arxcards

Maybe I am just being a tad cynical here, but when a government regulates something, it usually translates into some sort of fee or environmental levy so that they can cash in on an increasing number of visiting ships. Alaska is crowded with large cruise ships - in port. Between ports you need to know where the ships are in order to try to spot them, and the cruise lines prefer it that way. The government only regulates the national parks, and with that comes a levy and park rangers that board to provide an educational narration. A national park like Glacier Bay is spectacular, and I don't know that the rangers really add much to the experience. I am not fussed either way, but the cruise ship passengers are the ones funding a national park that belongs to everyone in the US.

Pegs & pox. A fun day. For those other half magic elves in your life ...

Yeah, my turn next. 🤣 I mean, we are not setting out to be bogans, but we are not setting out to call any out either. I really don't care that they don't own a collar, but trust they are good souls behind their facades. After all, if they are cruising the can't be all bad.

Give me a $500 discount vs a $1000 OBC any day. Those days look to be gone too.

I don't know if you did or not. My wife had the same issues previously. After you board, log out of medallion user/pw account. Log back in to just your cruise - name/dob/cabin. Chalk and cheese. That was info given from Ocean Now that fixed my wife's issue on the spot, and I have read it here as well. Yes, it is a bit heavy. It needs a good connection, and better on a phone that isn't "heavy" with other app data clogging the cache. It has to be heavier than the Go Hub - it has more features.

You may need to see a DOC 😁

The dress code only applies to dinner, but Carnival is as loose as it gets - more so in Australia than the US. There is currently a debate about a large group planning on wearing their PJs to breakfast on Christmas day. Apparently, there is nothing in the mdr dress code to prevent that at breakfast or lunch. Go with the flow and have a plan B if they say no.

It is definitely a thing. Very OCD

I am banned from hanging clothes. I do give them a shake, but I don't use matching pegs or I use the wrong colour. My robot uses matching & colour coordinated pegs.

More eyes looking this weekend, so many are relying on a promotion as a hook instead of a real deal.

I am not so convinced they will be totally replacing the app, and it could be done with a major upgrade. It would seem silly to be losing login & profile info. DOB. Not sure on that. Is the date correct on the personaliser? Missing cruise - we had one last year and it was resolved via chat. It showed on personaliser, but not on medallion. They were manually able to tick a box that should have happened automatically. The app itself wasn't to blame, and advice here to delete and reinstall was useless. Maybe wait till the end of the week and see what the updated/replaced app does. I suspect your missing cruise will still be missing and will need intervention from support anyway.

While I remain paranoid about that, it should always be front of mind when packing.

Only one of my Hawaiian shirts has come from Hawaii. Cruise ship markets In Noumea, Lifou, Vila, Lautoka etc. have had some amazing designs - all made in China anyway. Lowe's often have ugly shirts to match.

How so? I find it easy, and am happy to help. The staff at the Ocean Now counter are briefed to offer any assistance to help once aboard. I don't know if it is good or bad news for you. My little birdy tells me the current app will be totally replaced for a new one - not just an upgrade, but a replacement. The new one is available from 1st December, and it is sure to be 100% free of bugs 🤣. The existing one will continue to work for a few months.

ABC contacted passengers that can't count ... "The money is to spend on the ship during the cruise. It is the most expensive hotel on the planet. The $300 would not even buy a carton of beer. It is $11 for a beer on this boat.

The refund prior to departure was based on them losing a port or two because of a butt scrape, but they were still going to get a NZ itinerary. That was plan B, and now they have begun plan C swaps NZ for Tassie. I know the T&C's say they can alter an itinerary, but apart from bad butt scraping weather, this was something they could have controlled.

Matt Wright's place? Sorry, too soon?

Funny thing is, that looks familiar to somewhere on the way to Litchfield National Park - Bachelor or Rum Jungle perhaps?

Last year, ships like QE (and others) still called at the larger ports of Auckland & Wellington. As far as I can recall, it was Bay of Islands and the fiords that were off limits. Other sat off Tauranga to get cleaned prior to cruising with a modified itinerary. No rat, or even a RAT. It is common for ships to remain at anchor prior to arriving in port, giving opportunities year-round for inspection and cleaning. Cruise ships are scheduled to cruise for 365 days per year, so unless they plan carefully, they will continue to get bitten by this.

It is a worthwhile thing to do without any ships below. The harbour is amazing alone, but what a day with 5 ships.

Those ex-HAL cabins were super comfy too.

My FB feed has gone a bit crazy with memory posts today. Eight years ago, when P&O was on top of their game, they had all 5 of their ships in Sydney on 25th November, 2015. Pacific Eden arrived from her inaugural cruise from Fremantle, while Pacific Aria returned from a shakedown cruise with the Today show aboard, ready to depart for her inaugural. The other 3 existing ships were the Sitmar legacy of Pacific Dawn, Pearl, Jewel. They greeted the new arrivals from anchorage points around the harbour. P&O were incredible, and they stitched the day together beautifully. We had an awesome day. Into Sydney Harbour on Pacific Eden, after an inaugural cruise that was full of challenges including an impossible tendering day in Esperance and cold plates that sucked any possible heat from the meals that were placed upon them. While friends handled our luggage, we took a chartered helicopter flight over the harbour, circling around the 5 ships below. From there, we reunited with our luggage to board Pacific Aria for her maiden cruise to Brisbane and enjoyed the Jess Mauboy concert and fireworks. After spotting this video, I even spotted Barb & I for a couple of seconds. Sensational day, with so many special moments and promotional trinkets. So what has changed since? The ships - all 5 have moved on, including two that are now razor blades. The people - the faces of P&O from aboard the ships have largely moved on, the head office staff that drove this media appear to have moved on as well. At least the venues aboard are the same as for previous ships, even down to the pantry and the dining room menus and water in milk bottles. For any that think I am anti-P&O in my posts, you are partly correct, but it is mostly from the disappointment of seeing how far they have slipped in the past 8 years.

I haven't a clue, but I agree that it looks quintessentially QLD.

We can relate to a lot of that. I have some really special shirts, each trying to outdo the previous one on cruises around the Pacific. I did a clean out of clothes last month but didn't think to go through that storage tub. I have a few empty hangers to resurrect a few for upcoming cruises. I am sure I would have 26 people show at my funeral, if only to make sure it is true.

Sounds good!! Just make sure you make enough to go around. 😉