Meamat

Happy Easter, all!

I love the ID card idea, OzkiwiJJ! 'Something I read about online as a safety thing' and doing it early will make it pretty easy to forget by the time the surprise comes.

Thank you Bodogbodog! I couldn't figure out how to do that!

Or rather 'miss' the harbour

Yes, it's sounding like this may be one of the reasons they have to offer a free bottle of wine on the first night - no one wants to kiss the harbour! [emoji1]

Love it :-)

Somewhere in the forum past I had a thread about surprising my kids last Christmas and there were some fabulous ideas given. I'll see if I can find a way to re-post it here.

As far as passports, they ask you to tick a box if you're travelling within 6 weeks (I think!) and they usually turn around in less than that... 4 weeks or so in our experience.

As far as the photos, you might be able to get away with it depending on kids ages. Maybe key up the photographer not to

Mention passports at the appointment and give a sneaky story. Every story I'm coming up with in my head is hopelessly elaborate but would work on young kids :-D But with 2-3 months before travel you mightn't need to worry anyway.

Lovely, thanks so much! I'd figured an hour but didn't want to be too far off!

I was looking at dinner reservations at the specialty restaurant on carnival spirit, and I wonder what time you actually end up going through the heads? (Or alternately just how long it takes for a cruise ship to exit the harbour) I'd like to stay on deck or on our balcony while we leave the harbour so dong want to book a time that's too early.

Thanks!

Tiger lily, it does depend a bit on which area you're in but you're right that you won't offend anyone with 15% for the most part.

Where I grew up, there are still a lot of kinda stingy tippers who pull out the calculator and tip 10% to the penny or round down to even less. When you're having a cheap special and get lots of free drink refills, that can often add up to not much! I grew up in the US and was a waitress in a couple different style restaurants but have lived in Aus for most of my adult life, so I understand from a few different perspectives.

Our take on it is to tip 15-20% depending on service and to tip with consideration of any major specials or coupons... So if we go in on a 'kids eat free' day, we still tip on the kids meals even if we don't pay for them because the waitstaff still had to do the same work whether we paid for the meal or not.

We nearly lost the QVB in the same era - what a shame that would have been!

Sadly, some things are going that way now, too. The Powerhouse museum is set to be sold and demolished unless there are a fair few voices against it (and possibly even if there are).

I live at the end of the blue mountains, so I'm not especially familiar with day trips but do know the area very well!

Day trips are likely to visit the touristy places - if you're fine with that, a bus trip could be the way to go. Scenic world Katoomba and Echo Point are major spots, and I think some tours stop there on the way to the caves.

If it were me, I'd prefer to see some of the beautiful spots off the beaten track that are less crowded. Most tours don't go past Katoomba, but to my mind the most beautiful spots are elsewhere. Wentworth falls has beautiful bush walks and swimming holes, much more untouched and natural. Blackheath is lovely as well. The jenolean caves road splits off between mt Victoria and Lithgow, and the views from the train from Mt Vic to Lithgow are stunning.

Trains are pretty cheap and reliable, as are local buses. Taxis aren't bad if you're wanting to go further afield.

ANZ and Virgin are definitely my top two choices for flights between the US and Aus. I've never had an issue with either, and both have had great friendly service. Auckland's international terminal is one of the nicest I've travelled through anywhere, a very pleasant stopover. Your plan sounds good to me :-)

I've had virgin travel insurance and one cover before for non-cruise travel, both were great with claims (one cover was particularly excellent). I've booked our cruise cover with virgin, it was significantly less than the travel agent option, and they have a special add on for cruising with unlimited medical and evacuation cover. It was around $155 for a family of 4 for an 8 night cruise, $25 more to waive the $150 excess.

Yes, very true about the legislative requirements and the limits that places.

Regardless of the 'why' behind it, I mentioned because visitors from the US are generally used to being able to buy alcohol in a grocery store and can sometimes be surprised when they're wandering the aisles and discover they actually can't. I still find it a culture shock when I'm visiting the US, and I was raised there! :-D

I live in NSW, but in most of the US there is an alcohol section within the supermarket (not separate like a BWS or Liquorland here in Aus).

But yes, most Coles and Woolworths stores have a Liquorland or BWS store (respectively) next to it, but Aldi is the only one I know of where you can just pick up a bottle of wine or some beer to go with your dinner and actually ring it all through the same register in the same store.

Well this was active while I was away, wasn't it?! :-D

I live in a small town where we have Woolies, Coles, and Aldi and to be honest for a week in the city I'd use whichever major supermarket is most convenient. I do like Aldi, and lots of their store brands are made by big brand companies (their Hazelnut Spread is currently brand-name Nutella in a different jar... shhh.. I didn't tell you that... ). Many of their once off products are fantastic, and they're the only chain I know of that you can actually just buy a bottle of wine with your groceries. That's common in the US, but here it's kind of unheard of. I wouldn't go out of my way to go there, though, and if I were in Aus for a short amount of time I wouldn't spend time travelling there if there was a pretty good Coles or Woolies nearby. I mainly shop at Coles because I have some dietary needs in our family that they cater for better than the other two, but I probably spend at all three over the fortnight at one time or another. IGA is good, too, and sometimes in the city I've just stuck to those smaller grocers when I'm staying in one area for a week. I might spend a touch more over the course of the few days I'm there, but often it's no more expensive and has more ability to offer quirky things the big shops don't stock.

As an aside... I had not tried Marigold Yum Cha but with this many recommendations I'll have to do it next time I'm in town!

I'll be flying through LAX a few times in the next couple months and I'm hoping it's improved... the last time I was there we found exactly what you are saying, signage wasn't correct, there were times we had to trek through strange outdoor walkways between construction fencing to reach our check in area, and it took much longer than it should have. We were really quite panicked by the end, LA traffic is awful at the best of times and we'd had a particularly bad run. Then to turn up at the wrong terminal and be redirected with small children and all our luggage in tow... not fun!

I've only needed mobility help once, and it was sadly a bit of a disaster. My husband and son had gone ahead to the gate with my carry on bags, I just had our infant daughter, purse, and my crutches. The attendants at O'Hare forgot me somehow, then baby and I needed full pat down/explosives swabbing etc which took ages. Eventually the wonderful attendant was running me down the hallway and all I could see was hubby, worried preschooler, and a concerned gate person from the airline waiting for me. We only made it due to the kindness of the gate staff to hold it for us. This of course adds little or nothing to a discussion about LAX, but it does show how quickly things can go pear shaped when you're slowed down.

Can I clarify for those who have traveled on Spirit, then....

The free drinks are water and cordial

Bottomless Bubbles gives you fizzy drink.

Where do juices fit in? Are they premium and included in bottomless bubbles, or are they included? Also any other included drinks, milk, hot chocolate from the coffee machine, that sort of thing?

(I ask because my kids can't have the vast majority of fizzy drinks, so if they can get milk, juice etc as included drinks there would be no point for us. If they only get water and cordial included, I'd pay the extra for milk and juice.)

Thank you!

Oh,and... (I promise, I'll stop now and go to bed...)

The Royal Albert hotel is only about 3 blocks south of Wyndham apartments... 5 mins walk at a leisurely pace. A little off the beaten track so it's less trendy and more local pub. Heaps of unique craft beers on tap and basic but decent pub food. If I were in the area and looking for a 'local' for a few days that would probably be the one.

Oh, and if you're into Thai food at all, your apartment hotel is incredibly close to Spice I Am. Really good Thai food and truly only about a minute or two walk from your apartment along Wentworth Avenue.

Pale ales are fairly popular these days and you're likely to find at least one local aussie pale ale on tap in most pubs. I can't stand the stuff, but hubby loves it. He's a fan of Coopers pale ale, Fat Yak, Matilda Bay, James Squires, you're likely to find at least one on tap in any major pub.

Other than beer... I like restaurants and pubs for sampling wines I wouldn't have found otherwise. There are some great Aussie ciders and, again, most bars will have one on tap (and a couple extra varieties behind the bar). Plenty of cocktails of course. From my limited experience, most spirits are more expensive here and are imported at a much higher rate than you'll see in the US, so spirit drinks and mixed drinks are pricier.

The time of year you're traveling, I'd be surprised to see many dolphins or whales. I've seen a few on the south coast in April and then in September-ish, but not as far north as early in the year as you'll be around I'm afraid. Could just be my experience, though, it's worth asking the experts in the area!

Your accommodation in Brisbane would probably be less costly than Sydney... if it were me and I had to pay for a hotel anyway I'd want to be in my departure city the night before.

Enjoy - hope you have a lovely time here!

I think people have pretty well covered wi-fi, so I don't have much to add!

Opal cards are, oddly enough, not available at train stations. They are available at lots of service stations and other places, though, just be prepared to get one before you hop on a train or ferry. I'd highly recommend it, I much prefer the public transport options over driving in Sydney! I travel regularly in the city on my own and travel at night (as a woman on my own), I've never felt unsafe walking around the city or taking public transport. I do stick to CBD areas for the most part and if you're on a train you can travel in the carriage with the blue light. It's the guards carriage and I usually travel there late at night just to be extra safe. Don't go too far afield or explore a new place on a whim at midnight, but for the most part you'll be fine!

I use an app called tripview to check timetables on the run, but there is a trip planner on the website for transport NSW that is very good. You can select things like 'minimal walking', sort by fastest time, select trains and ferries but not busses, whatever is important to you. It covers all stations including blue mountains. The explorer bus someone mentioned is not part of the public transport network so you'd pay an extra fare for that.

Wine - there is an amazing amount of great wine in Aus. You could even do a day tour to the hunter valley if you're a wine lover, it's lovely up there and you can get some great bottles at cellar doors.

As far as favourites... You're very near Thai Town and Chinatown on Wentworth/Goulburn st. So close to Hyde Park, too, and heaps of great places near there. I've eaten a few times at The Windsor, one block back from Hyde park on park street, and it was a nice place with a couple options for atmosphere depending on how you feel. The Opera Bar is an experience, not the cozy personal environment of a pub, but drinks and live music under the opera house with a view of the harbour bridge, ferries, etc... Gorgeous at sunset!

What kind of food/dining atmosphere/etc are you after while you're here? There are great lesser known places but all depends if you like sushi trains, secret taco places, white tablecloth restaurants, burgers, etc.

I'm an ex-pat American now living at the far end of the blue mountains.

I agree, most don't understand the sheer vastness of the country! Sydney is an awesome city, one of the very few in the world I really love. Spend a day exploring the Rocks, there is a lot of early history to discover. Take the Manly ferry across the harbour and enjoy the beach. Visit the museums and parks in the city centre. Take a rivercat up the parramatta river. Hop on any random ferry and see the harbour from the water. Go glamping on cockatoo island. See a show at the opera house, Capitol theatre, or packer theatre. There are so many things to keep you busy, a long trip elsewhere could be pretty exhausting and you'd miss a lot of a lovely city.

Do take a round trip to the mountains on the train - it's a lovely trip, especially if you go further than Katoomba and see the amazing views along medlow bath, bell, etc. It's three hours each way to Lithgow and back (end of the line, and the best views are in the last 45 minutes), but you could stop at Blackheath or somewhere along the way if you wanted to, or several stops for that matter. I'd personally avoid katoomba, too touristy and it's not close to much in the way of the natural beauty of the area. Wentworth Falls or Blackheath are nicer nature spots and cute towns with great bakeries. Leura is nicer for cafes and cute shops. Medlow bath station is directly across from the Hydro Majestic which has some of the most glorious views in the mountains.

Take a couple of day trips, the central coast is lovely and also accessible by train. South coast is stunning. Also accessible by train. Gorgeous views on most trains once you're out of the city.

Trains here are usually much more reliable and regular than anything you're used to in the US (unless you're in one of the rare cities with a public transportation system that actually works), and once you've scanned a travel card a certain number of times (10?) in the course of a week the rest of your travel is free. The same card works on city buses, ferries, trains etc so it's quite easy.