cnd crsr

10 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

What a great day in Cairns!  We took the optional excursion to the Great Barrier Reef that didn’t go to the platform. Folks on the one that went there also say they had a great day. 
 

The boat wasn’t full even with about 150 or more aboard.  Other than the initial entry into the water it wasn’t overly crowded.  The crew were friendly and very helpful. So while expensive at $399/pp we belive it was a good use of our shore excursion credits. 
 

After having snorkeled here, we suspect we may never snorkel again-everything you hear about the Great Barrier Reef is true!

 

I will try to post a few photos in a separate post so that if they don’t go, at least the text does. 

I agree the snorkeling at the GBR was fantastic  and  by the way, your pics are great. The only place we have snorkeled that was better was The Red Sea.

Karla, your photos are spectacular! Thanks for sharing.

1 hour ago, Clay Clayton said:

Our views as we entered Sydney Harbour this morning about 2:35am.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for posting the sail-in to Sydney harbour....  have done it a couple of times and it is one of my favourite sail-in harbours. -

5 hours ago, WhereInTheWorldIsKarla said:

Seal Watching from Tongue Point excursion from Wellington today. The stars were the fur seals. 

 

 

 

 

Karla beautiful photos of the seals. Thanks for sharing.

On 1/20/2024 at 3:28 AM, Clay Clayton said:

It was announced today that Sky is going to be leaving Moorea early (6:30 rather than 11) and we will be overnighting in Papeete after arrival at approximately 8:30pm.   Does anyone have any suggestions on nighttime activities in Tahiti?

TIA

If they still are around, visit the food trucks just as you exit the ship and then head to one of the nearby bars. There is a name for the food truck which is escaping me right now but it was a fun way to spend an evening plus try some local foods.

Sorry to hear you had rain for your Bora Bora day, even so it really is a beautiful place and a definite return spot. Hope you have better weather for Moorea.

22 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

That's an excellent question, with key factors possibly being:

 - breaking up long stretches of sea days.

 - loading reasonably priced bunkers, as the price can vary significantly by port

 - where they can pick up stores, replacement crew, guest entertainers, etc.

 

I'm going to assume that Cape Town would be a definite port, so the Mumbai to Cape Town  leg requires about 10 - 11 days steaming. I'll suggest at least 1 port is required to break up those sea days.

 - Seychelles is fairly close to the mid point and is a minimal deviation from the direct route, so my crystal ball thinks Seychelles is an option, if they have space.

 - Mauritius requires a deviation from the direct route, but would split the remaining days to Cape Town, so it is a possibility.

 - Madagascar is possible, but I don't follow that area, so not aware of potential security issues.

 - Durban is also a potential stop, as they could offer tours driving along the coastal route to rejoin in Cape Town

 

After Cape Town:

 - they could stop in Namibia (Walvis Bay)

 - then I'll suggest the next potential port is Cape Verde islands, which is about 10 days from Cape Town, or 8 from Namibia.

 - Next islands would be Gran Canaria/Tenerife

 

More options are then available, possibly

 - Cassablanca

 - Gibraltar/Cadiz

 - Porto/Lisbon

 - Le Havre/Dover

 - Greenwich

 You have given some superb choices for the probable changes, if need be.

All these choices especially the ones before  Cape Town are ports I would definitely enjoy a second time around. The approach in early morning into Cape Town with the 'tablecloth' lifting is as impressive as Sydney in a different way.

Thank you to Steve & Debby and Eddie& Denise  for the blogs.

Navy Veteran has given a very good explanation of how to handle any dietary concerns.

I have had over 50 cruises with Princess and have never had a problem being looked after by the Head Waiter. They will go out of their way to assist with any necessary changes. We usually eat in the same dining room but often have different wait staff and this is never a problem. For the Specialty dining room, I always go the day  before to look at the menu & speak with the  Head Waiter. Enjoy your cruise!

1 hour ago, m921759 said:

Hi !
First time Princess cruisers (many NCL, one MSC, one Carnival) and first time beverage package users (we will have Plus).

1. What is the beverage situation on the Island Princess? Are there better bars for *quality* and *variety*? For example NCL used/uses cheap mixes for cocktails at the pool bar.

2. Where are the juices served? Swirls? On the app?

3. I read that the controversial Premium desserts should be at Swirls, maybe there are premium cakes someplace else?
4. Looking forward to book the Chef's table as soon as we board (via app, phone or main desk), hope they do it. Also Bayou still seems to have an inspiring menu, maybe it will be a reminder or our trip to New Orleans. Any recent experience with either?

5. Any more Island Princess tips or recent patters?

Have a nice one!

ON the island now... this is Day 4of our cruise:

1. We have plus package, have found we can up scale beverages & pay the difference &  have done this with wines, have only used Crooners  & Good Spirits bars so far.

2. Juices - up in buffet I am told but haven't been there yet, can order on app

3. As far as I know only Swirls for premium desserts, but  due to food allergies won't be having these.

4.Call dine line right after boarding and ask to be added to the list.  Chef's Table has been excellent any time we have eaten there. Haven't eaten at Bayou yet.

Main dining room reservation system doesn't work well for the first few night, now it is day 4 & last night finally showed improvement.

* all staff we have dealt with are friendly & hard working.

13 hours ago, loman said:

We also stayed at the Riverside Hotel in September. Its right on the main strip

with many restaurants and bars. 

It also has a great restaurant on site ( not free ) for breakfast prior to cruise .

A robot delivered our breakfast order right to our table , lol .

It was clean and quiet . We had a tower room which i believe is the newer part of the hotel.

We stayed at the Riverside in March and were happy with the location and have booked it again for our stay before our Late May sailing.

Will be following along as we will cruising on the Sky early next year.

1 hour ago, Princess Cruises Fann said:

Our U.S. carryon luggage was permitted on all flights. Unlike the U.S. they weighed the carryon luggage and it had to weigh less than 7KG(?). 
 

All of our interior flights were on Qantas except for Cairns to Sydney we flew on WestJet. 
 

You did have to check and retrieve your checked bag, but then you just gave it to the porters that they had arranged and they made sure it got on the bus. 
 

The total group size was about 50-60 people, but they broke it up into two groups that each had their individual tour guide and bus. 

We did the cruise/land tour several years ago. Cruised NZ to Sydney and then land was Cairns/Alice Springs/Sydney.

I don't remember the airline,but they were small planes & luggage weigh allowance was small. The luggage check in, retrieval & delivery to porters was as Princess Cruises Fann described as was the group size. The guide we had was excellent.

Our large luggage from the ship was stored at the hotel where we stayed on our return  to Sydney.

QC - Old Town, - Chateau Frontanac, - Ste.Anne de Beaupre,  - there are waterfalls (can't remember the name) a short 1/2 hour  drive away

SAGUENAY - HoHo bus, - there is also a theatre performance,book through the cruise line ( can't remember the name of it) 

PEI - Anne of Green Gables home

SYDNEY - Alexander Graham Bell homestead,- Cabot Trail

HALIFAX - Peggy's Cove, -Pier 22, -the Citadel, - eat at Salty's or The Bicycle Thief (on the boardwalk)

BOSTON -  walk the Freedom Trail,-  HoHo bus

Loved reliving Dubai through your great photos! Dubai is one of my all time favourite ports. We flew in 5 days before boarding our cruise there.

38 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

 

Anticipating the question from the paranoia, do you have Plus-50 or Plus-60?

Plus50

1 hour ago, Dietemann said:

Also, do you know which Dining Room is used for Club Class?

Concerto on Deck 6.

1 hour ago, cruisegal40 said:

Hope you are enjoying your cruise. Can you tell me which beach you went to? What type of transportation that you used? Did you  have loungers? We go in about 2.5 weeks and seeking beach options.  Up here in the NE and looking forward to this cruise.  

It was the Princess tour. Transport was mini bus. There were plenty of loungers & umbrellas. The kids loved the beach,good surf. We found the music around the pool far too loud (I wore earplugs) Food and beverages were for purchase. 

Hope you enjoy your cruise.

We are on this cruise as well. This is our 5th cruise post- covid and find it very crowded and noisy..Our other 4 cruises were not at full capacity. Lots of family groups this time.

Today is Amber Cove and the morning started off with pouring rain, seems to be easing up, but extra onboard activities are being added as many  are remaining on the ship.

Yesterday (San Juan) we went to a beach and arrived back at the ship with rain. I feel badly for the kids aboard that were looking forward to beach visits.

The person with the medical emergency is okay and recovering in Hospital  I was told be a reliable source.

We have the plus package, drinks up to$15 and as stated they add on the extra.We have been very happy with the MDR food and have a reserved table each  evening. 

Same medallion for all.

Any time on our B2Bs through Fort Lauderdale if we didn't get off on our own to tour/shop, the in transit passengers have had to line up & exit the ship and wait to reboard until the ship has zeroed. In some ports if the in transit number is small,we have just  been asked to meet in a venue and waited until the ship has zeroed.Then we have been free to do as we please.

Enjoy you B2B2B, it is so nice not to have to pack and leave!

We were on the Royal for a month in the fall.

I can't comment on the buffet as we didn't eat there. Everywhere else the food was very good. We occasionally ate lunch  at the IC or Alfredo's- both very good.  We had dinner once at Crown Grill (very good) and once at Sabatini's (excellent). The MDR for all meals was great and the highlight was the Wine Makers Dinner which was one oft he best we have had.

The Grand is great and I am sure everything will work out, just be prepared with supplies you will need. Lots of toys,  storybooks, diapers and  any unusual things that are favourites with your boy. By the time you are ready to disembark in NZ, you will have a very spoiled wee man -- between passengers (missing grandkiddies) and staff missing their families. Sorry I won't be aboard, I would like to have a wee person around for story time🙂.

5 minutes ago, tempvariant said:

@cnd crsr Thanks, we've spoken to Princess and they don't really have any answers for us. They do have the kids treehouse (ages 3-7) on our ship but they don't have much else to say. The people we spoke to have no idea how many kids will be on this cruise either. 

It s what it is, and there is treehouse. You just have to hope there are other little one as that will make it more fun for  your son. As someone else advised ask about kids on your roll call.

What ship will you be on?

I would think the best thing would be to call Princess with your questions.

Because the cruise is 23 days and probably not one most couples with small children would be considering, the Kid's clubs may be different than what would be normal on a short cruise with many children. Example would be if there were under 10 children between 3 and 12 years,they might put them all in one group. There are usually 3 groups -- little ones, a middle  group and teens (can't remember the exact age groups)

It has been years since we cruised with little ones so I have no advise but I will tell you what we found then. The kids club was open during the day but the kids had to be picked up  by parents for lunch and dinner.They did have an evening session (can't remember the hours) but we didn't use this as it was too much time in a day care situation for our little one. We didn't try a cruise longer than a week at that time.

I would certainly rather cruise home to NZ  than fly, and you can do it, just check the options of what will be available for your little one. Others have supplied good advice on laundry, diapers/supplies. I know meals will not be a problem as Princess are very good at adapting menu for all and you might even find your  son is spoiled by all the staff -

I have the same allergy. When you board see the head waiter at the MDR where you intend to eat and speak to him/her.  You will be given a menu for the next day to choose your meals and your meals will be pre -ordered.

When you go to the buffet or any other eating venue make sure to tell them right away, when I have done this they have called a chef or head waiter to go through the line with me to make sure I make good choices.

At the  IC they have even made a batch of muffins that will be nut free (rather than the regular batch that might be contaminated), They put the batch aside for my daily coffee treat. Usually I don't ask for this as it really is calories I don't need - but they will do it.

We were on the Royal for 28days - September to October 2022 and it was great.