ceeceeDee

1 minute ago, arxcards said:

I have one somewhere. 

I'll await publication with worm on tongue!😄 If you can't find the photo, I'll settle for a shot of the suit without you in it.

Just now, arxcards said:

Good enough for little Johnnie, good enough for me.

🤭

1 minute ago, arxcards said:

I still have one, bought on ebay prior to our 1st cruise. It is a lovely yellowy green colour, and early 70s vintage. It is quite "suit"able for formal nights on P&O and Carnival, or for a fun casual night on Princess.

 

No way I would be seen dead in it on Cunard though. I recall a few Aussies being banned several years back for asking if they were OK to wear on formal nights. Those on the Cunard board at the time were not amused.

The Cunard board are all closely related to Queen Victoria?😆 BTW, Geoff, how about a piccie of the suit?🙂

35 minutes ago, cruiser3775 said:

Nah, that's not a safari suit. The ones I remember had short sleeves and lots of pockets with flaps, and were in pastel colours. Very James Bond!

 

 

Not necessarily. Yep, the illustration was the most popular with males, but I actually had two safari suits (I'm female btw 😄) back in the late 70's. Both long sleeved, one in burgundy with a  matching belt with a large gold buckle, and the other in raw cotton. They must have been the bees knees to somebody as the raw cotton one was stolen off my washing line much to my supreme disappointment and ire.

3 minutes ago, arxcards said:

But who's counting anyway?

Me!!!!😉

57 minutes ago, Ozwoody said:

Ditto, but thankfully only 73 days for us.

Seems like forever doesn't it, John? But time doesn't stand still and we'll be cruising almost before we know it. 🙂

CeeCee

56 minutes ago, Sparky74 said:

More years ago than I'd like to admit, I donned this for a fancy dress party. 

What a hoot!🤣

43 minutes ago, Sparky74 said:

Update on weather, Sparky. STILL raining. Some heavy showers, but mostly almost constant drizzle. So unfortunately you will have a wet embarkation tomorrow methinks. However, who cares? You're cruising, right? 🙂 And I'm sure there's fair weather ahead of you. Bon voyage and wishing you an awesome cruise. Looking forward to hearing all about it. We still have around 120 odd days before Encounter takes us away from it all, so it is great to cruise vicariously in the meantime. 😀

59 minutes ago, arxcards said:

It isn't me, just a meme.

I don't even know where the gym is!🤭

Not quite true. The in-person muster on RCI was in there on one cruise back in the day.

We're not quite slaves to gluttony and sloth. We use the stairs instead of the lift wherever possible.

On 8/9/2024 at 8:37 PM, tim_london0 said:

Sorry to reopen this

 

but don't people target destinations rather than ships?

 

I'm personally looking for a cruise around PNG, and so far the choice seems to be P&O or P&O (or a ridiculously expensive option with Silver Cloud).

 

If people really have this downer on specify shipping lines, where is it that I can upgrade to a better cruise option and still visit my desired destination? (that's rhetorical BTW)

Sometimes people target ships. We toddled off to Miami to try Symphony of the Seas in 2019 (at the time the biggest cruise ship in the world) simply because it was the only opportunity to try a mega ship (and we got a good deal). Not the only reason, the Caribbean was also an attraction but we wanted to experience the mega ship phenomenon.

10 hours ago, dazadelaide said:

We did a PNG cruise in 2019 on P&O and it was one of the best cruises we have ever done.

We enjoy P&O as they are not pretentious in any way.

You get what you pay for a no frills cheap holiday.

Daz

That about sums it up, Daz. In our case a cheap getaway from our local port.

2 hours ago, Muffinz said:

A good plan. I always try to lose a few kilos before departure because I KNOW I'll gain at least that much on the cruise

2 hours ago, Muffinz said:

Amen

You are far more giving than I, Daz

12 hours ago, Kiwi_cruiser said:

Ouch! 🤣

40 minutes ago, Ondine said:

Maybe you could butter them up and say how good it would be for public relations after the disappointment felt by Australian cruisers at their unexpected pull out.  They didn't do themselves any favours with the way we were treated with changes in itineraries, cancellations and all the rest while they were here.

Worth a shot. But I posit they don't give a whatsit for Australian cruisers, seeing us as very small biccies in the grand scheme of things. A shame really as I would think on a per capita basis (still small biccies compared to the US for instance) we are a fairly big market. However, the bean counters hold sway I suspect.

Not that my opinion matters to Virgin, but I still think that you should be able to cancel and get a refund, especially this far out. It's not like the deposit is due to expire next week!

8 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Not to confirm either way, but it appears Dora is no longer up for sale. It may mean she has been sold for another life of cruising, but it could also mean that she has been sold for scrap. On way or the other, it would seem her future has been decided.

Let's keep our fingers crossed that the poor old girl's destiny is the former and not the latter. I'm just too sentimental.🥺

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

Absolutely!!!!

10 minutes ago, Sparky74 said:

Yes. In 2022 we did a 3 night

comedy cruise as part of our “Are We Mad” trip and were very impressed with both the food and the service in Angelo’s. So much so that we asked to talk to the Head Waiter and we told him how impressed we were. 
 

This last cruise the crew just seemed to be going through the motions but if it was the end of contract for many of them they may have been in wind down mode. 

Anyway, it was still a good break. And I’m looking forward to this next one next week. 

Great attitude, Sparky

17 minutes ago, arxcards said:

I agree with above. 

It is an open deposit, and you should be entitled to have it refunded should you change your mind or if it expires. It seems we hold established brands to much more scrutiny than Virgin (both air and sea). They have a very casual way of taking money they are not entitled to. FCDs on established cruise lines are refundable.

Exactly

57 minutes ago, Muffinz said:

Ain't that the truth?!🙄

1 minute ago, dazadelaide said:

We booked a future cruise deposit when on Resilient Lady in Oct 2023, hoping to use it on a cruise in OZ in 2025.

After the pull out was announced we tried to get a refund but were told by Virgin they would only refund deposits that were placed in OZ but as we paid for our deposit while on the ship before it arrived in OZ we are not able to receive a refund.

Their rationale is that because we paid the deposit internationally we could use it on any cruise in the world.

The future cruise deposit is valid for any cruise within 24 months of purchase but we have other plans and will not be able to go to Europe etc in that time so we loose our money.

It was only for $500 but still it's disappointing to loose that money.

Daz 

What a load of rubbish!!! You paid the deposit in good faith and should be entitled to a refund. It was Virgin's decision to pull out of Australia. Frankly they are not doing their reputation any favours with this sort of behaviour. It may sound harsh, but the way I look at it they are using a loop hole to justify theft. To be honest $500 is nothing to sniff at. You could get an el cheapo short cruise for that.

17 hours ago, Sparky74 said:

We were on the Pacific Encounter last month for a short 3 night comedy cruise.
We ate dinner in each of the restaurants. Service was abysmal on the first night in Angelo’s. The other two nights in Dragon Lady and the Waterfront service was prompt enough but lacked the usual friendliness.

Food in the restaurants and buffet was acceptable but felt like it was massed produced to a price. 

Our stateroom was serviced twice a day but the stewards never even introduced themselves.

Things just felt a little “off”. Nothing we could really put our finger on but the crew seemed to lack the usual “sparkle”. We wondered if it was because of the impending brand change of maybe because it was such a short cruise. 
When we disembarked in Brisbane we noticed quite a number of new staff members waiting to board so that may have had something to do with it. 🤷‍♂️

It will be interesting to compare it to next week’s cruise which is 10 nights to PNG. 

Of course the length of the cruise shouldn't matter, but who knows? Your 3 nighter did sound a little disappointing. We'll be on board for 10 nights also so now I'm really interested in hearing about your upcoming 10 nights. Hopefully it will be a much better experience. Can't believe your room stewards didn't introduce themselves. In our experience they are always hovering in the hallway on embarkation day to welcome us aboard. Even when we went to another deck looking for our friends' cabin, the stewards on that deck were eager to assist us. And the service in Angelos was outstanding.

That's not good.☹️