arxcards

I hope it isn't delayed so much that it becomes a Hard Days Night.

I seem to recall 2nd formal night is white & gold themed, but nothing stands-out beyond that.

Azamara Journey. While Grand decided not to enter Milford Sound, Azamara Journey was already inside. Grand headed south to the other sounds and Journey followed after they exited Milford Sound. They are still stalking you to Dunedin, approx 25 miles behind.

That is a shame, I was looking at the tracker this morning and Grand was pretty close to Milford Sound at the time, so at least they gave it a try. Not to start any unhappiness aboard, but Azamara Journey had already made it successfully into Milford Sound this morning. Sure, they are a bit smaller and have more clearance.

On your Australian entry card, there is a series of yes/no questions on the declaration. We aren't picking on New Zealand, as the declaration applies to anywhere in the world. Just answer honestly with a yes, and join the declaration line. After your excursion, just clean your footwear as best as you can.

Just to test the mood. If they were bringing stuff back, would you rather be getting a tote bag or pillow chocolates?

I can do a month away in the US with 25kg of luggage, a domestic carry-on and a shoulder satchel for my docs & electronics. Barb needs close to 35kg, so there goes my spare space. Each time we come home and unpack, we have made a note of what doesn't get used/worn. After 3 strikes, we cull from our list. Apart from a basic medical & repair kit, we don't pack any "just in case" items. For years, I swear Barb left stuff at home on purpose. We arrive on Hamilton Island to find she forgot to pack swimmers - new pair from the boutique. Arrive in Port Douglas to find she forgot her sunnies - new pair from an appropriately priced tourist trap. For a Sydney to Sydney world cruise though, as long as you can get it to the baggage drop at the terminal, you can take whatever your heart desires. I know people that have driven a carload of luggage to OPT, then returned the car home and caught a train back empty handed, and the same in reverse upon return. All seems a bit Mrs Bucket to me.

He sounds like a bit of a try-hard. As much as a safari suit should be #1 formal night attire, I restrain myself to wearing for embarkation and island night. I have long had plans to get a spiral tie-die done to it, but it is currently the original light yellowy green colour. The real deal is getting harder to find in op shops. I spotted a store in South Oz that sells vintage clothes, and they are after around $300 per ensemble.

I am thinking that since the elegant ensemble came from Ipswich via Ebay, that to board our next cruise in Brisbane shouldn't look too much out of place. I am a bit concerned that Princess could put me on a watch list, and it might be better to keep in mothballs until our next Carnival cruise.

We have each scored two "free" totes from P&O, as well as another from a whole-of-cruise trivia win. Also lanyards, caps, T-shirts. I am at the other end of the pool though. Freebies aren't free.

It happens for every passenger that goes through customs in our international airports. Nice to know that they look at cruise passenger passports properly once in a while. They do most of their screening behind the scenes via the passenger manifest, but they do need to look the part once in a while.

I say I might. For our first handful of cruises, after returning home I inserted all of our patters/daily/compass pages into folders along with special menus, trinkets and various things to remember the cruise. It is sort of halfway between scrapbooking and keeping business tax records 😁. When doing that, most of the chits would be thrown out. But, since around 2010, I haven't quite been that organised. Each cruise has a display folder or a large envelope with all this stuff stashed in it. They live in storage tubs and are getting heavy to handle. I should start to organise it all or chuck it - but for now it, that info is still there hiding in the shadows.

Yes, more that 10 years. I can't be sure for our 1st cruise on Rhapsody in 2009, but we noticed on our 2nd that most bars were inclusive, but the wine bar wasn't. As far as I can recall, all of our Royal Aussie cruises since 2010 have had included grats included in the drink price. I might still have some old chits that I can check on the weekend.

The one bottle per port is a great compromise that appears to be gaining some consistency. It would be great if that sort of stuff was written into their policy.

If you have a port where you disembark at wharf level, the security guys are the ones that do the screening and know the policy of what is OK to be kept, what needs corkage, and what needs to be bonded.

Hi Barry, Personally, not since before covid. Since the plus package arrived, we haven't bought anything back aboard.

In Australia they do. The price on the menu is the drink price. The price on the menu has been more than adequately inflated to accommodate the inclusive price.

I think it simply means a later arrival. Their original schedule had them cruising back from Isle of Pines, but the revised itinerary has the final port as Lifou - an extra couple of hundred nautical miles. Rather than burn the extra fuel, I think they would rather arrive fashionably late, knowing they still have enough time in port to get everyone loaded for the following cruise.

For Coral on a domestic cruise, there is less chance of bringing a bottle on than Coral on a World cruise. In our major Aussie ports they also use the X-ray in the terminal vs the crew scanning your stuff on the ship. The visiting seasonal ships are more liberal, applying the same standards as they do in the US. So yes, ship by ship and also the itinerary. I find it best to ask security at the gangway when we are departing the ship, as it is a pain to have it bonded if you were planning to drink it aboard.

It keeps saying Icon, but I think it is just taking the peas. In times past, they would make sure they had the gaps filled in before moving bookings ahead into the next season. Luminosa also has a large gap when she arrives here in 2025. Much of it is set aside for music charters, but they won't be locked-in for months.

There is a 51 day void in Quantum's schedule from the end of March to the middle of May. Is there a drydock due? Singapore to Seattle via Asia would be a possibility?? There is no booking in Hawaii for Quantum in April 2025. You need a medallion to rub like a buddhas belly - all would be revealed on the next full moon. 😉

Prior to covid, there was a health survey form. That doesn't even exist anymore. There is no screening, no declaration, and cancelling a cruise due to covid is just between you and your travel insurance. Our health authorities, nor Princess, require you to test so it is presumed you need to be unwell to be doing a pre-cruise test. The same applies to the other 1000's aboard, so it is fair to assume there are passengers with gastro, covid, and general respiratory infections on each cruise and you need to take the appropriate precautions that apply to you.

OI. I tried mine on over the Christmas break, and it fits better than ever. Returning to a cruise near you sometime soon. 🤣

I agree, but $13K is for the same cruise with more elbow room and not much more amenity. It is only the minimum bid to upgrade. If I could justify it at the time, I would be all for it, but would rather spend 13K on more immersive tours than cabin space. I can see the temptation.

Well it depends on what they do. If a bus load of Australians walks past their tour guide/driver, they may as well be volunteers instead of employees. I tip the appropriate people in the US, it really isn't optional. It doesn't take much homework to know the obligatory amounts.