Kristelle

I am going on a river cruise so they dont have self serve laundries on board. But I guess same advice about ships liquid soap applies - or I will take a cake of velvet soap that I have used for handwashing delicates at home.

for handwashing underwear and such in bathroom sinks. seems easier for packing than taking powder or liquid. have never used them before though - where does one buy such? I know you can get them on ebay but buying in person from a shop would be easier and cheaper - do supermarkets or camping stores have them? Do people who have used them find them effective?

Very happy with my Adelaide Crows team this week after a shocker last week.

I would be less worried about claustrophobia and more worried about divorce. Well,not quite - but often about a week or so into a holiday we have some silly argument about the TV remote or the toothpaste or something equally trivial or pathetic, a symptom of spending too much time together compared to our usual lives of separate jobs etc.

Australia has been metric for half a century, an fully converted to metric now, having grown up with it nearly all my life. and decimal currency - which I believe you have in UK now too?

Thanks for your tips everyone - we are doing Amsterdam to Budapest cruise with Scenic, 14 nights - but we are spending few days in London first for family reasons and then 2 nights in Paris before train to Amsterdam to board cruise.

canal archive - we are staying at the Strand Palace hotel in London which the travel agent tells us is a short trip by taxi to the international train station.

when we were in China (huge country compared to France obviously) we went on a bullet train. took 4 hours when the equivalent flight would of taken 3/4 hour - but by the time you factor in waiting at the airport beforehand, and transport from the airport into the city before and after (train leaves/arrives in center of CBD's) the total time was probably about the same. We are taking train from London to Paris and then Paris to Amsterdam prior to our cruise in September Travel agent recomended this rather than flying.

Plenty of people getting Covid in my home town, who haven't travelled anywhere. I am vaccinated to the most recomended and other than normal hygiene procedures, am not curtailing activities or travelling now Get vaccinated, avail yourself of anti virals if you get Covid and are in the criteria for such and carry on with life. Because I dont think there is going to be a future without Covid - it will be around like influenza, whooping cough etc But I recognise I am relatively young and no health conditions so my personal risk assessment might be different to others.

so at least $150.000 for a couple. I think (actually no 'think' about it! 😆) it is way out of my price range. Even if I had such money it wouldnt really be for me -I don't want to be away from home for 55 days, I find about 3 weeks is my holiday limit and many of my trips are shorter - then I'm ready to come home. Not to mention not having that much AL available to me oh well, back to the drawing board..........

Enjoyed reading your review and all the photos - loved getting a first hand account of a cruise. my cruise is not until September so am cruising by proxy with reviewers until then 🙂

Bilbies are cute. but unfortunately endangered species now. There are groups trying to save the bilbies and one of their fund raisers is Easter - and you can buy chocolate Easter bilbies instead of Easter bunnies

thats a nice gesture. Dog club I am in has a big cake every Mothers and Fathers day and free slice for all members after training.

I just found them on google images - they aren't my exact shoes but something similar to show people sort of thing I meant - as 'ballet flats' tends to imply those dainty flimsy sort of shoes - which I agree wouldnt be suitable for outside walking in. I agree comfort is more important than looks and definitely sore feet wouldnt help one enjoy anything at all. I do wear the flats like that to work in summer when I wear 3/4 pants to work - not walking on cobblestones or wet rocks, of course - but I do know I can comfortably wear them all day.. am on my feet quite a bit working. Worst case scenario - if I did find they dont work for me then its lace up shoes and socks with every day outfit and too bad about how it looks. ☺️

well it does include Bruny Island which is a Tasmanian island. doesnt include Tiwi islands or any of the islands north of Darwin. Interesting question - which of those listed have posters been to? Me: Norfolk Island, Bruny Island, Kangaroo Island, Hamilton Island, Rottnest Island

I do wear dresses sometimes in summer - but I dont think the weather will be warm enough for them my work shoes are good quality black leather lace ups but I think they would look a bit silly with 3/4 pants.....the flats I have in mind are not the dainty ballet flat type shoes, they have a firm sole and a strap across the front - similar to these... I'm thinking now the dressy heeled sandals can be omitted as all day times will need strong walking shoes and evenings will be too cool for anything but long pants of some sort with either of the day shoes or the ankle boots?

they look to me to be doing similar to Crows in 2018 - ie make the GF year before like we did in 2017, lose it in poor game and then crash the year after.

Hope this is right place to post this, even though it is about a river cruise. Have not been on one before (nor an ocean cruise for that matter) No formal nights on river cruises. (although going to Moulin Rouge in Paris first) Going in September so weather at our destination will be around 20 celcius average. I am not taking any skirts or dresses. Just 3/4 pants and long pants/jeans I thought one pair of good walking shoes, probably the black laceups I wear to work - so lace ups but not sneaker looking, 1 pair of ankle boots with medium heel - can wear with skinny jeans or dressy pants, 1 pair of ballet flats in case it is too warm for shoes/socks in day time, Maybe 1 pair of dressy mid heel sandals?? so 2 or 3 pairs have to fit in suitcase and wearing 1 on flight does that seem about right, too little, too much, any occasions not covered? thanks for your advice.

All teams go in cycles - teams that have won premierships can be floundering in bottom half a few years later - and vice versa. Crows do seem to be on the up - but has been a slow rebuilding process.

Oh Ive had some of those long seasons in last few years too (Adelaide Crows fan)

I havent seen any free RATS in SA (but havent been looking either) but they are certainly available cheaply and easily everywhere now. Whereas when we went to Norfolk Island in Jan 2022, and RATS or PCR was a pre requisite for entering, I had to search high and low to find any and chemists etc had waiting lists.

We are away for almost 3 weeks in total - pre cruise and then 14 day cruise Yes, certainly questions which is the best anything are subjective and giving specific criteria is going to get better answers.

I guess different things are more important to different people - real champagne is of no interest to me - would rather cheaper laundry costs.

well, included cocktails would be a nice shock 😍 My impression was that wine, beer ,soft drinks were included, not 'premium drinks' but on checking the literature it says "Your premium beverages – wine, beer, cocktails, spirits – are included and available all day and not just at mealtimes." - so it seems that would include a cocktail whenever ( I anticipate just now and then in the evening not "all day" 🤣) and DH likes a Jim Beam or Jack Daniels sometimes - well known regular spirits Pleasant shock to know they are in included drinks. tiny foot note says this does not include some fine wines and champagnes - since I rarely drink wine, this will make no difference for me. What sort of things would the onboard shop sell? - toiletries if somebody forgot to bring deodorant, hair spray or suchlike and small sourvenirs?

Thanks 1of4. I do not intend to use a hairdresser on board. Do you pay just to go in the spa - or is it for massage type treatments - which I would not use either Might treat myself one night to a fancy cocktail or two - which would be in the non included drinks, I'm sure. haven't seen anything about included OBC in Australian literature - but I guess if I give myself a credit card allowance of, say, $100 Aust dollars, I might use it on laundry, additional to the free bag included once per cruise and to fancy drinks once or twice.