ceeceeDee

From the photos I've seen of Luminosa, I reckon the interior designer ate watermelon, pickles and ice cream at midnight, went sleep, woke up with severe indigestion and took to the drawing board.😂

You are so organised, John!🙂

You're welcome, Lana. It certainly sounds confusing! A phone call should, hopefully, sort it out. Cheers CeeCee

Hi Welshy Yes, she was refurbed in 2020. Typically P&O update the public areas (very well in my opinion) and perhaps do the soft furnishings in the cabins. However, the cabins rarely get a major overhaul. We've always had a good experience with P&O Australia. Sure, it's not perfect but we think it's value for money. You get what you pay for. We did a Caribbean cruise on Symphony when she was around 18 months old. Yes, she had the 'wow' factor and all the bells and whistles and we enjoyed ourselves, but we've had just as good a time sailing the South Pacific on the old Pacific Dawn (I think she was around 22 years old at the time. If you're ever around Tilbury, she's now sailing with Ambassador under the name Ambience) for a fraction of the cost and a LOT less people!🙂 And if, as you say, you're more interested in the itinerary you're way ahead. Cheers CeeCee

Totally agree! All I want is the bottom line! Showing the price before tax is the 'hook', then you get 'by the way the tax to be added on to that brings the price up to $..............'. It comes perilously close the false advertising in my opinion.

I assume there are not payment options on your mother's statement? I'd ring the cruise line. They can probably take payment over the phone using your debit or credit card. If not, I'm sure they will give you options.

I haven't actually seen Purple Rabbit, Daz, but there are a couple of short videos on the net. https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=P%26O+australia+purple+rabbit+show

We always say 'Take a good time with you and that's what you'll have!'

As far as I am aware, P&O Australia does not have a loyalty programme. However, any cruise on a P&O Australia ship earns points with Princess. Please be aware that P&O Australia is a budget cruise line and probably quite different to P&O UK. Their 3 ships are ex Princess (Explorer is the former Dawn Princess) and tend to be older. Explorer is around 27 years old. We have sailed on her sister ship, Pacific Encounter, which from memory is around 22 years old. We honestly don't mind the older ships. The cabins might be a bit tired, but they're comfortable and the public areas are modern. What I'm trying to say is that if you go on board not expecting a Britannia or Azura experience, you won't be disappointed. Wishing you a great cruise.

Totally agree, Geoff. We do the soap and water routine regularly and have little bottles of hand sanitizer (they clip on your belt or handbag) and use that constantly as well. With Noro currently doing the rounds, we will also be taking surface wipes containing Benzalkonium Chloride which I understand knocks the virus out of the ballpark. I have read that hand sanitiser won't kill Noro. Soap and water doesn't kill it either, but does shift the germs from your hands if you wash thoroughly. So far we haven't caught covid on a cruise (odds are it will happen eventually 🙄). Hubby caught it on land about 2 months prior to our last cruise (excellent timing) and I haven't had it at all. Thanks for the great pics, TOPC! We are considering Luminosa for a future cruise.

Absolutely. I have had many sun cancers removed from my face (and one on my shoulder). It is no joke. The Australian sun will burn you very quickly. Not only use a 50+SPF but keep reapplying regularly, wear a wide brimmed hat and cover up.

This is the one I use and found it to be a very good product

I was thinking the same thing! I don't believe he's over 80!! Where's he hiding the fountain of youth?!🙂 Must be all that cruising!

I think you'll be very happy with it. As hubby is fond of saying 'once you've tried a Byron mini, there's no going back' to which I reply 'Keep working, dear'🤣

And people do cancel ahead of the final payment date. We have friends who recently ended up cancelling four months ahead of the sail date. Definitely worth getting on a wait list and monitoring the site daily in case something comes up.

Thanks so much for the information on MA mini suites and Byron access. I was wondering if MAs got all the perks of an M1 given that the overall cost is cheaper for an MA in our experience. I was fairly certain that the MAs wouldn't have received the soft furnishings make over. The location of the M1s doesn't worry me. We're quite happy with the forward position, tends to be a bit quieter (less foot traffic) and we haven't found that there is more motion (though there probably is) compared to the mid ship position of the MAs. Appreciate your feed back

As a former Northern Beaches girl, I would definitely opt for Manly (sorry, Guy, no 'e'). Plenty to see when you get there and the ferry trip is relaxing. Go for a leisurely stroll up the Corso (pedestrian only shopping road) which leads to beautiful Norfolk Pine fringed beaches. https://sydneyvisitorguide.com.au/manly/

Definitely an M1 mini suite if one is available. (With the MA mini suite, I think you pay an extra surcharge on the base price to gain Byron access? I could be wrong. However MA definitely has access one way or another). Perks with a Byron mini suite give you access to Angelo's for breakfast (restricted to Byron mini suites and full suites), the breakfast menu is really good and the service is great (also not crowded) and there is no surcharge for things like eggs benny. Luke's Bar and Grill is worth every cent. Amazing meals. From memory I paid $58 for three courses (8 months ago) and hubby had two for around $48. Drinks were not included in that price but we had a drinks package. You also get a bottomless fruit basket and nightly canapes with a Byron room (not sure that applies to a 3 day cruise, ours was 7 days). BTW the coffee pods for the Nespresso machine are really good quality. We're not exactly the last of the big time spenders, but I would have an uphill battle getting hubby on a P&O cruise in a category below Byron mini suite. The beach club itself is great and the views are spectacular.

Coincidentally, this just turned up in my in box (prices are for interior cabin)

I suppose it is not all THAT unusual for some older people not to have a drivers licence. My late mother in law never held one. I don't know if it was true or a family joke, but the story went that she just couldn't get the hang of driving no matter how many times people tried to teach her. She did, however, travel extensively overseas, though in her later years her passport had long expired and her health prevented her travelling anyway.

To be honest, we used our passports for ID on our last domestic cruise. Not necessary, but since we have them............................

Come on, Geoff. You're only as old as you feel. 😂 I'm a tad older than you, but have been known to zip across the Lido Deck on P&O on a flying fox! On our last couple of cruises we went with friends in their 30s and had no trouble keeping up with them.😄

That's great news, Bob!

The following is straight off the Carnival website:

You could try emailing: