arxcards

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.

LOL. I don't eat fish much anyway, but it keeps my Barb happy. For a shortish day in port, it just makes for a nice little walk. Last time, we caught a shuttle into town, walked around some shops and some totems, and watched the pickle boats practice their water ballet. We then did a pickle boat back to the fisherman's wharf for a dose of Barb's. I still have a "good for one hop" token to use up, so we have to come back for that too. Sydney Opera House might be on the tourist list, but it is something locals should do more often. Much of Sydney's touristy stuff is brushed with history. Not that I see it mentioned much, a ghost tour of the Rocks is a fun evening and a great education. You should be able to stitch together a great road trip by then.

The OP would like WI-FI in the terminal for check-in, so no to be using mobile data. As Julie has mentioned above, just take a screen shot of your boarding pass. Open the image from your gallery and they can scan that for a quick check-in. Works a treat,

Charged daily I'm afraid. The $US currency ships of the Carnival brands do indeed charge daily grats, even when operating from Australia - that applies to HAL and Cunard.

We will definitely want another pilgrimage to Barb's Fish & Chips. Don't know when, but the Alaska cruise + Rockies combo has got to happen at least one more time for us.

Don't overthink it. You have more options when you book. We find the hardest part is deciding on what ship suits our plans best, and you are already there. So, cabin choice - extra space and amenities in suites. OK, you are booked. Then do you want a base fare or to pay for packages that make the fare even more inclusive. You can book a base fare and decide to upgrade it to plus or premier later, so it isn't even a decision that needs to be made now. Tomorrow is Tuesday, and there is an R in January. Bad luck though, as there is no westerly forecast for Sydney tomorrow.

I am wondering. How can I make sense of Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da in a sentence?

When organised ahead, I still find it convenient to order currency online via Travelex for pick-up at my local post office. The conversion rates are reasonable.

That would be the extent of it for us. We would normally be happy to dart home, a bit more than 15 mins away, but something brunchish would work and City Extra also has luggage storage. All the same, just go with the flow as there are way more important things in Lyle's itinerary than building in a cruise turnaround day brunch.

P&O does a better pho. One of very few dishes though.

No, that was Yesterday. Today though, I Feel Fine.

For us, Diamond Princess & Golden Princess didn't. Even Sun Princess when she first arrived and maybe even Dawn Princess had US & Euro to start with. Alternatively, Grand isn't full-time, but it does have an Aussie outlet with a couple of USBs. I would say it should be right on the night, but we will always travel with pin adaptors anyway.

Thanks. I have noticed that International dining room can't be pre-booked on the app though. I will likely just pre-book the same restaurant/same time via the app, then just adjust to suit when we are aboard. It has worked pretty well that way for us on Coral & Majestic so far. I don't figure there will be any difference from one to the other. In the early days of Diamond, each of the 4 midship dining rooms had a varied "signature dish" each night to encourage passengers to move around, but that feature is way long gone.

All good. Thanks.

Even for a cruise only visiting Australian ports, the ship is a foreign entity. If you board in Sydney, and were to fall down the ship stairs prior to departure, you would score a medical bill from a medical centre that has no connection to medicare. For most states, a coastal medivac will cost you a packet, even if the ship is within Australian waters. I don't see it as complex. Any cruise requires additional coverage, however there are some insurers that have an add-on cruise component to a domestic policy for cruises that only visit Australian ports. A domestic cruise is any cruise you don't need a passport for.

Pacific Moon, Santa Fe, Savoy, Vivaldi - correct. These are the midship ones on 5 & 6. On other ships these would be just 2 dining rooms, but they are split in half for whatever reason on Diamond. International is aft on deck 6, and was our fixed dining last time we cruised on Diamond. I can book the 4 x restaurants as anytime on the app, while International isn't visible on it. I don't know how that one is booked, or whether it is possible to pre-book in the old fashioned way. @OzKiwiJJ we haven't booked our dining assignment for next Feb yet. Which is the best one to go for?

The same applies to all Princess summer ships, with the exception of Majestic. They only fit Aussie outlets to the ships that are based here year-round (currently Coral). Majestic is a coincidental exception of sorts - she was built for the Chinese market, and the Chinese have identical outlets to us.

Next drydock for Crown looks to be from October 2025 in Singapore, pretty much a year after arriving here and 3 years after her previous one. They can alter power outlets on a crossing by travelling with an additional electrical team. In order to base a ship here, it is 99% sure they will accommodate the passengers with an AU outlet. Similarly, ,I would expect Coral to replace her AU socket with a Euro one during her departing drydock late this year. It appears that Crown's bed lamps plug into a Euro socket behind the bed. Nice there is something, but that is impractical - and they are unlikely to convert that socket to AU and also have to change the plugs on the lamps at the same time. As a backup plan C, a Euro adaptor will give you awkward access to 220V. In the days of globalisation, most appliances are designed to work across the voltage range. It allows the production line to make what is essentially the same item worldwide, with just a different plug on the end. Some even come with a pack of plugs to click on the one that suits the country of use. As mentioned, never assume though, especially with medical equipment. Most small appliances draw 12V or less, and it is large appliances or things that apply heat that are the most affected by using 110V outlets (kettles, irons, hair dryers/straighteners etc).

There is no Da Vinci MDR on Diamond. International is usually the fixed dining, with the other 4 being anytime.

My deli wife quite prefers Riverina fetta, the "smooth & creamy" one.

Us too. How did you find CD Ester? She was pretty good as an ACD on Coral, and we are hoping she stays connected to Diamond when cruising down here.

There might be more than just a faceplate change needed. A lot of the pics floating around are older, but current passengers are also saying that outlets are limiting. Even after a drydock late in 2022, there were no USB's sockets fitted. I gather Crown has never been previously based in Europe. Whichever way, by the time she arrives there will be an Aussie outlet on the desk, at least one US outlet to use with adaptor pins, and hopefully some USB sockets as well.

I trust that the soup tasted better than it looked?

The same in Port Vila, where for years we would trade notes for the $1 & $2 Aussie coins that had been given as donation for the hospital charity. They could bank our coins, but the bank charges were horrendous.