Tranquility Base

Thanks for taking the time on this. I think I understand, but just want to check with you using a hypothetical example. A cruise as follows: 1....have $600 SM credits; 2....have $400 other 'normal' non-refundable credits; 3....book before the cruise 4 excursions to a total price of $1,000; 4....during this booking process the first excursion you book online is at the final port on the cruise; 5....that first excursion obviously uses SM credits then others use SM and other credits, 6....during the cruise all ports / excursions happen, except the final port is missed due weather; 7......the credits for that final port excursion will be returned to your account as 'normal' non-refundable credits because you have, during the other ports, used in excess of your original SM credits ????? Is point #7 the way it works? Thanks again.

Seabourn have announced cancelations for sailings in March / April through the Red Sea.

What does tipping in restaurants in the US have to do with what happens onboard a Princess ship ? I haven't seen many Americans serving in the MDR recently. Already on Princess many people do not have daily auto gratuities added to their final account. 1. Those who buy a Plus / Premier drinks package; 2. People who book in Aussie on an AUD ship; 3. World cruises; 4. Those who remove them onboard. Many cruise lines do not have daily gratuities added. It makes everything so simple. Just charge the fare and state "GRATUITIES INCLUDED" Leave the payment contract between Princess and the staff. None of our business what goes where and to whom.

Correct. As you mentioned you booked in Canada. My phrase highlighted above meant if booking through an Aust or NZ entity; not where the cruise originates from. Other cruiselines operate the same system for Aussies .... Celebrity, Oceania come to mind. Such an easy system, and stops all this "who do gratuities go to, and how much do they get to keep" stuff. Same with alcohol onboard an AUD ship, the price on the menu is the total price paid....easy peasy.

They already do. On AUD currency based ships, if booking from Aust or NZ, there are no daily auto gratuities charged. The fare is the fare. This is on worldwide itineraries on any AUD currency based ship....including their World cruise.

Thank you. Yes, the new invoice shows book onboard discount still remains.

Just google ......Carnival press release Red Sea. Various business related news sites have picked it up. Re your World Cruise question. One Princess World Cruise and one Cunard World Cruise (both westabout) are proceeding via Capetown. Another World Cruise is still a work in progress.

For info: Carnival have announced the decision to re-route itineraries for 12 ships across 7 brands which were scheduled to transit the Red Sea through May 2024.

Veranda Cabin ......$10,000 Corkage fee.......$25. Happy Hour drinks in Horizons whilst listening to a singer singing her solo set.........$15. Not having to listen to someone talk about how much money they're saving.......priceless.

Correct. Also, if someone is doing a lot of cruising over a period of several months then the number of ports to research can be large. The time and energy resources one needs to put into such research can be huge. Picking a number of strategic ship's tours at critical or difficult ports is one strategy people use in order to ease the workload pre cruise. A mix of ship's tours, private tours, DIY, and simply just wandering ashore for a few hours of eating, drinking and people watching, is a mix that works well for many cruisers who are away for long periods. Sometimes; simply less is simply more.

Question regarding a land excursion on a cruise tour. If I have one booked and paid for, and I wish to cancel, can I do that on the ship, (cruise first sequence)? Or, do I have to do it at an earlier stay at a lodge on land ? The refund should eventually show on my credit card ? Assuming it is far enough in advance to be before the cancellation penalty deadline.

Is my time onshore worth $6.43 per hour......you betcha it is. As my teacher used to say ...."show all workings". Fuel Surcharge is a maximum of $10 pp per day. I am using $6 pp pd as my example. 15 day cruise for a couple = $180. 14 hours lost of the OP's segment. $180 / 14 = $12.86 per hour per couple or $6.43 per hour per person. Warp speed, Mr Sulu; Aye, Captain.

When utilising the ' best price ' provision of the book on board system, and re-faring to a lower fare, does your booking keep the fare discount that was initially given onboard ? Note: I am not talking the SBC provision, just the cabin fare discount amount.

Sure; however IF the decision has been made to sail at reduced speed, surely ONE of the priorities is to inconvenience as few passengers as little as possible. Many of us had this "one hour later on arrival ; one hour earlier on departure" situation last year. My recollection is that this was notified by email weeks before sailing. Not on day of boarding. If major disruption is occurring elsewhere, I would have thought keeping problems on other ships as minor as possible would be smart. Earliest notification possible to those affected is one such measure.

I think one of the legitimate questions being asked with the current example, is why no notification until the 1st day currents on a particular segment.

Not really. In NZ, all mandatory port shuttles are no charge. Previously in Wellington walking into town was possible.

Can you please expand on this. I'm trying to understand the status of ship's tours at your various ports on this current segment. Apart from Manila, what are some of the shortest port times elsewhere. Thanks.

Check if your cruiseline is providing free shuttles into Ba Ria (30 mins). I have used this before on Princess. From there I have negotiated a return taxi Ba Ria - Vung Tau - Ba Ria. Obviously research a meet up point for the taxi to meet you for the return to Ba Ria.

For the benefit of other cruisers visiting Wellington. The shuttles into the city are mandatory now (no walking into town permitted). They are provided for all cruiselines and there is no charge.

Thanks @Snaefell3 We are booked on a Grand Voyage which is also sold as two segments. When it mentions "length of cruise" does that actually mean length of each segment, as opposed to the length of the Grand Voyage booking ?

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We found day to day customer service very good. EG: items such as small issues with restaurant reservations / shore excursions were handled well. The Restaurant Manager also approached me whilst at the reservations desk and personally assisted me. The OCA ambassadors / future cruise office patiently answered all my queries, and handled new bookings very efficiently. Room stewards, as always, followed through on any requests or problems. One or two queries I made to staff were either answered or they directed me to the person who was able to help. So, overall, well satisfied with onboard customer service, although I am a person who is willing to do some of the leg work myself.

I was onboard Riviera, for the first time, for 2 months late last year. All other Oceania cruises had previously been on 'R' ships. What specifically about the reviews concerns you ? PS: I booked another 7 weeks on Riviera.

How so ? I have found most of the time in the queue for carry on bag screening is due to people having to take items out before the bags go through the scanner ?

@Lee991 A few thoughts (my opinion only) for you to consider re port / stbd on that itinerary. 1. check sunset times:, many people are out eating / drinking / entertainment at that time; 2. Fiordland; views are sometimes better to port, sometimes better to stbd; 3. Dunedin; best viewing is stbd arriving, port leaving.(unless you have binoculars and want to see the Albatross) 4. Tauranga; best viewing is port arriving, stbd leaving, 5. Auckland; best viewing arriving, stbd initially then port. 6. Sydney departing aft / stbd. In other words, if you enjoy arrival / departure viewing and want to maximise the experience you may find yourself on deck at various times.