Bubbeh

Not gonna fit within the $200 budget either AUD or USD but for what it's worth we always stay at the Amora Jamison whenever we're in Sydney - https://www.amorahotels.com/sydney/ . Based on what others are saying and given that I come from the other side of the country, it's looks like a $200 hotel in walking distance of the Quay is a bit of an ask. Good luck though.

I think that cruises out of Fremantle sell out quickly as they are few and far between. Unlike our lucky cousins in the eastern states who get many options to cruise from home ports. This may be the reason.

I'm so sorry for you loss. I'm also in awe of your choice to continue living well. Good for you! As others have suggested, keep busy. Go to the Trivia sessions and find yourself a Team, eat in the MDR in the evenings at least and as much as you possibly can, smile and act engaging. Go you good thing. 💗

When we first cruised in 2012 we were on a Royal Caribbean ship and the AUD had recently exceeded parity, we were getting $1.02 USD for our AUD. I was buying a Brandy Alexander for $0.45; I'm a girl that doesn't usually drink cocktails and I'd not had a BA for probably 35 years but crikey, I drank a bucket load of those on that circumnavigation trip.

While our favourite line is Princess, we very much like RCI too. We did one disastrous 35 day cruise from Fremantle to Rome with MSC and in all honesty if I won another cruise on that line I would find someone I disliked intensely and give it to them. I think it's about finding a cruise line that as far as possible meets expectations. I taken seriously advice from friends who have warned us off P & O and also Cunard. We're casual people, we never do formal nights and eat in the MDR once in a blue moon. We like to spend our sea days reading, engaging in any and every trivia session possible, attending destination lectures and generally relaxing either on our balcony or a less patronised deck. In the evenings we prefer to watch a movie and occasionally if the show looks particularly good we'll go the early performance. So, we're not party people or late night people and Princess / RCI suits us perfectly.

Not quite the same thing I know but a while ago on a cruise out of Singapore I splurged and bought myself a Mikimoto pearl necklace. The sales person assured me that I would receive certification from Mikimoto itself once I submitted a copy of the purchase invoice and that, as the ship had run out of forms, this could be done on-line from home. Well, that never happened did it? The company itself had never heard of such a practice and I'm left with the knowledge that as per usual, caveat emptor is a rule that cannot be ignored. As they say, every day's a school day!

Over time I've seen many threads about 'chair hogs' and the social faux pas of reserving a lounger for later use. However, in the decade I've been cruising (yes, I do know that makes me a 'newbie' in some peoples eyes) I've never come across this situation. Am I just incredibly lucky or is this maybe a matter which can get blown out of all proportion because, let's face it, there's not a lot to get upset about on a cruise ship?

Hmmm.... think I'd just be waving goodbye and denying all knowledge of the other person.