queenslander

I enjoyed that experience too and had great night time views of the Opera House and the ferries from my balcony! 😊

I’m on the Adelaide Highlights tour which is a whole day tour.

BOS tours Adelaide

I am taking a ship tour to Merimbula where I can walk around on my own. I think it’s much nicer than Eden! As I have two port days in Melbourne I have booked a trip along the Great Ocean Rd - which is very scenic! In Adelaide the Barossa Valley and Hahndorf are great places to visit. On my next cruise I have booked a full day trip including Hahndorf , Victor Harbour and Mc Laren Vale wineries.

Thank you. I always take out insurance cover even for Australian cruises but not sure they all cover Covid.

I am on a cruise later this year to NZ on Majestic Princess. Would I need proof of insurance for that one?

I recently stayed at the Holiday Inn Express which has a shuttle service - I think $10 - to the airport. It's very clean and comfortable and reasonably priced.

Good to hear as I will on the Majestic Princess around Australia next month! On a recent cruise on Quantum not many people wore masks.

I don’t understand your comment or the term 'og' poster. There are now many Royal cruisers with loyalty who appreciate the new drink vouchers system instead of having a limited session in the Diamond club before dinner that used to be very crowded at times and perhaps still is to a certain extent. With the voucher system we now have the choice to go to other bars if the Diamond Club gets too crowded. I think that there are some cruisers with loyalty who haven’t cruised for a while and perhaps didn’t know about the voucher system. A friend explained it to me so I was just passing on that information. There was no intention to 'flex my status' as I don’t need to do that and I don’t appreciate your derogatory comment. I was just explaining the voucher system which helps to avoid paying for a drink package or even paying for single drinks in $US. I think many people appreciate this reward for their loyalty.

I was recently on a Christmas cruise with Celebrity and the weather was great! The crossing was the best I have ever experienced - so calm - but on a previous cruise it was a rough crossing!

I love the design and elegance of all the Solstice class ships I've sailed on but have special memories of the Eclipse. When sailing out of some ports in Europe we had cheese and wine parties on the lawn with music so that was lovely. The Sky observation lounge is a nice big space to meet up for pre-dinner drinks with other loyalty passengers. Passengers were friendly and usually well- travelled which made for some interesting conversation. Drinks and canapés were served in a nice relaxing atmosphere. I also enjoyed the champagne welcome and the food in the restaurants. I hope this post goes through because my previous one didn’t!

Welcome Celebrity Eclipse - my favourite ship! Looking forward to sailing on her over Christmas and New Year! My first voyage on Eclipse was in 2010 in Europe.

I went to Europe on my own in the years before Covid and usually went on Insight Country Roads tours followed by a cruise. I treated myself to Singapore Air business class for the comfort but it was expensive. I had booked an Azamara cruise out of Lisbon on the recommendation of a US friend who really loves that cruise line but unfortunately it was cancelled due to Covid. Perhaps I will try Azamara down here sometime if I see one of their solo specials!

We did many overseas cruises on Celebrity, Princess and Royal Caribbean and enjoyed all of them. I liked the mix of different nationalities and we made some good friends onboard. We also joined some of our US and Canadian friends on the new Carnival ships in the Mediterranean and in Northern Europe. We cruised around South America on Carnival Splendor when she was new and had a great time. I haven’t cruised on Carnival in Australia but perhaps I should try it some time. I really enjoyed the overseas cruises with some friendly, interesting and well-travelled people so I can recommend them to Australian cruisers. For the past twelve years since the death of my husband I still went on overseas cruises including some well- priced transatlantic cruises but now I tend to do more cruises out of Australia.

Have a great cruise everyone! I'm looking forward to my cruise around Aus in March on the Majestic but still have four cruises before that to keep me going! 😊

Perhaps you were on the US website. I think others were looking at the Au website.

I think you can only book them for one person.

A double

Yes - I had one on Ovation and it had the same size balcony but just a smaller inside space - enough for one. Just recently whilst on a cruise I saw one on Quantum of the Seas so I immediately booked it for a cruise to Tasmania at the end of Jan.out of Brisbane. Good position too - midship on deck 7.

Yes - I noticed that too. I like your idea of looking up cruises that sail around the time of the King's coronation. I used to live in Brighton Sussex which is only a short train journey from London. Joyce

I live in Robina. Which suburb are you in?

Thanks Julie! I enjoyed meeting you both and hope to see you on another cruise! i am lucky to have good friends on my next two cruises. My lovely friend Grace from WA on the Ovation next month. Then in November good cruising friends from Arizona on Westerdam. That was a nice surprise because my husband and I cruised with them in Alaska many years ago and at one time they stayed with us on the Gold Coast. Cruise Critic is such a great website for getting in touch with cruising friends as well as for cruise information. I used to go on the US one and now on the Au one.

There are definitely some benefits in getting older such as being free to travel any time and not just in the school holidays I had as a teacher. I am lucky to have reasonably good health at 82 and if I do get any aches and pains I don't usually talk about them! I don’t think of myself as being old and enjoy dancing to music with a good rhythm. I sometimes enjoyed dancing with other ladies on the last cruise and laughed when a younger lady told me that my moves were better than hers!😊 I think I feel more confident now than when I was younger and I don't worry too much about what people think! Even though I lost my husband and recently my only son to cancer I try to keep my positive outlook on life. I have had a good life and I count my blessings as I am one of the lucky ones who can still enjoy my travels.

I believe the first check in was at 11.00am but mine was 12.00pm. However I was told to go ahead when I dropped my case off at 10.30am even though I told them my boarding time. In fact I was the only person in the priority lane and went through quickly. I was in my cabin before 11.00am. Normally cabins aren’t open until 1.00pm. That was on Sept 3rd BtoB with the following cruise.

Glad you got to meet up with friends Les! Like you I was lucky to get on the ship early when I arrived to drop my case off at 10.30. I've been travelling solo since 2010 after my husband passed away from cancer at just 64. I know how hard that first time can be but it gets easier with time. I was lucky to be able to travel with friends the first time but then after that I travelled solo. Sometimes on cruises and other times on tours - mostly in Europe, the US and Canada but later on in Australia. I am now only going as far as NZ in these uncertain times. It's amazing how you get used to travelling alone and you meet so many new and interesting people along the way. I love to travel so I prefer to go solo rather than stay at home!