cruisin-m

I'd agree completely with Hammer61 and went on a 3 night comedy cruise. The overall experience is there and the crew are extremely friendly.

Food is decent enough in the restaurants without being amazing, but awful in the pantry - shame because the concept is good.

Beer and wine prices are pretty crazy these days, but can't say if that's an all cruise line thing just yet.

Entertainment is good!

I wouldn't do a longer cruise with P&O because I think the flaws would become a bit more evident/ bothersome but for a 3-6 night cruise I'd say it's a good experience and worth it.

Everyone has mentioned the shows, snack foods etc here that are different. I'd also add that included restaurants always have an upgrade or "indulge" section.

The price of drinks since the relaunch is crazy too, I just came back from a 5 star Port Douglas hotel and everything on the menu was cheaper at the hotel than on Pacific Explorer.

I'd definitely reconsider doing P&O on a longer cruise because I want to actually relax and not feel like I'm getting ripped off the entire time. I just sucked it up for the 3 nighter but I hope all cruise lines don't go that direction

13 hours ago, Jandex said:

I am planning on heading down to South Head to watch her come through the Heads at 9.30am. Hopefully she’s on time and doesn’t come in early! 
Will try to get a nice picture! 
Very exciting!! 

They've waited two years for this, she will be right on time I'd say ⌚😁

Just want to chime in that if people choose not to get insurance for whatever reason it doesn’t give you a reason to be cruel about them or condescending. People are entitled to make a calculated decision about whether it would benefit them just like anything else in life- if you are young, never had a health issue and have enough money to cover yourself than it is fair to assume that it is extremely unlikely that you will incur costs for laying on beaches in the South Pacific and can save the money for other things. On the flip side if you’re older or have pre existing conditions then insurance is basically essential unless you are very well off.

I’m not saying either is correct, just that different things work for different people and because people have different ideas on insurance doesn’t mean you can take a moral high ground.

I’ve insured myself on each cruise and never once claimed, luckily I get it through my credit card now so it isn’t an actual added expense. Just an example that I’ve probably spent $8000+ on all my travels+cruises across my life and never once claimed. I got peace of mind for it but I’ve basically thrown $8000 away unnecessarily that I could have used if something were to actually happen. (insurance companies operate to make a profit).

It would be nice if you could all meet in the middle here and understand if people are choosing not to get insurance, it doesn’t make them the devil, just that it doesn’t work for them as individuals. It works for you and that’s great, you keep insuring and knowing you’re covered.

I’d love to say an Oasis class ship! 

Reality will probably be that Ovation and Voyager does a longer season to make up for one less ship.

Going next week so will post back with an answer then 😁 

I was interested too because I get insurance with my credit card automatically that doesn’t have a policy number like regular insurance.

The correspondence from Carnival says that you can sign a waiver accepting financial costs if you don’t have insurance so regardless you’re never going to be stopped from going ashore. Worst case if they don’t accept that it’s on my credit card I’ll just sign that and get on with my day.

4 hours ago, Russell21 said:

Well cruisin-m, why don't you skip buying insurance for your next trip to Noumea and when you get there brag that you have no insurance and see what happens. That will prove your point......or otherwise.

To be completely honest it wouldn't be at the biggest loss to me not getting off at Noumea anyway, been there way too many times. 

And why would I want to not buy insurance to brag about it? 🤔

That is lost on me and I have no idea what point you're trying to make. 

I'll be happy just using my credit card insurance as usual and not bragging about anything to anyone but enjoying my cruise! 

8 hours ago, mr walker said:

 

So the New Caledonian authorities are in collusion (a French plot??) with the cruiselines & insurance companies to increase the numbers insuring so that the cruiselines can make more money in commissions ? Just by reading posts on here & FB etc, & personal knowledge of what friends & relatives do, I would say the percentage of people who take out travel insurance directly thru the cruiselines would be very small as most use 3rd party providers, either directly, or thru their TA or credit card offerings, or choose not to insure at all. 

I suggest that the NC authorities have acted to address an issue that arose with a visitor to NC, and thus now require proof if TI. Whether they individually check or not, it is a stated requirement.

Not at all - it has nothing to do with NC Government, it just seems it’s only anything under the Carnival umbrella that is suddenly pushing for Travel Insurance and in the same link that they send you saying that you require travel insurance there is a link to purchase insurance through them directly which never used to happen. 

I think you could be underestimating how many people wouldn’t have insurance when they get this and then panic buy the cruise lines insurance as the link is there which gives them the commission, it isn’t a conspiracy theory but a smart business move. 

I’m more inclined to believe it’s because some bozo didn’t pay their bill at the hospital, but cruise lines are always looking for new revenue streams so that wouldn’t surprise me either 😜

I would really like to know what would cause them to make such a sudden change and enforcing travel insurance specifically for cruises!

It's likely either- 
A- Someone was admitted to a hospital in New Caledonia, didn't have insurance and refused to foot the bill. 
B- Cruise lines have realised that insurance companies pay big commissions for sales and want to get a bigger slice of the pie.

As others have mentioned would love to know what the situation really is, I can't imagine them lining everyone up on the dock at Noumea and going through every single passengers paperwork, that would be a logistical nightmare.

Great news as UK immigration can be painstaking! I wish they could give us a definitive date that the change will take place, as all correspondence is so ambiguous “should be ready for the Summer”. 

Won’t hold my breath for an announcement though as that is the least of the UK’s priorities with Brexit looming. 

You can do it on every single Carnival ship except for when they leave from Australia 🙄

If only Carnival in Australia was actually operated by the real Carnival office in Miami and treated Australians with the same respect they give everyone else not like the Sydney office that treats people like second rate passengers.

No wine on embarkation day.

Room service not complimentary.

No beverage packages.

No lobster tail or filet Mignon on Elegant evening (on 7 night plus cruises)

No PYOB (poor your own beer)

These are all features on every other Carnival ship but apparently there’s too many wowsers in Australia to enjoy those fun things!

On 3/4/2019 at 11:57 PM, The_Big_M said:

Each to their own preference, but RCL also charge for burgers and fries, and Celebrity also experimented with that last year, but retracted after consumer protest - understandable when a Celebrity fare is typically at least double P&O.

RCL has complimentary burgers and fries all over the ship both in the buffet and in the dining room, it is only the experience of Johnny Rockets that is additional which I don’t agree with either and wouldn’t use it! Have had JR’s in US and it was okay but it was pretty cheap on land so don’t get the added fee on a cruise.

As as far as I know Celebrity experimented with a for fee premium burger but still kept the complimentary burgers as well but like you said dropped the fee burgers. 

P&O fares are comparable to Celebrity fares for a balcony cabin on a South Pacific cruise which is bizarre because Celebrity also includes drinks in that pricing. 

I guess the touchy bit with P&O is that they deliberately don’t serve any pizza or even a basic burger and fries to push people to paid venues, other mainstream cruise lines around the price of P&O at least have complimentary options. 

NCL offers complimentary burgers 24 hours a day with waiter service and Carnival has some of the best burgers (Guys Burger Joint) at sea that are complimentary.

Just off the Pacific Explorer and would never cruise with them again, everything seemed to be an additional charge on board and the entire novelty of cruising is lost and may as well just do a land based holiday with so many add on fees.

Really restricted dining menus with paid options, activities extra, pay for shows and constant up selling. 

Asking money for burgers, fries and pizza is so stingy! If it was Lobster or a multi course degustation they wanted a surcharge for you could understand but fries and burgers... 😳

On 2/23/2019 at 2:16 PM, CupcakeSusie said:

Good points, thanks gut. Similar dates, both next summer. The prices are per person - solstice is aqua class, ovation is a junior suite.

The JS on ovation is mid ship, deck 6, which is totally my happy place - nice and stable!

Just my personal opinion but I really don’t think the added cost for Aqua Class is worth it at all, you get the exact same balcony room with different toiletries+ a spa pass for usually hundreds more in price. The restaurant is much the same as MDR so no real benefit there imo.

I would book a regular balcony and then use the regular sauna/spa facilities that are free of charge, the paid section(thermal suite) only adds some heated tile loungers that really aren’t worth the $. If it were me I would jump from regular balcony to a suite for some actual benefits or better room.

They will keep you safe don’t worry, it’s also in their best interests for people to have a good holiday so they will come back to cruise again! 

Your itinerary might be a little different to originally planned!

People are going wild for The Key over on the Royal Caribbean boards and apparently they have been lifting the price from $19.99 to $31.99 for a lot of sailings so if you were interested and still have the lower price you may want to consider it 👍

Knowing RCI though they’ll hold a sale or a BOGOHO deal and reduce it back down to the original price and call it a discount 😂

Credit card fee applies, about 1.5% from memory on Carnval. The fee is waived if you choose to pay by a debit card though so if you have that option it is best 👍. 

I didnt get any overseas fees and I’m with ANZ.

53 minutes ago, 2ManyCruises said:

Are the drink cards available on all ships? We’re cruising Allure of the Seas this April and would love to purchase drink cards instead of the deluxe package. 

My understanding was they don’t offer it on all sailings and sometimes only half way through? 

Haven’t used it but have never liked these pay to push in passes wherever they are used 😂

I like everyone just waiting their turn or earning their privilege, not just paying their way for it it. 

So this reponse wont help you but I hope this fails!  😝

On 2/6/2019 at 2:40 PM, SinbadThePorter said:

 

We don't get to see much of Carnival in Brisbane, so I've never traveled with them. I understand we may be getting Spirit in 2020.

 

They tend to get lumped in with P&O. How do they actually compare with P&O in terms of the basics like food, drink, entertainment and service?

 

 

They compare like chalk and cheese. 

Carnival has far superior food, entertainment, drinks and better/more friendly service. It isn’t even fair to mention the two in the same sentence. 

Of all the the cruise lines I have been on Carnival is probably my favourite and P&O least favourite. Carnival just all round do everything well across the board and have never let me down. I find other cruise lines might be better at one particular thing e.g. dining but then will have terrible entertainment, Carnival have consistent standards across the board at a great price too.

It’s annoying it wasn’t there in the first place but it’s probably the travel agents mistake and they can’t add on board credit to a cruise once it has already commenced, hence why they have offered to reimburse later as it is the only solution now.

It’s a pain but at least they have offered to pay for it and you’re still getting exactly what you were promised. Relax and enjoy your holiday you will still get the OBC albeit through reimbursement. 

I think you need a new travel agent, just don’t lose sleep over it 🙂

Carnival Spirit definitely! 

Ruby Princess only if you were an elderly couple looking to eat well and relax otherwise Carnival ticks all the boxes for you a lot better.

Better entertainment, activities and comedy with a lot more to keep the kids busy. Also a better “vibe” and loads of fun.

 Since you asked, Carnival has similar priced drinks as Princess, maybe a tiny bit cheaper.

$8.50 beer

$11.50-$12.95 cocktails

Carnival has fish bowl cocktails for 26.95 as well which totally negates even needing a drinks package to get good value for your cocktails 😉 

5 hours ago, Brisbane41 said:

The problem is that it is just selfish and inconsiderate of other people. They do not understand the trauma and sadness they impose on other people with their selfish decisions. How are you going to explain something like that to a child on board who are likely to be easily upset with such things. Just last year I had a 10 year old cruise with me and like all people they are there for a holiday. Sad news like that traumatises the people on board and puts a dampener on their mood.

 

Thankfully the news is finally starting to publish the truth unlike the last time on that P&O Australia ship where it was a jumper and we had all these people commenting on here how she fell off and it was a tragic accident. I commented then that the only way a person can go off a ship is three ways. 1 - murder, 2 - suicide, and 3 - deliberate acts of skylarking. I even had people comment that I should add a number 4 to my list, but no I held my ground and was proven correct.

 

What really irritates me is that it also impacts on the designs of ships and the subtle changes they start to make. Particularly up on the top decks of the Grand class you used to be able to go right up to the rails. Now there are two rows of rails on the top deck preventing access to the edge. Its just irritating during scenic cruising and for photography if you have a wide angle camera and take a photo from the railing and then find there is the second railing in the photo at the base of the image. I wonder how long it will be before balconies are protected.

I agree with this, it’s terrible what happened but to impose that sadness on others whilst they are trying to enjoy a well earned holiday is really low. It totally tarnishes the experience for the thousands of other people on board.

Suite to an oceanview with 100% back. I’d jump on that in a heartbeat and use the refunded money to book another cruise in a suite 😂

Two cruises for the the price of one 👍🙌👌

This is very true, it’s also true however that most people only take the time to leave a review when they have something negative to say that they want to get off their chest which means there are thousands of happy cruisers out there busy booking their next cruise instead of a rant on the internet. 

I think it’s also easy to decipher the reviews for valid objectified opinions and serial whingers. 

Valid opinion- The food wasn’t to my taste and I’ve had better on another cruise before. 

Whinger- Everything was completely inedible and totally disgusting, I lost weight because there was nothing to eat. 

The last one is blatantly untrue, even if you didn’t think it was great. 

Some people just aren’t happy unless they’re unhappy and want the world to share in their misery. 

Like someone else else has said I’ve seen reviews of the same cruise I was on and wondered whether we were on the same one!