ceeceeDee

Great to see you posting, Les. Hope you are doing ok

I would really love to have a tour of Resilient Lady. I believe, though I may be dreaming, that she has at least one cruise out of Brisbane scheduled. Wonder if they will do the 'open ship' deal up here? I'm really tempted to book a cruise, but it would be a real bonus if I could have a look at her prior.

When we last cruised from an American port, we used our credit card for most things, but obtained a few hundred dollars in US currency before leaving Australia so we had cash for small purchases. Perhaps get some Australian dollars before you come.

Hopefully this inconsiderate (dare I say 'idiot') smoker is in the minority. For pity's sake, how hard is it to go to a designated smoking area rather than risking a devastating ship's fire. Obviously this muppet either hasn't seen photos and reports (or just doesn't care) about the tragic fire on Star Princess in (I think) 2006 as an example. A passenger died as a result of that particular fire. These entitled morons make my blood boil (and I'm a smoker). As for the ship's staff, surely someone in authority (such as the purser) could, as someone suggested, confront this passenger and reiterate the no smoking in rooms or on balconies policy and perhaps underline the extreme danger of doing so. The OP filed a complaint, surely it is not their responsibility to provide video proof. And in this day and age of litigation, are they opening a legal can of worms if they did take photos or video? I'm certainly not a lawyer so I've no idea if this would be the case but I would certainly be hesitant to put myself in that situation.

Absolutely no help to you, but it's a pity you're not in Australia. We have a plethora of 'sampler' cruises of around 3 days' duration. Definitely not my cup of tea, we prefer a minimum of 7 days and preferably longer.🤗

The weather should be good at the time of the year you are considering. If you've sailed Royal Caribbean before you'll be familiar with the cruise experience on their ships. We've done the reverse and flown to Miami to cruise the Caribbean on Symphony. It was a great experience.

Absolutely, Mic. We originally booked a Byron Mini suite on the $1 deposit. A month or two later the price dropped by a whopping $1,080 (for a value plus fare). I was on the phone immediately, cancelled the original booking and re-booked the same cabin at the sale price. We lost our original $2 deposit (quel dommage😉) and the OBC was reduced from $400 to $225 but we're still way in front. I've since been monitoring the prices (purely out of interest) and they're still around $800 more than the fare we re-booked.

We have a couple of friends fast approaching 30 who would mow down kids on the gangway to get onboard.🤣

Obviously it all depends on the ship layout and the cabin category. We booked a guarantee mini suite on our last cruise. All mini suites were on deck 9 and the sub category we chose was restricted from approximately mid ship to forward with cabins either side and on the decks above and below. So really it wasn't much of a gamble. We were very happy with our eventual cabin (indeed we have booked that specific cabin for our next cruise). It was situated about four cabins back from the front of the ship. There was very little motion felt and we were far enough away from the lifts not to be bothered by noise. Had we been upgraded to a full suite, it still wouldn't have been a problem. They were mostly surrounded by other cabins on various decks and only a couple were in a potentially less desirable location under the pool deck which I still would have been happy with as they were aft cabins with extended balcony overlooking the wake. I guess do your homework and study the deck plans to gauge the chances of being assigned a cabin you will not be happy with before committing to a guarantee or else pay the extra to choose a cabin that will fit your criteria.

For our last cruise we used a door to door transfer service to and from the BICT. There were four of us and it cost $70 each (and that included pick ups and drop offs at two locations), each way for a late model, air conditioned Mercedes van. We estimated that was cheaper than taking the train and then a shuttle, cab or Uber. It was great. No fuss and we were not left hefting luggage on and off trains, etc. Although we could drive and pay for parking, we prefer to go the transfer route and leave our car safely at home.

We weren't too worried about getting to the BICT. a) we were using a transfer service and b) we'd read all the reports about it being out in the boonies.🙂

Be aware that some insurers won't issue a policy in excess of 12 months from the sail date.

No, Geoff, I'm a little more recent than that.😂

Friends of ours were going to be married on P&O out of Sydney and then cruise the South Pacific with us all in tow. Unfortunately, covid scuttled that idea. They ended up doing the deed at Mt Tamborine on the Gold Coast. Nice, but a cruise immediately following the ceremony would have been a bonus.

Have a heart, Mic. I appear in TV commercials! It's my job when I can get a gig.

That's exactly what she is saying.

Sir Paul is due to perform on the Gold Coast next weekend (I think it is). Friends live within spitting distance of the stadium and are hoping to be able to at least hear it whilst sitting on their back patio. Apparently that has worked in the past.

We usually just have a book handy or watch the passing parade. Although on our last cruise, for the very first time, we had priority disembarkation so we just got off when we felt like it. That was pretty awesome.

Wouldn't like to spend a day in it!😂

An improvement on the coffee cart🙂 Now, if they could just do something about the waste land around the Terminal..............😂

Bit like our less-than-Perfect Day at Coco Cay, courtesy of Hurricane Dorian.😂

Google P&O Pacific Partnership for further information on support for the South Pacific Islands.

Yes, P&O do help out and I believe are continuing to do so

Definitely Icon. We sailed on Symphony and although it had 6000+ passengers did not find it overwhelmingly crowded. We could always find a quiet spot to relax. The food was good, service impeccable and the cabin (forward facing ocean view) was spacious and comfortable. Wish someone would give me a gift like that!!!🙂

Off topic, but how are you feeling Mic?