Amaroo Andrew

My brother has recently returned from a Pacific Adventure cruise to the Sth Pacific Islands. He was checking his statement for charges and noticed a debit for 'condiments`. The only thing he thought it could be was a charge for having sugar with his 'paid for' (not ship swill) coffee. Surely they're not gouging the pax for sugar in the coffee? I think it was 30 cents per sachet.

On 1/21/2024 at 9:25 PM, Bubbeh said:

I am also going to Bali in a few weeks time, and have successfully applied for Visa.  If your friends ship is docking at Benoa (most do) then all they need to put in is the post code 80362 and the form automatically fills in the rest of the address.  If they're going to Lombok or somewhere else then, a Google search for the relevant post code will help.  

I have a friend going to Bali next week on Pacific Adventurer and he has got to the point of paying for the Visa but the payment tab won't open. Any clues?

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

P&O is worth a try if you haven't cruised on them since 2015. Still the same limited menus breakfast lunch and dinner (minus a N/C eggs benny). They are OK enough, but not when the dining room feels like groundhog day each time you board. Apart from that, they are decent value for money on familiar ex-Princess ships.

 

Quite a few friends loathe Carnival, while quite a few others loathe P&O Australia equally. P&O has disappointed us the most recently, but maybe Carnival will trump them in December. We have used a chunk of our sizeable OBC towards the steakhouse as a food insurance policy. 

Had many good cruises on Fairstar, Pacific's Sky, Sun, Dawn and Jewel before moving onto Princess. The drawback to Princess is one can't do a quick Sth Pacific cruise and their ships are getting too big. I'll keep looking.

In Feb 2018 I was invited to join friends on Carnival Legend for a NZ cruise. It was the worst cruise I had ever been on and I vowed to avoid Carnival like the plague. In 2022 a mate puts me on to a very cheap repositioning cruise from Seattle to Sydney on Carnival Splendor in September. Surely I couldn't get two dud cruises with Carnival.

I did !

I must emphasize that the crew were terrific and have no complaints about about that part of the cruise. 

The good  bits were the Masala Tiger for lunch and the Red Frog Pub for karaoke. So endth the good bits.

If you think the pink donuts are bad try the brown Greek urns on Legend. I must admit I did start to like the art deco style decor in the accommodation passageways.

Overall the food was woeful and the entertainment was worse than the Sunday afternoon free concerts at the local RSL.

The cabin wasn't too bad but I am still trying to work out why they needed to put a 8 foot lounge into a two person cabin. If the TV was any smaller it could have doubled up as a monitor on a laptop. The bathroom was better than a Princess offering.

Port stops requiring tender use was a complete shambles and the embarkation at Seattle and disembarking at Sydney were even worse.

It is my opinion that Carnival has come to Australia to make P&O look good. That said, I have been hearing reports P&O is improving and not too bad. I might give them another go.

As for Carnival:- Never ever ever again.  

On the major domestic routes in respect to recovery aspects (organizing another aircraft or getting a seat on another flight) Rex may be at the bottom of the list in the event of a problem. There are only seven B737s in the fleet (6 of those aircraft are ex Virgin) and they will be spread everywhere on the east coast. Qantas will probably be the best option with Virgin and Jetstar on a par.  If  your time is limited you don't want to spend any of it twiddling your thumbs in an airport lounge.

Every airline in Australia is suffering from staffing problems (tech crew, cabin crew and engineers) and the sourcing of spares. What is flying though is very safe.

As in all things in regard to service, it all depends on what you want to pay. Oats are expensive to buy, but if you want some that have been through the horse once they will cost a little less.  

On 5/19/2023 at 3:43 AM, Kiwi_cruiser said:

 

I cannot see Princess jettison Coral Princess or Island Princess any time soon as the Coral is going back to its roots in 2025 with doing Panama canal cruises.

I see Ruby Princess is booked in to do quite a few canal transits.

9 minutes ago, datone said:

Why - what are they going to give you that a vaccinated person can't?

It is the luck of the draw. My friend who is up to date on his vaccinations got it. I was around him a lot before he caught it and I didn't get it. His wife who slept in the same bed as him didn't get it. Go figure!

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

Coral announced elevated levels of covid to the passengers prior to the ship arriving in Darwin, and masks were required to be worn on the ship. I figure she has been on level 2 ever since, but the report to any other state authority doesn't get added to an online page. Fair to presume she was also at about tier 2 for NT and QLD ports.

 

So yes, it was a long cruise - ended in Sydney yesterday for some, with many others staying on to complete a lap around to Fremantle.

Everything seemed to be going well prior to Darwin on the PER-SYD cruise. The skipper got on the PA prior to Darwin and announced there was a covid outbreak and as a result all pax would be required to wear masks when indoors, no mask requirement when on open decks. There were no other restrictions.

I can't remember if it was pre or post Cairns there was another announcement reinforcing the mask wearing requirement but unannounced all the bar stools at the indoor bars were removed and there was no direct bar service indoors with any orders having to be placed via a steward or the ship's ap.

What is going to make it hard to control is there is not a complete pax turnover on Round OZ cruises. About 500 got off and on in BNE and there was probably a major turnover in SYD.

The NSW Health Advisory is not advised until 24 hrs out from the ship's arrival in a NSW port.

What was a bit disheartening was the complete lack of updated information from the ship about the current status of covid on the ship other than those two announcements in about 10 days.

I have a friend who caught covid on the ship and was confined to his cabin and his opinion from his dealings over covid was the ship's medical staff were clearly under stress coping with the scale of the outbreak, along with the normal staff keeping confined pax fed.

One staff member I spoke to at the start of the cruise prior, to the outbreak, said the ship was running short staffed as it was and the outbreak has led to a perfect storm.

Everybody was doing their best to keep the pax happy and I think they did a pretty good job. 

2 hours ago, NSWP said:

Good one mate, show your son this, me in the HWP, here. 50 years ago. Triumph Trophy.

 

 

That picture has been re-touched and doctored. The original would have had a pool of oil under the Trumpy's engine! It's got to be from the late 60s or early 70s because it is carrying a rego sticker and a front number plate. I still have the holes on the front guard for the plate bracket on my old Commando.

On 3/1/2023 at 12:42 PM, kent05 said:

We disembarked P&O Pacific Explorer recently. Attached are photos of what we found behind the curtains in our room. The holes in the wall, possible vermin debris and towel animal had been there a long time. 

The matter was reported to management, but this is appalling in COVID recovery times.

Would it be possible to explain which part of the cabin it is in these 2 photos? What was in place to cover the mess?

On 11/15/2022 at 9:14 AM, arxcards said:

The joy of technology. Via pre-booking, I know what I am having for dinner on 4th November next year, but not a clue as what I will be having tonight.

 

The convenience or having so many options to tailor your cruise is great, but I liked the old ways too. For dinner, I would definitely prefer to have a nice, printed menu in my hand vs a phone or a disposable piece of paper. Mobile phones of any type don't have a place at a dinner table, but people call them cameras these days too

 

I don't like it that those with technology get in for first choice vs those without, or those choosing to do it the traditional way. Even before the apps though, each cruise line had their own ways to shortcut booking once aboard, and it was a pain when anytime dining was only truly anytime if you got in very early after boarding.

 

In the end, if an app will make something easier on the cruise, I will use it. Medallion was much better than the old way for room service, contacting the service desk for removing incorrect charges, alerting the steward we had a bag of laundry to collect, finding where my missus had gone. 

Technology waits for nobody and it will always bore on regardless of one's preferences. As it develops one has to keep pace with up to date equipment as some older phones can't download the latest Aps as they're all supported by newer IOSs.

Gone are the days when there were dedicated Drinks Waiters in the MDRs. On Fairstar the waiters would walk around at lunchtime with the Evening Menu taking wine orders and that order would be sitting on the table or in an ice bucket beside the table that evening.

All the bars had copies of that evening's menu so one could have a look at the choices over a pre dinner drink.

On our last Majestic cruise we were always handed a hard copy menu and the choices made were written down by the waiter on his pad. No difference from years gone by.

Whether Princess upgrades the MDR systems to waiters having tablets to take orders like some restaurants currently do at the moment remains to be seen. Would it be an improvement?

We had no troubles once seated in the MDR and utilizing the KISS ordering system. It was the organizing a table, getting into the MDR and then being allocated a table and waiter/s that was a shambles.

Having done 2 Princess and 1 Carnival cruise in the past couple of months I have experienced both systems. Having said that I must admit to being a bit of a luddite when it comes to mobile phones although I do have one. All the initial and ongoing stuff was done by my PA (tech savvy son) my mobile stayed in the cabin most of the time.

As much as it pains me to say the Carnival Ap worked a little better for the MDR stuff in that after making a mobile reservation the Ap messaged back when your table was ready unlike the Medallion Ap. This, along with the Tiger Masala Curry Bistro,are the only good things I have to say about Carnival Splendor!

On Majestic Princess there was usually chaos at the MDRs with large queues outside, inadequately set tables and waiters scampering about trying to find unoccupied tables. The Princess MDRs are Ap free zones for service as the staff are still operating on the pen and pad ordering system, not that this is a bad system. And what a joy it is on a Formal Night Dinner to look around the room and see a sizable percentage of people engrossed in their mobile phones texting, Twittering and YouTubing during their meal.

I am currently trying to find out to set up a permanent 7.30 MDR reservation at the same shared large table in the same restaurant with the same waiters for our next cruise on Coral. I'll be happy then and will use the magnificent Medallion to open the cabin door and order drinks.

17 hours ago, arxcards said:

Medallion is intentionally designed not to work in the dining room, as they have dedicated junior waiters for each station and still do it all the old fashioned way. Same for all ships. Also designed not to work in the theatre on Coral, but didn't try on Majestic.

 

We had a few random charges, but just used the crewchat feature to have them removed. We found ordering drinks on the open decks to be hit and miss (both Majestic and Coral), so went to those bars or grabbed a waiter to order.

 

We beat the queues for our booked dining by showing up fashionably early. Reservations are set in 20 minute blocks, so there is always a fair number arriving at these common times. The reservation system did purge all of the bookings on one of the days, which opened those tables up again for everyone to book. Those who originally reserved and those that reserved during the day were both showing-up for the same tables, so it would indeed have been a mess.

 

After our first taste of medallion on Coral, well when paired with the plus package, we returned home to book 3 more Princess cruises. Not perfect for sure, but an enhancement as far as we are concerned. More than happy with the new norm.

I my work experience I have found that the IT people generally tend to over promise and under deliver and when they say they are improving the system it is time to head for the hills and hide.

From what I can work out, the Ap passively tracks each person around the ship and it knows where you are. That's not a problem until there are large numbers of people at a certain point, like a bar. That passive person will appear on the POS (point of sale) display at the bar just for being near it. When a purchase is made, let's call them active now, the bartender has to find the purchaser on the display  among the passive ones to bill the account. The displays only show about 6 profiles per page so he or she has to scroll about to find the active purchaser. If there isn't time to find that person on the POS display the bar staff resort to writing down the drink and cabin number on a scrap of paper and doing the data entry when things quieten down. That was happening constantly at the Wake View Bar down aft on Deck 16. All it required previously was one swipe of one's Cruise Card and the purchase was completed. A lot of the bar staff could remember a drinker's folio number. It needs a little refinement to work properly.

I'm looking at my last Cruise Card from Sun Princess from early 2020 and I was in the Marquis Dining Room for the 2nd Sitting at Table 53.There was the usual small amount of confusion on the first night when one's table was located but after that everything run smoothly for the next 40 odd nights. Same waiters, same table, no queues or delays and happy days. Is it possible to arrange this with the Medallion Ap?

Between the Crown and Majestic cruises we did a repositioning cruise on Carnival Splendor and as much as it pains me to state this, Carnival are doing it better! One restaurant was set aside for 1st and 2nd Sitting Dining and the other MDR was set aside for Anytime. Book a table using their Ap, sit back and have a drink and when your table is ready there is a bing and message on the mobile stating your table is ready. When one gets to the MDR entrance they take you to the table. Mind you, there wasn't much worth eating in the MDR or anywhere else on that ship!

If Princess devoted a bit more time and energy to improving the Medallion Ap as opposed to pretending it is running smoothly and producing all manner of beads, baubles and bangles to go with it, things might get better for staff and passengers.

I have just recently completed an Alaskan cruise on Crown Princess and a Queensland Coastal on Majestic Princess. Both these ships are Medallion Class and these were the first cruises using the Medallion Ap. As the Crown was our first venture we didn't know too much and thought any problems we encountered we would get around through experience but this didn't turn out that way on the Majestic.

I have found the Medallion is a mighty fine door opener but there seems to be problems with it at the MDR and the bars. The staff writing details on scraps of paper when the system overloads seems to be the go to fix for staff around the ship.

Long queues getting into the MDR at the requested booking time seemed to be the norm with lots of frustrated passengers with flustered and clearly overloaded staff. I even witnessed the Head of Restaurants in one MDR trying to sort out one evening's mess.

Is this the new Medallion Ap norm? 

I have a booking on Ruby Princess for November and thought I'd check out eZAir flights for the connection in Sydney but I can't progress past the Find and Book Flights page on the Princess website. Is it my computer or are others having problems?

3 hours ago, pink845 said:

Hmm.  we have traveled to many countries and always brought canned salmon and whole wheat bread with us in addition to packaged granola bars and small bags of cookies, pre-packaged apple sauce, almonds, pecans (so essentially a variety of snacks) so we have munchies on plane (coming from North America) to Sydney.  Am I reading the various posts correct, one has to declare our snacks to customs when we arrive in Sydney?  Could we be turned away from entering country if we have snacks in our carry on bags and in our checked luggage.  We are always are so bone tired upon arriving after travelling 16 plus hours on these flights, that we like to have our own little stash of food to eat in our hotel room at our ready so we can enjoy our own comfort food prior to immersing ourselves in the culture of the foreign land.      Are we not allowed to bring the above food items into Australia?    Obviously, we do not want to break the law.  Please advise.

You will never get into trouble by declaring it. If in doubt put yes. As for absorbing the culture of a foreign land, the words of that famous Australian Sir Les Patterson come to mind:- " A lot of people think we don't have culture in Australia. Well let me tell you that we're up to our ars*holes in culture!"

It is always advisable to bring the prescription with any prescribed medicines. Food is not that much of a problem if it is commercially produced and obtained. If it is packaged and has a bar code there should not be a problem. It is when one has a couple of kilos of freshly harvested goodies from Aunty Beryl's garden or the local rice paddy that problems occur. I just returned from Bali with tea, coffee and spices with no problems. If in doubt tick yes to the question and let them have a look, they won't bite your head off. Here is the form:-

https://www.abf.gov.au/entering-leaving-australia/files/ipc-sample-english.pdf

At the risk of starting or inflaming a great tipping debate one must bear in mind the old saying:- "When in Rome do as the Romans do." The on-board currency in Princess ships operating out of or travelling to or from Australian ports is AUD$. Tipping on the lavish USA scale is not part of the Aussie, or Kiwi, culture as we like to pay people a decent wage upfront.

OBCs are not owned or a right but a promotional tool used by cruise companies to make their product more attractive.

For those feeling aggrieved about the situation here is a way to play the game. When you have a bit of spare time on your next cruise to or from Australia the on-board account will be in AUD$. Fill in a future cruise deposit form and have it billed to the account. The amount paid will be in AUD$ but if your next cruise is on a ship where the currency is in US$ your promotion amount for that cruise will be in US$. There shouldn't be any whinging then. It worked for me on a cruise from Beijing to Sydney and then when I did a Mediterranean cruise 12 months later. 

7 hours ago, The_Big_M said:

 

I'd be worried if he was a 78 year old bus driver then.

 

My own tip 🙂 : It's referring to a naval ship...

Can still remember the sounds of Proud Mary as 41 peeled away from a RAS.

Use Hawaiian Airlines or Qantas if you want a decent baggage allowance. Baggage allowance on Jetstar is poor, but you can buy more if requested. ........ and you can buy food, drinks, blankets and entertainment etc etc. If you book Qantas make sure you're not on a code shared Jetstar flight. Jetstar flights are JQ and Qantas is QF.

Can anybody remember the name of that slightly shabby bar that was situated in the main drag of Port Vila in the 80s and 90s? The building was knocked down and something more respectable was erected.

Neither!

We are doing the re-positioning cruise and I have tried searching but can not find the information I am looking for so thought I would ask you knowledgeable lot! We have trouble calling carnival due to our work schedules.

 

What is the cost for the following drinks:

- a soft drink (trying to weight up if the package is worth it for someone that will only have a soft drink at lunch/dinner)?

- cocktails (just the average $x to $y type advice)?

- soda water and how is that served (bottle/can/glass)?

 

Am I allowed to bring (insert item here) on-board?

- cheese? We have a few members of our group celebrating milestones and want to have a little balcony party with some nibbles and yes I know cheese is available from the buffet and can be ordered through room service/gift shop but we have done this before on carnival and were less than impressed by the quality. We were hoping to BYO our favourites instead (yes we are cheese snobs and also want to include vegan cheeses).

- nuts/seeds? One of our group is vegan and the offers re food are just adequate especially from the buffet so they just want to bring some protein along to go with their rabbit food.

- crackers/chips? One of our group is a type 1 diabetic and wants to have some items on hand for shore excursions and in case their blood sugar drops between feeding times!

-tape? to temporarily hang decorations in cabins.

 

Thank you for your help.

What a masochist getting onboard that ship.

At the current bank exchange rate (c .75) it's about $5 cheaper with the $AU to $US.

Well, I have it from the horse's mouth and I have it in writing. The ship will remain on Melbourne time throughout the cruise and the times shown on the cruise itinerary, arrive at 1100 and depart at 2000 will be AESST (Melbourne time) which will be 0900 and 1800 local time.

The nett result is that we arrive a bit too late to get the morning train and the afternoon train returns a bit too late to get back before sailing time.

I'll chase the train company up to see if they're going to have a train leave from the wharf, but I doubt it.

Sh!t happens.