Mikey22

The closest Ferry Terminal To the BICT is Northshore Hamilton

No Worries, That was from just one of the Bars, they have various menus as they do on most Ships. One thing we thought was funny though, on the second night we had a couple of drinks with Lunch and paced ourselves as we moved around the Ship. We are not night owl’s but on this occasion we will still at Explorers Bar near midnight, one if us must have been getting close to the Drinks Cap because I guy in uniform appeared just off my shoulder. I smiled at him and said hello and asked him what his role was, he replied he was the head of the security. No problem, we finished up and went to bed. It made me think was it a coincidence he just happened to be hanging around next to me or does the Medallion flag his team when you hit a certain amount of drinks? Are they watching to see if there is any trouble when your Tab has come to an end? It didn’t particularly bother me either way but it was strange. He was there again on the last night, I had a joke with him. Maybe he had me pegged😀 or maybe his Girlfriend worked in that Bar. It was a good Cruise.

I guess a lot of this has already been posted but this is from the 19th June Cruise

Most people wore Masks walking throughout all of the ship indoors. In the Theatre and Explorer’s lounge there were signs and announcements to “Sip and Cover” at all times. Most people complied although some just kept sipping to avoid it. To be honest it was probably a good idea as there was an older demographic onboard last week and plenty of people appeared to have a cough.

Funny but that was the exact Shirt. He wore it everyday everywhere, I thought it might have been a Tattoo.

His mates were, SOO shirts and BCF fishing shirt in the MDR 😄

We were on the same Cruise, we wore dark pants and smart shirt and my wife wore smart casual dresses. There was shorts, T shirts and even football jerseys in the MDR, very few Jackets. I would prefer that they enforced smart casual as a minimum, but hey I am getting old 😀

Lots were wrapped in Towels yesterday. I only wore shorts once and I do not feel the cold too much usually.

I would take plenty of warm clothes. We just got off today and barley wore shorts. last two days was Jumpers, it was extremely blowy and pretty cool on the open decks yesterday. Most people were around the indoor pool or inside. Keep an eye on your Medallion Account so you don’t get too many surprises. Its pretty Flaky.

Hi Geoff, Thanks for that. I just inquired with my Travel Agent after I posted my query here. This was their response. Please find below the T&C's for the drinks package included. terms and Conditions Alcoholic drinks are limited to 15 beverages per 24-hour period (6 a.m. to 6 a.m.). Alcoholic drinks requested above the daily limits are at the discretion of the shipboard management and crew and charged at regular menu prices. Non-alcoholic drinks do NOT have this limitation, nor do they count toward this maximum. Items selected that exceed the $12.00 USD or $16.00 AUD price are charged according to the difference in price. Packages may NOT be shared, are NON-transferable and NON-refundable. Shipboard management reserves the right to add additional restrictions and revoke or cancel the Plus Beverage Package at any point during a guest’s voyage for any reason with or without a prorated refund. Additional actions may be taken if guests: Become intoxicated Provide beverages to other guests or do NOT comply with the terms, conditions and limitations of the package Exhibit behavior that is inappropriate, a safety risk to themselves or others, or become offensive or disruptive to other cruise guests or staff Exceed, or attempt to circumvent, the daily limits and service limitations outlined Princess Cruises may modify, amend or update the terms and conditions of our beverage packages at any time with or without notice to guests. The terms and conditions as published on princess.com on the date of sailing will apply. Cheers, Ian

A quick question. With Princess premium drink package do they have a limit/cap per 24 hours like P&O or is it open ended like RC. I cant imagine we would get close to the Cap regardless.

So did we. We were surprised at the Cars in the Carpark and then we saw people with Suitcases moving into the terminal. It was good to be able to drive all the way to the entrance of the Terminal.

Take a coat at the very least. There is always snow on the mountains in Milford sound in summer.

Sorry NSWP I disagree. I don’t find P&O any cheaper than other lines out of Australia. They have had the poorest onboard appearance of any Ships I have ever sailed with. Their strong suite has always been happy and cheerful and in the past the pricing reflected older ships with limited balconies that kept pricing down.

As they say, the market will decide the price. The Cruise lines are obviously testing the waters on many things like drink packages and specialty restaurants, using cheap cruise fares to get people back and then milk what they can to recover their losses. They need to be careful though as many long time repeat Cruisers are repeat customers because of the all inclusive pricing plus Bar costs. We moved on from the P&O experience a few years ago but we booked the Encounter in December because we liked the sister ship the Golden Princess when we were on her. If P&O are going to move forward with gouging what they can from their customers we will stick with RC or perhaps reconsider Cruising as an option.

I am probably not their target audience but it would have to be a show where I knew something of the act I was paying to watch. I doubt I would be interested in the show if it were free.

You can book in advance at Tauranga and the Car company will pick you up at the Dock. They take you on a 5 minute ride back to their office to do the paperwork and when you return the Car they drive you back to the Ship https://www.ritepricerentals.co.nz/tauranga-port-car-hire

Our last Cruise was Ovation in Feb 2020. Sydney Harbour, Noumea and Mystery Island.

We have done a couple of Comedy Cruises that were ok, nothing too shocking the way the world is nowadays. The thing that stuck with me was the guy and his partner with two young daughters that were around four to six years old. The comedian spotted them in the upper seats and suggested the show was not suited to young kids but the parents yelled out they we’re ok with it 😕 To the comedians credit he tamed down the language until they left. It was a sad sign of the times.

Not sure about the colour scheme Bazz. Prince would have approved. We cruised on the Dawn half a dozen time and really enjoyed it even though we knew it was getting very tired and had seen it’s day. Not sure if P&O fits where we are nowadays.

Being based in Melbourne really limits it’s warm weather destinations for week long cruises. I think it will only last a season.

I was Macca back then on that site. You always seemed to have a good grip on what was going on IMO. You put me onto a deal on the Radiance that turned into one of the best Cruises we have ever done. Good to see you again on here 👍

Does anyone know if RC still put packets of sea sick tablets outside the Dr’s rooms?

We have been on a few RC Ships and never had a gloomy MDR but we did enjoy the open high ceiling layout of the Radiance and Voyager/ Mariner more than the Ovation MDR’s In saying that when we were on the Ovation we only had a meal in the MDR once as we bought the meal deal at JO and the steak place etc.

Good to see members from the now defunct Oz Forum. I am surprised how many are here. Always enjoyed your thoughts back then Geoff.