Aus Traveller

When you visit Dravuni, make sure you pop into the school where you will be welcomed. It is for the younger children only. The older children spend the school week on a nearby island where the school can accommodate more grades. We usually take some school supplies and children's books for the school.

Dravuni is lovely. There is a village with around 100 residents. Enjoy the beach. Usually the locals put on a traditional song/dance show and you can try some kava if you like. If you feel energetic you can walk to the top of the high hill for some lovely views. There is also a track to the windward side of the island.

No visas are required for Australian-passport holders when on a cruise. Your post indicates that you are on a cruise that is visiting ports in Vanuatu for a few days, not that you are flying into Port Vila and staying for a few days. Have I interpreted your post correctly?

The loungers were replaced in June last year during the world cruise when the ship called into Singapore.

I went on a Princess cruise a few weeks ago with my daughter and her family. She hadn't down-loaded the app and didn't have a boarding pass. I had paper copies of the bookings for both cabins so we were allowed to enter the terminal. The person outside the door didn't actually look at them. I just said that I had them and pulled the paper copies out of my bag. When we got to the check-in counter, they had my daughter and her family's info on the computer system.

Traffic early on a Sunday morning would be very light. The rate that taxis charge only increases at night. It doesn't matter which time of day you travel. On occasions, when we have had plenty of time to get to the airport we have asked the driver NOT to take the toll roads. It adds a bit of time to the trip because the journey involves several traffic lights that are avoided by the toll roads.

With Princess, if you go to the dining room for breakfast, you can order hot chocolate free of charge.🙂 I agree that Princess is really pushing the Plus package.

In some cases, the cost of shuttle buses varies depending on the cruiseline. I can only give you information on a couple of ports because I was not on a Celebrity cruise. Picton - it is too long since I went there for me to comment. Napier - always a free shuttle into town. Passengers cannot walk off the wharf. Wellington - a shuttle is required. A few weeks ago on a Princess cruise this was free but now has only one drop-off point in the centre of the CBD instead of the two that they had for many years. Christchurch - shuttle into the city. From memory that was NZ$15pp each way but the drop off point in town is not very conveniently located. There is a free shuttle from the ship into the centre of Lyttelton (a very short distance). For four people it would be no more expensive to get a taxi from Lyttelton to Christchurch. You could then be dropped off wherever you like. Dunedin - shuttle from Port Chalmers. The cost varies with different cruise lines. Some people get the local bus from Port Chalmers for (I think) NZ$3 pp each way.

I think it's likely that women will sit in the back of a taxi, but men, particularly if they are travelling alone, will usually sit in the front.

Agreed. When we disembarked from a cruise a bit over a week ago, there was one couple who had been waiting a while for their pre-booked and pre-paid taxi. The taxi supervisor enquired and was told the cab would be another 45 minutes. This was while there were several spare taxis waiting for customers.

With three people, I don't think the train option would be much cheaper than a taxi. A taxi would be much easier. We have taxi vans called 'maxi taxis'. We went in one recently with six people and luggage for that many for a two-week cruise that needed clothes for cold weather as well as hot. I could say that my daughter took everything but the kitchen sink, but I think she had it in the luggage somewhere. 😁

The arrangement for wheelchair-assist is likely to be similar to in Brisbane, but I can't tell you where to go to register. We have only used wheelchair-assist in Brisbane. 🙂

I see that you live in Brisbane so it is likely you will be boarding the ship in Brisbane. You don't have to pre-arrange wheelchair assistance for boarding. At the terminal there are three doorways facing you as you approach. The left-hand one is for luggage drop-off, the centre one is the main entrance and the one immediately to its right, is for wheelchair assistance. Just mention to the person 'guarding' the door that you require wheelchair assistance. Immediately inside there should be a desk where you register, giving the name of the person/s and the cabin number. Both of your parents can have a wheelchair if they wish and you go with them. There are chairs to wait until it is your turn. You will have express check-in, express security check etc. You will be taken onto the ship, but not to your cabin. All the best. 🙂

I agree with your comments, but I don't think the Princess disembarkation tour would have multiple coaches. Sometimes they can't get enough bookings to make even one coach viable. Personally I wouldn't be comfortable taking an independent train trip to the Blue Mountains on that day when they have an international flight booked for the evening.

The Blue Mountains excursion sounds good. In a day tour there won't be much, or indeed any, hiking. There will be short distances to walk from the bus to a lookout. In Princess' tour descriptions they usually indicate whether or not the excursion has a lot of walking.

I haven't experienced any delays and have gone straight through but that doesn't mean it will always be like that.

In mid 2022 when the new terminal came into use, taxi drivers weren't familiar with it, but that has obviously has changed in the last 20 months. Taxi drivers aren't reluctant to go to there and they can't charge extra for the unattractive road. BTW, the road isn't in a state of disrepair, it is simply a narrow winding road through an unattractive industrial area. We have been on seven or eight cruises leaving from the new terminal and had no problems getting a taxi to go there. On one recent cruise when we left the ship there were probably two dozen cabs lined up waiting for passengers so the drivers obviously weren't reluctant to go to the terminal.

Last week I was told that the Chef's Table on the Coral Princess is now AUD$149pp. I cannot give details of the Balcony Dinner.

Because I was travelling solo, the transfer with Princess was much cheaper than a taxi. However, I regretted having booked it when it took so long. I suppose that is the luck of the draw. They had just one bus and it took close to two hours to do the round trip with loading and unloading. There were several disabled passengers who naturally took longer to get on and off the bus.

A taxi is much better. When I flew to Sydney to board the World Cruise I booked a Princess transfer form Sydney airport. It appears that I arrived just after a shuttle bus left so there was quite a delay. It took two hours from when I arrived at the rendezvous point until the bus left the terminal. I recommend a taxi. For two people it works out a similar price to the shuttle. If three people are travelling it costs less.

The taxi rank is very conveniently located just outside the door near the luggage collection carousel.

We didn't need passports three months ago so I don't think it is a new requirement. 🙂

No. All North Queensland cruises go past Willis Island so they can sell duty free, but for many years now, Princess and P&O have not required passports.

Princess doesn't advertise this but I have found this is the way it works on all my Princess cruises since COVID. 🙂 On these cruises I enquired at the Alcohol Collection Table and was always given the same answer - "one free and after that we charge corkage". When I posted this information on FB during the world cruise, I was ridiculed for asking the person at the Alcohol Collection table. In my opinion, this is the person to ask. BTW, the corkage isn't always charged. 😁 BTW, if you haven't enquired as I have done several times, you won't have encountered how it works in practice 😁.

That price is ridiculous!