MrsWaldo

Isle des Pins head to the beach at Kanumera

sorry can't help with Luganville

5 hours ago, RachelG said:

Yes, actually, with our 17 year old 6’ 5” son in a smaller cabin in the Galapagos.

Wow, 

Could never do that.  It was bad enough on Shadow with 3 in the room.  But we did have 2 gals 🤣😜

7 minutes ago, RachelG said:

We have been 3 to a suite many times when our sons were younger.  It can be a little crowded, but most days we only sleep in the suite.  So I personally would save then money for another trip.

In a suite the same size at Galapagos and with an itinerary where you will be swimming and getting changed possibly more than 2x a day?

A standard port intensive cruise where you are busy all day and on one of the larger ships, yes.

8 hours ago, Mocamps said:

If that's just for a 7 day cruise I don't think I'd do it. We've been in a Verandah suite on SG and we didn't actually spend much time in our suite. We were out and about for most of the time. And when we weren't out and about we were eating or drinking!! We used to have a pre-dinner drink on our balcony and that was about it!! We certainly didn't sit in the cabin.....all we did there was sleep!!

 

Just my view....but I've never been in a Silver suite! Just can't think it would be so good that I'd want to spend a lot of time in it when I could be out and about.

I wouldn’t bother with 2 people either 

Three is a big issue just moving around getting ready etc when they fold the bed down at night there is little moving room and 3 of you need to get ready for the days activities 

Oh... that should say larger suites on the bigger ships.

My rule of thumb is at least 10sqm pp internal

For me it's a no brainer...

the only other thing is if you don't want to spend, keep your fingers crossed and hope for a free upgrade which might happen.

I answered on the other thread.  

Three to a suite is a tipper.  The suites on Galapagos are small. 

(Caveat I've only sailed on the larger suites and would never again do three to a suite in anything smaller than Muse)

As someone who has done 3 in a suite a few times, yes upgrade.  I balanced upgrading versus a second suite on Cloud and a second suite was cheaper so value should be there.  

This is especially so because with an active itinerary you will want space to get changed etc.  You still might find the space tight in a Silver Suite if you've done 3 on any of the other ships 

But is waitlist the same as a Gty.  My TA said waitlist is only when cruise is fully booked so you wait for a cancellation. 

A GTY means you are on board 

Rydges have taken it over.

The plan is to do a much needed refurb

https://www.hotelmanagement.com.au/2019/11/14/old-sydney-holiday-inn-set-to-switch-to-rydges/

There are clues in my  post.

You aren't supposed to recommend tours I here.

But if you are "redi to go vanuatu" look on Facebook.  

I'd been to Port Vila before so I booked a private operator via face book and I was redi to go. 🙂

Our van was comfortable and had aircon. 

yes you will be harassed on the dock by lots of people telling you they are Stanley and are redi to go.

Edited to add...  our trip in Noumea was cancelled so we planned to book on arrival.  There were 2 ships in and the docking centre was a zoo. 

I asked about fever tree prior to our Muse Cruise.  Response was they can bring it on board at my expense for use in my suite

Orana or Africola

Press Food and Wine is OK

Curious as to your thoughts on the kids in the pool?

Opens can of worms

52 minutes ago, turtlemichael said:

As a matter of interest, when did you hear about your cabin allocation ?

Not until 3 or 4 days before, it was certainly last minute.

Well, we had a great time on board and are now finally home so here's a quick run down of the tail end of the trip.

Our next port was Lautoka and here once again we chose a ships tour because it was offering the one I would have booked otherwise.  Lautoka is very much an industrial location and certainly isn't a spot you would choose to wander around. We booked the Sailing on Oolala, which was supposed to be a catamaran with only 35 people on board.  Unfortunately the company sent an old dive boat which was not a sailing vessel and we ended up with 51, so not quite what the Oolala website  was advertising. 

They left from right near the ship, hence saving a bus ride into Denarau and it became obvious why when it turned out you could actually see the ship from the island. The 35 minute trip both ways was done at snail pace, not fast enough to even create a slight breeze.  The island required tendering, so 3 trips to get people from the boat to the island and this took around 20 mins.  It was hot and unpleasant while waiting.  Miss W probably would have swum except a little bit too much Panorama the night before had taken its toll. The snorkelling was probably the lowest quality of the entire trip. The beach was pleasant and plenty of room for everyone to find a nice spot. Kayaks, paddle boards etc were also on offer.  I did manage a very nice massage for 60FJD, so all was not in vain.  I think I would look at something different next time.

Then came my favourite (Miss W preferred Isle of Pines). Dravuni is a small island and has several walking tracks.  Tenders drop right at the beach and village. The people were friendly and welcoming.  We decided to head up over the hill to the beach at the back.  The hill is very very steep (so if you plan to walk over, go the long way round) and the prevailing winds had blown the beach out. The "ship" side beach had plenty of space and we spent over an hour snorkelling from the end of the village to the end of the beach and back. Anemone gardens, soft and hard corals, and a variety of other sea life.

Our final port was Noumea and we had booked a kayak adventure which the tour operators cancelled.  There was nothing else of interest on offer for us, so we did a wander around the town. The markets are closed on Mondays (yep, it was Monday).  We wandered up the hill to the Cathedral via some back streets and then back and forth to see what may eventuate.  2 hours later and quite a few km under our belt we admitted defeat and lazed around for a while.

Disembarkation at White Bay was chaotic to say the least.  We weren't in the main terminal and this created issues on a number of fronts.  Torrential rain, a gangway that was impossible for those with poor mobility to negotiate and shoreside SS staff who were just down right rude as they were clearly unable to cope with the situation.

Sitting here, with the house still gently bobbing as I try to lose my sea legs, I reckon it must have been a pretty good trip because I'm already thinking about a repeat version next year!

I was in Port Vila yesterday. 

Booked through redi to go  van. (Facebook). 

Ended up with FAS tours 

Did just what I wanted.  Was very happy 

Don’t leave it too long to book either.   They only take 8 passengers on each 

Turtle Bay is a compact version of Moro.  

Background:

Last minute booking because Miss W suddenly had an extra week of holiday time, we wanted beach, we wanted relaxation and we wanted value.  Booked a Vista GTY as on vista suites available.  Won the lottery with a Deluxe Verandah on deck 6 which is pretty much exactly where I would have chosen.

 Embarkation: 

One of the main reasons for booking was the proximity for me to home.  I have to admit being very apprehensive about Muse due to her size.  She’s the biggest ship we’ve ever been on and was fully booked. A 25min limo ride saw us arrive at White Bay just as check in opened. Waldo Jnr had a day pass.  Went through the process smoothly and was in Atlantide for lunch just before 12.20.

spent the day eating drinking and exploring the ship. WJ was evicted by us reluctantly just on around 3:30.  It’s the first time we have cruised without him but his wife was calling.

Cruising: 

i was a bit meh about sailing out of White Bay but going under the bridge is a definite plus. We ate at Pool Grill to maximise the experience. Miss W is not a pool grill fan so we chose it to suit a purpose and that it did.  Staff were excellent.

i wasn’t give a blow by blow, except that our Trivia team, once we found one, came second and has continued this trend on most days, except when we won. It was a little odd to be rejected but OK, which hadn’t happened since  Miss W was 11, their loss 😜

We had a few service issues which have now been rectified.  Mostly a share table on formal night in Atlantide, but this has seen us make friends with some others on board and we have eaten at Indo Chine and Kaiseki as well. Kaiseki is a favourite. We cancelled our Silver Note as 8pm after a Port day was just too late.  Also cancelled La Dame because on a Sea Day 6pm is too early.

Ports:

Thus far we have 3 new ports for Muse under our belts. Isle of Pines, Mare and Port Vila.  We did s ship tour in Pines, shuttle but to Yejele Beach in Mare and an independent day in Port Vila (I’d been there before on land).

Our SS tour to Moro Island on Isle of Pines was excellent and exactly as described.  I thought we may have spent a little too long looking at turtles floating around from the boat but others were excited. The snorkelling site was also pretty good.  They allowed Miss W to go quite a distance out and she had a good 1 hour snorkel. I know others were unimpressed but they clearly had not read the description of being able to get in and out of the the boat,  to expect a speedboat ride and to bring your own gear.   Would I do the tour again.  Probably.  

We also snorkelled at Kanumera beach which was actually better than Moro Island and there were turtles there as well. Doing the first tour gave us time to do both.

Mare is not quite as impressive as an island to me. It’s a bit more developed and definitely a tourist place. $US5 for a coconut and $25 for a 20 minute massage is way beyond the price point on most pacific islands.  So we just snorkelled at Yejele using the shuttle and then went back for an afternoon on the ship. Worked well.

Yesterday was Port Vila where I had tried to book Willy or Dick. Neither were available so they suggested Stanley from ReditoGoVan whom I dutifully booked. No surprise that Stanley was the. Booked by SS but sent his cousin Arthur from FAS tours.  Perfect day doing exactly what we wanted and when we wanted.  Cost for the day was $US75 including Lunch with wine at the Moorings, visit to Hideaway Island for snorkelling and a few spots such as Tanna Coffee etc we wished to see.  We were back on the ship in time for an afternoon sleep and Trivia.

Thus far we have thoroughly enjoyed Muse and haven’t noticed that she is bigger at all, infact I think there is more space per passenger and the extra venues really give it an edge.

Oh and one of the enrichment lecturers is from the Australian Ballet and we got to do a Barre class 👏🏻😀

A much needed sea day today

Moruya, Eden, Narooma  Bermagui are basically burned out

Cant help for destinations being smoke affected as we could be all cooked out by late Jan

The Simply hotel tends to be a chain such as Marriot etc 

The Grande Hotel tends to be the "Landmark" property in that City.

Both will be 5*

We didn’t have a Catholic Priest on our Cloud Christmas in South Africa 2016.  The ecumenical service was done by the CD (and done quite well)

Im almost sure we didn’t have a priest for our Myanmar Christmas 2015 either but if we did it mustn’t have been overly Catholic or I would have remembered 

Ive never seen a rabbi on board to do Hanukkah 

so your RCCL theory is debunked 

My theory is if you go on a Christmas cruise then you have to be prepared for some of your traditions/expectations to be different eg we don’t have goose/turkey or roast for lunch.  

We do a seafood feast as do many Australians ....

I  guess my message is there are a lot of people with different cultures and beliefs on board a small ship and sometimes it just isn’t possible to cater to the diversity.

Have a look at  Ocean Safari Whitsundays....  they may have an option

This is another option

https://cruisewhitsundays.com/content/uploads/2019/10/00157CWS-October-Timetable-FINAL.pdf

HOW MANY $$

If you want cheap and cheerful and real local head to Glebe, Surry Hills, Newtown

Stanmore

Enmore etc

Real hidden dinting Continental deli or Sixpenny