joejoe 59

40 minutes ago, cruiser3775 said:

I had a balcony cabin on the bump out part of Coral Princess which gives you an excellent view, but also means you can see into the balconies of  several other cabins. I twice saw different passengers sitting on the railings of their balcony with their backs to the sea.. Extremely dangerous and foolish.

Holy cow! I would have quietly gone & reported them.

On 12/11/2022 at 4:39 PM, jspitz1 said:

We have a RCCL cruise September 2023 from Port Canaveral.  I booked flights with Qantas 12 months in advance and 3 days later our flights were cancelled and moved to flights we didn't want to do, so I got a refund on these flights.  Soon after, I booked all our flights on United, and now I get notified all four flights have been cancelled and moved to horrible times/connecting flights.  So I had four great times/direct flights from Melb to L.A. to Orlando and back.  Now I've been put on seven terrible times/non direct flights.  I'm so frustrated!!!!!  So I can cancel the United flights, but there isn't many alternatives.  Anyone else going through this, trying to fly from Australia, booking 9-12 months in advance???.  

That sounds beyond frustrating 😤 

It's for this reason we aren't flying anywhere even interstate. We have 3 cruises next year all sailing out of Brisbane, just a short 3hr drive away.

4 hours ago, Rassa said:

It isn't enough to say it is on the web site, you need to share your link.

 

I looked when @resordanishighlighted the matter and yes, I found a paragraph on the web site and printed it out, but that paragraph is now gone.  I will check again later.

Thanks but I am starting to feel this is the beginning of things perhaps changing - really hope I am wrong.

 

RCCL used to state on the tax invoice that Aust gratuities were included in the fare.   For my latest booking, I did not receive a tax invoice, I had to print out the details that were on the screen confirming the booking and there was nothing about gratuities.

I just checked my royal caribbean invoice & it definitely states gratuities included. Booked through an online agency 

Great review thanks

20 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

If my memory is correct it was listed as a 25% discount on the Plus deal for Elites, not as a fixed amount.

 

If they offer that again based on the new Plus price it would be $48.75.

Platinum & elite as we weren't elite at the time.

At the time we were just told $30.

Fingers crossed they offer something this year🤞

7 hours ago, subaru94 said:

Not sure how I missed that one, we are elite too, and I always check the promos.  Well done on getting such a great deal.

We got it as well...bargain. 

It was during an extended wave season which starts around Xmas time. I think it was an extra  incentive to book a cruise as cruising hadn't started back in Australia when this perk was offered. 

Fingers crossed they offer a deal again this Xmas/boxing day sale season...but I won't hold my breath.

We weren't elite at the time of getting the $30 deal but are now 😃

4 hours ago, Cruisers47 said:

I always thought that the bathroom water was not drinking quality?

 

we fill a glass from the dispenser and then transfer that into our bottle but  quite often we just by a bottle of water when we reach a port..,usually not expensive!

It's the same water as we drink chilled at meal times & our ice cubes are made from.

1 hour ago, Over from NZ said:

How do you know choosing your cabin was a "mistake" if you've never cruised before? 

I would hazard a guess & say by doing lots of research on CC & elsewhere before their cruise they realised the cabin they had picked was not in a good position so got their TA  to change it.

Thanks for your cruise report it seemed to start well until covid hit.

I hope you recovered well.

We cruised P&O In October for the country music cruise, being P&O went with very open minds & were pleasantly surprised.

We ate in the mdr as the pantry doesn't offer much for coeliacs.

17 hours ago, aussielozzie18 said:

I think it may have been your recommendation.  If so, thanks.  Beds were a dream.  We loved them so much we took a photo of the mattress brand.

Rooms were very clean & modern & the front desk service was excellent.

Yes I think I might have.

Glad you enjoyed it.

We got the same email today. We only have one Princess cruise booked in 2024 & that plus package was booked at $30 a day...no we won't be upgrading.

Our 5 yr old grandson's would love those sweet sugary desserts but not us. Not sure what marketing guru thought it was a good idea.

In the future we won't bother booking the plus fare. 

I honestly think less people will book the packages especially those like me that aren't big drinkers.

I'm sure we will manage just fine with the extra $1400 in our pockets. 

Looking forward to your ship review. We have always had a great stay at Kingsford smith hotel, always so clean & comfy.

On 12/2/2022 at 11:53 AM, arxcards said:

It is all looking a bit fancy and complicated and reported in different ways. Some of the travel media are saying it is value added, while others are saying it is dearer. All in the eye of the beholder. After a couple of decadent desserts and a couple of smoothies, I will need a couple of fitness classes to balance things. How symbiotic is that. A 3 night cruise will be tough with two fancy desserts to fit in.

 

They were great value for a lot of people, but for many less now. As spirits/cocktail drinkers who use internet, it is still within our usual daily spend, but we would likely give it a miss on longer cruises and have a couple of dry days to drop our daily spend, take our wine on etc.

 

Still, when comparing with the prices of the opposition, they are comparatively great value.

 

These fancy desserts will have a charge, as already happens with any of the gelato or "real" ice cream on deck.  Rolling out on sailings after February 20, 2023 are a series of Princess Premium desserts, which will incorporate gelato, pastries, and candies. They’ll be added to both Princess Plus and Princess Premier, and are available Gelateria, Swirls, or Coffee and Cones venues.

They look great, but I want mine to look like a unicorn. 😉

 

 

Princess Cruises Enhances Value with Exciting New Offerings to All-Inclusive Princess Plus and Premier Packages - Princess Cruises

I bet those desserts aren't gluten free, & that they have no gf equivalent. Maybe just extra special green jelly or cream brulae🤮

On 11/22/2022 at 8:33 PM, sayaguru said:

I just got off Coral. I got an Uber ($32) to Eagle Junction station. Taxi is $42. You can get the train from there to the city. 

Don't go to the airport (roughly same price in taxi) but you pay $30 if you go to or from the airport on the train.  The ship had shuttles but $40pp. 

It is the most ridiculous setup. Lots of people on the ship said they'd rather cruise out of Sydney. 

I'm on the Gold Coast and that will be my preference from now on. 

I can't believe people would rather pay for a return flight, maybe hotels as well, sit in an airport & fly to Sydney, then pay to get to opt rather then going out of Brisbane. Some people must have too much time & money on their hands. 

We have a 3hr drive to the Port but it beats the above.

4 hours ago, mr walker said:

Our 11-Mar departure cruise to NZ on Ovation doesn't visit Wellington, so I can't see a price for this on that sailing, but that price is CRAZY!!! (even though it's less than the one OP posted).

Our cruise is the 14th of March on Quantum. I think anyone that books the 3hr trip at that price must have way too much money. I hope nobody books with rcl & they realise we aren't stupid down under 🤑

What I found interesting last week was a friend & I both looked at the price of the drink package & ours were different to theirs,  they were cruising the next day.

I just had a look for our cruise & it's the bargain price of $574.64 & would you believe it's only 3 hrs long. 

I had a look on Viator & their Wellington tours are a third of the price & all day. 

We will not be doing any Rcl cruise tours.

Hopefully the experts can ease your pain soon. Life is definitely  a 💩 sometimes 😪 

Hang in there.

2 hours ago, bretts173 said:

The 18% has not been a thing on royal cruises for years it is against our consumer laws to do otherwise. Just like when you go to USA all prices are advertised before GST but here must include it. Screenshot below.

 

 

I was about to go in search of my screenshot as I knew I had read the 18%  was already added. I always save this kind of info to my travel info album 🙂

5 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

There’s 2 restaurant systems,the main kitchen and the specialty.

 Solarium is part of the specialty system and it is mostly complementary,a couple of upcharge like lobster,lamb chops,big steak.

Strangely you have to book , I have turned up and it was empty and they said you can book in 15 minutes .

Thanks for that. We cruise Quantum in March.

20 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

The specialty dining is a wank.

Book your self into solarium bistro in the first few new nights before people work out it’s the best deal on the ship.

Is the Solarium bistro complementary & do you have to book?

1 minute ago, Cruisers47 said:

Hi

 

we are on a short cruise from Brisbane in February.

 

been to Brisbane a number of times.   Flying in from Melbourne the day before..,don’t trust the airlines!

 How are the hotels near the Port.   Has anyone stayed at any of them.

 

thanks

 

eileen

There aren't any hotels near the Port. The closest would be an airport hotel or at Portside which is the old cruise port. It's about 15 to 20 minutes from Portside. 

2 hours ago, rkmw said:

Geoff Carnival is only having the free ice cream from 11am to 12am and a few people onboard are complaining  on FB about the cut back in the hours from 24/7

Sounds like some people will complain about anything 🙄 

I mean really who needs icecream 24/7

We cruised 2 weeks ago & didn't have it, not a problem. 

On 11/4/2022 at 10:33 AM, OzKiwiJJ said:

We had an unexpected "magic moment" last night in the Atrium. The pianist was playing "Time to Say Goodbye" and we heard someone singing along with him. We looked l around us but couldn't identify the singer as many people were wearing masks. Eventually we realised it was coming from deck 6. One of the Provence Restaurant Managers has a very fine voice indeed! It was just lovely.

I know who you mean, when we were on Coral he came over with several other waiters & sang a full rendition of the Elvis song Can't help falling in love, brought his Bluetooth speaker as well. It was for our 40th wedding anniversary so it was very special 🥰 I think his name was Hector. 

On 11/2/2022 at 8:15 AM, lyndarra said:

This big kid loves water slides - why should kids have all the fun. I'd do the flow rider on a surfboard if it wasn't for Arthur Itis stopping me from getting to my feet. Pack my boogey board perhaps? (so long as they don't put it through a scanner on boarding).😨

Love your spirit.  We are in our 60s & would give them a go. I have seen footage of someone using a body board on the Flowrider before. Why should we all define ourselves by our age. Life is too short to limit ourselves. 

Enjoy.