Sparky74

1 minute ago, CDaze71 said:

Those bloody Yanks can stop rubbing their hands together and get their dirty mitts off our ships. They have enough choice over there, sooooo many ships. 

I love telling Americans that all Australians get 4 weeks paid vacation each year. After seeing their jaws drop I add, "And you thought the USA was the greatest country in the world!" 🤣

But I’m now reflecting on how many ships they might need over there if they DID get proper holidays like we do here. 😱

When DW read the P&O email she queried if "unimpacted" is a word. I suggested that it’s a dental diagnosis. 😬

5 minutes ago, Mycruiseobsession said:

The Carnival Media release says

 

"P&O Cruises Australia guests will also be invited to participate in Carnival’s loyalty program and promotional offerings specific to Carnival ships sailing in the region.” 

 

I am going to guess (hope) that it means past P&O cruises will  count towards VIFP once P&O ceases in 2025 rather than just being invited  to start again!

Yes, when I read that I wondered if Cruislings would have their points transferred across to VIFP or if they’d be invited to start from scratch. 🤔

And what if those of us who have earned points in both systems. I wonder if we can add our Cruisling points to our VIFP points. 🤔
 

Of course, the problem with any loyalty program is that there are eventually too many people in the upper tiers and they have to either water down the benefits or move the goalposts. Either way there are winners and losers and people get upset. 🤷‍♂️

But as Gilbert and Sullivan said, “If everybody’s somebody, nobody’s anybody!"

14 minutes ago, Over from NZ said:

This is the key to it - "However, given the strategic reality of the South Pacific's small population and significantly higher operating and regulatory costs, we're adjusting our approach," he said.

 

That's coded for - Down under is a small market and not as profitable. Add to that, NZ is becoming problematic for them and other regulatory issues.. and Aus is the backwater where they want to squeeze a better return out of with less ships. Expect fewer options and increased fares I would think. 

This is my biggest fear. 

37 minutes ago, windsor26 said:

Not just the daily tips I was referring to but the addition to drinks and of course using US$ kills the budget for us   IF  RC  changes to use the3 same criteria as the Carnival australia format then I would be happy to cruise with them

I’d be happy to go back to RCI but DW felt that Quantum OTS was too big.

We get the benefits of Diamond C&A status on RCI but we get shareholder OBC across the Carnival group. 
RCI cheesed me off last cruise as they’d switched to servicing  rooms once a day which wasn’t the standard when we booked and paid for the cruise. A little thing, sure, but the attitude of the staff and the way they dealt with my feedback was abysmal. Food, particularly in the buffet, wasn’t great. 
 

Lately we’ve found good value cruising with P&O but no longer have loyalty to any particular cruise-line. They all have their pros and cons. I’d love to try Cunard but it would be too formal for DW. For the time being we'll keep chasing bargains (our budget is limited) and keep cruising while it continues to offer good value for money. I just hope they don’t strip back supply and thus raise the prices. Time will tell.🤷‍♂️ 😀

9 hours ago, dizzy1948 said:

Mmm............................can't see nothing for us poor West Australians 

My booking of home port cruises (Fremantle) is like knitting - Knit one - purl one or.....miss one take one. This has been our cruising experience over the past few years. 😒 Ah well - 

DW & I move every couple of years. We get transferred and have to go wherever we’re sent. 🤷‍♂️
It’s been great living within 3 hours drive of Brisbane. We’ve been here 4 years now so I’m starting to get nervous.
If we end up in WA then I guess it will mean flying to a cruise port. 

12 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

Hmmm, two Carnival ships each in Brisbane and Sydney?

I’ll believe it when I see it.

2 minutes ago, arxcards said:

In the early era post-covid, they were very sensitive about paper menus, as were P&O. I had the Hub app, and previewed some menus on it, but we had printed menus handed to us by default on Splendor in December.

Well that’s good to know. When the waiter came to rake our order on the first night we said that we hadn’t seen a menu yet. In condescending tones he told us that we should have looked at it on the app. (One of the many things I enjoy about cruising is that I disconnect from the Interweb and my devices. It’s getting harder though. 🤷‍♂️) We had further issues with him and in the end, reluctantly, asked to speak to the head waiter. Things improved after that although I never did get a tablecloth on the table, but that’s another story. 😬

I've probably got a big black mark on my Carnival file now. 🤣

 

Anyway, we'll have to wait and see what Carnival offer going forward. 

34 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Carnival also caters for luddites

On our Carnival Splendor transPacific cruise in 2022 the staff were continually telling me to use the app. When I explained that I’d left my phone in Australia they would grudgingly find a workaround. From knowing what was happening around the ship to looking at a menu, everything seemed to require the app as default. Even each morning when I went to the dining room for breakfast they wanted me to book in with the app. Eventually the maître de cottoned on and would see me coming and book me in but it took several mornings to train them. 
 

I must admit a certain amount of smug satisfaction when the system fell over and whole ship reverted to paper. I think the system may have crashed when we crossed the international date line.
 

Anyway, the general attitude of the staff seemed to be that I was an inconvenience. There were lots of other minor annoyances on the ship. It was the first Carnival ship to return to Australia post pandemic and I think at least part of the problem was that it was run as a US cruise rather than an Australian cruise. But the Aussies onboard were far from impressed with the cruise. We ran into a couple of "old hands", previous Carnival staff, who had been brought on to help train the staff for the Australian market. One of them was almost in tears at the attitude of the crew. We've not sailed with Carnival since but hopefully they’ve lifted their game. 
 

After we disembarked the Splendor in Sydney we had one night at home before boarding the Pacific Encounter in Brisbane. The contrast was astonishing. Better food, better service… We sailed P&O several times last year, have two booked for this year, and will possibly do a third in November. They’ve become our "go to" and the fact that they sail out of Brisbane year round has been a bonus. But I guess all good things must come to an end. 
 

Anyway, thanks for reading the ramblings of a grumpy old man. 😁

Q. How many cruisers does it take to change a lightbulb?

A. Change?! Who said anything about change?!

Blesséd are we who can laughter at ourselves as we shall never cease to be amused. 

My initial reaction is to clutch my pearls, metaphorically speaking. 
 

DW and I have grown to appreciate the "cheap and cheerful" P&O cruises. We’ve actually been quite impressed with them lately even though my first cruise with them almost turned me off them permanently. We’ve not been back on a Carnival ship since our 2022 transPacific cruise as part of our infamous "Are We Mad?" trip. Along with many of the Australians onboard we were less than impressed with that cruise. 
 

I have lots of questions:

1. Will Carnival commit to multiple ships sailing in Australia year round? We currently live within driving distance of Brisbane so a ship based in Brisbane is important to us. 
 

2. Currently P&O cruises count towards us edging towards Elite Status on Princess but Carnival cruises don’t. Are they going to change this policy?
 

3. Recently Carnival fares seem to have risen significantly while P&O fares have remained reasonable. What pricing structure are they going to implement going forward. 
 

4. We enjoy sailing on slightly smaller ships even if they are a bit older. Will they be replaced with Mega ships?

5. Is there any chance they will tone down the garish decor for Australian tastes? I’m really not a fan of pink donuts on the walls and fried eggs on the ceiling. 
 

6. Carnival wants me to carry my mobile phone with me around the ship. P&O is happy to accommodate a Luddite like me. What are the chances?

7. P&O still cleans staterooms in the morning AND offers a tuner down service. Is Carnival going to reinstate this?

I fear I already know the answer to most of these questions. 🤷‍♂️
But at least I’ve had an opportunity to vent. I guess I'll get over it. 
 

8 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

'Tragedy of the commons' at play.

And that’s why we can’t have nice things. 😔

My bladder usually gets me up around 4:30-5am. Occasionally I manage to nod off again but mostly that’s the end of my sleep. But if I sit in the lounge mid afternoon… 😴💤

For our "Are We Mad" trip we took out insurance through CoverMore as we were doing a helicopter flight in Alaska. If you read my half a review, you know that the helicopter flight was cancelled. 🤷‍♂️ (Maybe I should try to finish that review one day.)

Under the terms of the annual multi-trip policy we had purchased, we were able to do a longer trip because we returned home in the middle of it. If we returned to our home or place of business that ended a "trip" and we could start another one immediately! As it was we stayed at home for one night before commencing our next journey. 
 

YMMV

10 hours ago, JohnGc said:

Seriously it was $2,488 difference. I expected the Discovery Princess to be more expensive being a newer ship than the Crown Princess. Disappointing , I was so looking forward to having a new cruise terminal at Brisbane and did not expect there to be such a cost difference. Never mind cant beat Sydney to cruise from, the wife and I are so looking forward to it. In the meantime we have our Singapore to Brisbane coming up in November. 😊 

That’s crazy!

1 minute ago, Cbtours said:

I’ve been thinking on the London to New York only 21 days and fly home from NY 😁. But daily researching 🥰 

 

we were going to do Ireland and Scotland (as I’ve never been to either!!! I know I know it was so far away when I was morning in England!!!!). However our wonderful rellos suggested they take us on a road trip to them so we’ll happily be doing that then finish with the cruise somewhere else. Never been to most Europe apart from Budapest to Amsterdam river cruise in 2018

We were looking at New York to Sydney for 2025 but balked at the price. 
HAL has a very good price for Seattle to Asia. And some of the cruises from Europe to the US are very reasonable. 

9 hours ago, Cbtours said:

I’m busy researching “something “ to finish a visit to family in Uk next June/july😁😁

The Crown Princess sails from Dover on 30th July 2025 and will bring you all the way to Sydney. That would mean no jet lag. 😁

3 hours ago, Badatz2 said:

I was looking into either the HOHO bus or a day trip from Sydney and then was given the advice to take the train from Sydney and the 686 bus as you mentioned.  

The benefits are that you don't have to wait up to an hour or so for the HOHO bus and that the 686 bus is very cheap and is included in the Opal daily cap.

There are websites which give you a stop-by-stop itinerary with sites for the bus.  Sorry but I misplaced the link. 

https://transportnsw.info/routes/details/blue-mountains-buses-network/686/64686

12 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

I can't see them!

They’re next to the deaf dead starfish. 

1 hour ago, ceeceeDee said:

Photo of the cabin, please

Can you take a photo of the invisible bed bugs too?

43 minutes ago, woodscruise said:

This would work if the onward flight was in the same reservation, and hence a through fare to Melbourne.

If on a separate ticket and reservation, then the airport staff do not see the onward connection.

I would be a bit nervous about missing the connection in Auckland if it wasn’t in the same reservation. JMHO
 

In 2022 we flew Coffs Harbour to Sydney (domestic flight) to Vancouver to Seattle. Fortunately it was all on one reservation. Our Coffs Harbour to Sydney flight was delayed so we missed our connection. They rebooked us. Our new flight from Sydney to Vancouver was also delayed so we missed our next connection. We received a complimentary overnight hotel in Vancouver (including dinner) and eventually arrived in Seattle. Initially our bags were booked all the way to Seattle but as we had to stay overnight in Vancouver we got our bags for that night. 😁
 

Lessons learned from this experience. 
1. Expect delays and disruptions when you’re travelling. 

2. Always fly in the day before the cruise. In this instance I’d allowed two nights in Seattle before our cruise. Flight delays reduced this to one night but that was OK. It really reduced my stress knowing we had an extra day up our sleeve. 

3. For me it’s worth paying extra so a multi-flight itinerary is on one reservation. It was their problem to sort out our connections. This also reduced my stress level.  We were really pleased with the customer service from QANTAS and had no out of pocket expenses nor did we need to claim through our travel insurance. As always, YMMV. 
4. Never forget to take your PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) when travelling. 

What about a return flight to Melbourne. Then take a flight from Auckland to Melbourne upon disembarkation, probably stay a night in Melbourne (which may negate any savings) and then catch the return flight home? 
Just throwing another idea into the mix. 

Just now, Bubbeh said:

You stole my post.  😉

I’m happy to share. 😁

At the risk of being a pedant, there’s no U in QANTAS. Just sayin!

Also, I always capitalise it as it’s an acronym. 
Queensland And Northern Territory Aerial Service.

😁

11 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

…Also, pay the insurance as soon as you can, so you are covered for cancellation  before the cruise begins. It won't get cheaper if you hold off until you pay the final payment.

Yes, in my experience you only need insurance for the time you’re actually away but if you buy the policy today you’re covered if you need to cancel the trip because something happens tomorrow. 

2 hours ago, Bubbeh said:

Mr W, I pay nothing for my CC (ANZ Platinum).  I put all our expenses on it (don't deal in cash) and pay the lot off each month.  It only took 3 - 4 months to fulfill my annual spend requirement for a fee free card.  When it comes to booking cruises etc, I split the payment to ensure the first $500 goes on the card and the balance is via bank transfer thereby minimising CC percentage charges.  

 

While I'm sure this wouldn't work for everyone, this is the way we've been living since retirement 10 years ago and it works well for us.  

We are not retired but put everything on the CC. I used to pay it in full every fortnight when our pay went in the bank. Occasionally I’d get busy and forget if it was a pay week or not so I’ve moved to paying the CC every week. It’s a great way to keep an eye on our expenses and we never pay interest or overdue fees. I also have an automatic payment sent up just in case I slip up, or get hit by a bus (unlikely), or we are away on a cruise without Internet (more likely). 
 

I know that a lot of people live from pay cheque to pay cheque (or pension to pension). I’ve always lived below my means, making sure that something went into savings from each pay. I guess that’s because that’s how I was brought up; not to live on credit but to live within your means. My father tells the story that when he was a boy there was only one thing his parents bought on a payment plan: a piano. And that was because if they had saved up for it his sisters would have missed out on a few years of lessons.

Oh dear, I think I’ve got off topic again! 😱

What was this thread about? 🤔