Galesa

Ok folks, let's have it. Your best seasickness cure or preventative. About to depart Saturday on a Pacific cruise on Majestic Princess and; even if diverted from current storms, could end up with some heavy seas....and we're right at the back. Methinks Kwells alone might not be sufficient. TIA

Hi Folks So, to just make sure I understand (and not perhaps take this thread in a different direction) when you purchase a cruise fare in Australia including Princess Plus package "crew appreciation" should be included in the fare? Or is it something you pay additionally to ensure crew receive appropriate gratuities without any tipping discomfort or awkwardness. More than happy to pay on that basis. First Princess and first Australian cruise coming up.

Yes. Hardly going to be a warts and all critique!

I find comments like this to be really interesting with al ot of cruisers saying the same thing. When I (4x vaxd) had Covid in November, however, I felt absolutely lousy for at least a week. Had no interest in eating (which believe me is unusual) or drinking. Very, very tired. Couldn't drink coffee or beer. On that basis, spending my time on a cruise in isolation would be quite horrible for me. Much rather be in my own home. That said, willing to take a chance on cruising because I ain't getting any younger.

Reading this, glad DW isn't fussy about her bubbles - I'll just pay inflated price for the limited range of beers.

Thanks arxcards. Got it. I was looking in the wrong place.

Thank you both. nnps, it appears those items do not appear on my account. There is no "Arrivals" under "Suggested"; and only the terms "Personal Information" appear on my account. The terms: "Personal Information & Documents" do not appear. I did try to ring Princess Australia today but was transferred, waited further 30 minutes before hitting the call back number then nothing! No worries. We'll just arrange to be dropped off at OPT at 12 and see what happens.

We found Qantas didn't cover our EMCs so it was Covermorefor us. Shame as the amount of money we've spent on TI this year would've meant a significant lift to our FF points balance. We must plan better and look at annual insurance; or hunt out for a good CC with comprehensive TI.

Hi Folks Doing a 13 day pacific out of Sydney on 11 February. I've slowly come to grips with the medallion app even if I've had to resurrect an old phone to do it. I'm now in the "green lane". Should I be able to see our boarding time? I can't seem to be able to find it anywhere on the app. Research suggests I should have been advised by now, or that the app should show a boarding group/time. Am I doing something wrong or will a boarding time be allocated closer to departure? TIA

While I totally agree with your comments on the Gulf States and I too resist flying with them for that reason. However, Qantas did receive almost $2bn of tax payers money through the course of the pandemic. This included a significant amount of JobKeeper payments which they've refused to repay. It's also worth noting that Qatar airlines flew Australians home throughout the pandemic while Qantas sat idle (except the repat flights for which they were paid handsomely by the Government)

Agree lyndarra. By any measure 26th is a divisive issue. I really don't have a problem with changing the date so we can ALL celebrate this great country.

We do know why cruise lines resist banning smoking in the on board casinos don't we?

I had to sign a couple of times in Finland last month too, bust mostly just tap and go or phone pay. On pre-pandemic trips to the UK and Europe I was quite often asked to sign.

Stand down everyone:). Worked it out.

Thanks for putting this up. On Majestic on 11 Feb. When I access the app I do not get the "Suggested" part. This may be because my "Choose your Medallion wearable" is not ticked. When I go into the medallion wearable it states "in progress" against the passengers. I'm unable to do anything further. I'm assuming this is the reason I can't see the "Suggested" part. Can any one confirm? And anyone have a fix. Many TIA.

FWIW, still waiting for a FCC of AUD7500 (about USD5000) for a cancelled cruise on HAL ( November) under their Covid safe program ( caught it just before the cruise). Now I know I should have read the small print but my expectation was that under these circumstances an FCC would appear within days, allowing us to book another cruise quickly ( there's not a huge amount of choice on HAL down under) using this very large FCC. Frankly had we realised it would take this long then we would have made an insurance claim. As it was, the travel insurance was very expensive and we needed to cancel it for use on a future trip. Incidentally the insurance was able to convert the cancelled policy into a credit immediately. Ultimately we ended up booking a totally new cruise with Princess. We used the insurance credit on this trip. To get to my point, eventually, I simply don't understand why in this electronic age that cruise companies and/ or airlines for that matter, can't refund or provide credits within days of the cancellation ( assuming of course the reason for the cancellation is not in dispute). I also don't understand why there's not some kind of widespread international consumer action on this issue. But of course it's Covid! The "Swiss Army Knife of excuses" as a popular YTBr in Australia says.

Yes that's the cruise Fraser was referring to and of course it was Coral not Majestic.

Eden is a working seaside village rather than a tourist town. That said it's a pretty place with some fantastic scenery on and off the ship. The other thing about Eden is that it's hilly and the hills are quite steep. But if you enjoy walking it's a nice area to walk around. Especially as has been said the weather is good. Suggest you turn right as you leave the wharf firstly and head up to the Fisherman's Memorial and close by Twofold Bay lookout. Then take the Rotary Walk to the Marine Rescue Centre, take a seat check out the views. Then walk back towards the wharf and using the path walk up the hill on the northern side of the wharf and follow that path to Aislings Beach taking in more spectacular views at lookouts and rest points along the way. When you get to the beach you're likely to see about 2 kms of empty beach. As has been said, shops in Eden are limited but there's some reasonable cafes on the main street. For an interesting take on Eden seek out Fraser cruising on YT a Scot who visited in October on Majestic Princess.

I know this isn't Qantas but we just flew to Copenhagen (in economy) and back with SQ. We to'd and fro'd over carry on or checked but like you were concerned our bags would be "confiscated" at the gate. We needn't have worried. We couldn't believe the size and weight of bags that passengers were putting in the overhead lockers. Some were so heavy the FAs had to help pax stow their bags. The flights were full and it was complete chaos as pax tried to squeeze their obviously oversized bags into the overhead lockers. No enforcement of the rules that I could see. In fact, had they attempted to enforce the carry on limits at the gate it would have been bedlam as there were so many with oversized luggage.

Yep. Exactly what we've been doing for more than 10 years and heaps of OS trips with no problems whatsoever. Citibank has changed slightly and you need to establish a "travel wallet" but still an excellent product for ATM transactions when travelling.

And can you imagine the "lobbying" against such a move by the protected species that is Qantas.

FWIW, flew out of Sydney yesterday afternoon on SQ. Arrived at check in 3hrs ahead of departure and there was a 2 and a half row queue in front of us. Timed check in wait at 20 minutes and security, which was moderately busy, at 15 minutes. 35 minutes to airside. Very happy. Suspect it will be busier Thursday Friday. Oh and many pax weren't "match fit", to coin a phrase, lol, during security checks (liquids and electronics in particular).

Yes. There was a particular nasty post on a line specific cc forum I was reading on this subject where some Brits were criticised for seeking advice on removing gratuities. There was an honest belief by lot of the responders that the size and frequency of a tip ensured an elevated level of service and those that sought to minimise their tips should expect a poor level of service. It really is a cultural point of difference. From my experience in Australia and in the UK (I've not spent enough time in NZ to comment about that country but suspect it is very similar) there's a (rightful) expectation of very good service without tipping; and if you receive service above and beyond then the customer may consider providing a small gratuity to the service provider. Or maybe simply a verbal expression of gratitude for such excellent service which in my experience is always gratefully received.

Gosh this is a divisive subject. Had a very ordinary meal in a "pub" in Zurich once. Unsurprisingly it was expensive. At the bottom of the bill was a space for including a tip. Your kidding right? The server is probably earning more than me! About to do a tour to Finland and the instructions are to tip guides and drivers at E6 per day. Locals advise however that Finnish workers are well paid and to please not tip! I share concerns from "non-tipping" countries about "tipping creep", where a voluntary process to reward exceptional service has been replaced by an obligation to tip regardless, as seems to be the case, in my experience, in North America.