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dazadelaide

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Posts posted by dazadelaide

  1. Hi all,

    I know most people on this site are American cruising mainly to the Caribbean and don't need visas but we are on a cruise from Athens to Sydney.

    On our roll call site there is a major concern re visas.

    Many people have enquired to Virgin and travel agents about who need visas and who has to organize them.

    No one can get a straight answer from anyone.

    Virgin are saying so many different things from no visas required, you need to organize them yourself, to Virgin will handle them to Virgin don't do any visa needs.

    Has anyone had any visa experiences with Virgin?

    Daz 

  2. We watch a lot of cruising videos on youtube and there is a lot of upcharging going on in cruising.

    Most lines are now charging for things that used to be included, especially the mass market lines.

    We like cruising but we still do a number of land holidays as well and enjoy them both for different reasons.

    Land tours are still much more expensive in my opinion but I do enjoy them more.

    It comes down to what we want from a holiday.

    If we want a relaxing break we go on a cruise. 

    If we want to dive deeper into an area and see the culture and history we take a land tour.

    For a 10 day cruise on P&O we are taking next month with flights to and from Sydney our budget is $4000.

    Our last land tour of 8 nights in Kuala Lumpur cost over $6000.

    So both have their pro's and cons, but because the cruiseline wants to charge for one show that we don't want to see anyway will not dampen my view.

    Anyway enjoy your holiday however you wish to spend it just don't give up on cruising just yet.

    Daz

     

    • Like 1
  3. Just back from a 14 night cruise on the Explorer and the entertainment was fantastic.

    Every night there is a show in the marquee some were so good we went twice on the same night to see the same show. 

    The 3 shows by the main troupe ( lets misbehave, 7 and rock anthems ) were all some of the best shows we have seen anywhere (land or sea)

    All were included in price of the cruise and no cover charge.

    Add to that, every bar from 5.30 til 11 has a muso or band playing for free.

    There is 1 show in the black circus theatre that has a $20 cover charge but we didn't even consider watching it for 2 reasons. we are not interested in seeing a semi risque show and when there is so much more great entertainment all over the ship just couldn't see any value in it.

    Why if having the choice of enjoying all that entertainment and the fact P&O have 1 cover charge show would stop you from cruising with them seriously ?

    We have another cruise with P&O in 2 months time this time on the Adventure and we can't wait to see what the entertainment will be like on her.

    Daz

  4. Just off the explorer 2 weeks ago and you can go to any of the 3 restaurants in any order you want.

    You just book them when you board for the first 3 nights then after the first night you can start to book for the rest of the cruise in any order you want. 

    If you do not want to go to any because you want to try another then you can.

    The menu changes every three nights so on our 14 day cruise we tried each 3 restaurants 3 times and went back to dragon lady 2 more times as that is our favorite.

    If the poster means that you cant go to dragon lady each night for the first 3 nights then that is correct.

    So if you want to try all 3 on the first 3 nights then you just to book each one.

    After that just go to any you want to in any order you want.

    If you want to go to the waterfront every night you can I's mainly DL and Angelos that P&O are trying to limit on the first 3 nights.

    Daz

  5. All these negative comments are becoming very stressful.

    Our cruise on Resilient lady in oct is fully booked so some of the issues mentioned above are a concern.

    We have cruised quite a bit over the last 15 years and usually just go with the flow about meals 

     knowing that we will always be able to find something to eat somewhere.

    All this just make a booking and if none available just walk up and you might or might not be able to get in is not how I would want to spend my day.

    Hopefully all will be ok by the time we get to our cruise as there seems to be so much to enjoy about virgin.

    Daz

     

    • Like 3
  6. Hi all, 

    just like to say a few things about our cruise.

    The cruise was 14 days from Adelaide to N.Z. back to Adelaide.

    Our last cruise on P&O was back in 2019 on Pacific Eden to P.N.G

    After reading so many bad reviews and you tube videos our expectations were not high.

    The cruise was sea day heavy but we knew that going in.

    We then had 1 port day cancelled and 2 ports cut short due to weather and rough seas on some days.

    This was not an issue with us as we have been on a lot of cruises throughout the world over the last 15 years and know that ports are never guaranteed and rough seas happen.

    This is when the whining began.

    I never realised Aussies complained so much.

    Apparently some people think that P&O can control the weather!

    Almost every cruise we have been on ( not just P&O) there have been cancelled port calls.

    Because of this we heard that this was the cruise from hell, well it wasn't.

    We had a great time .

    The entertainment was fantastic. The ship cast shows were some of the best we have ever seen on a ship.

    The comedians Hung Le and Glyn Nicholas were very funny and the other acts in the main room every night were very good.

    The food was good, yes it's not 5 star but it was better than we expected from some of the reviews we read.

    Overall I just want to say don't just trust all the reviews you see to us P&O and the explorer were better than expected.

    Daz

     

    • Like 3
  7. The whole dining thing worries me too.

    Everyone says more open up when you get on board but most say they have not had a full ship and it might not be as easy as the cruiseline grows.

    My issue is that we are on the resilient lady in Nov and the cruise is 45 days from Athens to Sydney broken up into 3 15 day sections.

    Alot are taking the entire trip but we are only doing the middle section.

    This middle section is fully booked as friends of ours tried to book the same section we are on only 1 month ago but were unable to as all cabins are full on this leg.

    With a full ship we are very concerned about the experience we will have re dining and shows etc.

    Daz

    • Like 2
  8. Just received an e-mail from P&O saying our day cruising through fiordland in New Zealand next week has been cancelled.

    Has this happend to any other P&O cruises recently?

    I know  N,Z. has stopped other lines because of bio hazards on their hulls, but the Explorer had their hull cleaned last month supposedly.

    Daz

  9. Last cruise we did on P&O was before covid. 

    Back then mocktails were around $9 - $10 each.

    I dont drink alcohol so only had soft drink package.

    Wife drinks a little bit so she would order a mocktail and a shot of vodka for about $5.

    We drank more coffee than we expected to, so this time ( cruise 13th march ) we have both got the $25 per day package as for us this the best option.

    When we worked it out at 3 - 4 coffees a day plus 3 - 4 pepsi max and a mocktail or two each it's well worth it for us. ( totals around $40 ish per day ) 

    Our cruise is 14 days 7 sea days.

    Daz

    • Thanks 1
  10. I video alot when i am on holiday and have been doing so for more than 25 years.

    I don't put them on youtube (wouldn't know how!) they are for my wife and I to watch at our leisure  and we do often.

    I don't get other people in them if possible and keep out of the way of everyone else.

    I do like watching youtube when researching holidays as I find them quite useful.

    Daz

    • Like 2
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