kiwichick62

My travel agent advised me that the special is for new bookings only so I am not eligible.  I would need to cancel and rebook to the new promotion and he said he "strongly advises me to pay for the beverage package? instead of cancelling and rebooking. Not happy as the saving on  the bev package would be NZ $1640.  We are 130 days out from our cruise and by my reckoning the only cancellation fee would be $200 from our agent.

Our concern is that we have non-refundable EZair flights and we don't know if we can carry the flights over to a new booking or not.  Does anyone have experience with this?

Edit to add - I looked at the Princess Terms and Conditions.  Based on our cruise duration and the number of days to go, we would lose our full deposit if we cancelled.

Does anyone know if the codes will work for us in New Zealand/Aussie.  The sale is available here now.  I am waiting to hear back from my travel agent to see if I can get the upgrades without having to re-fare or re-book my cruise in April.  If they say no I will send my agent the codes and explain that other agents have used them successfully.  Cross fingers for me, the sale would mean big savings for us 😃

More news from New Zealand Herald -

"A magnitude 5.3 earthquake has rattled the Gisborne area and around the east cape, including near the scene of yesterday's White Island eruption.

The shallow quake struck 25km south of Gisborne just before 1pm. It was widely felt in Whakatāne, which is still reeling from the volcanic eruption."

New Zealand is at risk for volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are common here.

More than twenty Australians reported as still missing, including a recently married couple and a family of four.  Condolences to all affected.

Edit - latest headlines state 5 dead, 8 still missing, 31 in hospital.  😧

Thanks for all the tips everyone 😊  I will be on Sky Princess in April, my first cruise with Princess.  My last cruise was on Celebrity Solstice which we enjoyed a lot.

Thank you both for your replys.  I haven't cruised with Princess before so I find this board very helpful.  😊 

Hi, once booked with Princess Cruises do they ever offer discounted premium drink packages before you sail?  I am surprised that there is only one (expensive) alcohol package available.

Thank you both 

Can you use cash to play to play the pokies/slots in the Celebrity Solstice casino?

Great video boekli, not something I would have wanted to watch had I been on board that day.  I read that they ran out of fuel and had lost a paddle, very scary. The Solstice did well to move aside for them and good job to the boat that went to their aid..

Great tips thanks chemmo!  I loathe haggling too lol so my plan now is to pre-pay for Murano's. , Don't mind missing out on Silk Harvest and Tuscan though DH may be interested in getting a good price for them once we are on board.

Interesting, I have being thinking of buying a 3 night dining package before we sail January 14th as I like to pre-pay as much as I can. Could be worth holding off and waiting to see what  is on offer once on board?  I would just need to know before hand what the exchange rate is.

Can I please order a sunny day in Picton for January 22nd, I will be arriving on the Solstice that morning.  Thanks for posting those great pictures.  😊

I upgraded our drinks package from classic to premium online via the cruise planner.  30% discount for a 14 day cruise.  I think the offer expires soon.

Hi Margaret, are you sailing on Celebrity Solstice January 17th?  If so, we have an active roll call with lots of info shared if you are interested.    Sorry I can't answer your question but I would think two hours should be plenty of time to get ashore.

Hi VitaminSea53.

I haven't been to the Kawiti caves in the Bay of Islands. Bay of Islands is a lovely part of NZ. Looking at your itinerary I see you have two days in Tauranga. You could do a day trip from there to the Waitomo Caves which NZ is better known for. It is a nearly two hour drive so it would take a lot of your day to get there and back but it is quite a scenic drive through mostly countryside to get there. We did a trip to Waitomo last year and toured two of the caves, both were excellent. Another option from Tauranga is a visit to Rotorua, excellent for the geothermal areas and Maori cultural experiences. The Rotorua lakes are very scenic as are the parks. You can also wander around Tauranga, sit on the beach (late spring time so it may not be the warmest for swimming.)

South Island - from the ports of Picton, Akaroa, Dunedin - There are many wineries in these areas. You may like to swim with the dolphins or go on the boat to watch them. There are tours to see penguins, albatross and sea lions. Each port also offer harbour tours.

If you like train trips then the Taiere Gorge train trip is highly rated, you get to see some amazing scenery. This departs from Dunedin and if you book the trip through the cruise line the train comes to the port.

From most ports you can do bush walks, very safe as we have no snakes or dangerous animals to worry about. Let me know if there is anything else you would like to know. Have a fantastic trip and report back.

Cheers, Heather.

Hi, I did the 14 night reverse cruise last November (Auckland to Sydney) there's a link to my review in my signature if you're interested, also, I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have :)

Great photo's and review cruise kitty! Glad you enjoyed your trip to New Zealand. :)I am doing this cruise January 17th next year. Will be nice to sail from my home port of Auckland.

Thank you so much Gonzo70! Your reply is much appreciated, it's good to know we won't have a big bill to pay at the end of our cruise.

We are sailing on the Solstice next January, New Zealand and Australia. We have paid for the Classic beverage package. Can anyone please confirm or not that if we keep within the price range for our drinks that we won't be charged another 18% gratuity each time.

I understand that the daily gratuity is built into our fares but I find the drinks gratuities confusing and I can't find it mentioned on Celebritys website.

Thanks.