dreams_of_travel

Thanks for that explanation. So any specialty dining reservations have to also be paid with a card vs using OBC? That's quite annoying IMO. I have credits that are use or lose, and I have to wait until onboard to use them 😛 which of course works in Princess' favor if I wait to book the higher cost wifi onboard. 🙄

Why can't you use your OBC to book the wifi? Why do I have to charge it to a credit card? 🤦🏻‍♀️

I knew I had that wrong. LOL! I will definitely look for those next time. They look yummy!

@YukonHusky you may find some info, or some comments about this tour if you post over in the Australia/NZ ports of call forum. They are a wealth of info over there with many locals giving great information. Often if there is someone who can at least direct you where to better look for the info you need.

Ooooh I have not heard of the Kumara chips (aren't these called crisps like in the UK?). I will seek these out in November. Same with the milk coffee. I love having new things to look for, and try. 😄

100% accurate! When I was in Dunedin last January I bought two triangular short shawl/poncho pullover, and a couple pair of socks, all made from the wool/possum blend. Best purchases EVER! says the person sitting in their iced covered snowed in house wearing one of the shawl/ponchos. I can't wait to be back this November to buy ALL. THE. THINGS. LOL! @cookiersmom I would suggest some NZ greenstone jewelry with traditional designs. They are unique and a pretty reminder. I have yet to get myself some Australian opals, so that is on my list for my trip this year. And the possum/wool things.

Your post made me laugh. Thanks for the info about the Gondola and city centre. I have only done a drive through the city on a recent cruise excursion, so I hope to see a bit more this time around.

That is the opposite of my experience with the Taronga Zoo on 30th of October. I wonder what changed between my visit and yours. We saw all the animals, got a close up experience with the kangaroos, and quokkas in the kid area as well as got talk to one of the docents who was wonderful at explaining things. The only thing not operating was the sky gondola. It is disappointing to not have a good visit. I was able to visit both San Diego zoo, and Taronga zoo last year, and I think I liked the Taronga one more. YMMV

I looked at mine earlier today. I've got 6 cruises booked, and half are the same, and half are still refundable. I am not calling anyone to ask but will see what ends up happening. LOL! Remind me, will my folio, when I get onboard, show refundable, and nonrefundable?

Ah that makes sense. Thanks for clarifying that info. I was in Melbourne end of Oct for a few days before a cruise, and then disembarked after the cruise the 11th of Nov. I was not aware the bus had started this service. For us the tram worked better b/c of the Collins street stop, which was close to the train station to get the bus to the airport. But good to know about the bus for future cruise stops to Melbourne.

Interesting. I had no idea there was a bus, too. I've always just used the tram, which drops off at Collins street. I don't know that the bus would be a better location drop off. IMO But of course everyone has different reasons for using whatever they choose.

It is super simple to use their tram from the dock to the city center. I have used it a few times as a cruiser arriving into Melbourne. They will sell you the Myki card at the port building as you exit the ship. The best part is the tram is free inside an area at the city centre, so the cost is only to/from the port.

I'll have to check mine again. I had checked in December, and all were refundable then. I was hoping it would stick as refundable. Oh, well. I'm sure I can find something to use it for.

You WIN the "there's a gadget for that" prize! All those things were designed for when the engineer/architect didn't think through the actual customer needing to charge ALL THE THINGS. LOL! (I resemble that description b/c I carry too many things that need to be charged. 😉 )

That is clearly a YMMV scenario. LOL! *fingers crossed* for successful usage.

The orientation of the plugs, especially at the desk, need to be updated. I was recently on Grand Princess, it is was not well designed. With the two light switches right next to the two plugs, it renders one plug useless especially when trying to charge my iPad or iPhone due to the way their charging brick is designed.

I have that one, too. I don't leave it out when away from the cabin, and I do not carry it in my carry on bags that go through the xray scanner. It is always in my luggage given to the porter.

This whole solo scheme has put me completely off sailing with Celebrity. I have no idea when I will go back. I refuse to book them even when sailing with a roommate b/c their pricing in general has gotten out of hand, along with that ridiculous removal of gratuities from the all included price. I am taking longer cruises for less money on another comparable line, and currently have about 5 cruises booked. I am sad that Celebrity has gone this direction, but hope they will re-adjust pricing overall in the future.

Ah, I must have missed that comment. I have been reading a page or two here and there, that makes sense I hadn't seen it. I'll see if he posts an update at some point.

After reading many of the posts in this thread, I am not inclined to DL the new app. 🤣 But the comments regarding the shoreside transactions and credit card info going to a third party have made me curious. I wonder how they would handle a virtual acct number? I have a CitiBank card that allows for a virtual number creation that you can assign a specific use for that number. For example, I have a couple of virtual numbers that are only used for Amazon purchases, or other online shopping. Main purpose is to be able to track exactly who used the virtual number, and not my regular/actual card information. I don't have another cruise for a few months, so I'm not going to mess with the new app until I have to. Hopefully the bugs will be worked out in the new year.

I had forgotten about this issue entirely. My most recent cruise was on the Grand in an interior cabin, and it did not have any of the motion sensor lights. I will have to remember my painters tape for future cruises that have that "feature" installed. 🤦🏻‍♀️

I've never been able to copy/paste the numbers into the Princess web site. It is tedious to do each time, but saving some money is worth it. YMMV

You're welcome. Glad it finally worked for you. If you (or anyone) isn't familiar with what the website SHOULD look like it is not very user friendly. I have been on the website so often lately that I've noticed there are a lot of bugs with pages not rendering properly. I still have the stupid "can't log in, wrong password/user name" issue for weeks. I just keep hitting the submit button until it logs me in. 🙄 Fun fact (at least for me): it seems the Princess site works better for the Safari browser vs. Google Chrome on my MacBook. YMMV

I had that issue yesterday, and accidentally paid the whole thing. I had to call Princess to get it fixed to the $100/person deposit. The call agent did a great job in fixing it for me. The second cruise I booked yesterday did properly show the screen to select the deposit payment vs. the pay in full options. In general the Princess website is still quite a mess at times. The log in is especially touchy! Good luck.

I did end up doing this trip after my cruise, and it went really well. We took the train up to Katoomba per the write up I posted. We caught the HoHo bus we had already booked. We did not do Scenic World as their website mentioned a few things were closed. We got off the HoHo at stop 6, hiked along the trails, all the way to Scenic World where we hopped back onto the HoHo. We rode the bus into Leura, and walked about the cute little town and shopped. We caught the train back to Sydney from Leura. Not counting the train to Katoomba, and the little bit of time on the first part of the HoHo, we spent a several hours hiking along the trails, taking pics, and me trying to "recover" from the heat. My companion was good to allow me to rest as needed. It was a full day, and I'm glad we did the hike in the end. As for the previous poster, I am not sure I would hike from Scenic World to Leura. It is partially residential, and not really a hiking area. The trails from SW back to Honeymoon Lookout, Three Sisters, and Prince Henry Cliff walk is a better walk and view. I mean you can walk to Leura but it isn't what I think of as a hike. YMMV