cruiselvr04

On 4/26/2024 at 11:33 AM, PR-Texas said:

We are going on a cruisetour to Australia/NewZealand in November.  Trying to decide the best route and airline to take from DFW. Currently booking through Princess EZAir.    Quantas direct from DFW would be great but don't want to spend the extra $$$$.  Suggestions/opinions???

I’m late to the thread and by now you may have tickets.  
 

We just flew DFW to Sydney through LAX on Delta.  It wasn’t bad. Both ways we upgraded to economy plus and got the bulkhead seats. We were able both ways to put our feet on our smaller carry ons except for take off and landing. This leg room was the best if you don’t want to spend more. 
 

Delta did change our flights coming back and didn’t give us enough time for an easy connection.  We were gone 2 months so didn’t pick up on this fast enough or we might have been able to fix it.  It was a mad dash after a 14 hour flight, going through customs, running outside lax terminals to our flight to DFW.  We barely made the plane, not even a chance to use the restroom.  Otherwise it was great and I’d book them again.

The only thing better would be nonstop flights from DFW but they were significantly more.  

Definitely spend time in Sydney if you can. We spent an additional 3 nights before our cruise and 4 after.  There is so much to do!  Stay near the Quay for easy access to ferries, trams and the ship.  Our 2 months down under was unforgettable! 

Thanks so much for taking us along.  We can’t wait for August to do our Norway/Iceland/Greenland.  We’re also very thankful to have booked it before the ships aren’t allowed in. Now just as long as American Airlines flies we are good to go. 

Go to the Alaska port of call and find my review where I go into a lot of detail.  Search cruise tour and you should find it.

On the bus it was our group of 45 or so and the same the whole time. On the train we were mixed with another bus but always a Royal Cruise tour group.  Royal has its own train cars. 

So sorry this happened to this lady.  As others have stated, the ship doesn’t want to get in the situation of having to do an evacuation. Obviously the ship doctor was being too cautious.

We carry a small pharmacy including some prescription meds for just in case.  They used to sell cough medicine pre covid. Now the only thing I’ve seen on board is Tylenol/ Ibuprofen and maybe Benadryl. 

2 hours ago, island lady said:

 

 

True enough, though the typical Pinnacle cruises how many times a year versus the "once a year or less" family, that granted, most will spend big bucks on the short cruises?   

 

The point many of us were making, is Royal was starting to move away from it's older loyal subjects, who in the past, continued to cruise with them...filling the ships even during down times, and were the ones that started cruising heavily when restart after Covid began. 

 

This extension of a reward to their most Loyal Royal cruisers to transfer to a more quiet sister line...IMHO...was a very good move.  I know I appreciate it...and it worked for me.   Will it make a big difference for RCI?  Time will tell.  But I don't think I am the only Pinnacle who is now moving towards some X cruises....versus totally going away to other competing lines.    

The once a year cruisers spend way more than we do on a cruise.  But they don’t cruise 80-100 nights a years either.  Royal shouldn’t forget about the bread and butter as you stated so well.  We too appreciate the new perks on sister lines and are now more anxious to get to the big P so we can get better perks on Celebrity too.  And who knows?  Silverseas over Viking will be on our radar now.

We went from Azusa to San Pedro last month on a Monday. It’s about the same distance you’re considering.  We left Azusa about 9:30 and got to the pier within an hour. We had an 11 check in time. However LA traffic is unpredictable.  As long as you build in extra time you should be fine. I think we got lucky. 

This sounds like “ how can we put in a high end restaurant on a ship with no ocean views”. Let’s pretend we’re on a train….Having had fine dining on an actual train I don’t think this appeals to us. 
 

One of the things we miss on the bigger ships is being able to see the water while dining in the speciality restaurants. 
 

I’ll look forward to reading your reviews though. 

13 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

Yes I can understand that. 

 

Did your other B2B include New Zealand or just Australia?

We were required to do this on a cruise that went from Australia to NZ and back to Australia. 

On 6/8/2024 at 1:14 PM, c-leg5 said:

That is interesting and a hassle! 
 

was this only for the first turnaround? Was it because this was the ships arrival in Australia as opposed to point-to-point/RT within the country? 

This was for all ships coming into Australia.  When we went B2B around Australia we didn’t have to do this.  Just all ships coming in. 

We always hang a sign from magnets on our door.  It helps us find our way home.  
 

Interestingly, in Australia and NZ, it’s not a thing.  We were about the only ones that did so. 
 

Have fun, just don’t use tape, only magnets. 

6 hours ago, mo&fran said:

Today is not a good day. My wife Maureen passed away this morning.

I am so very sorry.  

They sometimes have a small discount for previous cruisers but nothing like Royal and Celebrity.  Viking is a good product but different. 

12 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

I didn't realize they don't have a loyalty program. That seems strange not to  give benefits to loyal/repeat customers.  Of course, most of us  don't  sail for benefits, but they are nice when offered. 

Enjoy your cruises. 

17 hours ago, njkruzer said:

In Costa Rica in October on Radiance Canal cruise, all aboard was 9:30, sailaway wa 10.  When we left the dining room noticed only 1 gangway down, 4 officers standing on dock staring at the pier, waiting... there had been a rain storm earlier, we had to turn around because of a downed tree and were 1/2 hr late at 5:30. At 9:30 shore excursions were still stuck.  New buses had to be sent to rescue passengers.   Also saw police bring passengers back who were stuck other places.  Didn't hear that we were missing any passengers when we finally left.  

We were Radiance too.  The last passengers on were a couple who had taken private transportation and were also stuck behind the fallen tree.  It was an awful storm.  The tree fell just after we passed and we were late getting back too. Another bus that left the excursion site right after us got trapped and got back 3 hours late.  The rain was torrential.  

14 hours ago, vjmatty said:

They still heckle. I was on a ship excursion in St Lucia that was late, along with a several other tours totaling over 50 passengers. There were still shouts and catcalls from the balcony. Somebody in the group yelled “it’s a ship excursion, stupid” and everybody shut up all embarrassed 😂

We were on a catamaran in St Lucia where that happened.  We were after all aboard but just before sail away.

On both trips I’m glad we booked with the ship.  

We’ve seen security bring out documents/passports to leave with the port agents when people are late getting back to the ship. If we don’t go with a ship excursion I try to remember to take a picture of the port information on the compass. If you’re only a few minutes from the port, stuck in traffic, you could call the port agent and let them know what’s going on.  It might help them wait for you instead of no one knowing where you are or how long you’ll be. No guarantee but it’s worth a try. 

15 hours ago, Tlbecker1 said:

I agree with you.  The last time I did a B2B meeting was ten years ago.

We were on a B3B in Australia/NZ this year.  They had a well attended meeting each time.  Perhaps because it was more complicated and larger group?  First turn around you had to pack EVERYTHING, put your suitcases out the night before with special tags, even if you had the same room and once you got back on you couldn’t get off again to explore the city.  You could only leave the ship if you got off early and anything you didn’t want checked you had to carry off and carry around with you. This is the only time we’ve run into something like that. We didn’t want to cart around a heavy back pack all day with iPads, kindles, and everything from the safe so we just stayed on board and went to the lunch. 

If you want a hotel under $200 on a weekend in Galveston you need to stay north of the island near NASA in Webster or near Hobby Airport ( which isn’t in the best neighborhood.) Galveston is crazy high on weekends. It’s less than an hour drive from either of those locations.  
 

For actual Galveston I book as early as possible.  I got the Tremont for $300 months ago and it’s now over $600 for our night. The Tremont is nice but I wouldn’t pay that. So glad I booked early.  

We requested a lounger on our extended Brilliance balcony and got it. I’m sure it varies by ship on what’s allowed.

What’s the reason stated for them being removed? Safety?  You can climb on a chair just as easy as a lounger or a stool.  Makes no sense.

2 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

 

Great advice. I have copied and pasted this into my notes. The sheet they gave me says to wear gloves when putting it on.

 

 

 

 

 

Im going to ask the doctor about that and using Vaseline. I would think that would help.

 

 

 

Hats don’t bother me just need to be more mindful of wearing it.

I had skin cancer go to a nerve requiring immunotherapy so do your cream. I’m still getting MRIs every 6 months.  Be very careful as others have said around your dogs or pregnant women.  
 

Having almost lost my life to skin cancer, squamous and Basel, not melanoma, I still cruise.  I wear sunscreen everyday.  Hats when out. Rash guard and shade with 50 spf on a beach or boat.  My days of sitting in the sun are over. I take Vit D instead.  But I’m not going to quit doing what I love to do or stop going to grands soccer games.  I’m just more careful about it now. 

The best part is watching everyone else put their bags out and leave.  Meanwhile you get to sleep in a little, and sometimes for an hour or so have the ship to yourself. 
 

There will sometimes be a consecutive cruiser lunch. 
 

Since you have the same cabin I would not consider putting in a Royal up. To us, it’s not worth the move.

Does anyone know if you can bring back unopened reindeer sausage into the US?  I wouldn’t want to buy it to just have to throw it away. 

Although it’s not listed we’ve been able to get a free hot chocolate instead of the americano or latte.  It doesn’t hurt to ask. We don’t care for the powdered stuff but like it with syrup and milk. This could be because our last 2 ships (Brilliance and Explorer) had non working machines in the lounge.

What we’ve been told with the BOGO.  Book for any day in the first 2 days.  They will go ahead and charge you at the time you book so it looks like you used it the first 2 days for accounting purposes. But we’ve actually dined further into the cruise with reservations made the first two days. Most of the time we’ve also been able to book Izumi with it.  YMMV on certain ships.

DH says he’s ready to jump in!  I’ll pass and hold his towel and robe.

I saw someone bringing one off Explorer a week ago.  However I would definitely fill out the form and add what you’ll be bringing on board.  You don’t want to be denied boarding. Do not assume because it’s not on the form that you don’t need authorization. 

10 hours ago, twangster said:

Brrr. Not looking forward to the cold but at least we’ll know how to pack for August. Rain boots, parka and layers underneath.  Do you recommend water proof pants? Guess we need to get some.

We have a tour booked with Blue puffin for the North Cape.

We wish Celebrity would bring ANY ship to Galveston.  There was talk but nothing has come out of it.