OzKiwiJJ

Ask your cabin steward if they can remove the topper or replace it with a thinner one. I always feel it's too soft on the first night but then I adjust to it. I'm not used to quite such a soft topper but I always sleep well after the first night, and it was a real boon when I had Covid onboard as I sat/lay on the bed while Rolf sat at the other end of the minisuite.

I think many people expect it to be like Honolulu and then get disappointed when it isn't.

The main town is a bit strange and people forget it's not really a tourist town, it's the main city for industry and commerce in New Caledonia plus it's serving an island population of a different culture to us. Anse Vatu and Lemon Bay remind me of beachside places in Australia and NZ where there are a few nice shops or restaurants and a pleasant view over the ocean. A French version of Manly or St Kilda in Australia, or Mission Bay in Auckland. People also bag Suva as well but we enjoy wandering around there and there are some great Indian restaurants for lunch.

I believe most cruise lines have topper pads which they will provide if the mattress in your cabin is too hard for you. I've never had a bed that was too hard on a cruise ship though. Princess beds are wonderful. The base is firm enough to give good support but then there is a cloud-like topper over it. Soooo comfortable.

I love that supermarket. We usually wander through it when in Noumea just to see what interesting things they have. It also has an ATM outside it if you need local currency.

That's odd, you should have got the Port Douglas port fees refunded. It would have gone on your onboard account and was probably only a small amount.

Great that you got ashore and have also done so in the past. You must be the ship's "lucky mascot" passenger! 😊

I also concur that your mum shouldn't bother going through the house but just enjoy the gardens. They are beautiful. The iconic lake where the waterlilies are is across the road but it's very easy walking and there are places to sit around the lake. She should probably tell the guide that she is just going to wander around and arrange a time to get back to a meeting place. We enjoyed sitting under a willow tree for a short break, enjoying the views of the waterlilies. It's such a beautiful place!

I'd call it Optional Formal. You don't need cocktail dresses but most people make an effort to dress a little smarter than regular nights. Shirts instead of polo shirts for men, dressy tops, sometimes with a bit of glitter, for women. We enjoy dressing up to the nines but understand that isn't everybody's ideal these days. Wear something pretty and enjoy yourself!

Congratulations!

I know. 🤣

We now carry ultralight day backpacks with us when we travel, just in case we need them. They are very lightweight so live in our suitcases all the time. These would be ideal for you to use during your land tour as once you arrive in Australia you could transfer all the things you want to take on the plane with you for the relatively short hops between stops, and check in your normal wheeled carry-ons.

Low cost ships? Many of the ships that now dock at White Bay are the luxury lines. That's a bit ironic - they get White Elephant Bay while the mass market lines get the prime spot at the OPT! 🤣

Exactly. I'm looking forward to doing just that in November on Regent Seven Seas Explorer. As ships get bigger and bigger there may end up being fewer and fewer ports they can dock at so they may need to use alternatives - and that is what has happened in Saigon.

But Edinburgh doesn't have a port suitable for large cruise ships so for those it's a tender port, tendering to South Queensferry.

But how many of those actually coastal places/cities, and if they are can they handle modern cruise ships? Most are inland or river cities ie Rome, Florence, London, even Edinburgh, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City.

Rolf just went through that carefully. They don't specify what existing conditions are covered so a phone call will be necessary. It's looking promising though. 😊 Thanks for all your help.

I'm going to ring them on Tuesday to find out what we have to report in that respect. We have a few that we've had to report for Insure and Go.

So no issues using it for cruises? I believe we have to inform them about pre-existing conditions and get a document from them to say we are covered for those. Our Citibank card also gives us reward points which I can transfer to Velocity. We used to use it for everything but with Princess now charging a credit card surcharge we decided not to use it for the world cruise fare and prepaying excursions. Also we don't use it now for payments in overseas currencies as their exchange rates aren't good plus they charge foreign transaction fees. However I will make sure we pay a part of the world cruise fare on that card to get the travel insurance cover.

Do you regularly use the NAB travel insurance? We're with Citibank, which has been taken over by NAB in Australia. They also have just revised their terms of insurance which, given your comment above, makes sense as it is in effect now the NAB travel insurance. As well as the cover up to age 81, the other major change for Citibank users is that you now only have to have spent $500 on overseas travel costs - Citibank used to require that the full cost of your overseas travel was paid through them which essentially made it useless for us as we often use a different card when paying for stuff charged in overseas currencies. So I'd be interested in hearing your comments about the NAB insurance. Up until now we've used Insure and Go and been happy with them but the travel insurance through them is going to cost a heap for our world cruise next year so if I can use the NAB insurance it would be great.

No, it would have been built over the Hunter River. 😁

It was but now it's only thatvif you get your medallion mailed to you which we can't do in Australia or NZ.

That cruise originated in Australia so, yes, at the time it started vaccination certificates and proof of RAT were required.

Usually there are restrooms nearby so go there to wash your hands and if necessary use a paper towel to open the door afterwards. I do that before going to the MDR anyway, especially if I've been having a predinner drink in a nearby bar.

In all fairness the pandemic screwed up supply lines and I don't think Princess and P&O had that much lead time before the restart to redo their wine lists so after yelling at the Bar Manager on our first Coral cruise last year and writing a letter to Princess I then kept my grumbles to a minimum for a while. However I expected the selection of wines to improve by the start of last year's peak season and it didn't. Instead they increased the prices of both the packages and the wines so now we have bottom of the barrel wines at ludicrous prices and still have a very restricted selection of wines. We're doing a Cunard cruise in January so I hope they have some decent wines.