Kangakid

Sarah, we disembarked in Melbourne last year.  Our travel agent arranged this for us.   Our family of 8 disembarking saved us the huge amount in airfares that we would hav3 had to cough up flying out of Sydney NYE.  If I recall there were only a couple of border security personnel.  There was in total about 20 or 30 others passengers disembarking, we all had to meet up in Crooners at a set time to be escorted off the ship.

cheers VICKI 

HI. I have sailed both cruise lines, admittedly only 1 on Azamara, but numerous on Oceania.  Definitely a much younger demographic generally on Oceania.  But wouldn’t hesitate to sail Azamara again.  THE White night on Azamara is one of the best nights I have had at sea.  Let me know if there is any specific info you are interested in, i may be able to help further.   My Motto is any day at sea is a good day....

cheers V

On a recent cruise on Sapphire Princess one area of the Casino was reserved for smokers as well.  I wonder if this will change when in Oz waters.  Smoking in the Casino I could cope with but smoking on a Balcony not for me.  So will definitely give Explorer Dream a wide berth for now.

I had a problem first time I used the USB, I had it beside my bed and could smell electric burning smell.  For some reason it appears the USB component has burnt out, luckily I could still use the plug component so could plug charger into that, thank goodness this worked and solved my problem, as it happened on day 1 of my 7 week Europe holiday.   Could have been in a bit of a pickle otherwise.

You will enjoy Hotel Ikon, the buffet breakfast has much on offer.  I hope the current protest don’t impact your stay in Honkers too much. 

Absolutely with our doubt one of the best reviews I have ever read.  Thank you for taking the time to bring us all along with you, and for your tips and tricks.

With respect to my SIL he is in the RAAF and would have actually been in Wagga the same time as your son, as my SIL was attending a 9 week training course which he finished at the end of June...

My first cruise on Princess was at Christmas on Majestic  and like you was underwhelmed with the service and food, so am looking forward to comparing Sapphire.

cheers V

Oh thank you for the wonderful review.  Have previously done a 7 day to Norway, but didn’t get to the far north like you did, and am now keen to go again and for longer.

I board Sapphire next week, so I am happy to hear you enjoyed your time on the ship.  Any tips for newbies who haven’t sailed on Sapphire previously.

congrats also to your son, my SIL graduated last year from Wagga, so know how excited you must have been, the March out is certainly a wonderful event, we were made very welcome by all at Wagga on the day.  I am sure he will enjoy defence life.

cheers V

Hi All, anyone arranged transport, taxi, or other from the Port to Arlanda Airport.  Have heard very conflicting reports about transport from the Port.  Can anyone shed some light on this for me.  Thanks in anticipation.

We did Princess at Christmas with 2 children, 7 and 3.  Other than the kids club, not much available for the little ones.  We did Hobbiton from Tauranga and it was our family highlight, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the day.  We haven’t cruised Norwegian so cant comment.  Have cruised HAL they also have a kids club, but really nothing else for the kiddos.  But you know your kiddos better than anyone, but we found our little ones, would only do a couple of hours max and the be ready to be picked up, your lot may be happy to spend more time in the kids club.  We were on Majestic and in fact it had a large number of kids on board, that they had to hire 4 additional staff for the kids clubs, as well as using entertainment staff.  All staff were great in the kids club, so no complaints, but after cruising Ovation and Voyager our kids were wanting more to do, that that on offer on Princess.

On 5/19/2019 at 3:57 AM, roothy123 said:

Does anyone have info about a shuttle in Wellington, New Zealand?  I gather the port is industrial and requires a shuttle, but I'm unsure exactly where the shuttle might go. Anyone know or should I try contacting the port?

 

Also, I'd love to find out if there are shuttles in Napier (if needed) and Tauranga, both in New Zealand.  As for Dunedin, someone reported a shuttle, but Regatta and other cruise ships dock in Port Chalmers, which is not exactly Dunedin.  Therefore, I'm wondering if the shuttle goes from the port (berth) to Port Chalmers (likely, I would guess) or the city of Dunedin.  Does anyone know?

 

As for Taormina, it has been a while since I've been there, so I could be totally wrong about this.  However, I believe that where cruise ships dock is not actually Taormina, and depending on the location, could be a little far from where you need to be to catch a bus. With that said, however, when we were in that area, we DID take public transportation (bus? train? I forget) to Taormina, and then a bus up to the little town higher up.  At that time, we docked at Giardini/Naxos.  (There might be more info in the Ports of Call section of Cruise Critic.) 

Hi Roothy, the shuttle in Wellington will drop you in town.  So you can then walk to visit the cable car and the Botantic Gardens at the top of the cable car.

Napier will be a tender port, and then the town is not too far.  Napier is a lovely Art Deco town, so on a nice day it’s a pleasant visit.

Tauranga you will dock.  There is a small shopping area where the ship docks it’s Mt Mangarui (not sure of spelling).  But this port is where there is a few tours to spots like Rotorua and Hobbiton.  This past Xmas we took a tour to Hobbiton and had a great day.

Dunedin, Port Chalmers is the stop for all cruise ships.  So dependant in what tour you choose, eg Train to the Gorge, the train will be waiting at the Port.  But if you choose to DIY them a shuttle will drop you in Dunedin, City Square.

let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.

cheerio

Vicki

Thanks for the thorough review.  Save to say we would probably now feel more comfortable taking our GC on Cunard than we previously would.

Sarah, I know you have changed your mind, but you can debark in Melbourne we did last year, although no reduction in cruise cost, but as we had the whole fam bam we saved over $2K in fares from Sydney to Melbourne, so for us arranging car service from Port Melbourne to home was the cheaper option by far.

Cheers Vicki

Firstly thank you to Jim for keeping us informed re Bob and his health scare.  I am wishing Bob a speedy recovery.  Also all the best for the future Bob and Betsy.  

Emma, would you consider waitlisting a balcony or club balcony as a safety measure, as opposed to the limited number of suites available, you will have more of a chance of securing a balcony, once final payment is due, there will always be people who cancel when time to pay up is upon them, especially around Xmas time you could be in luck.  Definitely speak to your TA, they should have some idea of the waitlisted numbers.

We used Zealandia Tours.  From Tauranga we did Hobbiton, it was a great day.  But NZ has a lot to offer, you will have an amazing holiday.

My choice would be Celebrity, food was much better and speciality restaurants in my opinion also of a much better standard.  We cruised Majestic to NZ at Christmas, no major Complaints but Celebrity in my view just the better choice of those two.  Whatever one you choose NZ is a wonderful destination.

Have to say still like love the whole tactile feel of books and travel with at least one every trip, that I usually leave behind.  I also love it when I get to read North American magazines that have been left in the library or concierge lounge.  My husband especially loves any car magazines that have been left.  Sometimes we are lucky and the variety to choose from is great.  So yes, a few of us still enjoy both books and magazines in hard copies and not on e readers.....cheers Vicki

Cindy, I have been keen to read your Posts and learn a bit about Ruby as she is heading downunder in 2020/21.  I also just love reading reviews as I usually find all kids of info that I hadn’t thought of or secret spots you might not know about otherwise.

Thanks for taking the time to keep posting so far.

cheers Vicki

Fabulous TA, I have never sailed on Carnival, but we do get Legend down here for our summer and Spirit is based here all year.  Older ships, but we are getting Splendor down here in place of Legend next summer.  Your photos were great as well, a very enjoyable read, thank you for taking us along with you and Sherry.

cheers V

Hi David can you add 2 for me please

27 July 2019 Sapphire Princess Spain and Portugal

14 August 2019 Oceania Marina Baltic Bliss

cheers V

Better team won on the day.   Eagles where the best team during the finals last year, the Pies gave them a run for their money in the GF.  Convincing 20+ point tonight, can’t argue with that.  Some dubious decisions but all said and done Eagles better on the night.

Thanks John great photos that room is very spacious.  Have to say the bath over the shower as on all HAL ships is not my preferred option, being a shorter person I can find it difficult to get the leg over, especially when there may be a bit of movement.

Keen to read your review as Ruby is heading downunder for a season.  Completely off topic your paper crafting is just gorgeous I haven’t seen anything like these before, I wonder if it mainly a US hobbie and hasn’t made in roads downunder yet..

cheers V

That balcony looks huge what stateroom are you in?  A suite?  John are you able to show some photos of your room...

thanks

Very keen to hear what you have to say John, as I have not sailed PO, but willing to try them, so interested in your thoughts.