OzKiwiJJ

I believe it's gone up to $4 wash, $4 dry now. I'm not sure about the cost of laundry powder though - maybe $2. The machines use tokens which you get from a vending macine using your medallion and the cost is charged to your onboard account.

Their sizing stops at least one size less than I probably need unfortunately.

Some of the live demos were appalling. You were either lined up in very close contact on deck and often couldn't hear a word being said, or jammed into various parts within the ship, ofter having to stand for long periods while the latecomers arrived. With Covid still rampant in the community I'm glad we no longer have to endure that type of safety briefing any more.

I wish I could still get those pants/shorts. They were so useful when travelling and the fabric dried quickly if it got wet. Sadly they aren't available in plus sizes for women.

I used to find that first thing in the morning was a good time, and often just after lunch as most people were enjoying sitting around the pool then.

We watch it while we're unpacking now. After six Princess cruises in the past year we're very familiar with it! 🤣 Unbelievable that someone would smoke in a cabin. Surely the smoke detectors would have picked that up? I hope that person gets banned from all the Carnival lines for life.

I think you just used the wrong word, especially since you're measuring success by your interest in the cruises offered. Nothing wrong with that but it's not what is normally thought of as a measure of success. I think we'll be moving into that "unsuccessful" category in another couple of years, especially since most of the ships Princess is bringing here don't interest us at all, plus we've done most of the itineraries now. And the small cruise lines are too expensive usually.

We've been on a couple of cruises where there has been a fire onboard. One was an engine room fire mid-evening - the captain's announcements kept interrupting the variety show that was on in the Vista Lounge. The other was in a room service galley on our deck in the sector next to ours in the middle of the night. Both were minor and dealt with very quickly but the second one was a bit scary.

There is a ferry wharf at the end of Garden Island so that would be an option. I'm not sure which ferry stops there - possibly the Watson's Bay one. Otherwise it would be like White Bay - taxis, Uber or private transport. It would be way to complicated to extend the light rail to there.

That's par for the course in Sydney.

Me too. I've booked a token Diamond Princess Queensland cruise for 2025 but may not even bother doing it in the end.

The 2024 Sydney departure is 30th April - very early for a world cruise. We doing some cruising in Japan and SE Asia from end October but that feels like a long way away. We were so spoilt last year with all the Princess restart cruises operating through winter.

If I don't beat you to it 🤣 I'll probably do one of my Live(ish) threads for that cruise anyway.

Bon voyage to all aboard. Next year it will be our turn.

I had a quick look at Lastminute which allows you to filter for room accessibilty and accessible bathrooms and the motel at the top of the list was the often recommened Kingsford Smith Motel.

Coral is perfect for Australia and I can't see why Princess is sending her back to the US late 2024. Instead they are giving us Royal class ships with no promenade deck, an expanded Grand class ship that holds too many passengers for the standard public spaces including the MDRs, and one regular Grand class ship. I don't think we'll be cruising with Princess much after the 2024 world cruise.

The next cruise is a Panama Canal one mid-November so she has plenty of time to get over there.

I like Prince William and Princess Catherine. I think they will be a wonderful King and Queen when their time comes.

Where is that big lotto win when you need it? 🤣🤣🤣

I agree, If you haven't been there before that would be my first pick. However if you have already done that I recommend the Tempting Tasting Trail which takes you to the Eucalyptus Distillery with an added bonus of cider tasting, lunch at the Lavender Farm, and a visit to the Honey Factory, wine tasting, as well as quick visits to a few scenic spots along the way.

Would this be because of the US rule that ships must stop at a foreign port on a itinerary starting and ending in the US ? Perhaps they are trying to keep the itinerary short so are not making a proper port stop, just a token one.

There is some development going on at Hobbiton later this year but it should be completed before the new year. However because of this the tours will be longer, 2.5 hours instead of 2 hours. This may mean they have to reduce the number of tours available daily. Details on the Hobbiton website: https://www.hobbitontours.com/en/bagshot/

Plus the peaches would be very yummy to eat after marinating in that mix for two weeks.

According to this recipe - yep! https://www.ricardocuisine.com/en/recipes/5226-peach-schnapps It's easier to just buy a bottle from Dan's. 🤣

Yikes, with that much ice cream in it I'd only be able to handle a small amount but it really does sound delish! I'm a single scoop at a time person for ice cream these days. If I have too much I feel queasy.