Ondine

If your read the PDS for "Cruises" you will find this statement buried on page 5. So much for covering people up to 100yrs. Apparently you can get cover for other modes of transport if you have someone under 80 looking after you. Sneaky. Age limits The maximum age limit for all policies is 79 year of age at the date of application. "For all policies read All Cruise Policies".

That's a pity. Eden is a lovely small town. Unfortunately there have been several cancellations there lately. We are not sure why. It used to be a tender port and then they built a new dock for the ships which got finished during the Covid lockdowns. We are not sure if vessels over a certain size are having trouble berthing there or if there is some other problem. Posters on the Australian New Zealand pages have been commenting on it.

I have just re done my annual insurance through NIB. I find that they are one of the few who will cover an over 80 yr old for cruising. Many other companies say cover up to 100 yrs but when you put in cruising suddenly they don't want to know you. I think Qantas use them for their policies.

During the last summer season (Sept to April) in Australia we had trouble with NZ authorities who cancelled several various cruise line visits to ports especially the Sounds/Fiords. Companies were made to scrape the ships hulls. No rhyme or reason or which ships or shipping lines just seemed random. The greenies were flexing their muscles because there are some people who don't want cruise ships over there at all. Which port was cancelled?

They haven't come out with itineraries yet for 24/25 here in Australia. They recently cancelled 4 Aus/NZ cruises from Melbourne for this season Feb/March and replaced them with 2 - 5 night cruises. I got caught up in the cancellations. I don't think they researched our area very well before deciding to come here and sail from Melbourne. They are planning to come in 24/25 but I have no idea what the itineraries will look like. I think they will put in more departures from Sydney if they can get berths. Best to wait awhile and see what eventuates.

I got into trouble taking cartons of water onboard Carnival Spirit pre covid. I argued that the rules said that plastic or glass bottles were not allowed but I had cartons of water and so this was ok. After a while the guy gave up on arguing with this crazy oldie and let me through. .................................. Prohibited Items: Alcohol (hard liquor) and beer Wine or champagne beyond the allowable limit of one 750 ml bottle per adult (18 years of age or older) Non-alcoholic beverages in containers other than a can or carton; excessive quantities per person (over 12 cans/cartons per person); exessive size per can/carton (over 375 ml each) Can I bring a bottle of water? Carnival's Liquor and Beverage policy states that the guests are prohibited from bringing water, sodas and other non-alcoholic beverages on board that are packed in bottles. What is Carnival's liquor and beverage policy? Guests are prohibited from bringing water, sodas and other non-alcoholic beverages that are packaged in glass or plastic bottles.

Oops I have just booked the Christmas/New Year cruise on QE. I have been watching for last minute pricing and it has come out today. $4650 for single gty balcony - BF or higher so not obstructed. NZ 14 nights. Both other times I have booked Cunard they were cancelled due to Covid. Better go for a walk and calm down. How will I tell the kids I will not be here for Christmas. Mum's gone mad in her old age. Oh dear.

Might not be of much help but when I take photos on my Samsung android to upload on the apps it always tells me that they are too large in memory. I found if I then edited them and saved them using a lesser % size I was able to upload them. I don't think it changes their clarity. On the other hand my kids who have Apples can set the size/memory of photos they take. Good luck. So much for the modern age.

I was following the saga on "another chat page" yesterday and it appeared to be bedlam with people having trouble getting to Brisbane from all over Aus. Some people were planning to drive to Cairns and board there. Think this was being allowed, others were trying to go via Melb or anywhere else that they could get a connecting flight. However the Sydney situation caused mayhem in other airports. Planes in the wrong places. I believe they did delay boarding for some passengers who were keeping in touch with the agent/cruise line as to where they were. A horrible situation.

I did read somewhere that it was an electrical fault behind the TV. Maybe maybe not.....

Just meant that the printing and layout is not very clear. Well not the pages I see. Could be better. Good to see that the stock is now at the heady heights of $13.00. Onward and upwards!!

Yes caught up in this and not happy. Booked over 12 months ago and was looking forward to 2 x 10 night cruises - Melb to NZ and NZ back to Melb. Great itineraries. We usually have longer cruises from Melb because of the distances down under. Oh well doesn't instill trust in future bookings.

I bought my shares through Comsec however when it comes to international they use an US broker, Pershing LLC to handle them so they do not appear in the usual Aus holdings. You have to log onto International and then try to download a statement which is readable. So far managed it last season but will have to do it again in a few months for my October sailings.

Oh and I get a lot of my information from reading the Virgin posts on Cruise Critic and watching YouTube. Then I follow them up. The info they send out is pretty useless. They seem to be making it up as they go along.

Here is the loyalty matchup and hopefully the link for the form to apply. I had no trouble just filled in the form and they emailed me back to say all was good within a week. Just google it if it doesn't work. https://vvprod.secure.force.com/SubmitLoyaltyProofOfStatusForm?_ga=2.134105358.124491346.1686208727-87560470.1651114964&_gl=1*3jyd5v*_ga*ODc1NjA0NzAuMTY1MTExNDk2NA..*_gid*MTI0NDkxMzQ2LjE2ODYyMDg3Mjc.*_fplc*eDNIWVJBRlBHd1pCOWRDSHNDcXolMkJ0Rjc3OFZ4dSUyRnNENlJkUmhzNFpTNEptTCUyQiUyQnVjc1VCTjQxdFhMcFNWY3UlMkJXa09YMHVvRnY0bTdjcjhhVld1elRwS1VIbjMlMkZjbWhsOWhaeWZnUks2ZEFMTlElMkJzVUFXTkdqRUVacUlwRlElM0QlM0Q.*_ga_Y9EN28SNLN*MTY4NjIwODcyOS43MC4xLjE2ODYyMTAxMzAuNTguMC4w*_ga_6QKCE3P4MF*MTY4NjIwODcyOS43MC4xLjE2ODYyMTAxMzAuMC4wLjA. There is now a cruise showing from Sydney to Sydney on Feb 11 a 4 nighter to Tassie. They seem to have Tassie on the brain now. None of the new short cruises replacing mine are suitable nor am I interested in them so will just have to see if they come back next season. At least my port charges have now shown up in my bank account. Over $1000 so that is good. Now what to do with all the credits and how to get them converted into cash!!! The speed with which they have done the refunding makes me think that this has been planned for quite some time. I think that agents in Sydney have been put out that Melbourne got the bookings and want something done about it. I really don't like 3 and 4 night cruises especially when they go to the same place (Hobart/Burnie) so not happy at the moment.

Are you aware that they are status matching for the time being. If you are platinum or elite on Princess and various other lines then on cruises prior to 31st Dec they are giving you "Deep Blue Extras" which apart from enhanced boarding/laundry and a few other things includes US$10 per day for speciality coffee and a US$100 bar tab. Not bad on a short voyage considering that all soft drinks/coke etc are free. They haven't replaced the cancelled cruises in Feb and March yet so I don't know what they will be. So far I have been advised that they have refunded the Port fees to my bank account (not in there yet) and I noticed this morning that there seems to be 1.5 times the fare in cruise credits in my account. Looks like the 50% was a bonus. I was informed that I had till July 15 to request cash which I might do because the current prices are far more than I paid. FCCs must be used on a cruise that departs within 12 months of your cancelled booking sail date. I can only see one b2b NZ cruise/s now in March remaining. However the return leg goes to Sydney via Melbourne and I don't think they would let us off with immigration to clear. If they would I would be interested in doing it because no ports are repeated and I like the itinerary. To NZ goes via Sydney and home comes via Hobart. A good round trip of 20/22 days. I haven't seen much advertising in the papers for sailing since the lock down. Maybe they do it all on FB and digital media trying to reach a younger audience. Don't they realise that we oldies have more cash and free time.

Yes Grand lost hers in 2011. Pity. The following article was from "Ships Monthly" published at the time. Must have been quite a job. Princess Cruises’ 13-year old Grand Princess (1998/108,806gt) has lost her distinctive ‘shopping trolley’ profile during a major refit at Grand Bahama Shipyard between 11 April and 4 May. Skywalkers Nightclub, above the ship’s stern on Deck 18 and weighing 211 tons, was removed to improve fuel efficiency by around five per cent. The 2,600-passenger Grand Princess was the first of a series built for Princess and used a heavier material for the ‘handle’ than younger sisters Golden Princess (2001) and Star Princess (2002), so there are no plans to remove them from these two ships.

I reckon the trolley handles are the best part of the Grand Class chips. Lovely to hide out in during the day.

It would make more sense for Grand to go to P&O as she is almost identical to Encounter and Adventure. Also she is the oldest in the Princess fleet.

Well we are off to a good start I think not. I booked 3 voyages on Resilient Lady over 12 months ago and fully paid for them. You get a 10% discount. The first voyage on 11th Dec still looks ok, 5 nights Tasmania. Think it will be a party cruise but just want to see what it is like. However I have just received an email this morning stating that "We have received significant feedback from Sailors and travel partners about the voyages available, so we're adjusting our sailing schedule to provide more round-trip sailings in Australia from Melbourne and Sydney" Hmm this means that my other 2 cruises - Melb to Auk 14th Feb and B2B return Auk to Mel 28th Feb have been cancelled. They have also cancelled the 2 preceding cruises in Jan/Feb. So they are giving FCCs and some extra based on the type of cabin booked although you can evidently ask for your money back if you want. Since prices have gone up substantially since I booked I am not impressed. More news to come in the next few days so I await the release of substitute itineraries and what options I have. I am not impressed - they haven't even got here yet.

I noticed the update the other day for 2025/26. Originally Grand Princess was listed for a complete 5-6 months and now they have pulled her and put Diamond in with the same length itineraries as in 2024/25. This is 3 New Zealand and 4 SA cruises (to pick up SA passengers). Unless someone else comes along then it is slim pickings for Melbourne with only Pacific Explorer staying until mid Feb and she doesn't get here till mid Nov. She only does short cruises also which don't interest me. It seems crazy that Princess is giving us a ship from late Sept until mid Dec and then nothing for the rest of the season which is our mid summer and better weather. I assume that Diamond will then go to Brisbane for the rest of her Australian season. Hope Virgin will come again for 2025/26 to at least give us some options. I am waiting for her itineraries for 2024/25 to come out. Resilient is staying a little longer then than this coming season. Takes years to build up clients. Hope the government drops the vaccine and mask requirements as as happened in other countries. I am sure this is a drag on bookings. I am vaccinated so not a problem there. It strikes me that the companies are short of ships after selling the smaller ones off and bringing the larger ones out. They may have more cabins overall but they have fewer ships to share around and we seem to be the ones to miss out.

They have the room upgrade sale on until 13th June and the following is some of the rules. You have to book a balcony at the time of booking so maybe give P&O or TA a call. Room Upgrade Sale Terms and Conditions *Fares are cruise only, per person in AUD in a complete quad or twin room based on lead categories available at publication date (24 May 2023), inclusive of all discounts, charges, and taxes (which are subject to change). Campaign commences 24 May 2023 and ends 13 Jun 2023. Advertised fares are available until allocation is exhausted and may fluctuate during the campaign period. Campaign offers only available on P&O’s Value and Value Plus fare types only. Fare type inclusions, including applicable terms, are available here: www.pocruises.com.au/plan/how-to-book/pricing-structure. Valid for new bookings and not combinable with any other offer. Supplements apply for other room categories. Fare based on specified departure dates. Different fares apply to other dates listed. #Room Upgrade offer is available on selected cruises only. Offer is based on the price difference between lead oceanview to lead balcony rooms for quad and twin on Pacific Explorer®, Pacific Adventure® and Pacific Encounter®. The balcony room must be booked at time of reservation to secure the upgrade. Offer is subject to availability of rooms in the higher grade. Some rooms have obstructed views. Onboard offerings are subject to change. Charges may apply to some activities, venues and menu items.

That report quoted by Cruise Industry was written in October 2020. We didn't even start sailing again until June 2022 so it is really useless to compare with now and future projections. As for the numbers from each city - well we can only sail if they give us ships so these numbers are a pretty useless comparison for anyone who does not understand Australia and its distances to try to work out how popular cruising is. How can you compare Brisbane/Sydney who have ships almost year round to Perth/Adelaide in particular and Melbourne who only have very limited sailings. I think it will take a few years for cruising to get back to anything normal. You cannot compare Australia with the USA.

When boarding all my cruises last summer the counter staff in Melbourne positively beamed when I presented my documents in paper. Even printed out the QR codes so no fiddling with my phone which also lives on the kitchen bench when not cruising.

Ah I remember that. I was on Pacific Jewel when that announcement came out and all the crew including Captain Gavin Pears were over the moon. Big smiles every where. Then reality set in and it was downgraded to be "Carnival Splendor would be a better fit". The brand new ship would be too big for us. But even that got downgraded again and they ended up with Dawn Princess. Ah - the stuff of dreams.