hammo

Any information on the new plan to get cruisers from Lyttelton into Christchurch ? We will be visiting on Oasis of the seas and have heard somewhere that due to local unrest from passengers clogging up local transport to Christchurch , the Cruiseline / Council have devised other options ? Any info on that ?

So long as you have the earlier boarding time 🤣

seems not

Agree - when we have sailed out of Melb with Princess , yes that has been the case - not so with Virgin thats for sure - no just show your ticket if it didnt have the EXACT boarding time on it . Was wondering about Cunard , hence the question .. if anyone has had Melb embarkation previously with Cunard ?

Has anyone had any experience embarking at Melbourne ? We have just disembarked at Melb after a short Virgin Voyages cruise Melbourne - Tasmania - Melbourne and now have a short Cunard cruise Melbourne to Sydney just 3 nights . Our experience at Melbourne previously sailing with Princess has been very smooth embarking and the boarding times not strictly adhered to but smoothly handled .Embarkation around your time . If we had 1:45 we would try entering at 1-1:15 say . With Virgin we were met outside the port entrance at bag drop and advised the boarding time would be stringently adhered to and told go away and come back 1 minute before the time on your pass and then commence the longest walk and process inside the port by these port wardens who seemed to enjoy displaying their "power" .The first Resilient Lady cruises had lines stretching 200 meters in the rain with no cover in the outside area which meant embarking soaked and cruisers heading to cabins to change hoping luggage was waiting .The Melbourne Port itself is terrible . We have a 2:15 time slot allocated and will aim to be 30 mins early I guess but not sure how Cunard handle embarkation here in Melbourne Australia . Any experience with this here ? And yes I expect the "just stick to the arrival time given " for us its always a nicer start when you can lunch at lunchtime rather than afternoon tea time 😋 😎

Found plenty of Cruise lines that make me happy - Elite on Celebrity ,Diamond on RCCL , Platinum on Princess , NCL , Crystal , even P&0 and Carnival , and never any first embarkation like this one. Sure we will enjoy the cruise but Virgin should change they way they embark with their timing and coordination especially in Melbourne .Delays and many Lines stretching over 100 meters in the rain - a little research as to the pathetic Melbourne Port conditions and reasonably relaxing military strict adherance to boarding times would have gone a long way to not having cruisers boarding soaking wet and spending their first hour making puddles waiting to get their change of clothes from their delayed luggage. Obviously not entirely Virgins fault with computers breaking down and the inadequate Melbourne port facility , but surely they can do better if there is a next time here .... or maybe just stick to Sydney/Brisbane as most Cruise lines will due to the new ridiculous State Govt tax implimentation in Victoria . Anyway looking forward to getting on Resilient Lady , just hoping the Deep Blue Extras thing means an expedited embarkation although reading other posts here on CC , it doesnt seem to be the case .

Contacted Princess again and they acknowledged saying they will look into this and get back in 4 to 6 weeks .. Like I said Platinum Level means nothing and assume Princess are like insurance companies who just wait for you to give up .Its just $200 but really ..........

Ive been following the arrival of Resilient Lady in Australia and particularly Melbourne where we are embarking for a sample cruise shortly . What a debarcle for all . We have sailed with Princess , P&0 and Carnival out of melbourne and no problems at all , drop bags , enter terminal up to checkin and on - quick and efficiently handled . Virgin have failed miserably here and their checkin procedures are ridiculous , even with Richard up and down the lines in the rain apologising . Before you flame away here please read the posts Resilient Lady- Virgin Voyages on Facebook .Virgin Voyages - First and last with Virgin for us .

I'll reignite this post when we go ahead and book our Specialty dining for the next cruise for March and if Princess ever return our money for the last cruise " included 2 Specialty Restaurant Premium Dining "..........which we were charged for . I dont think us being Platinum matters a tinkers cuss.

Hope all is well now , I just posted a question re entertainment times onboard , looking to book some dining but not sure of the times a show might be on . Usually cruiselines offer 2 times for a production style performance but this is just a 3 nighter so unsure how Cunard operate , ( this being our first Cunard cruise ) ?

We just have a first short 3 night cruise on Queen Elizabeth and want to book some specialty dining , so was looking for help on the timing of entertainment onboard so we can do both properly ( assuming there will be a stage performance one night etc ) . Can anyone advise please ? Thanks in advance

We were certainly charged -- and cancelled and rebooked several times with the same result . We even tried to do this both on the app and then on the web after being advised that this worked - it did not . Several other cruisers onboard were lined up at guest relations with the same problem and while we were not really concerned as the main prioroty was getting the reservation at the time we wanted and assumed Guest relations would refund after our dealings with them onboard . They assured us all was in order and the refund would be forethcoming --- that was October and nothing to date . I have contacted Princess last week regarding the refund and their reply was they will expect to deal with this in 4 - 6 weeks . As I said previously , we have another cruise booked with Premier package in March , if it happens again , we wont bother booking any more.

We have had issues with the Premier Package Specialty Dining . We are Platinum with Princess and expected being able to make reservations pre cruise for the 2 nights dining and were able to do so , except our CC was debited the full amount ( there are other threads confirming similar here ) No problem we thought , Guest Relations will sort it out and having brought on board the cc staements and the Premium Package details etc , we seemed to have that sorted after being told our CC will have the $200 returned to it asap , saying 7-14 days . Thanks for our patience . The Cruise was October and still no refund . We are booked again next March so dreading this happening again .

Yes , I was being a little dramatic at 2 for one , conversion rate from Travelex today is One Australian Dollar exchanges at 0.6391 USD , having said that it has been lower than that recently . Given that conversion rate My comment still stands especially as most Aussie bank credit cards ( which we lodge as security ) charge currency conversion for US$ also. True conversion becomes 60US cents for us purchasing in US . The Maccas theory does stand , your $10 US meal deal is $15+ for us , same deal .That $14US Pina colada - $21AU. You Americans and English should get over here and spend some cruise time with Princess who charge in Aussie Dollars !

Just reading the Virgin site - Resilient Lady- on Facebook - about pricing for drinks and its not looking good for our Aussie sail despite our bar tab inclusion . Virgin appear to have been generous with their Bar Tab offerings to us Aussies but with our measerly conversion rate the $US pricing makes even our drink prices seem extraordinarily high especialy for wine . Good for our US cruisers of course , lucky ducks , but the almost x 2 conversion and then the Virgin markup for a beverage makes for an expensive outing for Aussies. Have a read of that blog if you are interested , many unhappy Aussies . Not Virgins fault , but we baulk at paying such huge mark ups for very very ordinary low end wine given the dollar conversion and extraordinary pricing , with the same conversion for anything you would rather drink than pay for . I understand that this (CC) is primarily a place for US contributors but remembering that Virgin would like to entertain cruising from here and New Zealand ( NZ conversion is even lower the AU ) surely sourcing Aussie wine for such voyages could be made palatable at an Aussie price even if it was just for the short season so we didnt slap our foreheads and go " You must be Kidding ?) .

OMG , this will no-doubt be a one and only cruise for us if that is true about the bed . We are seasoned cruisers just in a balcony room this trip to see what Virgin is all about , but if our bed is couch quality it is a total deal breaker for us . Beds on Celebrity , RCCL , NCL , Princess have been fine - proper beds.- 4 inches of foam does not a bed make .,

Made a couple of reservations for dining but having trouble changing one . The app says I can cancel and rebook but cant seem to find how to do that . ? Also tried to book a lunch using the last time slot at Razzle - 11:45 am but I keep getting the "woops something went wrong " thingy -20 times . Maybe because we have an early 8:45 breakfast/bruch at Waves ?

We have the Premier deal . The app allowed us to make the 2 "complimentary" reservations but also charged our credit card . There are several threads here that confirm this hiccup . We cancelled and rebooked several times but still were charged . We are now forced to queue up at guest relations to get a refund

In Australia , if you purchase in Australia , gratuities are included in the fare - always , its mandatory . Any extra is at the discretion of the cruiser and generally for service above and beyond the norm . Thats the way of things here . Our Service industry staff are paid an agreed salary , permanent or casual , and tips are extra and that provides a certainty of a liveable wage here if you work and encouragement to provide an excellent service that may be rewarded with extra . Same as in many countries , the USA is certainly different , and as such Cruiselines should certainly include a liveable wage for all staff and not rely on us being forced to pay for the service indirectly .

Surely Princess or a host read about this or at least have had it brought to their attention . Seems incomprehensible that they offer the Premium benefits ( that you pay extra for ) and then charge you the full amount when you make a reservation . I bet there are some who just assume they have not been charged and havnt looked at their CC statement - Maybe Im cynical enough to believe Princess wont be too concerned if cruisers just accept the double dip as they cant be bothered or unaware . Seems they dont intend fixing it and happy for Guest Relations onboard to deal with it . Ill be bringing my CC statement to embarkation along with many others I assume . Fun way to start a cruise .

Tried that again and no success AGAIN . Cancelled reservations ( I expect I will receive the refund again ) Uninstalled the app , started aqain , renistalled , made the rservations again and again charged to my CC . The Premier deal sound good but Im not going to do this again . Ill front up to Guest Relations and join the queue , have a whinge , and never do this again .

Same here and if you look back several threads with the same issue - Princess are charging cc's for specialty dining reservations that are included in the Premier Package . Our APP says we have dining credits but each time I cancel due to the cc charge and rebook its charged again . We have decided to keep our reservations as we want the times - join the long line at Guest Relations to voice our anger at Princess and tell them the interest free loan we have given them for taking our monies and holding this for months and then offering an onboard credit in lieu of is criminal . Do they realise how this is crazy !.

Try getting anything like that out of Australia - USA cruisers should get over here with your strong dollar compared to our peso of the Pacific . For example , we have cruises booked on RCCI and on Celebrity . As Elite and Diamond we do get the 4 drinks and the Elite 2 hours of well drinks and we have earned those benefits well and truly. Luckily , as the Premium Beverage Package sale price is $AU196 - now normally over $AU200 a day and Murano over $100 for example . Costs for specialty dining and beverage packages are similar for us on both lines so my days of paying for such are over . No wonder Aussies at home are now embracing local cruising with Princess and P&O who are more reasonably priced . I still see the value in the cruise fare but the add ons for us Aussies are a killer.

We have a cruise booked for 2025 February - are we able to cancel this without penalty as we paid our deposit before this ridiculous experiment comenced .? We like the casino on our cruises but vaping is a deal breaker for us and is as intolerable as smoking .

Maybe someone here can offer a solution I havnt tried - Id like to keep the reservations but dreading having to spend time at guest relations justifying the Premier deal that I paid for and either getting unwanted cabin credit or waiting ages for a possible eventual refund . Think Ill just go with Plus if we ever sail with Princess again.