ceeceeDee

Absolutely. It's like film reviews. Critics have panned movies that I have actually enjoyed and conversely praised movies that I thought were rubbish.

Yes, you can get some guidance reading cruise reviews, but frankly I've found that most reviews are written by people who wanted to have a good rant and complain about everything. Unfortunately, most people who have a good time, don't bother to leap into print to say so. Honestly, I've read reviews from people who were on the same ship and at the same time as us and couldn't believe the negative comments. Their experience certainly wasn't ours.

1 minute ago, cruiser3775 said:

Thanks for the trip report. Always good to hear about other cruisers' experiences.  Coral Princess is so far my favourite ship, and I know a lot of people here just love it.  I'm doing my first P & O AU cruise later this year, so will be interested in making comparisons.

Just bear in mind that P&O is a budget line and Princess' poor cousin.🙂 (P&O ships are Princess cast offs). Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking P&O. We've sailed with them a lot over the years and always had a good time. Just that Princess is a cut above (but then again it is also a price above). You will probably find things that compare and things that are different or not as good between Princess and P&O. A matter of individual taste and individual expectations.

10 minutes ago, Mycruiseobsession said:

@ceeceeDee Time and experience certainly influences our preferences! I definitely wouldn't want any back packer communal style cruising now but I am pretty sure when I was 19 I would have loved it! 

 

It's  like P&O Au to Princess I suppose, I do like P&O but there were things about the Coral Princess that really catered to my evolved tastes 😂

Every cruise line is different (for better or worse depending on your individual point of view and taste). For instance, we cruised on Symphony of the Seas a while back and I'm sure the Americans around us were amused to see four Aussie tourists' jaws simultaneously hit the deck when we exited the gang plank and stepped on the ship to discover ourselves confronted by a glittering shopping mall! Definitely not what we were expecting. If we wanted bells, whistles and whizz bangs this ship filled the bill. It was all very slick and we did enjoy it, but prefer the smaller ships to this floating metropolis.🙂

2 hours ago, Sparky74 said:

Price is a driving force for us as we are on a fixed income but we do enjoy natural light coming into the cabin. So if the price difference isn’t too great we spring for an obstructed oceanview rather than an inferior interior cabin. 😁

I've only ever been in an interior cabin once and that was way back in (I think) 1971 in a 4 berth cabin on the old P&O Iberia. That was sailing by the seat of your pants - sharing a cabin with strangers and trekking down the hallway to the communal bathroom!😯 And we plebs were separated from the first class passengers. Not that we cared, it was only a 3 day cruise to nowhere and it was a girls' weekend away for my friend and me.

These days there is no way I'd go interior. I'm not claustrophobic, but I do like natural light. An obstructed oceanview wouldn't bother me (though if I'm completely honest, I prefer a mini suite 😂). All comes down to dollars in the end.

20 hours ago, Mycruiseobsession said:

Did they offer a cheaper wifi option on Embarkation day? Will be on Explorer later in year and I am conflicted about the cost being worth it.

Depends where you are going. If it is a domestic cruise, there are usually enough port days to use fee wifi in a local cafe or library, unless you're desperate to be contactable.

We bought a wifi package for our next cruise as it's the South Pacific and I want our pet sitter to be able to contact us in case anything goes wrong with our fur babies (and since I will have wifi, probably post to CC).

On 5/11/2024 at 12:21 PM, arxcards said:

Looks like it is back on the table - just a different table.

A cross between the Mad Hatter's Tea Party and Musical Chairs (Ships) 🙄

I can't make up my mind whether Princess is Juggling or practicing Sleight of Hand. Either way, I wish they'd get their act together. I'm easily confused.😂

5 hours ago, NSWP said:

Happy mothers day to all on cc. enjoy.

Thank you, Les. I actually did get ferrero rocher! Along with a whole heap of stuff for our next cruise. 😉 

My girls know me too well. There was also a sweat shirt with the message printed on the front:

Coffee, Dogs and Crime Shows

I don't think they could find one that added Cruises to that list!😂

4 minutes ago, mr walker said:

A number of years ago I decided to not comment on tips/tipping. I'm sticking to that 🙂 

Me too! I have an opinion, but I keep it to myself!😂

Just now, arxcards said:

$250pp OBC - phfff.

Yes, like 'big whoop'!😠

10 minutes ago, sewgood said:

I'm disappointed for you as that was a fantastic cruise.

In no way does the round Australia cruise even come close to being the same cruise.

It makes me think twice about booking any Princess cruise too far in the future with them.

Yes, now I'm beginning to wonder. We were toying with the idea of a cruise to NZ return in 2026. Due to work commitments, we are 'locked in' to a time frame, so a cancelled cruise would leave us high and dry so to speak. I guess we'll keep watching the situation before making a final decision about booking with Princess or looking at other lines.

Good luck. Let us know how you go

9 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

Nice photos with the last one showing a faint 2nd rainbow 🌈 

Well spotted! I was so enamored with the 'principal' rainbow I didn't see it's delicate sibling.🙄🙂

Well, that's a nuisance. Well worth tapping your cruise planner on the shoulder to see what can be done. Sometimes with a bit of prodding a miracle happens. 😉

Like you, we prefer to have a sofa so that means a mini suite.

I'm open to correction here, but I THINK the mini suite balconies on Emerald Deck are covered? They also appear to be in an aft location.

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

25/26 is a bit far away to tell, but it appears that there are more people who are holding-off on booking anything.

 

As for 24/25 in Brisbane, that is a little over 6 months away and Diamond isn't selling as well as they hoped. In addition, there are two other Carnival Corp ships in Brisbane that aren't filling-up either. Brand loyalty aside, they are all doing similar itineraries to generate revenue to the same shareholders.

Wonder if they will have a 'flash' sale or just a mediocre one?🙄 (that's if they have a sale at all). As we say in the theatre 'better to have slightly lower returns and get bums on seats'.

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Our afternoon in the Sanctuary was cut short by a passing squall but just before we left there was a gorgeous rainbow right off the stern of the ship.

 

 

I've never seen a rainbow that close before.

 

That's awesome!

I've not sailed on her, but it would appear from doing a bit of research that Dolphin Deck (Deck 9) balconies on Crown are uncovered which is also the case on other grand class Princess ships.

31 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

We have a magic bed here, I always find the bed made no matter what time I get up.

Yes Darren thinks the same. I opine that he's convinced it's a close relative of the self cleaning oven.

3 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

A blue whale sighting would be more exciting but then you wouldn't see one of them in the buffet.

Wanna make a bet?!🤣

17 minutes ago, arxcards said:

My March 2026 Discovery cruise is intact - for now.

🤞

53 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Ouch. That is a shame for the Brisbane market, as it leaves them a ship short for their summer season. P&O, Carnival, Royal Caribbean. I was looking at a Brisbane cruise, so glad we hadn't committed. Making room for the new Star Princess? 🤣

 

Caribbean winters must be the go. Yet another ship relocating there.

It most certainly is a shame for Brisbane!☹️

Autumn in the Caribbean is not too bad either, if you are prepared to risk the odd hurricane. And the prices are usually pretty good.

2 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Grog is bonded. Smokes are not, as long as you take them back to the ship yourself. There is no duty free rule on this. P&O just won't let you take alcohol aboard, so it is bonded whether duty free or not. Cigarettes can be taken aboard, whether duty free or not. 

 

Fung Kuei will deliver back to the ship and you will see it again on disembarkation morning, so be sure to carry any cigs back to the ship yourself. P&O won't fish them out for you.

Thanks so much, Geoff. Really appreciate your advice. You're a font of useful tips.

Cheers

CeeCee

19 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Princess has been able to sell individual packs of 20 over the bar for $12, whether domestic or international. This was still true ex-Sydney last season. They were restricted to 1 pack per adult per day. Thankfully no longer required for us. I don't recall P&O being as cheap for us either.

Fung Kuei is the go. Cheaper, more choice, plus you can take them to your cabin and consume during the remainder of your cruise.

We haven't bothered much with duty free on our cruises, though I was aware that Port Vila duty free shops are pretty competitive. (Vila is halfway through the cruise, so a visit to Fung Kuei would be well timed). I was under the impression that if you bought duty free on land you were required to hand it over when re-boarding the ship and it was returned to you prior to disembarkation in Australia. Does this not apply to a carton of cigarettes?

We've done quite a few cruises, but are not big duty free purchasers so I guess I'm a bit gormless with the regulations and it's at least 6 years since the last South Pacific cruise.

Just now, arxcards said:

P&O can be weird. It could also be that WA and QLD have different rules in place. The funny part with P&O on international cruises is that "duty free" cartons are bonded and can't be taken back to your cabin, yet you can only disembark with a packet per adult.

Yes, that's why we don't bother to buy a carton. 😒

Possibly the rules are different in WA and Qld, as you say.

I'll be interested to see what the go is when we do the South Pacific at Christmas.

On 5/6/2024 at 9:17 AM, arxcards said:

No foreign port = no duty free cigs or alcohol.

Now I'm really getting confused............. We paid around $30 to $40 (or whatever the price is at 'home') for a pack of 25 over the bar when we cruised up the Qld Coast (with P&O) last June and the only 'foreign' port was Willis Island. We bought them prior to getting to the Willis sail by. That's what prompted my query about how far off the Australian Coast you have to be for the $15 price tag to kick in.