ceeceeDee

15 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

So Lynn & I celebrated our 23rd anniversary today (21 July). It was a pretty uneventful day. I made blueberry pancakes with maple syrup for breakfast.Then we watched the F1 race, which we enjoyed very much. Congratulations to young Australian Oscar Piastri for his first proper Grand Prix win (he won a sprint race earlier). I was quite happy with the result (any race without Verstappen on the podium is alright with us). I asked Lynn if she wanted to go out for a nice dinner and she declined; so I decided to try and make Tandoori Chicken. We were both pleasantly surprised at how well it turned out. I'm starting to renew interest in cooking, most recently giving my outdoor grill a lot of love because it keeps the heat outside of the house. We have been having a bit of a heatwave for our part of Canada. One of the best parts about living here is the moderate temperatures, not too hot in summer, or too cold in winter. Frankly 29c is just not acceptable in my part of the world. We are expecting the heat as we are homeward bound from Sydney but hope to find something more mederate when we get home.

Happy Anniversary Lyle and Lynn. Congratulations.

12 minutes ago, arxcards said:

I am sure there were plenty that had flights the day before but were caught out by winds & Crowdstrike. It was enough of a mess that many with cancelled Saturday flights were unable to get replacement flights on Sunday morning. 

Yes, it was definitely a 'perfect storm' scenario. I really feel for people who missed the departure. So stressful and disappointing.

We generally cruise out of Brisbane and I still worry that we will be caught in traffic on the highway. I'm perfectly happy to get to the terminal at least an hour before our embarkation time and wait, if necessary, to board.

16 minutes ago, Mareblu said:

Slow down the ship.  Don’t rush home.  Yesterday (Sunday) was 8c max here in Canberra, and the wind chill apparent temp in Thredbo on Friday was -24c.  On a positive note, 70cm of fresh snow fell at Thredbo over the weekend, and was still falling last night.

Just at the moment, even SE Qld is too cold for me!🥶

15 hours ago, arxcards said:

The Captain does very little in the locks. The mules keep the ship on an even keel.

It still looks scary as all get out!

18 hours ago, rkmw said:

They posted on FB that some people were finding it hard flying into  Sydney to board the ship  due to the outage on Friday and were trying to get Carnival to let them board In Brisbane but it’s not a sector port and has anyone heard anything about boarding in Brisbane 

Yet another reason to fly in a day or two early. We weren't taking any chances when we cruised out of Florida. Had four days in Miami first. Gave us a chance to get over jet lag and do some exploring. Not to mention get somewhat accustomed to the heat.

21 hours ago, arxcards said:

Is that NSWP Les?

Not in that era, but I have been to Harry's Cafe de Wheels as a teenager. Ye gods, it's so long ago it's amazing I remember.🫢

21 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

I am glad it is sorted out, but it shouldn't have been that difficult. All the best.🙂

 

I am trying to select a cabin for our son and his family. I definitely don't want one with the retrofitted double decker bunks. I phoned P&O. The girl I spoke to tried to help, but as I expected, they don't have details on which cabins were built with an additional bed/s and which ones were retro-fitted.

Yep, when it comes to details they rarely have any.☹️

47 minutes ago, Bubbeh said:

There are so many things I can say here but I don't know your husband and besides, from you other posts over time he seems like a good bloke.  What I did really want to do is commend you on your courage (not sure that's the right word but it's 6:31am and I have a head cold so my brain is a tad foggy) and fortitude to do a world cruise on your own.  There are times when I think that I would love to do that but then I think, who'd kiss my forehead and wish me sweet dreams each night. 

Don't think I would consider cruising without His Lordship. Afterall, who would do the coffee run every morning? 😮

12 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

P&O ?

A supermarket cooler bag?🤣

4 minutes ago, Tranquility Base said:

In the past I've seen Fat Yak.

His lordship discovered that beer on P&O in 2016. Frankly I think it sounds like an overweight cruisling running off the mouth! 🤣 Apparently it tastes all right. Beer's not my thing.

4 hours ago, Jean C said:

Maybe the upcoming election's spooked her!

It's enough to spook anyone!

2 hours ago, CDaze71 said:

Yes there are plenty of those type of quad cabins, which have the bunk beds either up against the wall or come down from the ceiling. Mum and I (as a twin) had one allocated to us and we were ever so thankful not to get the other types. On a disembark day I snuck into a few cabins and saw some of those cabins that used to be twin cabins as Star Princess and now are quads as Encounter and they are HORRIBLE. The cabins are already too small, putting in bunk beds make them even smaller. As Geoff said the only way to be sure not to get one of those bunk bed cabins is to try and find an old Star Princess deck plan and pick your cabin and tick no to uograde. If you get a hold of one of the old deck plans I'd love to see it.

My next Encounter cruise I was so determined not to get allocated one that I ticked NO TO UPGRADE and that was for a true twin INTERIOR. I'd prefer that than an ocean view or even balcony bunk bed. 

https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/ships/Star-Princess-II#google_vignette

Hope this helps your research.

9 minutes ago, Mycruiseobsession said:

 

Ok so I can apparently talk under water or until the cows come home! 🤣 

 

I get up early and do the shared breakfast tables too. I gues we are a type!

 

However, one morning I couldn't  believe the sheer rudeness of these woman at my table. They spoke to the waiter like I would imagine people did with slaves. I have never been so quiet in my life! 

 

I did make sure to thank the waiter and tell them they were doing a great job!

That scenario really makes my blood boil. I can't abide rude behaviour. Just where do these type of people get off? (hopefully at the next port and then missing the re-board time so they get left behind!). I used to work in the service industry many moons ago and people like that really drag you down when you are just trying to earn an honest buck to the best of your ability. It's very hard to keep the pleasant smile pasted on your face when all you really want to do is rip these people a new one. How would they feel if they had to endure this type of abuse in their own workplace? The sheer entitlement is mind blowing.

On 7/15/2024 at 10:42 AM, arxcards said:

Perfect angle on the 5th one - Statue of Liberty on the Lido deck.

Obviously Lady Liberty wants a holiday or just to get the hell out of Dodge.

3 hours ago, arxcards said:

The schedules were setup this way last year. P&O has pretty much ditched anything more than 11 nights beyond 2024.

In 2025, Sydney has just one 12 night Fiji departure with another in 2026. The same applies for Brisbane, with the addition of cruise either side of Encounter's 2026 Singapore drydock.

 

Yes, it would be a shame to lose the bounty cruise.

Was on my bucket list. Sadly it would appear I procrastinated too long.☹️

14 hours ago, Sparky74 said:

One of my other issues is that I can talk the leg off an iron pot. It’s nice to have someone to chat to at breakfast. 

You'd do well with my hubby who can hold a meaningful conversation with a lamp post.😆

I'm afraid I can't help you with your query as to whom you can escalate this matter. However, we have never had any problems selecting an exact room on any of our P&O cruises. Indeed for our next cruise I cancelled our original booking when the price dropped and then re-booked the SAME room at the reduced price. This transaction was done over the phone. Whether or not your difficulty is a result of the Carnival takeover I don't know as in my situation it was well before the takeover announcement and at this stage we have only paid the full deposit.

Either way you can't swing a stunted, particularly obliging kitten!

16 hours ago, Mycruiseobsession said:

 

Is that on cruise critic or do you mean on those social media ones like fakebook?

 

Cruise Critic P&O Australia forum.

Things have gone very quiet on the P&O Australia forum. I suspect the cruislings are all curled up in a ball of misery at P&O's demise. Or else they are all jamming in some last cruises on Dora and the gang and are too busy to post. 🤔

2 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

I always wear speedos whenever swimming, they are just underneath my board shorts.

That I can live with, Mic🙂

4 hours ago, arxcards said:

Worst possible combo, as attested by a friend, is to see a guy in a hot tub wearing budgies, and seeing those budgies falling down to the hot tub when he stood up, less than a metre away.

Oh my stars, Geoff. Now I can't unsee that!🫢

3 minutes ago, Bubbeh said:

Or up your bum bikini bottoms.

Ooohh yeah. Not flattering in my opinion and I've never found g strings particularly comfortable. The only good g string is on a guitar!😆

18 minutes ago, Cbtours said:

Best of both worlds 😁

And she absolutely loves it. We're never worried about her knowing that she is in the best of hands and paws. She adores the humans and has a ball with the 'pack'.

21 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

I have seen someone's speedos in a hot tub, thought it may have been a big night for someone.

I think I'd rather see them in the hot tub than on the person. Not a fan of budgie smugglers. Apologies, gentlemen, if they are your preferred swimming attire.