colourbird

I really resent tips (although I do tip for great service). I work in a service industry where we don't get tips and aren't allowed to accept tips or any gifts even though we go out of our way to assist people all day long (and the pay's not that great).

I once had a compliant powerboard kept aside for the duration of our cruise, whilst my friend on the same cruise with an identical powerboard was able to use his the whole time! Depends on the officer who checks your bags.

I found they are over cautious and will sometimes impound compliant power boards.

We've had that sort of view a number of times. Always prefer it to the same old views of the opera house and ugly buildings between it and the quay.

Actually I've noticed that, and it's us Aussies that have the reputation for drinking a lot.

How many ships do they need in the Caribbean? That market must be a huge money-spinner for the cruise lines, since they keep adding more and more large ships. More and more American's must be getting the cruise bug and many of them don't want to travel far.

I have a Macquarie (Platinum) debit card which the cruise lines treat as a credit card in terms of surcharges.

We are going on Icon later this year. We usually choose a cabin close to the front of a ship as it is quieter and sometimes there's more motion which we love. On Icon we booked a cabin closer to the centre as it would probably take around 10 minutes to walk from one end to the other if we needed to go to the stern.

The waterfront is very attractive in the early evening. It's an easy walk from the ship.

This was from our overnighter in December 2022.

Hopefully Yaya_in_Oz's ship will still be there!

Icon was originally supposed to be sized between Quantum and Oasis class, so you never know what size the new class will be.

Icon and Oasis class ships don't tender, so that's not an issue. I'll let you know what the crowds are like later in the year.

There is a market for a large ship. They can't fill Quantum as we already have Ovation in Sydney. People will travel to Brisbane from all over Australia just like Americans who travel to Miami to sail on Oasis / Icon class ships.

Yes she will with three more large sisters / half sisters to take her place.

I'd say Wonder of the Seas will home port from Brisbane as it is the only port in Australia large enough for her. She was meant to come here via China a few years ago, but Covid put an end to that. She would probably just do round trips between Brisbane and Lelepa.

Not large enough for RCI. They need something like this...

Our Norwegian cruises in May 2024 are back to back and cost A$5,650 per person per 10 days and that was after getting it reduced from A$6,915 per person when we first booked. That's for a balcony cabin, not a suite.

On Vista with 1,200 pax we waited a couple of hours to get off at our tender port and needed tickets. When we were on Ovation they initially said they were going to use tickets for the tenders, but it was flowing so smoothly they weren't needed and people were just getting onto the tenders and they were leaving regularly. We didn't need to tender on our last cruise, but Edge had a modern style tender (almost like a bus) with multiple entrances.

We were recently on Vista (max 1,200 pax) and apart from the grand dining room, the ship always seemed crowded. We even gave up going to shows as it was a struggle to find two seats together. On the large ships everyone is spread out in more venues so life onboard is more relaxing and civilised. We had a similar experience on Coral Princess nearly a year ago. There is not enough space on the smaller ships and too many people want to do the same thing at the same time. If there's an option, i'll always book a larger ship from now on.

You can walk off the ship in Port Chalmers. Celebrity provided free shuttle buses that went to Dunedin, but also dropped off and picked up in Port Chalmers. On previous cruises we had to pay. Celebrity didn't have to do that.

The Icon i've seen is beautiful. Can't wait to sail on her.

The Icon class was originally going to be smaller than Oasis, so these new ships will probably end up much larger than Icon once they try and fit everything in them.

That's what I thought when I first saw her in December, but after about 10 minutes grew to like her looks and i've come to realise she's the most beautiful ship i've seen. Sailing past her today reinforced that view.

No, but I always sing this song when i'm in a tender: