Porky55

Condolences Stu, our thoughts are with you and yours at this time, Rose & Glenn

We've done a few HAL cruises, we love both the Music Walk and the abundance of fresh flowers on their ships. Hope Westerdam is the same, will look for your opinion after Christmas 😄

Latest news is that Military and Cruise ships will still be docked. There are other tug boat Companies able to do this job. 👍

Don’t honestly recall, but pretty sure not. Think there was something we went to on the morning of our return to the ship. Still highly recommend this tour 😄

Looks quite calm - all I can say is have a great day and looks like the Captain got the weather right 👍

OK, caught this while browsing this morning and just wondering how Princess fans feel about what he is saying 🙄 All his points, both good and bad we have encountered and not sure I’m liking the look of the future Princess. About to cruise on Majestic so can judge it against the smaller Coral. Just really love these smaller ships 😮‍💨

🥶🥶 that’s way cold for us 😀

That seems the most sensible reason why not the newer ships, but other lines manage to relocate larger, newer vessels to Aus 🙄 No doubt the Disney Wonder will appeal to lots of people and that’s a wonderful thing for the market 😄

The only shame about this is the seemingly coincidental continued relocating to the Australian market of the “older ships”. Disney Wonder definitely is NOT a current cruise ship - Built in 1998 and probably full of the same plumbing and wear problems that accompany this era. This isn’t to say it won’t be a wonderful ship - but why didn’t we get Disney Dream or Fantasy? Source: Wikipedia Disney Wonder docked at Nassau History Bahamas Name Disney Wonder Owner The Walt Disney Company Operator Disney Cruise Line Port of registry Bahamas[1] Ordered 1995 Builder Fincantieri Marghera shipyard, Italy[2] Laid down May 5, 1997 Launched February 23, 1998 Sponsored by Tinkerbell and Mickey Mouse Christened October 1, 1999 Completed June 18, 1999 Maiden voyage August 15, 1999 In service 1999–present Identification IMO number: 9126819 Status in active service General characteristics Class and type Magic-class (Disney) cruise ship[2] Tonnage 83,000 GT[2] Length 964 ft (294 m)[2] Beam 106 ft (32 m)[2] Draft 25.3 ft (7.7 m)[3] Decks 11 Installed power 43,000 kW (57,600 hp) Propulsion Diesel-Electric; 5 × Sulzer16ZAV40S; two shafts Speed Cruising 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph), Maximum 23.5 knots (43.5 km/h; 27.0 mph)[3] Capacity 2,400 passengers[2] Crew 945

Well, that’s gonna be fun on the WC - every 20 or so days, off to Guest Services to have your battery replaced 😆🤣

On Pacific Encounter isn’t the adults only area the Byron Club and only available to those who are booked into Byron mini suites, or by paying like the Sanctuary on Princess? Well, answered the question by looking at the deckplans - Byron Beach Pool is in the middle of the spas, gym etc 🙄 The Adult's area is the Oasis one deck down. There you go 😄

We booked a private transfer and the driver met us at the terminal. Cost $75 - still less than Princess transfer and guaranteed terminal to airport at the time WE wanted. Just a suggestion 🤔

I found the reefs closer to shore to be much nicer than the Outer Reef - where all the big day cruises go. The tour operators like Thunder Cat and Ocean Rafting seem to be more aware of the lovely vertical reefs that aren’t as affected by sun bleaching. So the colours and varieties were quite beautiful. This is off Airlie btw - I assume that operators out of Cairns or Port Douglas would be the same as these guys - know all the spectacular small reefs near shore. Just thought local knowledge could help you decide 👍 Rose

Considering a case of wine (12 bottles) can weigh anywhere between 15 and 19kgs I wouldn’t want to be carrying it to the Hilton, and then to the ship with luggage. 😳 😆 “How Much Does a Case of Wine Weigh? The average case of wine weighs between 30 and 40 lbs or 14.25 to 19 kg. Since there are 12 bottles of wine in a case, we can estimate the total weight based off of a single bottle's weight. The standard 750 ml bottle of wine weighs an average of 2.65 pounds (1.2 kg).”

Won’t the couple who are on Coral now for 795 nights take out the MTP in 2023? 🤔😆

Didn’t see any TRS claim desks at Brisbane and our cruise went to Willis Island

I think the “Duty Free” circuit around Willis Island is for the purchase of alcohol and a minimal few cigarettes. In all reality it is a domestic cruise.

No reason you can’t wear a mask yourself, just to be sure. I found that going through checkin and security at any airport here and overseas to be more of a challenge - other passengers just don’t consider personal space during this time.

Agree - Perhaps it’s so low key its unnoticeable 😁

We were on coral for 7 days and can’t recall hearing any piped music either 🤔

That you will 👍

Have done this one and highly recommend it. The one we did in 2015 had overnight at Queenstown first night with a Steamship on Lake Wakatipu out of Queenstown to Walter Peak Farm tour (bbq lunch included) which was fabulous, then day two on bus to Arrowtown overnight - with included a stop at a bungy jump tower, was amazed with the amount of passengers (and their ages) who actually made the jump 😳 Arrowtown is an old gold mining town and was very interesting too - then next day on to Dunedin to reboard the ship - was fabulous. We have been to NZ a few times before so this was something new for us. This was actually off a Celebrity cruise, so not positive the stops will be the same, but this was our experience. Edit: just checked and it is this one we did!! We have booked the 2 night Overland Hobbit tour - Trilogy of the North in December on Majestic - because, why not 😁 Below is Walter Peak Farm - just stunning 🥂

Agree with this fact, however, the heat in the UK will have passed by Monday. Actually, heat gone tomorrow 🙄

When …… don’t you mean IF ? 😳

Perhaps you are right, but if only 4(four) or 10(ten) passengers are currently infected than something is working, don’t you think? 😄