Aus Traveller

The prices shown above are more reason to take your own wine and pay the corkage. The Blue Sand Pinot Grigio that is $51, is $36 on PO.

After reading Chengkp75's post above, I think you should feel reassured that the mess wasn't caused by rodents.

You obviously have more experience with rodents than I do. 🙂 I won't challenge your expertise. 🙂

The photo demonstrates a serious break-down in the Housekeeping Department. I would like to know what the response was when this was brought to a supervisor's attention. I can't see anything in the photo that looks like rodent droppings.I haven't had rats or mice in my home, but a Google search indicates that rat droppings are 12ml-18ml shiny black and pellet-shaped while mouse droppings are very dark brown pellets somewhat smaller. I feel the photo looks more like crumbled particle board or crumbled wood.

On our two cruises last last year on the Pacific Encounter, our cabin was kept clean and we didn't see any maintenance issues.

My guess is that the reference to 18% gratuity is something that doesn't apply in Australia.

A fly net definitely isn't needed when visiting Cairns or Darwin. In the centre (Uluru/Ayers Rock) flies can often be a problem during the day.

They still have the Elite/Platinum lounge every evening. We have only been once and that was to try it out. BTW, the Captain's Lunch is superb but since cruising re-started after COVID, the Captain and his officers make an appearance but don't host the tables. The Captain does 'work the room' by talking to everyone.

I feel that there would be more people doing the Alaska Land and Sea tour compared with the Australian one, and therefore more likelihood of blogs. Another point to consider is that this is the Aust and NZ section of the forum. It is highly unlikely Aussies would go on a Princess land tour in our own country. This is different from an Alaskan trip that is to an area distant from the contiguous states of the US and where the majority of people on the tour would be from the US. You might be able to get the information you require by posting your question on the general Princess Cruises site.

I don't have a link to a blog, but what info are you looking for?

Alcohol prices in Port Vila are renowned as being exceptionally good. Which ship were your on? On cruises that go to Port Vila, P&O and Princess usually drop their on-board duty free prices to match the Vila prices. However, the ships don't have a very big range of spirits. For that reason, we always buy ashore if we are going to Vila. We go to Fung Kuei, the last shop at the far end of the main street.

It was still AUD$15 a week/10 days ago.

One key point when considering a cruise, is to look at what is included and whether you are paying extra in the fare for things you don't really need. On our recent Princess cruise there were a lot of people who proudly said they had the drinks package and it was "free", or "included" or that their "Travel Agent had arranged it for them". They hadn't looked at Princess' fare structure carefully enough to see that they were paying a lot of money per day for drinks and a few other perks that they might not use anyway. Unless you are a keen drinker, it would usually be more cost-effective to not take a drinks package, but pay as you go. With Princess, there is the added benefit of being able to take you own wind on board and pay corkage.

The Coral Princess has AUD pricing on board. Not all US prices translate exactly to the AUD price they use.

I almost hesitate to ask - "Do you use the patches?"

I don't see it that way. When Princess recommends a booster at least seven days prior to a cruise, I think it makes it clear that the 'last dose being administered at least 14 days prior to the beginning of the cruise' is exactly that - a dose, not a booster. Dose usually means the initial vaccination, not a booster. Otherwise the information is contradictory - although Princess can be like that at times. 🙂

Agreed. Boosters are recommended. Vaccination (initial doses) has to be more than 14 days prior to the cruise. Boosters are recommended (not essential) and there is no restriction on when you have them.

The way I understand the info from Princess is that passengers have to have had 'their final dose of an Australian therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved or recognised COVID-19 vaccine with the last dose being administered at least 14 days prior to the beginning of the cruise ... ' This refers to 'dose' not ' booster'. Vaccines available in Australia require two doses. This is what Princess is referring to. They don't care if you have a booster close to your cruise.

Sorry you had to cancel, but it was good that the refund came so quickly. As a side note, it appears that the refunds of refundable OBC are now not sent in cheque form. On the 9th February we received an email regarding the refund from our cruise that ended two weeks earlier. We had to supply bank account details. We were advised that it would take around three business names for the cash to land in our account.

The only comment I can make is that alcohol for yourselves and your 18-y.o. are much cheaper on Princess than on RCL. On Princess you can take on bottles of wine (2 without charge) and pay AUD$15 corkage on any others. those with the corkage sticker can be taken to the dining room. I can't comment on the kids club for your 15 year old.

Not all the ships (or the crews) go back to the US. It depends on the cruise line.

We have been on five cruises since cruising re-started, the latest a 14-day trip to NZ that ended last Monday. We avoided COVID on all of these. We were pretty careful about wearing masks but maybe it comes down to luck. If someone with the virus is near you when you are eating or drinking (obviously without a mask), then your chances of avoiding it decrease.

Yes. You will have the auto-gratuities added to your on-board account. Please be aware that on Princess ships, the tips you pay will go into the fleet-wide pool, a pool that the Australian-based ships are not part of. The crew on the Australian-based ships are paid at a much higher rate than on ships in other parts of the world that rely on tips to augment the salaries. If you wish, you can remove the auto-gratuities from your account and personally hand the cash to your steward/table waiters. It is up to you.

I agree with your comments. The cabins we have booked for a NZ cruise next January with our daughter and her family are on the Port side. I told my daughter at the time, that this was the right side for Milford Sound. It will also be the right side for the scenic cruising because we will be visiting Fiordland first, then continuing anti-clockwise around the island. On our cruise last week, we enjoyed relaxing on our balcony and watching the scenery, rather than standing up at the front of the ship. That is what we have usually done for the entry into Milford. I might suggest to my daughter & son-in-law that they go up there for the entry into Milford while I stay on the balconies with their little girls.

I agree generally and was a bit disappointed that our cabin on the starboard side wasn't ideally situated for the entry into Milford. However, we were delighted with the position because we were on the landward side for cruising between the Sounds. For Milford, we saw both sides of the fiord anyway.