arxcards

Yes it was. Very humid, and a 20 degree morning fog at our place on one morning. I believe some places had a record high dew point. It was bearable for me, but one of my colleagues was melting in it. Much easier to be cruising and swimming and eating and drinking and sightseeing and etc. Our slip slop slap now has seek and slide added as well Slip on a shirt (spf rated clothing) Slop on sunscreen Slap on a hat Seek shade Slide on sunglasses

Clearing customs is quick. From gangway to outside the terminal will normally take around 15 minutes, depending on the number of passengers queued-up in the atrium waiting for the ship to be cleared. First disembark is usually around 7:30am, which gives enough time to get to the airport by 9am. As long as the ship arrives on time, it is doable. Local advice from the cruise lines is to book international flights from 2pm.

It doesn't feel hot in Sydney until it gets to mid 30's, for me anyway. Any time Sydney gets above 40C, and there is a possibility of that in March, it is a dry land breeze/wind with low humidity. It seems to be quite comparable to what you describe in Texas. A day in the low to mid 30's with 90% humidity can be oppressive if you aren't used to it. That is quite likely in Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin and even Sydney. However, if you are staying pretty close to the coast in Sydney, sea breezes will temper most of the hotter days, and it can feel cool in the evening.

They need to stay domestic, as there will be many booked without passports. I think Mic has summed them up. As far as I can recall, Carnival has never called in Newcastle which is curious considering all of the P&O and Princess visits. Melbourne would also be a stretch for a 7 nighter, so I am leaning to an overnight in Sydney plus Eden. The other possible stop is Tangalooma. Hopefully the weather will be kind by the time you board.

Certainly by 8:30am. 8am is possible if the ship has arrived on time and disembark is going to plan.

By best guess would be to catch the shuttle to the first stop and get a taxi. The volunteers at the bus stops may have a better option. The Anzac Centre might also be able to help with transport info.

There is no generality in the weather patterns. The reef buffers the ocean and swell to a degree, but not all. You haven't said if you are visiting on the day as part of a land trip or by sea. A common theme through this thread is that it is difficult to squeeze in an independent tour on the day due to the time it takes to tender into Port Douglas from a cruise ship. There is no guarantee you will meet your reef boat in time, and no guarantee you will make it back in time for the last tender to the ship. While likely inferior, ship tours to the reef depart from and return directly to the ship.

Awesome. It is just a quick getaway and a suss out for us too. If there is something new for Royal, I am genuinely interested, but it always seems we have something already booked by the time they are launched. The best way for them to squeeze Virgin is to commit passengers to their cruises first. There is a lot of V advertising out there, and it is largely targeting new cruisers that the big brands can't afford to be giving up on.

I am a bit puzzled by the delayed announcements. If they already know, surely they want to get to get them into the market and competing with the other brands. We booked a cruise for March '26 a couple of months back. and it would be a shame if Whatsy of the Seas had something comparable that we might have booked instead.

Albany can accommodate most ships at berth. You can't walk off, as wharf access is restricted and it is around 1.5kms into town - a complimentary shuttle is provided by the town/port for those reasons. They are very accommodating - here is a basic cruise visitor map. Shuttle Bus Map - Albany.pdf (southernports.com.au) I have never gotten around to Busselton (Margaret River). Maybe one day. They pitch their wineries as a reason to visit but I have dozens of world class wineries only 1/2hr away.

+1. I would walk past the line and up to the Boaties to stay hydrated in air conditioned comfort till the queue was emptied. I think most of us have had a horror tender day. Ours was at Esperance. Apart from a bumpy day crossing a southerly swell at Port Douglas, QLD tendering has been pretty kind to us.

It is partly in the timing. On Majestic in October 2022, the 3 x tender ports were a breeze. We had only 1 cat + 3x ship tenders in the water on the day. On each occasion, we were off early and back by 1pm when the weather was starting to heat-up. On each occasion, we were on a tender or cat within 5 minutes. After 3pm, the queues get progressively longer. This picture is from a cruise mag from just 2 months ago - early November at Yorkeys Knob with Quantum of the Seas at anchor. I normally wouldn't borrow, nor mention the source, but since one of their writers likes to copy/paste comments from this forum without attribution, it is only fair. The time was 3:45pm.

Once you are tendered to the eastern side of the Opera House, it is a flat walk of around 800 metres to one of Sydney's transport hubs at Circular Quay, and from there you can go pretty much anywhere via light rail, rail, ferry. This is at the edge of a city full of shops & eateries. A Manly ferry will also get you to the Corso at Manly, or to Darling Harbour for plenty of dining or shopping options. The Mon O'War steps are also adjacent to the botanic gardens, so it is a beautiful walk in either direction.

It doesn't just apply to sailing from America - but, the drink prices when sailing from Australia do include the gratuity in the menu price.. i.e. the $15ish cocktails has the 18% included. For comparison, the drinks package also has the 18% included.

I am happy going with email at 3 months out. In these days of data hacks, I am not about to give over my details to a 3rd party intermediary until it is the only option.

You don't need an internet package to connect the app to the ship wi-fi. I could get the ships' wifi signal in the terminal, but it wouldn't let me log-in to their network until after we had checked-in.

I don't think these tender rides are overly long. As mentioned above, they use local catamarans to speed things up - not only on the water, but it keeps the queues short as well. If you are stuck with a Majestic ship tender, get up on the roof to enjoy the view and the breeze. Airlie Beach is particularly easy, and you can walk to the markets and/or a bar in town. Yorkeys can be a pain. The tendering is OK, but you are then up for around $25pp return coach shuttle into Cairns. At times, the coaches and tenders don't sync very well and queues will form. One plus is the tenders at Yorkeys drop you at the Boating Club. Bar opens at 10am. https://www.ykbc.com.au/

Enjoy your cruise and don't revisit any of this while you are relaxing at sea. Yes, knowing before you go is important, including overseas call numbers for bank, card services, travel insurance etc. You mentioned previously about finding another bank, but they are all connected via Visa or Mastercard services and have the same processes and policies and it is just a matter of luck of who is on the other end of the phone on the day. Holds do suck. That angry phone call from a wife stuck at the checkout while doing the post holiday shopping - I'm not going there again. Holds are prevalent for hotels, cruise ships, car rentals etc - a pseudo security deposit. For locked in accommodation, we pay as much as we can before we leave Australia. That also includes adding packages or OBC to the cruise so there is a minimal spending overseas. That way we are mostly using our cards/cash on meals and touristy incidentals.

Somewhat different process in North America to what it is in Australia. Since covid restart on Australian bookings, the local office would only look at requests within 90 days. I don't know whether that was due to lack of staff or just an overall policy.

I hope it has all settled down OK, and you are relaxed on the Branson Lady. Personally, I couldn't carry a load of cash. I would be a nervous wreck for much of the trip. It was bad enough when I used to walk 400 metres from a shop to a bank with that amount of cash. I think there is a lesson for all of us to know about the pitfalls of credit & debit cards, and what to be wary of. I don't know what has happened for you, but there are things like: Card being blocked when the issuer isn't aware you are overseas, Not being used to using your pin with purchases, and not being able to recall the number, Having pre-authorisation holds lingering on your card, affecting your available balance, Bank apps linking cards to funds at home being inaccessible at a foreign location, or not being able to do 3rd party authentication without access to your home email or mobile number. The holds can happen to anyone, and I agree you need some emergency cash, but I travel with a plan B emergency credit card as well. It is also important to tick all the above boxes before departing. Cash as a primary form of payment will be pretty much gone over the next decade.

Almost kills two stones with one bird. Based on A Day in the Life ...

I believe so, and the shape is still critical for the way the water flows under the bow for fuel efficiency. You would think that with sims that this would be a perfect science now, but there is still continued evolution. As with Alaska Airlines a couple of weeks ago, there continues to be moments when engineers scratch their heads. I wonder if Clive has redesigned his promenade decks on Titanic II

Shoulder can be a bit greasy, but I am surprised they would have it on the menu if they can't do it justice.

Yes, Kempsey. Co-incidentally, 15km west of Hat Head. Call in on the way to Brisbane for the cruise back to Sydney 😄

Great topic! We don't have a Singapore trip on the horizon, but just want to say this thread has some awesome options.