buffet :)

Dennis and Patricia Amor

Just been informed that we will be boarding Aurora at Brisbane's Portside Cruise Terminal on Feb 18 and not at the grimy and isolated Grain Terminal at the mouth of the Brisbane River.

Thanks P&O for this common sense decision ... we appreciate it.

Dennis and Patricia Amor

Did Aurora's Brisbane to Southampton in Feb 2008 and the weather up the Queensland coast was blowy and wet, wet, wet!! All trips to the reef had to be cancelled, which was a shame because for many Poms we spoke to it was going to be the highlight of their world cruise :mad:

We're cruising Aurora to Hong Kong next month and really smiled at one of the places on its itinerary ... Yorkeys Knob (scenic cruising)!!!!! They actually mention Cairns but there's no way you're going there.

Dennis

Thanks for all the useful advice, guys. I don't think I'll risk a single-entry visa just in case Aurora doesn't stay within territorial waters between Shanghai and Xiamen :cool:

Our visa application will be in the post this morning.

Am cruising on Aurora in February and have emailed P&O regarding my query ... deafened by their silence!!

Can anyone tell me whether I need to arrange my own visa for China or do P&O usually arrange a group visa for cruisers on arrival? Am visiting Shanghair and Xiamen.

Thanks folks,

Dennis