OzKiwiJJ

If the ship is home-based in Australia tip in AUD, otherwise tip in USD if you can unless it's a Med or Great Britain cruise. In those cases tip in Euros or Sterling as appropriate. This makes it easy for crew to use their tips to buy snacks and essentials ashore. I'm not sure about Asia - as I haven't done enough cruises there but I'd probably choose USD.

OMG, Leigh, how can people do that! I'm so glad neither of you was injured andvthe car was still driveable. Would it be worth trying to contact the local council to see if they have a community website or FB page that you could use to ask if anyone witness that appalling piece if driving. You might be lucky, someone may have noted the rego.

Our local Woolworths had these on sale today. $4 a packet.

Sorry you had to cancel your cruise, Gut. But hopefully a land trip with Maxy along will make up for it in part. We're thinking of doing a land trip over winter - heading up to Queensland in search of warm weather and seeing how far we get. Could be fun!

Sorry to hear you both got Covid on your cruise but a cruise ship is definately the best place to be if you do catch it. I caught it in October on Coral Princess and couldn't fault the service. Like you we were looked after very well. They even managed to get piping hot espressos to us in our cabin - they must have run them all the way from the cafe! Once Covid spreads on a ship, it spreads quickly especially when people refuse to wear masks. Before I developed symptoms we'd noticed one table in front of a door in our mid-aft corridor. After I tested negative a week later there were at least ten just in that corridor alone.

Unlike Noro, Covid spreads primarily by aerosol transmission from infected people coughing, sneezing, laughing, singing, or talking loudly close by. Keeping hands clean helps but wearing masks will give more protection. Even so, I caught it during the fifth cruise we did last year despite being very careful. All it takes is someone with Covid to stop next to you in a bar or dining area to talk to their mates and cough all over you.

Rolf is incurably optimistic about some things. 🤣 Last night when the rain started he said that it looks like we won't get much rain tonight. I told him "just wait". Sure enough, ten or so minutes later it bucketed down. 🤣🤣🤣

We spent most of the time on our balcony on the HAL cruise. It had very comfy deckchairs with foot stools. That was our fourth cruise into Fiordland so we didn't feel the need to be up on deck. It was a very pleasant, warm day, ideal for chilling out on the balcony savouring the spectacular scenery in peace and quiet.

Yes, you do see both sides of Milford Sound but I always recommend the port side for first-timers as that is where the most spectacular scenery opens up as you progress through the fiord. I also tell people to look back and up as well as forward as there is some stunning scenery tucked back behind a ridge, that only shows when you're past that point.

Rolf almost always wears light linen sports jackets onboard in the evenings. He gets random sneezing fits if he gets in a draught or gets a bit cold. The sneezing can go on for five minutes so he prefers to.play it safe and wear a jacket.

The port side is best for going into Milford Sound but most ships have good outdoor viewing decks if your cabin isn't on that side.

Thanks for the tip about the Grills Lounge coffee. Hopefully I'll remember it when we try Cunard on a short cruise next year. If you do ever decide to try Princess I recommend going on Coral Princess. Unlike the bigger, newer Royal Class ships she still feels like a cruise ship rather than a floating hotel. The suites and minisuites (except the very last ones) aft on Dolphin deck (9) are the best as they have big fully covered balconies.

Thanks, Evon. I'm very pleased to hear you had a wonderful day in Fiordland. It's such a special place. For once we didn't see the dolphins when we visited Milford Sound in December (we'd seen them every other time) but the air was crystal clear and we spotted background mountains we'd never noticed before. Pure NZ magic! I noticed on our Round Australia trip last year that Coral handled bouncy seas very well indeed.

That may have been why. If they weren't recognisable and looked like they may have had ingredients that were problematical, ie honey, then the customs official might have thought they were risky. Then again, the customs official might just have been being bloody-minded!

Were they a well-known brand bought in NZ?

I always get them mixed up. 😳 Yes, the Grand Class inside cabins are much bigger.

What type of cabin did you book? Hopefully not an inside (interior) cabin as these are very small. Not conducive to a romantic holiday although I must say I don't know what P&O have done to these cabins. We cruised on her when she was Dawn Princess andcthevonly way the cabin worked effectively was if the beds were set up in twin mode .

That is correct. Princess cruises in our region, booked in Australia or NZ, do not have daily gratuities charged to your account, they are essentially bundled into the fare.

We're cruising again in March and will still continue to wear masks when moving around the interior of the ship, in the theatre, and at trivia. It just seems sensible to me. In fact if masks had been just a normal part of life pre-Covid there would have been far less "cruise cough" on the cruises we did in the past and it might have saved me from some nasty bouts of bronchitis.

I've never seen that particular variety down here. It must be a local speciality. Both Countdown and New World in NZ do have the Smooth Blend 70% variety though.

If my memory is correct Leigh has a local shop that makes really good pasties.

I find the chocolate on Tim Tams has a strange aftertaste so I rarely buy them. I'm a Lindt Lindor addict but the Whittakers Dark Caramel is very, very nice.

Not a brand I've heard of. Sorry.

What brand of cough candies? They may be available in NZ if they are one of the international brands.

So far these are the best chocolate biscuits I've ever had. They are wicked! Available in Australia and NZ. They also come in milk chocolate, salted caramel dark chocolate, and mint milk chocolate. The photo was taken from the New World supermarket website so the prices are in NZD.