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Whatever the reason, it would suck big time. Sometimes people have to put in for time off from work 6 months ahead (case with us), arrange for pets to be cared for etc. etc. so it isn't all that simple to re-schedule. I may be wrong, but this seems to happen quite a bit with RCL. There was that big hoo ha when Wonder was overbooked a few months back and I believe it has happened on their other ships. (Happy for someone to correct me if I'm wrong.🙂). One reason we don't book guarantee cabins. Admittedly our last cruise (not RCL) was a guarantee, but that was due to paying for an upgrade. We still ended up with a cabin being allocated about 6 weeks out.

You could get t shirts printed with the name of the ship and the date and perhaps The XYZ Family. And maybe a 'stocking filler' with lanyards, sunscreen, insect repellent, a small torch and magnets to either decorate the door or use in the cabin to attach paperwork (such as the daily cruise news or to list who has what activity when. I know there's the app, but sometimes it's just easier to glance at the wall!).

It might be worth noting, that if you are going to New Caledonia, it is mandatory to have travel insurance covering medical (covid cover) and repatriation. This is currently mandated by the New Caledonian government. This may change by the time you go next year, but worth keeping an eye on the New Caledonian government website.

Have only travelled with Air NZ once (loved it, btw) which we booked through a TA as we required several domestic connecting flights in the US. Very smooth process with only one minor hiccup with one of the domestic flights on the return journey which our TA sorted very speedily.

We tend to check our on board spending daily: 1) to check our OBC balance 2) to check for errors/discrepancies We have been very fortunate in that there has never been an error so far. Checking daily means that we can easily recall what we have bought so any errors are easy to spot.

Re meeting room stewards. On RCL Symphony I think it was either several hours after getting settled in our cabin or may have been the next morning. Conversely on all our P&O cruises, the stewards were actually in the corridor near our cabin and would greet us as we got to our cabin door on embarkation day. On the last cruise on Encounter, we went looking for our friends, whose cabin was on another deck, once we had dropped our carry on in our own cabin. The stewards in our friends' corridor made a bee line for us to ask if they could assist us with finding our cabin. When we explained our mission, they showed us to our friends' door.

Mods obviously didn't like the word and censored it. Fair enough, I guess. It's a term I often use and and had no idea anyone would find it offensive.☹️

OUCH!!🤭

Breeder's term for female dog😉🐶

I remember that on a New Years 10 days cruise to the South Pacific, there were apparently 500 kids on board. We hardly saw them. And, no we weren't bleary eyed from all the cocktails!😂 Same with a Caribbean cruise on a mega ship. No idea how many kids on board, but they were mostly seen around the pool and waterslide areas. Certainly not running amok in the hallways or fooling around with the lift buttons. Luck of the draw I guess. On another cruise there were kids stampeding down the hallway towards us. I adopted my award winning resting ***** face and they at least slowed down.🤣

Well, as far as I'm concerned, hubby in white is a laundry disaster waiting to happen!🤣

The only grey cabin key cards I've come across are for Byron Beach Club rooms, but that wouldn't apply to Explorer. Now you have me intrigued.

Yes, P&O is a bit disappointing in some respects. Like you I'm not interested in ice cream or pizza but I would like to see some recognition of repeat passengers. We've sailed with them quite a bit over the years and really all we get in return are Princess points. Big whoop!☹️

We also🙄

Also, 'never let the truth get in the way of a good story'.

Like the old commercial 'when you're on a good thing, stick to it'. 🙂 Given that you like to choose the location of your cabin, among other factors, the upgrade grass probably wouldn't be greener.

When I worked in Brisbane, I used to catch the 'Loop' bus from Central Station to a stop near my office building (and vice versa). Almost without exception, pax would greet the bus driver when getting on board and thank him/her when alighting. Even pax using the door towards the back of the bus would shout a 'thank you'.

If it were me, I would investigate the current advertised price of a suite for your sailing, compared to your balcony and if the difference is more than $794 then decide if you want to outlay an extra $113 per day. Have not sailed on Luminosa, so cannot comment on the difference between suites and balconies on that ship.

Very droll, Mic.😂 I did consider intentionally misspelling beetles.😉 On a side note, out of curiosity I went to the Product Review site to see what showed up on Encounter reviews. Several about the Cup cruise, but not ONE mention of the beetles infestation, just the usual gripes about food, rude crew and lining up at guest services. Makes one wonder how extensive the infestation really was. (BTW, I'm heartily sick of hearing about ALL the crew were rude. Since when does any passenger have interaction with ALL the crew for starters?! And I'm either easily pleased or totally delusional as I can confidently state that I have NEVER come across a rude cruise member on any cruise regardless of cruise line. Again, I wonder if the complaining passenger had an attitude of their own to start with).

My little hand sanitizer hangs off my small cross body bag and hubby has his on his belt loop so basically we are never without sanitizer at the ready. Even though I sanitize before entering any of the restaurants, I still use my personal one before eating. Seriously, it is no big deal to be hygiene conscious and so far neither of us has ever been sick on a cruise.

Bear in mind that if you are planning on visiting the tropics (Cairns, for example) from September onwards it is extremely humid and from around December is the wet season.

It's a bit of a conundrum, but I think it must have actually been Encounter (Adventure being the only other contender due to the mention of Byron Beach Club) because the article specifically mentioned a 7 day cruise Brisbane to Brisbane. Adventure did do a Melbourne Cup gig, but that was 6 days Sydney to Sydney. Either way, it is interesting that aussienellie and Gwendy were both on Encounter and didn't encounter (sorry) any bugs. Typical sensational journalism, it would seem, fueled by some keyboard warriors on social media. I'm not denying the bugs were swarming in numbers (photographic evidence), but it would seem that intimating they were all over the ship in vast numbers may be a slight exaggeration given the comments of nellie and Gwendy, both of whom I'm sure did not spend the cruise with their eyes wide shut. Some comments on social media speculated on the cleanliness of the ship. Not a factor. Quote from CSIRO website: It is still something of a mystery why the Plague soldier beetle (Chauliognathus lugubris), a native species found in temperate southeastern Australia, occasionally builds up to massive numbers. Its grubs live in the soil, feeding on other small creatures. The adult beetles don’t seem to eat the plants they settle on, although the sheer weight of a mass of them may break weaker twigs What they are more interested in is sucking nectar from flowering trees, and copulating. There's your answer, the beetles were there for a rip roarin' good time!🤣 It was the Melbourne Cup after all.

You know the sad thing is, I vividly recall my mother using one of these Mortein contraptions! Makes me feel like the Ancient of Days!😯

Totally agree, Geoff. It just gasts my flabber, that all these reporters have to do is google Pacific Encounter (or whatever ship is the subject) to get her entire history (year built, by which shipyard. former names et al) and that is too much of a hassle for them. Aside from anything else, why bother to even mention Encounter's former name? It's hardly relevant to the bug story. As I said previously, I hope P&O managed to deal with the critters before docking in Brisbane. Frankly we have enough pesky wildlife in Queensland, without importing the little wretches.

Just read media reports that there is/was a plague of soldier beetles on the Pacific Encounter during the Melbourne Cup cruise. The bugs were apparently picked up whilst the ship was docked in Melbourne. Pax were, understandably, not happy. However, the problem was not P&O's fault and hopefully they have managed to eradicate the pesky critters prior to Encounter's return to Brisbane (what happens in Melbourne stays in Melbourne?😉). Wish the media would do their research, however. They alluded to the 'fact' that Encounter is the former Golden Princess. Sorry, guys, that's Adventure. Encounter is the former Star Princess. Journalists are a sloppy lot these days. My late father in law was a top ranking journalist and he'd be turning in his grave at this rookie mistake.