The restriction of what is allowable is quite tight.

• Must be cans, not bottles, not plastic containers, not water, not alcoholic contents.
• Must be in hand luggage
• Suitcases will be x-rayed

Strictly speaking to answer your question directly, yes you can bring bottles of wine along to check-in or on returning from a port excursion, but if I read the T&Cs correctly - you will not be able to drink it on board, it will be confiscated at check-in or on boarding and returned to you at the end of the cruise.

Sorry to highjack this thread, but for those who have taken this cruise, were there any good duty free facilities at any of the ports? There was a great place in Vanuatu when we went there a few years back.

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

Princess allows a couple of bottles of wine, as do most other lines other than P&O. That is the only alcoholic beverage any of them allows for - no beer, no spirits.

 

Used to be bottles of "Iced Tea" and "water" that were repurposed, so they made it harder year by year. So now it is 1/2 dozen cans per passenger, loosely packed. Been that way for several years.

Thanks - I haven't been on P&O Aust for a few years. Have two with them this coming year.

6 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Cruises out of the US, particularly in the Caribbean, are super-competitive. The cruiselines offer 'deals' to some people (maybe based on where they live) that aren't available to others. When you look at US prices they sound cheap, but fees and taxes have to be added to the fare quoted. As we know, in Aust all fees and taxes are included.

Apparently based on zipcode. People we were travelling with shared their fare details and they paid approx 25% of our fare (booked via AU agent) in same class of cabin. We also have friends in California that regular go away for short cruises "for a song" based on their zipcode.

3 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

What do you mean by US passport holder rate, seniors discount and local port discount?

 

I have compared prices on a couple of Australian-based cruises to see if Americans are getting a better deal. They aren't. In addition, they are charged the daily gratuities that we don't have to pay.
 

It wasn't an Australia Based cruise. Based out of Fort Lauderdale. US passport holders were given different rate to Aussie passport holders. If you live in Florida, or LA, the cruise lines give an extra incentive discount to locals off the fare offered to other passengers.

I tried making a booking with an o/s online agent (pre-covid) for an amazingly cheap fare and all was fine until they asked for passport details and immediately the cost of fare nearly doubled. Worked out not much different to booking locally.

There were people on board from the US who got triple discount - US passport holder rate, seniors discount, local port discount - and paid approx 25% of what we were charged as Aussies.

I thought about contacting the ACCC about the differential against Aussie passport holders  but if the company is registered overseas I don't think ACCC have jurisdiction.

Bit put off with P&O Aust policies on what may be brought on board.

Last time I was on Princess (pre covid) I saw people bringing on slabs of drinking water and soft drink and a couple bottles of wine which seemed to be all OK.

I see from details on my next cruise on P&O Aust, seems they don't allow any alcohol at all to be brought on board (unless you want it confiscated for the duration) and no liquids in a plastic container, even water.

5 hours ago, westcoasttech said:

This comment must be from someone with 20:20 eyesight!  Purse needed for reading glasses, reading sunglasses and regular sunglasses (for when outside just looking at whatever in sunny climates!). 

 

AND most ships now doing away with printed "daily" schedule in favour of the online app, so phone/device needed for access to that ... very rare that female clothing has decent pockets for today's sized phones!

 

AND lucky pen needed for trivia sessions!  

LOL What can I say - I try to keep my life uncluttered on holiday. 😊

BTW: I have not so good eyesight and wear multifocal transitions so I only need one pair of glasses for all situations.

Interesting topic

My partner and I have travelled to 70+ countries by sea and air, including some listed above like, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Malaysia, UAE, Turkey, Russia, Kenya, Namibia. We have stayed in two Muslim owned & run hotels.

We are not into PDA or holding hands but 99% of people who spent more than 5 minutes with us would "know" as we don't go out of our way to hide our relationship, introduce ourselves as partners and plainly obvious not "brothers" (mixed race, mixed age group).

There have been only two incidents that made us step back and think we weren't that welcome were 1. A hotel in Singapore refusing to give us a room with one bed and upgraded us to another room with two double beds in the hotel next door (bonus - moved from 4* to 5* at their expense) and 2. on a tour of several states of the US where the "cowboy wannabe" coach driver (from Arizona) made it plainly clear he was very uncomfortable did not want to be in our presence. As the tour progressed, it was funny to observe him as the other passengers from various corners of the world had no issue and they made him feel the odd one out. Pretty sure it wasn't just that we were LBGT, but he was also racist.

There have been plenty of amusing episodes over the last 25 years where people are just plain dumb and couldn't work it all out (the greatest proportion from North America) and and asked a series of dumb questions until they had an a-ha moment.

1 hour ago, onlyslightlymad said:

I generally find that a sincere thank you is all that is expected

 

Yes! Treat them with respect, don't act like a self entitled ........ and say a genuine thankyou.

9 hours ago, PineappleTraveler said:

 

I may have missed something major there, when people say they tip individual staff, are they not carrying small bills to do that?

If you are buying drinks, the tip is added to the tab, that goes onto your account at the end of the cruise. 

For general tipping, you can either let the cruise line add an amount to your final account and they disburse among the crew or you can ask at the pursers office for envelopes and put money in them and hand them out individually on the last evening before you disembark.

On 12/2/2022 at 12:09 PM, PineappleTraveler said:

If you left a purse/wallet on a pool chair and went swimming, would you feel the need to keep an eye on it the whole time? Have you ever been pick pocketed on a ship?

There is nowhere on board to use cash. Pointless carrying a purse anywhere on board. Just your cruise card on a lanyard around your neck.

The only things I need with me while out of the cabin might be sunglasses, hand sanitiser and phone maybe.

There is zero requirement to have your purse with you. 

The only time my wallet comes out of the safe is when I am going ashore.

My phone is usually on the bedside table, and my laptop on the main bench. Jewellery and cash etc (and passports if the ship hasn't taken them) in the safe.

On 12/1/2022 at 8:09 AM, P&T said:

You can download software to your laptop that will let you share the internet connection to multiple devices. The laptop needs to be switched on obviously (same as router).

 

The devices would need to be in range of the laptop (the same as the situation with the router).

 

You will not be able to wander around the ship (out of range of the router or laptop i.e. outside the cabin)  with multiple devices without buying multiple packages.

https://www.lifewire.com/internet-connection-sharing-software-packages-817795

On 10/6/2022 at 8:41 AM, davo67 said:

I would suggest purchasing a fairly inexpensive travel router which will enable you to share the Internet (basically it logs in and then creates a wifi network for your devices to use).

 

You can find this one on Amazon. It's $40 today. Works very well. About the size of your palm.

 

GL.iNET GL-MT300N-V2 (Mango) Wireless Mini Portable VPN Travel Router

 

I take mine *everywhere*. Worked well on our last cruise in 2019 that only had one wifi package.

 

 

You can download software to your laptop that will let you share the internet connection to multiple devices. The laptop needs to be switched on obviously (same as router).

The devices would need to be in range of the laptop (the same as the situation with the router).

You will not be able to wander around the ship (out of range of the router or laptop i.e. outside the cabin)  with multiple devices without buying multiple packages.

On 10/21/2022 at 2:54 AM, Hogbay said:

Tipping is not customary as Australian are payed a wage and on weekends / public holidays a 15 % fee will be included in price as are taxes . Nearly all merchants have " tap and go " either visa or mastercard and pay by phone also . American Express , Diners card are not widely accepted and if they are have highest fees . How much Au or NZ dollars you need depends on tap water or champagne taste . ATM will only have the local currency . Spend away and enjoy .

Actually Diners is readily accepted at the largest retailers in Australia without any surcharges (Coles, Woolworths, Target, Kmart, Bunnings, Myers, David Jones etc) and big chain / international hotels.

I use mine everyday (especially with unlimited frequent flyer points, lounge access and other perks.

However, most smaller retailers won't accept Diners as with their turnover, they can't negotiate a good deal with the provider.

Cruise lines don't like anything with a surge protector, so a simple cheap double/triple powerboard without surge protection is usually fine.

For myself, most of the time, I'm looking to charge multiple things that use USB (watch, phones, headphones, ipad et al) and not looking for multiple regular plug/sockets. The shaver can normally be charged in the bathroom.

Also I want something I can use on shore not locking me down to one socket type when visiting countries not on a cruise, so the following does me a treat. 

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/265749465972

On 11/17/2022 at 9:33 PM, Jandex said:

I use my ANZ card to take advantage of the travel insurance, but you don’t actually get a formal policy. How are we meant to prove we have insurance? 

I am with ANZ in AU as well, there is a number on their website that takes you to Allianz (supplier) who will issue you a formal statement saying you are covered for Covid and cruising as long as you meet ANZ conditions (age and expenditure etc) and follow government advice etc etc

It was a very foolish person who video taped it with their mobile. Very foolish indeed. That is only asking for trouble and putting himself out as a target. Not only was he congesting an area where staff had to do their job to control a situation but he was also distracting the security crew who should have been on top of the unruly passengers. It is a wonder he was not detained by the crew for the distraction posed.

You cannot be serious!!!

I have no time for disruptive passengers and wonder why the cruise line did not nip this in the bud 3-4 days earlier when they allegedly knew the threats and disruption were occuring.

The only distraction to the crew was fear of being caught out kicking a person on the ground in the head and backside. That is not professional crowd control.

Hoping several others filmed the event so the whole truth comes out and not the weasel words from CCL.

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Nearly all cruise lines overnight in St Petersburg and have two full days there.

Small ships like Seaborne can get right into city centres often and so much more sightseeing can be done as you are in the thick of things instead of berthing hours out of town.

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Passenger behaviour aside.

Rather troubling - Crew engaged in violent assault, tampering with/deletion of evidence, illegal confiscation of personal property.

Anyone booked on this sailing?

48 days to go and no response. I guess it's going to be a very "straight" cruise LOL

Surprised not to get a response for a largish ship

B]P&T[/b] :)

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Hi There,

Any other FOD joining this cruise???