Antric

T-Mobile roam to Telstra and Vodafone networks in Australia. USA iPhones do not have Band 28 which is used in Australia for our primary (fastest) 4G network. This means your iPhone will still have very good call and data coverage here just not at the fastest speed available. In major cities and for typical use I doubt you will notice any difference than at home, and it will be certainly faster and more reliable than on any cruise ship at sea. Please also triple check and confirm with T-Mobile your roaming allowance and and applicable charges before you leave. Travel well!

Charges on Ovation will be in $USD. I personally don't use travel cards as they are poor value once you pay loading commission and the exchange rate is poor compared to regular credit cards and debit cards. The only advantage to a travel card is a locked in rate although this is only of value if you are confident the value of the $AUD will drop significantly between now and when you travel.

What I do? Pre-pay everything you can before you leave and settle the onboard account with a credit card or debit card and do not convert to your local currency ($AUD) if they ask as you will be hit with a double exchange cost.

Hope this helps, let me know if you need further clarification.

• Travel quantity prescription drugs prescribed for you by a medical professional are OK. Carry evidence.
• Anything that you can purchase over the counter at a pharmacy such as Walgreens is OK. Personal use only, must not be a commercial quantity.
• Pharmacy purchased vitamins in travel quantities are OK.

So anything in the above categories should be declared but unlikely to be confiscated

• What is NOT OK are any unprocessed plant or animal products even if considered a medicine in your home country.

Hope this also helps, have a great trip.

You are likely to get a range of responses to this question. There isn't a tipping culture in Australia like there is in the USA, mostly because employees in the service industry receive a higher base salary than for example, service employees in the USA. Having said that tipping for great service or assistance above and beyond is not uncommon and encouraged. Hope this helps.

15 minutes ago, joybook said:

Forget about tipping in Australia and New Zealand. It is not the custom. The only person I would consider tipping would be the porter at the hotel and then it maybe only a dollar or two. Certainly not taxis, restaurants etc.

I agree with this. Keep in mind that Australia and New Zealand are very card friendly and cash is rarely required. I would only change a small amount of cash (~$100) and if you need more use an ATM where the FX rate will be better than the cash FX transaction in USA.

I always order flowers for the room, they are always fresh and beautifully presented. These arrangements were embarking from Sydney. The arrangement without the card are the Princess Arrangement, the other is the Personal Choice. Hope this helps.

Thanks for your response and welcome. Much appreciated.

Itinerary below, it appears that Sunday 20th & Wednesday 30th would be likely and another in between.

Thanks again.

Hi All,

Does anyone have a best guess as to when the formal nights will be on a 14 night cruise on Majestic out of Sydney? I have seen this discussed before but can't find the thread via search.

Thanks in advance.

Hi All,

I have just tried a mock booking for my cruise and it is now $2000 cheaper for an adjacent cabin in the same class. (less $800 OBC in original deal)

I called RCI and the agent claimed her best price was more than the original price I was quoted. Am I missing something or did I just get a bad agent?