PescadoAmarillo

This must have very recently changed. I’ve always used a one device plan between my iPad and iPhone. If I try to login on one device, it will state that I’m already logged on with a different device and ask if I want to switch devices.

No, you’re right. They won’t. I wonder if anyone has been able to get non-refundable OBC earmarked for extra crew tips, though I don’t know how you could verify that it is actually going to get to the intended recipients. I won’t buy overpriced jewelry on board but have found that certain cosmetic and perfume items really are competitively priced, especially considering the elite discount I receive, and take up minimal space in luggage. I usually manage to use mine at the Clinique counter. We’ve even purchased after cruise transfers we were really not keen about just to use ours up. Or more nights of specialty dining. We don’t do the casino thing though I know others do

When is your cruise? Is it possible to remove the Premier Package and instead purchase it onboard using your OBC or will that end up costing you more money and/or OBC?

I did not take the Princess excursion, but Thrak did, and perhaps he can comment on it. Both times I did it, we were at the old freight port. I don’t recall that Ubers, if they existed there, were able to come into the port area. We took a taxi both times, the first time with people we met up with who were going to the same place, and the second time with friends we were traveling with, and found another couple to share the taxi van with us. http://pescadoamarillo.blogspot.com/2019/10/day-37-brisbane.html The one with my “hold a koala” pic. http://pescadoamarillo.blogspot.com/2017/10/day-4-brisbane-australia_17.html

My apologies, I misspoke. As soon as I read your post I realized it. We did do the plane trip over the GBR from Yorkey’s Knob. We also did the Kuranda Railway on a different cruise, and, if I was forced to choose, I’d pick the plane ride. The railway is great…the plane one is once in a lifetime-type fantastic. http://pescadoamarillo.blogspot.com/2017/10/day-8-yorkeys-knob-cairns.html

We tendered to a pier in Airlie beach. Daintree Aviation met us there, drove us to the airport (20 minutes or so I think), and took us back afterward. We were in a small plane with another couple we didn’t know, and the young pilot (they’re all trying to get their hours to fly for Qantas).

Lone Pine, I think? That is a really fun day. We’ve done it twice on our own, just hooked up with other passengers going to the same place when we got off the ship and got a taxi. Getting there before the crowds was a plus.

Another option for Cairns is to fly over the GBR. We arranged that on our own because neither of us was looking forward to the long boat ride out to the reef (many people got sick, and one person on our cruise fell down the stairs on the excursion boat and broke his leg because it was so rough). We arranged a flight through Daintree Aviation and they picked us up and returned us to the ship.

Thank you @azbirdmom. We’ve never been to Lyrtleton, just Akaroa (which was a wonderful stop) and your info is appreciated.

Thank you. I checked again yesterday (based on what I read here) and it just states that the medallion order was already placed. So far, I can see nothing that contradicts what we saw weeks ago that states it would be shipped to the port.

There are so many thing that can’t happen on that tour that I would definitely book through Princess.

I must be thinking of a different shuttle then. I just checked my blog to see if I misremembered, but no, in 2019 the one I am thinking of, between the port and the CBD, was definitely free.

Your recollection was perfect, The funny thing is that one of our traveling companions was a retired high school math teacher. We were both perplexed by Princess accounting, but converted it our own way and got very close to same answer.

Is this shuttle the one guests are required to take to get out of the port area? About a 10 minute ride to two stops in downtown Wellington? If so, that used to be free. Do you recall what you were charged? We've done exactly the route you described and it was a lovely (and inexpensive) day. There was even a cable car museum at the top of the Wellington cable car, and the roses were in bloom in the botanical gardens. We very much enjoyed it all.

Plus package here, green lane and the only option is ship to port. Don’t know what’s up with up that, but not surprised. At all.

They will not close out your folio after the Queensland portion, but they will convert it all to $US using a method only they can understand. This is a good thing because credit card usage in Australia incurs a roughly 1.5% merchant fee (regardless of whether your credit card has an international usage fee). Do hold on to your gift cards until you start the transpacific portion.

Also important to note is that Paxlovid comes in two dosages, one of them for patients with moderate kidney impairment. https://www.paxlovidhcp.com/moderate-renal-impairment A ship’s doctor may not be aware of your personal health history, or may be too conservative in their approach to prescribing Paxlovid (if they even have it on board). It’s a good discussion to have with your primary care provider. All mine has to do is hear that I am going on a cruise and she’s sending in a scrip for Paxlovid, which, unless I was getting really sick in the first five days, I would unlikely take again, but it’s like my rescue inhaler. Better to have it than not. As @Cruise Raider mentioned, the price has gone up significantly ($1396). If your doctor is willing to prescribe it on an anticipatory basis, and you have good insurance, it’s probably best to get it before you travel.

Oh I agree that there are heart healthy alternatives to butter. I just don’t, for a second, imagine that Princess, with its shrinking food budget, is using any of them in lieu of real butter. They are much more likely to be using Great Value quality buttery spread in 25 pound tubs, containing God only knows which oils that may or may not have even been banned in many countries. It’s like assuming that the eggs they are using are from pasture raised chickens and the always available chicken breasts are organic, antibiotic and hormone free. That doesn’t mean people shouldn’t use the fake butter, just that it’s probably incorrect to assume that a large restaurant operation that is cutting costs is using the healthiest butter alternative.

Which one is? Surely not the new, fake stuff. Real butter is much healthier than highly processed oil derivatives.

And it’s a bit more complicated by the fact that (based on our past experience when a cruise was cancelled due to a ship wreck). If one used FCCs to pay for part of that cruise fare, the 50% only applies to the portion of cruise fare paid with “new money”. If FCCs were used to pay for the entire fare, then 50% of nothing is nothing.

Then Princess should charge $29.99 per day, if their WiFi is, as they claim, the best at sea. Maybe even $39.99 per day! Oh, and Princess should, at the same time, honor their promised Captains Circle benefits by reducing the price for Princess Plus and Premium by 50% of that daily WiFi rate for Platinum and Elite cruisers. And then we can talk about further reducing the price for Princess Plus and Premium for Elites by $5 per day for forgoing the minibar setup. ($70 value, 7 day cruise, 2 people in cabin). What’s that you say? Some cruises are 15 or 30 days long? Yeah, it’s kind of like the two free casual dining meals per cruise, isn’t it, only in reverse.

If you love smaller ships, HAL is definitely a better choice. It you really enjoy production shows, Princess is. Live music? Definitely HAL. Educated, informed destination specialists and enrichment speakers? Princess. Food and dining ease? HAL, all the way. Longer, more interesting itineraries? HAL. Crews are about even. Years ago, HAL crews seemed stiffer, but that’s changed quite a bit. We’ve found them to be as welcoming as on Princess (where they are nearly always great). I would cruise solely HAL; DH likes Princess. So we cruise more on Princess but are always watching for HAL cruises that might work for us.

It’s really not a madhouse. I would liken it to being in a busy airport terminal. But we learned that no one (except us, apparently) adheres to the suggested arrival time. Looking back at my blog, I see that we were told to arrive at 10am. When we got there, the earliest bus departure time available was 11:30am and we got to the ship about 1:30pm, http://pescadoamarillo.blogspot.com/2018/10/day-3-embarkation-in-sapphire-princess.html

The ship is doing a three-day cruise (Princess calls it a Seacation). These short cruises to nowhere tend to be booze cruises, and, given the holiday timeframe, I’m sure that’s what this one will be, too.

@Bimmer09, I’ve enjoyed your entire review. Thank you for taking the time to keep notes, write and post pics! Your complaint resolution skills are desperately needed at the Subway I was at today. “Man that blows”. I’m dying here. 🤣