Sparky74

Yes, you can still cruise for $100/person/night!

Here are the best prices I can find online. YMMV

Most of these are international departures and many are not closed loop cruises so you need to factor in air fares of course. And don't forget gratuities.

16 minutes ago, Jensue9 said:

I have booked a cruise from Auckland to Sydney on holland America and then another cruise 2 days later on princess cruise line. I was thinking I would just stay two nights at a hotel walkable to the circular quay cruise terminal as I will have/be using a mobility scooter. However I am now panicking as I think holland America dock at white bay cruise terminal. Princess cruise line sail out of circular quay cruise terminal. Getting a taxi from white bay cruise terminal to circular quay wouldn’t be an option for me because of the mobility scooter. Does anyone have any ideas of how I can get to circular quay from white bay. Cruise terminal with my scooter? 

A serious answer: What about a maxi-taxi? They are equipped to carry a passenger in a wheelchair. How big is your scooter?

My silly answer: You’ve got two days. Surely you can cover that distance riding the scooter! 🤪

On 5/13/2024 at 10:07 PM, arxcards said:

If you can only afford it at a last minute price, I guess you can afford to wait. The 2024 last minute deal only came about because of a late decision to divert from the Red Sea. 2025 has already been altered, lots cancelled, plenty jumped on the newly available cabins. There will be bits & pieces available into next year, but I don't expect there will be anything cheap unless there is an Iceland volcanic eruption or a US civil war. 

 

I hope you can jump aboard, as there will be plenty of sea days for a chat or two.

It’s currently $9889/person base lead in price for an inferior cabin. By the time you add gratuities it’s almost $300/person/day. Then we need to add flights and a precruise stay in New York and shore excursions…

But a Panama Canal cruise is on my bucket list. And this cruise calls at Easter Island too!

I wonder if any cabins will be left after final payment, 120 days out. I wonder if the price will drop then. 🤔

DW says to book it if it comes down to $200/person/day. 🤷‍♂️

On 4/17/2024 at 7:54 AM, aussielil said:

Crazy half world cruise prices for departure 30 April 24 on Princess website today.

Sydney to Capetown - Oceanview starting $1898 pp

Capetown to Dover  -   Oceanview $3398 pp

Doubt if it lasts long.....

I’m interested in a partial world cruise on the Crown Princess NEXT year: 36 nights from New York to Sydney, 20th August to 26th September 2025. 
Unfortunately it’s a bit pricey at the moment. 
I'm not sure that I’m game to wait until the beginning of August 2025 in the hopes of picking up a bargain. Perhaps it will drop to a more affordable price after the final payment date. 🤷‍♂️

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

P&O don't think they are a budget line though. They consider themselves the best in their field - cruising the Australian way. They may have had a box to stand on a few years back, but trimming costs to cruise to a price has turned them into a receding brand. The same is happening to Princess, but at a much slower pace.

The same is true of Royal Caribbean. IMHO
 

The sad truth is that all the cruiselines haemorrhaged shiploads of money during the lockdown. To make up for those losses they need to increase their profit margin by either cutting costs or increasing prices or both. 

Price is a driving force for us as we are on a fixed income but we do enjoy natural light coming into the cabin. So if the price difference isn’t too great we spring for an obstructed oceanview rather than an inferior interior cabin. 😁

2 minutes ago, Gwendy said:

We are on August 14 from Brisbane.  No advice of itinerary change, also have family members just booked for January 2025 and Conflict Island still showing there.  Interesting to see what happens.

DW & I are on that sailing too! 😁

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

Good guess. Add that to your fare.

So about an extra $24/person/day at the current exchange rate. 😬

3 hours ago, sewgood said:

I agree for an inside cabin plus airfares, I too will be looking elsewhere.

3 hours ago, arxcards said:

These are typical of $AU prices for lots of overseas Princess offerings. I don't know if we are being overpriced as Aussies, or if this is relative to what others are paying around the world…

 

45 minutes ago, Yaya_in_Oz said:

Prices have certainly gone up a lot in the last year...

I’m guessing although they are quoted in Australian Dollars, that the prices for Princess cruises from non-Australian ports do not include gratuities. 🤔

There’s an old jock which asks:

What’s the difference between an Australian and a canoe?

Canoes sometimes tip. 🤣

I didn’t say it was a good joke. 🤷‍♂️

Today I received an email advertising an expanded 2025 Japan and 2025/26 South East Asia Program for the Diamond Princess. The base lead-in price for an interior cabin on a 9 day cruise is $2,184. That’s over $240/person/day. 😱

Beyond my merger pocket book I’m afraid. 🤷‍♂️

We are considering going back to Alaska next year. I investigated the Rocky Mountaineer as part of the land portion of our trip. I’m afraid the fare is out of our price range. The term, "eye-watering", springs to mind. 

6 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

Yes, Sydney hotels are generally more expensive than Brisbane. My go-to budget hotel in Sydney is the Great Southern. It's on George Street, right opposite a light rail stop that takes you and your luggage down to Circular Quay. An old fashioned large hotel, not fancy, but clean and with good bathrooms, and lots of good eating places around it.   My other choice is the Grace Hotel, closer to the port, costs a bit more, but often has discounts.

In Brisbane, I usually stay in the suburb of Hamilton, which has a range of accommodation choices, and lots of places to eat dinner. Plus it's a good location for minimising taxi fares from the airport and then to the port.

Yes, we have stayed at the Great Southern also. 👍

1 hour ago, Hogbay said:

Should of done a survey ? Vote for Dora and a Splendor . And on the lookout for last minute bargains.

Do let us know if you spot any last minute bargains, perhaps on the El Cheapo thread. It seems most ship are sailing full at the moment. 

26 minutes ago, AJCM said:

My apologies to Cruise Critic, who clearly are not responsible. Thanks to Cruise Critic - the problem seems fixed. Safari CC site working as it should.

Indeed. It would seem that CC and NCL are just as much victims as you and me. 
Many thanks to LauraS and the team for finding a resolution and please accept my apologies for any harsh comments. Keep up the good work. 

2 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

 

It refers to Studio Ghibli whom one of the founders Hayao Miyazaki is considered one of the greatest film animators of all time. The clock itself was designed by Miyazaki and is stylistically similar one of his films Howl's Moving Castle. 

I have seen at least part of Howl's Moving Castle when there’s been nothing else on TV. 

1 hour ago, bazzaw said:

I am old and I don't know what a Ghibli is…

I’m old too. I’m guessing it’s nothing to do with a desert wind. Was there a car, a Maserati Ghibli?

5 minutes ago, cruiser3775 said:

Try changing your browser to Firefox, not Explorer.

I’m using Safari on the iPad. 

11 minutes ago, Ondine said:

I tried to click the "Learn More" bit to see if the ad would disappear like when you are watching muster videos on ships but this came up.  So back to square 1.  I will just have to give up on cc if it does not go away it's driving me crazy.

 

Yep. I tried that this morning with the same result. 🤷‍♂️

33 minutes ago, Ethel6666 said:

We’ve used UBank in Singapore, Hong Kong, France, Spain, Norway,UK. And our daughter borrowed it used it in Japan. No issues. I like it because there are no fees, good exchange rate. And also because I just transfer fairly small amounts at a time across from our main accounts at another bank so if it is lost/compromised, we can’t lose much.

Yes, that’s how I used to use the Citibank card. 

1 minute ago, cruiser3775 said:

Careful which card you choose. There are two with very similar names. Ubank is owned by NAB. UP bank is owned by Bendigo Bank.

Which would you recommend?

Discussion about the NCL pop-up ad are being consolidated to a thread on the Help forum. 
 

I have also emailed both NCL and Cruise Critic about this issue and would encourage others to do the same. 😁

19 minutes ago, Host Kat said:

…Again, please feel free send your email with your questions/comments/feedback to LauraS, Senior Manager, Community at community@cruisecritic.com. Again, please send the email from your Cruise Critic email address of record and be sure to mention your Cruise Critic user name. Please remember the Hosts are non-paid volunteers and work the boards when their real life permits. Most Administrators work regular weekday business hours.

 

Host Kat

 

Thanks, Kat. 
 

I have now emailed Laura. 
I realise that Cruise Critic is international and wonder what "regular weekday business hours" means. It’s currently about 9:20am on Friday here in NSW, Australia. 

14 minutes ago, Ozwoody said:

Can you reduce the size of the screen? ie: zoom out.

Its a bloody annoying add, all it does is irritate me, not make me interested in seeing what there offering.

Maybe CC have been paid a bonza for the ad, but think most probably, so smart arse hijack of the site.

 

If I reduce the screen size my arms won’t be long enough to see it. 🤓🔎

6 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

I watched it, it disappeared 

Define "watched". 
I tried clicking on "learn more" in the forlorn hope of making it disembark but the link didn’t work. 🤦‍♂️
Someone at NCL and someone at CC have dropped the ball on this one. 
Hopefully the ad gets pulled.