arxcards

Sorry, I misread what you were after. We have had a few interconnecting cabins, and the door handle was a bit of an issue to negotiate on one of them. There is a bit more noise from next door too, so we do avoid them if we can.

From a different Princess, this is similar.

Welcome back Den, Most of us had a couple of years enforced break during that time. Have you set your sights on anything yet?

Depends on who you read here, but I am pretty sure it is still right across the road from the cruise terminal.

Carnival roll calls are like that now, as they like to run their own race. Disappointing, as it is nice to make some connections and share ideas. Dravuni and Mystery Islands don't offer up much more than swimming & snorkeling. When in Noumea, the cruise terminal is a good staging point for independent tours. The Tchou Tchou train is a different way for a bit of a look around. Out of town, their 4WD tour of the Dumbea river is very scenic but has gotten a bit exxxy too. If you like macaroons or handmade chocolates, Morand's is is a few blocks walk from the cruise terminal. I only found a credit card receipt a couple of weeks ago, and checked out how much a lovely box of a dozen macaroons for my wife cost me in 2019. On the statement, it converted to $47 Australian for the dozen. They went down a treat though. Port Denaru - not a DIY tour, but an excursion over to Tivua Island is one of the best days we have had in the Pacific.

On turnaround days, not much happened outside the front, but they have log had an entrance and large windows along that wall. There is a corridor with closing glass panels in front of that, which allows access to Byblos next door - which only faces the front. Belvedere's had alfresco out the front on non-cruise days when they were around. For a brief time after the Sun Princess was built, she was the largest cruise ship in the world, so every ship would fit under the bridge in 1995. True, foresight only goes so far, and I don't think many futurists would have predicted the size and quantity of ships around today.

Back from the days when @NSWP was on the beat 😜

Gusto's is one of 3 restaurants that face the wharf at ground level, although Belvederes didn't reopen after the covid lockdowns. They also have another facing the wharf on the 1st floor. I like it as it was at Circular Quay too. Last couple of times there though, lots of the ground floor shops were empty and the cinema hasn't been open since covid. I like the toaster, and when I have the budget for it, like to do a pre-cruise night in Quay Grand. My point being that when they last developed East Circular Quay, everyone hated the idea so much that they may as well have built a cruise terminal, and there would have still been plenty of restaurant space and a much less obtrusive design than the toaster is today. Over 25 years, we have just come to accept it the way it is now, but it hasn't always been like that.

I would content that Gusto's in Portside is closer to the waters edge than the cafe's under the toaster, and they just had no alfresco dining out front on cruise days. If any of the above had been considered, it could have been designed differently. They would also have been able to steal a few metres of water for the wharf. It couldn't be a goer for a turnaround ship anyway, as you wouldn't be able to get a semi down to the bottom of Macquarie St.

We had one of these cancelled in 2020, which became 2022. We could have taken the refund, but also chose to kick the booking down the road and pick-up a very generous OBC of $900. The plan was to keep the OBC alive was to keep rebooking, or it would have been better to take a refund on the spot. Our 2020 to 2022 cancellation was rebooked around a year ago for this December while keeping a cheap fare and $900 OBC. I don't recall the "expiry" date, but I knew that it was all being issued with the intent of allowing enough time to plan an alternative. If you are unable to find a cruise within the next 9 months, are you able to get your paid monies refunded if you request it tomorrow?

Maybe I can get on Utube & Itsasham and sell my soul for a freebie, er sorry, I mean 4 days of hard work sharing vital ship information with the masses. 😂

Agreed. Using Kembla or Newcastle as a Sydney substitute is akin to the cruise lines that list Canberra as the port of call when they call at Batemans Bay. As much as I love cruising in and out of Newcastle, it isn't Sydney. Way too late now, but some foresight in the 80's might have had an East Circular Quay terminal instead of selling-out for the toaster. It could have been developed in a similar way to Brisbane's Portside, still including prime units, restaurants, exxy tourist traps etc.

Thanks for all that tier matching info. I don't know if the tail is wagging the dog so much. Virgin wouldn't be shifting anything if the itineraries were selling well ex-Melbourne. I guess people still use local agents, but we have been booking online interstate for years, so no Newcastle or Sydney agency will benefit from us because of a shift of port. I am a bit tempted for a balcony on the 4 nighter from Sydney, at a price, although I am not so sure about Barb. We cancelled a Tassie 6 nighter on Edge in March to start saving for our biggie, so I think I will wait and see what happens with the prices - still a bit high considering. Kudos to them for fast credits/refunds. When you look at how long the established cruise lines take, you would swear they don't have computers. We have grown to accept 4 weeks for this and 6 weeks for that, but they are inherently slow & lazy processes.

Even earlier. It turned 50 a couple of weeks ago. My first version would have been on tape for the car, and probably got melted out of shape in the early 80's. I still have some vinyl of his though, appropriately QE2. I started to buy his music then because of Wonderful Land, which was also pretty unusual to be getting airplay in those days too.

It will be a regular read. Glad to hear that Andre King has gotten funny.

I wasn't aware of the matching status thing. Are they trying to keep it under wraps, or are they just not promoting themselves very much? I would agree that after the fanfare of the launch, there has been very little of the usual Virgin promotion. Maybe they are moving in different circles and trying to attract a different crowd. They can't forget older and rusted-on cruisers though. Interesting that Virgin is pitching as a young brand. To us, Branson/Virgin was anti-establishment, but to the younger crowd they are very much part of the establishment. I see quite a few port bookings in Sydney for February. Some fit gaps for heading to/from Melbourne, but not all. If they throw up a short one out of Sydney, I will take a closer look.

Apart from the efficiency, there were plenty that hated the handle. Yes, great spot for an afternoon chill, PES and night club, but it turned the even more awesome pool into a cold and overly shady space.

Most lines use "influencers" anyway, as most generations and demographics are on social media. I have watched US & UK influencer videos for Virgin a year or so back, and they were pitched at an older cruiser to try something new. Not sure their target market is so much 25 to 45's, as they can't take their kids along. The initial Virgin fans back to Tubular Bells days are predominately boomers, so I think they are targeting a mix of retired boomers, empty nest gen X, yuppies & dinkies. Even getting past my mid 50's, I still want to be a rock star, but they can have their gyms 😄

As for the current/future status? Carnival and P&O have communicated to those with current bookings that the current arrangements for vaccination & pre-cruise testing are remaining in place until the end of August (at least). For me, that info came from a Carnival email a bit over a month ago, relating to a Splendor cruise in late July which we have since cancelled. Prior to the end of August, the cruise lines will know if the requirements are going to be continued or dropped. As far as I know, there has been no decision made yet.

There is the token "early bird" or extra OBC or inclusions which are there to help people think they are getting better deals but are usually worth less than a 5% discount. I see that as promotional pricing vs significant discounting because of oversupply. The latter is usually at cost or a loss and is literally a last resort. as they are usually last minute as well. If an influencer says everything is awesome and you can get a superficial deal when you go to book, it has to look like a great deal.

I hadn't already made plans, I just chose more convenient ones. There just wasn't enough pull from Virgin Voyages to attract my hard earned. Branson has a reputation for adding polish and relevance to an existing idea, and marketing it with style. I don't see that as innovation. I am a fan since Tubular Bells days. Discount prices are a last resort for any company, including cruise lines. Yes, quite a few people book cruises based on what influencers do, and that is why they are engaged to create cheap advertorial content. In the main, most of us have become savvy to this form of advertising now and can see through the manipulation, and even the ATO is looking at the "free" travel as a form of payment for content.

There is a bit to unpack. Virgin has said they don't want to do what their competitors do and love doing it their way. Pre-pandemic, they might have been onto a winner, but there is a reason why the existing lines do it that way. They saw an opportunity in Melbourne, but Carnival Australia is slowly backing away, and they understand the market there better than most. The Virgin brand is revered in parts of the world but not so much here, especially since the airline went bust a few years ago. When they originally launched here, they were the cheap seats. Most things Virgin in Australia are just badged - Virgin Money (remember the credit cards with a round corner) was just Macquarie bank with a badge, Virgin mobile was just badged Optus. Now that the covid cancellation credits are mostly used-up and interest rates are rising, demand for cruising (and other recreational activities) is slipping. This coming season has been mostly locked in, but less ships on the schedule for 24/25. I will generally jump all over a new ship offering to try it out, but for some reason Resilient Lady has escaped me. I would like to be aboard this summer, but we have chosen other more convenient short holidays on brands we know what to expect.

Too late for this season. They would have needed to be aboard and talking-up Scarlet Lady at around the same time the itineraries were launched.

I deduct from the red print that agents are saying they are having trouble selling open ended voyages, especially as the price of Virgin flights are doubly expensive. I felt it was risky for them to have so many open ended itineraries, but they are taking even more risks by changing the itineraries 6 months from sailing - partly by starting from scratch and also by upsetting a new audience of cruisers who leapt in head first when the itineraries were first announced. That isn't a great first impression, and they can't do it the way they juggle flights. Hopefully you get at least one of your B2B's as a modified Melb-NZ-Melb cruise. Fingers crossed.

110,000 GR tonnes