Ship Drongo

My DW and I have been on the Golden once in 2014 for the 28 day Hawaii Tahiti cruise and found it to be equal to her sister ships (Grand and Star). One thing we like of the original Grand Class ships is the covered Calypso Pool so that you can swim no matter what the weather (Too Cold, Hot, Rainy/Snowy and Windy).

 

You might also want to read Pescado Amarillo's cruise blog (http://pescadoamarillo.blogspot.com/) as she and her husband are on the Golden right now doing Australia and New Zealand cruises.

 

Also for all the Princess experts out there has anyone heard that the Golden might not be going back to P&O? I ask this because somewhere in the Princess advertising for the Ocean Medallion the Golden was included in the ***** schedule. Inquiring minds would like to know!

 

Good luck and safe cruises.

We love the Golden as our favourite ship so far after 6 Princess cruises. We concur with previous posts giving positive responses. But one further reason is that Golden never felt crowded and the staff were super friendly and efficient. We are going on her again in March from Melbourne - Singapore

Every dinner we have in the MDR (which is most nights) I order a tomato juice with lemon, Worcestershire sauce and pepper; I never have this at any other time. ;);)

I can't believe all this hullabaloo about second entrees and food generally. Have you EVER known anyone going hungry on a cruise?:cool:

Unfortunately Melbourne needs to do a lot more than just upgrade the facilities at Station pier to get the bigger ships in. The navigation into and out of Port Phillip Bay is not ideal for the larger ships and can be very hazardous. Tight turns and wind are a bad combination for cruise ships.

Port Melbourne has had many visits from the large cruise ships including all the Queens. The issue is probably more the weather.

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If the Victorian Government was smart it would encourage the new owners of the Port of Melbourne to invest in a major redevelopment of Station Pier and Princes Pier. Sydney is about to lose more cruise business due to continual delays in deciding on new port infrastructure.

Newer and bigger ships will not be able to fit under the Sydney Harbour bridge anyhow so Sydney loses it's attraction.

Plenty of tourist dollars up for grabs Victoria....do it!;p

They asked what kind of symptoms you have and they looked at our throat and ears. (I think that is fuzzy) and took our temperature.

 

 

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They'll quarantine you

Yes, noticed that the other day, it is doing a fabulous journey back via Asia, similar to a Circle Pacific, we did this on the Diamond a few years ago finishing in Vancouver, the best itinerary!! They are being sold as separate itineraries too, not just one big long one. Imagine cruising from Melbourne all the way to Vancouver!! Australia, Asia, Alaska and Canada!!

 

Golden is booked back in Sydney October 2018, so must be coming back via the Pacific/Hawaii. Lucky for those with lots of time:p

Golden is actually leaving Melbourne on the 15th March and WE are on her to Singapore. Our favourite ship.

Does anyone know if she has the new super beds? We were on the Sun in January and had the new beds which were SOOO comfy.:cool:

For us, the Sun class ships are the ideal size. The promenade deck is old world and great for walkers. Unfortunately, economics dictates design and I can't see Princess building ships the size of the Sun class again:(

The problem with the megaships is that most of the Pacific island ports are not suitable for them. In some cases the very big ships cannot dock resulting in slow tendering and in other cases, the large number of passengers just swamps the place. If anything, NZ is more suitable.

 

Regarding the stability of the big ships in rough seas - These ships are wider and have generally been built with flatter 'bottoms' for the Caribbean. Contrast this with the great ocean liners built for the trans-Atlantic: they have a deep V keel. I remember that on the old Fairstar one of the officers remarked that she handled rough seas very well because she had a deep keel. If they build the newer larger ships with a deep keel, they require deeper water to dock and this reduces the number of ports they can access. Then they have to tender passengers ashore - a slow and expensive process.

 

I can recall over the years that some people on this forum have kept saying that they want the bigger ships. Now that the Ovation is here, they can see what some others of us could see all along - the really big ships are not very suitable for this part of the world. (In my opinion!!) :)

I agree with most of what you wrote. However, they could still build liners that are say no bigger than 70,000 tonnes. This would make them quite accessible to most destinations. Extra cost is the reason they don't build liners.:D

Hi,...that sounds exciting. Would you care to share your plans ie by sectors do you mean say Asia, Europe, Caribbean etc ?

Here is my bucket list. We may have to compromise....but you need to dream big! :)

· Leaving Melbourne, Australia early April 2018

· Australia cruise to Hawaii

· Return not before 1st September 2018

· Hawaii 7 day cruise

· Stay Hawaii 10 days-2 weeks

· Cruise to USA West Coast

· Alaskan cruise

· Canadian Rockies Mountaineer train

· North America travel

· Niagra Falls

· Las Vegas

· San Francisco

· New England

· Transatlantic Cunard crossing

· Scandinavian cruise

· River cruise Amsterdam-Budapest

· Hungary long term stay

· Travel through central/eastern Europe

Cruise home to Australia

Hi Folks

 

 

Lets forget about Melbourne and build a complete new cruise pier and terminal at Mornington .. now that would show some sense

 

Bring the Cruise ships into one of the nicest parts

 

it was a Major port at one time years ago , see

http://www.discovermorningtonpeninsula.com.au/fascinatingfacts/paddle-steamers.php

 

 

Best Regards

 

John

Great idea!

More things to do and see on the east coast...starting with Sydney, Great Barrier Reef and the possibilities of going to New Zealand. Reportedly, seas can be a bit rough north of Perth, but we had no difficulty.

 

Having said that, we have sailed from Perth around the top and down to Sydney. A 17 day cruise with only six ports, so the distances involved with little or nothing port wise is to be considered. Kimberly is pretty, Darwin was one of our main reasons for taking the cruise.It was a great cruise. Highly recommend it.

We're doing this cruise commencing this Sunday 8th Jan. Can't wait:D

Thoughts, well for his entire public life I have never heard Robert Doyle say one intelligent thing, the guts of the bay was dredged out to allow mega container ships with a draft of up to 14 meters (49 feet) to get up the channel, when you look at mega cruise ships like the Harmony of the seas it has a puny draft of only 9.32 meters so the cruise ships already have plenty of room to get into the bay and dock at the wind swept barren waste land called Docklands.

 

The problem with ferrying people to Southbank, IE next to where Prince's Bridge passes over the Yarra is, the height of the Ferry.

 

The bridges over the Yarra river are not very high and at high tide its a real squeeze for the few pleasure ferry's that operate there now, if you are standing on the outside deck of the ferry you can get your head knocked off hitting the bridges, on some days high tide the top of the roof of the ferry just misses the bridges by inches, so for a mega cruise ship the ships tenders could not be used to get past the bridges, so to ferry 5000 people to the heart of the city would require special made low roof ferry's, but the time it would take to ferry pax from an island up the Yarra river to South bank or the wind swept barren waste land called Docklands, is a long trip and would be very time consuming .

So whats stopping the mega cruise ships coming here already is anybody's guess.

 

If you are ever in Melbourne take a ferry ride to Williams town its a nice trip.

The reasons why more cruise ships don't come to Melbourne are:

1. Geographically, Melbourne is too far South and ocean and climatic conditions do not make for an all year around cruising season.

2. Station Pier facilities are ancient and inadequate despite makeovers. Road infrastructure and the terminal could not cope with more than 1 mega-ship at a time.

3.Station Pier is the only pier available and can only accommodate 3 ships apart from the Tasmanian ferry

4. The adjacent Princes Pier was used until the 1970's but is now unusable due to modern apartment development.

Mayor Doyle's idea is a pipe dream, but I commend him on his innovative ideas.

As per previous post the Port Phillip Bay entrance was adequately dredged some years ago. This is not an issue.

Port of Melbourne ship charges are cheaper than Sydney's, so that is not the issue. We as Melbournians must acknowledge that Sydney is the premier port and geographically better placed. Sydney will always host more ships, however, Melbourne can do something to increase ship usage:

1. Re-do road infrastructure to/from Station Pier using fly-overs.

2. Initially, extend the pier seaward and build a new terminal accommodating 4 ships.

3. Thereafter, demolish and rebuild existing part of the pier accommodating 3 ships plus the Tasmanian ferry.

4. And/or build a terminal at Victoria Harbour, Docklands for 3 ships. This would accommodate smaller ships up to about 70,000 tonnes, importantly the luxury cruise market. Larger ships cannot pass under the West Gate Bridge.

Yes the investment required by government/private corporations is substantial. But the returns in the form of increased tourism would be worth it.

All it takes is some effort.:D

I wish Princess would update their website for Sun Princess Drydock Photo Journal. It shows pics from 2013, still nothing on drydock last month :confused:

I was also wondering if they've abolished the free ice cream counter and replaced it with the 'pay for it' one?

They have:rolleyes:

All these photos are like heaven for this obsessed cruiseaholic! Thanks to all of you!

Retirement is not in my lexicon. Cruising is my break from work and 2018 is the big world trip......by cruising various sectors.

Take your pick on on the size that suits you:D

Small - Medium - Large.

Plenty of choice in Tauranga today.

Golden Princess, Crystal Symphony and Caledonian Sky.

 

 

Nice!!:D

Check out this YouTube for a great explanation of the differences between an ocean liner and a cruiser.

Just returned from a trans-Atlantic crossing on QM2 and made a video. I interviewed Captain Chris Wells and he gave a great explanation of the difference between an Ocean Liner and a Cruise Ship. You'll also hear a comparison of the Queen Mary 2's whistles and the original Queen Mary's whistles -

 

I'd love to hear what people think of this video!

A great explanation in this YouTube

They are just greedy. There is no need to be making huge ports to cater for these monster floating hotels. I like cruising, however, the ship sizes are getting way too big for my tastes.

I agree. I am not interested in sailing in ships carrying more than 2,500 passengers. These mega ships don't even look like ships. But my major concern is that the bigger the ship (usually height), the higher the centre of gravity.

In addition no new ships over the last 30 years to my knowledge, have been built as ocean liners. i.e. ocean liners have deeper keels and stronger hulls to assist stability and sit lower in the water. Mega cruisers while not unsafe cannot be as stable as an ocean liner. The only regularly used passenger liner today is Queen Mary 2.

I'm sick to death of these nondescript names; how about returning to some old traditional P & O names - e.g. Himalaya, Orcades, Oronsay, Canberra etc.

I agree. I avoid ships with more than 2,500 passengers

No gratuities are automatically added to your bill, either your cruise card or drinks bills. Stewards on these ships are paid at a much higher rate than those on ships where the auto-tips are in place. Therefore tips are not expected, but you can give a tip to stewards who you feel have 'gone the extra mile'.

Not sure whether this applies to other than Princess and P&O in Australia.

Any pros or cons on these two itineraries.... Sailing out of Brisbane? I like both cruises but am leaning towards PNG. Any thoughts or recommendations?

Thanks in advance

Tom

We've done South Pacific twice. I would recommend New Caledonia and Fiji, the latter being very friendly. I agree that Vanuatu is hole. I haven't been to PNG for many years but I have read many favourable reviews. Princess and P & O are really turning their attentions to PNG and I believe facilities fo ship tourists are being well delivered.:D

The problem with the Sun class is that in comparison to equal sized ships the public rooms are far too small with much less facilities. The cabins are small with limited storage. The pools are never heated and make for a miserable experience if you enjoy swimming.

 

In comparison I have done world cruises on P&O ships Aurora and Oriana since 2002 and these ships are of equal dimensions to the Sun class. The theatre is much larger on the Aurora and Oriana and can accommodated many more passengers. The show lounge at the aft is much bigger on the Aurora and Oriana and can accommodate more passengers. The pools are heated on Aurora and Oriana. The Aurora and Oriana has a midship disco/nightclub for events and is again much larger and more open than the one on the Sun class. The cabins on Aurora and Oriana have much more storage space than the Sun class and the bathrooms are more practical. The bathrooms on Aurora and Oriana have shelves behind and opening mirror the Sun class does not have this meaning all your toiletries you will need for a long voyage have nowhere to be stored. In addition to this both types of ships have a wrap around promenade yet the one on Aurora and Oriana is much largert, wider and spacious than the Sun class with deck chairs and room on the deck for walking around and enjoying scenic cruising. There are also 3 swimming pools on the Aurora and Oriana opposed to the Sun class really only having 2. The Sun class also carries more passengers so go figure! The buffet restaurant is also larger on the Aurora and Oriana and both ships can accommodate more people in the buffet. Last of all Aurora and Oriana have a dedicated movie cinema that can accommodate 300 passengers. The Sun class does not have this. The Sun class does however have a large casino.

 

Overall in comparison to ships I have done world cruises on that were specifically designed for long cruising it is hard to even consider the Sun class as appropriate when you know there are better equipped ships out there that can handle the task more comfortably.

I take your points and would love to cruise on a P & O UK ship.