arxcards

As part of Premier, you get a "medallion device" which is currently a sports slip. At present it is a nice metallic blue. Also as part of Premier, you get registered in the door prize game. On the night before Eden we won a door prize. Eureka, I won a sports clip for my medallion - clear with a choice of coloured ring. I found it hard to hide my excitement that you get one of these with your package and the chance to win another one. The photo gallery staff didn't see the irony of this and thought I was being ungrateful. They are $AU12 to purchase. It was really hard to find where to claim the prize, so we dropped it in the lap of the suite concierge (he was awesome BTW). One of the other guests in the lounge was talking about a free cruise, but thought it was a casino related freeby. Once guided through the app, turns out they won a cruise - 7 nights in a balcony cabin via the cabin door prize (1:100,000).

I can't offer any personal info on MSC, except that I have been hearing/reading very mixed reviews for years. Norwegian Jewel however was quite a nice ship for us, as well as her sister Pearl. The cabins are a tad on the small side, but i couldn't otherwise fault our NCL cruises.

Anyone who books with an agency that has a range of fees deserves that agent. You are the boss, and should know upfront. When covid hit, we expected to lose some money, as many of those cancellations were out of everyone's control. Our agent refunded 100%. The only question we were asked was if we wanted to hold a credit or get a full refund. We like to do our homework and put together our itinerary, but also give our T/A a crack at putting something together. A good agent is an expert at this stuff, and ours usually finds something extra to enhance our schedule. For an online cruise or flight booking, it takes little skill so either or. We usually get a bit of token OBC via our agent. With the right agent, the plus for us is hearing the same voice on the phone each time, and trusting what he has to say.

We are just leaving Central on the train home after a relaxed breakfast and final pack. We had a great few days, have booked another on Diamond and are looking at finding another shortie. I think that could be our last Majestic cruise though. Our first Princess suite in a long time, so plenty of surprises in the Concierge Lounge. Surprise is the operative word, so we didn't get the max benefit. No trip review coming up, but I will put together a bit of info on the suite life.

Why, so many people are unkind. (a Kamahl reference)

Back in Sydney again. I could have used another day.

I will make sure to send a toast to the Shady Oaks on the way past. Are you still home Leas, or have you moved in already?

Barely a wobble so far. Not sure of the current speed, but it feels like we are making-up a bit of lost time.

I didn't spot the red carpet.

They are just the ghosts of Lelepa past, present & future. 🤣

Partnering with the big kangaroo, does that mean they are selling ghost cruises and you will be sailing without luggage?

I think part of the snag was when passengers were booking the fare type, you couldn't book one passenger on plus and the other on standard. As far as I can tell, you can't book direct online that way, but you can split your fare type over the phone or when booking with an agent.

Nice!

Board Brisbane 10th Feb '25. Qld Coastal for 7 nights back to Brisbane. Stay aboard for another 4 nights back to Sydney via Newcastle. A nice way to celebrate another decade gone.

That could be it. Hennesey XO could be what was in the dining room. It just said XO on the menu. Remy is what we were drinking last year - it is $25 on the app we are refusing to order from. We booked a local cruise on Diamond this morning.

Itinerary driven, we will cruise on most lines. There are differences and there are similarities. Cunard is white glove service, but QM2 aside, comparable in so many other ways. I had my best ever breakfast at sea this morning. We find highlights in most cruises we do, regardless of what name is on the funnel. Whichever way, Carnival Corp will mix & match their overall fleet in order to profitably fill cabins, and they consider that a fair % of passengers will settle for 2nd prize. Basing a Cunard ship here was a luxury while our market was going gangsters. Make the most of it while it lasts.

Do they do good rice ctackers in Sakata? How are your cognacs? From one Princess to another, XO is now $AU39 here on Majestic. I just laughed. It was somewhere around $20 last season wasn't it? Seems for Premier, they want those packages to drink cocktails instead of top shelf spirits.

Outlets vary by cabin type. Each cabin will have a single Aussie outlet, plus a minimum of 2 x USB-A sockets. There are also US & Euro socjets, so if you have a pon adaptor, you gain an extra outlet. The inside temperature is pretty neutral. Princess still has formal nights. You should get two, with the 2nd one also having a white & gold theme.

At least the Port Douglas mirage is real.

Speaking of squat & gobble, a picture of our ex-pm in the concierge lounge - sorry, can't be unseen.

Australian based cruises are $AU aboard and inclusive of gratuities. A can of coke is $4, a glass of postmix coke is $3. You also byo cans of coke aboard. There is a "soda" package, of which you will see a price on your personaliser. This is for postmix. If you are questioning the value, the packages are usually more expensive.

Loyalty Islands are somewhat linked to New Caledonia by association, but are part of a different island group. Lifou and Mystery Island are not part of New Caledonia, geographically.

Leftover Alaskan Brewery beers on Majestic too. We scored them in our mini-bar to boot.

Thinly veiled hints are also on the non-gratis list for the forum. It pays to check the guidelines when joining. We have booked direct, we have booked overseas, but we pretty much book with an online agency now. It isn't the agency for us, but the agent. When you find one that is awesome, they are pure gold. It isn't just the price, but the service. The ability to work outside office hours to secure something special, or to react to a limited deal. If I could name our agent here, I still wouldn't. The good agents already have a pretty full book, and I don't want to dilute the service we get. If you are hunting for an agent, I would suggest asking the cruise line you are booking whether they have PVPs you can engage with.

Usually for a bucket of beers in Oz, it is Carnival or Royal Caribbean. We had a bucket 🪣 while we were on Star Princess in Alaska, but haven't had one locally. I will ask though.