Aus Traveller

You will probably be going on another Princess cruise prior to the 2024 world cruise. Maybe it would be worth asking someone in authority if you can check in cartons of wine and pay the corkage on board, either when you retrieve them from Security, or when you take bottles to the dining room. Although, it's possible that whatever you are told, won't necessarily be what happens on a later cruise.

What did P&O charge you? AUD$50?

You could take a couple of cases when you board in Sydney and buy a couple more at Dan Murphy's when you are in Brisbane. Then stock up a bit more at other ports.

On P&O we were a bit surprised to find the Waterfront open for lunch on port days where tenders were used. It was on our fairly recent cruise anyway.

Maybe I take my own wine as well as my own wind, but I don't get charged corkage on the wind. 🤣

They are not even Australian phone numbers.

P&O has another flash sale. One special is a 7-night cruise to Port Vila from Brisbane 16-23rd September. The price on a balcony is $849pp.

I agree - two separate spots. I suspect the towel animal has fallen down and the cabin steward hasn't cleaned the corner sufficiently to see it. I would like to know if this was brought to the attention of a Housekeeping Supervisor (I would have) and what the response was.

the OP will have to come back on and explain where the mess was. From the photos it appears to be in the very narrow space between the desk/dressing table and the balcony doors. I have come to this conclusion because of the glass shown in the second photo and the curly cord (probably from the hair drier) shown in the top photo. If I am correct, this is a space where no-one would normally look and certainly no-one would walk.

Julie, I have to caution you. 😁 We aren't wine experts. I agree that you will get value out of the Plus package at $30pp.

Did you need a visa for your visit to Indonesian ports? I am getting conflicting information on this with regard to a visit on a Princess cruise. The P&O website refers to 'visa-free' entry to Indonesia, not Visa on Arrival that has a fee.

I hope they keep it at $36 for our next two P&O cruises booked. 🙂The Blue Sand was recommended by our waiter last year. We found it quite good.

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.